Semantics Flashcards
What is Semantics
A subfield that studies meaning in language
What is Reference
Using language to “name” the world; what languages refer to in the real world
What is Sense
The mental representation of meaning; e.g. Santa Claus
A dictionary relies on our knowledge of the language and the world to understand definitions
A dictionary relies on our knowledge of the language and the world to understand definitions
What is Synonymy
the relationship between two or more words that have similar or very closely related meanings
What is Antonymy
Words that are opposite in meaning
What are gradable antonyms
words used to describe states between the two extremes
What are non-gradable antonyms
no middle ground between words in pair of antonyms
What are reversives
pairs of words that suggest some kind of movement (left/right)
What are relational opposites
words that display symmetry in meaning
What is Homophony
words that have same pronunciation but differ in written form
What is Homonymy
When a single word form has two or more entirely distinct meanings and are conceptually unrelated
What is Hyponymy
Relationship between more general term and the more specific instances of it
What is Hyponym and superordinate
Hyponym: more specific word
Superordinate: more general term
What is Polysemy
One word having multiple meanings that are related conceptually or historically (e.g. head)
What is Metonymy
Metonym is word used to replace another word or expression with which it is closely associated (bottle = wine)
What does it mean when two sentences have a relationship of paraphrase
Synonymous (both sentences have the same meaning)
what does it mean when two sentences have a relationship of contradiction
if sentence A is true, sentence B is false
what does it mean when two sentences have a relationship of Entailment
A entails B, then B is what A logically follows; but only A entails B but not the other way around
What are the two ways of a sentence having ambiguity
Lexical ambiguity: at least one word in a phrase has more than one meaning
Structural ambiguity: when a sentence has more than one meaning
