Semantics I (Dimensions of Meaning; Lexical Fields & Sense Relations)

Question 1

Semantics

Answer 1

• the meaning and meaning potential of linguistic expressions (words, phrases, sentences)
• context-invariant meaning
• speaker-independent meaning

Question 2

Ferdinand de Saussure’s Dyadic Model of the Linguistic Sign

Answer 2

• form (signifier) and meaning (signified) are connected by a symbolic link
• linguistic signs are said to be symbols (opposed to other types of signs: icon and index) because the relationship between form and meaning is arbitrary and purely conventional

Question 3

Collocations

Answer 3

a grouping of words that co-occur habitually e.g. heavy smoker, deep regret, throw a party

Question 4

Principle of Compositionality (Frege’s Principle)

Answer 4

• the meaning of a complex expression is determined by the meanings of is component parts
  and by the way they are combined
• allows to understand an infinite number of complex expressions even if we have never heard them before

Limits:
- does not apply in the case of idiomatic expressions
- the meaning of an idiom cannot be derived from the meanings of its component parts

Question 5

Types and Facets of Word Meaning - a) descriptive meaning

Answer 5

• semantic aspects of a word that allow to make propositions about things and events in the world
  e.g. the word hand can stand for the ‘hand’ in the real world because the word is linked to the concept HAND in our minds

Question 6

Types and Facets of Word Meaning - b) expressive meaning

Answer 6

semantic aspects of a word by which personal emotions, views and judgments can be conveyed
e.g. interjections, exclamations

Question 7

Types and Facets of Word Meaning - c) social meaning

Answer 7

semantic aspects of a word that provide information about the speaker’s background or that are exploited to establish and maintain social roles and relations
e.g. Hi! Vs. Good afternoon!

Question 8

Sense vs. Reference - Sense

Answer 8

• the inherent conceptual content of a word (descriptive meaning)
• independent of the situational context in which the word is used

Question 9

Sense vs. Reference - Reference

Answer 9

• the entity in the real word that a word picks out and stands for
• context-dependent and variable

Question 10

Intension vs. Extension - Intension

Answer 10

• identical to the notion of sense
• bundle of defining semantic features of a word
  e.g. [+human; +mature; +male] for boy

Question 11

Intension vs. Extension - Extension

Answer 11

the class of elements to which a word can be applied correctly, i.e. all potential referents of the world
e.g. the extension of the word spider includes all spiders in the real world

→ the greater (more complex) the intension, the smaller the extension

Question 12

Denotation vs. Connotation - Denotation

Answer 12

1) in one use, denotation is the same as the notion of extension → the set of entities to which the word can potentially refer
2) in another use, when contrasting with connotation it is the “core meaning” of a word, as opposed to its “secondary meaning”

Question 13

Denotation vs. Connotation - Connotation

Answer 13

• “secondary meanings”
• the subjective cultural and emotional associations that a word evokes
• can vary according to culture, social class, context of use

Question 14

Lexical Fields

Answer 14

• groups of words which cover different (or partly overlapping) areas within the same extralinguistic domain
• share semantic similarity

Question 15

Componential Analysis

Answer 15

• a structuralist method for the description of lexical fields
• defining the meanings of words through a bundle of (usually binary) semantic features

PRO:
- locates semantic similarities/differences within a
lexical field
- proves sense relations
- can be used to show meaning change

CON:
- qualities need not be binary
- risk of circular definitions, since semantic features need to be named
- where to stop → how many semes are required to adequately define a word?

Question 16

Sense Relations - a) Synonymy

Answer 16

• words with the same meanings
  e.g. big-large, freedom-liberty
• words have to be identical in their descriptive meaning

Question 17

partial synonymy

Answer 17

interchangeable in some contexts
only
e.g. deep/profound impression vs.
deep/*profound river

Question 18

absolute synonymy

Answer 18

interchangeable in any contexts
- words that are semantically identical in all respects; including sense, connotations, style and collocations

Question 19

Sense Relations - b) Antonymy

Answer 19

• words with opposite meaning
  e.g. easy – difficult,

Question 20

Complementary antonyms

Answer 20

• either-or relationship: no third possibility, nothing in between
  e.g. pass – fail,

Question 21

Directional antonyms

Answer 21

• involve a change in direction of motion or a change between two opposite states e.g. push – pull

Question 22

Gradable antonyms

Answer 22

• opposite poles on a scale or continuum
  e.g. hot – cold

Question 23

Relational antonyms

Answer 23

describe the same relation from different perspectives

Question 24

Sense Relations - c) Hyponymy

Answer 24

• a hierarchical relationship of inclusion
• subordinate word, the hyponym, is included in the meaning (denotation) of a superordinate word, the hyper(o)nym
  e.g. tree is a hyponym of plant and a hyperonym of pine
• the hyponym is a specific type of the more general hyperonym
• heteronyms (or co-hyponyms) = words at the same hierarchical level in a hyponomy relationship

Question 25

Sense Relations - d) Meronymy

Answer 25

• a hierarchical part-whole relationship
• a word, the meronym, is part of a whole, the holonym
  e.g. tongue is a meronym of mouth, which is a meronym of face
• words at the same hierarchical level in a meronymy relationship are called co-meronyms

Question 26

Pragmatics

Answer 26

• meanings that arise out of particular contexts of language use
• context-sensitive
• implied meanings that speakers intend to communicate beyond
  the literal meaning of their utterances