Semantics (mix) Flashcards
What are the aspects of speech?
stress: relative strength of a syllable (‘contract as a noun & a verb: they signed a CONtract-N / it started to conTRACT-V)
intonation: the use of the pitch of the voice to convey meaning (well used as exclamation and as a question)
What is an alternative way to distinguish between vowels and consonants in English?
Using distribution, we examine the distribution of speech sounds in words, specifically which sounds can follow others. This approach relies on patterns in how sounds appear in sequences within words.
By analyzing which sounds can follow others, we can establish two distinct groups: vowels and consonants. Explain
Vowels tend to appear in positions where they are not restricted by preceding sounds, while consonants often restrict the sounds that can follow them.
How does the distributional approach complement the traditional articulatory distinction?
It helps clarify cases where the classification might otherwise be ambiguous.
A theory in semantics seeks to explain what?
Productivity. In other words, new words and novals. How I was able to produce new meaning.
What is the guiding principle to explain productivity?
The principle of compositionality.
What is the principle of compositionality?
Meaning is a function of component words and how they are combined. (EX, Bob ate the apple)
What are the problems faced by the Principle of compositionality?
1- Speakers meaning VS sentence meaning
2- Contextualized meaning
3- World meaning
4- Individual meaning
Example on Speakers meaning vs Sentence meaning
A: I LOVE you
B: What a wonderful day
A: I HATE you
B: What a wonderful day
Example on Contextualized meaning
“I am hungry” can mean let’s go eat”. However, if said by a homeless person, it can mean “give me money”
Example on World meaning
Please open the window. It can mean “I am hot” or “request to open it.”
This is something we cannot arrive at by simply connecting the meaning of words.
Example on Individual meaning
“I like coffee”
Coffee for some can mean: black, hot, and bitter. For some, it can mean: cold, sweet, and creamy.
What is the 5th problem faced by the principle of compositionality?
Circularity: To define a sentence or a word, in the P.O.C., we use the definitions of these words, which means more words.
how does semantics deal with contextualised meaning?
It does not. This is a subject of pragmatics.
what are the differences between pragmatics and semantics?
Pragmatics: 1- above sentence level, 2- context effect,
semantics: 1- within sentence level, 2- linguistics proper: it is only concerned with actual linguistic knowledge.
Meaning can be applied to what?
Users of language/speakers meaning.
Sentence/word meaning (the part of language or linguistics knowledge)
When it comes to meaning, we look at another aspect, that is?
Whether it is meaningful (has sense) or nonsense. in addition, whether it is informative or not
Ex: it is raining heavily here VS colourless green ideas sleep furiously. One has meaning and the other is nonsense.
On the phone:
A: it is raining here.
B: it is sunny here.
VS
at a bus stop:
A: it is raining here
B: it is indeed.
The first one is meaningful AND informative, while the second is only meaningful and was used to break the ice.
What are the levels of semantic analysis?
1- words
2- sentences
3- utterances
when we start a theory in semantics, we need to specify what?
which level of semantics analysis we are dealing with.
What are the levels of abstraction?
1- Utterances, which is the most basic -> concrete (something physical)
2- Sentence, abstract
3- proposition, highest level of abstraction.
Why is it important to talk about them?
Because when working out a theory in semantics we need to pin point which part of semantic analysis we are dealing with.
What is an utterance?
any act of uttering that the speakers perform. EX: ouch! my god! yeah! i hate apples!
What are the basic features of utterances?
1- they need not be grammatical.
2- uttered by one person at a specific time, location, and event.
3- can be any piece of language.
What does a sentence takes into consideration?
grammer!
proposition can be what?
1- one proposition can be a number of sentences. EX: A: john ate the apple, B: the apple was eaten.
how can we translate a sentence into a proposition?
proposition= form of action + agent + the theme/patient. EX from john ate the apple and apple was eaten: EAT ( John, apple)
What are proposition?
1-the essential core meaning of sentences. 2- It is not tied to language or grammar.
how do we use proposition in our daily life?
in translation, EX, it will take the sentence “John ate the apple” and convert it into a PRO. EAT(John, apple) then it will apply the grammatical rules of the language we are translating to “اكل جون التفاحه”
What do we look at when dealing with word/lexical semantics?
Reference and sense.
What is reference?
It is a speaker’s act. It shows the speaker’s intention. For example, “watch out for THE DOG.”
The expression “the dog” is used to refer to an object or a referent (dog)
what is a sense?
when we say “watch out for the dog” if we are listening, and hear this, we would think of a mental image of the word “dog” this mental image is what we call 0concept/mental representation (sense
part of being able to know the reference is partly based on what?
based on our knowledge of the sense of the thing.
what can determine a referent?
the sense of the expression
what is the semiotic triangle?
It explains how we get the meaning of a linguistic expression.
EX: 1—When we say the ling expression “dog,” an image comes to our mind. This is the sense. Also, this linguistic expression denotes an object in the real world, which is the referent.
what is denoting?
The ling expression stands as a signal that signifies/denotes the object in the real world.
It is purely linguistic, it is not part of what the speaker does. It is what the linguistic expression does all by itself
why doesnt the Semiotic triangle depect reference?
reason for that , the sense of the expression has a stable relation. Every time we mention the word “dog” we get the same image. This image will always determine or limit the possibility of what could be ex, “dog” in the real world.
Reference on the other hand is a speaker’s act. It has to do with the speaker’s intentions, and the context it is used in
An example of the speaker’s act/intention
“Look at the ugly thing”, the speaker intended to refer to a dog, for example, the speaker also had in mind that the listener would be able to understand.
Example on the difference between the stable relation of sense and reference
referring to a teacher as “student” the word student will always mean student, this is what we call a stable relation.
reference on the other hand, takes into consideration the intention, so it is not stable
what is the difference between linguistic expression and referring expression?
Linguistic expression can be anything, such as it, the, the, at, or dog.
The referring expression can only be “dog”
Examples on referring theories
Denotational theory, and representational theory
what is denotational theory
it suggests that there is a direct relation between the ling.expression (word) and the object in the real world.
Meaning = denotation —> relation between word and the object.
what does the denotational theory basically say and what is the problem with it?
semantics is denotation. you understand the meaning of something because you know what it denotes. EX: proper names denote people, verbs denote actions.
the issue with it, is that some words denote nothing. ex: Santa, unicorn etc.
how do we address the issue with denotational theory?
words have sense, and this sense determines the word’s intended referent, and what it can denote. this is representational semantics: meaning = mental representation.
Theories of sense/concept
1- image theory.
2- classical theory/ necessary/sufficient conditions theory.
3- causal theory.
4- prototype theory.
what is the image theory?
it is a theory that suggests when a linguistic expression is uttered, the concept we think of is an actual image, and this image helps us identify which object it refers to.
what is the problem with the image theory?
the problem with taking our concept from an image is that we have different images of the same expression. EX: dog, each has a certain image of a dog. and if we agree on “one image” then how are we going to deal with different looking “dogs”?
what is the classical theory?
when we say “dog” the sense or concept in our minds is a set or list of conditions that the ling.expression must meet.
EX: dog= +alive +tail +4 legged -meow
what is the problem with the classical theory?
we tend to not agree on all of the necessary conditions. In addition, how many of these conditions must be met in order to be considered a part of that group?
it has no fuzziness. Either you are part of it or not.
EX: Bird = +fly +feathers +animal
a chicken meets 2 of these, but cannot fly, is it part of this group or not?
a penguin has none of them except one, and it can swim, and yet it is a bird.
what is the causal theory?
it suggests there is an initial naming event. Ex: someone discovered gold with all of its characters, and gave its name. we as people dont know all of these characters or what “gold” exactly means, and we use it nonetheless.
under it there is: 1- naming event / 2- no care for the details of it / 3- it becomes part of our daily use.
can the causal theory deal with fuzziness?
EX: canary and penguin as they relate to bird?
if we are to say “think of a bird” first thing comes to mind is most likely a canary (here also depends on where u are) , and a penguin is the last thing that comes to mind.
one is a perfect example, and the other is not. This is called asymmetry, which is faced by both the classical and causal theories
what is asymmetry?
it means one concept may be closer example of one category than another.
what is the prototype theory?
it suggests that there are degrees of memberships.
There is a central/prototypical member, which is the one that first comes to mind when we mention “bird” (depends on different cultures)
EX: sparrow, canary, and blue jay are a close example of a bird.
bat and penguin are further away.
how does the prototype theory tackle fuzziness and asymmetry?
ex: sparrow is a good example of a bird because it is close to it and resembles it. Penguin isnt, because it is further away. However, at the same time, a penguin is a very good example of an animal that can swim.
we have three main types of reference
1- definite reference - the man is here
2- indefinite reference - a man is here
3- generic reference - the man is the smartest creature.
what is important in definite reference?
The identity. Ex: “the man is here” the identity of the man is essential, and we know that because:
1- The speaker assumes you know the man, which means it is essential for you to know how to communicate
2- We know it is crucial because first question would come to mind is “what/which man”
For example in indefinite reference, we would ask “why is a man here” to “a man is here”
what is important in generic reference?
the class/category. EX: the man is the smartest creature, a man is the smartest creature.
How can some markers in indefinite reference can be misleading?
EX:
1- “Certain men are smart” Here we are not talking about all people, but rather about a few individuals. Is it important to know them? NO.
2- “This student in my class is smart” “This” emphasizes that there is someone in my class who is smart. Him being smart is the TOPIC
what are the two types of indefinite reference?
1- non-specific reference
2- specific reference
EX: “To open the door, you have to say a word”
if you have to say “any word” ex, hi, you, cat etc, then it is non-specific.
if it is specific, the identity of the word is important, then it is specific.
How can we achieve definite reference?
through:
1- personal pronouns
2- deictic reference
3- proper names
4- definite descriptions
what are deixis?
it is called “pointing language” it relates people and objects to time and place.
what are the types of deixis?
1-person deixis
2- time deixis
3- place deixis
what is person deixis
has three kinds: 1- relates to the speaker or addressee (I, me, you, yours etc)
2- does not relate to speaker or addressee (he, him, her, she, it etc)
3- Honorifics (sir, mam, pro, docter etc)
what are time and place deixis?
1- time deixis connects people/objects to time. EX: last week, next month etc
2- place deixis shows the proximity of one person or object from another person or object. How can we show them? using single words: here, there / expressions: i moved away etc
How can we achieve definite reference?
through proper names
Proper names are purely referential, explain
they establish a relation between a name and a person. the reason we say that is because names have no meanings. And if they do, the meaning does not apply to the holder. In addition, since they are referential we can skip going through sense.
how do proper names work
“Naming and necessity”, a thought experiment, was introduced. EX:
Shakespeare: we all know him as the person who wrote Hamlet. If we ask, “Who wrote Hamlet?” the answer would be Shakespeare.
Now if it wasn’t him who wrote it, now we have no discretion of him. However, we can still relate to him
How and why can we still relate to names, even though we have no description?
Theories of proper names:
1- Description theory
2- Casual theory
explain the theories of proper names
1- description theory states: to know what a name refers to you must know the the description of it. However, as for the Shakespeare example this wont work.
2- casual theory: states that: there is no need for description. But the naming event what matters and that name becomes common sense.
IMO, the casual theory has sense, because we “name” before we have description. However, we cannot have only names, because there are many people with the same name, this is something the description theory fills in
in sense relations, why are we dealing with sense, and not words?
because a word can have multiple senses. EX: bank, and Bank
how do sense relations work and are organised? How is the lexicon structured?
sense relations are divided into:
1- Homonymy and Polysemy
2- Semantic similarity (synonymy)
3- Semantic opposition.
4- Taxonomic or Hierarchical relations
what are homonymy and polysemy
1- homonymy: senses are unrelated. However, they can be related by: 1) sound (homophony) = two unrelated senses, but sound similar. EX: ring and wring / or 2) the orthography (spelling) = two unrelated senses, but look similar. EX: house (as a V) and house (as a N)
what is polysemy
Senses are related. EX: magazine
“the weekly magazine” & “my gun magazine”
What are semantic similarities
we have two: 1- Synonymy: different phonological words, with highly related meanings(senses)EX: sofa/couch. Synonymy doesnt equal same meaning. EX: sofa: means something elegant or formal, couch means something comfortable.
2- Similarities: is a broader term, it does not deal with sameness/similarity of meaning, but relatedness. EX: car/ truck, ship/boat.
these words are related in the sense a car has wheels so does a truck.
What is semantic opposition?
1-Antonymy which is divided into:
2- revers.
3- convers.
1
what are the features of gradable antonymy?
1- gradable
2- truth of one does not imply the falsity of the other.
3- modifiable by intensifiers. EX: very hot or cold, slightly.
4- global dependency, if something is big. EX: big elephant and big any. we mean that it is big for something of type elephant, and ant
what is anyonymy?
Antonymy, which is divided into:
1- simple antonymy: either or not, zero or one relation. EX: dead or alive.
2- gradable antonymy: has some sense of gradation (scaling). EX: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 / hot warm, tepid, cool, cold.
what is reverse and converse?
1- reverse: two words that reverse each other are related in movement and have a reverse effect. EX: explosion and implosion
2- converse: an opposition. There is one action or state and taken from two different points of view. EX: witer —> book <–reader
what is a hierarchical relation?
We have 6 types of it:
1- Taxonomy
2- Hyponymy
3- lexicalised taxonomy/hierarchy
4- part-whole relation (meronymy)
5- member-collection relation
6 portion-mass relation
What is taxonomy
a hierarchical relation that we impose out of nowhere on a continuum. EX: colours.
we tend to put them in some kind of a structure to make them easier to remember.
in it, all the elements on the bottom level are the same, and called “taxonomic sisters”
what is hyponymy and it characters?
a vertical relation between senses.
characteristics of it:
1- levels of conceptual representation
2- inclusion
3- transitivity
explain the characters of hyponymy
1- levels of conceptual representation: if Y is X, then X is the superordinate/hypernym of Y. Y is the subordinate/hyponym of X
2- inclusion: if Y is a hyponym of X, then Y contains the meaning/property of X + something else. EX: canary has the meaning of bird + sing
3- transitivity: if X is a Y, and Y is an Z, then X is a Z and Z. EX: canany is a bird, bird is an animal.
