Week 3 - Meaning potential and Phraseology

Question 1

Define semantic components

Answer 1

A contrastive or shared part of the meaning of a lexical unit.

Eg. Human is a shared component for man, woman, boy and girl.

Man is a contrastive component to woman

Question 2

What is componential analysis?

Answer 2

• Lexical items down the left, semantic components across the top
• Put a plus if the component relates to the lexical item
• Put a dash if the component doesn’t relate to the lexical item
• Some lexical items cannot be distinguished by semantic components

Eg. Cake would be + bake, + oven, - boil

Question 3

Define lumper

Answer 3

• Lumpers lump senses together (polysemy, one lexeme, multiple senses)

Question 4

Define splitter

Answer 4

• Splitters split senses apart (homonymy, separate lexemes that look the same)

Question 5

How did Hanks define semantic components?

Answer 5

Separate, combinable, exploitable entities

Question 6

What is meaning potential?

Name
Date

Answer 6

Hanks 2004

• A verb does not have meaning until it is put in context, it has meaning potential
• It has the potential to mean something but we cannot know what it means exactly until it is in context

Question 7

Define paradigmatic

Answer 7

A set of systematically alternating items.

• Differentiation
• Vertical slot can be changed
• Systematically alternating items

Question 8

Define syntagmatic

Answer 8

• Combination
• Relationship between things
• Horizontal

A set of items used systematically in combination

Question 9

How do we get meaning?

Answer 9

• In isolation they have meaning potential
• Meaning potential consists of semantic components
• Semantic components are activated in a given context to give meaning

Question 10

Define phraseology

Answer 10

• The study of fixed or semi-fixed expressions

- Idioms, MWE’s and phrasal verbs

Question 11

Define collocation/collocate

Eg.

Name

Answer 11

An individual or sequence of lexemes that co-occur frequently.

• Certain words are favoured to use with others, powerful tea makes sense but wouldn’t be used

Eg. Green grass, strong tea (Halliday)

Question 12

Define colligation

Eg.

Name
Date

Answer 12

The grouping of words based on the way they function in a syntactic structure.

Eg. Budge in English is attracted to the structure:
modal auxiliary verb + BUDGE

Sinclair 1998

Question 13

Define clause

Answer 13

• Made up of phrases
• Grammatical unit below the sentence
• Combined to create sentences

Question 14

Define SPOCA

Answer 14

Subject

Predicator

Object

Complement

Adjunct

Question 15

Define subject

Answer 15

Noun Phrase which refers to the entity which is the

topic of the sentence. Eg. The dog

Question 16

Define predicator

Answer 16

A Verb Phrase which expresses the action/process in the sentence. Eg. Ate

Question 17

Define object

Answer 17

A Noun Phrase which refers to the entity which is the recipient of the action/process. Eg. The bone

Question 18

Define complement

Answer 18

A Noun Phrase or Adjective phrase that completes the meaning of a predicate. Eg. very quickly

Question 19

Define adjunct

Answer 19

Specifies some condition related to the Predicator, e.g. when, where or how some action occurred. Eg. Last night

Question 20

Define transitive

Answer 20

The verb takes a direct object

Question 21

Define intransitive

Answer 21

The verb doesn’t take a direct object

Question 22

Define norms

Name

Answer 22

• A pattern of ordinary usage which has a particular meaning

- Pattern consists of a valency or structure and with preferred collocations