week 3- reference, sense, denotation Flashcards
what is a reference
- A relationship between an expression in an utterance and what it stands for/refers to
- An action on the part of a speaker
- It is context-bound
- These different expressions mean different things
- i.e. They have different content.
- However, they all pick out the same entity in this context
example of a reference
- i.e. picture with Napoleon and his followers. People know which one to point at to refer to Napoleon
- In a different context, ‘the man holding the crown’ could pick out someone different.
- Sometimes, it can fail to pick out anything.
what is sense
• Reference partly depends on the “meaning” or sense of expressions like man or person
• The sense of an expression can be thought of as the concept or mental representation associated with the expression.
• Sense is the relationship between a word and other words in the vocabulary
• The sense of a word is defined through its relations with the words around it
- abstract notion in mental lexicon
example of sense
the colour orange
- the colour orange comes from the fruit
- before the word was coined, red and yellow covered what was orange
- yellow and red used to have a broader sense
what is denotation
- Denotation is the basic relationship between a linguistic expression and what ‘it stands for’ in the ‘real world’ (i.e. The relationship between a lexeme and entities, properties, etc. external to the language system).
- If we understand an expression, i.e. know the concept/sense associated with it…
- …then we are able to determine what things (or situations) it can be predicated of
what are the two ways to define denotation?
• Definition by extension: the sum total of the members of the class of animal called ‘rabbit’ - i.e. the total sum of all rabbits past, present, future, and imaginary
• Definition by intension: the class of animal called `rabbit’ which has the set of properties P1, P2, P3, P4, … Pn - i.e. definition by properties of a rabbit
example of denotation by extension
types of rabbit
all of the rabbits ever (cartoon, real, food)
example of denotation by intension
The class of animal called `rabbit’ which has the set of properties A common type of small long-eared animal that lives in a hole
what is the semiotic triangle
concept
(sense)
(means) (determines)
expression (denotes) objects
what does a concept determine?
a concept determines how things are related or categorised. It is a mental representation of a category
discuss reference as speaker intention
- eg. picture of Napoleon and someone incorrectly labels him
- this is incorrect
- but you still understand that they meant to refer to Napoleon
- reference is understood even if the expression is wrong
what did Glottlob Frege find about sense and relation?
the morning star is the evening star
both pointing at venus.
- each EXPRESSION has a different SENSE but they both share the same REFERENCE
how did Lyons define sense?
The sense of a word may be defined as the set, or network, of sense-relations that hold between it and other expressions in the same language. (Lyons 1995)
what is the referring expression?
The relation of reference holds between an expression and [what the expression stands for on particular occasions of its utterance]
- A speaker uses a referring expression to refer to some entity in the ‘(un)real world’
eg. go and get RABBIT from its cage
- I like THAT RABBIT
- don’t eat MY RABBIT
definite expression and example
We tend to refer to objects that are identifiable to the addressee using a definite expression
- you use this when the hearer already knows what you’re referring to
- Let’s go to the Boar’s Head for a pint
indefinite expression and example
If we don’t want to refer to an identifiable object, or don’t think the addressee is in a position to understand which object we’re talking about, we tend to use an indefinite expression
- no specific object or entity
- There must be a good pub around here somewhere!
how is referring guided by the pragmatic principle?
- Referring is guided by the pragmatic principle of cooperative interaction between interactants.
- Referring is context-dependent—the same expression can be intended and interpreted as referring or non-referring depending on the context
what is the cognitive perspective?
• Cognitive perspective: The form of a referring expression is consistent with the assumed knowledge the addressee has about the referent at the moment of the utterance –their cognitive discourse model of the intended referent.
The speaker needs to ensure that both participants are ‘on the same wavelength’ in order for successful communication to take place.
what are the central conditions for semantic features?
• Every semantic feature in contrast with any other must ultimately be shown to have some reflex in the lexical and grammatical behaviour of a linguistic expression for which it is proposed
what is the rationale for semantic components
- Pairs of words may be partially similar and partially different in meaning at the same time
- i.e. mare and stallion both share the semantic component [HORSE], but mare also has the component [FEMALE] whilst stallion has [MALE]
- These semantic components can be spread across a number of lexical items, so [FEMALE] is shared by woman, girl, ewe, vixen, sister etc.
what are semantic primitives?
- the most basic atoms of meaning
- Anna Wierzbicka has postulated a set of around 50 (originally just 11) semantic components that form the base of all meanings.
- All other lexical items can be formed from these base meanings and these primitives cannot be broken down any further.
- Wierzbicka (1996) labelled this set of terms the ‘natural semantic metalanguage’.
what are the 15 types of natural semantic metalanguage?
substantives determiners quantifiers mental predicates speech actions, events existence life evaluators/ descriptors time space logical concepts intensifier, augmentor taxonomy, partonomy similarity
example of substantives
I, YOU, SOMEONE, PEOPLE/PERSON; SOMETHING
example of determiners
THIS, THE SAME, OTHER/ELSE
