Week 9 Semantics

Question 1

What is semantics?

Answer 1

• Knowledge of words including their meaning and relationships among words (lexical semantics)
• Meaning of syntactic units larger than a word is called phrasal or sentential semantics
(compositional semantics)

Question 2

What is ‘reference’ in semantics?

Answer 2

• Meaning of word comes from associating it with
the real object, concept or individual it refers to
(the referent)
• Referring expressions used to identify a referent
• noun phrases (eg. the little dog, that girl, the chair)
• proper names (Paul, Mexico), pronouns in a noun
phrase (I, you, him)
• can have definite (my doctor) or indefinite (a doctor)
reference
• Can test referent knowledge through picture
naming

Question 3

What is ‘sense’ in semantics?

Answer 3

• Abstract representation stored in mental lexicon
• Sometimes also termed “concept”
• Suggests the properties the entity may have
• Similar to other entities
• Distinguishing from other entities
• Help determine what the referent is
• e.g., Orange Juice
• Liquid produced by squeezing the round reddishyellow (orange), sweet or bitter, edible citrus fruit

Question 4

What is mental lexicon?

Answer 4

Mental Lexicon: A speaker’s mental dictionary or repository of speaker’s knowledge about words (and morphemes) – including their meaning

Question 5

What is lexeme?

Answer 5

Lexeme: representation of a word in its base ‘dictionary entry’ form – linked to concept & has not taken morphological information

Question 6

What is Lexeme’s linguistic word form

Answer 6

Lexeme’s Linguistic Form: or Word form

eg how it’s written, how it’s pronounced

Question 7

Name some sematic features?

Answer 7

• physical properties (eg appearance, size, colour, animate, inanimate)
• Group or category it belongs to
• Function (what does it do?)
• Location (where does it belong?)
  
  • Action (what does it do?)

Question 8

What are sematic features?

Answer 8

Semantic features = properties that help us to define / analyse / explain what a word means

Question 9

What are semantic categories?

Answer 9

A semantic category is a grouping of items in a language that are interrelated • E.g. Fruit, Animals, Furniture, Vehicles, Sports,

Question 10

What are core features?

Answer 10

Core features: semantic features that all items in the category share

Eg Animal: +animate +breathes

Question 11

What are prototypical features?

Answer 11

Prototypical features: semantic features that most (and more typical) items share

Eg Animal (dog): +fur, +four leg

Question 12

What are distinctive features?

Answer 12

Distinctive features: semantic feature or features that differentiates between category members (or between concepts generally) • Animal (Dog v Cat): canine v feline; barks v meows

Question 13

What is a synonym?

Answer 13

Different word form, similar meaning, shared semantic properties

Question 14

What is an antonym

Answer 14

The opposite

Question 15

What is hyponomy

Answer 15

Different word, more specific term is part of a superordinate term (hierarchical or class inclusion)

Eg

Insect – fly

Animal – dog

Dog – silky terrior

Question 16

What is meronymy?

Answer 16

Part – whole relationship

Eg

Nose – face

Wheel - car

Question 16

What is meronymy?

Answer 16

Part – whole relationship

Eg

Nose – face

Wheel - car

Question 17

What is a homonym?

Answer 17

homonyms - spelt the same, pronounced the same, different meanings

eg letter (mail vs. alphabet)

bat (cricket, animal)

Question 18

What is a homophone?

Answer 18

homophones - same sound, different spelling and meaning

eg tale, tail

Question 19

What is a homograph?

Answer 19

homographs - spelt same, pronounced differently, different meaning

Eg lead (metal, coming first in race)

Question 20

What is polysemy?

Answer 20

Polysemy - spelt the same, pronounced the same, different but related meanings

Eg wood

Question 21

What are the thematic roles?

Answer 21

Agent

Patient

Theme

Instrument

Question 22

What does agent refer to? (In thematic roles)

Answer 22

Agent – the (usually animate) doer of the action (sometimes called actor)

Question 23

What does patient refer to? (In thematic roles)

Answer 23

• Patient – receives or undergoes action

Question 24

What does theme refer to? (In thematic roles)

Answer 24

Theme - an entity to be moved or that moves from one location to another

Question 25

What does instrument refer to? (In thematic roles)

Answer 25

Instrument – instrument (inanimate) used to achieve the action

Question 26

What does experiencer refer to? (In thematic roles)

Answer 26

Experiencer – the entity who receives emotional or sensory input

Question 27

What does beneficiary refer to? (In thematic roles)

Answer 27

Beneficiary – the entity for whose benefit the action occurs

Question 28

What does source refer to? (In thematic roles)

Answer 28

• Source – starting point for the action

Question 29

What does goal refer to? (In thematic roles)

Answer 29

Goal – end point of the action

Question 30

What does location refer to? (In thematic roles)

Answer 30

• Location – where the action happens

Question 31

What is a metaphor?

Answer 31

saying something is something it is not (literally) - compares one thing with another

Eg

• time is money
• you’re a peach
• love is a battlefield

Question 32

What is an idiom?

Answer 32

set phrase whose meaning is not predictable via meaning of individual words

Eg

• take the bull by the horns
• ahead of the curve
• eat my hat
• cut it out

Question 32

What is lexical ambiguity?

Answer 32

Lexical ambiguity in a sentence occurs when at least one word/phrase has more than one meaning:

Eg

• Milk drinkers are turning to powder.
• They walked towards the bank.

We need context to determine meaning