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8.) Semantics 1
Fichas del conjunto (34)
- 1Semantics is the study of...meaning
- 2word meaning is __ and __.conventional and arbitrary
- 3ArbitraryThere is no natural link between the form and the meaning
of a word - 4ConventionalWe ‘agree’ on a meaning; we create the link and this
meaning is set within our speech community (cf. different languages) - 5We distinguish between ___ and ____ meaningconceptual and associative
- 6Conceptual
- 7Associative
- 8Words are names for thingsMeaning is the relation between a linguistic expression and a mental category that is used to classify objects, i.e. a concept. (Plag et al. 2015)
- 9The semiotic triangle
- 10semiotic triangle + 'synonyms'
- 11senseThe descriptive meaning or concept of an expression/word
(A sweet baked food made with flour, eggs, sugar...) - 12DenotationThe potential referents of a word/expression
- 13ConnotationThe qualities associated with those referents
(Tasty, soft, celebratory, impressive, unhealthy...) - 14Dimensions of meaning Whose birthday is it?• The boy in the middle
• The boy in front of the cake
• The boy in the dark blue shirt
--> These have different senses (mean different things)
--> They have the same referent (refer to the same entity))
- 15—one sense can refer to different referents
- 16—different senses can refer to the same thing
- 17Word meaning theories Categorisation How do we categorize?The classification of entities into mental categories
• Atoms of meaning: Semantic features
• Fuzzy concepts: Prototype theory - 18semantic features
- 19semantic features circle
- 20semantic features lecture diagram
- 21problem/thing with semantic featureseg. Bachelor:
+human
+male
+adult
-married
those semantic features apply to a bachelor but also to the pope and tarzan who are no bachelors - 22Semantic features advantages• Convenient explanation for meaning overlap
• Represents similarities and differences among semantically- related words
• Allows parallelism between sound/meaning structure
• Seeks to find basic components for defining word meaning - 23semantic features drawbacks• Some features are not atomic
• Componential analysis does not always grasp all there is to word meaning (e.g. bachelor / spinster)
• Which features are essential? Which should be listed? • Sometimes impossible to find core attributes - 24PrototypesWe can speak of things as being ‘prototypical’, i.e. the ‘best example’ of something:
concentric cycle
- 25Multiple meaningsHe hit his head on the doorframe.
She is the head of the finance department.
Are you going to the ball? Can you throw me the ball?
--> one word can have multiple meanings - 26PolysemyHe hit his head on the doorframe.
She is the head of the finance department.
If one form has related meanings, we call this polysemy
--> one dictionary entry for polysemous words - 27HomonymyAre you going to the ball? Can you throw me the ball?
If one form has multiple unrelated meanings, we call this homonymy
-> separate dictionary entries for homonymous words - 28What is homophony?--> When two or more words have different forms (i.e. different
spellings), but are pronounced the same:
• Sun, son
• Beach, beech
• Through, threw •...
--> special case of homonymy - 29SynonymyWhat is synonymy?
-->When two or more words have different forms, but have the
same meaning:
• She appeared/seemed to be a little distracted.
• I phoned/called her last week.
• He’s a nice/pleasant guy. - 30Synonymy Problem?Problem: Do the words really mean exactly the same thing? • He’s a nice/pleasant guy.
Problem: Do the words mean the same thing in different contexts? • She appeared/seemed to be a little distracted.
• The mirage suddenly appeared/*seemed in front of me.
Only one meaning of polysemous words can have a synonym. -Only one meaning of polysemous words can have a synonym.
--> Head:
The head of the team.
The leader of the team. (...)
I hit my head on the door.
I hit my leader on the door??
If we are really precise, we can conclude that there are no true synonyms, only “near-synonyms”.
Cf. “He’s a nice/pleasant guy.” ->Subtle differences in meaning - 31See you tomorrow, bye! I want to buy myself a sandwich. what?Homophony
- 32Could you turn on the light? This parcel is rather light.Homonymy
- 33If you’re tired, you could lie on the sofa. Don’t trust him, he will only lie to you.Homonymy
- 34You did a great job there! My mother’s recently got a new job.Polysemy
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- (Semantics) Linguistics Fichas sobre 8.) Semantics 1, creado por Lisza Neumeier el 17/11/2016.
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- Lisza Neumeier
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