LEXICAL SEMANTICS

LEXICAL SEMANTICS

1. Traditional semantics

   • "The meaning of an uttenace consists on a sum of the meaning of its parts"
   • "The correspondance between word and a thing is simple and direct"
   • "Words name things or objects in the real world; meaning is always in reference to phenomena outside language"
   • "It's possible to treat the meanings of individual words separately"
   • Basic semantic relationships
     • PARAPHRASE
       • Philip purchased an automobile = Philip bought a car
     • POLYSEMY
       • "Mouth"
         • Opening for eating
         • Part of a river that empties into a sea
     • ANOMALY
       • "He swallowed a dream"
     • ENTAILMENT OR IMPLICATION
       • Alan lives in Toronto → Alan lives in Canada
     • LEXICAL AMBIGUITY
       • "An old friend"
         • Old in age
         • From long time ago
     • HOMONYMY
       • "Sound"
         • noise
         • Body of water
         • Free from defect
     • INCLUSION
       • I like fruit → I like apples
     • MERONYMY (part-whole)
       • week → month
       • branch → tree
     • DENOTATION/ CONNOTATION
       • soldier = warrion
       • ask = question = interrogate
     • CONTRADICTION
       • "I spit out the beer I swallowed"
     • PRESUPOSITION
       • "I'll have ANOTHER cup of coffee"

2. Structural semantics

   • Oppositeness
     • COMPLEMENTARITY
       • single ≠ married
       • asleep ≠ awake
     • ANTONYMY
       • big ≠ small
       • good ≠ bad
     • CONVERSENESS
       • lend ≠ borrow
       • buy ≠ sell
       • SYMMETRY
         • He's married to her / She's married to him = They're married
   • Hyponymy and hyperonymy
     • "Fruit"
       • Apple
       • Lemon
       • Berries
   • Synonymy
     • unhappy = sad
     • present = gift

3. Semantic features / componential analysis

   • Feature analysis of nouns
     • ±COUNT
     • ±COMMON
     • ±ANIMATE
     • ±HUMAN
     • ±MALE
     • ±CONCRETE
     • ±COLLECTIVE
   • Feature analysis of verbal predicates
     • ±DURATIVE
       • Types
         • Achievement
         • Accomplishment
         • Activities
         • State
     • ±STATIVE
     • ±NECESSARY
     • ±TELIC
   • Feature analysis of modals
     • Deontic (action)
       • Ability
       • Permission
       • Duty
       • Responsibility
       • Command
       • Obligation
     • Epistemic (belief)
       • Probability
       • Possibility
       • Potentiality
       • Certainty
       • Inference
       • Prediction

4. Semantic anomalies

   • Selectional restrictions
     • "The rooster laid an egg"
   • Figurative language
     • METONYMY
       • "The church"
       • "The crown"
       • "The law"
     • PERSONIFICATION
       • "The vending machine ate my money"
       • "The idea grabbed me"
     • OXYMORON (paradox)
       • "Living death"
       • "Good grief"
     • SYNESTHESIA
       • "Cold response"
       • "Soothing color"
       • "Red with anger"
     • SYNEDOCHE
       • "new face"
       • "An iron"
     • TAUTOLOGY
       • "A gander is a male goose"
     • METAPHOR
       • "A pregnant pause"
       • "drink the idea"

5. Prototypes / "psichological classification"

   • Category
     • PERIPHERIAL MEMBERS
     • CORE MEMBERS
     • TYPE