Semantics: The meaning of words

Transcription

1 Semantics 91 10/24/04 Semantics: The meaning of words Three views of meaning: 1. definitions, which are most highly valued culturally 2. lists of features, which do not actually define an entity (as in 1 above), but instead seem to be the characteristics of the proto-typical (as in 3 below) 3. proto-types, with violations of the proto-typical being essentially what we code in describing an entity I. Definitions: Dictionary definitions: The nature of dictionary definitions: sense (denotation), connotation, register (social), collocational status Webster s New World Dictionary of the American Language. Warner Books Paperback edition lurk assassinate bird -extremely hard to define 1. to stay hidden, ready to attack, etc. 2. to move furtively furtively: done or acting in a stealthy manner, sneaky -specific characteristics to murder as assassins do [n < OE. bridd, young bird] any of a class of warm-blooded vertebrates with feathers and wings II. III. Lists of features: Proto-typicality IV. categories of relationships: antonym synonym superordinate vs. hyponym associations homophony vs. polysemy

2 Semantics 92 Polysemy refers to entries in the dictionary that are stored as variants of the same word, implying that we are talking about the same word with interrelated meanings. Homophony refers to different words with coincidentally identical pronunciations. From a modern, non-historical perspective compare the following definitions. Which are polysemy and which are (now) homophony? plant n. [ < L. planta, a sprout] 1. a living thing that cannot move voluntarily, has no sense organs, and synthesizes food from carbon dioxide. 2. a soft-stemmed organism of this kind, as distinguished from a tree or shrub. 3. the machinery, buildings, etc. of a factory, etc. vt. 1. to put into the ground to grow 2. to set firmly into position. 3. to settle; establish. 4. [Slang] to place (a person or thing) in such a way as to trick, trap, etc. vague versus ambiguous IV. Storage in the mind Semantics Table 1: Word relationships word presented responses analyses black above kitten fruit warm alive sofa

3 Semantics 93 Table 1: Word relationships man Terms (< Brinton 2000: ) Paraphrase: two phrases having the same meaning. Lupe bought a car is a paraphrase of Lupe purchased an automobile and vice versa. (cf. synonymy two words having the same meaning) Entailment, or implication: one statement entails another when the second follows from the first. Sally lives in Chico entails that Sally lives in California. Note that this relationship is a one-way relationship, for example, Sally lives in California does not entail that Sally lives in Chico. Contradiction: if one is true, the other must be false. He is an orphan contradicts His parents are living or I spit out the beer I swallowed contradicts itself. Anomaly: Without meaning (given normal expectations about the world). From linguistics of the 50s and 60s: Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. Or, more mundanely, The table laughed. (Figurative language and anomaly often overlap; this will be discussed later). Lexical ambiguity: a word allows more than one meaning in context. Example: an old friend, a large bill, he lost his head, they gave him a hand and so on. Note that the ambiguity may simply be a different reference or it may be metaphorical. Denotation/connotation: in addition to its literal or referential meaning a word may also evoke feelings, attitudes, opinions (connotations). Brinton s examples: soldier warrior insect bug relax loaf hound dog generous extravagant illness disease ailment condition fat obese plump portly stout substantial Brinton s examples: word presented responses analyses a draft a breeze plans schemes air blowing through a window when it is cold and undesired air blowing through a window when it is cool and desired what Bush and Kerry both claim that themselves have careful foresight what Bush and Kerry both claim that the other has ill-thought-out, perhaps devious or manipulative

4 Semantics 94 Polysemy: more than one meaning out of context, but the meanings are related to one another. court: 1. enclosed area 2. retinue of a sovereign 3. judicial tribunal mouth: 1. opening through which animates take food 2. the part of a river that opens into a lake or sea fire: (various) bug: (various) Homonymy: two that sound and are spelled alike but different in meaning: bark 1. dog 2. tree sound 1. noise 2. body of water band 1. thin strip for enclosing an object 2. group of people swallow 1. bird 2. ingest homophony: two words that sound the same (but are not necessarily spelled the same) but which have different meanings: (note that homonymy is a subset of homophony). horse hoarse and so on Part-whole: (meronymy) Presuppositions: A presupposition is assumed before hand by an utterance. The test is whether the presupposed element is true not only when the utterance is positive but also when it is negated. Exercise: Attempt to discover what the sentences below presuppose. === 1. I realize that my husband doesn't love me. 2. I'm afraid that my son is going to turn out to be as lazy as my husband. 3. If you are going to be as unreasonable as you were last time we discussed this, then let's skip it. 4. If Judy has to be so possessive, then I'd rather not be involved with her. 5. If Boyd enjoyed my company, he wouldn't have left so early. 6. If you knew how much I suffered, you wouldn't act this way. (3 interesting presuppositions; I suffer and two others) 7. Since my problem is trivial, I'd rather not take up valuable group time.

5 Semantics 95 Synonymy. True synonymy is relatively rare, if not nonexistent. Sometimes words have the same sense but have different social values (registers), e.g. spit and expectorate. The words sofa and couch might be as close as possible to synonyms, although I suspect for many speakers a regional difference exists. unhappy/sad correct/right prisoner/convict flourish/thrive huge/enormous casual/informal present/gift donate/contribute pedigree refers to animals; ancestry and genealogy primarily to humans, and lineage and descent refer to either horse/steed/nag rain/showers/sprinkles/downpour Connotations, levels of formality, and dialectal distribution may differ: Antonymy. sofa, couch, chesterfield, davenport privy, loo, w.c., bath/rest/washroom, toilet Among the types of antonymy are (1) binary antonymy. E.g. dead and alive are binary in the sense that the truth value of one excludes the truth value of the other. single married male female dead alive pregnant not pregnant legal illegal on off asleep awake pass fail true false raw cooked (2) Another category is gradable antonyms such as the cold versus hot continuum. It is obvious that temperatures are gradable. big small/little old young/new high low wide, broad narrow thick thin, narrow proper improper fat thin good bad small large many few

6 Semantics 96 hot cold rich poor warm cool sweet sour/bitter smart dumb noisy quiet wet dry intelligent unintelligent Many of these, of course, are relative to the environment: big for a child, hot for the winter, and so on (3) A third kind is relational antonyms, which compare the same relationship but from different points of view: above and below. above/below near/far buy/sell give/receive husband/wife brother/sister host/guest employer/employee (3b) married to be identical to related to neighbors with collide with Categories and members: the superordinate and the subordinate (hyponymy). The pair fruit and grapes represents a category and an example of a category. This is referred to as hyponymy. That is, the meaning of one word is included in the meaning of another. That is, to give one example, fruit is a hyponym of food; for another example, grapes is the hyponym, while fruit is the superordinate term. fish trout halibut sole salmon snapper cod coho spring sockeye chinook Note that the relationships include hierarchies within hierarchies, including multiple levels of associations. The level of generalization at which we function depends upon what we are doing. Certainly, in language acquisition, the more basic terms tend to be introduced before the more specific. On the other hand, there is a level of generality that is appropriate for the occasion. It is striking for someone to use a term that is inappropriately specific or inappropriately general; for example, I am starving. I only had a little food for lunch borders on the too general, while I am starving. I only had a small Macintosh apple and some imported French brie for lunch is too specific. Texts are particularly interesting with respect to level shifting.

7 Semantics 97 [distinguish fortuitous homophony from lexicologically interesting polysemy] Fred Gwynne s The King Who Rained