Sense and reference

语⾔学第五章SemanticsChapter Five SemanticsTeaching Focus1. What is semantics2. Meanings of “meaning”3. Sense and reference4. Sense relations5. Componential analysis --- a way to analyze lexical meaning6. Predication analysis --- a way to analyze sentence meaning1. What is semantics?Semantics is the study of meaning in language.Or specifically, it is the study of the meaning of linguistic units, words and sentences in particular.Different focus of the study in semantics:Logical semantics/philosophical semantics: Logicians and philosophers have tended to concentrate on a restricted range of sentences (typically, statements, or …propositions?) within a single language.Linguistic semantics: The linguistic approach is broader in scope, aiming to study the properties of meaning in a systematic and objective way, with reference to as wide a range of utterances and languages as possible.2. Meanings of “Meaning”The word “meaning” has different meanings.It has been studied for thousands of years by philosophers, logicians and linguists.The naming theory: Plato & AristotleWords are just names or labels for things.Can you show the limitations of this theoryThe semantic triangle: C. K. Ogden & I. A. Richards (1923) → The Meaning of Meaning.There is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to. In the interpretation of meaning they are linked through the mediation of concepts in the mind. ?thought/reference (concept)symbolizes refers tosymbol/form referent(word, phrase) stands for(object)Geoffrey Leech (1974, 1981). Semantics: The Study of Meaning. Seven types of meaning:Conceptual meaningConnotative meaningSocial meaningAffective meaning associative meaningReflected and meaningCollocative meaningThematic meaning(1) Conceptual meaningIt makes the central part of meaning.Refers to logical, cognitive or denotative content.Concerned with the relationship between a word and the thing it denotes, or refers to.(2) Connotative meaningThe communicative value an expression has by virtue of what it refers to, over and above its purely conceptual content.A multitude of additional, non-criterial properties, including not only physical characteristics but also psychological and social properties, as well as typical features. ?Involving the …real world? experience one associates with an expression when one uses or hears it.Unstable: they vary considerably according to culture, historical period, and the experience of the individual.Any characteristic of the referent, identified subjectively or objectively, may contribute to the connotative meaning of the expression which denotes it.(3) Social meaningWhat a piece of language conveys about the social circumstances of its use.Dialect: the language of a geographical region or of a social class.Time: the language of the 18th c., etc.Province: language of law, of science, of advertising, etc.Status: polite, colloquial, slang, etc.Modality: language of memoranda, lectures, jokes, etc.Singularity: the style of Dickens, etc.domicile: very formal, official steed: poeticresidence: formal horse: generalabode: poetic nag: slanghome: general gee-gee: baby language (4) Affective meaningReflecting the personal feelings of the speaker, including his attitude to the listener, or his attitude to something he is talking about.Youre a vicious tyrant and a villainous reprobate, and I hate you for it!Im terribly sorry to interrupt, but I wonder if you would be so kind as to lower your voices a little. orWill you belt up.(5) Reflected meaningArises in cases of multiple conceptual meaning, when one sense of a word forms part of our response to another sense. When you hear …click the mouse twice, you think of Gerry being hit twice by Tom so you feel excited.Many taboo terms are result of this.(6) Collocative meaningThe associations a word acquires on account of the meanings of words which tend to occur in its environment.pretty: girl, boy, woman, flower, garden, colour, village, etc.handsome: boy, man, car, vessel, overcoat, airliner, typewriter, etc.(7) Thematic meaningWhat is communicated by the way in which a speaker or writer organizes the message, in terms of ordering, focus, and emphasis.Mrs Bessie Smith donated the first prize.The first prize was donated by Mrs Bessie Smith.They stopped at the end of the corridor.At the end of the corridor, they stopped.3. Sense and referenceSense and reference are two terms often encountered in the study of word meaning. They are two related but different aspects of meaning.Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form. It is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form; it is abstract and de-contextualized. It is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are interested in.Reference means what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience.Every word has a sense, but not every word has a reference.Grammatical words like but, if ,and do not refer to anything. And words like God, ghost and dragon refer to imaginary things. Therefore it is suggested that we should study meaning in terms of sense rather than reference.4. Sense relationsSynonymygradableAntonymy complementaryconverseHyponymyPolysemy4.1 SynonymySynonymy refers to the sameness or close similarity of meaning. Words that are close in meaning are called synonyms. Complete synonyms are rare. According to the way they differ, synonyms can be divided into the following groups:i. Dialectal synonyms --- used in different regional dialectsBritish English American Englishautumn falllift elevatorflat apartmenttube undergroundii. Stylistic synonyms --- differing in stylekid, child, offspringkick the bucket, pop off, die, pass away, deceaseiii. Synonyms that differ in their emotive or evaluative meaningcollaborator, accompliceiv. Collocational synonymsaccuse, chargev. Semantically different synonymssurprise, amaze, astound4.2 AntonymyThe term antonymy is used for oppositeness of meaning. Words that are opposite in meaning are antonyms.There are three types of antonyms.i. Gradable: Can be modified by adverbs of degree like very; Can have comparative forms; Can be asked with how. good, badyoung, oldhot, coldii. Complementary: the denial of one member of the pair implies the assertion of the other.alive, deadmale, femalepresent, absentiii. Converse or relational: exhibit the reversal of a relationship between the pair; one presupposes the other. husband, wifebuy, sellbefore, after4.3 HyponymyHyponymy refers to the sense relation between a more general word and a more specific word. It is a kind of inclusiveness. Superordinate: the more general wordHyponyms: the more specific wordsCo-hyponyms: hyponyms of the same superordinateflower, rose, lilyanimal, cat, dogfurniture, bed, desk4.4 PolysemyPolysemy refers to the sense relation that the same one word has more than one meaning. Such a word is called a polysemic word.table: a piece of furniture; orderly arrangement of facts, figures5. Componential analysis---a way to analyze lexical meaningComponential analysis is a way proposed by the structural semanticists to analyze word meaning.The approach is based upon the belief that the meaning of a word can be dissected into meaning components, calledsemantic features.HUMANman (ADULT, MALE)woman (ADULT, FEMALE)boy (NON-ADULT, MALE)girl (NON-ADULT, FEMALE)father: PARENT (x, y) & MALE (x)x is a parent of y, and x is male.take: CAUSE (x, (HA VE (x, y)))x causes x to have y.give: CAUSE (x, (~HA VE (x, y)))x causes x not to have y.Componential analysis provides an insight into the meaning of words and a way to study the relationships between words that are related in meaning.6. Predication analysis --- a way to analyze sentence meaningThe meaning of a sentence is obviously related to the meanings of the words used in it, but it is also obvious that sentence meaning is not simply the sum total of the words.Predication analysis: proposed by the British linguist G. LeechThe basic unit in this method is called prediction. It is the abstraction of the meaning of a sentence.A predication consists of argument(s) and predicate.An argument is logical participant in a predication, largely identical with the nominal element(s) in a sentence.A predicate is something said about an argument or it states the logical relation linking the arguments in a sentence. Tom smokes.Tom is smoking.Tom has been smoking. TOM (SMOKE)Does Tom smokingTom does not smoke. argument predicateKids like apples. → KID, APPLE (LIKE)It is hot. → (BE HOT)AssignmentsHow can words opposite in meaning be classified To which category does each of the following pairs of antonyms belong?north/south vacant/occupiedliterate/illiterate above/belowdoctor/patient wide/narrowpoor/rich father/daughterhonest/dishonest normal/abnormalExercisesI. Multiple choice.1. The naming theory seems applicable to ___ only.A. verbsB. adjectivesC. adverbsD. nouns2. Hyponyms of the superordinate “flower” do not include “___”.A. wardrobeB. tulipC. lilyD. rose3. Predication analysis is a way to analyze ___ meaning.A. phonemeB. wordC. phraseD. sentenceII. Make judgments (true or false)1. In the diagram of the classic semantic triangle, the word “symbol” refers to the object in the world of experience.2. When the same one word has more than one meaning we call it a polysemic word.3. Complete synonyms, i.e. synonyms that are mutually substitutable under all circumstances, are rare in English.。

名词解释1 Semantic triangle :semantic triangle suggested by ogden and Richards the symbol or form refers to the linguistic elements the referent refers to the object in the word of experience and thought or reference refers to concept2Sense : sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of a linguistic form the collection of all its features3Context it is generally considered as constituted by the knowledge shared by the speaker and the heaver4 Speech community a speech community is a group of people who form a community and share the same language or a particular variety of a language5Phonetics is defined as the study of the phonic medium of language6Phonetic similarity means all the allophemes of a phoneme must bear same phonetically resemblance7 The allophones of the same phoneme must be phonetically similar and in complementary distribution8Design features of language 1) arbitrariness : there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds 2) duality :language is a system which consists of two sets of structures or two levels 9 Phoneme is a phonological it is a unit that is of distinctive value it is an abstract unit it is not any particular sound but rather it is represented or realized by a certain phone in a certain phonetic context10What is inflectional morphemes there are bound morphemes which are for the most part purely grammatical makers and signify such concepts as tense number case and so on11Sapir-whorf hypothess 1) this is the well-known linguistic relativity .sapir and whorf believe that language filters people’s perception and the way they categorize their experiences this inter dependence of language and thought is now known as sapir –whorf hypothesis . 2)there are two mainly different interpretations about the hypothesis ;a strong version and a weak version12Inter language was established as learners’independent system of the second languages which is of neither the native language nor the second language but a continuum or approximation from one extreme of his native language to the other of the second language13 Assimilation rule :the assimilation rule assimilates one sound to another by copying a feature of a sequential phoneme thus making the two phones similar14 Intonation when pitch stress and sound length are tied to the sentence rather than the word in isolation they are collectively known as intonation15 XP RuleIn all four phrases, the specifier is attached at the top level to the left of the head while the complement is attached to the right. These similarities can be summarized with the help of the template below , in which X stands for the head N ,V ,A or P. To capture the appropriate placement of specifiers , heads and complements, we can formulate a single general phrasal structural rule as below instead of four separate rules. The XP Rule : XP ---( specifier ) X (complement).NP--(Det) N (PP), VP-- (Qual) V (NP) ,AP---(Deg) A (PP) ,PP---(Deg) P (NP) Linguistic：is generally defined as the scientific study of language Language：is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. Phonology：is essentially the description of the systems and patterns of speech sounds in a language.Phone：a phone is a phonetic unit or segmentPhoneme：a phoneme is a phonological unit; it is a unit of distinctive value , it is an abstract unit.Allophone：the different phones which can represent a phoneme in different phone tic environments are called the allophones of that phoneme.Morpheme：the most basic element of meaning.Derivational morpheme：Inflectional morpheme：Syntax：A branch of linguistics that studies how words are combined to form sentences and rules that govern the formation of sentencesSemantics：the study of meaning from the linguistic point of viewSense and Reference：Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form, abstract and de-contextualized. Reference means what a linguistic f orm refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with the relati onship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience1．Speech community is a group of people who form a community and share the same language or a particular variety of a language.2．Speech variety refers to any distinguishable form of speech used by a speaker or a group of speakers.3．In sociolinguistic studies three types of speech variety are of special interest ,i.e.regional dialects, sociolects, and registers.4．Two people who were born and brought up in the same geographical region and speak the same regional dialect may speak differently because of a number of social factors, the social factors contain age, gender, ethnic affliation, educational background , class etc. 5．Register, the register referring to the variety of language related to one’s occupation, Halliday uses the world in a much broader sense. The type of language which is selected as appropriate to the type of situation is a register.6．Halliday distinguishes three social variables that determine the register: field of discourse, tenor of discourse, and mode of discourse.7．Pidgin: a pidgin is a special language variety that mixes or blends languages it is used by people who speak different languages for restricted purposes such as trading. 8．Creole: when a pidgin has become the primary language of a speech community, and is acquired by the children of that speech community as their native language, it is said to have become a creole.9．Lingual franca: a language used by two speakers, but it is different from neither of thenative speakers.10. Sapir—Whorf Hypothesis: there are mainly two different interpretations about thehypothesis: a strong version and a weak one. While the strong version believes that language patterns determine people’s thinking and behavior, the weak one holds that the former influences the later.11. Interlanguage : the interlanguage was established as learners’ independent system of thesecond language, which is of neither the native language nor the second language, but a continuum or approximation from one extreme of his native language to the other of the second language .12. Suprasegmental features contains Stress, Tone, Intonation13. Phonetics divided Articulatory phonetics, Acoustic phonetics, Auditory (or perceptual ).14. Halliday divided the functions of language system contains three macrofunctions ---- theideational, the interpersonal, and the textual.判断Culture reflects a total way of life of a people in a community填空1 Social factors such as 1 age2 gender3 occupation4 educational back round2 speech variety 1 regional dialects 2 sociolects3 registers3 there are 3branches of phonetics are called 1 articulatory phonetics 2 auditory phonetics 3 acoustic phonetics4 language and parde 语言和言语提出者（saussure ）5competence and performance 语言能力和言语行为（chomsky）6 all child language acquisition theories talk about the roles of two factors to different degrees : The (linguistic environment ) children are exposed to and (the age ) they start to learn the language。

sense and reference的例子(一)sense and reference（意义和指称）是语义学中的一个重要概念，用于描述一个词语或短语的意义和所指的对象。

下面是一些关于sense and reference的例子，以帮助理解这个概念。

1. Sense and Reference：例子1•概念：sense是词语或短语在认知中的意义，是对概念的描述；•举例：词语”狗”的sense是“具有四条腿、长毛、能吠叫、是人类宠物或工作伙伴的动物”，它表示人们对狗这种动物的认知；•对应的reference是指，所有符合这个概念的实际对象，即现实中的狗。

2. Sense and Reference：例子2•概念：sense是词语或短语的指称的方式，即所选择的特定对象；•举例：词语”英国女王”的sense是“伊丽莎白二世，现任英国女王”，这个sense是对英国女王这一职位的特定选择；•对应的reference是指，伊丽莎白二世这个具体的人物，她是真正的英国女王。

3. Sense and Reference：例子3•概念：sense是词语的一种解释或定义，可以使用其他词语来解释一个词的含义；•举例：词语”爱情”的sense可以通过使用其他词来解释，比如“一种深情的、无私的、情感上的联系”；•对应的reference是指，人们在现实中所体验到的爱情的各种具体情境和关系。

4. Sense and Reference：例子4•概念：sense是词语或短语的内在意义，可以通过语境来确定；•举例：词语”苹果”的sense在不同的语境中可能有不同的解释，比如在水果市场上，它的sense是“一种红色或绿色的水果”；•对应的reference是指，这个具体的词所代表的水果。

5. Sense and Reference：例子5•概念：sense是词语或短语的外部语义，可以从语音、形态或上下文中推断出意义；•举例：词语”跑”的sense可以通过上下文推断，比如在句子“他在操场上跑”中，它的sense是“用脚快速地移动”；•对应的reference是指，这个具体的动作行为，即在操场上快速移动的那个人。

语言学教程胡壮麟（第四版）第5章Chapter 5 Meaning第一部分Meanings of “meaning”一、The Study of Meaning：1. Meaning:refers to what a language expresses about the world we live in or any possible or imaginary world.2. Connotation: opposite to denotation, means the properties of the entity a word denotes. For example, the connotation of human is "biped", "featherless", and "rational", etc.3. Denotation: involves the relationship between a linguistic unit and the non-linguistic entity it refers to. So it is equivalent to referential meaning. For example, the denotation of human is any person such as John and Mary.二、Seven types of meaning (Recognized by Leech) 三大类七种论述1.Conceptual meaning:Logical, cognitive, or denotative content of language. It is the essential part of language and similar to literal meaning.E.g. What's this? It's a … (desk, boy, dog…). When you answer this question, you are expressing the conceptual meaning of language.Associative meaning: same in conceptual meaning but different in implication.2.Connotative meaning:What is communicated by virtue of what language refers to.E.g. “mother” implies love, “blue” implies depressed.3.Social meaning:What is communicated of the social circumstances of language use. It mainly involves dialect and status.E.g. Different style of words like horse and pony imply different social circumstances of language use.4.Affective meaning:What is communicated of the feelings and attitudes of the speaker/ writer. It involves the choice of commendatory or derogatory meanings of words.E.g. The difference between statesman and politician is connotative because the former is commendatory and the latter is derogatory .5.Reflected meaning:What is communicated through association with another sense of the same expression.E.g. Click the mouse twice. (Mouse may remind you of either the part of a computer or a kind of animal who is clicked twice by Tom in the cartoon Tom and Jerry.)6.Collocative meaning:What is communicated through association with words which tend to occur in the environment of another word.E.g. Different meanings of paper are expressed in its collocation with "exam, white and daily"7.Thematic meaning:What is communicated by the way in which the message is organized in terms of order and emphasis.E.g. I hit a dog. A dog was hit by me.1第二部分Referential theory1.The referential theory:The theory of meaning which relates the meaning of a word to the thing it refers to, or stands for, is known as the referential theory. We explain the meaning of a word by pointing to thething it refers to.E.g. proper nouns and definite noun phrases.Problem with this theory: the meaning of desk:When we explain the meaning of desk by pointing to the t hing it refers to, we don’t mean a desk must be of the particular size, shape, color and material as the desk we are pointing to at the moment of speaking. We are using this particular desk as an example of something more general.2.Semantic triangle:A th eory which employs the notion “concept”. Ogden and Richards presented the classic “Semantic Triangle”. They argue that the relation between a word and a thing it refers to is not direct. It is mediated by the concept. In a diagram form, the relation can be showed as follows:conceptword thingAnd something is abstract, which has no existence in the material world and can only be sensed in our minds. This abstract thing is usually called concept.3.Sense and referenceSense and reference are two sides of meaning. Although they are different, they are closely to each other.1. Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form. It is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form; it is abstract and de-contextualized. Sense refers to the main features, the defining properties an entity has.2. Reference means what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience.E.g. The sense of desk: a piece of furniture with a flap top andfour legs, at which one reads and writes. Sense is equivalent to concept. The concept of desk may also be called the sense of desk. The concrete entities a particular desk in the world is reference.3. The distinction between sense and reference:① It is comparable between connotation and denotation. The former refers to the abstract properties of an entity, while the latter refers to the concrete entities having these properties.① Every word has a sense, or we will not be able to use it or understand it. But not every word has a reference. Grammatical words like but, if, and don’t refer to anything. Words like God, ghost, and dragon refer to imaginary things, which don’t exist in reality. Abs tract words like love don’t have a concrete entities in the world.① Words are in different sense relations with each other. Sense may be defined as the semantic relations between one word and another, or more generally between one linguistic unit and another. In contrast, reference is concerned with the relation between a word and the thing it refers to, or more generally between a linguistic unit and a non-linguistic entity it refers to.第三部分sense RelationsThere are three kinds of sense relations, namely, sameness relation, oppositeness relation and inclusiveness relation.1. Synonymy 同义关系Synonymy is the technical name for the sameness relation. Synonymy refers to the sameness or close similarity of meaning.e.g. buy and purchase. Synonym refers to the words that are closed in meaning.But total synonymy is rare. It can be divided into two sub-types: absolute synonymy (they are identical in meaning.) andrelative synonymy (they are similar in meaning.).The so-called synonymy are all context dependent. E.g.Little Tom ____ a toy bear. (buy/ purchase)1) dialectal synonyms: synonyms used in different regional dialects.There are dialectal differences.E.g. Autumn is British while fall is America.2) stylistic synonyms: they may differ in style.E. g. kid, child, offspring; start, begin, commence.3) synonyms that differ in their emotive or evaluative meaning.E. g. thrifty-economical-stingy4)collocational synonyms:E. g. accuse…of, charge…with.5) semantic synonyms:E. g. amaze, surprise.2. Antonymy 反义关系Antonymy is the name for oppositeness relation. There are three sub-types: gradable, complementary, and converse antonymy.1) Gradable antonymyGradable antonymy is the commonest type of antonymy. There are often intermediate forms between the two members of a pair. They are mainly adjectives, e.g. good / bad, big / small, etc. They have three characteristics:First, they are gradable. That is, the members of a pair differ in terms of degree. E.g. big, medium, small.Second, antonymy of this kind are graded against different norms. E.g. big dog, small dog; big cat, small cat.Third, one member of a pair, usually the term for the higher degree, serves as the cover term. E.g. old covers young, highcovers low.2) Complementary antonymyThe members of a pair in complementary antonymy are complementary to each other. Not only the assertion of one means the denial of the other, the denial of one also means the assertion of the other.E.g. alive / dead, boy / girl, etc.There is no intermediate forms between the two. The adjectives of this kind can’t be modified by very, and they don’t have comparative or superlative degrees either. The norm in this type is absolute, and there is no cover term for the two members of a pair.3) Converse antonymyConverse antonyms are also called relational opposites. This is a special type of antonymy, because the members of a pair don’t constitute a positive-negative opposition. They show the reversal of a relationship between two entities, e.g. buy / sell. The comparative degrees like bigger: smaller, longer: shorter.3. Hyponymy 上下义关系The sense relation between a more general, more inclusive word and a more specific word. Inclusiveness意义内包关系: Superordinate: the word which is more general in meaning.Hyponyms: the word which is more specific in meaning.Co-hyponyms: hyponyms of the same superordinate.Hyponymy involves us in the notion of meaning inclusion. It is a matter of class membership. That is, when x is a kind of y, the lower term x is the hyponym, and the upper term y is the superordinate. E.g. under flower, there are peony, tulip, violet, rose, etc., flower is the superordinate of rose, peony, etc., peony is the hyponym of flower, and peony, tulip, violet, rose, etc. areco-hyponyms.4. Polysemy 多义现象Polysemy means the same one word may have more than one meaning. A word having more than one meaning is called a polysemic word. Historically polysemy can be understood as the growth and development or change in the meaning of words.E.g. “table” may mean a piece of furniture, all the people seated at a table, or the food that is put on a table, etc.5. Homonymy 同音异义Homonymy means different in meaning but either identical both in sound and spelling or identical only in sound or spelling. There are three kinds of homonyms:①Full hom onyms: words identical both in sound and spelling, but different in meaning.E.g. bear (n. a kind of animal), bear(v. to give birth to a baby)②Homophones: words identical only in sound but different in spelling and meaning.E.g. dear (a loved person), deer (a kind of animal)③Homographs: words identical only in spelling but different in sound and meaning.E.g. tear (n.), tear (v.)6. Sense relations between sentences 句子之间的涵义关系1) X is synonymous with Y X与Y同义X: The boy killed the cat.Y: The cat was killed by the boy.If X is true, Y is true; if X is false, Y is false.2) X is inconsistent with Y X与Y不一致X: He is single.Y: He has a wife.If X is true, Y is false; if X is false, Y is true.3) X entails Y X 蕴含在Y里X: Marry has been to Beijing.Y: Marry has been to China.Entailment is a relation of inclusion. If X entails Y, then the meaning of X is included in Y.If X is true, Y is necessarily true; if X is false, Y may be false.4) X presupposes Y X预设YX: His bike needs repairing.Y: He has a bike.If X is true, Y must be true; If X is false, Y is still true.5) X is a contradiction X是矛盾的* My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor.6) X is semantically anomalous X是异常的* The man is pregnant.第四部分Componential analysisSemantic components: the meaning of a word is not an unanalysable whole. It is a way to analyze lexical meaning. The approach is based on the belief that the meaning of a word can be dissected into meaning components, called semantic features.It may be seen as a complex of different semantic features. There are semantic units smaller than the meaning of a word. For example, the meaning of the word boy may be analysed into three components: HUMAN, YOUNG and MALE.优：①By showing the semantic components of a word in this way, we may better account for sense relations. Two words, or two expressions, which have the same semantic components will be synonymous with each other. For example, bachelor and unmarried man.②And these semantic components will also explain sense relations between sentences.弊：①O ne difficulty is that many words are polysemous. They have more than one meaning, consequently they will have different sets of semantic components.②Some semantic components are seen as binary taxonomies.③There may be words whose semantic components are difficult to ascertain.第五部分Sentence meaning一、Sentence meaning 句子意义The meaning of a sentence is obviously related to the meanings of the words used in it, but it is also obvious that the sentence meaning is not simply the sum total of the words. Sentences using the same words may mean quite differently if they are arranged in different orders. E.g.The man chased the dog. (人追狗。

在语言哲学的研究中，指称论是流传甚广、影响极大的一种意义理论。

因而，关于指称与意义的关系问题，也就成了语言哲学长期争论不息的焦点问题之一。

意义与指称的关系十分复杂，它不仅涉及意义与指称本身的关系，而且还涉及意义与实在、指称与实在的关系问题。

由于意义、指称、实在三者之间客观上存在着许多内在的区别与联系，所以便为各种各样的片面化理解提供了前提和条件。

强调指称和意义一致性的人往往将指称等同于意义、将指称论等同于意义理论。

如唯理智主义时期的柏拉图、亚里士多德、培根、罗素以及早期维特根斯坦等人，都持这种观点。

柏拉图认定，命名不过是模仿的艺术。

他说：“我们讨论的一切名称，都是用于说明事物的本性”。

（注：《柏拉图对话集》，［英］纽约兰登出版社1937年版，第211页。

）柏拉图认为，命名者所作的事情，就是把一切事物都还原为文字和符号，再给它们加上名称和指号。

柏拉图还认为，人们应该按照自然的本性来给事物命名，而不能随心所欲。

一个字母、一个名词或一个语句，只要保留了你在描述的事物的主要特征，就可以说这个事物被命名和被描述了。

从柏拉图的论述中我们不难看出，他所关心的是语词为什么能够、如何才能够指称实在的问题。

这正是现代语言学家、分析哲学家着力最大、议论最多，也最难取得一致的意义与指称的关系问题。

因此，柏拉图的论述，无疑是现代指称论的最早萌芽。

柏拉图的这些论述，带有他思想发展早期的那种突出的唯理智主义色彩。

柏拉图早期的唯理智主义认识论，主张认识的对象和目的，都是达到和个别结合在一起的一般本质。

认为一般的名称如美、善等，不能脱离个别事物而存在。

柏拉图思想发展早期这种主张经过个别认识一般的认识方法，使他的指称理论在某种程度上具有一定的合理性和启发性。

现代哲学家罗素同样认定，名称只有通过指示或指称外部世界中的事物或事实才能获得意义。

在1905年发表著名论文《论指称》中，罗素首次详尽论述了他的后来被称为“摹状词理论”的学说。

罗素认为，名称的意义就是它所指称的对象。

第一章1.What is language?Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication2.Design features of language①Arbitrariness(任意性)refers to the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning. (sounds and meanings)②Duality（二层性）:The property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization.③Productivity/creativity(创造性）:Language is productive in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users.④Displacement(移位性):Human Languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at moment of communication. (p7)3.Functions of language①Informative(信息功能): to give information about facts. (ideational)②Interpersonal(人际功能): to establish and maintain social status in a society.(age, sex, language, background, accent, status)③Performative(施为功能) : language is used to do things, to perform certain actions. (name, promise, apologize, sorry, declare)④. Emotive/Expressive(情感功能): to express feelings and attitudes of the speaker.⑤Phatic communion(寒暄交流) : to use small and meaningless expressions to establish a comfortable relationship or maintain social contact between people without any factual content. (health, weather)⑥Recreational function(娱乐): the use of language for sheer joy. (lyrics, poetry)⑦Metalingual function(元语言功能): to talk about language itself.4. What is linguistics?Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.5. Important distinctions in linguisticsDescriptive & prescriptiveSynchronic & diachronicLangue & paroleCompetence & performance6.Descriptive(描写/述性)—describe and analyze linguistic facts or the language people actually use (modern linguistic)Prescriptive(规定性)—lay down rules for“correct and standard”linguistic behavior in using language (traditional grammar:“never use a double negative”)7.Synchronic study(共时)—description of a language at some point of time (modern linguistics) Diachronic study (历时)—description of a language as it changes through time (historical development of language over a period of time)第四章1．What is Syntax（句法）?Syntax is the study of the rules governing the ways different constituents are combined to formsentences.句法就是研究语言的不同成分组成句子的规则2．Four Approaches :The traditional approach传统语言观(Parts of speech、Syntactic Function 不考、Category范畴、Concord and government一致关系和支配关系)、The structural approach 结构语言观、The generative approach、The functional approach功能语言观3．The traditional grammar regards sentences as a sequence of words , so it pays great attention to the study of words, such as the classification of words in terms of parts of speech, the identification of function of words in terms of subject, predicate , etc.4. Parts of speechTraditional grammar defines 8 parts of speech: nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections.5．The term Category范畴in some approaches refers to word classes and functions in its narrow sense,范畴这一术语狭义上是指词类和功能eg. Noun, Verb, Subject, Predicate. More specifically, it refers to the defining properties of these general units:the categories of the noun名词的范畴, include number, gender, case and countability（case）; the categories of the verb动词的范畴: tense, aspect, voice, etc.6．Number is mostly a category of the noun and pronoun名词和不可数名词.Two terms of number in nouns: singular and plural单数和复数Number is also reflected in the inflections of pronouns and verbs7. Gender is also mostly a category of the noun and pronoun.In English, the gender distinctions are on the whole natural, determined by the biological gender of the creature.8. Case is used in the analysis of word classes to identify the syntactic relationship between words in a sentence.在词类分析中，格范畴用来辨别句子中词之间的句法关系In English, pronouns have three cases of nominative主格, accusative受格, and genitive与格. Nouns have two of general and genitive所有格In English, the case of noun is realised in three channels:(a) inflection(b) following a preposition(c) word order9. Tense时态: the absolute location of an event or action on time. It is marked by an inflection of the verb. As a result, there are only two tenses recognized now: past and present.Since the fut ure time does not involve any inflection of the verb, we do not refer to a “future tense”, even though in many different ways we can talk about the future.10. Aspect体: It has nothing with time, and it tells us whether an action is ongoing or completed. Perfective（完成体）and Imperfective（进行体）Perfective and Progressive (in English)11. Voice语态: describe the relationship between verb and subjectPassive被动语态and active主动语态12. Concord and government①Concord (一致关系)refers to agreement between words, especially between a verband the subject of a sentence.②Government (支配关系)is a type of grammatical relationship between two or more elements ina sentence.In traditional grammar, the term government has typically been used to refer to the relationship between verbs and nouns or between prepositions and nouns.13.The Structural Approach，由Ferdinand de Saussure提出14.Syntactic Relations：Positional relations位置关系、Relations of substitutability替代关系、Relations of co-occurrence同现关系15.Immediate constituent(直接成分)is any meaningful constituent at the first step in an analysis.16.An endocentric construction(向心结构)is a construction that contains:1) a head, which is the single obligatory element in the construction;2) one or more optional elements subordinate to the head.17.them e(主位) refers to the known information which is not new to the reader or listener Rheme(述位)refers to the information that is new. The new information is what is to be transmitted to the reader or listenerThe linguists of the Prague school believed that sentence may be analyzed from the functional side as well as the grammatical side.subject, predicate (grammatical side)theme, rheme (functional side)第五章1.What is Semantics?Semantics is the study of the meaning ofwords,phrases andsentences.语义学是研究单词、短语和句子的意义的学科2．Geoffrey Leech利奇Seven types of meaning7种意义类型:①Conceptual meaning概念意义②Connotative meaning内涵意义③Social meaning社会意义④Affective meaning感情意义Associative Meaning联想意义（②——⑥）⑤Reflected meaning反射意义⑥Collocative meaning搭配意义⑦Thematic meaning主位意义3.Conceptual meaning(概念意义)is also called “denotative”（外延义）and it is concerned with the relationship between a word and the thing it refers to.概念意义也叫外延义，它关注词语跟它所指称事物之间的联系Conceptual meaning is meaning given in the dictionary.4.Associative meaning (联想意义)is the total of all the meanings a person thinks of when they hear the wordAssociative meaning is the meaning which a word suggests or implies.5.Thematic meaning (主位意义)is“what is communicated by the way in which the message is organized in terms of orde r and emphasis.”它是由词序和词语重音所决定的6.The Referential Theory（指称理论）：①The Referential Theory②The Semantic Triangle③Sense and Reference7.The referential theory指称理论is the theory of meaning which relates the meaning of a word to the thing it refers to.指称论是把词语意义跟它所指称的事物联系起来的理论8. The semantic triangle语意三角is the indirectrelation between a word and a thing it refers to and it is mediated by concept.语意三角指词和所指事物之间没有直接关系，它们是以概念为中介的9.Sense (涵义) is a set of properties possessed by a name.10.Reference (指称) is the symbolic relationship that a linguistic expression has with the concrete object.11. The sense of an expression is the thought it expresses, while its reference is the object it representsEvery word has a sense, but not every word has a reference.12.Sense Relations涵义关系①Synonymy（同义关系）②Antonymy（反义关系）（Gradable、Complementary、Converse）③Hyponymy（上下义关系）13.But total synonymy is rare. They may differ in style, connotations and dialect.14.Gradable antonymy (等级反义关系)、Complementary antonymy (互补反义关系)、Converse antonymy (反向反义关系)15. Componential analysis is an approach to the study of meaning which analyses a word into a set of meaning components.16. Sentence Meaning17.Sense relations between sentences①Synonymity (同义)a. He was a bachelor all his life.b. He never married all his boy.Sentences a and b are in a synonymous relationship: the truth of one sentence necessarily implies the truth of another sentence②Inconsistency(矛盾)a. Elizabeth II is Queen of England.b. Elizabeth II is a man.Sentences a and b are in a relationship of contradiction: the truth of one sentence necessarily implies the falseness of another sentence.③Entailment (蕴涵)a. He married a blonde heiress.b. He married a blonde.Entailment refers to a kind of meaning inclusion. If x entails y, the meaning of x is included in y.④Presupposition(前提预设)It is what a speaker or writer assumes that the receiver of the message already knows.⑤Contradiction(矛盾)⑥Semantic anomaly(语义反常)18. An integrated theory﹡Compositionality(组合性原则)：the meaning of a sentence depends on the meaning of the constituent words and the way they are combined.﹡This semantic theory is the integration of syntax and semantics﹡Their basic idea is that a semantic theory consists of two parts: a dictionary and a set of projection rules﹡The dictionary provides the grammatical classification and semantic information of words﹡The projection rules are responsible for combining the meanings of words together.19.Logical semantics（逻辑语义学）﹡A proposition(命题) is what is to be expressed by a declarative sentence when that sentence is uttered to make a statement.﹡It is the basic meaning which a sentence express.﹡A very important property of the proposition is that it has a truth value.第七章nguage and Culture：①Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis②Evidence Given by Whorf ③Implication of SWH ④Relation between Language and Culture2．SHW can be broken down into two basic principles:Linguistic determinism (语言决定论):the language we use determines the way we view about the world around us.Language may determine our thinking patterns. (语言决定思维) P1623. Relation between Language and CultureLanguage influences thought and culture，Language varies in categories and concepts, thus reflecting the different world views of different language users, that is, culture and thought are conditioned by languageCulture influences language，Every language is a part of a culture. As such, it can not but serve and reflect cultural needs. When a culture experience radical changes, the vocabulary also undergoes corresponding alterationsnguage and SocietyRelation between Language and SocietyVarieties of language（Dialects、Registers）Bilingualism and DiglossiaPidgin and Creole5.Varieties related to the user are normally known as dialects and varieties related to use as registers.6.Dialectal Varieties：Regional dialect、Social dialect（Sociolect、Language and gender、Language and age、Idiolect、Ethnic dialect）7.Social dialect refers to a variety of language associated with a particular social group, such as a particular social class, or ethnic group, or those based on age, gender and occupation.8.An ethnic dialect is a social dialect of a language that cuts across regional differences; it is mainly spoken by a less privileged population that has experienced some form of social isolation such as racial discrimination or segregation.9.Idiolect refers to the speech variety of an individual. Every speaker has his own way of expressing his or her idea.10.Register refers to the functional variety of language that is defined according to its use in a context of situation.11.Halliday’s Register TheoryLanguage varies as its function varies; it differs in different situations.Halliday distinguishes 3 variables that determine the register:field of discourse (语场)、tenor of discourse (语旨)、mode of discourse (语式)12.Bilingualism (双语制): the use of two languages, esp with equal or nearly equal fluency.13.Diglossia (双语体现象): when two varieties of a language exist side by side; and each is used for different purposes, this is called diglossia.14．A pidgin: it is a special language variety that mixes and blends languages used for communicative purposes by groups of people who do not know each other’s language.15.A creole :when a pidgin has become the primary language of a speech community, and is acquired by the children of that speech community as their native language, it is said to have become a creole.第八章1.What is PragmaticsPragmatics is the study of language in context / use / communication.2 Semantics and PragmaticsSimilarity：Pragmatics and semantics are both linguistic study of meaningDifference：Semantic meaning: the more constant, inherent side of meaning；Pragmatic meaning: the more indeterminate, the more closely related to context；Pragmatic = meaning - semantics 3.Three Contents :Speech Act Theory、The Theory of Conversational Implicature、Post-Gricean Developments4.Speech Act Theory(言语行为理论)：①Performatives and Constatives②A theory of the illocutionary act5.The utterance which performs an act is calleda performative(行事话语)。

semantics知识点总结Semantics is the study of meaning in language. It is concerned with how words and sentences are interpreted, how meaning is assigned to linguistic expressions, and how meaning is inferred from language. In this summary, we will explore some key concepts and topics in semantics, including the following:1. Meaning and reference2. Sense and reference3. Truth-conditional semantics4. Lexical semantics5. Compositional semantics6. Pragmatics and semantics7. Ambiguity and vagueness8. Semantic changeMeaning and referenceMeaning is a fundamental concept in semantics. It refers to the content or interpretation that is associated with a linguistic expression. The study of meaning in linguistics is concerned with understanding how meaning is established and conveyed in language. Reference, on the other hand, is the relationship between a linguistic expression and the real world entities to which it refers. For example, the word "dog" refers to the concept of a four-legged animal that is commonly kept as a pet. The study of reference in semantics is concerned with understanding how words and sentences refer to objects and entities in the world.Sense and referenceThe distinction between sense and reference is an important concept in semantics. Sense refers to the meaning or concept associated with a linguistic expression, while reference refers to the real world entities to which a linguistic expression refers. For example, the words "morning star" and "evening star" have the same reference - the planet Venus - but different senses, as they are used to describe the planet at different times of the day. Frege, a prominent philosopher of language, introduced this important distinction in his work on semantics.Truth-conditional semanticsTruth-conditional semantics is an approach to semantics that seeks to understand meaning in terms of truth conditions. According to this view, the meaning of a sentence isdetermined by the conditions under which it would be true or false. For example, the meaning of the sentence "The cat is on the mat" is determined by the conditions under which this statement would be true - i.e. if there is a cat on the mat. Truth-conditional semantics has been influential in the development of formal semantics, and it provides a formal framework for analyzing meaning in natural language.Lexical semanticsLexical semantics is the study of meaning at the level of words and lexical items. It is concerned with understanding the meanings of individual words, as well as the relationships between words in a language. Lexical semantics examines how words are related to each other in terms of synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, and other semantic relationships. It also explores the different senses and meanings that a word can have, and how these meanings are related to each other. Lexical semantics plays a crucial role in understanding the meaning of sentences and discourse.Compositional semanticsCompositional semantics is the study of how the meanings of words and sentences are combined to create complex meanings. It seeks to understand how the meanings of individual words are combined in sentences to produce the overall meaning of a sentence or utterance. Compositional semantics is concerned with understanding the rules and principles that govern the composition of meaning in natural language. It also explores the relationship between syntax and semantics, and how the structure of sentences contributes to the interpretation of meaning.Pragmatics and semanticsPragmatics is the study of how language is used in context, and how meaning is influenced by the context of language use. Pragmatics is closely related to semantics, but it focuses on the use of language in communication, and how meaning is affected by factors such as the speaker's intentions, the hearer's inferences, and the context in which the language is used. While semantics is concerned with the literal meaning of linguistic expressions, pragmatics is concerned with the implied meaning that arises from the use of language in context.Ambiguity and vaguenessAmbiguity and vagueness are common phenomena in natural language, and they pose challenges for semantic analysis. Ambiguity refers to situations where a linguistic expression has multiple possible meanings, and it is unclear which meaning is intended. For example, the word "bank" can refer to a financial institution or the edge of a river. Vagueness, on the other hand, refers to situations where the boundaries of a linguistic expression are unclear or indistinct. For example, the word "tall" is vague because it is not always clear what height qualifies as "tall". Semantics seeks to understand how ambiguity and vagueness arise in language, and how they can be resolved or managed in communication.Semantic changeSemantic change refers to the process by which the meanings of words and linguistic expressions evolve over time. Over the course of history, languages undergo semantic change, as words acquire new meanings, lose old meanings, or change in their semantic associations. Semantic change can occur through processes such as metaphor, metonymy, broadening, narrowing, and generalization. Understanding semantic change is important for the study of historical linguistics and the diachronic analysis of language.ConclusionSemantics is a rich and complex area of study that plays a fundamental role in understanding the meaning of language. It encompasses a wide range of topics and concepts, and it has important implications for fields such as philosophy of language, cognitive science, and natural language processing. By exploring the key concepts and topics in semantics, we can gain valuable insights into how meaning is established and conveyed in language, and how we can analyze and understand the rich complexity of linguistic expressions.。

语义学一．语义学（Semantics）的定义：研究语言单位的意义，尤其是词语和句子的意义。

二．词汇意义（Lexical Meaning）：1）意义与指称（sense and reference）：意义与指称是语言研究中的两个术语，它们之间既相互联系，又相互区别。

意义（sense）是一系列抽象语义特征的集合，与语境无关，可以在字典中查到。

而指称（reference）是语言形式在现实物质世界中所指的事物；它涉及语言形式与非语言的现实世界之间的关系。

意义与指称是意义的两个相关但不同的方面，例如“morning star”和“evening star”的意义虽然不同，但其指称一样，都指代天空中的同一颗星星。

2）外延意义（denotative meaning）：指词语所指称的外部世界的事物、状态、抽象情感。

例如：dog(狗)的外延意义是指“一种四肢、有毛、会汪汪叫的哺乳动物”，这种意义在任何国家、任何时代都不会改变。

3）内涵意义（connotative meaning）：指源于语言使用者的个人经历、情感、评价、语境等外部因素的意义。

例如dragon一词，在汉语文化中象征着“高贵”、“权利”，但在某些英语国家文化中，其内涵意义则为“残暴”和“邪恶”。

三．意义关系（Sense Relationship）：1）同义关系（Synonymy）：方言同义词（Dialectal synonyms）：意义相同但方言有差异的词，例如：autumn（BrE）= fall（ArE）。

文体同义词（Stylistic synonyms）：意义相同但在文体上或者正式程度上有差别的词，例如：buy（较为随意）——purchase（较为正式）。

搭配同义词（Collocational synonyms）：指意义上相同，但是搭配不相同的词。

例如：provide和supply，provide sth. for sb.和supply sth. to sb.在情感或评价意义方面存在差异的同义词（Synonyms with different emotive or evaluative meaning）：意义相同，但在情感或评价意义方面存在差异的词，例如：politician （政客）含贬义色彩，statesmen（政治家）含褒义色彩。

Chapter 5 Semantics⏹Semantics----the study of language meaning.⏹Semantics is defined as the study of meaning. However, it is not the only linguistic discipline that studiesmeaning.⏹Semantics answers the question “what does this sentence mean”. In other w ords, it is the analysis ofconventional meanings in words and sentences out of context.⏹Meaning is central to the study of communication.⏹Classification of lexical meanings. Here are G. Leech’s seven types of meaning. ( British linguist)⏹ 1. Conceptual meaning (also called denotative or cognitive meaning) is the essential and inextricable part ofwhat language is, and is widely regarded as the central factor in verbal communication. It means that the meaning of words may be discussed in terms of what they denote or refer to.⏹ 2. Connotative meaning – the communicative value an expression has by virtue of what it refers to, embracesthe properties of the referent, peripheral⏹ 3. Social meaning (stylistic meaning) –what is conveyed about the social circumstances of the use of alinguistic expression⏹ 4. Affective meaning (affected meaning)– what is communicated of the feeling or attitude of the speaker/writertowards what is referred to⏹ 5. Reflected meaning – what is communicated through association with another sense of the same expression ⏹Taboos⏹ 6. Collocative meaning – the associated meaning a word acquires in line with the meaning of words whichtend to co-occur with it⏹(2, 3, 4, 5, 6 can be together called associative meaning–meaning that hinges on referential meaning, lessstable, more culture-specific )7. Thematic meaning—what is communicated by the way in which the message is organized in terms of order⏹What is meaning?---- Scholars under different scientific backgrounds have different understandings of language meaning.Some views concerning the study of meaning⏹Naming theory (Plato)⏹The conceptualist view⏹Contextualism (Bloomfield)⏹BehaviorismNaming theory (Plato): Words are names or labels for things.The linguistic forms or symbols, in other words, the words used in a language are taken to be labels of the objects they stand for; words are just names or labels for things⏹Limitations:1) Applicable to nouns only.2) There are nouns which denote things that do not exist in the real world, e.g. ghost, dragon, unicorn, phenix…3) There are nouns that do not refer to physical objects but abstract notions, e.g. joy, impulse, hatred…The conceptualist view⏹The conceptualist view holds that there is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to (i.e. between language and the real world); rather, in the interpretation of meaning they are linked through the mediation of concepts in the mind.⏹⏹The referent refers to the object in the world of experience;⏹Thought or reference refers to concept.⏹The symbol or a word signifies things by virtue of the concept associated with the form of the word in the minds of the speaker; and the concept looked at from this point of view is the meaning of the word.⏹Meaning should be studied in terms of situation, use, context—elements closely linked with language behavior. Two types of contexts are recognized:⏹Situational context: spatiotemporal situation⏹Linguistic context: the probability of a word’s c o-occurrence or collocation.⏹For example, “black” in black hair& black coffee,or black sheep differs in meaning; “The president of the United States” can mean either the president or presidency in different situation.calls forth in the hearer⏹Behaviorists attempted to define meaning as “the situation in which the speaker utters it and the response it calls forth in the hearer”.⏹The story of Jack and Jill:Jill JackS_________r--------s_________RLexical meaning⏹Sense and reference are both concerned with the study of word meaning. They are two related but different aspects of meaning.⏹Sense---- is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form. It is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form; it is abstract and de-contextualized. It is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are interested in.⏹Reference----what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with the relationship between thelinguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience.⏹Linguistic expressions stand in a relation to the world. There are two aspects of meaning.⏹Reference is the relation by which a word picks out or identifies an entity in the world. But the referentialtheory fails to account for certain kinds of linguistic expression.⏹Some words are meaningful, but they identify no entities in the real world, such as the words dragon, phoenix,unicorn, and mermaid.⏹It is not possible for some words to find referent in the world, such as the words but, and, of, however, the, etc.⏹Speakers of English understand the meaning of a round triangle although there is no such graph.⏹Sense is the relation by which words stand in human mind. It is mental representation, the association withsomething in t he speaker’s or hearer’s mind. The study of meaning from the perspective of sense is called the representational approach.Note:⏹Linguistic forms having the same sense may have different references in different situations; on the other hand, there are also occasions, when linguistic forms with the same reference might differ in sense, e.g. the morning star and the evening star, rising sun in the morning and the sunset at dusk.Major sense relations⏹Synonymy, Antonymy, Polysemy, Homonymy, HyponymySynonymy⏹Synonymy refers to the sameness or close similarity of meaning. Words that are close in meaning are called synonyms.1) Dialectal synonyms---- synonyms used in different regional dialects, e.g. autumn - fall, biscuit - cracker, petrol –gasoline，lift/elevator, flat/apartment…2) Stylistic synonyms----synonyms differing in style, e.g. kid, child, offspring; start, begin, commence; gentleman/guy…3) Synonyms that differ in their emotive or evaluative meaning, e.g.collaborator- accomplice, attract/seduce4) Collocational synonyms, e.g. accuse…of, charge…with, rebuke…for; …5) Semantically different synonyms, e.g. amaze, astound,…◆Synonyms are frequently used in speaking and writing as a cohesive device. In order to avoidrepetition the writer/speaker needs to use a synonym to replace a word in the previous co-text whenhe/she wants to continue to address that idea. The synonyms together function to create cohesion ofthe text.Antonymy◆Antonyms are words which are opposite in meaning.⏹Gradable antonyms----there are often intermediate forms between the two members of a pair, e.g. old-young, hot-cold, tall-short, …⏹Complementary antonyms----the denial of one member of the pair implies the assertion of the other, e.g. alive-dead, male-female, …⏹Relational/ Reversal opposites----exhibits the reversal of the relationship between the two items, e.g. husband-wife, father-son, doctor-patient, buy-sell, let-rent, employer-employee, give-receive, above-below, … Gradable antonyms⏹Gradable antonyms ----there are often intermediate forms between the two members of a pair, e.g. old-young, hot-cold, tall-short, …Complementary antonyms⏹Complementary antonyms ----the denial of one member of the pair implies the assertion of the other, e.g. alive-dead, male-female, …⏹Antonymy is frequently utilized as a rhetorical resource in language use. Oxymoron and antithesis based onantonymy. Gradable antonyms may give rise to fuzziness.Polysemy⏹Polysemy----the same one word may have more than one meaning, e.g. “table” may mean:⏹A piece of furniture⏹All the people seated at a table⏹The food that is put on a table⏹A thin flat piece of stone, metal wood, etc.⏹Orderly arrangement of facts, figures, etc.Homonymy⏹Homonymy---- the phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form, e.g. different words are identical in sound or spelling, or in both.⏹Homophone ---- when two words are identical in sound, e.g. rain-reign, night/knight, …⏹Homogragh ---- when two words are identical in spelling, e.g. tear(n.)-tear(v.), lead(n.)-lead(v.), …⏹Complete/full homonym---- when two words are identical in both sound and spelling, e.g. ball, bank, watch, scale, fast, …⏹Note: Rhetorically, homonyms are often used as puns.⏹A polysemic word is the result of the evolution of the primary meaning of the word (the etymology of the word); while complete homonyms are often brought into being by coincidence.Hyponymy⏹Hyponymy----the sense relation between a more general, more inclusive word and a more specific word.⏹Superordinate: the word which is more general in meaning.⏹Hyponyms: the word which is more specific in meaning.⏹Co-hyponyms: hyponyms of the same superordinate.Hyponymy⏹Superordinate: flower⏹Hyponyms: rose, tulip, li ly, chrysanthemum, peony, narcissus, …⏹Superordinate: furniture⏹Hyponyms: bed, table, desk, dresser, wardrobe, sofa, …⏹This kind of vertical semantic relation links words in a hierarchical work.Sense relations between sentences⏹(1) X is synonymous with Y⏹(2) X is inconsistent with Y⏹(3) X entails Y⏹(4) X presupposes Y⏹(5) X is a contradiction⏹(6) X is semantically anomalousX is synonymous with Y⏹X: He was a bachelor all his life.Y: He never got married all his life.⏹X: The boy killed the cat.Y: The cat was killed by the boy.⏹If X is true, Y is true; if X is false, Y is false.X is inconsistent with Y⏹X: He is single.⏹Y: He has a wife.⏹X: This is my first visit to Beijing.⏹Y: I have been to Beijing twice.⏹If X is true, Y is false; if X is false, Y is true.X entails Y⏹X: John married a blond heiress.⏹Y: John married a blond.⏹X: Marry has been to Beijing.⏹Y: Marry has been to China.⏹Entailment is a relation of inclusion. If X entails Y, then the meaning of X is included in Y.⏹If X is true, Y is necessarily true; if X is false, Y may be true or false.X presupposes Y⏹X: His bike needs repairing.⏹Y: He has a bike.⏹Paul has given up smoking.⏹Paul once smoked.⏹If X is true, Y must be true; If X is false, Y is still true.X is a contradiction⏹*My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor.⏹*The orphan’s parents are pretty well-off.X is semantically anomalous⏹*The man is pregnant.⏹*The table has bad intentions.⏹*Sincerity shakes hands with the black apple.⏹Analysis of meaning :⏹Componential analysis⏹Predication analysis⏹Componential analysis⏹Componential analysis---- a way to analyze lexical meaning. The approach is based on the belief that the meaning of a word can be dissected into meaning components, called semantic features. For example,⏹Man: [+HUMAN, +ADULT, +ANIMATE, +MALE]⏹Boy: [+HUMAN, -ADULT, +ANIMATE, +MALE]⏹Woman: [+HUMAN, +ADULT, +ANIMATE, -MALE]⏹Girl: [+HUMAN, -ADULT, +ANIMATE, -MALE]⏹Father: +HUMAN +MALE +ADULT →PARENT⏹Daughter: +HUMAN –MALE 0ADULT ←PARENTPredication analysis⏹1) The meaning of a sentence is not to be worked out by adding up all the meanings of its component words, e.g “The dog bites the man”is semantically different from “The man bites the dog” though their components are exactly the same.⏹2) There are two aspects to sentence meaning: grammatical meaning and semantic meaning, e.g.⏹*Green clouds are sleeping furiously.⏹*Sincerity shook hands with the black apple.⏹Whether a sentence is semantically meaningful is governed by rules called selectional restrictions.⏹Predication analysis---- a way to analyze sentence meaning (British G. Leech).⏹Predication----the abstraction of the meaning of a sentence. A predication consists of argument(s) and predicate.⏹An argument is a logical participant in a predication, largely identical with the nominal elements in a sentence. ⏹A predicate is something said about an argument or it states the logical relation linking the arguments in a sentence.⏹According to the number of arguments contained in a predication, we may classify the predications into the following types:⏹One-place predication: smoke, grow, rise, run, …⏹Two-place predication: like, love, save, bite, beat,…⏹Three-place predication: give, sent, promise, call, …⏹No-place predication: It is hot.Predication analysis⏹Tom smokes.→ TOM (SMOKE)⏹The tree grows well.→ TREE (GROW)⏹The kids like apples.→ KIDS (LIKE) APPLE⏹I sent him a letter.→ I (SEND) HIM LETTERSupplementary Exercises to Chapter 5 SemanticsI. Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False:1. Dialectal synonyms can often be found in different regional dialects such as British English and American English but cannot be found within the variety itself, for example, within British English or American English.2. Sense is concerned with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience, while the reference deals with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form.3. Linguistic forms having the same sense may have different references in different situations.4. In semantics, meaning of language is considered as the intrinsic and inherent relation to the physical world of experience.5. Contextualism is based on the presumption that one can derive meaning from or reduce meaning to observable contexts.6. Behaviourists attempted to define the meaning of a language form as the situation in which the speaker utters it and the response it calls forth in the hearer.7. The meaning of a sentence is the sum total of the meanings of all its components.8. Most languages have sets of lexical items similar in meaning but ranked differently according to their degree of formality.9. “it is hot.” is a no-place predication because it contains no argument.10. In grammatical analysis, the sentence is taken to be the basic unit, but in semantic analysis of a sentence, the basic unit is predication, which is the abstraction of the meaning of a sentence.II. Fill in each of the following blanks with one word which begins with the letter given:11. S________ can be defined as the study of meaning.12. The conceptualist view holds that there is no d______ link between a linguistic form and what it refers to.13. R______ means what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience.14. Words that are close in meaning are called s________.15. When two words are identical in sound, but different in spelling and meaning, they are called h__________.16.R_________ opposites are pairs of words that exhibit the reversal of a relationship between the two items.17. C ____ analysis is based upon the belief that the meaning of a word can be divided into meaning components.18. Whether a sentence is semantically meaningful is governed by rules called s________ restrictions, which are constraints on what lexical items can go with what others.19. An a________ is a logical participant in a predication, largely identical with the nominal element(s) in a sentence.20. According to the n ____ theory of meaning, the words in a language are taken to be labels of the objects they stand for.III. There are four choices following each statement. Mark the choice that can best complete the statement:21. The naming theory is advanced by ________.A. PlatoB. BloomfieldC. Geoffrey LeechD. Firth22. “We shall know a word by the company it keeps.” This statement represents _______.A. the conceptualist viewB. contexutalismC. the naming theoryD.behaviourism23. Which of the following is not true?A. Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form.B. Sense is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form.C. Sense is abstract and de-contextualized.D. Sense is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are not interested in.24. “Can I borrow your bike?” _______ “ You have a bike.”A. is synonymous withB. is inconsistent withC. entailsD. presupposes25. ___________ is a way in which the meaning of a word can be dissected into meaning components, called semantic features.A. Predication analysisB. Componential analysisC. Phonemic analysisD. Grammatical analysis26. “alive” and “dead” are ______________.A. gradable antonymsB. relational oppositesC. complementary antonymsD. None of the above27. _________ deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world ofexperience.A. ReferenceB. ConceptC. SemanticsD. Sense28. ___________ refers to the phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form.A. PolysemyB. SynonymyC. HomonymyD. Hyponymy29. Words that are close in meaning are called ______________.A. homonymsB. polysemyC. hyponymsD. synonyms30. The grammaticality of a sentence is governed by _______.A. grammatical rulesB. selectional restrictionsC. semantic rulesD. semantic featuresIV. Define the following terms:31. semantics 32. sense 33 . reference 34. synonymy35. polysemy 36. homonymy 37. homophones 38. Homographs39. complete homonyms 40. hyponymy 41.antonymy 42 componential analysis43.grammatical meaning 44. predication45. Argument 46. predicate47. Two-place predicationV. Answer the following questions:48. Why do we say that a meaning of a sentence is not the sum total of the meanings of all its components?49. What is componential analysis? Illustrate it with examples.50. How do you distinguish between entailment and presupposition in terms of truth values?51. How do you account for such sense relations between sentences as synonymous relation, inconsistent relation in terms of truth values?52. According to the way synonyms differ, how many groups can we classify synonyms into? Illustrate them with examples.53. What are the major views concerning the study of meaning? How they differ?Suggested answers to supplementary exercises:IV. Define the following terms:31. Semantics: Semantics can be simply defined as the study of meaning in language.32. Sense: Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form. It is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form; it is abstract and de -contextualised.33. Reference: Reference means what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience34. Synonymy :Synonymy refers to the sameness or close similarity of meaning.35. Polysemy :Polysemy refers to the fact that the same one word may have more than one meaning.36. Homonymy :Homonymy refers to the phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form,i.e. , different words are identical in sound or spelling, or in both.37. homophones :When two words are identical in sound, they are called homophones38. homographs :When two words are identical in spelling, they are homographs.39. complete homonyms.:When two words are identical in both sound and spelling, they are called complete homonyms.40.Hyponymy :Hyponymy refers to the sense relation between a more general, more inclusive word and a more specific word.41. Antonymy :Antonymy refers to the relation of oppositeness of meaning.42. Componential analysis : Componential analysis is a way to analyze word meaning. It was proposed by structural semanticists. The approach is based on the belief that the meaning of a -word can be divided into meaning components, which are called semantic features.43.The grammatical meaning : The grammatical meaning of a sentence refers to its grammaticality, i.e. , its grammatical well-formedness . The grammaticality of a sentence is governed by the grammatical rules of the language.44. predication :The predication is the abstraction of the meaning of a sentence.45. argument : An argument is a logical participant in a predication. It is generally identical with the nominal element (s) in a sentence.46. predicate : A predicate is something that is said about an argument or it states the logical relation linking the arguments in a sentence.47. two-place predication : A two-place predication is one which contains two arguments.Answer the following questions:48. Why do we say that a meaning of a sentence is not the sum total of the meanings of all its components?The meaning of a sentence is not the sum total of the meanings of all its components because it cannot be worked out by adding up all the meanings of its constituent words. For example;(A) The dog bit the man. (B) The man bit the dog.If the meaning of a sentence were the sum total of the meanings of all its components, then the above two sentences would have the same meaning. In fact they are different in meanings.As we know, there are two aspects to sentence meaning: grammatical meaning and semantic meaning. The grammatical meanings of “the dog” and “the man” in (A) are different from the grammatical meanings of “the dog” and “the man” in (B). The meaning of a sentence is the product of both lexical and grammatical meaning. It is the product of the meaning of the constituent words and of the grammatical constructions that relate one word syntagmatically to another.49. What is componential analysis? Illustrate it with examples.Componential analysis, proposed by structural semanticists, is a way to analyze word meaning. The approach is based on the belief that the meaning of a word can be divided into meaning components, which are called semantic features. Plus and minus signs are used to indicate whether a certain semantic feature is present or absent in the meaning of a word, and these feature symbols are usually written in capitalized letters. For example, the word “man” is ana lyzed as consisting of the semantic features of [+ HUMAN, + ADULT, + ANIMATE, +MALE]50. How do you distinguish between entailment and presupposition in terms of truth values?Entailment is a relation of inclusion. Suppose there are two sentences X and Y:X: He has been to France.Y: He has been to Europe.In terms of truth values, if X is true, Y is necessarily true, e.g. If he has been to France, he must have been to Europe.If X is false, Y may be true or false, e. g. If he has not been to France, he may still have been to Europe or he has not been to Europe. If Y is true, X may be true or false, e.g. If he has been to Europe, he may or may not have been to France.If Y is false, X is false, e.g. If he has not been to Europe, he cannot have been to France.Therefore we conclude that X entails Y or Y is an entailment of X.The truth conditions that we use to judge presupposition is as follows:Suppose there are two sentences X and YX: John' s bike needs repairing.Y: John has a bike.If X is true, Y must be true, e.g. If John' s bike needs repairing, John must have a bike.If X is false, Y is still true, e. g. If John' s bike does not need repairing, John still has a bike. If Y is true, X is either true or false, e.g. If John has a bike, it may or may not need repairing. If Y is false, no truth value can be said about X, e.g. If John does not have a bike, nothing can be said about whether his bike needs repairing or not. Therefore, X presupposes Y, or Y is a presupposition of X.51. How do you account for such sense relations between sentences as synonymous relation, inconsistent relation in terms of truth values?In terms of truth condition, of the two sentences X and Y, if X is true, Y is true; if X is false, Y is false, therefore X is synonymous with Ye.g. X; He was a bachelor all his life.Y: He never married all his life.Of the two sentences X and Y, if X is true, Y is false; if X is false, Y is true, then we can say A is inconsistent with Ye.g. X: John is married.Y: John is a bachelor.52. According to the ways synonyms differ, how many groups can we classify synonyms into? Illustrate them with examples.According to the ways synonyms differ, synonyms can be divided into the following groups.i. Dialectal synonymsThey are synonyms which are used in different regional dialects. British English and American English are the two major geographical varieties of the English language. For examples:British English American Englishautumn falllift elevatorThen dialectal synonyms can also be found within British, or American English itself. For example, "girl" is called "lass" or "lassie" in Scottish dialect, and "liquor" is called "whisky" in Irish dialect.ii. Stylistic synonymsThey are synonyms which differ in style or degree of formality. Some of the stylistic synonyms tend to be more formal, others tend to be casual, and still others are neutral in style. For example:old man, daddy, dad, father, male parentchap, pal, friend, companioniii. Synonyms that differ in their emotive or evaluative meaningThey are the words that have the same meaning but express different emotions of the user. The emotions of the user indicate the attitude or bias of the user toward what he is talking about . For example, “collaborator”and “accomplice”are synonymous, sharing the meaning of "a person who helps another", but they are different in their evaluative meaning. The former means that a person who helps another in doing something good, while the latter refers to a person who helps another in a criminal act.iv. Collocational synonymsThey are synonyms which differ in their collocation. For example, we can use accuse, charge, rebuke to say that someone has done something wrong or even criminal, but they are used with different prepositions accuse. . . of, charge. . . with, rebuke. . .for. v. V. Semantically different synonymsSemantically different synonyms refer to the synonyms that differ slightly in what they mean. For example, "amaze" and "astound" are very close in meaning to the word "surprise," but they have very subtle differences in meaning. While amaze suggests confusion and bewilderment, " astound" implies difficulty in believing. "53. What are the major views concerning the study of meaning? How do they differ?One of the oldest was the naming theory, proposed by the ancient Greek scholar Plato, who believed that the words used in a language are taken to be labels of the objects they stand for. The conceptualist view holds that there is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to. The form and the meaning are linked through the mediation of concepts in the mind. Contextualism is based on the presumption that one can derive meaning from or reduce meaning to observable contexts. Two kinds of context are recognized; the situational context and the linguistic context.For example, the meaning of the word "seal" in the sentence "The seal could not be found" can only be determined according to the context in which the sentence occurs:The seal could not be found. The zoo keeper became worried.(seal meaning an aquatic mammal)The seal could not be found. The king became worried.(seal meaning the king's stamp)Behaviorism drew on behaviorist psychology when he tried to define the meaning of linguistic forms. Behaviorists attempted to define the meaning of a language form as " the situation in which the speaker utters it and the response it calls forth in the hearer".。