MAKING MEANING

(A Portfolio of Outputs)

A Final Output
Presented to
Mr. Jansen P. Tumabing
Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences
Carlos Hilado Memorial State College
Talisay City, Negros Occidental

In Partial Fulfilment
of the Requirements for the Course
in ELSEMA (Semantics of English)
Second Semester, A.Y. 2020 – 2021

Submitted by
KIMBERLY R. DE JESUS
BA English Language 2F

June 4, 2021
MODULE 1 Semantics, Semiotics and Pragmatics

ENGAGE

Activity 1

Instructions: Signification is the process of creating and interpreting symbols. What

do think the things below signify? (For example: diaper = baby or patient, if you see a
diaper in a house or a room, then you will think that the family has a baby or a sick
member) (Total pts. = 10)

1. High grades in classes – intelligent student

2. Red light – warning sign/emergency

3. Philippine flag – Independence/Filipino

4. Dark colors in a painting – powerful/sadness

5. Black clouds in the sky – storm

EXPLORE

Activity 2

Instructions: Sameness, contradiction, ambiguity and entailment are examples of

semantic knowledge. Provide a counterpart of the sentences below. (Total pts. = 10)

1. The earth is 384, 000km away from the moon.

Sentence with the same meaning: The distance between the earth and the Moon is
384, 000 km.

2. Metro Manila is the capital of the Philippines.

Sentence with an opposite meaning: The capital of the Philippines is Palawan.

3. Sentence which can have two meanings: Savannah is gone.

4. She went out.

Sentence that entails and is automatically true: She went out to have grocery.

5. I saw a fish.

Sentence with a specific meaning: We went to the beach and I saw a dolphin.
ELABORATE

Activity 3.

Instruction: Create a Venn diagram to illustrate the differences and similarities

among semantics, semiotics, and pragmatics. (Total pts. = 15)

Semiotics
Semantics

Is related to Is the study of sign

theoretical systems. It explores
linguistics. It is all Focus how words and other
about studying the On signs make meaning
meaning of meaning
linguistic
expression.
Branches of
linguistic

Context Deals with

Independent aspects beyond
Texts.

Understand the
language meaning but
keeping the context in
mind.

Pragmatics
MODULE 2 Meaning, Thoughts and Reality

ENGAGE

Activity 4

Instructions: Interview three of your family members by asking them what they
imagine/ think/perceive/ conceptualize by giving their own descriptions of the words
below. Do not give them any clue nor influence their answers regardless of whether
they know the word or not. Then, answer the question that follows. (Total pts. = 10)

Words Description
World War II It was the deadliest war in all of human history with around
70 million people killed.
Woody Harrelson Harrelson is widely known for his work on the NBC sitcom
Cheers.
President Duterte Duterte is the first president from Mindanao and the oldest
person to be elected president of the Philippines. He is also
the first Philippine president to have worked in the three
branches of the government.
Unicorn Unicorns are thought to be good and pure creatures with
magical powers.
Triangle A triangle has three sides, three vertices, and three angles.
Friendship Friendships are mutually beneficial, meaning each of you
get something out of the relationship.
Everything All that exists.

Questions:

1. Do they have the same descriptions? Why do you think they do or they don’t?
- They didn’t have the same descriptions because their thoughts and ideas
of the given words is different.
2. In cases of no descriptions, why do you think it happened?
- Because they have their own views and opinion.
3. What do you think are their basis for their description?
- I think the basis of their description is what was the first thing that comes
out to their minds, and what have they known about the words.

EXPLORE

Activity 5
Instructions: Briefly answer the question below with 5 – 6 sentences only. Support
your claim with theories and/ or examples. Don’t forget to use the IBC (Introduction,
Body, and Conclusion) format of writing an essay. See Rubric 2 in the Appendices for
the scoring system. (Total pts. = 20)

Which is more

– Reference or meaning?

To understand this matter, which is an important concern of philosophy of language, I

believe that Meaning and Reference have been (the) two aspects of any theory of
semantics since Antiquity. The simpler case is that of reference: insofar as signs
stand for objects in the real world (or any imagined world), these objects are the
signs' references.

It soon appears, however, that no sign can stand directly for any object. As John
Locke explained, real things come to our minds only through representations, ideas,
concepts. More recent philosophical discussions have described these as the
meaning of the signs. See for instance Hilary Putnam, “Meaning and Reference”, The
Journal of Philosophy 70/19 (1973), pp. 699-711. The couple meaning vs reference
is similar to Sinn vs Bedeutung in Frege, or reference vs referent in Ogden &
Richards, sens vs dénotation among French linguists, etc. It has seemed, especially
since Saussure (and Peirce) that Meaning, in particular, made it possible to build a
linguistic theory that might be free from any mundane reference. This, however,
remains IMO an illusion, because no meaning is independent from the reference of
the signs considered.

This being said, everything that was said here before, about meaning being
determined, absolute (and abstract) and reference being indetermined, relative (and
concrete), etc., remains true. But these charateristics are, I think, but resultant from
the main distinction made here (between concepts and mundane things).

ELABORATE

Activity 6
Instructions: Complete the word web below by providing appropriate nodes (10 pts.).
Then, provide 3 inherent attributes in each node (30 pts). See the diagram on page
18 for a sample. (Total pts. = 40)

Is soft
Dining table
Living room
furniture
Furniture Sofa
Arm chairs
Dining room
furniture Book
Counter shelves
stools

Accent
chairs
Is comfortable

Module 3 Meaning from word and sentences

ENGAGE
Activity 7

Instructions: A language has to be intelligible, comprehensible and fluent. However,

the sentence below may not be easily comprehensible to people whose English is a
second or a foreign language to them. Revise these sentences into basic,
comprehensible spoken statements. (Total pts. = 25)

1. In lieu of further discussion, we want to state in affirmative that what transpired

was due to the fact that the vehicle had insufficient braking capabilities to
avoid collision.
- The vehicle crashed because of lack braking skills.
2. Through he was cognizant of his responsibility to advise you of any
employment aberrations, he failed to abide by this mandate.
- He failed to fulfill his duties as an employer.
3. In as much as we have endeavored to determine the causes of the dilemma
without success, we are terminating this fact-finding operation immediately.
- After failing to identify the causes of the problem, we have decided to stop
this operation.
4. I wonder if you would be so kind as to avail yourself of this opportunity to
respond accordingly to our questionnaire.
- I was wondering if you would be so kind as to take advantage of this
chance to answer to our questionnaire.
5. At this point, I am in characterized by a desire to know something as to
whether the person this message is addressed to is satisfactory but not
exceptionally good.
- At this point, I am motivated by wanting to know if the person to whom this
message is sent is acceptable but not exceptional.

EXPLORE

Activity 8

Instructions: Study the pair of words below. How do you think they are associated?
Write what type of lexical relations occurs. (Total pts. = 10)

1. band (a strip of material) – band (a group of people) - HOMONYMY

2. shut (close) – shut (make unavailable for service) – POLYSEMY
3. vivid – vague – OPPOSITES AND ANTONYMY
4. lightning – lightening – HOMONYMY
5. bound (going to a place) – bound (confined to a place) - POLYSEMY
6. anguish – agony - SYNONYMY
7. cloud – altostratus - MERONYMY
8. USB port – netbook - MERONYMY
9. jewelry – tiara - MERONYMY
 10. spool – thread – HYPONYMY

ELABORATE

Activity 9

Instructions: Experts like Noam Chomsky believe that it is always possible for
speakers to create new words. Think of a concept (an object or a situation, for
example) that may not have been lexicalized yet (no particular term yet), and create
your own word to refer to it. Also, be able to provide details about it, as given below.
See Creativity Rubric 1 in the Appendices for the scoring system (Total pts. = 25)

Word: vely

Part of speech: noun Pronunciation: veh - lee

Syllabication: ve-ly Derivation or Inflection: vel-ish

Definition: regard for one's own well-being and happiness

Example Sentence: Vely is the greatest of flatterers.

Origin (basis): Self-love

Illustration (if possible): ______________________________________________

Antonyms: self-hatred

Synonyms: vainness

MODULE 4 Sentence Relations and Truth

ENGAGE

Activity 10

Instructions: To presuppose something means to assume it. Read the following

sentence below and give five (5) presuppositions. (Total pts. = 5)

She quit working with her friend at a local government office.

Presuppositions:

1. She used to work with her friend at a local government office.

2. She didn’t work with her friend at a local government office.

3. She was working with her friend at a local government office.

4. She is working with her friend at a local government office before.

5. She is working with at a local government office.

EXPLORE

Activity 11

Instructions: Read the given sentence (premise/s) below; then, tell whether the
following sentences (conclusions) are TRUE or NOT TRUE.

If it your pass this course, you can graduate next year.

1. You passed the course, so you can graduate next year. TRUE

2. You didn’t pass the course, you so cannot graduate next year. TRUE

3. You passed the course, so you cannot graduate next year. NOT TRUE

4. You didn’t pass the course, you so can graduate next year. NOT TRUE

ELABORATE

Activity 12
Instructions: In the table below are the types for valid inferences discussed earlier.
Give examples for each of them. (Total pts. = 11 pts.)

Valid Inference Example

Modus Ponens
p→q If Paw is a dog, then Paw barks.
p Paw is a dog.
q Therefore, Paw barks.
Modus Tollens
p→q If Paw is a dog, then Paw has four legs.
¬q Paw has not four legs.
¬p Paw is not a dog.
Hypothetical syllogism
p→q If it rains, then I will study.
q→r If I will study, then I will get good grades.
p→r If it rains, then I will get good grades.
Disjunctive syllogism
pvq The cake is either vanilla flavored or chocolate flavored.
¬p The cake is not vanilla flavored.
q Therefore, the cake is chocolate flavored.

MODULE 5 Meanings from Situations

ENGAGE

Activity 13

Instructions: Write a short poem of any theme and style expressing events and
situations in the past, in the present, and in the future. All these three periods of time
must be present. Underline the main verbs that are used to express the said tenses.

The places we can’t easily go back

Are the places we adore so much

Schools, Classmates, Activities that we are in touch

 Gone by so fast

Why? Is this the world that we deserve?

Or is this the world we made to

But now, I know things will go in hand

For He will come and rescue us

Protecting ourselves is a must

In this world, where pandemics and viruses are up

Wear your fancy masks and spray those alcohol dust

And wait, because the future will be bright

Like the sun in the morning light

Memories and happiness we like

Will hug us more and much

Just wait because things will go back where they used to be

EXPLORE

Activity 14

Instructions:

1. Choose an action verb. Make sure your action verb is dynamic enough to be
applicable in past, present or future.

2. Use this verb in writing 12 sentences of different tenses. Note: There are 12
tenses of verbs as discussed in English Syntax.

3. Use this verb in writing 9 sentences of different modalities. Note: There are 9 basic
modal verbs as discussed in English Syntax.

1. Run
12 tenses of verbs

a. Present Simple – I run every day.

b. Present Continuous – I am running right now.
c. Present Perfect – I have ran to the park.
d. Present Perfect Continuous – I have been running for a day.
e. Past Simple – I ran to the park yesterday.
f. Past Continuous – I was running when the ducks crossed the road.
g. Past Perfect – I had run when she arrived.
h. Past Perfect Continuous – I had been running for one hour when she hasn’t
arrived.
i. Future Simple – I will run to the park tomorrow.
j. Future Continuous – I will be running when she arrive.
k. Future Perfect – I will have ran to the park by the time you arrive.
l. Future Perfect Continuous – I will have been ran for one hour when you arrive.

9 basic modal verbs

a. I can run.
b. It might be difficult to run faster.
c. I should run more carefully
d. I could run faster when I was younger.
e. I must run back later.
f. I will run faster.
g. May I run slower?
h. Today, I shall run to the park.
i. Would you run with me?

ELABORATE

Activity 15

Instructions: Write 3 example sentences for the kinds of situations according to

Vendler (1967) and Smith (1991). Make sure to write realistic examples which are
relatable to yourself or your life.

1. States
a. He didn't know the car was coming.
b. He is the handsomest and strongest of men, and I believe he is the
wisest also.
c. We love our parents, siblings and friends.
2. Activities
a. I never would have believed he would run off and leave us like that.
 b. I'm going for a walk.
c. Some may swim at a pool or beach while others may be in the water
for swimming lessons.
3. Accomplishments
a. I draw and paint a picture, she said, flustered as his gaze stayed on
the drawing of them holding hands.
b. I'm going to make a chair and get back to work.
c. My sister draw a circle.
4. Achievements
a. My father feels it's important to recognize all those who support our
family's success.
b. The restaurant is a nightlife hot spot as well--on most evenings
throughout the spring and summer, live music makes it a destination.
c. I find they almost always answer.
5. Semelfactives
a. I throw the ball to the ring.
b. I knocked for five minutes.
c. I sat down on a chair.

MODULE 6 Sentence Participants

ENGAGE

Activity 16

Instructions: Read the story below and answer the questions that follow. (Total pts. =
15)

Questions to Answer:

1.Who are the characters in the story?

- The characters in the story are the bride, the five wise bridesmaid, the five foolish
bridesmaid and the groom.
2. What are the roles of each character?

- The role of the bride is to wait for the bridegroom. The ten bridesmaid represents
the members of the Church and the bridegroom represents Jesus.

3. Give one action that each character does.

Five wise bridesmaid – cautious

Five foolish bridesmaid – impulsive

EXPLORE

Activity 17

Instructions: Underline the nouns and pronouns once, and the main verbs twice in
the sentences below. (Total pts. = 27)

1. Mr. Estrella and his son mowed their backyard.

2. They watched the fireworks at the festival.

3. Angela read the story for her younger sister.

4. With a black pen, the manager signed the document.

5. The player shot the ball to the ring successfully.

6. I got this shirt from Palawan.

7. The loud bang awakened me.

ELABORATE

Activity 18

Instructions: Below is an excerpt from The Parable of the Bridesmaids. Write down
each sentence, list down each participant, and identify their thematic roles.

After the bridesmaids got the bride ready they waited and waited for the groom to
come. They kept their lamps lit so they would be ready when he came.
As time went by the bride and all of the bridesmaids got sleepy and fell asleep.
Then someone shouted “Here’s the bridegroom, come outside and meet him!”
The bride and all of the bridesmaids woke up. They fixed their lamps to make them
nice and bright. The five foolish girls noticed that their lamps had run out of oil and
had burned out. They asked the wise girls for oil but there was enough for them to
have some too.

Bridegroom – agent or actor

The ten bridesmaids – patient or theme
Lamps and oil – instrument
Wedding – location
Arrival of bridegroom - goal