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Semantics 1

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Syaima Fauziyah Anwari
Syaima Fauziyah Anwari

The document provides an overview of semantics, which is defined as the study of meaning in language. It discusses several theories and approaches to analyzing word meanings, including semantic features, roles, and relationships between words. Specifically, it covers componential analysis, where words are broken down into semantic components or features; semantic roles that describe how entities are involved in actions; and lexical relations like synonymy and antonymy between words. The document also addresses some limitations of different theories of meaning.

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السّلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركةه SEMANTICS Lecture : Dian, S.Pd., M.Pd.
SYAIMA FAUZIYAH ANWARI Definition of SEMANTICS and The Study Word Meanings
Definition of SEMANTICS What is semantics?
What is Semantics? • The study of meaning of words, phrases, and sentences. – Lexical semantics (words and meaning relationship among words) – Phrasal/ sentential semantics (syntactic units larger than a word) • What a speaker conventionally means (objective or general meaning)- not what he is trying to say (subjective or local meaning)
Semantics is a sub discipline of linguistics which focuses on the study of meaning. Semantics tries to understand what meaning is as an element of language and how it is constructed by language as well as interpreted, obscured and negotiated by speakers and listeners of language.
How can we describe the meaning of different words? • Three types of semantic analysis: –Words as ‘containers’ Semantic features – ‘roles’ they fulfill Semantic roles – ‘relationship’ with other words lexical relation
Semantic features • Syntactically correct sentences but semantically odd. – The hamburger ate the man. – My cat studies linguistics. – The table listens to the radio • This relates to the conceptual components of the words ‘hamburger, cat & table’ not human.
Semantic Features • Semantic properties: The components of meaning of a word. • Meaning as collection of properties/features typically with two possible values (+ / -) • Example of componential analysis: baby is [+ young], [+ human], [+animate]
Semantic Features
Identify the features (1) 1. (a) widow, mother, sister, aunt, maid (b) widower, father, brother, uncle The (a) and (b) words are The (a) words are The (b) words are [+ human] [+ female] [+ male] 2. (a) bachelor, paperboy, pope, chief (b) bull, rooster, drake, ram  The (a) and (b) words are  The (a) words are  The (b) words are [+ male] [+ human] [+ animal]
Semantic roles • Words are described according to the roles they fulfill with the situation described in a sentence. – The boy kicked the ball • verb indicates action • Boy performs the action= agent • Ball undergoes the action= theme • The NPs describe the role of entities (people or things) involved in the action, i.e. they have certain semantic (or thematic) roles.
Semantic Roles • Agent= the entity that performs the action • Theme= the entity that undergoes the action • Experiencer= one who perceives something • Instrument= an entity used to perform an action • Location= the place where the action happens • Source= the place from which an action originates • Goal= the place where the action is directed
Semantic roles • John is writing with a pen agent instrument • Mary saw a mosquito on the wall experiencer theme location • The children ran from the playground to the pool agent source goal • The boy opened the door with a key • The dog bit the stick • With a stick, the man hit the dog.
Lexical relations • What is the meaning of ‘big’? – ‘Large’ or the opposite of ‘small’ • What is the meaning of ‘daffodil’? – A kind of flower • Analysis in terms of lexical relations- explain the meaning in terms of the relationship with other words • Synonymy • Antonymy • Hyponymy • Prototype • Homophones and Homonyms • Polysemy
Synonymy • Synonymy: words that have the same meanings or that are closely related in meaning • E.g. answer/reply – almost/nearly – broad/wide – buy/purchase – freedom/ liberty • ‘sameness’ is not ‘total sameness’- only one word would be appropriate in a sentence. – E.g. Sandy only had one answer correct on the test. (but NOT reply) • Synonyms differ in formality – E.g buy/purchase – automobile/car
Antonymy • Antonymy: words that are opposites in meaning, e.g. hot & cold. • Types • Gradable= not absolute, question of degree – Hot & cold – small & big • Non-gradable: – Dead & alive – asleep & awake E.g. happy/sad married/single present/absent fast/slow
Synonymy & Antonymy Synonymy or Antonymy  Flourish – thrive  Intelligent – stupid  Casual – informal  deep-profound  Drunk – sober  Sofa – couch  Hide – conceal  cheap – expensive  Rich - wealthy a. synonym b. antonym c. synonym d. synonym e. antonym f. Synonym g. Synonym h. Antonym i. synonym
Hyponymy • Hyponymy: Words whose meanings are specific instances of a more general word, i.e. one thing is included (kind of) in another thing. – e.g. cats and dogs are hyponyms of the word animal. • In this case cats and dogs are co-hyponyms share the same ‘superordinate’ • Other e.g. daffodil & flower / carrot & vegetable / ant & insect
Homophones and Homonyms • Homonymy: A word which has two or more entirely distinct (unrelated) meanings, – e.g. bank: ‘financial institution’ ; ‘of a river’. – Bat: ‘flying creature’ or ‘used in sports’ – Race: ‘contest of speed’ or ‘ethnic group’ • Homophony: Different words pronounced the same but spelled differently, – e.g. two, to and too. – Flour and flower – Meat and meet – Right and write
Polysemy • Polysemy: A word which has multiple meanings related by extension, – e.g. bright: ‘shining’ ; ‘intelligent’ – ‘Head’ of the body and the person at the top of a company. – ‘Foot’ of a body and of a mountain and of the bed or chair. – ‘Run’ a person runs, the water runs
Metonymy • What do you think about these sentence? – He drank the whole bottle. (container-content) – The White House announced. (king-crown) – I gave her a hand. (whole-part) • A word substituted for another word with which it is closely associated e.g. bottle is used for water • Metonymy is "a figure of speech in which an attribute or commonly associated feature is used to name or designate something." A short definition is "part for whole."
Collocation • Words tend to occur with other words. • E.g. table/chair • Butter/bread • Salt/pepper • Hammer/ nail
THEORIES OF MEANING • Four theories to the meaning of words: – Dictionary meanings – Mental image – Referents – Componential
Dictionary Meanings • demand (N) – the need or desire that people have for particular goods or services • desire (N) – a strong hope or wish • wish (N) – the act of wishing for something • wish (V) – to hope that something will happen
Problems with dictionary meanings • Understanding meaning of word involves understanding all the words in definition • Circularity – pride: the quality or state of being proud – proud: feeling or showing pride
More problems with dictionary meanings: • They are NOT theoretical claims about the nature of meaning, but a practical aid to people who already speak a language. They are usually paraphrases. • They may be a way of learning the meaning of some words, but there is much more to word meaning than the dictionary definition. Why?
Mental image… • Is a graphic representation in one’s mind of a referent (when I say table, you "draw" a table in your mind) • There is much more to meaning than a simple mental image. Why? – People may have very different mental images for same word (lecture – from perspective of student vs. teacher) – Some words, even though having meaning, have no real definite image (honesty, or the) – Mental images are usually a prototype or standard of the referent (bird: what bird? -- image may exclude atypical examples)
What is the prototype for bird?
But bird also includes…
Advantages of prototype theory • Provides some insight into the way we conceive of certain ideas/objects • Evidence from experimental psychology – reaction time: typical member < atypical member • Prototypes may help children learn the meanings of new words
Disadvantages of prototype theory • Culturally and socially dependent. – prototypes can vary across populations. • Many words have no clear mental images. – forget, things, without, concept, …..
Referents… • Have to do with the fact that words usually stand for (refer to) actual objects or relations in the world. – Example: “Dubya”, “Florida”, “Disney World.” • There is much more to meaning than a referent. Why? – It would exclude from language fantasies, speculations, and fiction.(Santa Claus refers to what?). – The fact that two words (or expressions) refer to the same thing does not indicate that they mean the same thing.(Queen Elizabeth = Queen of England in 2005?). – What referents do these words have: forget, the, some…?
Componential Theory • The meaning of a word is specified by smaller semantic components • Semantic components are primitive elements of meaning expressed as binary features (+ or -)
Semantic decomposition • woman: [+ human] [+ female] [+ adult] • man: [+ human] [- female] [+ adult] • girl: [+ human] [+ female] [- adult] • boy: [+ human] [- female] [- adult]
Advantages of componential theory • Captures similarities among semantically related words • Groups meanings into natural classes (like phonology)
Disadvantages of componential theory • Difficult to analyze abstract concepts – What are the semantic components of blue? • [+ color]? [+ blueness]? • Meaning of semantic components is sometimes no more explanatory than the words they are specifying

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Semantics 1

  • 1. السّلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركةه SEMANTICS Lecture : Dian, S.Pd., M.Pd.
  • 2. SYAIMA FAUZIYAH ANWARI Definition of SEMANTICS and The Study Word Meanings
  • 3. Definition of SEMANTICS What is semantics?
  • 4. What is Semantics? • The study of meaning of words, phrases, and sentences. – Lexical semantics (words and meaning relationship among words) – Phrasal/ sentential semantics (syntactic units larger than a word) • What a speaker conventionally means (objective or general meaning)- not what he is trying to say (subjective or local meaning)
  • 5. Semantics is a sub discipline of linguistics which focuses on the study of meaning. Semantics tries to understand what meaning is as an element of language and how it is constructed by language as well as interpreted, obscured and negotiated by speakers and listeners of language.
  • 6. How can we describe the meaning of different words? • Three types of semantic analysis: –Words as ‘containers’ Semantic features – ‘roles’ they fulfill Semantic roles – ‘relationship’ with other words lexical relation
  • 7. Semantic features • Syntactically correct sentences but semantically odd. – The hamburger ate the man. – My cat studies linguistics. – The table listens to the radio • This relates to the conceptual components of the words ‘hamburger, cat & table’ not human.
  • 8. Semantic Features • Semantic properties: The components of meaning of a word. • Meaning as collection of properties/features typically with two possible values (+ / -) • Example of componential analysis: baby is [+ young], [+ human], [+animate]
  • 10. Identify the features (1) 1. (a) widow, mother, sister, aunt, maid (b) widower, father, brother, uncle The (a) and (b) words are The (a) words are The (b) words are [+ human] [+ female] [+ male] 2. (a) bachelor, paperboy, pope, chief (b) bull, rooster, drake, ram  The (a) and (b) words are  The (a) words are  The (b) words are [+ male] [+ human] [+ animal]
  • 11. Semantic roles • Words are described according to the roles they fulfill with the situation described in a sentence. – The boy kicked the ball • verb indicates action • Boy performs the action= agent • Ball undergoes the action= theme • The NPs describe the role of entities (people or things) involved in the action, i.e. they have certain semantic (or thematic) roles.
  • 12. Semantic Roles • Agent= the entity that performs the action • Theme= the entity that undergoes the action • Experiencer= one who perceives something • Instrument= an entity used to perform an action • Location= the place where the action happens • Source= the place from which an action originates • Goal= the place where the action is directed
  • 13. Semantic roles • John is writing with a pen agent instrument • Mary saw a mosquito on the wall experiencer theme location • The children ran from the playground to the pool agent source goal • The boy opened the door with a key • The dog bit the stick • With a stick, the man hit the dog.
  • 14. Lexical relations • What is the meaning of ‘big’? – ‘Large’ or the opposite of ‘small’ • What is the meaning of ‘daffodil’? – A kind of flower • Analysis in terms of lexical relations- explain the meaning in terms of the relationship with other words • Synonymy • Antonymy • Hyponymy • Prototype • Homophones and Homonyms • Polysemy
  • 15. Synonymy • Synonymy: words that have the same meanings or that are closely related in meaning • E.g. answer/reply – almost/nearly – broad/wide – buy/purchase – freedom/ liberty • ‘sameness’ is not ‘total sameness’- only one word would be appropriate in a sentence. – E.g. Sandy only had one answer correct on the test. (but NOT reply) • Synonyms differ in formality – E.g buy/purchase – automobile/car
  • 16. Antonymy • Antonymy: words that are opposites in meaning, e.g. hot & cold. • Types • Gradable= not absolute, question of degree – Hot & cold – small & big • Non-gradable: – Dead & alive – asleep & awake E.g. happy/sad married/single present/absent fast/slow
  • 17. Synonymy & Antonymy Synonymy or Antonymy  Flourish – thrive  Intelligent – stupid  Casual – informal  deep-profound  Drunk – sober  Sofa – couch  Hide – conceal  cheap – expensive  Rich - wealthy a. synonym b. antonym c. synonym d. synonym e. antonym f. Synonym g. Synonym h. Antonym i. synonym
  • 18. Hyponymy • Hyponymy: Words whose meanings are specific instances of a more general word, i.e. one thing is included (kind of) in another thing. – e.g. cats and dogs are hyponyms of the word animal. • In this case cats and dogs are co-hyponyms share the same ‘superordinate’ • Other e.g. daffodil & flower / carrot & vegetable / ant & insect
  • 19. Homophones and Homonyms • Homonymy: A word which has two or more entirely distinct (unrelated) meanings, – e.g. bank: ‘financial institution’ ; ‘of a river’. – Bat: ‘flying creature’ or ‘used in sports’ – Race: ‘contest of speed’ or ‘ethnic group’ • Homophony: Different words pronounced the same but spelled differently, – e.g. two, to and too. – Flour and flower – Meat and meet – Right and write
  • 20. Polysemy • Polysemy: A word which has multiple meanings related by extension, – e.g. bright: ‘shining’ ; ‘intelligent’ – ‘Head’ of the body and the person at the top of a company. – ‘Foot’ of a body and of a mountain and of the bed or chair. – ‘Run’ a person runs, the water runs
  • 21. Metonymy • What do you think about these sentence? – He drank the whole bottle. (container-content) – The White House announced. (king-crown) – I gave her a hand. (whole-part) • A word substituted for another word with which it is closely associated e.g. bottle is used for water • Metonymy is "a figure of speech in which an attribute or commonly associated feature is used to name or designate something." A short definition is "part for whole."
  • 22. Collocation • Words tend to occur with other words. • E.g. table/chair • Butter/bread • Salt/pepper • Hammer/ nail
  • 23. THEORIES OF MEANING • Four theories to the meaning of words: – Dictionary meanings – Mental image – Referents – Componential
  • 24. Dictionary Meanings • demand (N) – the need or desire that people have for particular goods or services • desire (N) – a strong hope or wish • wish (N) – the act of wishing for something • wish (V) – to hope that something will happen
  • 25. Problems with dictionary meanings • Understanding meaning of word involves understanding all the words in definition • Circularity – pride: the quality or state of being proud – proud: feeling or showing pride
  • 26. More problems with dictionary meanings: • They are NOT theoretical claims about the nature of meaning, but a practical aid to people who already speak a language. They are usually paraphrases. • They may be a way of learning the meaning of some words, but there is much more to word meaning than the dictionary definition. Why?
  • 27. Mental image… • Is a graphic representation in one’s mind of a referent (when I say table, you "draw" a table in your mind) • There is much more to meaning than a simple mental image. Why? – People may have very different mental images for same word (lecture – from perspective of student vs. teacher) – Some words, even though having meaning, have no real definite image (honesty, or the) – Mental images are usually a prototype or standard of the referent (bird: what bird? -- image may exclude atypical examples)
  • 28. What is the prototype for bird?
  • 29. But bird also includes…
  • 30. Advantages of prototype theory • Provides some insight into the way we conceive of certain ideas/objects • Evidence from experimental psychology – reaction time: typical member < atypical member • Prototypes may help children learn the meanings of new words
  • 31. Disadvantages of prototype theory • Culturally and socially dependent. – prototypes can vary across populations. • Many words have no clear mental images. – forget, things, without, concept, …..
  • 32. Referents… • Have to do with the fact that words usually stand for (refer to) actual objects or relations in the world. – Example: “Dubya”, “Florida”, “Disney World.” • There is much more to meaning than a referent. Why? – It would exclude from language fantasies, speculations, and fiction.(Santa Claus refers to what?). – The fact that two words (or expressions) refer to the same thing does not indicate that they mean the same thing.(Queen Elizabeth = Queen of England in 2005?). – What referents do these words have: forget, the, some…?
  • 33. Componential Theory • The meaning of a word is specified by smaller semantic components • Semantic components are primitive elements of meaning expressed as binary features (+ or -)
  • 34. Semantic decomposition • woman: [+ human] [+ female] [+ adult] • man: [+ human] [- female] [+ adult] • girl: [+ human] [+ female] [- adult] • boy: [+ human] [- female] [- adult]
  • 35. Advantages of componential theory • Captures similarities among semantically related words • Groups meanings into natural classes (like phonology)
  • 36. Disadvantages of componential theory • Difficult to analyze abstract concepts – What are the semantic components of blue? • [+ color]? [+ blueness]? • Meaning of semantic components is sometimes no more explanatory than the words they are specifying