Ling 390 Intro to Linguistics Winter 2005 Class 1 Monday, January 3, 2005

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Semantics Slide

• Problem Set 5
• Exercises for Chapter 6 1, 3, 10, 17
• Goals for semantics chapter
• Not responsible for Section 3.4 (interpretation
  of pronouns)
• You should know how to do the following
• Identify the relation among words and sentences
• Understand the different theories of meaning
• Structural versus lexical ambiguity
• Thematic roles
• Pragmatics - Especially 4.4 Conversational Maxims

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• Semantics is the study of the meaning in human
  language.
• Have you ever said in frustration, Well thats
  not what I meant! - what happened?

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• Semantic relations that exist among words
• Synonymy (words that are synonyms) - words that
  have the same meaning in some or all contexts
• Antonymy (words that are antonyms) - words that
  have the opposite meaning of each other (with
  regard to some component of their meaning)
• Polysemy - when a word has 2 or more related
  meanings
• Homophony - when a word (same pronunciation) has
  2 or more entirely distinct meanings (sound the
  same but dont have to have same spelling)
• LEXICAL AMBIGUITY when a single form has 2 or
  more meanings (polysemy and homophony)

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• Semantic relations that exist among phrases and
  sentences
• Paraphrase (like synonyms) - 2 sentences that can
  have the same meaning
• a. The cat chased the squirrel.
• b. The squirrel was chased by the cat.
• The relationship between the above sentences is
  that if one is true, then the other must be true
  as well. They are said to have the same truth
  condition
• When the truth of one sentence guarantees the
  truth of another, we say that there is a relation
  of entailment - the above example is mutual in
  that either sentence entails the other
• Relation can be asymmetrical
• a. The cat killed the squirrel.
• b. The squirrel is dead

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• When the truth of one sentence guarantees the
  truth of another, we say that there is a relation
  of entailment
• Relation can be asymmetrical
• a. The cat killed the squirrel.
• b. The squirrel is dead
• If a is true, then b must be true, but not vice
  versa

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• Contradiction - if one sentence is true, than the
  other must be false
• a. Jeff is an only child.
• b. Jeff has an older sister.
• Both sentences cannot both be true, then one
  contradicts the other

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• What exactly is meaning?
• As native speakers of a language, we all know the
  meaning of a great many words in our language.
  If we dont know the meaning, we look it up in
  the dictionary. But to understand the
  definition, we have to know the meaning of those
  words...
• It is easier to determine the semantic relation
  between words than the precise meaning of a word.
  There are attempts at some theories of
  meaning...

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• What exactly is meaning? Theories of meaning
• Connotation - according to this theory, a words
  meaning is simply the set of associations that
  the word evokes - desert evokes hot, dry, sandy
• Denotation - according to this theory, a words
  meaning is not the set of associations it evokes,
  but rather the entity to which it refers its
  denotation or referent in the real world - desert
  would refer to that set of regions in the world
  characterized by barrenness and lack of rain
• Problems with these theories? A desert with no
  sand, unicorn, the President of the United States
  AND the leader of the free world OR Laura Bushs
  husband

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• What exactly is meaning?
• Extension/Intensions - combines denotation and
  connotation - extension refers to the referents
  in the real world and intension is the
  associations that a word evokes. desert
  extension a barren, dry region in the world
  such as the Gobi or Sahara. intension having
  to do with barrenness and dryness, not a specific
  region
• Extension is the referent while intension is the
  mental image - in this case, unicorn or ogre have
  no extension, only intension - but what about
  Shrek?

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• What exactly is meaning? Theories of meaning
• Componential Analysis - this theory is based on
  the idea that meaning can be decomposed into
  smaller semantic units (like features in
  phonology).
• living, human, -adult gives us the category
  child

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• What exactly is meaning? Problems with the
  theories
• Connotation - different people have different
  associations for words, and associations do not
  necessarily get at meaning
• Denotation - it cannot account for entities that
  exist in an imaginary realm
• Extension/Intension - can account for entities
  in imagination, but still dont get at what
  meaning actually is
• Componential analysis - works relatively well,
  but it is difficult to specify all the features
  that would be needed. Also, it is difficult to
  determine smaller units of meaning for some words
  (blue versus yellow or orange)

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• Concepts - the system we use to identify,
  classify and organize all elements of our
  experiences. Our conceptual system reveals how
  meaning is expressed through language.
• Fuzzy Concepts - concepts that can differ from
  person to person - no clear-cut boundaries -
  expensive or even smart, beautiful, ugly

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• Graded Membership - members of a concept can be
  graded according to how typical they are within
  that concept - most typical is prototype - other
  members are arranged around the prototype -
  members having more in common with the prototype
  occur closer to the prototype, and less in
  common, further away
• What is meaning of vegetable? What is a
  prototypical vegetable?

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• Metaphor - the concepts expressed by language do
  not exist in isolation, but are interconnected
  and associated. Metaphor the understanding of
  one concept in terms of another can be used to
  make these connections.
• emotions connected to up and down

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• Lexicalization - process whereby concepts are
  encoded into the words of a language and is
  language specific. Some English words contain
  both the concept of motion and the manner of
  motion (roll, crawl, slither). Spanish does not
  and both concepts need to be lexicalized (2
  different words - 1 for motion and 1 for manner).
  Spanish has verbs (English does not) that show
  motion and direction go up subir go down
  bajar (Eskimo words for snow/NW word for rain)
• By studying what concepts are lexicalized we can
  find out if there are common or universal
  concepts that are or are not lexicalized in any
  given language
• See Figure 6.3 for example

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• Grammaticaliztion - concepts that are expressed
  as affixes or nonlexical categories. Concepts
  such as tense, number and negation are often
  grammaticalized across languages. Hidatsa
  statements accompanied by a morpheme that
  indicates the evidence for its truth (certainty,
  common knowledge, etc) See Table 6.13, p. 217 -
  Book says English doesnt really have this - do
  you agree?

• What about -ish? Do you think this morpheme
  grammaticalizes uncertainty?

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Semantics Slide
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• Semantics
• What about wanna, kinda, sorta, like? How do
  express future tense in Englsih? will/gonna?
  going to --gt gonna grammaticized only for future,
  not for any combination of going to.

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• Principle of Compositionality - The meaning of a
  sentence is determined by the meaning of its
  component parts and the manner in which they are
  arranged in syntactic structure.
• How is syntactic structure relevant for meaning?
• Constructional meaning - the meaning of a
  sentence defined by the construction

• The caused motion construction
• X causes Y to go somewhere Jeff mashed the
  book into the backpack.
• NP V NP PP
• The ditransitive construction
• X causes Y to have Z The bartender blended
  George a margarita.
• NP V NP NP

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• Ambiguity
• Structural Ambiguity - 2 sentences with the same
  word order but with different meanings due to the
  structural relationship that the sentences have
  (e.g., I met the woman standing by the water
  cooler.)
• wealthy men and women

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• Ambiguity
• Lexical Ambiguity - 1 word in a sentence having
  more than one meaning (caused by polysemy or
  homophony)
• The glasses are on the table
• Eye glasses or drinking glasses???

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• Thematic Roles (theta roles) - used to
  categorize the relation between a sentences
  parts and the event it describes.
• Agent (actor) the entity that performs the
  action
• Theme the entity undergoing an action of
  movement
• Source the starting point for a movement
• Goal the end point for a movement
• Location the place where an action takes place

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics

• Thematic Roles assignment - Thematic roles are
  assigned to NPs based on their position within
  the sentence. Typically, verbs and prepositions
  assign thematic roles.
• VERBS Assign the agent role to its subject NP
  Assign the theme role to its complement NP (Both
  are optional)
• PREPOSITIONS Assign a thematic role (the
  specific one depends on the preposition) to its
  complement NP
• Thematic roles are assigned at deep structure.
  What did the students throw? has the deep
  structure The students threw what - The verb
  threw assigns the agent role to the students and
  the theme role to what. What retains this role
  even after Move changes its position in the
  structure.

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Semantics Slide
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Semantics
IP

• Thematic Roles assignment

I'
VP
V'
NP
N'
I
N
Det
V
Det
N
Pst
The students threw the
textbook ltag, thgt
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Semantics Slide
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Semantics
IP

• Thematic Roles assignment

I'
VP
V'
NP
N'
I
N
V
Det
N
Pst
The students threw
what ltag, thgt
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Semantics Slide
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CP
C'
NP
IP
N'
C Q
I'
VP
V'
I
Pst
NP
N'
I
N
N
V
Det
N
Pst
What did the students t throw
t
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Semantics Slide
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Pragmatics

• Pragmatics - the study of meaning as it relates
  to speakers and addressees background attitudes
  and beliefs, their understanding of the context
  in which a sentence is uttered, and their
  knowledge of how language can be used to inform,
  persuade, mislead, etc.
• Focuses on utterances - sentences that are
  spoken within a given context (the same sentence
  spoken 2 different times is 2 different
  utterances - why?)

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Semantics Slide
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Pragmatics

• Beliefs and attitudes -
• The city council denied the demonstrators a
  permit because they advocated violence
• The city council denied the demonstrators a
  permit because they abhorred violence
• The architect gave the secretary a raise after
  she typed the report.
• A man and his son were in a car accident and
  rushed to the hospital. When the boy arrived,
  the surgeon declared, Thats my son. I cannot
  operate on him! Who is the surgeon?

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Semantics Slide
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Pragmatics

• Presupposition - the assumption or belief implied
  by the use of a particular word.
• John admitted/believed that the soccer team had
  cheated.
• Have you stopped beating up your spouse?
• Presupposition cannot be canceled out if the
  opposite of the event is true.
• John admitted that the soccer team had cheated,
  but the team had not cheated VS. John believed
  that the soccer team had cheated, but the team
  had not cheated.
• admitted presupposes that the team had in fact
  cheated, whereas believed does not

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Semantics Slide
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Pragmatics

• Setting/Deictics - the form and interpretation of
  some words depend on the location of the speaker
  and listener within a particular setting. These
  words are called deictics.
• here/there - this/that - these ones/those ones -
  can only have meaning from their use

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Semantics Slide
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Pragmatics

• Discourse - the term used to describe the
  connected speech of utterances that are produced
  during a conversation, lecture, story, or other
  kind of speech act.
• Using pronouns in a story to refer back to
  already introduced nouns. Meaning depends on the
  entire discourse.
• Topic - old versus new information - differences
  in the use of a or the in English
• Discourse words like anyways to start an
  utterance - what does this mean to you?

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Semantics Slide
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Pragmatics

• How do we interpret the following sentences and
  how does the choice of words influence that
  interpretation?
• Karen was killed/murdered in a car accident.
• 2. Kevin declared/acknowledged that the
  accusation was false.
• a. A priest was at the hospital.
• b. The priest was at a hospital.
• 4. When I come/go back to China, Ill climb
  the Great Wall.

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Semantics Slide
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Pragmatics
Speech Acts Sometimes we actually do more than
communicate thoughts during speech. Things we
do during speech (acts) Apologize,
compliment, make requests, etc. The meaning of
these speech acts often is from conventionalized
forms - more than the words themselves, but we
have gotten used to requests in certain
forms. Can you hand me that book? What is the
meaning of this question? What is the speech act?
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Semantics Slide
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Pragmatics

• Conversations The Cooperative Principle Make
  your contribution appropriate to the
  conversation.
• Conversational Maxims (p. 233)
• Relevance Make your contribution relevant to the
  conversation.
• Quality Make your contribution truthful.
• Quantity Make your contribution only as
  informative as required.
• Manner Make your contribution unambiguous,
  clear, and logical.
• Conversational Implicature During the course of
  the conversation, we are often able to make
  inferences about what is meant but was not
  actually said. Implying a meaning in a given
  conversation by flouting the above maxims. (Not
  lying)
• EXAMPLES?

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Semantics Slide
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Pragmatics

• Can you reach the book on top shelf?
• Doctor to patient with bursitis vs. Short student
  to the tall student in the library.
• What are the differences in what is implied?
• Letter of rec that says The student is always
  punctual and polite. Also, they dress very
  nicely....
• What maxim is being violated? What is the
  implicature of the letter?

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Semantics Practice
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Semantics Practice
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Semantics Practice
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Semantics Practice In English, are these concepts
fuzzy, graded or have been grammaticalized?
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Semantics Practice
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Semantics Practice Identify the thematic roles in
the following examples and determine which
verb/proposition assigned the role
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Semantics Practice
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Pragmatics Practice

• Presupposition - the assumption or belief implied
  by the use of a particular word. Which word has
  the presupposition and what is it?
• John regrets that Maria went to the graduation
  ceremony.
• John believes that Maria went to the graduation
  ceremony
• The captain thought that the ship was in danger.
• The captain realized that the ship was in
  danger.
• It is significant that the criminal was
  sentenced.
• It is likely that the criminal was sentenced
• Identify the sentence that contains the
  presupposition.
• Locate the word that is responsible for the
  presupposition.