Chapter 6: Semantics…
… the Study of Meaning
NOTES:
 About exercising: it keeps you healthy: physically & mentally…
 I’ve tried to match the slides to the order of the textbook this time…
Extra Credit Possibility
Extra Credit Possibility
(Worth up to 2 quiz points)
(Worth up to 2 quiz points)
What is “Truth”?

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- Pilate- c 33AD
Travel means “to go from one place to
another, as by car, train, plane, or ship.
You are too young to travel.
You are not old enough to travel.
Dave spent 4 years in Tokyo, Japan.
Dave was once in Tokyo, Japan.
Truth & Contradiction

Paraphrase:
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Entailment
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JFK was assassinated  __________
Contradiction
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Two sentences: the same truth conditions
*The king is a woman
Anomaly

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously
2 Important Concepts (via vocabulary…)
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Ambiguity
Principle of Compositionality
The meaning of a sentence comes
(mostly) from its constituents and the
way they are positioned.
What I meant to say was…
What makes this funny?
Or if you don’t think it’s funny, what linguistic quality was
the author employing in his unsuccessful attempt at humor?
Ambiguity

The man saw the fish with binoculars.
You Try it


Create an ambiguous sentence…
How does the ambiguity in your
sentence relate to compositionality,
truth, and entailment?
Think About It…
What are some benefits &
dangers of ambiguity in our
communication?
Any Questions…
… before we move on?
Cup/Mug (or shades of blue)
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What’s the point?
Apply the point to something that
matters in your life…
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Reading
Writing
Teaching
2nd language study…
Systematicness of Language
Predictable
Phonology
Syntax
Lexis
Unpredictable
Word Relationships

Hyponymy

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Color – Red, blue, green, etc.
Converseness


(Lexis)
Reciprocal relationship
Polysemy & Homonymy

Plain
• Bat
So What??
How do people
use these?
(or misuse them?)
Fuzzy Concepts
H2O
(Lexical Semantics)
Nose
Ice
Water
Rain
Ice
Hana
(Japanese)
Nos
(Russian)
Think About It…
How can knowing about word
relationships help us study another
language or communicate with a
non-native speaker of English?
Any Questions…
… before we move on?
Pragmatics…
Band practice…
My house
6 to 8
Band practice…
Thanks for
My house
the
6 to 8
reminder
Band
practice…
My house
6 to 8
Thanks for
the
reminder
Band practice…
My house
6 to 8
Thanks for
the
warning
Thanks for
the
reminder
What makes this funny?
Or if you don’t think it’s funny, what linguistic quality was
the author employing in his unsuccessful attempt at humor?
Types of Meaning

Linguistic

Reference


GWB is the 43rd president
Beware Referential Meaning
Al Gore nearly became the 43rd president
≠ Al Gore nearly became GWB!

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Social

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Y’all come back now. Y’hear?
Affective

How many times have I asked you to…
Linguistic, Social or Affective?
Adjust the sentence below to reflect
different L, S, & A meanings
Tina, who has two doctorates,
gave me a fascinating overview of
Warhol’s art last night.
Pragmatics

What’s the message?

“Honey, do we have any fruit…?”
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Me sitting making these slides…
Me on the cell phone from the grocery store…
“I’m getting cold…”
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My wife in the car while we’re driving…
Me deciding on pie at a Midwestern diner…
Other Examples?
What makes this funny?
Why “Fine”?
Or if you don’t think it’s funny, what linguistic quality was
the author employing in his unsuccessful attempt at humor?
…why
ask?
Why not give a ‘real answer’?
Any Questions…
… before we move on?
So What??
Meaning Categories
Find Examples of Each…
 Tense
 Modality
 Deixis
How do people
use these?
(or misuse them?)
(see pp 200 – 206)
Semantic Roles

Verb-Centered

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Agent
Patient
 one doing the action
 one receiving the action
Identify A, & P below (two in each…)
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Humpty-Dumpty sat on a wall.
Bo Peep pushed Humpty off the wall
Miss Muffet heard Humpty shatter
Thematic Roles?
Find Two:
Rule
Governed??
What controls who can
do what to whom?
Make a sentence that
violates thematic
constraints…
Based on
the caption…
 Agent
 Theme
Themes in other lanaguages
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Apache
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*My horse kicked me
I allowed myself to be kicked by my horse
German

In diesem hotel sind hunde verboten

In this hotel are dogs forbidden

* This hotel forbids dogs
(gloss)
What
What might
might one
one thematic
thematic constraint
constraint be
be in
in German?
Apache?
Think About It…
How do thematic roles apply to
how we create sentences?
Any Questions….
… before we move on?
Maxims of Conversation
Grice, 1975
Four “rules” of conversation that are
typically followed in everyday life
Maxim of Conversation #1

Relevance

Be relevant
How does the
comic violate
the maxim for
humorous
effect?
Maxim of Conversation #2

Quantity

Be as
informative
as required…
How does the
comic violate
the maxim for
humorous
effect?
Maxim of Conversation #3

Quality

Truthful, Supportable claims
How does the comic violate
the maxim for humorous effect?
Maxim of Conversation #4

Manner
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Brief, orderly
Not ambiguous nor obscure
How does the comic
violate
the maxim for
humorous effect?
Life-Application

What are some situations you’ve
experienced (in real-life or literature)
where someone has violated
a Maxim of Conversation?

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What happened? (was it intentional?)
How was the situation resolved?
Recommended Exercises
1, 2, 3, 7, 11, 12, 14, 15
Enough of each to get the point