‫اسم الدكتور‪ :‬فاطمة عبد الصمد محمد الشافعي‬
‫اسم المادة‪ :‬علم اللغة‬
‫اسم الكلية‪ :‬التربية‬
‫تاريخ االمتحان‪1122/7/3 :‬‬
‫الفرقة‪ :‬الرابعة عام‬
‫التخصص‪ :‬اللغة االنجليزية‬
Answer the following questions:
The first question
1.Write to distinguish between:
A MODEL ANSWER SHOULD INCLUDE A DISCUSSION OF
EITHER a OR b.
a.
Semantic meaning and pragmatic meaning
Semantics, a subfield of linguistics, is the study of literal meaning. During the early
years the study of meaning focused on the lexicon alone. The scope of the study has
expended since 1960s to include both semantics and pragmatics, which come to the
main fields of the study of linguistic meaning. Semantic meaning is fixed and
abstract. It can be understood by surface. However, it is de-contextualized. In
another word, it is easily subverted by different gestures or intonations.
Semnatics interacts with other aspects of linguistics. For example, when synonyms
are used, they can be understood, so it fits the rule of syntax. However, synonyms
are used to describe something similar. In a sentence, a synonym can be substituted
by another synonym. However, the meaning of synonyms speaker or writer
determines or predicates have different degrees, which indicates the meaning is
actually different.
Pragmatics is one of the two main fields in the study of linguistic meaning.
Pragmatics deals with natural language, while language is always used in context for
an intended purpose. The listeners must try to grasp the meaning implied, enrich the
ideas, and finally make out the opinion that what the speakers meant when talking
about a particular expression (Kate, 2000). According to Yule (1996), ‘pragmatics
studies the context in which the utterance is produced as well as the intention of
language user.’ That means pragmatic meaning depends on context or situation.
Without context, meanings can be vague and may be misunderstood by people. Two
of the branches are: speech acts that cover ‘requesting’, ‘commanding’,
‘questioning’ and ‘informing’, and politeness that shows the awareness of another
person’s face.
b. Lexical and syntactic ambiguity
Ambiguity occurs when a language element has more than one meaning. If the
ambiguity is in a single word it is lexical ambiguity. If in a sentence or clause, it
is grammatical or structural ambiguity.
We can illustrate lexical ambiguity with an example from Sue Townsend's
Secret Diary of Adrian Mole. Adrian displays a notice in school, advertising a
gay society. When a teacher rebukes him, Adrian asks what is wrong with a
club for people who want to be jolly or happy. Another example of lexical
ambiguity is found in the sentence “I have seen them by the bank” when it is
intentionally not clear whether the word bank refers to a bank of a river or a
bank that we go to for money.
Structural ambiguity can often be seen in punning headlines, like the wartime
example CHURCHILL FLIES BACK TO FRONT. The late polar explorer, Dr.
Vivian Fuchs, was the subject of a similar headline: DR. FUCHS OFF TO
ANTARCTIC. In this case, the structural ambiguity is not present to a reader
who knows standard spelling, but might confuse a hearer, if the headline is
spoken aloud. The absence of linking grammatical words (articles, conjunctions,
prepositions) in headlines makes such ambiguity likely.
Other examples of structural ambiguity can be found in sentences like:
a. Visiting relatives can be annoying.
b. The lamb is too hot to eat.
The two examples should be explained to reveal the ambiguity. The lamb
example can also be explained to combine both lexical and structural ambiguity
The second question
Different representational forms of the syntactic structure of
“The football team won the match last year”.
S
NP VP NP
Det N Vt Det N Adv Ext(time) .
Above is a formulaic representation of the sentence where the letters above
each indicate: S = sentence, NP = noun phrase, VP = verb phrase, N = noun, V
= verb, and so on. The syntacticians use this method to analyze the
sentences. Below are other representation figures:
S
NP
Det
Adj
VP
N
V
NP
Det
N
Adv
Adj
The football team
won
the
match
last
N
month
TREE DIAGRAM REPRESENTATION
S
VP
NP
NP
s
N
Det
Adj
The
football
team
Det
N
Adv
V
the
won
CHART REPRESENTATION
match
Adj
N
last
year
S
VP
NP
NP
Adv
Det
Adj
N
The
football
tea
m
V
Det
N
Adj
N
won
the
match
last
Year
BOX DIAGRAM REPRESENTATION
S
VP
NP
NP
Adv
Det
Adj
Det
N
N
V
N
Adj
The
Football
team
won
the
TRANSITION NETWORK REPRESENTATION
match
last
year