Semantics
Study of meaning in human language
Synonymy
- Words/expressions that have same meaning in some/all context
- Inefficient for language to have 2 words/phrases with absolutely identical meaning, perfect synonymy rare
Antonymy
•Words/phrases opposites with respect to some component of meaning
Polysemy
- Word has 2/more related meanings
* Bright = shining/intelligent
Homophony
single form has 2/more entirely distinct meanings
•Assumed there are separate words with same pronunciation rather than single word with diff meanings
•Need not have identical spellings
Polysemy + homophony
create lexical ambiguity: single form has 2/more meanings
•Surrounding words + sentences usually make intended meaning clear
Paraphrase
- Two sentences with same meaning
- Truth conditions: true under same circumstances
- Never perfect because of subtle diff in emphasis
Entailment
- Truth of one sentence guarantees truth of another sentence
- Prince is a dog. Prince is an animal.
- Reverse does not hold: prince is an animal, he can be any animal
Contradiction
- One sentence true, other sentence must be false
* Charles is a bachelor. Charles is married.
Connotation
- Set of associations word’s use can evoke
* Make up word’s connotation, but not its meaning
Denotation
- Equate meaning of word/phrase with entities to which it refers
- Still not meaning
- Winter = season betw winter solstice + spring equinox
Extension + Intension
Extension: set of entities it picks out in world
Intension: inherent sense, concept it evokes
•Correspond to mental images
•Woman = women (extension)/female, human (intension)
Componential analysis/semantic decomposition
represent intension by breaking it down into smaller semantic components
•Semantic features
•Allows us to group entities into natural classes
•Useful for stating generalizations
•GO: positional change/possessional change/identification change
Verb Meaning + Subcategorization
- Componential analysis reveals subtle semantic contrast
* Meaning differences help determine type of complements particular verbs can select
Structural Ambiguity
- Component words can be combined in more than 1 way
- Two interpretations can be depicted as
- [wealthy men] + women/wealthy [men + women]
- manner words are grouped together in syntactic structure reflects way meanings are combined
Thematic Role Assignment
- verb: agent, theme
- to: goal
- from: source
- at: location
Thematic Role Assignment
- A P assigns thematic role to its complement NP
- A V assigns a theme role, if it has one, to its complement NP
- A V assigns an agent role, if it has one, to the subject
thematic grid
info about thematic roles assigned by particular lexical item
Deep Structure + Thematic Roles
•Roles are assigned in deep structure, not surface structure
•NP’s initial position in syntactic structure (Merge), determines its theta role
“who did what to whom”
Interpretation of Pronouns
- Pronominals: he, she, him, her
- Reflexive: himself, herself
- Interpretation determined by antecedent
- Reflexive pronoun typically must have antecedent in smallest IP containing it
c-commands
•NPa c-commands NPb if the first category above NPa contains NPb
Principle A
reflexive pronoun must have a c-commanding antecedent in the same minimal IP
Principle B
pronominal must not have a c-commanding antecedent in the same minimal IP
theme
undergoes action change of state change of possession change of location undergoes set of possible changes umbrella term
