LIN 1180 – Semantics Lecture7

1. LIN 1180 – SemanticsLecture7 Albert Gatt

2. Continuation from last week Ambiguity and vagueness

3. Ambiguity vs. Vagueness (I) • In context, a word can seem to have several distinct senses. Some may appear more related than others. • In our example: • run1 = physical act of running • run2 = place where fowl are kept • So run is 2-ways ambiguous (2 senses) • But run1 exhibits vagueness between a general sense of running, and the more specialised sense used in cricket.

4. Ambiguity vs. vagueness (II) • Similarly: • daħla1 = entrance or inlet • daħla2 = introduction to a text • 2-ways ambiguous • daħla1is vague between the sense of “entrance” and that of “inlet”

5. Ambiguity vs. vagueness (IV) • Ambiguity: • In this case, the context will select one of the meanings/senses • We often don’t even notice ambiguity, because context clarifies the intended meaning. • Vagueness: • Context adds information to the sense. • Therefore the sense of the word itself doesn’t contain all the information. • It is underspecified.

6. Tests for ambiguity and vagueness • There are some tests to decide whether meaning distinctions involve ambiguity or vagueness. • The do-so test of meaning identity • The synonymy or sense-relations test

7. The do-so test: preliminary example • I ate a sandwich and Mary • The do-so construction is interpreted as identical to the preceding verb phrase • Similar constructions in Maltese: • Kilt biċċa ħobż u anka Marija • Kilt biċċa ħobż u Marija għamlet hekk ukoll. did so too did too

8. The do-so test and meaning identity • Main principle: if a particular sense is selected for a word in a verb phrase, it will also be the same sense in the do-so phrase • Therefore, very useful to test if two meanings are two distinct senses.

9. Do-so examples • Lili għoġbitni d-daħla u lil Jimmy wkoll (I liked the entrance/introduction and so did Jimmy) • Suppose daħla here = “introduction” • Is it possible that I liked the introduction and Jimmy liked the entrance? • If not, then these are two distinct senses or daħla • I made a run and so did Priscilla • If “I made a run” = “I ran”, then Priscilla cannot have made a run for her chickens... • So, again, these are two distinct senses of run.

10. The sense relations test • Basic principle: • Words exhibit synonymy or similarity of meaning to other words. • Therefore, if a word is ambiguous, we can substitute it for a similar word in the same context, and see if the meaning stays roughly the same.

11. Sense relations examples • Recall: • run1 = physical act of running (similar word:jog) • run2 = a closed space for animals (similar word: enclosure) • Pete went for. • We can’t substitute one set of words for another and still keep the same meaning. √ a run √a jog *an enclosure

12. Lexical relations: basic concepts • We have established that: • words in the lexicon can have multiple senses (ambiguity) • they can also be vague, so that the actual meaning is underspecified and becomes clearer in context • In addition: • Words are not merely listed • they are often related to one another LIN 1180 -- Semantics

13. Part 1 Homonymy, polysemy, synonymy

14. How is the lexicon structured? • Lexical items belong to semantic fields • words that belong to the same “topic” ,“subject” or “usage” • lexical relations are often strongest within a semantic field • different senses of a word often fall into different fields • Examples: • computing: gigabyte, CPU, memory, disk, monitor • administration/diplomacy/politics:green, monitor, parliament, election • Notice that monitor here has two senses, each falling in a different field. LIN 1180 -- Semantics

15. Homonymy -- I • Homonyms are unrelated senses of a the same phonological or orthographic word. • sometimes we use homographs for unrelated senses of a written word • could be considered different words • lexicographers often treat derivationally related forms as homonyms • Examples: • bank (river) / bank (financial) • ring / wring • house (N) / house (V) • right / write LIN 1180 -- Semantics

16. Two subtypes of homonymy • homphony • ring / wring • same phonology • different orthography • homography • articulate (ADJ) / articulate (V) • Maltese: domna (V) (stay-late.3PL) / domna (N) (religious icon) • different phonology • same orthography LIN 1180 -- Semantics

17. Polysemy • One phonological word, multiple senses (ambiguity) • senses are related, though distinguishable • cf. daħla (entrance) vs. daħla (inlet) • in traditional dictionaries, multiple senses are listed under the same head word. LIN 1180 -- Semantics

18. Homonymy vs. polysemy • Relatedness: • homonymy: senses are unrelated; • polysemy: senses are related • either historically or • based on speaker intuition • NB: Not always a clear-cut distinction. Speakers’ intuitions vary considerably. • Do you consider sole (“bottom of foot”) and sole (“flat, riverbed fish”) related? LIN 1180 -- Semantics

19. Synonymy • Different phonological words with highly related meanings: • sofa / couch • boy / lad • żgħir (small) / ċkejken (little) • moxt (comb) / petne (comb) • Very very difficult to find examples of perfect synonyms. LIN 1180 -- Semantics

20. Imperfect synonymy • Synonyms often exhibit slight differences, espcially in connotations • petne (“comb”) has Romance origins; probably used by most speakers today • moxt (“comb”) has Semitic origins (cf. xuxa “hair”) • Usage differs depending on dialect, context… LIN 1180 -- Semantics

21. The importance of register • With near-synonyms, there are often register-governed conditions of use. • Register = a style of language specific to a situation (e.g. formal, colloquial etc) • E.g. naive vs gullible vs ingenuous • gullible / naive seem critical, or even offensive • ingenuous more likely in a formal context LIN 1180 -- Semantics

22. Synonymy vs. Similarity • Native speakers often have strong intuitions about words which are “related”, though not necessarily identical, in meaning. • E.g. boat/ship; car/truck; man/woman • But also near-synonyms such as: snake/serpent • Similarity is broader than synonymy, since even words with “opposite” or “antonymous” meanings can be judged as similar; e.g. large/small LIN 1180 -- Semantics

23. When are two words similar? • Contextual view of meaning (Wittgenstein, 1953…): • the meaning of linguistic expressions can be characterised by looking at how they are used • two words are similar to the extent that they’re used in similar ways LIN 1180 -- Semantics

24. Example: master/pupil • These words have very different meanings, but share a core set of uses. • Both refer to human roles which tend to be practised in the same real world contexts (school etc). • Is this reflected in the way we use the words? • master of X school, pupil of X school • past master, past pupil • … • Rather than in contextual terms, we could view similarity as simply arising from links in a network of concepts. LIN 1180 -- Semantics

25. Part 2 Opposites and antonymy

26. Semantic opposition • Traditionally, antonyms are words which are opposite in meaning. • dead – alive • We can find other kinds of opposition: • hot – cold • explode – implode • writer – reader, employer – employee • black – white, red – orange (?) LIN 1180 -- Semantics

27. Simple vs Gradable antonyms • Simple antonyms: dead – alive, hit – miss • truth of one implies falsity of the other • ? X is dead but he’s alive. • Gradable antonyms: hot – cold, big – small • both may be “false”: neither tall nor short • typically, many terms to express gradations: • hot >> warm >> tepid >> cool >> cold • often modifiable with intensifiers: • very hot, somewhat cold • exhibit global dependencies: If we say X is big, we mean “big for an object of type X” • big elephant is much bigger than a big mouse LIN 1180 -- Semantics

28. Reverses and converses • Reverses: explode – implode • a kind of opposition where one terms “reverses” the other. • often found with terms related to movement (go/come, etc) • Converses: employer – employee, own – belong to • describe a relation between two entities from different viewpoints • “complement eachother” • if X is Y’s employer, then Y is X’s employee • if X owns Y, then Y belongs to X LIN 1180 -- Semantics

29. Taxonomies Colour red orange green blue yellow • Taxonomies are classification systems, often in the form of a tree. • Sisters are elements at the same level. LIN 1180 -- Semantics

30. Taxonomic sisters • Usually taken to be complementary or “opposed” or “incompatible” or “mutually exclusive” • NB: Taxonomies are often our way of imposing a discrete categorisation on a continuum (e.g. colour). LIN 1180 -- Semantics

31. Opposites and similarity • To many native speakers, the most highly related word to an adjective is its antonym or opposite. • also typical of taxonomic sisters • does this mean that opposites are synonymous? • No! It just means that “similarity” under the contextual view is much broader than synonymy. LIN 1180 -- Semantics

32. Part 3 Hyponymy and other relations

33. Definition of hyponymy • Hyponymy is a relation of inclusion. • Arrows can be interpreted as “IS-A” relations. • Unlike taxonomic sisterhood, which is horizontal, hyponymy is vertical. ANIMAL MAMMAL BIRD SPARROW CANARY LIN 1180 -- Semantics

34. Elements of hyponymy • If Y IS-A X then: • X is the superordinate or hypernym of Y • Y is a subordinate or hyponym of X • e.g. HUMAN is the hypernym of MAN, TOOL is the hypernym of CHAINSAW • Inclusion: • if Y is a hyponym of X then Y contains the meaning of X (plus something extra) • e.g. MAN includes all the features of HUMAN, plus the specification of ADULT and MALE. • Transitivity: • if X IS-A Y and Y IS-A Z, then X IS-A Z LIN 1180 -- Semantics

35. Transitivity -- illustration • A CANARY IS-A BIRD • A BIRD IS-A ANIMAL • Therefore, a CANARY IS-A ANIMAL ANIMAL MAMMAL BIRD SPARROW CANARY LIN 1180 -- Semantics

36. Special cases of taxonomic relations • Sometimes, language exhibits special cases of relations that are: • well-established and lexicalised • seem to depend on an underlying taxonomy or hierarchy • ADULT-YOUNG • dog – puppy, duck – duckling, etc • MALE-FEMALE • woman – man, dog – bitch, drake – duck, etc • NB: These pairs are often asymmetric. The unmarked case in the MALE-FEMALE is the MALE. • We tend to use it for the name of the species. LIN 1180 -- Semantics

37. Meronymy or part-whole • A different kind of taxonomic relationship. Arrows are interpreted as “HAS-A” LEG ANIMAL HAS-A IS-A WING BIRD HAS-A LIN 1180 -- Semantics

38. Meronymy vs. Hyponymy • Meronymy tends to be less regular than hyponymy: • NOSE is perceived as a necessary part of a FACE • CELLAR may be part of HOUSE, but not necessarily • Meronymy need not be transitive: • If X HAS-A Y and Y HAS-A Z, it does not follow that Y HAS-A Z • window HAS-A pane • room HAS-A window • ??room HAS-A pane • Common-sense knowledge plays a very important role in acceptability of these relations. LIN 1180 -- Semantics

39. Member-collection relations • We often lexicalise names of collections of specific things: • flotta (fleet) : a collection of ships • merħla (flock): a collection of sheep • Native speakers know there is a member-collection relation: • flotta (fleet) – vapur (ship) • armata (army) – suldat (soldier) • merħla (flock) – nagħġa (sheep) • Can be viewed as a special, lexicalised case of meronymy. LIN 1180 -- Semantics

40. Are collections singular or plural? • In many languages, there is the possibility of switching from: • a view of a collection as a single entity vs. the “contents” of the collection as a group or set • English: • The band played well tonight. • It drove the crowd nuts [SG] • They drove the crowd nuts [PL] • Maltese: • L-armata rtirat (The army retreated.SG) • ?L-armata rtiraw. (The army retreated.PL) • Perhaps not as acceptable? Only with some nouns? LIN 1180 -- Semantics

41. Portion-mass • Mass nouns: • nouns denoting things which have no units • noun is also true of portions of the substance • liquid, coal, hair • Languages often have lexicalised concepts denoting portions of specific substances: • qatra (drop) for liquids • strand of hair LIN 1180 -- Semantics

42. Summary • This lecture gave an overview of some standard ways to classify relations between lexical items. • homonymy vs. polysemy • synonymy (and contextual similarity) • taxonomic relations: part-whole and hyponymy LIN 1180 -- Semantics