Introduction to Semantics: Understanding the Meaning of Language

1. 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 -> Conversational Maxims

2. Semantics Slide 1 Semantics Semantics is the study of the meaning in human language. Have you ever said in frustration, “Well that’s not what I meant!” - what happened?

3. Semantics Slide 2 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 2 words (same pronunciation) has 2 or more entirely distinct meanings (sound the same but don’t have to have same spelling) • LEXICAL AMBIGUITY = when a single form has 2 or more meanings (polysemy and homophony)

4. Semantics Slide 3 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 • If a is true, then b must be true, but not vice versa

5. Semantics Slide 4 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

6. Semantics Practice 5 Semantics Practice Exercises 1, 2, 3

7. Semantics Slide 6 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 don’t 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...

8. Semantics Slide 7 Semantics • What exactly is meaning? Theories of meaning • Connotation - according to this theory, a word’s meaning is simply the set of associations that the word evokes - desert evokes hot, dry, sandy • Denotation - according to this theory, a word’s 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 Michelle Obama’s husband

9. Semantics Slide 8 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?

10. Semantics Slide 9 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

11. Semantics Slide 10 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 don’t 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)

12. Semantics Practice 11 Semantics Practice Describe the intensions and extensions of each of theses phrases.

13. Semantics Slide 12 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

14. Semantics Slide 13 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?

15. Semantics Slide 14 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

16. Semantics Slide 15 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 (native English words do 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

17. Semantics Slide 16 Semantics • Grammaticization - concepts that are expressed as affixes or nonlexical categories. Concepts such as tense, number and negation are often grammaticized across languages. Hidatsa statements accompanied by a morpheme that indicates the evidence for its truth (certainty, common knowledge, etc)

18. Semantics Slide 17 • Semantics • What about wanna, kinda, sorta, like? How do express future tense in Englsih? will/gonna? going to  gonna grammaticized only for future, not for any combination of going + to.

19. Semantics Practice 18 Semantics Practice In English, are these concepts fuzzy, graded or have been grammaticized?

20. Semantics Slide 19 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 VP NP PP • The ditransitive construction X causes Y to have Z: The bartender blended George a margarita. NP VP NP NP

21. Semantics Slide 20 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

22. Semantics Slide 21 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???

23. Semantics Slide 22 Semantics • Thematic Roles (theta roles) - used to categorize the relation between a sentence’s 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

24. Semantics Practice 23 Semantics Practice Identify the thematic roles in the following examples and determine which verb/preposition assigned the role • Thematic Roles (theta roles) - used to categorize the relation between a sentence’s 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

25. Semantics Slide 24 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.

26. NP N' Semantics Slide 25 Semantics IP • Thematic Roles assignment I' VP V' NP N' I N Det N +Pst V Det The students threw the textbook <ag, th>

27. NP N' Semantics Slide 26 Semantics IP • Thematic Roles assignment I' VP V' NP N' I N Det N +Pst V The students threw what <ag, th>

28. NP N' Semantics Slide 27 CP Exercise 12 NP C' N' C +Q IP I' VP V' I +Pst NP N' I N N Det N +Pst V What did the students t throw t theme agent

29. Semantics Slide 28 Pragmatics • Pragmatics - the study of meaning as it relates to speaker’s and addressee’s 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?)

30. Semantics Slide 29 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, “That’s my son. I cannot operate on him!” Who is the surgeon?

31. Semantics Slide 30 Pragmatics • Presupposition - the assumption or belief implied by the use of a particular word. • John admitted/believed that the soccer team had cheated. • 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

32. Semantics Practice 31 Pragmatics Practice • Presupposition - the assumption or belief implied by the use of a particular word. Which word has the presupposition and what is it? • Identify the sentence that contains the presupposition. • Locate the word that is responsible for the presupposition. • 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

33. Semantics Slide 32 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

34. Semantics Slide 33 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?

35. Semantics Slide 34 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, I’ll climb the Great Wall.

36. Semantics Slide 35 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?

37. Semantics Slide 36 Pragmatics • Conversations: The Cooperative Principle = Make your contribution appropriate to the conversation. • Conversational Maxims • 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.

38. Semantics Slide 37 Pragmatics Conversational Maxims • 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?

39. Semantics Slide 38 Pragmatics • Can you pass the salt? • Parent to child with injured arm vs. Parent to child at dinner. • What are the differences in what is implied/implicated? • Letter of rec for computer IT job that says: The employee always speaks quietly and dresses well. Also, they don’t eat fish at lunch.... • What maxim is being violated? What is the implicature of the letter? Exercise 18