Senses, sense components and semantic fields

1. Senses, sense components and semantic fields Kuiper and Allan Chapter 3.1.3

2. Senses • Words have senses and senses have components. • boy & girl share the components <young>, and <human>. • hot & cold share the component <temperature>.

3. Superordinate senses • have only the sense components shared by their hyponyms. • child has the sense components <young> and <human>. Child is therefore the SUPERORDINATE of boy and girl and they are its HYPONYMS.

4. Hyponymy and entailment • If something is a hyponym it follows that it is also a superordinate • but not the other way around. • i.e. If something is a pan then it is also a kitchen utensil. • But if something is a kitchen utensil, then it does not follow that it is a pan.

5. Co-hyponyms define a semantic domain or field. • chair, table, bed, stool etc • brother, sister, uncle, aunt, grandmother etc

6. Selectional restrictions • come about because some words semantically select others, e.g cut the paper. • Semantic redundancy and contradiction • Metaphor, e.g. cut the noise

7. Exercise • Arrange the words in each group so that every word is a hyponym of the word immediately before it. • a. mouse, rodent, mammal • b. house, building, bungalow, structure • c. run, jog, move • d. pistol, weapon, firearm, revolver