SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr.

Najib Ismail Jarad

FUNDAMENTAL SEMANTIC CONCEPTS

 Word meanings are constructed through a variety of relationships, which we refer to here
as the nyms. (Synonyms, Antonyms, Hypernyms...etc).
 Words have many nonliteral, or figurative, meanings, which are often quite complex and
abstract, but we understand and use them effortlessly in speech and writing every day.
 Word meanings change over time; meanings broaden and narrow and sometimes become
more positive or more negative. (Adj. Nice = Fool, Wicked = very nice).
 The various ways in which we construct meaning out of words tells us something about
how we think and about how we understand the world.

The most fundamental semantic concepts describe how words, phrases, and sentences relate to
each other and to the world.

 Synonymy. Two words, phrases, or sentences are synonyms if they have the same
semantic meaning. e.g., gearbox - transmission, choice - selection, complex – complicated.
 Antonymy. Two words are antonyms if they are opposed in semantic meaning. Tall and
short are antonyms. e.g., happy vs. unhappy, heavy vs. light, long vs. short.
 Hyponymy. A word is a hyponym of another if its semantic meaning is more specific
than the other's. Dog is a hyponym of animal.
 Hypernymy. A word is a hypernym of another if its semantic meaning is more general
than the other's Animal is a hypernym of dog.
 Meronymy. A meronym denotes a constituent part of, or a member of something. For
example, finger is a meronym of hand because a finger is part of a hand. Similarly, wheels
is a meronym of automobile.
 Homonymy. Homonyms are words with the same sound and spelling but different,
unrelated meanings (saw/saw).

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 Homophones are words that do not share the same spellings or meanings but sound the
same (sole/soul).
 Homographs are words that have the same spelling, different meanings, and different
pronunciations (bow/bow).
 Ambiguity. A word, phrase, or sentence is ambiguous if it has multiple semantic
meanings. Bank is ambiguous (river bank vs. financial institution).
 Entailment. A sentence entails another if the truth of the first guarantees the truth of the
second. I like all animals entails I like dogs.
 Tautology. Tautology is a phrase or expression in which the same thing is said twice in
different words, generally considered to be a fault of style (e.g. they arrived one after the
other in succession). "Repeat that again" and "reiterate again".
 Contradiction. A sentence is a contradiction if it cannot be true. I like cats contradicts I
hate all animals is a contradiction.
 Polysemy refers to words with two or more related meanings. For example, lip is
polysemous because we can use it not only to refer to a part of one's mouth but also in
phrases such as lip of the cliff or the lip of a cup, and we also have the expression ‘don't
give me any lip’ (i.e., do not talk back). Foot is polysemous as well: in addition to meaning
'the lowest part of the body' (with the top being the head), we have foot of the bed, as well
as foot of the stairs and foot of the mountain.
 Figurative language is nonliteral language; language that shifts meaning from the
primary meaning of the word.
 Metaphor is a figure of speech that sets up an analogy between two words or phrases:
something is something else. The word ultimately comes from the Greek metaphero,
meaning 'to carry over' or 'transfer’.
 Metonymy is description of something in terms of something with which it is closely
associated: The pen is mightier than the sword (pen = the written word/ diplomacy, sword
= violence/force).
 Simile is a comparison, usually of two unlike things, in order to create a nonliteral image
(run like a deer).

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 Another type of figurative speech is idiom. Idioms are collocations of words or phrases
with nonliteral meanings. In other words, idioms are not compositional: keep an eye on X
get a handle on X, and kick the bucket do not get their meaning exclusively from the
meanings of their parts and the way they are put together. Idioms often get their meanings
from metaphorical interpretations, often lost in the mists of history, but the case of get a
handle on X is fairly clear: one might put a handle on a physical object to make it easier
to carry, and to understand something is, metaphorically, to be able to carry it around in
one's mind. Once one already knows what this idiom means, the choice of handle makes
sense, but it can be very difficult to understand an idiom the first time one hears it. We
typically need help to understand a new idiom, and once we do understand it, we
remember its meaning as a complete pattern.

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FUNDAMENTAL SEMANTIC CONCEPTS

Semantics vs. Pragmatics

Pragmatics and semantics can be viewed as different parts, or different aspects, of the same general
study. Both are concerned with people's ability to use language meaningfully. Pragmatics may be
roughly defined as the study of language use in context – as compared with semantics, which is
the study of literal meaning independent of context. If I’m having a hard day, I may tell you that
my day has been a nightmare – but of course I don’t intend you to take that literally; that is, the
day hasn’t in fact been something I’ve had a bad dream about. In this case the semantic meaning
of “nightmare” (a bad dream) differs from its pragmatic meaning – that is, the meaning I intended
in the context of my utterance.

Sentences and utterances

A useful general principle to bear in mind when thinking about the distinction between semantics
and pragmatics is that semantics is concerned with sentences and pragmatics with utterances.
Sentences are linguistic entities that are put together by linguistic rules. An utterance is an instance
of the production of a sentence or a fragment of a sentence. An utterance is produced in an actual
context by an actual speaker. This is best illustrated with an example:

I will see you here tomorrow

Pragmatics deals with the type of meaning that isn’t found in dictionaries and which may vary
from context to context. The same utterance will mean different things in different contexts, and
will even mean different things to different people.

I’m cold. =

a. Close the window. b. Bring me a blanket.

c. Turn off the air conditioner. d. Snuggle up closer.

e. The heater is broken again. f. Let’s go home. [uttered, say, at the beach]

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Key Terms in Semantics

Ambiguity, ambiguous
If an expression has more than one SENSE, then it is ambiguous. There are several sources for
ambiguity in language.

Lexical ambiguities involve a word form having more than one possible meaning, due to
POLYSEMY or HOMONYMY. For instance, fire could mean ‘’discharge a bullet from’, or
‘terminate the employment of’. Thus, sentences that contain the verb fire are usually ambiguous.

For example, She could not fire the gun. While the ‘discharge a bullet’ meaning may seem like
the most likely one in this sentence, the others are perfectly possible, particularly in certain
contexts:
She could not fire the gun because the trigger was stuck.
She could fire the employee who had shot her, but she could not fire the gun.
Structural ambiguities arise because there is more than one possible constituent structure for a
complex expression. One type of structural ambiguity is an attachment ambiguity, in which there
are (at least) two possible ways of linking a constituent to the rest of the sentence. For example,
the headline COMPLAINTS ABOUT NBA REFEREES GROWING UGLY can be interpreted as a
noun phrase that refers to people complaining that the referees are getting uglier, or an abbreviated
sentence about a situation in which the complaints about referees are growing ugly.

Anaphor, anaphora, anaphoric

In anaphora, a linguistic expression (called an anaphor or anaphoric pronoun) is understood to
have the same REFERENCE as another linguistic expression (its antecedent), which typically
precedes it in the same sentence or in the earlier discourse. Thus in the sentence below, we would
most likely understand he and Neil to be CO-REFERENTIAL because the anaphoric pronoun
he refers back to Neil, its antecedent.

Neil couldn’t remember the name of the girl he met last night.

It is also possible to get an anaphoric interpretation without an overt anaphor. For instance, in Abby
closed the door and locked it, we understand Abby to be the subject of lock, even though no overt
anaphoric pronoun occurs in the subject position. Such cases involve zero anaphora. In some
uses, anaphora is taken to include cataphora, but when a distinction is made, anaphora is
specifically defined as involving ‘backward’ reference to an antecedent that precedes the anaphor,
while in cataphora the reference is ‘forward’, to a co-referent that occurs later in the discourse. In
the following example of cataphora, they refers forward to the children:
As they walked through the garden, the children were careful not to tread on any flowers.

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Anaphoric uses of pronouns are distinct from exophoric uses, where the pronoun refers to
something in the extralinguistic CONTEXT, rather than the surrounding linguistic context. Thus,
in the first sentence below, she is anaphoric, but in the second sentence it is exophoric:
Natalie promised she would do the washing up.
She (speaker points to Natalie) promised to do the washing up.

Anomalous, anomaly
A semantically anomalous linguistic expression is one that has an abnormal meaning or fails to
make sense, despite being grammatically well-formed. This is due to a semantic incompatibility
between some of the constituent parts of the linguistic expression, as in the examples below:
 #My brother is pregnant (clash between the property of maleness and the possibility of
becoming pregnant).
 #The rain fell upwards (clash between directions of vertical movement in the verb and
adverb).
The hash (#) symbol is used to mark semantically anomalous but grammatically well-formed
expressions. Semantic anomalies are sometimes accounted for as violations of SELECTIONAL
RESTRICTIONS that words place on other words that they occur with. Thus, The telephone ate
my gingerbread is anomalous because the verb eat is restricted to only occur with subjects that
refer to animate beings – unless the expression is to be interpreted FIGURATIVELY.

Antonym, antonymous, antonymy

Antonymy is the PARADIGMATIC LEXICAL RELATION between two LEXEMES that are
opposite in meaning, such as big/little, female/male and down/up. It is sometimes called a relation
of minimal difference in each member of the antonym pair shares most of its semantic properties
with the other member of the pair, except for one that causes the two words to be semantically
INCOMPATIBLE. So, for example, down and up are similar in that they both describe vertical
directions, but they are different in terms of the particular direction they indicate. Left also
describes a direction, but it is not the opposite of down because it is more than minimally different
from down: not only does left describe a different direction from down, but it also describes a
different orientation (horizontal).

Connotation
A connotation is a commonly understood cultural or emotional association that any given word or
phrase carries, in addition to its explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation. A connotation
is frequently described as either positive or negative, with regard to its pleasing or displeasing
emotional connection.

Contradiction.
A sentence is a contradiction if it cannot be true. I like cats contradicts I hate all animals, which is
a contradiction.

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Denotation
A word’s denotative meaning is its ‘literal’ meaning, the kind of meaning that is most directly
represented in dictionary DEFINITIONS of a word. The process of denotation is thus the use of
an expression to single out some thing or concept and refer to it. Denotative meaning contrasts
with CONNOTATION.

Entailment.
A sentence entails another if the truth of the first guarantees the truth of the second. I like all
animals entails I like dogs.

Figurative language is nonliteral language; language that shifts meaning from the primary
meaning of the word.

Homonymy.
Homonyms are words with the same sound and spelling but different, unrelated meanings
(saw/saw)

Homophones
Homophones are words that do not share the same spellings or meanings but sound the same
(sole/soul)

Homographs
Homographs are words that have the same spelling, different meanings, and different
pronunciations (bow/bow)

Hyponymy.
A word is a hyponym of another if its semantic meaning is more specific than the other’s. Dog is
a hyponym of animal.

Hypernymy.
A word is a hypernym of another if its semantic meaning is more general than the other’s. Animal
is a hypernym of dog.

Idiom, idiomatic
An idiom is a complex, multiword expression whose meaning is non-COMPOSITIONAL, that
is, not predictable from the meanings of the constituent parts. For example, one cannot work out
that spill the beans means ‘reveal the information’ or cut the mustard means ‘meet an expected
standard’ just on the basis of knowing the meanings of each of the individual words

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in the expressions and the rules of English grammar. Instead, one has to learn the expressions as
whole units and store them in the lexicon as LEXEMES. Because idioms are fixed expressions,
the idiomatic meaning is typically not preserved if any of the component words are replaced with
a (near) SYNONYM, as in spill the pulses. The grammatical form of an idiom is also usually
restricted. For example, Peter kicked the bucket cannot be put into passive VOICE while still
retaining the idiomatic meaning: The bucket was kicked by Peter does not mean ‘Peter died’. Some
idioms are METAPHORICALLY motivated – for example, let off steam ‘release pent-up
emotions’ can be seen as involving a metaphorical conceptualization of a person as a pressurized
steam cooker.

Lexical relation
A lexical relation is a SEMANTIC RELATION in which two or more words have some aspect
of meaning in common. The term is most often used to refer to PARADIGMATIC RELATIONS
such as ANTONYMY, HYPONYMY or SYNONYMY.

Meronymy.
A meronym denotes a constituent part of, or a member of something. For example, finger is a
meronym of hand because a finger is part of a hand. Similarly, wheels is a meronym
of automobile.

Metaphor
Metaphor is a form of FIGURATIVE language that involves describing something in terms of
another thing, generally on the basis of a perceived resemblance or analogy between those two
things. For example, The internet is a goldmine is metaphorical in that the internet is not an actual
goldmine – it is instead being described as a resource where you can find countless pieces of
valuable information, rather like you can find nuggets of gold in a goldmine.

Metonymy
Metonymy is description of something in terms of something with which it is closely associated:
The pen is mightier than the sword (pen = the written word/ diplomacy, sword = violence/force)

Paraphrase
Paraphrase is the process of producing alternative versions of a sentence or text without changing
the meaning. When this is the case, the sentences are said to have the same set of entailment, i.e.
they entail each other, and to share the same proposition. For example, the sentences “The teacher
put the test off” and “The teacher put off the test” can be claimed to paraphrase each other, in
addition to sharing the same proposition and entailing each other.

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Polysemy
Polysemy refers to words with two or more related meanings. For example, lip is polysemous
because we can use it not only to refer to a part of one’s mouth but also in phrases such as lip of

the cliff or the lip of a cup, and we also have the expression don’t give me any lip (i.e., do not talk
back). Foot is polysemous as well: in addition to meaning ‘the lowest part of the body’ (with the
top being the head), we have foot of the bed, as well as foot of the stairs and foot of the mountain.

Presupposition
Presupposition is a relation between an utterance and one or more implicit assumptions triggered by
the utterance. Presuppositions are based on the linguistic structure of the utterance and may be
viewed as being the background assumptions with which the speaker works when he/she engages in
interaction. By way of illustration, the utterance “Mary’s brother stopped beating his wife” gives rise
to two presuppositions: firstly that “Mary has a brother” even though that fact is not explicitly
expressed, and secondly that “Mary’s brother had been beating his wife.” Similarly, the utterance
“John wants another cup of tea” presupposes that “John had one cup of tea already”.

Synonymy.
Two words, phrases, or sentences are synonyms if they have the same semantic meaning. e.g.,
gearbox – transmission, choice – selection, complex – complicated.

Tautology.
Tautology is a phrase or expression in which the same thing is said twice in different words,
generally considered to be a fault of style (e.g. they arrived one after the other in succession).
“Repeat that again” and “reiterate again”.

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DEMONSTRATING SEMANTIC KNOWLEDGE

1. Speakers know, in a general way, whether something is or is not meaningful in their

language.

1a. Henry drew a picture. (meaningful).

1b. Henry laughed. (meaningful).
1c. *The picture laughed. (Not possible)
*The flowers stole the pie and ran home. (Not possible).
1d. *Picture a Henry drew. (Not possible)
*The fish likes to go to school. (Not possible).

Sentences with (*) are called ‘Anomalous’ sentences, they have abnormal meaning, fails to make
sense.

Anomalous sentences;
 *A table was listening to music. (Nonsense)
 *My toothbrush is pregnant again this morning. (Nonsense)
 *My saucepan is honest. (meaningless)
 *Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. (meaningless)

Sentences my adhere to two things,

- Make sense syntactically.
- Make sense semantically.

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2. Speakers generally agree as to when two sentences have the same meaning and when
they do not. [This is what we call Paraphrase]

2a. Rebecca got home before Robert.

2b. Robert got home before Rebecca. [2a, 2c]; Paraphrase each other

2c. Robert arrived at home after Rebecca. [2b, 2d]; Paraphrase each other

2d. Rebecca got home later than Robert.

Paraphrase is the process of producing alternative versions of a sentence or text without

changing the meaning.

 How do we paraphrase?

1. Synonyms; (words with similar meaning)

‘My dad bought an apartment’. (My father purchased a house).
‘The professor gave profound comments’. (The professor gave deep comments).
‘He had a deep cut on his arm’. (Deep = cannot be replaced by ‘profound’).

2. Transformation (change the syntax of a sentence, using active voice);

‘The boy broke the window’.
The window was broken by the boy. (Passive)
It was the boy who broke the window. (It-cleft)
It was the window that the boy broke. (It-cleft)
What the boy did as (to) break the window. (Wh-cleft)
What the boy broke was the window. (Wh-cleft)
The window was what the boy broke. (Reversed Wh-cleft)

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Paraphrasing examples:

[Here we change it using ‘Synonyms’]:

 1a. The individual who lacks affection, recognition or the fulfillment of other
emotional needs may turn to food.

1b. A person who is unloved or unrecognized may eat for emotional satisfaction.

 2a. We might well find that we need more than three weeks in which to complete a
report of this kind.

2b. It is quite likely that 21 days won't be sufficient for us to finalize a report.

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3. Speakers generally agree when two words have essentially the same meaning --in a
given context.

3a. Where did you purchase these tools?

(Use, buy, release, modify, take)
3b. At the end of the street, we saw two enormous statues.
(Huge, nice, original, pink, smooth)

Here we talk about what we call ‘Synonymy’, when two lexical words share identical or near
identical meaning [It’s a lexical relation].

For Example,
 I phoned you yesterday but there was no.….........
Nouns: (answer, reply, response) / Its possible to use the three of them.
 John got all the ……….. on the exam correct.
Nouns: (answer, reply, response) / It’s also possible to use ‘responses’
 The fall semester ……….. on the 29th of August.
Verbs: (Begin, start, commence) / Its possible to use the three of them.

These all are Synonyms; (Freedom-liberty), (broad-wide), (conceal-hide), (cab-taxi), (big-large),

(rapidly-swiftly).

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4. Speakers recognize when the meaning of one sentence contradicts another sentence.

4a. The movie has a happy ending

4b. The movie has a sad ending. [4a, 4b]; contradict each other

4c. The soldier is awake. [4c, 4d]; contradict each other

4d. The soldier is sleepy.

For Example,

 My brother is jealous of me because I am an only child.

Contradictions
 I never write sentences in the negative form.

Oxymoron (the use of two contradictory words together as in ‘’True-lies’). It’s a figure of speech.

Contradiction is the relation between two propositions, that every sentence has a proposition, and
a proposition is just a statement or the meaning of a sentence or affairs. If one part is true, the other
must be false.

Proposition is the meaning of a sentence that makes a statement about some state of affairs.

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5. Speakers generally agree when two words have opposite meanings in a given context.

5a. Beth cut a thick slice of cake.

(Bright, new, soft, thin, wet).
5b. The train departs at 12:25.
(Arrives, leaves, swerves, waits).

Antonyms:
I. Gradable Antonyms. They can be used in a comparative and superlative.
Ex, (‘Thick’, the thicker, the thickest), (‘Thin’, thinner, thinnest).
They can be modified by an intensifier. Ex, (Very thick, very thin, extremely thick, extremely
thin).

II. Non-gradable Antonyms. They cannot be graded, absolute state, no grey area (either this
or that), they cannot be modified by an intensifier.
(Female-male), (True-false), (Single-married).

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6. Synonyms and antonyms have to have some common element of meaning to be,
respectively, the same or different.

6a. (street, lane, road, path, house, avenue); They all share the feature of being ‘Public
way’ of access of something.

6b. (acquire, buy, inherit, steal, take, use); They all share the feature of ‘Legal Possession’

Man +male, + adult, +human

Women -male, +adult
Boy +male, -adult
Girl -male, -adult

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7. Some sentences have double meanings; they can be interpreted in two ways.
[Speakers are aware of this fact because they appreciate jokes that depend on two-way
interpretation, like the following]:

 We have two types of Ambiguity: Lexical; structural

Lexical Ambiguity is when the word itself is ambiguous in a particular context, and
there is more than one interpretation to it.

Lexical Ambiguity:
 My sister cannot bear children.
1. She cannot give birth to children because she is sterile.
2. She cannot put up with or tolerate children because they are noisy.

.‫ال يؤكل الليمون بعد العصر‬ 

)‫ ال يؤكل الليمون بعد صالة العصر (الوقت‬. 1

ّ ‫ ال يؤكل الليمون بعد العصر (أ‬. 2

)‫ي بعد عصره‬

 Marjorie doesn't care for her parakeet.

1. Doesn't like her parakeet.
2. Doesn't take care of her parakeet.

 Mary thinks the present is nice.

1. Gift.
2. Present time.

 An old friend of mine teaches at that school.

1. A longtime friend.
2. My friend is not young (old).

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 The chicken is too hot to eat.

1. Temperature sense (hot).
2. Spicy.
3. Sick; ‘The chicken is too hot’.

 We will give you a ring tonight.

1. Diamond ring in your finger.
2. Call you.

 John took my picture.

1. Photographed me.
2. Stole my picture, borrowed.

 Iraqi Head Seeks Arms.

1. Head = President.
2. Arms = Weapons.

 Police Chase Snakes Through city.

1. [NP Police] [VP Chase [NP Snakes] Through City].
2. [NP Police Chase] [VP Snakes Through City].

 Eye Drops off Shelf.

1. Eye drops removed from the shelf.
2. Eye drops falls down.
3. [NP Eye drops] off shelf.

 Squad helps dog bite victim.

1. A group of people who help a victim got bitten by a dog.

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 They fed her dog biscuit.

1. Fed a dog biscuit. They fed [NP her dog] [NP biscuit].
2. Fed a girl dog biscuit. They fed [NP her] [NP dog biscuit].

Structural Ambiguity.
 Flying planes can be dangerous.
1. The flying of planes can be dangerous.
2. Planes that fly can be dangerous.

 Visiting relatives can be boring.

1. You get bored when visiting relatives.
2. Relatives who visit are boring.

8. Speakers know how language is used when people interact between each other.

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9. Speakers are aware that two statements as related in such a way that if one true, the
other must also be true.

Entailment is a relation between a pair of sentences such that the truth of the second
sentence necessarily follows from the truth of the first sentence.

This is what we call ‘Hyponymy’; The specific is included in the general.

 There are tulips in the garden. (Specific)

 There are flowers in the garden. (General)

 John keeps a dog. (Specific)

 John keeps an animal. (General)

 The criminal was executed last night. (Specific)

 The criminal is dead. (General)

We have two types of Entailments:

1. One-way Entailment (It doesn’t mean the same thing when flipped)

 Donald Duck is a duck = Donald Duck is a bird.

 Henry murdered his bank manager = Henry’s bank manager is dead.

2. Two-way Entailment; . (It means the same thing both ways)

 He is the father of my mother = He is the maternal grandfather.

 Today is Tuesday = Yesterday was Monday.
 Everyone will lose = No one will win.
 The bottle is half-empty = The bottle is half-full

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10. Speakers know that the message conveyed in one statement may presuppose other
pieces of knowledge.

Presupposition is a relation between an utterance and one or more implicit assumptions

triggered by the word/phrase/ utterance.

For Example;

 Andy Murfee usually drives his Datsun to work.

a. There is a person named Andy Murfee

b. Andy Murfee works or has a job.
c. There is a Datsun that belongs to Andy Murfee.
d. Andy Murfee knows how to drive a car.

 Mary stopped beating her boyfriend.

a. There is a person called Mary.

b. Mary has a boyfriend.
c. Mary used to best her boyfriend.

 John returned to Cambridge.

a. There is a person named John.

b. John has been to Cambridge before.

 John regrets to inform Mary that her application has not been successful.

a. (John hasn’t informed Mary yet but he is going to tell her, ‘’to inform’’).

 John regrets informing Mary that her application has not been successful.

a. (John has already informed Mary and regrets it ‘’informing’).

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 PRACTICES ON SYNONYMY & PARAPHRASING

Practice: In the following sentences, do the capitalized pairs of words have the same (or very
nearly the same) sense in the ways they are used here?
(1) The thief tried to CONCEAL/HIDE the evidence. Yes / No (same meaning)
(2) I’m going to PURCHASE/BUY a new coat. Yes / No (same meaning)
(3) These tomatoes are LARGE/RIPE. Yes / No (Different meaning; Ripe=condition,
Large=size)
(4) This is a very LOOSE/SHORT definition. Yes / No (Different meaning)
(5) You have my PROFOUND/DEEP sympathy. Yes / No (same meaning)
(6) It is a very WIDE/BROAD street. Yes / No (same meaning)

Practice: Are the following pairs paraphrases of each other (assuming that the referents of the
names and other referring expressions remain the same)? Indicate your answer by circling either
P (paraphrase) or NP (not a paraphrase).
(1) John is the parent of James
James is the child of John P / NP (Same meaning, different order)
(2) John is the parent of James
James is the parent of John P / NP (Contradiction)

(3) My father owns this car

This car belongs to my father P / NP
(4) The fly was on the wall
The wall was under the fly P / NP
(5) Some countries have no coastline
Not all countries have a coastline P / NP
(6) Fred sent Mary a new book
Fred sent a new book to Mary P / NP
(7) Jerry took out the garbage
Jerry took the garbage out P / NP

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Semantics, Fall 2021-2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

Describe the semantic relationship expressed by each of the following sentences.

(1) Flight 2048 arrives and departs at 8:00 a.m. [contradiction]

(2) I appreciate your help. You helped me. [Presupposition]
(3) My brother married a doctor. My male sibling joined in wedlock with a physician.
[Paraphrase].
(4) In walked the corpse. [Anomaly]
(5) The corpse is alive. [Contradiction]
(6) Professor Jones went to his office. Professor Jones went to the university. [Entailment]
(7) They have a love-hate relationship. [Contradiction]
(8) The escaping convict accidentally assassinated the guard. [Anomaly]
(9) Jane ate a piece of chicken. Jane ate a piece of poultry. [One-way Entailment]
(10) My husband is living. I am a widow. [Contradiction]
(11) She stepped on an idea. [Anomaly]
(12) Edith amused the salad. [Anomaly]
(13) My brother is an only child. [Contradiction]
(14) He unintentionally committed perjury. [Contradiction]
(15) She wore a colorless pink dress. [Contradiction]
(16) Othello killed Desdemona. Desdemona died. [Entailment]
(17) He descended from the ground floor to the attic. [Contradiction]

Exercise: In the space provided, give the presupposition which is triggered by the underlined
words in each of the following utterances:

1. The police arrested John again. [John was arrested before]

2. Mary regrets doing a PhD in Linguistics. [Mary did a PhD in Linguistics].
3. The Israeli annexation of the Golan Heights is illegal. [Israeli has already annexed].
4. The professor accused Sam of plagiarism. [Sam Plagiarized something]
5. John doesn’t write poems anymore. [John used to write poems].
6. The police ordered the youngsters to stop drinking. [The youngsters were drinking].
7. Jessica regretted not receiving a new car for her birthday. [Jessica got a car but not a new
one].
8. Jane wants more popcorn. [She had some already, but she wants more].
9. Who discovered America in 1492? [America was discovered in 1492].
10. John forgot locking the door. [John forgot that he locked the door].
 The study of meaning 9

language that allows that speaker to communicate facts, feelings, intentions,

and products of the imagination to other speakers and to understand what
they communicate to him or her. Language differs from the communication
systems of other animals in being stimulus-free and creative. Early in life
every human acquires the essentials of a language – a vocabulary and the
pronunciation, use, and meaning of every item in it. The speaker’s knowledge
is largely implicit. The linguist attempts to construct a grammar, an explicit
description of the language, the categories of the language, and the rules by
which they interact. Semantics is one part of the grammar; phonology,
syntax, and morphology are other parts.
Speakers of a language have an implicit knowledge about what is
meaningful in their language, and it is easy to show this. In our account of
what that knowledge is we introduced ten technical terms: anomaly;
paraphrase; synonymy; semantic feature; antonymy; contradiction;
ambiguity; adjacency pairs; entailment; and presupposition.

Practice 1.1 Truth conditions

Below are ten pairs of sentences. In each pair assume that the first sentence
is true. Then decide what we know about the second sentence, which has
the same topic(s). If the first is true, must the second also be true (T)? Or
if the first is true, must the second be false (F)? Or does the truth of the
first tell us nothing about the truth of the second (X)?

1. Paraphrase 1a Rose is married to Tom. (T)

1b Rose is Tom’s wife. (T)
2a David is an unmarried adult male. (T)
2. Entailment
2b David is a bachelor. (T)
3a This knife is too dull to cut the rope. (T)
3. Entailment 3b This knife isn’t sharp enough to cut the rope. (T)
4a Victoria likes to sing. (T)
4. Contradiction
4b Victoria doesn’t sing. (F)
5a Max has been here for an hour. (T)
5. Presupposition
5b Max is tired of waiting. (T)
6. Entailment/ 6a Mr. Bond has quit smoking. (T)
Presupposition 6b Mr. Bond used to smoke. (T)
7a Mr. Bond still smokes. (T)
7. Contradiction 7b Mr. Bond used to smoke. (F)
8a Oil paintings are more expensive than watercolors. (T)
8. Contradiction
8b Watercolors cost more than oil paintings. (F)
10 Introducing English Semantics

9a The Carlson Hotel is more than a century old. (T)

9. Paraphrase 9b The Carlson Hotel has operated for more than a
century. (T)
10. Entailment/ 10a Mai invited some friends to lunch. (T)
Presupposition 10b Mai has friends. (T)
FR

Suggested reading
The following can be recommended for the beginning student who wants
collateral or supplemental reading in the subject.

Allan, Keith (1986). Linguistic Meaning (2 vols).

Dillon, George (1977). Introduction to Contemporary Linguistics Semantics.
Griffiths, Patrick (2006). An Introduction to English Semantics and Pragmatics.
Hofmann, Theodore R. (1993). Realms of Meaning: An Introduction to Semantics.
Hurford, J. R. and Brendan Heasley (1983). Semantics: A Coursebook.
Leech, Geoffrey N. (1981) Semantics. 2nd edn.
Lobner, Sebastian (2002). Understanding Semantics.
Lyons, John (1995). Linguistic Semantics: An Introduction.
Nilsen, Don L. F. and Aileen P. Nilsen (1975). Semantic Theory: A Linguistic
Perspective.
Palmer, Frank (1981). Semantics. 2nd edn.
Riemer, Nick (2010). Introducing Semantics.
Saeed, John I. (1997). Semantics.

The more advanced students will want to be familiar with:

Chierchia, Gennaro and Sally McConnell-Ginet (1990). Meaning and Grammar:

An Introduction to Semantics.
Frawley, William (1992). Linguistic Semantics.
Kempson, Ruth M. (1997). Semantic Theory.
Lyons, John (1977). Semantics (2 vols).+

The logical formulation of semantic statements is well explicated in:

Cann, Ronnie (1993). Formal Semantics: An Introduction.

A very readable discussion of (non-human) animal communication and of

the biological basis for humans’ language capacity is Wardhaugh (1993),
Chapters 2 and 3.
Full details of these and all other books cited in ‘Suggested reading’ lists
can be found in the Bibliography at the end of the book.
 ENTAILMENT & PRESUPPOSITION

ENTAILMENT

In the following sentences, does the first sentence entail the second? If it does, does it arise from
meaning inclusion?
(a) That animal is a colie. (specific) That animal is a dog. (General)

(b) Egbert killed Ethelbert. (specific) Ethelbert is not alive. (General)

(c) A tall woman came in. (specific) A tall person came in. (General)

(d) I am wearing brown shoes (specific) I am wearing brown footwear. (General)

(f) I ran to the beach. (specific) I went to the beach. (General)

(h) Jim lives in Manchester. (specific) Jim lives in England. (General)

(i) It’s a sandal. (specific) It’s an item of footwear. (General)

(j) I saw you sprint to the library. (specific) I saw you run to the library yesterday. (General)

These all are One-way entailment (Include the specific in the general)

TWO-WAY ENTAILMENT

(Exactly like paraphrasing, it means the same thing but reversed)

 They ambled round the square entails They strolled round the square.
 They strolled round the square entails They ambled round the square.

 I painted my car wheels vermilion entails I painted my wheels scarlet.

 I painted my car wheels scarlet entails I painted my wheels vermilion.

A technical term for two-way entailment between sentences is paraphrase. (Paraphrase is a

relationship of sameness of meaning between sentences; synonymy is the corresponding
relationship between words.)

1
PRESUPPOSITION:

Presupposition survives negation.

Look at the following example: What presuppositions does this sentence give rise to?

‘John stopped stealing office supplies’.

1. There is a person called John.
2. John works in an office.
3. John used to steal office supplies.

Exercise: What are the presuppositions of the following sentences?

1. Judy's boyfriend is a policeman.

There is a person called Judy, who has a boyfriend who is a policeman.

2. I accused Peter of mumbling.

There is someone called Peter and he used to mumble.

3. I criticized Peter for mumbling.

There is a person called Peter who mumbles.

4. I'm sorry Dave is not here.

There is a person called Dave.

5. I'm not sorry Dave is not here.

There is a person called Dave.

6. Your car needs mending.

You have a car and it’s broken down.

7. The Mayor of Preston is away.

Preston has a mayor, and he is away.

8. How fast was the motorbike going when it jumped the red light?
There is a motorbike which was running fast.

9. She has stopped smoking.

She used to smoke but she stopped

10. My sister got married last week.

I have a sister and she’s no longer single.

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 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

THE DIMENSIONS OF MEANING

 Any linguistic expression must have a form and a function.

We recognize three different aspects of meaning in lexemes:

1. The relation to phenomena outside language; [Reference & denotation].
2. The relation to people's attitudes and feeling; [connotation].
3. The relation to other lexemes; [synonyms, antonyms, etc].

 Two lexemes that have the same form (pronunciation and spelling) are called ‘homonyms’.
Ex. [Bank, saw].
 A single lexeme with a wide range of meaning is called ‘polysemous’.

1. The relation to phenomena outside language; [Reference & denotation].

Reference: [Tree, red, run]; have obvious relation to objects and events.

We make a distinguishing between Denotation and reference:

Denotation is the potential of a word/lexeme such ‘door’ or ‘dog’ to enter into such language
expressions. Denotation is the knowledge that they have that makes their use of communication
successful.

 Arbitrary association between the linguistic expression and the object that exist in the
physical word.

[Tree; Dog] = There isn’t one to-one relationship between ‘Tree’ and the object that exist in the real
word.

Reference is the way speakers and hearers use an expression successfully.

We have two types of reference:

1. Unique/constant reference.

We have so many linguistic expressions that have one single reference. [All names of countries,
cities, rivers, seas, oceans, mountains, in which they all are unique].

For example,
London = The capital city of England
Dubai = City in United Arab Emirates.
Paris = The capital city of France.

(They all refer to that particular place)

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SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

2. Variable reference.

[Names of persons = The refence varies according to context]

Sara, Ahmad, Nour, Waad

The denotation of 'dog' identifies the central aspect of its meaning, which everybody agrees
about.

2. The relation to people's attitudes and feeling; [connotation].

Connotation refers to the personal aspect of meaning, the emotional associations that a
word arouses. [Personal feelings, some are universal some are very culture specific].

The word ‘dog’, in western culture have positive connotation, but in Eastern culture have
negative connotations.

Svelte (P) Slim (P)

Petite (P) Thin (N)

Skinny (N) Slender (P)

Lean (P) Scrawny (N)

Home, Positive connotation, (A place of one’s comfort and positivity).

House: Neutral connotation, (The physical building in which someone lives).

Shanty: Negative connotation, (A small crudely build shake).

Sea: Negative connotation, (Instability, danger, insecurity).

Land: Positive connotation, (fertility, stability).

Woman: (An adult female = denotation), (Strong = Positive connotation).

Lady: (An adult female = denotation), (High-regard, title of respect = Positive connotation).

Chick: (An adult female = denotation), (sexual = Negative connotation).

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SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

3. The relation to other lexemes; [synonyms, antonyms, etc].

3
 THE DIMENSIONS OF MEANING:

A linguistic expression or form is anything meaningful in a language.

Three units of meaning (i.e. Meaning is expressed by):

1. Morphemes (may be less than a word either free or bound (i.e. affixes).

2. Lexemes (roughly speaking, words and idioms).

3. Sentences.

2
 LEXEMES & FUNCTION WORDS

Lexemes:

 A lexeme may consist of one or more meaningful units called morphemes.

 They have semantic relations outside language.

 Every lexeme is a combination of form and meaning.

Function words:

 Function words contribute grammatical meanings to utterances.

3
We can recognize three aspects of meaning in lexemes:

1. The relation to phenomena outside language.

2. The relation to people's attitudes and feelings.
3. The relation to other lexemes.

Example:

1. Two lexemes that have the same form (spelling and pronunciation) are
homonyms.

2. A single lexeme with a wide range of meanings is polysemous.

4
3.1 Reference and Denotation:

Words like tree, door, apple, run, etc. have an obvious relation to objects and events in the
world around us.

Children learning their native language learn words in association with observable items
and situations and events. This simple fact gives rise to an overly simple idea about what
meaning is.

We are likely to think that a language consists of a large number of words and each of
these words has a direct correlation with something outside of language, which is its
meaning.

And since we are communicating with one another through language, it must be that we
all have the same idea or concept associated with each word. 5
The best elaboration of this view was made by Ogden and Richards (1923)
who explained meaning in terms of what is in people's minds. (The Mentalistic
Theory of Meaning).Their explanation centers on this scheme:

Concept

Association Reference

Word Meaning Object 6

THE SEMIOTIC TRIANGLE: EXAMPLE

CONCEPT
(sense)
GIRL

means determines

Objects in the world

Expression: girl denotes

7
Ogden and Richards called:

The bond between word and concept an "association' and the bond between concept and
object "reference". The bond between object and word "meaning".

When we hear or read a word, we often form a mental picture of what the word represents,
and so we equate 'concept' with a mental picture.

Mental picture of some words such as door: what is the mental image you have of a door? It does
not take any time to understand the meaning what is the image you visualized inside your
brain when I said door? I will hear your answers to that:

8
A revolving door?
A folding door?
A sliding door?
A wooden door?

Ok, what about words like PRETEND, PROBLEM what is the image that you formed to
these words?

1. The meaning of a door is more than what is included in a single image.

2. And your knowledge of these words is much more than the ability to relate them to
single objects.

3. You can use these words successfully in a large number of situations because you have
the knowledge that makes it possible. 9
 Reference: is the relation between a language  Denotation is the literal/ actual meaning of a
expression (such as this door, both doors,) and word (found in a dictionary such as dog, door
whatever the expression refers to in a particular etc.). It is the potential of a word like door or
situation of language use including what a speaker dog to enter into such language
may imagine. (the relation between language and the expressions such as:
outside world).
1. This dog is a Dalmatian.
2. My children have just acquired a dog.
 Reference is the way speakers and hearers use a 3. Several dogs were lighting over a bune.
linguistic expression successfully.
 It is the knowledge they have that makes their
use successful.
 Explanation: Reference is the association of
specific vocabulary with specific things actions  Explanation: Denotation identifies the central
and characteristics. ( a relationship between a aspect of word meaning which everybody
particular object and an expression used in an generally agrees about. It is possible to think of
utterance to refer to that entity). lexical items that have more or less fixed 10
denotation.
The problems with the Mentalistic Theory:

1. Not all words can be associated with mental images.

2. 2. Some words have a range of meanings greater than any single association.

3. The biggest problem to this theory is that they don't have any access to other people's
minds.

4. Also, words are not the only semantic units. Meanings can be expressed by units that
may be smaller than words morphemes. Not only that meanings can be expressed in
units- sentences-that are larger than words.
11
Example:

a) The dog bit a man.

b) The man bit a dog.

Both contain the same words, but they don't express the same meanings.

5. Furthermore, meaning is more than denotation. People not only talk and write to
describe things, but they also express their feelings, opinions, favorable and unfavorable.

Language provides the means for expressing a wide range of attitudes which semanticists
call connotation.

12
3.2 Connotation is the attitudes/feelings that a lexeme may evoke.

How does a particular person/society value a certain thing?

The relation to people’s attitudes and feelings that a lexeme can evoke.

Example: dog to Christian and to Muslims.

Dog;
Pooch = (cute),
cur = (aggressive)

It is important to know that part of any meaning of a word is its connotation.

13
The affective or emotional associations an expression or lexeme arouses vary according
to the experiences of individuals, but some words have shared connotations.

For example: violin and fiddle have the same denotation: a musical instrument, but 'fiddle'
connotes dishonesty.

fiddle UK US /fid / noun [C or U] MAINLY UK INFORMAL

(DISHONEST BEHAVIOUR)

something dishonest that someone does in order to get money or other

advantages:
a tax fiddle
Everyone suspected they were on the fiddle (= cheating).
14
 What is the difference between denotation and connotation?

Denotation identifies the central aspect of word meaning, which everybody generally agrees
about.

Connotation refers to the personal aspect of meaning, the emotional association that the
word arouses.

A stubborn person may be described as being either strong-willed or pig-headed. Although these
have the same literal meaning (i.e. stubborn), strong-willed connotes admiration for the level of
someone's will, while pig-headed connotes frustration in dealing with someone. Likewise, used
car and previously owned car have the same literal meaning, but many dealerships prefer the
latter, since it is thought to have fewer negative connotations.
15
CONNOTATIONS OF "COLOR’’

Red ; danger, passion

Yellow ; scandal (press)
Black ; depression
Blue ; sadness: obscenity
Green ; envy: environment
Pink ; homosexuality

16
CROSS-CULTURAL CONNOTATIONS

 Red: danger, passion, anger since when we are angry, blood rushes to the neck
and face areas. It also connotes sacrifice.

 India: color of mourning is white in Western cultures it is black.

 Chinese brides wear red while Western brides wear white.

17
Lexeme: Connotations:

1. Plump Positive = slightly fat in a way that looks quite nice (.)‫ ممتلئ الجسم‬:‫)مكتنز‬

2. Chubby Positive = babies who look fat in a healthy attractive way :‫ ريان‬:‫(ربيل‬
ُ
)‫غندر‬
3. Dumpy
Negative = short and fat )‫ سمين‬:‫(بدين‬
4. Overweight
Negative= fatter than doctors think is healthy )‫( فرط الوزن بالسمنة‬
5. Obese
Negative = very fat in a way that may be dangerous to one's health
18
(‫ سمين‬:‫)بدين‬
 Positive: Sally was an enthusiastic member of her sorority.

 Neutral: Sally was an active member of her sorority.

 Negative: Sally was a fanatical member of her sorority.

 Positive: He asks questions because he is curious/inquisitive.

 Questioning.

 Negative: He asks questions because he is nosy.

19
 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

1st Quiz Questions & Answers

1. The relation between a language expression and whatever the expression pertains to in a
particular situation of language use, including what a speaker may imagine is called _______
[reference].

2. The semantic relation between an utterance and one or more implicit assumptions triggered by
the utterance is called __________ [presupposition].

3. The semantic relation between two sentences such that if the first is true, the second must also
be true is called __________ [entailment].

4. The sentences "Maria's husband never does the washing up" and "Maria's husband always does
the washing up" are examples of __________ [contradiction].

5. The process of producing alternative versions of a sentence or text without changing the
meaning is called __________ [paraphrase].

6. The adjectives skinny, thin, and slender mean the same thing', but they differ in _______, the
values that people give to them. [connotation]

7. The linguistic science that deals with the type of meaning that isn't found in dictionaries and
which may vary from context to context is called __________ [pragmatics].

8. The expressions the sun, the Nile, Abu Dhabi, Mount Everest, etc., are examples of
__________ reference. [unique/constant]

9. A semantically _________ linguistic expression is one that has an abnormal meaning or fails to
make sense, despite being grammatically well-formed. [anomalous]

10. The study of literal meaning of words and sentences independent of context is
called__________ [semantics].
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 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

11. The sentences [David is a married adult male] and [David is a bachelor] are examples of
_______.
one-way entailment
two-way entailment
contradiction.

12. The sentences [The bottle is half empty] and [The bottle is half full] are examples of _______ .

one-way entailment
two-way entailment
Presupposition

13. The sentences [Rose is married to Tom] and [Rose is not Tom's wife] are examples of
________.

one-way entailment
two-way entailment
contradiction

14. The sentences [The professor gave deep comments] and [The professor gave profound
comments) are examples of _________.

one-way entailment
two-way entailment
presupposition

15. The sentences [The girl picked up a tulip] and [The girl picked up a flower] are examples of
________.
one-way entailment
two-way entailment
contradiction

2
 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

16. Which of the following is an example of contradiction?

Bachelors are male.

Bachelors are lonely.
Bachelors are not human being.

17. Which of the following is an example lexical ambiguity?

Flying planes can be dangerous.

You're so kind too me.
You're that kind!
They fed her dog food

18. The expression [William Shakespeare] in the sentence [William Shakespeare is one of the
greatest playwrights in English Literature] has the constant reference because

it is not a referring expression

it can be used to refer to different potential referents.
it never refers to a different person.

19. The sentences [My socks are both scarlet] and [My socks are both red] are examples of
________ .

one-way entailment
two-way entailment
contradiction

20. The sentences [Ken almost shot his foot] and [Ken nearly shot his foot] are examples of
________.

one-way entailment
two-way entailment
3
 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

contradiction

21. The lexeme [childlike] in "She has a childlike innocence about her that is rather surprising" has
negative connotation.

True
False

22. The lexeme [scrawny] in "The stray cat was so scrawny, the shelter volunteer could see its ribs"
has negative connotation.

True
False

23. The lexeme "sea" denotes a large body of water, but its connotative meaning includes the sense
of overwhelming space, danger, instability.

True
False

24. The lexeme "earth" denotes the land surface on which we live and move about, but it connotes
safety, fertility and stability.

True
False

25. An utterance is an instance of the production of a sentence or a fragment of a sentence.

True
False

4
 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

26. The sentence "Marjorie doesn't care for her parakeet" is an example of grammatical ambiguity.

True
False

27. The lexeme [strong-willed] in “John is a very determined and strong-willed person” has
positive connotation.

True
False

28. The lexemes [house, home, shanty] all denote a building that people live in. However, "house'
has positive connotation.

True
False

29. The lexemes [lady and woman] are synonyms in English but the difference between them is
that "lady' has overtones of respect.

True
False

30. "Henry's bank manager is dead" entails that "Henry murdered his bank manager".

True
False

5
 The dimensions of meaning 33

Practice 3.2 Syntagmatic relations

The verb bake is typically followed by a noun phrase that names some item of food
(bread, beans, ham, etc.) or of clay (bricks, pottery, etc.). Each verb below is rather
limited as to the kind of referring expression that can occur as object. Name one or
two nouns that can occur in the object of each verb.

Bounce Definition: if a ball or other object bounces, or if you bounce it,

it hits a surface then immediately moves away from it.
Objects: [Ball, Child (in knees), Cheque].

Brandish Definition: to wave a weapon or other object around in your

hand so that other people can see it.
Objects: [Weapon, Knife, Gun, Sword, Machete].

Brew Definition: to make a drink of tea or coffee, to make beer.

Objects: [Coffee, Tea, Beer, Wine].

Coil Definition: to tie people or things together with a piece of rope.

Objects: [Rope, Wire, Rings, Hose].

Definition: to shine brightly for a very short time, or to shine on

and off very quickly.
Objects: [Neon Signs, Lights, Signals, News/Massages].

Furl Definition: to fold or roll a piece of cloth or paper.

Objects: [Umbrella, Flag, The sail of a ship].

Shrug Definition: to move your shoulders up and let them drop to show
that you do not know something or do not care.
Objects: [Shoulders, Jackets, Criticism (ignore)].

Definition: to separate things that are twisted around each

other.
Objects: [Hair, Knot, Rope, Wire, Thread, Cable, Mystery].
34 Introducing English Semantics

Practice 3.3 Paradigmatic relations

a red apple [Green, Golden, Pink]

red hair [Black, Blonde, Brown]

a red traffic light [Green, Amber (Orange or Yellow)].

red wine [White].

 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

3.6 Homonymy and Polysemy

In Homonymy: the root “homo”, means same, while “nym”, means name. [Same name].
In Polysemy: the root “Poly”, means many, while “sem”, means meaning. [Many meanings].

Homonymy refers to lexemes that have the same spelling and pronunciation but different
meanings.

a. The kids are going to watch TV tonight. = [The act of watching]

b. I have bought a new watch. = [Tracking time object].

a. Which page is the homework on? = [Sheet of paper]

b. Please page the doctor if you need help. = [Call]

a. My rabbits are in a pen outside. = [Enclosed area]

b. Please sign this form with a black pen. = [Writing instrument]

Homonyms give rise to Lexical Ambiguity:

a. I am going to the bank. = [Riverbank, side of the river OR financial institution]

Homographs are lexemes that have the same spelling but different pronunciations and meanings.

a. The wind is blowing hard. Wound = [air]

b. I have to wind my clock. wound = [Verb, to turn the stem of the clock].

a. All the students are present today. = [Adj, are there]

b. The boss will present the award at 10:00. [Verb, show]

Homophones are lexemes that have the same pronunciation but different spelling and meanings.
Ex: (to, too, two)

o This is my favorite (pair, pare, pear) of jeans.

o I have (sent, scent, cent) a letter to my aunt.
o The school (principle, principal) spoke to a group of parents.

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SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

Semanticists and lexicographers [guys who pile dictionaries, compilers], sometimes have to
decide whether a form with a wide range of meanings is an instance of polysemy or homonymy.

A polysemous (polysemic) lexeme has several (apparently) related meanings.

o Head: [of a person, of state, of school, of a company, of cabbage, of lettuce].

Dictionaries recognize the distinction between polysemy and homonymy by making a polysemous
item a single dictionary entry and making two or more homophonous lexemes separate entries.

o Date 1: [Homonymy].
a. Fruit.

o Date 2: [Polysemic words].

a. point in time.
b. appointment, meeting.
c. lover.

o The noun ‘pupil’: has two different senses = [part of the eye], [school child], they’re
semantically unrelated.
o Flower, flour: these were originally the same word, but now they have different meanings
that are far apart, and they’re treated as homonyms.

Clear cases of homonymy:

a. Sarah climbed down the ladder. = [Adv, movement of the person]

b. Sarah bought a down blanket. = [N, feather of birds]

a. My dog would always bark at the milkman. = [Dog barking]

b. The tree’s bark was rusty brown. = [Tree’s bark]

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Semantics, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Jarad

Homonymy or Polysemy
Determine whether the following are cases of homonymy or polysemy.1

(a) fine superior in quality Homonymy

a sum of money paid as a penalty

(b) bank an incline of land adjoining a river

Homonymy
a financial institution

(c) monitor a pupil who assists a teacher

Polysemy
a device that receives video signals from a computer

(d) tattoo a permanent design on the skin

Homonymy
'a military exercise'

(e) school an institution for instruction

Homonymy
a large group of fish

(f) leech a bloodsucking worm

a physician Polysemy
a hanger-on, a sycophant

(g) horn a structure projecting from the head of an animal Polysemy

a musical instrument

(h) ear the organ for hearing'

Homonymy
the seed-bearing spike of a cereal plant

(i) spell to name or write the order of the letters in a word

a magical formula Homonymy
a period of time

(j) butt to hit with the head

a target (for jokes) Homonymy
the larger or thicker end of an object

(k) pilot one who operates an aircraft or ship Polysemy

a television program produced as a prototype of a series

1
Brinton, L. J., & Brinton, D. (2010). The linguistic structure of modern English. John Benjamins Publishing.

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Decide whether the following words are examples of homonymy or polysemy.2

(a) punch a blow with the fist Homonymy

an iced mixed drink usually containing alcohol

(b) file a set of related records kept together Homonymy

a steel hand tool with small sharp teeth

(c) purse a small bag for carrying money Polysemy

a sum of money offered as a prize

(d) steel an alloy of iron with small amount of carbon Polysemy

to get ready for something difficult or unpleasant

(e) fan a device for creating a current of air by movement of a surface Homonymy
an ardent follower or admirer

(f) tail the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate Polysemy

a spy employed to follow someone and report their movements

(g) date sweet edible fruit of the date palm

Homonymy
a meeting arranged in advance

(h) blind unable to see

a protective covering that keeps things out or hinders sight Polysemy

(i) tie a neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material tied in knot at the front Polysemy
to fasten or secure with a rope, string, or cord

(j) graze feed as in a meadow or pasture

Homonymy
break the skin by scraping)

Homonyms are words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings. Choose
the sentence that contains homonyms.
1. A. Now Rich knows that you should never stick your nose into hot soup.
B. I really need to go to the restroom.
C. What are we having for dinner today?
D. Did you know that Rich spilled the hot soup all over himself?
2. A. I really want to see the movie before we move.

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http://www.ello.uos.de/field.php/Semantics/Semanticsidentifyhomonymsandpolysemes
 B. Lou’s sister never thought he’d lose the bet.
C. I can’t believe the house taxes are due the same time as the income taxes.
D. What do you think will happen to June in July, when she has her baby?
3. A. This steel chain will really lock the bike and not allow anyone to steal it.
B. That blue shirt is the same color blue as the sky.
C. When we had the meeting, meat was served for lunch.
D. “I really want to color in the coloring book,” Giselle said.
4. A. Did you see that seashell that she brought from the beach?
B. Turn that computer on and try to compute the charges.
C. “Do I really know you?” cried the little girl.
D. Will you please be careful, there is a bee on the chair?
5. A. Joe’s party was the best one I’ve been too!
B. It’s too bad that the two of you couldn’t go to Joe’s party.
C. Joe had about twenty people at his party.
D. Joe’s party lasted till after midnight.
6. A. The advertisement really explained what the ad was all about.
B. My mommy wants her mommy to come for a visit.
C. The old woman smiles and stares at the kids as they run up the stairs.
D. We’re going on a cruise and I want to watch the captain.

Decide which sentence contains a homonym, a homophone, or a homograph.

1. Please do not desert me in the desert with no water. Homograph
2. I saw a light feather float in a ray of light. Homonym
3. The blue balloon blew through the air. Homophone
4. The doctor wound a bandage over my fresh wound. Homograph
5. From here you can hear the wind whistle through the trees. Homophone
6. I can't bear to be chased by a bear. Homophone
Practice 3.4 Homonyms
Dictionaries have a single entry for the common noun needle but list various meanings, including the eleven below. Is this
a single lexeme? If you think it should be considered more than one lexeme, how would you divide? (Don’t be influenced
by the order in which the definitions appear here.)

1 the thin, short, pointed leaf of some trees, such as the pine and spruce. 2 a pointed instrument, usually metal, with a
sharp point and an eye through which thread is inserted, for sewing. 3 a pointed instrument, usually metal, with a hook at
one end, used for crocheting. 4 one of two or more pointed instruments, made of metal, plastic or other material, around
which yarn is wrapped, used for knitting. 5 a pointed, hollow instrument connected to a container which is fitted with a
plunger, used for injecting medicine, drugs or other liquid substance into the body. 6 a pointed, hollow instrument through
which dyes can be inserted into the skin of an individual, creating tattoo designs. 7 a pointed instrument which is heated in
some way and used for burning designs in wood. 8 a pointed instrument which is part of a phonograph, and which moves in
the continuous groove of a record. 9 a pointed piece of metal or other substance, as on a compass, speedometer,
thermometer, or the like, which moves and indicates some value, numerical or other, from a range of values. 10 the slender,
tapered top of a spire. 11 a rock formation which is very narrow in proportion to its height.

From 1 – 9; They all have 1 lexeme, related meanings. The shared meaning, [A pointed instrument] =
Polysemous.

From 10 -11; They have 2 separate lexemes, unrelated meanings. [The slender, rock formation] =
Homonymous.
Practice 3.5 Homonymy or polysemy?

Several nouns are listed below. Each is followed by two or more illustrations of how the noun is used or by two or more short
definitions. For each noun try to decide whether the form represents one lexeme with two or more senses (polysemy) or
two or more lexemes that happen to be pronounced alike (homonymy). Don’t consult a dictionary before finishing the exercise.

bark the bark of a dog; the bark of a tree. [homonymy].

bit a tool for drilling into wood; the cutting edge of an axe; the mouthpiece of a bridle; a small quantity of any
substance; a small role in a play or film. [polysemy].
compound a substance composed of two or more elements; an enclosure containing land and several buildings and owned by
one person or group. [homonymy]/ [polysemy].
corn a grain (in North America maize, in Scotland, rye); a calloused place in the epidermis, especially on the foot.
[homonymy].
flight the act of flying; the act of fleeing. [polysemy].
foot the foot of a person or animal; the foot of a hill; the foot of a bed; the foot of a table; the foot of a ladder; the foot
of a page; twelve inches. [polysemy]. Except 12 inches, it has 2 lexemes [homonymy].
horn a hard, projected growth on the head of certain animals; a wind instrument. [polysemy].
junk any useless material; a type of sailing vessel found in east Asia. [homonymy].
pole a long, comparatively slender piece of wood or metal, more or less rounded; either of the two points,
north and south, where the earth’s axis of rotation meets the surface; one of the two points of a battery
where opposite electrical forces are concentrated. [polysemy].
quarry an animal that is being pursued or hunted; a place from which stone is excavated. [homonymy].
tattoo markings made on the skin by injecting a dye; a signal on a drum or bugle. [homonymy].
 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

3.7 Lexical ambiguity

a. I was on my way to the bank to deposit some money.

b. I was on my way to the bank of the river to fish.

Idiom: There's skeleton in our closet.: unfortunate event that is held as a secret.

I was on my way to the bank of the river to fish.

 Is he really that kind?

a. Is he really that type?
b. Is he really that compassionate?

 The long drill was boring.

a. A tool that makes a hole in the ground
b. The long exercise was dull.

 It takes a good ruler to make a straight line.

a. Tool used in drawing or making lines.
b. Head of state, governor.

 He saw that gasoline can explode.

a. He watched as that can of gasoline exploded.
b. He understood that it's possible for gasoline to explode.

 You should see her shop.

a. You should see the way she shops.
b. You should see the shop that she owns.

 Hypermarket is the sole (sole) distributor.

a. Only
b. Type of fish
c. Shoe sole

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More examples on lexical ambiguity:

1. The dentist's appointment was shocking.

a. The meeting with the dentist was shocking.
b. The fact that the dentist got this job was shocking.

2. We were late, and the coach was late too.

a. The bus was late.
b. The trainer was late.

3. Jim took me to the court.

a. Jim took me to the playground (tennis, basketball, volleyball court)
b. Jim took me to the law court.

Literal meaning (nonsense), Intended meaning (makes sense): -

Newspaper headlines:

1. Men Recommend More Clubs for Wives.

a. A society/association where women meet and socialize. [Intended meaning]
b. ?Men recommend more sticks for their wives. [Literal meaning]

2. Kids Make Nutritious Snacks.

a. Kids are able to bake nutrition snacks. [Intended meaning]
c. ?Kids themselves can be nutritious snacks. [Literal meaning]

3. Include Your Children when Baking Cookies.

a. Involve children when you bake cookies. [Intended meaning]
d. ?Mix children with ingredients to make cookies. [Literal meaning]

4. Red Tape Holds up Bridge.

a. Excessive bureaucracy or adherence to official rules. [Intended meaning]
e. ?A strip used to fasten things. [Literal meaning]

5. Defendant's Speech ends in Long Sentence.

a. Defendant was given a long punishment. [Intended meaning]
f. ?Defendant’s speech ended with long group of words. [Literal meaning]

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3.8 Sentence Meaning

We communicate with utterance and each utterance is an instance (example) of a sentence.

How can we explain what sentence meaning is:

1. The meaning of a sentence derives from the meaning of the lexemes it contains and from
the grammatical meanings it contains.
[any sentence meaning is made up of two things, the lexical meaning; (nouns, verbs, adjs,
advs), and the grammatical meaning; (Aux, det, operators)].

2. If the sentence is a statement and if you know the meaning of the sentence, you know what
conditions are necessary in the world for that to be true.
[when we communicate with each other we share knowledge of the world; physical world]

 For example: Albert Thompson opened the first brewery in Waterton.

[If the sentence is true in the real world, it presupposes the existence of a person called
Albert Thompson, it also presupposes the existence of a place called Waterton]. It all
depends on the condition.

Truth-condition semantics is based on the notion that the core meaning of any statement is its
truth conditions. If a sentence is true (or false), what other sentences, expressing partly the same,
partly different conditions, can be judged by this sentence.

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Midterm Questions & Answers

1. Define FIVE of the following terms: utterance, presupposition, contradiction, reference,

syntagmatic, paradigmatic, referring expression, lexeme
- Utterance is the actual production of a sentence.
- Presupposition is the relation between an utterance and one or more implicit assumptions
triggered by the utterance.
- Contradiction is the relation between two prepositions, such that if one is true the other
must be false.
- Reference is the relation between a language expression and whatever expression it relates
to in a particular situation in language use including what a speaker may imagine.
- Syntagmatic is the mutual association of two or more words in a sequence.
- Paradigmatic is the relation between a set of linguistics items that form mutually exclusive
choices in particular syntactic roles.
- Referring expression is a piece of language that is used as if it’s linked to something
outside language, some living or dead entity.
- Lexeme is a minimal unit that can take part in refereeing (NP) or predicating (V).

2. Explain the AMBIGUITY in this sentence by providing TWO paraphrases of its two meanings.
She is looking for a match.
- She is looking for someone to match her, could be a date.
- She is looking for something to match her, (could be a dress or a top to match it with
something else).
- She is looking for the small sticks to light a fire with.

3. The Explain the AMBIGUITY in this sentence by providing TWO paraphrases of its two
meanings. He was knocked over by the punch.
- He was knocked down by the fist, somebody knocked him, hit him down.
- Fruit or Alcoholic drink.

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4. The Explain the AMBIGUITY in this sentence by providing TWO paraphrases of its two
meanings. Mary does not care for her pet animal.
- Doesn’t like
- Doesn’t take care of

5. Explain the AMBIGUITY in this sentence by providing TWO paraphrases of its two meanings.
There is a mouse under the table.
- An animal.
- A computer device.

6. Explain the AMBIGUITY in this sentence by providing TWO paraphrases of its two meanings.
Marry cannot bear children.

- Fertile cannot give birth

- Tolerate or stand

7. According to the mentalistic theory of meaning, all words can be associated with mental
images.
True
False

8. Entailment refers to a relation between two propositions such that if one is true, the other must
be false.

True
False

9. Paraphrase refers to the process of producing alternative versions of a sentence or text without
changing the meaning.

True
False

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10. Although [strong-willed or pig-headed] have the same denotational meaning (i.e. stubborn),
[pig-headed] connotes admiration for someone’s convictions.

True
False

11. When homonyms can occur in the same position in utterances, the result is lexical ambiguity.

True
False

12. The lexemes [dog, pooch, and cur] all denote a domestic canine. However, the first sounds
friendly and cute, the second neutral, and the third ugly or mean.

True
False

13. The expression [put up with] combines the forms of [put], [up] and [with], but it is treated as
one lexeme.

True
False

14. Everybody doesn't know that John has got married presupposes that John has got married.

True
False

15. Most students didn't pass the exam presupposes that no students passed the exam.

True
False
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16. Some students will not go to the party entails that Not every student will go to the party.

True
False

17. The following pairs of sentences [a. I saw Timothy at the anniversary party] and [b. It was
Timothy that I saw at the anniversary party] are examples of _______.

entailment
paraphrase
contradiction

18. The following pairs of sentences (a. Jules is Mary's husband] and [b. Mary is married] are
examples of _______.

entailment
paraphrase
contradiction

19. The following pairs of sentences [a. Vera is an only child] and [b. Olga is Vera's sister] are
examples of ________.

entailment
paraphrase
contradiction

20. The following pairs of sentences (a. My cousin Bryan teaches at the community college for a
living] and [b. My cousin Bryan is a teacher] are examples of _________.

entailment
paraphrase
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contradiction

21. The word [earth] is an example of polysemy because ________.

its two senses (of our planet and of soil) both contain the concept of land
earth (of our planet) and earth (of soil) are identical in pronunciation
earth (of our planet) and earth (of soil) are identical in spelling

22. Which of the following expressions of the sentence [My son moved to Dublin in 1997 has the
variable reference]?

in 1997
Dublin
My son

23. Which of the following has the correct entailment?

Bill didn't see a person entails Bill saw a boy.

Bill didn't see a boy entails Bill saw a person.
Bill didn't see a person entails Bill didn't see a boy.

24. What is one obvious presupposition in this sentence: "Majed renewed his subscription to Sport
magazine"?

That his subscription has expired

That Sport magazine is a cheap magazine
That he reads Sport magazine everyday
That renewing the subscription is easy

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25. What is the semantic relation between 'race' [the contest of speed] and 'race' (the ethnic group)?

Hyponymy
Synonymy
Homophony
Homonymy

26. What is your opinion about this sentence? "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously."

It is syntactically well-formed, but semantically odd.

It is syntactically odd, but semantically well-formed.
It is both syntactically and semantically odd.
It is both syntactically and semantically well-formed.

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Chapter 5: Lexical Relations

A lexeme is a minimal unit that can take part in referring or predicating. Lexical relation means
two or more lexemes are connected with the lexemes of language.

One part of knowing the meanings of lexemes in any language is:

 Two or more lexemes have the same semantic relations:

father and mother: (Co-hyponyms of the hypernym/ superordinate “parent”)
father and son: (Relational Antonyms)
father and paternal: (Synonyms)
employer and employee: (Relational Antonyms)
big and large: (Synonyms)
big and little: (Antonyms)
red, yellow and blue: (Co-hyponyms of the hypernym/ superordinate “color”)
single and married: (Non-gradable/absolute Antonyms)

Words or lexemes in any language are connected semantically. There is a semantic relationship
between them.

There are two approaches that are used to describe these lexical relations: semantic field
theory and truth conditions.

1. Semantic field: is an attempt to classify lexemes according to shared and differentiating

features.
For example: [Wasp, honest, bee: Insects that fly and sting].
[Moth and housefly: Insects that fly but do not sting].
[Ant and termite: Insects that neither fly nor sting].

2. Truth-conditional semantics studies lexical relations by comparing predications that can be

made about the same referring expression. The aim is to explain meaning relations between
different expressions in a language. These relations are entailment, paraphrase, and
contradiction.

P AND Q = 2 relations
 If my tie is entirely maroon, is it true that my tie is red = YES, Maroon is a co-hyponym of
red. [IF P is true Q must be true].
 Mary has a cat = Mary has an animal [p is true, q is true].
 Circles are squares. [Contradiction]
 Kings are female. [Contradiction]
 John is a bachelor, but he is married. [Contradiction]
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5.1 Lexical fields:

(Sets, themes) Theme-based vocabulary

Lexemes belongs to sets of lexical items; one lexeme could be a member of a large group of sets.

Sport: Tennis, football, basketball, golf.

Creative writings: Poem, short story, novel, biography, essay, etc...
Manual occupations: Carpenter, electrician, painter, plumber, welder, etc...
Weather: Rain, wind, fog, clouds, umbrella, sunshine, storm, etc...
Kinship: Father, mother, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, etc...
Weight below normal: Thin, bony, skinny, scrawny, underweight, slender, slim.
Some lexical sets involve part-whole relations: arm includes hand which includes fingers
Face: Eyes, mouth, cheeks, forehead, eyebrows, nose, chin, jaw, eyelashes, eyelid.
Water forms: Ice, stream, vapor, sleet, rain, snow, hail, etc...
Water in motion: Creek, river, waves, stream, etc...
Some sets are sequential: numbers, one, two, three…
Cyclical (cycle): January, February, etc.… Sunday, Monday…
Other sets form Paradigm:

Male Female

Adult Man Women

Child Boy Girl
[HUMAN]

Componential Analysis: definitions use binary features:

The advantage of componential analysis: is that it reflects the system through which lexemes
have their meanings. To tell what something is requires us to tell what it is not, what it contrasts
with, and what feature(s) make the contrast possible

One possible disadvantage of componential analysis: is that we may find ourselves unduly
concerned with the classification of phenomena represented in our language, forgetting that our
concern is language itself.

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LEXEME [HUMAN] [ADULT] [MALE] [CHILD]

Child + - * +
Boy + - + +
Girl + - - +
Women + + - -
Man + + + -

Adult + + * -

Adolescent + - * -

Stool, chair, bench, sofa

Sofa Bench Chair Stool

# of sitters [- sitter] [- sitter] [+ sitter] [+ sitter]

Upholstery [+ upholstery] [- upholstery] [* upholstery] [* upholstery]

Back Support [+ back] [+ back] [+ back] [* back]

[+HUMAN], [MALE], [MARRIED], [ADULT]

Spinster: [+HUMAN], [-MALE], [-MARRIED], [+ADULT].

Bachelor: [+HUMAN], [+MALE], [-MARRIED], [+ADULT].

Nurse: [+HUMAN], [*MALE], [*MARRIED], [+ADULT].

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Componential Analysis of the Field of “Killing”

Verb Semantic Features

Cause Done on Criminal Suggests Against Large Political Like A lawful

to die purpose act cruelty defenseless number reasons Animals punishment
people of victims

Kill + - - - - - - - -

Murder + + +

Assassinate + + + +

Massacre + + + + + +

Slaughter + + + + + + +

Butcher + + + + + + +

Execute + + +

Componential Analysis of the Field of “Looking”

Verb Semantic Features

Direct Intently as For a Momentarily Object With wide- With wide- Angrily Searching
the eyes in wonder, long or briefly is open mouth open eyes as or ly and
towards interest, time hardly as in in fiercely closely
delight, seen wonder, amazement
admiration shock, or
surprise
Look +

Gaze + + +

Stare + + + + +

Glance + +

Glimpse + + +

Peer + + +

Glare + +

Gape + + +

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 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

Noun Common Count Concrete Animate

Plans + + - -
Flu + - - -
Group + + + +
Appetite + - - -
Budget + + - -
Seafood + - + -
Grandparents + + + +
Herd + + + +
Vacation + + - -
Scissors + - + -
Requirements + + - -

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5.3 Hyponyms:
Hyponymy refers to lexemes whose meanings are included in the meaning of a more general
lexeme:

Daisy, rose, tulip = flower

Desk, table, sofa = furniture
Sparrow, robin, crow = birds

For example:

Food = (Hypernym/Superordinate term), general word

Meat = (Hypernym/superordinate) Vegetable Fruit = (Co-hyponyms of ‘food’)

Beef Spinach Apple, orange, peach

Chicken Cabbage

Fish

= Co-hyponyms of ‘meat’

 I had chicken for lunch yesterday = entails that I had meat.

 I had meat for lunch yesterday * it doesn’t entail chicken.

Mammal = (Hypernym/Superordinate term), general word

(Co-hyponyms of ‘Mammal’) = Cat Horse Dog Elephant

Relations can be between verbs not just nouns:

a) I saw you sprint to the library yesterday = entails that I saw you run to the library.

b) I saw you run to the library yesterday = it doesn’t entail that you were sprinting.

Running = “Superordinate term/Hyponym”

Jog/sprint/brisk walking = kinds of “running”

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 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

RUN

Race: to run somewhere as quickly as you can, especially because you have to do sth urgently.

Dash: to run somewhere as quickly as you can.................

Sprint: to run as fast as you can for a short distance.

Tear: to run very quickly and without looking where are going, because you are in a hurry: He tore
down the street and around the corner.

Charge: to run quickly and with a lot of energy so that you might knock down anyone in your way.

Leg it: to run away

Lope: to run easily with long steps........

Lope “literary word”:

The definitions of these all include the word “RUN” (hypernym).

Hyponymy can be defined as: X is a kind of Y

Hyponymy is used in definitions & every-day language.

Meronymy: is a term used to describe a part-whole relationship between lexemes.
Meronymy: X is a part of Y.

Examples of Meronym:

Co-meronyms of “Computer”.

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5.3 Hyponyms: (P. 63, 64)

Rover is a Collie AND Rover is a dog = Tautology
Rover is a Collie BUT Rover is a dog = Contradiction

Using “AND” & “BUT” with hyponyms produces tautology & contradictory sentences…

Hyponyms is always used to define something (for definitions), used in everyday language.

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5.4 Synonyms: (P.65)

Synonymy is the relation of sameness OR relatedness of meaning.

Total synonymy is very rare; The best test for synonyms is “substitution”:

Nouns: [Reply, answer, response]

 I called you last night but there was no______.

[Reply, answer, response] = All of them are possible in this context

 John got all the ______ correct in the exam.

[Reply, answer, response] = Only one synonym work in this context.

Synonyms are not interchangeable, the substitution test works in some cases, and does not work in
other.

 Will you help me ______ a new suit? [Select/ choose]

There are different types of Synonymy:

1. Stylistic Synonyms: (house, home, abode, domicile, residence), differ in style.

COLLOQUIAL NEUTRAL FORMAL/LITERARY

Kid child infant
Daddy father parent
Chap fellow associate
Go ahead continue proceed
Smashed/trolleyed drunk Inebriated/intoxicated

2. Dialectical Synonyms: (several varieties have different words for the same object)

Australian English British English

This arvo This afternoon
Footpath Pavement
Weekender Holiday cottage
Sheila Girl
Fed with Tired of
Postie Mailperson/postman
Weirdo Weird

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American English British English

Elevator Lift
Sidewalk Pavement
Faucet Tap
Attorney Lawyer

3. Connotative Synonyms: Two or three synonyms that differ in connotation whether they have
positive or negative meaning,

The words, (Produce, create, manufacture, fabricate); their denotative (dictionary) meaning, is to
produce or make sth.

Create: characterizes the process as inspired and noble (Positive connotation)

Produce: (Neutral connotation)
Manufacture: produce sth in a mechanical way without inspiration. (Slightly negative
connotation)
Fabricate: invent sth to deceive. (Negative connotation)

I'm sick and tired of listening to politicians (Negative) but give me a good statesman (Positive) any
day of the week and we'll get things done.

4. Euphemistic Synonyms:

Euphemism: a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh
or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. (Avoid using harsh words,
usually not direct words).

Die: Pass away, snuff it, kick the bucket, croak, etc.....
Prisoner: Guest of Uncle Sam. guest of Her Majesty, inmate, internee, jailbird, lifer, etc..
Toilet: Bathroom, blue room, comfort room, facility, WC, etc...
Death: Promoted to glory, gone to heaven, laid to rest, bite the bullet, early departed, one-way trip,
wooden overcoat, worm food, knock Heaven’s door, etc….
Urination: Call of nature, ease your bladder, empty your bladder, go to bathroom, pay a visit, spend
a penny, etc….

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 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

Source of Synonymy: “Borrowing”

Native English French Latin

Ask Question Interrogate
End Finish Complete
Rise Mount Ascend
Belly Stomach Abdomen
Begin/start Commence Commence

Synonyms can be adjectives, adverbs, nouns, verbs:

Adjectives: Big/large
Adverbs: Fast/rapidly
Verbs: Left/depart

Synonyms are examples of entailment:

The rock is large entails that the rock is big.

The train left promptly at 10 entails that the train departed promptly at 10.
The rock is large, AND it is big = Tautology
The rock is large, BUT it is not big = Contradiction

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 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

5.5 Antonymy

Antonyms are opposite in meaning, [two or more lexemes that are opposite in meaning].

Two sentences that differ in polarity are mutually contradictory:

John is watching TV now.

John is not watching TV now.

Two sentences that have the same subject and have predicates that are antonyms are mutually
contradictory.
The two sentences have the same subject (The TV) but different predicate (on, off):
The TV is on now.
The TV is off now.

5.5 Binary and non-binary Antonymy

There are several types of Antonymy:

1. Non-binary (Gradable, scaler, contrary) antonyms: Lexemes that designate opposite

regions of a scale with some intermediate range of values between them:

Cold cool lukewarm/tepid warm hot

They are mostly adjectives: Broad-narrow, large-small, old-young

Why are they called Non-binary Antonyms?

 These antonyms can be graded: comparative and superlative forms, [ Colder; the coldest].
 These antonyms can be modified by intensifiers/adverbs, [very cold, quite cold, extremely
cold].

Examples when we talk about entailment:

o The water is hot entails the water is not cold.

o The water is cold entails the water is hot.
o The water is not hot does not entail that the water is cold.
o The water is not cold does not entail the water is hot.

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 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

Examples of gradable Antonyms

Separate words Prefixing with un-/in-/im
Young/old Intelligent/unintelligent
Hot/cold Decent/indecent
Beautiful/ugly Attractive/unattractive
Tall/short Likeable/unlikeable
Fat/thin Comfortable/uncomfortable
Heavy/light Probable/improbable
High/low Forgettable/unforgettable
Wide/narrow Civilized/uncivilized
Happy/sad Happy/unhappy

2. Binary (aka complementary) antonyms: are antonyms that express a binary relation in
which it is perceived that there is no middle ground, Such as the antonyms:
Male/female;
Dead/alive;
Asleep/awake
Live/die;
True/False;
Pass/fail
Open/shut;
Hit/miss;
Odd/even
Present/absent;
Legal/illegal;
Pregnant/non-pregnant

For binary antonyms, there are entailments both from affirmative sentences to the
corresponding negative ones, and from negative sentences to affirmative ones:

The light is on entails the light is not off.

The light is off entails the light is not on.
The light is not on entails the light is on.
The light is not off entails the light is on.

Binary antonyms are not gradable because of the absence of hazy middle ground between the
members of a binary pair.

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SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

3. Relational antonyms: are pairs of antonyms in which one describes a relationship between
two objects/persons and the other describes the same relationship when the two
objects/persons are reserved.

Parent/child; teacher/pupil
John is the parent of Sue = describes the same relationship = as Sue is the child of John
John is Mary’s teacher = describes the same relationship = as Mary is John’s Pupil.
Ends with suffix, (-er), (-ee): Employer/employee; examiner/examinee;
interview/interviewee.
Verbs: give/take; sell/buy; rent/let

4. Reversive antonyms: refers to antonyms in which a change of direction (motion) is

identified.

Most of the reversive antonyms are verbs (actions):

Verbs:
open/shut;
lock/unlock;
rise/fall;
come/go;
leave/return;
tie/untie;
freeze/melt;
buy/sell;
dress/undress;
wrap/unwrap;
pack/unpack;
borrow/lend.

 The prefix (-un), which comes with adjs = the meaning is (not), as in;
[happy/unhappy]

 The prefix (-un), which comes with verbs = the meaning it to (do the reverse), as in
[tie/untie]

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 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

Exercises on Lexical Relations:

1. Provide a synonym and an antonym to each lexeme on the left-had side:

Word Antonymy Synonymy

fair hair Blonde/light brown Dark
a fair decision Just/lawful Unfair/biased
a fair person Impartial/unbiased Biased/prejudiced
fair weather Sunny/cloudless/pleasant Cloudy
fair hair Light-colored/pale Dark
fair maidens Beautiful Ugly/unattractive
a fair chance of winning Reasonable/pretty good Bad/unreasonable/slim
a fair copy of the essay Neat/clear/clean Draft

English- French synonym pairs:

Old English Norman French

King Sovereign
Folk People
Help Aid
Begin Commence
end Terminate
Hinder Prevent
feed Nourish

Please provide an antonym for each of the following collocations:

Fresh milk: spoiled/bad/sour

Fresh bread: stale

Fresh butter: rancid

Fresh fruit: rotten

Wild people: civilized

Wildflower: farmed/cultivated

Wild birds: farmed

Wild night: calm, still. bright, clear

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Semantics, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

Read the paragraph and find synonyms.

Text I:
Magazines are extremely effective media for promoting new consumer products lo young
consumers, as recent research has shown. A recent study showed 75% of teenage shoppers
say they bought a product because they saw it in a magazine. One reason for this is the high
proportionof magazine space given for advertisements. For example, the popular music
magazine, Rolling Stone actually devotes 60% of space to push new consumer items in large
advertisements. This contrasts with the low proportion or space given to advice columns or
fiction. However, many teenmagazines also sell products by featuring them in stories as well
as in advertisements.

Read the paragraph and find synonyms and antonyms.

Text II:
Energy is the most important resource of modern society: without power to work our machines
and give us heat and light our society could not exist. Until halfway through this century society
was confident that the world's supply of fossilized energy would last forever. But now that
proposition has been questioned and it seems that our supplies or coal, gas and oil are destined to
run out. The production of nuclear energy leaves the producer with dangerous waste materials
to dispose of. For these reasons humankind is investigating alternative sources of energy and of
these, solar energy, energy collected from the sun, seems the most promising.
 Synonyms and Antonyms

• Antonym for slow (swift)

• Synonym for wonderful (marvelous)
• Antonym for adore (despise)
• Synonym for job (task)
• Antonym for bright (dim)
• Synonym for imitate (copy)
• Antonym for worthless (valuable)
• Synonym for freedom (liberty)
• Synonym for truthful (honest)
• Antonym for plentiful (scarce)
• Antonym for genuine (fake)
• Antonym for minimum (maximum)
• Antonym for dull (sharp)
• Synonym for vanish (disappear)
• Antonym for ignite (extinguish)
• Synonym for obstinate (stubborn)
• To make less (Decrees)
• Very simple or easy to understand (Plain)
• Opposite of clumsy (graceful)
• To strike with force (beat)
• Almost alike (similar)
• A red vegetable (beet)
• Flat or dry food that does not taste good (stale)
• To believe in someone (trust)
• Very thin (skinny)
• To construct or make (create)
• Strange or odd (unusual)
• Opposite of soft voice (harsh)

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• To place in the ground and cover with dirt (bury)
• A female sheep (ewe)
• A synonym for clear speech (comprehensible)
• What a girl is to her aunt or uncle (niece)
• A synonym for a wild party (boisterous)
• Opposite of raw weather (pleasant)
• A part of your face (eye)
• Less than all the others (least)
• Being foolish on purpose (silly)
• When your mouth curves upwards (smile)
• Opposite of wild rice (natural)
• A person who gets paid for working for others (employee)
• To fix something (repair)
• Meat not cooked (raw)

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Exercise 1

COMPONENTIAL ANALYSIS. For each group of words below, using everyday language,
statewhat common component(s) they share and what diagnostic component(s)
distinguish(es) them.

Example: a. grandmother, sister, actress, empress: [+HUMAN], [-MALE]

b. grandfather, brother, actor, emperor: [+HUMAN], [+MALE]

1. a. greyhound, collie, husky, Afghan, retriever, boxer. [+ANIMAL], [-WILD], OR

[+DOMESTIC]
b. wolf, fox, hyena, jackal, coyote, dingo. [+ANIMAL], [+WILD], OR [-DOMESTIC]

2. a. English, Spanish, Italian, French, Russian, Greek. [+LANGUAGE], [+INDO-EURPEAN]

b. Hungarian, Turkish, Tamil, Basque, Arabic, Chinese. [+LANGUAGE], [-INDO-
EURPEAN]

3. a. Shakespeare, Marlowe, Sheridan, Shaw, Conrad. [+AUTHOR], [+PLAYWRITES], OR [-

NOVELIST]
b. Hemingway, Lodge, Maugham, Bradbury, Scott, Dickens. [+AUTHOR], [-PLAYWRITES]

4. a. car, train, bicycle, scooter, tricycle, plane. [+MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION],

[+VEHICLES with wheels]
b. sleigh, mule, ship, rowing-boat, dinghy, horse. [+MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION], [-
VEHICLES with wheels] without wheels

5. a. car, table, needle, basket, hat, tie. [+CONCRETE NOUNS], [+COUNT NOUNS]
b. alcohol, wheat, snow, cream, cattle, police. [+CONCRETE NOUNS], [-COUNT NOUNS]

6. a. problem, dream, apology, accident, event, welcome. [+ABSTRACT NOUNS], [+COUNT

NOUNS]
b. happiness, nationalization, Communism, sagacity, astronomy, despair. [+ABSTRACT
NOUNS], [-COUNT NOUNS]

7. a. ant, earwig, beetle, cockroach, louse, bedbug. [+INSECTS], [-FLY]

b. bee, wasp, fly, mosquito, moth, cicada. [+INSECTS], [+FLY]

8. a. guitar, bass, violin, mandolin, banjo, harp. [+MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS], [+STRINGED]

OR [-WINGED]
b. trumpet, saxophone, tuba, trombone, bugle, clarinet. [+MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS], [-

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 STRINGED], OR [+WINGED]

Exercise 2
What common component would you use as a label to designate the lexical field of the
followinggroups of words? The components you propose need not necessarily be nouns.

Example 1: monarch, king, queen, emperor, empress, prince, princess, shah, sultan, sheik:
[RULER].
Example 2: ashamed, abashed, humiliated, uncomfortable, humbled, disgraced:
[EMBARRASSED].

1. Fry, boil, stew, braise, simmer, bake, roast, grill. [COOKING]

2. Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, statistics, calculus. [MATHEMATICS]
3. Ask for, appeal, beg, beseech, plead, implore, apply, petition, solicit. [REQUEST]
4. Graceful, smart, debonair, well dressed, suave, posh. [ELEGANCE] or [ELEGANT]
5. Get, obtain, acquire, achieve, earn, win, harvest, reap. [GAIN]
6. Murmur, mutter, whisper, mumble, say under one's breath. [SPEAK QUIETLY] –
[UNDERTONE]
7. Stench, perfume, aroma, reek, bouquet, fragrance, scent. [SMELL] – [SCENT]
8. Aero plane, airliner, turbojet, airship, helicopter, seaplane. [AIRCRAFT]
9. Misappropriate, pinch= (informal British), shoplift, embezzle,)‫ (اختالس‬filch, purloin, peculate.
[STEALING] – [THEFT]?
10. Hug, clasp, grasp, embrace, cuddle, enfold. [HOLDING]

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Find examples of the semantic relation of hyponymy.

In the rapidly developing field of mass media communication, print media and electronic media
are no longer equally significant. With the ever-increasing dominance of the internet in the world
today, electronic news is taking over from print news. One of the reasons for this is the ability of
the internet to give people access to web versions of all local print newspapers and journals, and
at the same time link them to relevant local and global radio and TV news programmes. This essay
will examine one particular local newspaper's website, the Sydney Morning Herald online, to
examine its advantages and disadvantages.

Mass Media Communication

Internet Media: Electronic news

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 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

Chapter 4: Semantic Roles

Sentence vs. utterance vs proposition

A sentence contains certain information, but the information can be presented in different sentences
and in parts of sentences. The information presented is called a proposition.
A proposition can be seen as consisting of a predicate and various noun phrase (referring
expressions), each of which has a different role.

A sentence could be generated by the grammatical rules of a language. For example:

1. You’re studying the difference between utterance, sentence, and different proposition.
(Grammatically correct).
2. Your between utterance, sentence and proposition difference the studying. (Violate English
Grammar).

A traditional definition of a sentence says that "a sentence is something that expresses a complete
thought".
Compare the following:
3. We walk in the park.
4. *Our walk in the park.
5. *For us to walk in the park.

3 is a complete sentence but 4 and 5 are not. But all three expressions have the same semantic
content. The difference between them is grammatical. 3 makes a statement, but 4 and 5 can be parts
of sentences, as in:

4. We enjoyed our walk in the park.

5. It’s not too late for us to walk in the park.

The formal differences among the three expressions are a matter of grammar, not semantics. The
semantic content shared by the three expressions is a proposition.
A simple statement such as “We walk in the park” expresses a single proposition.

The following sentences convey the same message- they express the same proposition:

6. Richard wrote the report

7. Richard is the one who wrote the report
8. The report was written by Richard
9. It is the report that Richard wrote.
10. The report is what Richard wrote.
11. What Richard did was write the report.
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 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

The above sentences express a single proposition, but they differ in focus. This means that a
proposition can be realized in several different sentences.

Consider the following example:

12. Richard wrote the paper and Helen did, too.

The above sentence contains two propositions, the first is expressed in a full sentence while the
second (Helen did, too) expresses another proposition through the function words “did” & “too”.

A preposition is something abstract but meaningful. It can be expressed in different sentences and
in parts of sentences but with different syntactic focus.

An utterance, on the other hand, is the use of a particular piece of language by a particular speaker
in a particular context, it expresses the speaker’s intention, as in:

13. Goodbye
14. Please open the window
15. Mary applauded John
16. Mary applauded John because she admired him.

Utterance meaning is defined in terms of the speaker’s intentions-what speaker intended to

convey by making that utterance.

The description of a sentence is a syntactic analysis, while the description of a proposition is a

semantic analysis.

The meaning of sentences is compositional (the meaning of the whole sentence is composed or
made up of the meaning of the individual words/lexemes in a sentence, plus the
function/grammatical words).

For example: “John broke a window” = the meaning is clear

Most Idioms have non-compositional meaning; For example, “John spilled the beans” = disclose a
secret.

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 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

Syntactic Analysis of sentences

Subject Predicate Object Adverbial

A window broke - -

Tom broke a window - (yesterday)

Our dog is - under the table

Jessica put marmalade on her toast

Tyler sends emails to his friends

sent

Subject Predicate Complement Adverbial

I am thirsty --

Hector is afraid of the dark

Semantic Analysis deals with meaning; the proposition expressed in a sentence, not necessarily
with all the function words.

When inflection is separated from proposition, we see that the forms of the verb “be” (am, is, was,
were) have no meaning.

In semantic Analysis every proposition contains one predicate and a varying number of refereeing
expressions (noun phrase), but they’re technically called arguments. The predicate can be a (verb,
adj, preposition, or a noun phrase).
Argument Structure:

17. [break, a window] = A window broke.

18. [break, Tom, a window] = Tom broke a window.

Tom broke a window (subj, direct obj)

Passive; A window was broken by John.
A window broke.
The order; [verb, subj, referring expression]

19. [under, our dog, the table] = Our dog is under the table.
20. [put on, Jessica, marmalade, Jessica’s toast] = Jessica put marmalade on her toast.
21. [send, Tyler, email, Tyler’s friends] = Tyler sends emails to his friends.
22. [thirsty, I] = I am thirsty.
23. [afraid of, Hector, the dark] = Hector is afraid of the dark
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SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

Types of verbs:

1. Zero-argument predicates: weather verbs: [Begin with ‘Dummy it’ = no semantic

content]; (p.47)

 It is sunny
 It is snowing
 It is raining
 It is hot
 It is freezing
 It is chilly…

2. One argument predicate consist of what are traditionally known as intransitive

verbs, (verbs that do not take an object):

 The birds flew away = [fly, the birds]

 The child choked = [choke, the child]
 The child is sleeping = [sleep, the child]
 Janet became a lawyer
 He arrived early
 She sneazes
 He always yawns

Mary burned the cake (DO) = [burn, Mary, the cake]

The cake burned = [burn, the cake]

3. Two-argument predicates consist of transitive verbs: (break, send, write, teach…etc)

 The news surprised us = [surprise, news, us]

 He wrote a letter = [write, he, a letter]
 Diana left the gym = [leave, Diana, the gym]
 John took a vacation = [take, John, a vacation]

4. Three-argument predicates include ditransitive verbs: (give, offer, grant, award,

tell….)

 The traffic police gave me a ticket = [give, the traffic police, me, a ticket]
 The university offered Mary a scholarship = [offer, the university, Mary, a
scholarship]

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 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

4.2.1 Semantic Roles (p.48):

Weather verbs (valency 0); The verbs take the dummy pronoun “it”

 It is raining = [rain, 0]
 It snowed last week = [snow, 0]
 It has been thundering = [thunder, 0]
 Rain, drizzle, pour, freeze, thunder, snow, bucket, etc..
 It is misty
 It is foggy

Grammatical Relations versus Semantic (Thematic) Roles;

a) Mary slapped John

b) A dog bit John
c) John was bitten by a dog
d) John underwent major heart surgery

The term ‘subject’ is defined as the doer of the action, while the term ‘object’ is the person or
thing acted upon by the doer.

The subject is not always the agent, and the object is called “Patient/Affected”.

Grammatical Relations DO NOT always mirror Semantic/Thematic Roles; there is NO one-

to-one relationship between the grammatical relation and the semantic role.

Agent is generally expressed as the subject of an active sentence or in the by-phrase if a passive
sentence and only rarely as object

4.2 Semantic Roles (p.47);

 Tom broke a window = [break, Tom, a window]; Tom = Agent, A window; Patient/Affected
 A window broke = [break, a window]; A window; Patient/Affected
 A rope broke = [break, a rope]; A rope = Patient/Affected
 A plate broke = [break, a plate]; A plate = Patient/Affected

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 SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

Inventory of Semantic Roles

AGENT: the initiator of some action, capable of action with volition (will, desire, wish):

David cooked the meat.

The fox jumped out of the ditch.

PATIENT: the entity undergoing the effect of some action, often undergoing some change of state:

John cuts back the bushes.

The sun melted the ice.
The ice melted.

THEME: the entity which is moved by an action, or whose location is described:

Roberto passed the ball wide.

The book is in the library.

EXPERINCER: the entity which is aware of the action or state described by the predicate, but
which is not in control of the action or state (predicate the describe emotions; fear, love, hate):

Kevin fell ill.

Mary saw the lion.
Bill heard the door shut.
John fears dogs.

BENEFICIARY/BENEFACTIVE: the semantic role of a participant (argument), usually human

or animate, for whose benefit the action was performed:

Robert filled in the form for his grandmother.

They baked me a cake.
They baked a cake for me.
I bought my mother a present.
I bought a present for my mother.

INSTRUMENT: the means by which an action is performed, or something comes about:

Mary cleaned the wound with an antiseptic wipe.

They signed the treaty with the same pen.
John cuts the meat with a sharp knife.

LOCATION: the place in which something is situated:

The monster was hiding under the bed.

The band played in the new theater.

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SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

GOAL: the entity towards which something moves, either literally or metaphorically:

Sheila handed her license to the policeman.

Bill told the joke to his friends.

SOURCE: the entity from which something moves, either literally or metaphorically:

The plane came back from London.

We got the idea from a French magazine.

RECIPEINT: animate entity which acquires something or describes changes of possession:

Bill received the letter.

Mary sent the letter to Bill.
Mary sent Bill the letter.

The university offered Mary a scholarship.

The university offered a scholarship to Mary.

 *The hamburger ate the man. [anomalous sentence]

 *My saucepan is pregnant. [anomalous sentence]

Practice: What is the semantic role of the underlined expressions:

1) The boy kicked the ball. [AGENT]

2) My mother wrote a letter. [AGENT]
3) John opened the door with the key. [AGENT, THEME, INSTRUMENT]
4) The boy feels sad. [EXPERINCER]
5) The news please me. [EXPERINCER]
6) The boy ran from the house. [SOURCE]
7) The boy walked to school. [GOAL]
8) Vancouver is a rain city. [LOCATION]
9) John found me a nice flat in Dubai. [BENEFICIARY/BENEFACTIVE]
10) I paid my landlord the rent. [RECIPEINT]

11) Gina raised the car with a jack. [Raise, AGENT, THEME, INSTRUMENT]

 [Syntax; Gina=sub, the car, direct obj, a jack = prepositional phrase]

12) The jack raised the car. [Raise, INSTRUMENT, THEME]

13) We saw Gina raise the car with a jack. [EXPERIENCE]

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SEMANTICS, Fall 2021/2022 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

Exercise:

1. Tony pushed the cart to the wall. [Push, AGENT, THEME, GOAL]
2. John gave a ring to his girlfriend. [Give, AGENT, THEME, RECIPIENT]
3. Helen was freed from the prison. [THEME, SOURCE]
4. Josh stirs the soup with a wooden spoon. [AGENT, PATIENT, INSTRUMENT]
5. The smell of fried onion filled Sam’s nostrils. [THEME, EXPERIENCER]
6. John baked the chicken. [PATIENT]
7. The chicken was baked by John. [PATIENT]
8. The chicken baked in the oven. [PATIENT, LOCATION]
9. They saw the star with a telescope. [EXPERINCER, THEME, INSTRUMENT]
10. I like Indian food. [EXPERINCER]
11. I returned from Russia. [SOURCE]
12. John answered the phone for Mary. [BENEFICIARY/BENEFACTIVE]
13. John paid me the money. [RECIPEINT, THEME]

John paid the money to me. (to = recipient)

John baked me a cake.
John baked a cake for me. (for = beneficiary)