Introduction to Semantics & Pragmatics (TRAJ 322)

Lecture 5: Paradigmatic relations

Chapter 5: Paradigmatic relations of inclusion & identity
Chapter 7: Paradigmatic relations of exclusion & opposition

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 Lecture Outline
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Varieties of sense relations
5.3 Paradigmatic relations of inclusion & identity
5.4 Paradigmatic sense relations of exclusion &
opposition (antonymy)

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5.1 Introduction
• This chapter is mainly about a particular type
of sense relation, that is, a semantic relation
between units of meaning.

• The vocabulary of a language is regularized

and structured. Sense relations are one of the
ways a vocabulary is organized.

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5.2 Types of sense relations
Sense relations are of 3 categories:
1. paradigmatic
2. syntagmatic
3. derivational

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5.2.1 Paradigmatic relations
• Paradigmatic relations involve words that belong to the same
syntactic category (i.e., part of speech)
• Paradigmatic relations reflect the semantic choices available at a
particular point in a sentence.

Example
I'll have a glass of — .
water
milk
lemonade

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Verbs
John — across the field.
ran
walked
crawled
Adjectives
I'd like a cup of — coffee.
hot
sweetened
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5.2.2 Syntagmatic relations
• Syntagmatic relations hold between items which occur in the
same sentence.
Example
• The sense relation that holds between the verb and the noun
in I will do my homework today. Make cannot be used in
place of do (collocation).
• The girl ran (V) across the field (PP) is normal, but The girl
sat across the field or The smell (N) ran (V) across the field
are not.
• Choosing the wrong word will result in semantic incoherence.

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 Syntagmatic vs Paradigmatic
• Syntagmatic sense relations are an expression
of coherence constraints.
• Paradigmatic sense relations operate within
the sets of choices.

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5.2.3 Derivational relations
• Derivational sense relations are found between words forming part of a set
of paradigmatic choices.
• Those are relations between items in what are called word families (i.e.
words derived from a single root).
Consider the following set of words:
cook(v.tr.) Mary is cooking supper tonight.
cook (v.intr.) Can John cook?
cook (v.intr.) The chicken is cooking.
cook(n.) Lesley is a good cook.
Cooker (n.) We've bought a new cooker.
cooking (n.) John's in love with Mary's cooking.
Cookery (n.) John is taking cookery lessons.
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Paradigmatic relations
Two types
1. Sense relations expressing identity and
inclusion.
a. Hyponymy
b. Synonymy
c. Meronymy
2. Sense relations expressing opposition and
exclusion.
-Antonymy
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 5.3 Paradigmatic relations of inclusion &
identity
5.3.1 Hyponymy
• This is the relation between apple and fruit, car and vehicle, slap
and hit, and so on.
• We say that apple is a hyponym (subordinate) of fruit, and
conversely, that fruit is a superordinate (hypernym) of apple.
• This relation is of inclusion. However, what includes what
depends on whether we look at meanings extensionally or
intensionally.
-Extensionally, the class of the acts of hitting includes
a subclass of the acts of slapping.
-Intensionally, the meaning (sense) of apple is richer than that
of fruit and includes within it the meaning of fruit.
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Extensional vs. Intensional inclusion

Extensional inclusion intensional inclusion

FRUIT
Apple

Apple
FRUIT

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5.3.2 Meronymy
• Another relation of inclusion is meronymy
(part-whole relation). Examples of meronymy
are: hand: finger, teapot: spout, wheel: spoke,
car: engine, telescope: lens, tree: branch, and
so on.
• In the case of finger: hand, finger is said to be
the meronym (partonym) and hand the
holonym.

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5.3.3 Synonymy
• Synonyms are words whose semantic
similarities are more salient than their
differences.
• Types:
1. Absolute synonymy
2. Near-synonymy

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5.3.3.1 Absolute synonymy
Absolute synonyms can be defined as items
which are substitutable in all contexts.
Examples are sofa: settee and pullover: sweater.

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5.3.3.2 Near-synonymy
Near-synonyms can contrast in certain contexts. Examples
(i) brave:courageous
Little Billy was so brave at the dentist's this morning. (+)
Little Billy was so courageous at the dentist's this morning. (-)
(ii) calm:placid
She was quite calm just a few minutes ago. (+)
She was quite placid just a few minutes ago. (-)
(iii) big:large
He's a big baby, isn't he? (+)
He's a large baby, isn't he? (-)
(iv) almost:nearly
She looks almost Chinese. (+)
She looks nearly Chinese. (-)
(v) die:kick the bucket
Apparently he died in considerable pain. (+)
Apparently he kicked the bucket in considerable pain. (-)
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5.4 Paradigmatic relations of exclusion &
opposition (antonymy)
• Antonyms: words that are opposite in
meaning.
• 3 types
1. Complementary
2. Gradable
3. Converses

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5.4 Paradigmatic sense relations of
exclusion & opposition (antonymy)
1. Complementary: dead x alive, present x absent, awake x asleep
• Complementary antonyms are pairs of words that are opposite in
meaning, cannot be graded and are mutually exclusive.
• They are complementary in that alive = not dead and dead = not alive,
and so on. Negating one entails the other.
2. Gradable: happy x sad, big x small, hot x cold, fast x slow
• A gradable antonym is one of a pair of words with opposite meanings
where the two meanings lie on a continuous spectrum.
• Such adjectives can be qualified by adverbs such as very, quite,
extremely, etc.
• An important property of gradable antonyms is that negation of one
does not entail the other, i.e. 'not tall' does not entail 'short':

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• Another characteristic of certain pairs of gradable
antonyms is that one is marked and the other is
unmarked. The unmarked member is the one used in
questions of degree.
Examples
• How high is the mountain?” (not “How low is it?”).
• We answer “Ten thousand feet high” but never “Ten
thousand feet low,”
• Tall is the unmarked member of tall/short.
• Fast the unmarked member of fast/slow, and so on.
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 3. Converses (relational opposites)

• This is a special type of antonymy in that the

members of a pair do not constitute a
positive-negative opposition. They show the
reversal of a relationship between two
entities. One cannot exist without the other.

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Examples
• Reciprocal social roles employer x employee
• Kinship relations husband x wife
• Temporal relations before x after
• Spatial relations in front of x behind

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