SYNTAGMATIC

AND
PARADIGMATIC
SENSE
RELATIONS
Part 1
What is Sense?
◦ The sense of a word is its core meaning and how it connects to other words in
the language.
◦ Think of it as a network: Each word has a position in a system where it is linked to
other words, creating a web of meanings.
◦ The sense is an abstract concept, meaning it’s not something physical, but it
helps us understand how words are related.
◦ A word’s meaning partly depends on the other words it is commonly used with.
For example, the word "light" has a different sense when it is used with "bulb"
compared to when it is used with "weight."
◦ Words don’t just have fixed meanings. Their meanings change depending on the
context and other words around them.
◦ This network of relationships between words is what we call the sense of a word.
Sense relations
◦Sense relations show how the meaning of a word changes
depending on what other words it is used with and what it
contrasts with.
◦Some words naturally fit together, while others don’t. For example:
• ✔️“John walked” makes sense.
• ✔️“An hour elapsed” makes sense.
• ✖️“John elapsed” doesn’t make sense.
• ✖️“An hour walked” doesn’t make sense.
◦This is because the word "elapse" usually goes with time-related
words like hour, minute, or day. The word "walked" goes with people
or animals like John or a dog.
Sense relations
◦Words can have different meanings depending on the context. For
example:
• "Library" can mean:
• A collection of books (e.g., “Professor Jones has a large library”).
• A building where books are kept (e.g., “The library is at the corner”).
◦Similarly, "bank" can mean:
• A financial institution (e.g., “I deposited money in the bank”).
• A riverbank (e.g., “We sat on the bank of the river”).
◦Key Idea: The way words combine and vary in meaning depending on
context is what sense relations are all about.
Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic Sense Relations
◦The meaning of a word (lexeme) depends on its relationship with other
words in the language. There are two main types of these relationships:
1.Paradigmatic Relations:
1.These are words that can be substituted for each other in a
sentence because they belong to the same category.
2.Think of them as "alternatives".
3.Example: In the sentence "I like apples," you can replace apples with
oranges, bananas, or grapes. All these words are linked because they
are types of fruit.
2.Syntagmatic Relations:
1.These are words that naturally go together in a sentence to create
meaning.
2.Think of them as "partners" in a sentence.
3.Example: In the phrase "drink water," the words drink and water fit
Key Idea:
•Paradigmatic =
Words that can
replace each
other
(alternatives).
•Syntagmatic =
Words that go
together
(partners).
Paradigmatic relations
◦ Paradigmatic relations reflect the semantic choices available at a particular structure point in a sentence. For
instance:
I'll have a glass of — . Juice water lemonade
◦ Typically, paradigmatic relations involve words belonging to the same syntactic category, although not infrequently
there are minor differences:
We bought some — .
knives forks spoons cutlery
Here, cutlery is a mass noun, whereas all the others in the list are count nouns.
◦ In principle, paradigmatic relations may hold between members of any of the major syntactic categories.

◦ The following are examples involving verbs and adjectives respectively:

John — across the field, ran walked crawled
I'd like a bowl of — fruit. Dried ripe
Syntagmatic relations
◦ Syntagmatic relations hold between items which occur in the same sentence, particularly those which stand in
an intimate syntactic relationship.
◦ It is the relation of the lexeme with other lexemes with which it occurs in the same
phrases or sentences, in the way that sit co-occur with chair, read with book or
newspaper. For instance,
(1) The girl ran across the field. is normal, but
(2) The girl sat across the field. and
(3) The smell ran across the field. are odd.
◦ It is the combination of verb and prepositional phrase (i.e. sat and across the field) which causes the oddness,
whereas in (3), it is the combination of subject and verb (i.e. the smell and ran).
◦ Any well-formed sentence of a natural language can be thought of as a string of elements, each one chosen
from a set of possibilities provided by the language.
◦ The set of possibilities from which the choice was made is not completely free, but is constrained by the other
elements in the sentence, in the sense that a choice from outside a certain range will result in semantic
incoherence.
◦ Thus, if we do not choose something from the realm of liquids for the completion of John drank a glass of —,
the result will not be coherent.
Paradigmatic
relations
◦ Inshort, paradigmatic relation
can be compared to the
different choices of clothes you
can choose from, e.g., different
top wear (blouses, crop tops,
shirts, etc.), or different bottom
wear (jeans, baggy pants,
skirts, etc.) or different
footwear (sandals, boots, shoes,
slippers, etc.).
 ◦ While paradigmatic relations can be
compared to the different choices we have
in a closet, syntagmatic relations can be

Syntagmatic
compared to all the things that we have to
wear to make a complete outfit. A pair of
jeans will be perfect with a hoodie and a
relations pair of sneakers to make me look elegant.
The same is with syntagmatic relations
where the structure and sequence are very
important to make a complete sense of a
sentence.
 Paradigmatic vs. Syntagmatic
Paradigmatic Syntagmatic

Paradigmatic sense relations operate within the sets Syntagmatic sense relations are an
of choices. expression of coherence constraints.
PARADIGMATIC SENSE RELATIONS
(IDENTITY AND SIMILARITY OF
SENSE)
Part Two
 Synonymy
◦SYNONYMY is the relationship
between two predicates that have the
same sense. Synonyms are words
whose semantic similarities are more
salient than their differences. (large-
big)
Example In most dialects of English,
stubborn and obstinate are synonyms.
In many dialects, mercury and
quicksilver are synonyms.
◦There are three degrees of
synonymy: absolute synonymy,
 Absolute
• Absolute synonymy means twoSynonymy
words have exactly the same
meaning in every possible context. This means you can swap one
word for the other anywhere, and they will always sound equally
natural or equally strange.
• For two words (like X and Y) to be absolute synonyms:
• If X sounds perfectly normal, Y must also sound perfectly
normal (+).
• If X sounds slightly strange, Y must also sound slightly strange
(-).
• If X is completely inappropriate or nonsense, Y must also be
completely inappropriate (-).
• Examples show that absolute synonyms are very rare:
1."Brave" vs. "Courageous":
1. “Billy was brave at the dentist’s this morning.” (+)
2. “Billy was courageous at the dentist’s this morning.” (-)
3.Explanation: Brave sounds natural and suitable for this context (+), while
 Absolute Synonymy

1."Calm" vs. "Placid":

1. “She was quite calm just a few minutes ago.” (+)
2. “She was quite placid just a few minutes ago.” (-)
3.Explanation: Calm is commonly used and feels natural (+), while placid
sounds odd and too formal for this context (-).
2."Big" vs. "Large":
1. “He’s a big baby, isn’t he?” (+)
2. “He’s a large baby, isn’t he?” (-)
3.Explanation: Big is commonly used and sounds fine (+), but large sounds
unusual when describing a baby (-).
 Absolute Synonymy

◦Why Absolute Synonymy Is Rare:

• Most words have subtle differences in usage, style, or
connotation.
• Even if two words have similar meanings, these differences
mean they will not behave identically in every context.
◦Key Idea:
◦Absolute synonyms must be exactly the same in every
possible context (both positive and negative contexts),
making them extremely difficult to find in natural language.
 Propositional
Synonymy
• Propositional synonymy refers to words that can be swapped in a
sentence without changing its overall truth or meaning.
• If two sentences differ only by having one word replaced with its
propositional synonym, the truth of the sentences remains the
same.
◦Example:
• “John bought a violin.”
• “John bought a fiddle.”
• Both sentences mean the same thing, and if one is true, the other is
also true. This makes “violin” and “fiddle” propositional synonyms.
 Propositional
Synonymy
◦ Even though the core meaning (truth) is the same, propositional synonyms can have slight
differences in other aspects:
1.Expressive Meaning:
1. One word might show emotion or attitude.
2. Example: “Violin” sounds neutral, while “fiddle” can sometimes sound playful or jocular.
2.Stylistic Level:
1. Words can differ in formality.
2. Example: “Violin” is more formal, and “fiddle” is more informal.
3.Field of Discourse:
1. Certain words are used in specialized fields or by specific groups of people.
2. Example: “Fiddle” may be used casually among musicians, while “violin” is more common
for general use.
◦ Summary:
• Propositional synonyms are words that keep the truth the same, even if they have different
nuances (emotion, style, or context).
• Violin and fiddle are propositional synonyms, but fiddle might sound less formal or jocular to
some speakers, while violin sounds more neutral.
 Propositional
◦
Synonymy
When we talk about the sense of a word, we focus on its core meaning and ignore things like
style, formality, or social connotations.
◦ Example:
• "How many kids have you got?"
• "How many children have you got?"
◦ Both "kids" and "children" have the same core meaning (sense) — they both refer to young
people. The only difference is that "kids" is informal, while "children" is more formal.
◦ Propositional Synonyms and Emotionally Sensitive Areas:
• Propositional synonyms are often found in emotionally significant or sensitive areas, like
topics that are taboo or personal.
• In these areas, we may have many synonyms that differ in their emotional tone (from polite
to offensive).
◦ Example: Euphemism-Dysphemism Scale:
• Euphemism = Softened or polite term (e.g., "passed away" instead of "died").
• Dysphemism = Harsh or blunt term (e.g., "croaked" instead of "died").
◦ These words might have the same core sense (meaning "to die"), but they differ in how they
make people feel. (the emotional effect they have on the listener)
 Near-
Synonymy
◦ Near-synonyms are words that have similar meanings but with small differences
in how they are used. These differences can be minor or backgrounded, meaning
they are not always obvious unless you look closely. Minor Differences in Near-
Synonyms:
1.Degree of Intensity:
1. Words may differ in how strong or intense they are.
2. Example:
1.Fog vs. Mist (Mist is lighter than fog.)
2.Laugh vs. Chuckle (Chuckle is a lighter laugh.)
2.Specializations:
1. Words may differ slightly in how or why the action is done.
2. Example:
1.Amble vs. Stroll (Both mean to walk slowly, but stroll suggests relaxation.)
2.Chuckle vs. Giggle (Both are forms of laughing, but giggle is more high-
pitched.)
 Near-
Synonymy
3. Aspectual Differences:
1. Words may differ in terms of state vs. disposition.
2. Example:
1.Calm vs. Placid:
1.Calm describes a temporary state.
2.Placid describes a general characteristic (disposition).
4. Prototype Differences:
3. Words may have the same basic meaning but are used in different contexts.
4. Example:
1.Brave is used when we think of heroic acts, while fearless might be used
more broadly.
 Near-
Synonymy
◦Backgrounded Differences:
• Some words differ in gender associations or cultural contexts.
• Example:
• Pretty vs. Handsome:
• Both mean good-looking, but pretty is usually used for
females, while handsome is typically used for males.
◦Key Idea:
• Near-synonyms are not exactly the same but are close in meaning.
• Their differences are minor (degree, specialization) or
backgrounded (gender, cultural associations), making them
slightly distinct in specific contexts.
 Hyponymy
• Hyponymy is a relationship where the meaning of one word is
included in the meaning of another broader word.
• Hyponymy involves a relationship where one word is a type of a more general word
• The broader word is called the superordinate (or hyperonym),
while the more specific word is called the hyponym.
◦ Examples:
1.Red (superordinate) and Scarlet (hyponym):
1. Scarlet is a type of red.
2. This means the meaning of scarlet is included in the meaning of
red.
2.Fruit (superordinate) and Apple (hyponym):
1. Apple is a type of fruit.
2. The meaning of apple is contained within the meaning of fruit.
◦ Understanding Hyponymy:
• Superordinate = Broader category (e.g., Fruit).
• Hyponym = Specific type within that category (e.g., Apple).
 Hyponymy
◦How It Works:
• If you look at it from an extension perspective (real-
world examples):
• The class of fruits includes the class of apples as
a subclass.
• All apples are fruits, but not all fruits are apples.
◦Key Idea:
• Hyponymy is about specificity: a hyponym is a more
specific example of the broader superordinate.
• Think of it as a "type-of" relationship: Scarlet is a type
of red, and Apple is a type of fruit.
Hyponymy as proposition

◦ Hyponymy is when one word is a specific type of another word. For example:
• Apple is a type of fruit.
• Tulip is a type of flower.
• Dog is a type of animal.
◦ This relationship can be explained using sentences:
• If you say, “It’s an apple,” you are also saying “It’s a fruit.”
• If you say, “Mary slapped John,” you are also saying “Mary hit John.”
◦ This is called entailment, where one sentence automatically makes the other
true.
Hyponymy as proposition

◦ Two Main Problems with This Logic:

1.Negative Sentences Don’t Work:
1. “It’s not an apple” doesn’t mean “It’s not a fruit.”
2. It could be a banana, which is still a fruit.
2.Context Can Change the Meaning:
1. “Dog” usually means a pet in cities, but on a farm, a dog might be a working animal.
2. “Knife” is cutlery at a dining table but a tool in the kitchen.
◦ Bottom Line:
• Hyponymy works when positive and in simple contexts.
• It fails when the sentence is negative or when the context changes
Hyponymy and Synonymy

SYNONYMY counts as a special case Rule: If X is a hyponym of Y

of hyponymy. and if Y is also a hyponym of
X, then X and Y are
synonymous.
For example, given two synonyms,
such as mercury and quicksilver, we
say for convenience that these also
illustrate the hyponymy relationship,
and that mercury and quicksilver are
hyponyms of each other. Thus
References
◦ Cruse, A. (2011). Meaning in Language: An introduction to semantics and pragmatics. New York:
Oxford University Press.
◦ Hurford, J. R., Heasley, B., & Smith, M. B. (2003). Semantics: A coursebook. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
◦ Kreidler, C. (2002). Introducing English semantics. London: Routledge.