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Introducing English Semantics - Coggle Diagram
Introducing English Semantics
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The study of meaning in
The systematic study of meaning
We seek meaning in new words and messages (jokes, laws).
Companies invest in meaningful names and slogans.
Scholars debate meanings in literature and law.
Psychology, philosophy, and linguistics study 'meaning' in different contexts.
Linguists analyze
Significant elements (words, affixes).
Combinations to express complex meanings.
Use of language in effective communication (spoken and written).
Interaction of new information with existing knowledge.
The study of meaning in ➡️
Demonstrating semantic knowledge
Semantic Knowledge of Speakers
Communication Skills
Express thoughts, feelings, and intentions.
Understand what others say.
Possess and use a vocabulary.
Pronounce and recognize pronunciations.
Aspects of Semantic Knowledge
Meaningfulness of Sentences
Distinguish between meaningful and anomalous sentences.
Examples:
“Henry drew a picture.” (Meaningful),“The picture laughed.” (Anomalous).
Paraphrasing
Recognize sentences with the same meaning.
Examples:
“Rebecca got home before Robert.” = “Robert arrived at home after Rebecca.”
Synonymy
Identify words with the same meaning in a given context.
Examples:
“purchase” ↔ “buy”, “enormous” ↔ “huge”.
Contradiction
Detect sentences that contradict each other.
Examples:
“Edgar is married.” vs. “Edgar is a bachelor.”
Antonyms
Recognize words with opposite meanings.
Examples:
“thick” ↔ “thin”, “departs” ↔ “arrives”.
Common Characteristics
Identify common elements in groups of words.
Examples:
“street, lane, road, path, avenue” (common: types of roads), “buy, take, use, steal, acquire” (common: procurement actions).
Ambiguity
Recognize sentences with double meanings.
Examples:
“Marjorie doesn't care for her parakeet.” (doesn't like / doesn't care), “Marjorie took the sick parakeet to a small animal hospital.” (small animal hospital / hospital for small animals).
Adjacency Pairs
Know appropriate responses to questions or comments.
Examples:
“When did you last see my brother?” ↔ “Last Tuesday.”, “There's a great new comedy at the Oldtown Playhouse.” ↔ “What's it called?”
Entailment (Implication)
Understand that the truth of one sentence implies the truth of another.
Examples:
“There are tulips in the garden.” implies “There are flowers in the garden.”, “The ladder is too short to reach the roof.” implies “The ladder isn't long enough to reach the roof.”
Presuppositions
Recognize implicit knowledge necessary to understand a sentence.
Examples:
“Andy Murfee usually drives his Datsun to work.” Presuposes:
There is a person named Andy Murfee.
Andy Murfee works.
Andy Murfee owns a Datsun.
Andy Murfee knows how to drive.
⬅ The study of meaning in
Language and the individual
Language learning in childhood
Children learn the language of the society in which they grow up.
Acquisition of language fundamentals in the first five or six years.
The acquisition process follows a general innate schedule.
At twelve months, children begin to imitate the names and features of the environment.
Hearing children learn to speak and deaf children learn sign language.
Development of communication skills
Children develop the ability to use the communication system of their community.
Production of two-word utterances by eighteen months
Utterances become more complex and are invented, not just repeated
Acquisition of processes such as asking questions and negative statements.
Interdependence of language and thought
The ability to use language and the ability to think and conceptualize develop simultaneously and depend on each other.
Most of the knowledge of language is unconscious and implicit.
Successful communication despite not being fully aware of the multiple meanings and ambiguities of language.
Creativity of language
The creativity of language allows for the production and understanding of new messages.
Language use is subject to specific rules and constraints.
Language knowledge includes vocabulary and how to use it.
Speakers have two vocabularies: one for producing and one for understanding.
Grammar of language
Knowledge of language includes semantics, phonology, and syntax.
Semantics: meaningful units such as words and word combinations.
Phonology: organization of speech sounds and contrasts of meanings.
Syntax: classes of words and how they are combined to form phrases and sentences.
Morphology: word formation and derivation of words with basic meanings.
Implicit and explicit knowledge of language
Native speakers possess implicit knowledge of language that linguists must make explicit.
Speakers can produce and understand complex sequences of sounds and syntactic structures without being able to explain the technical details.
Semantic comprehension
Speakers possess semantic knowledge that allows them to judge the meaningfulness and equivalence of sentences.
Knowledge of when sentences have the same meaning or are anomalies.
The study of meaning in
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The nature of language
Distinctive Characteristics
Not stimulus-dependent.
Inherently creative.
Human Capabilities
Talk about past, future, and imaginary ideas.
Continuously generate and understand new sentences.
Stimulus-freedom and Creativity
Abstract and combine sensory information innovatively.
Creation in architecture, music, and literature.
Productivity of Human Language
Generate infinite meaningful words with limited phonemes.
Interchangeable and versatile components.
Adaptability based on conventional and arbitrary aspects of language.