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1、Semantics,The study of meaning of words,phrases and sentencesAttempt to focus on what the words conventionally mean,rather than on what the speaker might want the words to mean on a particular occasionEmphasizes the objective and generalAvoids the subjective and localLinguistic semantics deals with
2、the conventional meaning conveyed by the use of words and sentences of a L,Semantics,Conceptual meaning:covers those basic,essential components of meaning which are conveyed by the literal use of a wordAssociative or stylistic meaning:“associations or connotations attached to a word,Semantic Feature
3、s,The hamburger ate the man.My cat studied linguistics.A table was listening to some music.Use(+)or(-)to denote+animate,-animate,+human,-human,etc,Semantic Roles,Agent:the entity that performs the action;human,non-human forces,machines,creaturesTheme:the entity that is involved in or affected by the
4、 action;or an entity being describedInstrument:an agent uses another entiry inperforming an action,that other entity fills the role of instrument.The same physical entity can appear in two different semantic roles.Eg.The boy kicked himself.,Semantic Roles,Experiencer:an entity as the person who has
5、a feeling,a perception,or a stateLocation:where an entity isSource:where an entity moves from Goal:where an entity moves to Mary saw a bug on the wall.Experiencer theme location,Lexical Relations,Words can be treated as containers or as fulfilling rolesWords also have relationshipsConceal HideShallo
6、wNot deepDaffodil A kind of flower,Synonymy,Two or more forms with very closely related meanings,often but not always intersubstitutable in sentencesSameness in meaning Not total samenessSynonymous forms may differ in formalityMy father purchased an automobile.My dad bought a big car.,Antonymy,Two f
7、orms with opposite meaningsGradable antonyms:can be used in comparative constructions;the negative of one member of the gradable pair does not necessarily imply the other.Not old vs.youngNon-gradable antonyms:complementary pairs,compartive constructions are not normally used;the negative of one memb
8、er imply the other.Dead vs.alive,male vs.female,true vs.falseReversives:enter vs.exit,tie vs.untie,pack vs.unpack,lengthen vs.shorten,raise vs.lower,etc,Hyponymy,When the meaning of one form is included in the meaning of anotherLook at the meaning of words in some type of hierarchical relationshipsC
9、o-hyponyms:2 or more terms which share the same superordinate(higher-up)termTerms for actions can be found as co-hyponyms,eg,injure:cut,punch,shoot,stab,Prototypes,The best examplarHelps explain certain words not in terms of components,but resemblance to the clearest exampleRobin“bird”in American En
10、glish;ostrich and penguin are hyponyms of bird?Sparrow and pigeon are birds clearerFurniture:chair/bench;clothing:shirt/shoes;vegetable:carrot/potatoTamato:fruit or vegetable?,Homophony,Two more more differetn(written)forms have the same pronunciation:homophonesBare bear,meat meet,steal steel,Homony
11、my,One form(written and spoken)has tow or more unrelated meaningsWords have quite separate meanings,have accidentally come to have exactly the same formBank(of a river)vs.bank(financial institution),Polysemy,One form(written or spoken)having multiple meanings which are all related by extentionHead(o
12、f your body),head(of dept.)Foot(of person),foot(of mountain)Run(person does),fun(water does),Distinction btwn homonymy and polysemy,Not always clear cutPolysemic,single entry in dictionaryHomonyms,two separate entries in dictionaryOne form can be distinguished via homonymy,shown to have various uses
13、 via polysemyDate on Page 121,Word play,Mary had a little lamb.Everybody kneads it.(flour promotion)Whats black and white and red(read)all over?Why are trees often mistaken for dogs?(because of their bark),Metonymy,Relationship btwn words,based simply on a close connection in everyday experienceCont
14、ainer-content:bottle coke;can juiceWhole-part:car wheels;house roofRepresentative-symbol:king crown;the president the White HouseContext,background,knowledge and inference are needed to interpret metonymy,Collocation,Words frequently occur togetherHammer nail;table chair;butter bread;needle thread;salt pepperSalt and pepper;husband and wife;Salt water salt waterRed white blue Fresh-airKnife fork Enough already,
