Lexical Semantics. An Introduction

1. Lexical Semantics. An Introduction Boris Iomdin Russian Language Institute,Russian Academy of Sciences iomdin@ruslang.ru

2. Lecture 9. Plan • Homonymy and synonymy as the fundamental features of the linguistic sign • Ability to paraphrase and select as part of linguistic competence • Criteria of synonymy • Sources of synonymy • Types of co-occurrence differences • Dictionaries of synonyms • New Explanatory Dictionary of Russian Synonyms: history, principles and structure

3. Asymmetric dualism of the linguistic sign • S. Kartsevski, Du dualisme asymétrique du signe linguistique, Travaux du Cercle linguistique de Prague 1, 1929 • We speak and comprehend only “approximately”, without even noticing it • Most words have several different meanings, and most meanings can be expressed by several different words.

4. Homonymy and synonymy • One signifier, several signifieds: homonymy • English: table, bear, miss, type, lie • Russian: пол (‘floor’ / ‘sex’) • One signified, several signifiers: synonymy • English: speak, talk, utter, say, verbalise, … • Czech: mluvit, řečnit, říct, povědět, hovořit, … Lexical semantics mostly deals with synonyms, computational linguistics mostly deals with homonymy and its resolution

5. Linguistic competence • Semantic precision: selecting those items of lexicon and grammar which exactly express speaker’s thoughts • Idiomatic usage: ability to observe lexical and syntactic co-occurrence constraints • Flexibility: ability to paraphrase, express an idea in a wide variety of ways while leaving the content unchanged • Selective ability: capacity to select from a large number of ways of expressing an idea the one which is the most appropriate for the situation

6. Paraphrasing ability • Boris is a lecturer of lexical semantics • Boris gives lectures on lexical semantics • The students study semantics with Boris • Boris teaches semantics to the students • Some students are always present at the lectures • Some students are never absent at the lectures

7. Paraphrasing and synonyms Can synonyms replace each other? • Exact synonyms • Inexact synonyms • if their semantic distinctions are neutralizable • if their co-occurrence characteristics are similar

8. Exact synonyms • shortsightedness – nearsightedness – myopia • lawyer – attorney • doctor – physician • Language usually does not retain exact synonyms. Non-functional difference is avoided • Regional differences: • flat – apartment • couch – sofa – chesterfield – divan • In some metalinguistic contexts, even exact synonyms are non interchangeable: • Myopia has 6 letters – Shortsightedness has 6 letters

9. Criteria of synonymy • Same explication • Same role structure • study ≠ teach • buy ≠ sell • Same part of speech • quick ≠ quickly • (a) support ≠ (to) support

10. Sources of synonymy • Each language constantly changes its vocabulary • Expressive lexicon is especially liable to synonymy • Synonymic derivation: words X and Y have a meaning ‘A’. Word X develops a meaning ‘B’, then word Y develops meaning ‘B’, too • French: comprendre – piger ‘understand’, polir – fourbir – nettoyer ‘steal’ • Word formation synonymy: absurdity – absurdness • Loanwords: bull – beef, jail – prison, shoe – boot

11. Co-occurrence differences • Semantic co-occurrence • Lexical co-occurrence • Morphosyntactical co-occurrence • Exact match  • Containment  • Intersection  • No match  3  4 = 12 types of differences

12. Partial co-occurence • Ego slova dostigli celi His words achieved their aim • *Ego slova dobilis’ celi*His words gained their aim • For achieve, the subject can be not only human, but also words, deeds, qualities, … • For gain, only humans

13. Dictionaries • First dictionary of English synonyms:John Trusler, Gabriel Girard. Difference between Words Esteemed Synonymous in the English Language, and the Proper Choice of them Determined, 1766

14. Dictionaries of synonyms • More than 350 dictionaries of English synonyms have been published since 1766 • Webster’s New Dictionary of Synonyms, one of the most comprehensive and detailed • Various types, including: • inventories (wordlists) • bilingual, trilingual, … • explanatory dictionaries

15. Disadvantages • Synonymy is often regarded as a rather incomplete correspondence of senses • Synonymic relationship often established between whole polysemous words, not individual lexemes • As a rule, only direct and primary meanings included • Only semantic distinctions are regarded (but not collocational, stylistic, syntactic, grammatical…) • Low style vocabulary often disregarded • No formal metalanguage used

16. Russian dictionaries • Abramov (1915) • Pavlov-Shishkin and Stefanovsky (1931) • Klyueva (1961) • Aleksandrova(1989) • Evgenyeva(1970-1971) 1,2,3: Wordlists, very few comments, direct meanings only 4: Not explanatory, differences not elucidated, no examples 5: Rather archaic, based on texts of XIX century, few modern words. Differences not enough explained

17. New idea: first implementation Ju.D.Apresjan et al. English-Russian Dictionary of Synonyms. 1979 • Explication of the shared part of meaning of synonyms in a special metalanguage • Using universal semantic features • All similarities and differences at all levels of language described • Neutralization conditions • Examples from literature • Linguistic experiments (consideration of different words in same context and judgment on their grammaticality)

18. New Explanatory Dictionary • New Explanatory Dictionary of Russian Synonyms. Project started by Jurij Apresjan and his colleagues at the Russian Language Institute in 1990 • Three issues: • 1997: 132 entries • 2000: 117 entries • 2003: 105 entries • 2004: complete and revised edition

19. NED: new edition • Novyj ob”jasnitelnyj slovar’ sinonimov russkogo jazyka [New Explanatory Dictionary of Russian Synonyms], 2nd edition, Moscow–Wien, Jazyki slavjanskoj kul’tury – Wiener Slawistischer Almanach, 2004. 1488 p. • Available online under http://www.ruslang.ru/agens.php?id=text_noss2_title

20. NED: a review • 354 entries (=synonym series) • 1500 words described in detail • 10000 words mentioned (all mentions referred to in the index) • Most synonym series are anthropocentric, or describe the man. The anthropocentric lexicon is very diverse and contains most lexicographical types • Each lexicon entry is a result of a scientific study by one of the 13 authors, thoroughly and comprehensively discussed by the whole team

21. Principles of NED • Active • Systematic • Integral • Reflects the naïve picture of the world • Uses special metalanguage • Combines methods of corpus lexicography and experimental linguistics • Ideographic

22. Series of synonyms • A series of synonyms is an elementary lexicographic type. The description of each series of synonyms is systematic in 2 aspects: • Compared with other series of synonyms and, when possible, incorporated into a larger fragment of the semantic system of the language • Elements of every series of synonyms compared with each other • In both cases, the comparison is based on the common arsenal of semantic features

23. Structure of NED • Heading • Preamble • Meaning • Notes • Form • Syntax • Co-occurence • Examples • Auxiliary zones • Bibliography

24. Heading • Words-members of the synonym series • The dominant: a foreground lexeme which has the most general meaning in the given series, has the broadest application and co-occurrence, is most neutral • Stylistic labels and grammatical notes • Explication of the common component of the meanings of all lexemes within the series (if it is not a semantic primitive)

25. Preamble Place of the synonym series within the set of other words with close meanings. Described are: • Similarities and distinctions of the given synonym series and other words, groups of words and synonym series • The higher class of hierarchy which includes all the words described within the preamble • The fragment of the NPW to which the given series corresponds

26. Meaning • Synopsis: short guide to the dictionary entry, listing the semantic and other features which provide basic oppositions within the synonym series • Similarities and distinctions in content between synonyms • Communicative properties of synonyms • Pragmatic and extranlinguistic conditions • Neutralization conditions • Notes • peripheral synonyms not included in the series • other close meanings of the words discussed • other words with meanings similar to the one considered

27. pytat’sja, probovat’, starat’sja, silit’sja ‘to attempt’: differences • the scale and nature of the action the subject wishes to perform • the amount of effort and the objective need for it • the possibility or impossibility of isolating a single application of effort • the possibility of performing an action and the probability of achieving a result • the cause of possible failure • the subject’s readiness to try alternative ways of achieving the result if the first attempt should fail • the motivation for the action and the subject’s attitude to it • the presence of an external observer

28. nadejat’sja, upovat’, rasschity-vat’, polagat’sja ‘to hope’ • does the subject’s inner state presuppose emotion? • what underlies the state of mind – an opinion, a belief, reasoning, or trust and previous experience? • what is the nature and scale of the force with which the subject’s hopes are linked? • what is the intensity of the expectation? • how sure is the subject that the desired event will come to pass and how far is it removed in time from the moment of observation? • what is the subject’s current situation? • what other mental states accompany the given state?

29. Form • Distinctions in the set of grammatical forms • Distinctions in the set of grammatical meanings of a single form • Semantic, syntactic, stylistic, and other specialization of forms • Proper (prototypical) and non-proper (shifted) forms

30. Syntax • Differences in government • Differences in syntactic types of sentence • Word order • Semantic, syntactic, stylistic, and other specializations of constructions

31. Co-occurrence • Lexico-semantic co-occurrence • Morphological co-occurrence • Communicative co-occurrence • Semantic specialization of types of co-occurrence

32. Examples • Form the research base and the basis for conclusions regarding the various properties of the synonyms • Serve an illustrative purpose, showing the real potential of a lexeme in modern language • Based on a large corpus

33. Auxiliary zones • phraseological synonyms (combinations of two or more lexemes synonymical to the series) • analogues (words whose meanings intersect substantially with the general meaning of the series, but not enough to be considered synonyms) • conversives (words denoting the same situation but with different role structure, such as buy – sell) • conversives to analogues • exact and inexact antonyms • derivatives

34. Bibliography • In some synonym series, includes references to theoretical works dealing with one or more of the synonyms considered in drafting the given series

35. Next lecture • Polysemy and its sources. Regular polysemy. Structure of word meanings (lexemes). Metaphor and metonymy. The lexeme and its uses.