Chapter 9: Semantics

1. Chapter 9: Semantics TSL 4080 Keisha Mathis

2. What is Semantics? • Semantics is the study of the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences • We can divide semantics into three areas: • Relationship between words • Relationship between words and syntactic structures • Language as an expression of culture and worldview

3. Relationships Between Words • Types of semantic relationships between words include: • synonymy, antonymy, entailment, referent, extension and prototype

4. Synonyms Ex: Book and a Novel Antonyms Ex: Dead and Alive, On and Off, Up and Down Entailment- Ex: Whitney lives in Jacksonville, Whitney lives in Florida, ________? Referent Ex: You point to a shirt and say,” I like that shirt.” The referent for “that shirt” is the shirt you are pointing to Extension Ex: grasshoppers, ladybugs, beetles can be grouped into the category bugs Prototype Ex: A child names a cat and a dog as an example of a pet Examples

5. Relationships Between Words and Syntactic Structures • Examples • 1. We went to the store. • 2. The store we went to. • 3. To the store we went. • 4. I ate a hamburger and Kwan ate a hotdog. • 5. Kwan ate a hamburger and I ate a hotdog.

6. Homonyms- have same pronunciation, sometimes the same spelling but are different in meaning Ex: Same spelling words bank- riverbank/ financial institution Pot- drug/ flowerpot Charge- payment/ attack/ concept of energy Ex: Different spelling words Hair and hare, die and dye, buy and bye. I and eye Heteronyms- words that are spelled the same, pronounced differently, and have different meanings -Ex: present-1) a gift 2) to introduce tear-1) to rip 2) emitted from eyesvs Relationships Between Words and Syntactic Structures Continued

7. Language As An Expression of Culture and Worldview • Let’s look at two sentences. • 1. My friend is here. • 2. My dog is here. • Metaphors show similarities in otherwise dissimilar things • Ex: Time is money, Time heals all wounds, he has a heart of a lion, and she has a heart of stone

8. Language As An Expression of Culture and Worldview Continued • Idioms- phrases that have fixed meaning that cannot be inferred from the meanings of the individual words • Ex: Put your foot in your mouth and don’t let the cat out the bag • What other idioms do we have in American culture? What idioms do you have in your culture? Do you know any idioms of other cultures?

9. A Look at Idioms of Other Cultures Idioms in other cultures: Answers: Not kidding Live in luxury Rekindle an old flame Die laughing Exhausted • Not hanging noodles on your ears: Russian • To live like a maggot in bacon: German • To reheat cabbage: Italian • Bang your butt on the ground: French • Plucked like a chicken: Yiddish

10. Challenge Sheet #1 1. In an episode of Ally McBeal, Ally enlisted the aid of her secretary, Elaine, to help her get rid of a persistent suitor. The dialogue between Elaine and Ally is as follows: Ally: I tried to send him the signal, but he kept saying that sometimes we need to “boost” the love between two people. Elaine: Then why don’t you “boost” him down the stairs? • What concept from semantics would you , as a teacher, account for the word boost?

11. Challenge Sheet #1 2. A two- year old boy is looking at the pictures of various birds on a box of tissues. The boy acknowledges that every item is a bird except for one: the owl. Instead of saying “bird,” the child responds, “It’s a cat.” • Explain the child’s interpretation from a semantic viewpoint. • In the movie, Analyze This, the mobster asks the psychiatrist if there are bugs in his room. The psychiatrist responds, “What do you mean?” • Taking a semantic viewpoint, explain why the psychiatrist is puzzled b y the question

12. Challenge Sheet #1 • Identify some prototypes and non-typical examples for the following words: • Birds • Art