1 / 112

Semantics & Pragmatics

Semantics & Pragmatics. What does this mean?. From the lowly phone through the morph , the phrase , and the clause : NPs & VPs label meaning at a very general level; grammatical relations (Actor/ Undergoer , S/O, Theme) address it more subtly; morphs are full of it;

stu
Télécharger la présentation

Semantics & Pragmatics

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Semantics & Pragmatics What does this mean?

  2. From the lowly phone through the morph, the phrase, and the clause: • NPs & VPs label meaning at a very general level; • grammatical relations (Actor/Undergoer, S/O, Theme) address it more subtly; • morphs are full of it; • & even some phones may correlate with meaning (cf. phonoaesthesia) • SO WHAT IS IT? Meaning

  3. Semantics: meaning as encoded by words and sentences • Pragmatics: speakers’ intended meaning; ‘what they meant’ in particular instances • and what hearers’ infer Approaches to Meaning

  4. Contrast literal & figurative meaning • Contrast sentence & utterance meaning • Lexical Semantics: words’ semrelns Goals

  5. X-cultural diffs in LexSem • Speech acts, Reference, Presuppositions, & Co-operative Principle • NB ‘Context’ in utterance mng Goals

  6. “that which is expressed by Ss, utterances, & their components” • “the content conveyed in communication by language” • Waaay too simplistic but whaddya do? Meaning

  7. The real or imaginary ‘things’ we refer to = reference • Sense = the "cognitive significance" of the referent. Meaning: Reference & Sense

  8. The sense of a linguistic sign derives part of its essence from the greater system of inter-sign relations in which in resides • The sense of ‘hand’ is defined in part by its reln to ‘arm’ • The idea of ‘plural noun’ gets its sense partly due to the notion ‘singular noun’ (vs. Jap & Skt) • This contrast = value Meaning: Sense = value…

  9. ‘defining properties that must be understood in any application of a linguistic item’ … intension • E.g. sheep = ‘animal, mammal, grazes, ruminant, quadruped, even-toed ungulates…’ Meaning: Sense=value+_____

  10. Connotations • Unstable meaning associations e.g. emotional overtones which are not always present (vs. sense, which is essential) • Differ by attitudes (e.g. a mathematical way of thinking about…) • NB language acquisition & change; connotation becomes part of sense Sense &Connotations

  11. Literal = the sense encoded by its component lexical and grammatical signs • ‘kick the bucket’ • Figurative = an extension of literal mng • Rhetoric codifies many types of meaning extension; 3 of which are: • Metaphor • Metonymy • Synedoche Literal vs.FigurativeMeaning

  12. Metaphor • Sense is extended to another concept based on resemblance • ‘Belgian drivers are cowboys’ • …they tend to invoke notion of a cowboy • (the hearer then decides the basis for comparison) Figurative Mng: Metaphor

  13. Metonymy • Sense extended to another concept due to a typical or habitual association • ‘go to the university’ • ‘likes the bottle’ • ‘Washington is in talks with the Kremlin) Figurative Mng: Metonymy

  14. Synedoche • Sense is extended via a part-whole relation • ‘wheels’ • ‘the denver omelet’ • ‘the radiator job’ Figurative Mng: Synedoche

  15. Contrasting the two is literally not so easy • Cognitive Linguistics: metaphor has a central role in language & thought, & is pervasive in ordinary language Lit-fig: distinction

  16. Contrasting the two is literally not so easy • Cognitive Linguistics: metaphor has a central role in language & thought, & is pervasive in ordinary language • Metaphoris seen as a cognitive strategy allowing us to understand one experiential domain in terms of another Lit-fig: distinction

  17. Metaphor is seen as a cognitive strategy allowing us to understand one experiential domain in terms of another Cognitive Linguistics

  18. Metaphor is seen as a cognitive strategy allowing us to understand one experiential domain in terms of another • NB many domains are understood in terms of space, and are expressed linguistically via spatial relations: • ‘cat at me’ • Hence Lit-Fig distinction is iffy Cognitive Linguistics

  19. SentenceMng = combine signs (morphs, phrases, grrelns) and their mngs • The car - broke down - yesterday • Actor-------event----temporal location SentencevsUtteranceMng

  20. SentenceMng = combine signs (morphs, phrases, grrelns) and their mngs • The car - broke down - yesterday • Actor-------event----temporal location • But context alters that ‘same conceptual event’ • Thus its utterance meaning varies SentencevsUtteranceMng

  21. Sentence Semantics • Meaning in isolation; meaning as it is within the ‘system of language’ SentencevsUtteranceMng

  22. Sentence Semantics • Meaning in isolation; meaning as it is within the ‘system of language’ • Utterance  Pragmatics • Meaning in actual language use; meaning as conveyed by an expression in real speech; patterns in speech (outside grammar/lexicon) – re: reln b/w speaker & hearer SentencevsUtteranceMng

  23. Is the sem-prag division real?... • Some linguists reject the division or are dubious about the ‘division of labor’ b/w the two More to come…

  24. P 134 • Students: note fig 6.1 – try to ‘read’ it; it’s worthwhile. However, I think the first sentence below the figure shd be ‘value and INtension…’ – not EX- look above the two people and you’ll see a rectangle w/ value and intension in it. At the top is a tree diagram: the metaphorical EXtension

  25. Re: the semantics of lexical items which must be listed separately in the lexicon. • These are signs and we will focus on their senses Semantics

  26. 3 interrelated key issues in LexSem: • Pinning down & identifying the meanings of lexical items • Relns amongst lexical items’ meanings • The specification of the meaning of items The value of a sign depends on its contrasts with the rest of the language system Semantics – issues

  27. Homophony • 2 different lexemes share the same phonological form (port, bank, bouy/boy) Semantics: concerns

  28. Homophony • 2 different lexemes share the same phonological form (port, bank, bouy/boy) • Partial homophones: ‘bear’ (N & V) – shares same phonological form in some inflected forms but not all: • Bear, bears • Bear, bears; bore; born Semantics: concerns

  29. Polysemy • Identical forms have related meanings • ‘ear’ = hearing organ; attention; ability; favorable disposition; etc Semantics: concerns

  30. Polysemy • Identical forms have related meanings • ‘ear’ = hearing organ; attention; ability; favorable disposition; etc • Dictionaries tend to separate homophones but not polysemous terms; however distinction is not always easy Semantics: concerns

  31. Polysemy • Cf. ear: • Above e.g.s are easy to relate • But ‘ear of corn’ (though usually listed separately in dictionaries) is often imagined to resemble the above ‘ear’ • Lexicographers go beyond folk etymology (usually) and look into OE & ME Semantics: concerns

  32. Polysemy • bank • Few of us see semantic reln b/w ‘ridge’ & ‘$’ • Dictionaries tend to treat them separately Semantics: polysemy that you can bank on

  33. Polysemy • bank • Few of us see semantic reln b/w ‘ridge’ & ‘$’ • Dictionaries tend to treat them separately • Both originate from *bangk in Proto-Germanic (offshoot of Proto I-E <4m BC> & parent of English, German, Dutch, Nor, Swed, Dk, Ic) Semantics: polysemy that you can bank on

  34. Polysemy • *bangk in Proto-Germanic = ‘ridge, mound, bordering slope’ Semantics: concerns

  35. Polysemy • *bangk in Proto-Germanic = ‘ridge, mound, bordering slope’ • Ridge>bench>moneylender’s counter>money lender’s shop>financial institution Semantics: concerns

  36. Polysemy • *bangk in Proto-Germanic = ‘ridge, mound, bordering slope’ • Ridge>bench>moneylender’s counter>money lender’s shop>financial institution • Ridge>slope>side of watercourse Semantics: concerns

  37. Polysemy • *bangk in Proto-Germanic = ‘ridge, mound, bordering slope’ • Ridge>bench>moneylender’s counter>money lender’s shop>financial institution • Ridge>slope>side of watercourse • …typical semantic extension Semantics: concerns

  38. Vagueness • A lack of specificity of meaning • Recall ‘ear’ = ‘hearing organ’ • ‘in your ear’ Semantics

  39. Vagueness • A lack of specificity of meaning • Recall ‘ear’ = ‘hearing organ’ • ‘in your ear’ • But also: ‘pull your ear’ & ‘scratch its ear’ Semantics

  40. Vagueness • A lack of specificity of meaning • Recall ‘ear’ = ‘hearing organ’ • ‘in your ear’ • But also: ‘pull your ear’ & ‘scratch its ear’ • The mental concepts invoked in each differ Semantics

  41. Vagueness • ‘in your ear’ • Ear as an orifice Semantics: concerns

  42. Vagueness • ‘in your ear’ • Ear as an orifice • ‘pull your ear’ • Ear as an appendage of human head Semantics: concerns

  43. Vagueness • ‘in your ear’ • Ear as an orifice • ‘pull your ear’ • Ear as an appendage of human head • ‘scratch its ear’ • Ear as appendage of dog’s head Semantics: concerns

  44. Vagueness • We don’t usually think of these as polysemiesof ear – because they’re so closely related Semantics: concerns

  45. Vagueness • We don’t usually think of these as polysemiesof ear – because they’re so closely related • See also ‘wrong’ • Depending on its sentence, the meaning gets narrowed Semantics: concerns

  46. Vagueness • ‘wrong… • to speak w/ your mouth full’ (improper) • to take Indian kids from their moms’ (immmoral) • to attribute that quote to Saussure’ (incorrect) Semantics: concerns

  47. Vagueness • ‘wrong… • to speak w/ your mouth full’ (improper) • to take Indian kids from their moms’ (immmoral) • to attribute that quote to Saussure’ (incorrect) • A general sense covers these but the sentential context narrows the meaning down Semantics: concerns

  48. These are: contextual meanings • They aren’t fixed (vs. sense of a lexeme) Semantics: concerns

  49. These are: contextual meanings • They aren’t fixed (vs. sense of a lexeme) • Cf. ‘it was wrong for the govt to have taken the Indian children’ • This doesn’t necessarily invoke a moral comment Semantics: concerns

  50. These are: contextual meanings • They aren’t fixed (vs. sense of a lexeme) • Cf. ‘it was wrong for the govt to have taken the Indian children’ • This doesn’t necessarily invoke a moral comment • Vagueness-polysemy = Semantics: concerns

More Related