ENG508 Quiz Set 2

Definition of Semantics and Pragmatics

• Semantics: the study of meaning in language, focusing on the meaning of words, phrases, sentences, and texts.
• Pragmatics: the study of how language is used in context to communicate effectively, considering factors like speaker intention, audience, and social norms.

The Borderline between Semantics and Pragmatics: The distinction between semantics and pragmatics can be blurry, as meaning is often dependent on context.

Sentence and Utterance

• Sentence: a unit of language that expresses a complete thought or idea.
• Utterance: a specific instance of a sentence being used in a particular context.

Language and Logic: Language and logic are closely related, as language is used to express logical ideas and relationships.

The Explicit and the Implicit

• Explicit meaning: the literal or obvious meaning of a sentence or text.
• Implicit meaning: the implied or suggested meaning that goes beyond the literal interpretation.

Semantics in Linguistics: Semantics is a key area of study in linguistics, exploring how meaning is created and conveyed through language. Semantics in a Model of Grammar: A model of grammar that includes semantics aims to explain how meaning is generated from the structure of language. Historical Semantics: Historical semantics examines how word meanings change over time. Semantics in Other Disciplines: Semantics is also relevant in fields like philosophy, computer science, and anthropology. Semantics and Semiotics: Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols, and semantics is a key part of this field.

Reference and Sense

• Reference: the relationship between a word or phrase and the thing it refers to.
• Sense: the meaning of a word or phrase in a particular context.

Utterance, Sentence and Proposition

• Utterance: a specific instance of a sentence being used.
• Sentence: a unit of language that expresses a complete thought.
• Proposition: the meaning or idea expressed by a sentence. Utterance, Sentence and Proposition -Activities: These terms are related to how language is used to communicate and convey meaning.

Literal and Non-Literal Meaning

• Literal meaning: the obvious or explicit meaning of a sentence or text.
• Non-literal meaning: the implied or suggested meaning that goes beyond the literal interpretation.

Semantics and Pragmatics: Semantics focuses on the meaning of language, while pragmatics considers how language is used to communicate effectively. Meaning Holism -Meaning within Language: Meaning holism suggests that meaning is not just a matter of individual words or phrases, but of the entire language system. Idea Theory of Meaning: This theory posits that meaning is based on the ideas or concepts that words and phrases represent. Meanings Are out in the World: This perspective suggests that meaning is not just a matter of language, but of the world and our experiences in it. Meaning of Sentences and Truth Condition: The meaning of a sentence is closely tied to its truth condition, or the circumstances under which it is true.

Putting Meaning Together from Pieces – Compositional Theory: This

theory suggests that meaning is composed of smaller parts, such as words and phrases, that combine to create the meaning of a sentence or text.

KINDS OF MEANING

• Linguistic/Conceptual Meaning: the meaning of words and phrases based on their linguistic structure and conceptual relationships.
• Connotative/Referential Meaning: the emotional or associative meaning of words (connotative) versus their literal reference (referential).
• Social Meaning: the meaning derived from social context, norms, and relationships.
• Affective Meaning: the emotional or attitudinal meaning of words and phrases.
• Reflective and Collocative Meaning: the meaning derived from the relationship between words and their contexts (collocative) and the reflection of meaning back on the speaker (reflective).
• Thematic Meaning: the underlying theme or idea conveyed by a text or discourse.

MEANING, THOUGHT AND REALITY

• Sense and Concepts: the meaning of words and phrases is related to the concepts they represent.
• Necessary and Sufficient Conditions: the conditions under which a word or phrase applies to a concept or object.
• Prototypes: the central, typical instances of a concept or category.
• Linguistic Relativity: the idea that language influences thought and perception.
• The Language of Thought Hypothesis: the idea that thought is conducted in a mental language.

What are Lexical Relations?

Lexical relations refer to the relationships between words and their meanings, including:

• Synonyms (words with similar meanings)
• Antonyms (words with opposite meanings)
• Hyponyms (words with more specific meanings)
• Meronyms (words with part-whole relationships)
• Causative verbs and agentive nouns (words that express cause-and- effect relationships)