Introduction to Linguistics, Session 11, Thursday 2007-01-18

Introduction to Linguistics, Session 11, Thursday 2007-01-18

SEMANTICS: INTERPRETING SIGNS

Semantics is the study of MEANING

Semiotics: The study of SIGNS

Words, stems, inflections etc. are SIGNS

Sense ↔ Reference

The conceptual and actual worlds

Language signs can be discussed in terms of two domains:

1.) The conceptual, cognitive or mental domain.

2.) The actual domain of behaviour and interaction by particular people at a given time and place.

Noam Chomsky already formulated that:

Linguistic competence can be divided into two parts of knowledge about language!

- IMPLICIT KNOWLEDGE: Everybody (also untrained linguists) know how language and communication works, because everybody uses language as a means of communication.

Implicit knowledge of language can thus be defined as COMPETENCE and actual use of a language in concrete situations can be defined as PERFORMANE.

→ KNOWLEDGE OF THE LANGUAGE

- EXPLICIT KNOWLEDGE: Only trained linguists have an explicit knowledge on how language is produced, constructed and structured. They are able to explore and explain certain phenomenon in language structure (Morphology/ syntax), production and reception (Phonetics and phonology) and evolution. They are also interested in the study of meaning of language (Semantics, semiotics, pragmatics).

→ KNOWLEDGE ABOUT LANGUAGE in the sense of metalinguistic knowledge

Sense an reference

The term “MEANING” is ambiguous, because it has a general aspect and a specific aspect!

1.) The general aspect: SENSE (Sinn)

Is the combination of lexical and sentence meanings of an expression, dependent on semantic relations within the language

2.) The specific, concrete aspect: REFERENCE (Bedeutung)

Defines the actual objects, entities, events, etc. in the world, which an expression (1) refers to

Examples:

(1)

The SENSES of the expressions “morning star”, “evening star”, “second planet from the sun”, “the planet from the sun”, “the planet Venus” are different, but the REFERNCE of the expressions is the same!

(2)

The SENSES of the expressions “President of Bavaria” and “Dr. Edmund Stoiber” are different, but the REFERENCE of the expressions is the same!

WHAT IS A MEANING AND WHAT HAS A MEANING?

→ SIGNS of all kinds have got a MEANING!

1.) VERBAL SIGNS like:

- Phonemes

- Morphemes

- Words

- Sentences

- Texts

- Dialogues

Signs that carry a meaning are for instance:

Phonemes: which are the smallest word distinguishing units and encode words

Dialogue: dialogues create social relationships

2.) NON- VERBAL signs

Non verbal signs: are gestures in general and gestures used to underline linguistic utterances within a situation of contact (dialogues or monologues).

3.) SIGNS in different modalities/ media that are visual, acoustic, tactile or olafactory

Icon: an iconic sign has a resemblance to its meaning. A portrait for instance has a similarity to its object, it is a visual icon.

Acoustic icons are onomatical words like “crash” and “outsch”

SEMANTIC SIGN TYPES

(First formulated by C. S. Pierce, a philosopher)

-INDEX

An index is a sign with a relationship of PHYSICAL PROXIMITY with its meaning!

-ICON

An icon is a sign with a relationship of SIMILARITY with its meaning!

This similarity can be visual, acoustic or affect other senses:

Visual icon: A portrait for instance has a similarity to its referent.

Acoustic icons are onomatical words like “crash” and “outsch”

-SYMBOL

A symbol is a sign with an arbitrary relationship with its meaning!

“DESCRIPTIVE” VERSUS “SUBJECTIVE” MEANINGS

Descriptive meanings concern properties of persons, places, things, events, etc.

They describe any concrete object and any abstract entity.

Subjective meanings in contrast, concern the ATTITUDES OF THE SPEAKER and HEARER towards a special person, place, thing, event, etc.

Subjective meanings are transferred by appraisive expressions or taboo expressions.

Example:

Descriptive meaning: speak about the content of a film (objective summary).

Subjective meaning:

The utterance: “It was a great film!” does not tell anything about the film, but about the attitude of the speaker towards it.

LEXICAL SEMANTICS

Dictionary definitions of meaning....

Traditional dictionary definitions consist of two components, a DEFININDUM (word which has to be defined) and a DEFINIENS (the definition). The latter consists of two parts, it is a definition via genus proximum (to give the nearest kind) and the differentia specifica (to define the special difference)

Examples: (Definitions cited from: Oxford, Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 1995)

Woman: an adult female human being

---------- ---------- ↑ ---------- ↑

------- differentia specifica------ genus proximum

Knife: a sharp blade with a handle, used for cutting or as a weapon

-----------------↑ ------------↑

genus proximum------ differentia specifica

Tomato: a juicy, usually red, fruit eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable

--- ----------------------↑ ----↑

-------differentia specifica ---genus proximum

Lion: a large powerful animal of the cat family that eats meat and is found in parts of Africa

-----------------------↑ --------------↑

------------genus proximum ------differentia specifica

Love: a strong feeling of deep affection for sb./ sth.

----######### ↑ #########↑

###genus proximum ###differentia specifica

Iraq: The Republic of Iraq is a country in Southwest Asia.

-######################- ↑ ########↑

##############genus proximum ####differentia specifica

Buddhism: an Asian religion founded by Gautama Siddharta (or Buddha) in India in the fifth

---------------↑ -------↑

differentia specifica genus proximum

century.

SEMANTIC COMPONENTS

- Property components have different features:

- abstract vs. concrete

- human vs. non-human

- animate vs. inanimate

- male vs. female

- young vs. old

- Relation components:

- bigger

- parent

An example text for kinship terms

OTTAWA (AFP)- A Canadian court has effectively redefined family structure in recognising a woman as the third parent of her longtime lesbian lover’s young son.

The Ontario Court of Appeal angered religious groups when it ruled in the parental custody case late Tuesday that the same-sex couple and the five- years- old boy’s father could all legally claim to be his parents. The decision reversed a 2003 lower court decision that allowed for only one mother and one father, and in doing so dramatically redefined the country’s parental custody laws.

The case involved a lesbian couple who, after being together since 1990, decided to have a child with the help of a male friend who could donate sperm and become the child’s father. They wanted the court to recognise the woman who was not the biological mother as a parent. But they also wanted to avoid having her to adopt the boy, which under the standing two- parent law would have required the father to give up custody.

In their ruling, the appeals court judges said Canada’s 1970‘s child custody laws were outdated and did not reflect the best interests of the child in the case. “There is no doubt that the legislature did not foresee for the possibility of declaration parentage for two women, but that is a product of the social conditions and medical knowledge at the time,” the judges wrote. As such, the “act does not deal with, nor complete, the disadvantages that a child born into a relationship of two mothers, two fathers or, as in this case, two mothers and one father might suffer.”

→ CONCLUSION: In this case the traditional image/ mental concept/ legal definition that the term “parent“ always defines two persons (1 Male, a father + 1 female, a mother) has been rejected. According to the sentence of these Canadian judges, a child can have more that just one mother and one father.

SEMANTIC REALTIONS:

A TAXONOMY is a generalised- specialised relation consisting of HYPONYMS (subordinate term) and HYPERONYMS (Hypernym, superordinate term).

The term MERONOMY describes the PART- WHOLE relation within a taxonomy:

When a ↔ b and b ↔ c, then: a ↔ c !

Example: When a “poodle” is a hyponym to “dog” and “dog” is a hyponym to “animal”, which is its hyperonym, then “animal” is also a hyperonym (more general term) to “poodle”.

Another category of semantic relations comprehends words of the same status, the so called CO- HYPONYMS can be SYNONYMS or ANTONYMS!

But within the category of antonyms there are three different types:

- opposite antonyms (which have a real controversial meaning, for example: heaven vs. hell)

- complementary synonyms (not every word has a real antonym, but a whole set of possible antonyms, for example: What is the opposite of a dog?)

- Inverse antonyms describe a relation in which one term depends on the other:

“parent ↔ child”, “to sell ↔ to buy”.

THE SEMANTIC PROTOTYPE: THE “TYPICAL” specimen

Which bird would you say is a typical kind of bird ?

Of course, you will say a blackbird, a thrush, a finch or a starling! May be without knowing why you promptly think of these kinds of birds instead of others like a penguin or an ostrich, for instance. Is a penguin typical kind of bird? May be not, because it cannot fly?Somebody living near the South Pole would promptly mention a penguin when you asked him what a typical kind of bird was. Somebody living in Africa would first think of a ostrich.In fact, each human being has his own SEMANTIC PROTOTYPE of a special category that depends on his cultural background and most of all on his daily experience (cognition). People living in central Europe are not used to see penguins, while a person living at the South Pole has may be never seen a blackbird, but hundreds of penguins a day.

The term SEMANTIC PROTOTYPE THEORY can thus be defined as:

A model of graded categorisation in Cognitive Science, where some members of a category are more central than others. For example, when asked to give an example of the concept furniture, “chair” is more frequently cited than “lamp” for instance.

Identify: SEMANTIC RELATIONS

(A text on furniture; Locating the prototype)

Furniture and wooden objects are part of our lives every day. Some are utilitarian, such as a chair at the dining table, others are aesthetic, such as an antique sculpture or carving; still others may have an emotional or symbolic importance as mementos, such as a chest that has been in the family for years. Whatever their nature or purpose, if they are important to us they deserve the best care we can provide for them- unlike the chair illustrated on the cover of the video case, which is being gently misused.

The information in this booklet is not about restoring or repairing furniture and wooden objects, it is about caring for and preventing damage to them.

Understanding and dealing with the causes of damage are well within the abilities of nearly all caretakers of valued wooden objects, whether a collection manager at a major museum or an individual safeguarding family heirlooms. The aim booklet is to explain how to minimise the preventable damage to furniture.

COMPOSITIONAL MEANING

What do the following units add to the meaning of their parts?

· Derived word

- Unattainable: The prefix UN is a negation to the adjective

· Compound word

- roundabout: compound consisting of an adjective (lexical word) and a function word; the combination of these two words has gained a completely new meaning.

· Sentence

- These cats chased twenty mice (c.f. twenty mice chased these cats)

→ The change of the position of the subject within a sentence changes the sense of the

utterance. In English, the subject must always occupy the first position within a sentence in

the active modus.

- Colourless green ideas sleep furiously

→ This sentence is just a fixed expression because the subject is inanimate,

which does not fit to the verb “sleep” that requires an animate. Furthermore the expression

“colourless green” is an oxymoron, because it consists of two conditions which exclude

each other: sth. or sb. is whether colourless or colourful: these adjectives are polar.

TASKS ON LEXICAL SEMANTICS

1. Find examples in English and German of:

· Indices: WC→

· Icons: J, L

· Symbols: ♀,♂

2. Find examples of 3 appraisive expressions in English and German

English: “That’s great”, “That’s so beautiful”, “It’s absolutely amazing”

Deutsch: “Das ist toll”, “Das ist ja großartig”, “Das ist wirklich gut”

3. Find examples of 3 taboo expressions in English and German

English: “Fuck”, “Shit”, “Whore”

German: “Verdammter Mist”, “So ein Scheiß”, “Arschloch”

4. What would be a prototypical (for Germans)

· Car: A Mercedes

· Dog: A German sheepdog

· Wild animal: A deer

· Tree: A Fir

· Flower: A Rose

5. Make your own definition for “casting show”

..............Differentia specifica Genus Proximum

↓ ------ ↓

A casting show is a kind of TV show in which people with different talents are discovered and selected.

6. Describe the meaning of

· The Scissor Sisters sing

The Scissor Sisters are an American band who formed in 2001, whose style draws from disco, glam-rock/pop and the gay-club scene of New York City.

(Quoted from: www.wikipedia.com)

SENTENCE SEMANTICS: QUANTIFIERS IN CONTEXT

QUANTIFIERS

ONE moral aspect of the Iraq war that seems to me to have been under-estimated is the ultimate, moral responsibility of the United States for the THOUSANDS of civilian Iraqis murdered under U.S: occupation. Yes, obviously, the vast MAJORITY of these deaths were not at the hands of U.S, forces. Yes, obviously, Iraqis- Sunni and Shia- bear responsibility to some extent. But the laws of warfare- the moral guidelines for just warfare- insist that an invading and occupying army is responsible for the basic security of the population under its care. We broke it; we own it.

The violence that has taken so MANY did not happen immediately. It grew slowly, with forewarning. It took off after the bombing of the Samarra mosque last February. ALL of it was foretold; and MANY urged passionately for more troops to maintain order from 2003 onward. The president and his war-criminal of a defense secretary heeded NOT A word.

They sent no more troops. They allowed ONE of the most brutal civil wars in modern history to gather pace under American’s watch. The blood of 34,000 Iraqi civilians last year therefore finds its way onto the hands of Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld. By refusing to fight a serious war, to commit ENOUGH troops for security, and to adjust as circumstances shifted, they let these innocent people die by the THOUSANDS, and they have abandoned those who risked their lives for us to scenes from Hieronymus Bush.

TASKS ON QUNATIFIERS

· Find paraphrases for

- many urged passionately: Many pushed enthusiastically

- ...heeded not a word: ...not care about a piece of advice

- All of it was foretold: Everything was foreseen

· What can you deduce from “not everybody came”?

- nobody came

- somebody came

- somebody did nor come*

- many did not come

SENTENCE SEMANTICS:

CONJUNCTIONS; a glue category in context

Firstly, let’s revisit what a WebOS is. A WebOs is a web-based app (generally powered by EITHER AJAX -OR Flash technologies) that emulates the application capabilities of an operating system. It’s basically a virtual desktop that gives you communication tools (like email AND instant messaging), productivity tools like word processing, AND ability to play games AND any other application that you’d find on a typical OS like Microsoft Windows.

BUT that’s not all- a WebOS should be an expandable platform (just like Windows) that gives developers the right tools (DIE, APIs) to develop new applications AND add new utilities. AND that’s the advantage of a Web-based “OS”- it gives you the new ability to use it remotely AND not be restricted to one PC. This is a huge need in today’s world, BECAUSE increasingly we use more than one computer from various different locations.

So each time we sit down to a computer a different scene awaits us- different applications AND different documents. WebOS can solve this in efficiency, by taking your productivity with you everywhere you go.

Tasks on conjunctions:

(1) If John is tired, then he drinks coffee.

What can you deduce from this?

→ If John drinks coffee, then he is tired

→ If John drinks coffee then he is not tired

*→ If John does not drink coffee, then he is not tired

(2) John drinks coffee and Mary drinks red wine.

What can you deduce from this?

→ John drinks coffee or Mary drinks red wine

→ John doesn’t drink coffee or Mary doesn’t drink red wine.

*→ It is not true that John doesn’t drink coffee or Mary doesn’t drink red wine.