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Understanding Sense and Reference in Semantics

The document discusses the concepts of reference and sense in semantics, explaining that reference indicates what is being talked about, while sense relates to the meaning of expressions within a language system. It highlights that every meaningful expression has sense, but not all have reference, and provides examples to illustrate these concepts. The document also touches on variable, constant, and co-reference, emphasizing the importance of understanding these distinctions in the study of meaning.

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Giang Ếch
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9 views14 pages

Understanding Sense and Reference in Semantics

The document discusses the concepts of reference and sense in semantics, explaining that reference indicates what is being talked about, while sense relates to the meaning of expressions within a language system. It highlights that every meaningful expression has sense, but not all have reference, and provides examples to illustrate these concepts. The document also touches on variable, constant, and co-reference, emphasizing the importance of understanding these distinctions in the study of meaning.

Uploaded by

Giang Ếch
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Semantics

Sai Gon University


truongvananh@[Link]
UNIT 3: REFERENCE AND SENSE
REFERENCE
By means of REFERENCE, a speaker indicates
which things in the world (including persons) are
being talked about.
Ex: Donald Trump (person)
The Statue of Liberty (thing)
Word

Sense Reference
The Triangle of signification
SENSE
To turn from reference to sense, the SENSE of
an expression is its place in a system of
semantic relationships with other expressions
in the language. The first of these semantic
relationships that we will mention is sameness
of meaning, an intuitive concept which we will
illustrate by example. We will deal first with
the senses of words in context.
Ex: Every word has its sense, but it may not
have reference.
Every expression that has meaning has sense,
but not every expression has reference.
The notions of sense and reference are central
to the study of meaning. Every further unit in
this book will make use of one or another of
these notions.
Summary:
Sense: expression of something or somebody.
Reference: Whom/What we talk about.
we can perceive.
The idea of reference is relatively solid and easy
to understand. The idea of sense is more elusive:
it is a bit like electricity, which we all know how to
use (and even talk about) in various ways, without
ever being sure what exactly it is. Even
semanticists aren’t sure exactly what sense is, but
you’ll find that your grasp of it and your
appreciation of the usefulness of the concept will
grow as you study more. (The importance of the
sense/reference distinction was most influentially
demonstrated by the German philosopher
Gottlob Frege.)
+ A referent is an object or an entity in the real
world or in the world of your imagination.
Ex: a room, a rat, a dragon
+ The reference of a word or a linguistic expression
is the relationship between that word or
expression and the thing, the action, the event,
the quality, etc. it refers to.
Ex: Mary’s book
Mary’s book the book that belongs to Mary
+ The sense of a word or a linguistic expression
shows the internal relationship between that
word or expression and others in the
vocabulary of a language.
Ex: doctor and patient
Man
A
And
Pen
House
Because
Dragon
From
 All of them have meaning (sense).
 Sense is the meaning of a word in a dictionary.
Man
A
And
Pen
House
Because
Dragon
From
 Man, Pen, House, Dragon: we can perceive (see).
They are called referents (referring expressions)
Man
A
And
Pen
House
Because
Dragon
From
 A, And, Because, From: have sense but they are not
referents.
 A thing (person) we can perceive is called a referent.
+ Variable reference: The same word/phrase
refers to different referents.
Ex: Teacher: Many people are teachers.
+ Constant reference: One word/phrase refers to
one referent.
Ex: M.U., Real Madrid, Pele, Vietnam
+ Co-reference: Two or more words/phrases
refer to the same referent.
Ex: Ho Chi Minh, Nguyen Ai Quoc, Nguyen Tat
Thanh: one person
The morning star, the evening star: Venus
Summary
Speaker meaning
Sentence meaning
Utterance
Sentence
Proposition
Sense
Reference
Referent: Variable, constant, co-referent
Sense vs. Proposition
(1) Johnny
(2) - Who ate the cake?
- Johnny.
Johnny in (1) is not a proposition because it is
only a word.
Johnny in (2) is a proposition because it is an
elliptical sentence – Johnny ate the cake.
GOOD LUCK!

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