INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS

S. BELABCIR
 AREA 4: SEMANTICS

• Semantics is the branch of linguistics and logic concerned

with meaning. The two main areas are: logical semantics,
concerned with matters such as sense ,reference ,
presupposition and implication . Lexical semantics,
concerned with the analysis of word meanings and relations
between them.

• Semantics is concerned with the relationship

between signifiers (words, phrases, signs, and
symbols) and what they stand for in reality.
Denotative vs. Connotative meaning

• Connotation and Denotation are two principal methods of

describing the meanings of words.
• Connotation refers to the wide array of positive and negative
associations that most words naturally carry with them,
• Denotation is the precise, literal definition of a word that might
be found in a dictionary.
• The denotational meaning of a word is perceived through visible
concepts, whereas connotational meaning evokes sensible attitudes
towards the phenomena.
EXAMPLE : Susie is very blue

In literature and in everyday language, a word’s denotation is

often less central than its universal connotation
 Syntagmatic vs. Paradigmatic relations

• Introduced by Saussure (1974) to distinguish two kinds of signifiers: one

concerns positioning (syntagmatic) and the other concerns
substitution (paradigmatic)

• They are Contrasting terms in structural linguistics. Every item of language has
a paradigmatic relationship with every other item which can be substituted for it
(such as cat with dog), and a syntagmatic relationship with items which occur
within the same construction (for example, in The cat sat on the
mat, cat with the and sat on the mat).
 SYNONYMY

• Major paradigmatic relations of sense : synonymy, antonymy, homonymy,

polysemy, and hyponymy.

• A synonym is a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as

another lexeme (word or phrase) in the same language. Words that are
synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called
synonymy
For example: the words begin, start, commence, and initiate

COGNITIVE Vs. NEAR SYNONYMS:

• Cognitive synonymy is a type of synonymy in which synonyms are so similar in
meaning that they cannot be differentiated either denotatively or connotatively
• Plesionyms / near synonyms a word that has almost the same meaning as
another word :
Example : hungry / pekish
 SYNONYMY

The phenomenon of synonymy is a central interest for both the semanticist and
the language learner:
• For semanticists, synonymy is an important member of the theoretical set of
logical relations existing in language.

• For language learners, there is a good deal of evidence to suggest that

vocabulary is often best acquired by analogy, in other words, remembered as
being similar in meaning to previously acquired forms.

• Harvey & Yuill (1994) found that searches for synonyms accounted for over
10% of dictionary consultations when learners were engaged in a writing task
SYNONYMY

• The productivity of synonymy is clearly observable. If we invent a new word

that represents (to some extent) the same thing that an existing word in the
language represents, then the new word is automatically a synonym of the
older word.

• Context: There are many occasions when one word is appropriate in a

sentence, but its synonym would be odd. EXAMPLE : ANSWER/ REPLY

• Formality: My father purchased a large automobile / My dad bought a big

car.
 ANTONYMY

• Antonymy refers to the semantic qualities or sense relations that exist between
words (lexemes) with opposite meanings in certain contexts (i.e., antonyms). The
term antonymy was introduced by C.J. Smith in his book Synonyms and
Antonyms (1867)

• Edward Finnegan defines antonymy as “a binary relationship between terms

with complementary meanings" (Language: Its Structure and Use, 2012).
ANTONYMY

• Antonym relations are more central to the adjective classes than to other
classes (Antonyms in English, 2012):
Nouns can be antonyms (for example, courage and cowardice),
verbs (arrive and depart),
adverbs (carefully and carelessly),
prepositions (above and below)

• Antonymy is variable (i.e., context dependent), particular antonym pairs are

often canonical in that they are known without reference to context. For example,
the color senses of black and white are opposed and so are their racial senses
and their 'good'/'evil' senses as in white magic and black magic;
HOMONYMY

• Words which sound alike or are spelled alike, but have different meanings.

• Homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of their

pronunciation)
• Homophones (words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of their
spelling)
• True homonyms, which are unrelated in origin, such as skate (glide
on ice) and skate (the fish),
• Polysemous homonyms or polysemes, which have a shared origin,
such as mouth (of a river) and mouth (of an animal).
POLYSEMY

• Polysemy is the association of one word with two or

more distinct meanings.
• A polyseme is a word or phrase with multiple meanings.
• The word "polysemy" comes from the Greek for "many
signs." The adjective forms of the word include polysemous
or polysemic.
• According to some estimates, more than 40% of English
words have more than one meaning.
• “Semantic changes often add meanings to the language
without subtracting any" (M. Lynne Murphy, Lexical Meaning,
2010).
 Homonymy vs. Polysemy

• Homonymy obtains when two words accidentally have the same form, such as bank 'land
bordering on a river' and bank 'financial institution.’
• Polysemy obtains where one word has several similar meanings, such as may indicating
'permission' (e.g., May I go now?) and may indicating possibility (e.g., It may never happen).

• Dictionaries recognize the distinction between polysemy and homonymy by making a

polysemous item a single dictionary entry and making homophonous lexemes
two or more separate entries.

• If you hear (or read) two words that sound (or are written) the same but are not
identical in meaning, you need to decide if it’s really two words (homonyms), or if it is
one word used in two different ways (polysemy).

• The only real way we have of telling the two apart is by applying our judgement.
There are no tests that can tell them apart in a foolproof manner.
 EXAMPLES : AMBIGUITIES

(Clear case of homonymy) (Unclear case 1)

1. a. Sarah climbed down the ladder. a. I own a big heavy hammer.
b. Sarah bought a down blanket. b. I hammered the tent pole
into the ground using a small
II. a. My dog would always bark at mailmen. rock.
b. The tree’s bark was a rusty brown.

(Clear case of polysemy)

I . a. The newspaper got wet in the rain.
b. The newspaper fired some of its editing staff. (Unclear case 2)
a. Laura was a very bright
II. a. John was a good man. He donated a lot of student and always got good
money to charity. grades.
b. Bill was a good painter. His drawings always b. The lights in this room are
were exciting to look at. very bright.
 HYPONYMY

• In linguistics and lexicography, hyponym is a term used to designate a

particular member of a broader class. For instance, daisy and rose are
hyponyms of flower. Also called a subtype or a subordinate term.
Adjective: hyponymic.
• Words that are hyponyms of the same broader term (a hypernym) are
called co-hyponyms. The semantic relationship between each of the
more specific words (such as daisy and rose) and the broader term
(flower) is called hyponymy or inclusion.
• Hyponymy is not restricted to nouns. The verb to see, for example, has several
hyponyms— glimpse, stare, gaze, ogle, and so on. Edward Finnegan points out
that although "hyponymy is found in all languages, the concepts that have words
in hyponymic relationships vary from one language to the next;“

• Hyponymy is a less familiar term to most people than either synonymy or

antonymy, but it refers to a much more important sense relation. It describes
what happens when we say 'An X is a kind of Y
 PRACTICE:
I. Say whether the following statements are true (√) or false (×):
Statements True False
1. Logical semantics is concerned with the relations between words and their meanings
2. Semantics is the study of the literal meaning of signifiers
3. Connotation refers to the associations that words carry with them
4. Everyday language is more denotative than connotative
5. Syntagmatic relations study the substitution between items of a particular language
6. Paradigmatic relations include hyponymy.
7. Plesionym stands for words that are synonyms denotatively and connotatively.
8. Synonyms help language learners learn a great deal of vocabulary items.
9. Complementary antonyms show a range or degree between opposites.
10. Homonymy Words which sound alike or are spelled alike, but have different meanings
11. Co-hyponyms are hyponyms one hypernym
12. Ambiguities between homonymy and polysemy can be solved through conducting tests
2. What is the semantic relationship between
(or among) the following words?

Couch : sofa
Take: grasp, carry, go
Begin: start
Pray: prey
Vehicle: car, truck, SUV, bicycle
Mammal: dog, pig, cat, cow
Lead :lead
Get : obtain , become, buy
Shellfish: lobster, shrimp, crab, oyster ,
Glad: happy
Poor :pour
3. Specify the types of antonyms in the
following examples :
Awake : asleep
Stop: go
Strong: weak
Do: undo
Fast: slow
Alive: dead
Pass: fail
Near :far
Push: pull
Front : back
Smart: stupid
4. Draw the tree to represent hyponymy between cook
and boil , and add other subordinates.