30 Questions
What is the primary focus of Chapter 2?
The role of definition in the description of meaning
What is the initial question that needs to be addressed before defining language units?
What are the meaning-bearing units of the language?
What type of definition involves defining a term by providing an example of its use?
Definition by context and typical exemplar
What is the distinction made in section 2.3.1?
Between real and nominal definitions
What is the purpose of exploring meaning on, above, and below the word level?
To identify the meaning-bearing units of the language
What is the main question that section 2.2 addresses?
What are the meaning-bearing units of the language?
What is the common assumption about how our brains construct phrases and sentences?
Our brains store a lexicon of words and associated meanings
What is the primary task of linguistic semantics according to the view presented?
To specify the stored meaning representation associated with each lexeme
What is the process of mapping ideas onto stored meaning representations in the mental lexicon called?
Lexical access
What role have dictionaries played since the sixteenth century?
An extremely important role in the way we think about and use our own language
What is the approach to definition that starts with a language's individual lexemes?
Semasiological approach
What is lexicography, according to Landau?
A practical way of doing something useful
What is the term for the stock of words and associated meanings in the brain?
Mental lexicon
What is the approach to definition that starts with a particular meaning and lists the various forms available for its expression?
Onomasiological approach
What is the primary focus of linguistic semantics?
Understanding the meanings of words
What is language comparable to?
A sum of impressions deposited in the brain of each community member
What is the nature of language, according to the text?
It exists independently of individuals, yet is common to all
What is the relationship between lexicography and linguistic semantics?
They are complementary fields that inform each other
What is a limitation of defining a word by its connections with other words?
It leaves the essential nature of the definiendum's meaning to be worked out by the definition's addressee
What does the definiendum refer to in a dictionary entry or logical system?
A word or phrase being defined
What is required for a definition to be considered accurate in most semantic theories?
Substitution of the definiens for the definiendum must be truth preserving in all contexts
Why may defining a word by its connections with other words be unsuccessful as an extensional definition?
Because it leaves the essential nature of the definiendum's meaning to be worked out by the definition's addressee
What is an example of a word that has multiple meanings, according to the passage?
Mad
What is the purpose of defining a word by situating it in a system of wider relations?
To see the specificity of the definiendum's meaning
What is a key role of definitions in the law?
To clarify the meaning of terms like murder, contract, or fraud
Why might a definition of 'water' as H2O be ineffective?
Because the addressee lacks knowledge of chemistry
What is the usual case for ordinary conversations and language use?
Definitions are only needed to resolve confusion
What is the relationship between concepts and word meanings?
Concepts correspond to word meanings
What is suggested about the nature of concepts?
They are essentially definitional
What activates during language use, according to the passage?
The definition which is in some sense activated
Explore the role of definition in describing meaning, including types of definitions, semantic primitives, and their place in semantics. Test your knowledge of definition in linguistic theory.
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