Podcast
Questions and Answers
Which of the following is NOT one of Geoffrey Leech's seven types of meaning?
Which of the following is NOT one of Geoffrey Leech's seven types of meaning?
Pragmatics focuses on the literal meanings of words, phrases, and sentences.
Pragmatics focuses on the literal meanings of words, phrases, and sentences.
False
What are the two components of naming according to Ferdinand de Saussure?
What are the two components of naming according to Ferdinand de Saussure?
Signifier and Signified
The __________ meaning reflects the meaning of lexemes that belong to one of four word classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
The __________ meaning reflects the meaning of lexemes that belong to one of four word classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
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Match the following types of meanings with their descriptions:
Match the following types of meanings with their descriptions:
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Which term describes the words or phrases that substitute the names of people or objects?
Which term describes the words or phrases that substitute the names of people or objects?
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Grammatical meaning includes meanings derived from affixes and function words.
Grammatical meaning includes meanings derived from affixes and function words.
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Which of the following best defines the term 'Agent' in semantic roles?
Which of the following best defines the term 'Agent' in semantic roles?
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The term 'Benefactive' refers to the entity that performs an action.
The term 'Benefactive' refers to the entity that performs an action.
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What is the primary focus of pragmatics?
What is the primary focus of pragmatics?
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In semantic roles, a __________ is the entity from which something moves.
In semantic roles, a __________ is the entity from which something moves.
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Match the semantic role with its description:
Match the semantic role with its description:
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Which of the following best describes a 'Sentence' as opposed to an 'Utterance'?
Which of the following best describes a 'Sentence' as opposed to an 'Utterance'?
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Linguistic context consists of the words, clauses, and sentences used in a particular situation.
Linguistic context consists of the words, clauses, and sentences used in a particular situation.
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What is an example of a Benefactive role?
What is an example of a Benefactive role?
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Which type of meaning communicates the speaker's direct feelings towards the listener?
Which type of meaning communicates the speaker's direct feelings towards the listener?
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Collective meaning involves the association of words often found together in context.
Collective meaning involves the association of words often found together in context.
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What is structural semantics primarily concerned with?
What is structural semantics primarily concerned with?
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The linguistic division proposed by Saussure consists of _____ and parole.
The linguistic division proposed by Saussure consists of _____ and parole.
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What is an example of a lexical field?
What is an example of a lexical field?
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Thematic meaning can be distinguished through different grammatical structures.
Thematic meaning can be distinguished through different grammatical structures.
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What is the relationship between 'langue' and linguistic signs?
What is the relationship between 'langue' and linguistic signs?
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Study Notes
Semantics
- Semantics is the study of meaning in language, encompassing sound, word, and grammar.
- It involves how individuals speak and write, using phrases and expressions.
- It also includes the systems of communication particular to a specific country.
- This also applies to symbolic systems and rules for writing instructions used in computing.
Pragmatics
- Pragmatics interacts with semantics, syntax, morphology, phonology, and phonetics, concerning meaning in context.
- It examines the links between literal meaning and broader phrases, sentences, and words.
- It involves a study of meaning based on context.
Naming (Ferdinand de Saussure)
- A word/sound in a language is a signifier.
- The corresponding concept or object is the signified.
- These are connected; words "stand for" or "refer to" objects/concepts.
- Examples of parts of speech connected to the signified: Verbs, adjectives, prepositions
Realistic and Nominalist View of Naming
- A realistic view suggests objects with the same name hold some features in common.
- A nominalist view argues objects have no common features but are simply given the same name.
Scientific and Dictionary Definitions
- Scientific language is precise and formal.
- Dictionary definitions aim to illustrate a term's meaning through the use of object-focused terms, offering a way for a learner to identify and learn specific things.
Concepts and Associative Bonds
- Concepts are psychological associations of sound or images.
- The relationship between associated data is the associative bond.
- Meaning arises from our ability to connect mental representations of concepts.
Semantic Relations
- Hyponymy: A relationship of inclusion between specific concepts and broader concepts (e.g., rose is a type of flower).
- Synonymy: Words/phrases having similar meanings.
- Antonymy: Words having contrasting meanings; gradable (hot/cold) or non-gradable (dead/alive).
Semantic Relations (Continued)
- Lexical fields: Paradigmatic groupings in the lexicon, where all elements share a part of speech (e.g., nouns).
- Grammatical meaning: Meaning derived from affixes, function words, and grammatical relationships.
- Lexical meaning: Meaning derived from lexeme's in different word classes – noun, verb, adjective, adverb (e.g., nouns describe things).
Semantic Approaches
- Structural semantics analyzes language as a system, recognizing that the meaning of any element is relative to other elements within the system.
Componential Analysis
- Semantic components are features that analyze words (e.g. whether something is countable).
- Categorization attempts to group related concepts based on common properties.
- Prototype theory suggests that some members of a category are better examples (or prototypes) than others.
Sentence Structure
- Propositions are statements composed of predicates (verb phrases) and arguments (noun phrases).
- The number or parts of verbs (e.g., 0, 1, or 3 places) and the presence of explicit/implicit arguments (e.g., the presence of a subject/object) affect how a proposition is structured.
Speech Acts
- Speech acts are actions performed with language, including requests, commands, and commitments.
- They are categorized as Constatives (describing states of affairs) or Performatives (performing actions).
- Felicity conditions specify the circumstances in which a performative act is deemed valid.
Speech Act Types
- Declarations: Speech acts that change the world via utterance (e.g., "I pronounce you husband and wife").
- Representatives: Statements about the truth of an assertion.
- Expressives: Expressions of emotion and attitudes.
- Directives: Speech acts attempting to cause another person to perform an action.
- Commissives: Commitments to future actions.
Direct and Indirect Speech Acts
- Direct speech acts: The grammatical structure directly indicates its communicative function.
- Indirect speech acts: The grammatical structure differs from its communicative function.
Code & Organon Models of Communication
- The Code Model involves a sender, encoding a message through a common code, and the receiver decoding it.
- The Organon model suggests communication involves a sender, symbol, a signal transmitted to a receiver. This also involves objects (states of affairs) and symptoms.
- Both models address the roles of encoding, message, and decoding in the communication process.
Entailment and Implicature
- Entailment: If one sentence is true, another sentence is necessarily true (unconditional, regardless of context).
- Implicature: A suggested meaning implied but not explicitly stated, often context-dependent.
- Both are significant components of how we understand and interpret communication.
Pragmatics (Continued)
- Context: Includes situational context (observations, what we can see and know), co-textual context (the preceding discourse), and background context (prior knowledge shared by speakers).
- Speech acts: Actions performed by using language (e.g., requests, promises)
- Conversational implicature: Meaning implied but not explicitly expressed, in a way that relies on conversational assumptions.
- Grice's Maxims: Guidelines of appropriate conversation (Quantity, Quality, Relation, and Manner).
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Description
Explore the intricate relationship between semantics and pragmatics in this quiz. Learn about the significance of meaning in language and how context influences interpretation. Discover the ideas of Ferdinand de Saussure regarding signifiers and signifieds, and the contrasting views of naming.
