Unit Eight Extensions and Prototypes Quiz

What is the main motivation for the idea of extension?

To explain the linguistic expression of referent and extension
To explain the ability of speakers to group entities with similar characteristics into distinct mental categories (correct)
To clarify the prototype of a predicate in language learning
To define predicates or prototypes of concrete things through ostensive definitions

What does 'fuzziness of extensions' refer to?

The typical members of the extension of a predicate
The clarity with which extensions can be identified by both the speaker and the hearer
The different prototypes of a predicate due to cultural differences
The ambiguity and difficulty in defining the boundaries around the extensions (correct)

How are prototypes of predicates early learned in the life of a child?

Through the contrast with referent as a particular thing or individual
Through pointing out to them in ostensive definitions (correct)
Through linguistic expressions linking a linguistic expression to a non-linguistic entity
Through drawing obvious lines between the predicates or members of the set of the extensions

What might arise due to cultural differences between different dialectal communities of the same language?

A problem with prototypes (B) Signup and view all the answers

How are concrete predicates or their prototypes taught to children according to the text?

By pointing to them in ostensive definitions (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is the extension of a one-place predicate?

The potential referents at all times (D) Signup and view all the answers

How does extension contrast with sense?

Extension is a timeless concept, while sense is related to a particular occasion of utterance (D) Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'ostensive definition' introduce?

The method of defining by pointing (A) Signup and view all the answers

In an utterance of 'my cat' or 'the window of my house', what becomes the actual referent?

'Cat' and 'window' both become the actual referent (B) Signup and view all the answers

What does an extension of a one-place predicate represent?

The set or group of all things to which the predicate can truthfully be applied at all times (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between paraphrase and synonymy?

Paraphrase is to sentences (on individual interpretations) as synonymy is to predicates. Signup and view all the answers

Define hyponymy and provide an example.

Hyponymy is a sense relation between predicates such that the meaning of one predicate is included in the meaning of the other. Example: Cow is a hyponym of animal. Signup and view all the answers

What is entailment between sentences?

A sentence expressing proposition X entails a sentence expressing proposition Y if the truth of Y follows necessarily from the truth of X. Signup and view all the answers

Explain the relationship between paraphrase and entailment.

Paraphrase is symmetric (i.e. two-way) entailment, where two sentences are paraphrases of each other if they have exactly the same set of entailments. Signup and view all the answers

How does the notion of hyponymy relate to entailment?

The notion of hyponymy, which involves meaning inclusion between individual predicates, can be extended to a particular kind of meaning inclusion between sentences called entailment. Signup and view all the answers

What is synonymy in the context of sense relations?

Synonymy is the relationship between two predicates that have the same sense. Signup and view all the answers

How does the text distinguish between different senses of a word?

Each distinct sense of a word is considered a predicate, and when necessary, they are distinguished by giving them subscript numbers. Signup and view all the answers

Provide an example of synonymy from the text.

The thief tried to conceal/hide the evidence. Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of abstracting from stylistic, social, or dialectal associations when considering the sense of a word?

To concentrate on the cognitive or conceptual meaning of a word. Signup and view all the answers

Explain the distinction between synonymy and hyponymy.

Synonymy is the relationship between two predicates that have the same sense, while hyponymy denotes a broader/narrower relationship between predicates. Signup and view all the answers