Introducing Semantics

Half-title......Page 3
Series-title......Page 4
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 9
Note to the reader......Page 15
CHAPTER PREVIEW......Page 19
1.0 What is semantics?......Page 20
1.1 Meaning, communication and significance......Page 21
1.2 Talking about meaning in English and other languages......Page 24
1.2.1 'Meaning' in English......Page 25
1.2.2 'Meaning' in Warlpiri......Page 27
1.2.3 'Meaning' in French......Page 28
1.2.4 'Meaning' in Chinese......Page 29
1.3 The semiotic triangle: language, mind, world and meaning......Page 31
1.4.1 Lexemes......Page 34
1.4.2 Sense/reference/denotation/connotation......Page 35
1.4.3 Compositionality......Page 37
1.4.4 Levels of meaning......Page 39
1.5 Object language and metalanguage......Page 40
1.6 Breaking the circle......Page 42
1.6.1 Meanings as referents/denotations......Page 43
1.6.2 Meanings as concepts/mental representations......Page 45
1.6.3 Meanings as brain states......Page 50
1.6.4 Meaning and use......Page 54
1.7 Meaning and explanation......Page 56
The semiotic triangle......Page 58
Explanations of meaning in terms of meanings are circular......Page 59
Questions for discussion......Page 60
CHAPTER PREVIEW......Page 63
2.1.1 Semantics and lexicography......Page 64
2.2.1 Words and morphemes......Page 68
2.2.2 Meanings below the morpheme: sound symbolism......Page 72
2.2.3 Meanings above the word level: idioms......Page 74
2.2.4 Contextual modulation of meaning......Page 75
2.2.4.1 First possibility: compositionality......Page 76
2.2.4.2 Second possibility: non-compositionality......Page 78
2.3.1 Real and nominal definition......Page 80
2.3.2 Definition by ostension......Page 83
2.3.4 Definition by context or typical exemplar......Page 84
2.3.5 Definition by genus and differentia......Page 85
2.4 Definition and substitutability......Page 87
2.5 Semantic primitives......Page 88
2.6 Problems with definitions......Page 94
2.7 Definition, understanding and use......Page 97
Cognitive and extensional definition......Page 98
Further reading......Page 99
Questions for discussion......Page 100
CHAPTER PREVIEW......Page 105
3.1 Meaning and context......Page 106
3.2.1 The Fregean distinction......Page 108
3.2.2.1 Reference, speakers and hearers......Page 112
3.2.2.2 The limits of sense and reference......Page 114
3.2.3 Deixis......Page 116
3.3.1 Knowledge of meaning and knowledge of facts......Page 118
3.3.2 Problems with the dictionary-encyclopaedia distinction......Page 121
Predication and deixis......Page 123
Questions for discussion......Page 124
CHAPTER PREVIEW......Page 125
4.1 Interpersonal context: illocutionary force and speech acts......Page 126
4.1.1 Locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary acts......Page 127
4.1.2 Consequences of the illocutionary perspective......Page 129
4.2 Interpersonal context: speaker's intention and hearer's inference......Page 131
4.3.1 Discrepancies between truth-functional meaning and utterance meaning......Page 134
4.3.2 Conventional and conversational implicature......Page 136
4.4 Gricean maxims and the Cooperative Principle......Page 137
4.4.1 Infringing the maxims......Page 138
4.4.2 Questions about implicatures......Page 139
4.5 Are the maxims universal?......Page 140
4.6 Relevance theory......Page 142
4.7 Semantics and pragmatics......Page 147
Relevance theory......Page 149
Questions for discussion......Page 150
CHAPTER PREVIEW......Page 153
5.1 Lexical relations......Page 154
5.1.1 Antonymy......Page 155
5.1.2 Meronymy......Page 158
5.1.3 Hyponymy......Page 160
5.1.4 Taxonomy......Page 164
5.1.5 Synonymy......Page 168
5.2 Componential analysis......Page 172
5.3 Polysemy and meaning division......Page 178
5.3.1 Polysemy, monosemy and homonymy......Page 179
5.3.2 Tests for polysemy......Page 180
5.3.3 Polysemy and monosemy as a cline......Page 185
Componential analysis......Page 187
Questions for discussion......Page 188
CHAPTER PREVIEW......Page 191
6.1 Validity, soundness and logical form......Page 192
6.2 Propositional logic......Page 196
6.3 Logic as representation and perfection of meaning......Page 204
6.4 Predicate logic......Page 207
6.5 Truth, models and extension......Page 214
6.6.1 Entailment......Page 219
6.6.2 Presupposition......Page 221
6.6.3 Contradictories, contraries and subcontraries......Page 222
6.7 Meaning postulates......Page 227
6.8 Definite descriptions......Page 231
6.9 Logic and language......Page 233
Logical form, validity and soundness......Page 234
Predicate logic......Page 235
Is logic relevant to the semantics of natural language?......Page 236
Analytical questions......Page 237
Questions for discussion......Page 238
CHAPTER PREVIEW......Page 241
7.1.1 Classical categorization......Page 242
7.1.2 Problems with classical categories......Page 243
7.1.3 Prototype categorization......Page 246
7.1.4.1 Problems identifying the attributes......Page 251
7.1.4.3 Scope of prototype categorization......Page 253
7.1.4.5 Prototype experiments and metalinguistic belief......Page 254
7.2.1 Commitments of cognitive semantics......Page 256
7.2.2 Idealized cognitive models......Page 258
7.2.3 Embodiment and image schemas......Page 259
7.2.4 Metaphor and metonymy......Page 264
7.2.5 Radial categories in word meaning......Page 268
7.2.6 Problems with cognitive semantics......Page 272
Problems with prototype categorization......Page 274
Metonymy......Page 275
Questions for discussion......Page 276
CHAPTER PREVIEW......Page 279
8.1.1 Concepts and decomposition......Page 280
8.1.2 Developing conceptual semantics analyses......Page 283
8.1.3 Problems with conceptual semantics......Page 287
8.2 Semantics and computation......Page 288
8.2.1 The lexicon in computational linguistics......Page 290
8.2.2 Word sense disambiguation......Page 295
8.2.3 Pustejovskian semantics......Page 298
WordNet and the lexicon......Page 301
Further reading......Page 302
Questions for discussion......Page 303
CHAPTER PREVIEW......Page 305
9.1 The semantics of parts of speech......Page 306
9.1.1 Variation in parts of speech systems......Page 307
9.1.2 How are parts of speech delimited?......Page 308
9.1.2.1 Morpho-distributional criteria......Page 310
9.1.2.2 Semantic criteria......Page 314
9.1.2.3 Multicategoriality......Page 320
9.1.3 Grammatical category and discourse function......Page 322
9.2.1 Tense......Page 326
9.2.1.1 Tense and time......Page 328
9.2.1.2 Perfect tenses......Page 331
9.2.2 Aspect and Aktionsart......Page 332
9.2.2.1 A rich aspectual system: Mandarin......Page 335
9.2.2.2 States and occurrences......Page 337
9.2.2.3 Variation within a single class: achievements......Page 343
9.2.3 Typology of tense-aspect interactions......Page 347
Tense......Page 348
Aktionsart......Page 349
Questions for discussion......Page 350
CHAPTER PREVIEW......Page 353
10.1 Verbs and participants......Page 354
10.1.1 The traditional picture: thematic roles......Page 355
10.1.2 Problems with thematic roles......Page 359
10.1.3 Proto-roles......Page 362
10.1.4 Thematic relations and conceptual structure......Page 366
10.2 Verb classes and alternations......Page 370
10.3 The meaning of constructions......Page 377
Thematic roles and conceptual structure......Page 383
Questions for discussion......Page 384
CHAPTER PREVIEW......Page 387
11.1 Sense, reference and metalanguage in semantic comparisons......Page 388
11.2 Semantic change......Page 390
11.2.1 The traditional categories......Page 391
11.2.2 Mechanisms and pathways of semantic change......Page 395
11.2.3 Grammaticalization......Page 402
11.3 Meaning through corpora......Page 404
11.4.1 Body parts......Page 408
11.4.2 Colour vocabulary......Page 410
11.4.3 Deictic motion......Page 417
11.4.4 Lexicalization patterns in motion verbs......Page 418
11.4.5 Spatial reference......Page 425
11.5 Language and thought......Page 429
Subjectification......Page 436
Typology of colour-reference......Page 437
The relation of language and thought......Page 438
Questions for discussion......Page 439
Glossary......Page 441
References......Page 453
Index......Page 469