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SEMANTICS IN ENGLISH







Compiled by
Kem Soekemi














English Department
Faculty of Language and Arts
UNESA/PETRA




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UNIT 0
INTRODUCTION

A. Linguistics
Linguistics is a study of the nature and structure
of human speech. While language is communication
of thoughts and feelings through a system of
arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or
written symbols. Such a system, including rules for
combining components, such as words, such a
system is used by a particular group or community.

B. Brunches of Linguistics
There are many branches of linguistics. The main
branches of linguistics are phonetics, phonology,
morphology, syntax, and semantics.
1. Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics dealing with
sound features/qualities and their organization
into phones (speech sounds). A sound is anything
that can be heard, while a speech sound is a
sound that is used in a language. Coughing or
snatching of fingers are sounds but they are not
phones or speech sounds. [ u, I, n, and s] are
sound features, because they are used in many
languages.

2. Phonology
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Phonology is a branch of linguistics dealing
with phones and their organization into
phonemes. A phoneme is a group of phones which
are phonetically similar and either in
complementary distribution or in free variation.
For example:
pin [p In]
lips [lIps]
nip [nIp ]
[p -], [-p-], and [-p ] are phonetically similar, their
phonetic differences do not cause difference in
meaning, and they are either in complementary
distribution, each has its own distribution and the
distribution of one member makes the distribution
of the other members complete, or in free variation,
their variation is free. So that [p -], [-p-] and [-p ]
can be organized into a single phoneme /p/ (voiceless
bilabial stop consonant phoneme).

3. Morphology
Morphology is a branch of linguistics dealing with
morphs and their organization into morphemes. It
also deals with the organization of morphemes into
words. A morph is the smallest meaningful part of a
word. Morphs are found by segmenting any word
into the smallest meaningful parts. A morpheme is a
group of morphs which are semantically the same
and in complementary distribution.
Example:
J ane always cooks /-s/ meals.
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She sings /-z/ beautifully.
She teaches /-iz/ French at a school.
/-s/, /-z/ and /-iz/ are morphs, because they are the
smallest meaningful parts of the words. They can be
organized into a morpheme, since they are
semantically the same, they have the same meaning
(third person singular present tense morphs), and in
complementary distribution.

4. Syntax
Syntax is a branch of linguistics dealing with
words and their organization into phrases, clauses,
and sentences.

5. Semantics
Semantics is a branch of linguistics dealing with
meanings of morphemes, words, phrases, utterances,
sentences, and propositions.

C. Exercise 0
1. What is linguistics?
2. What is phonetics?
3. What is a phone?
4. What is a phoneme?
5. What is an allophone?
6. What is morphology?
7. What is a morph?
8. What is a morpheme?
9. What is an allomorph?
10. What is semantics?




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UNIT I
SEMANTICS AND LINGUISTICS

A. Semantics
1. Semantics as aTerm.
In English the term semantics appeared for the
first time in a paper Reflected meanings: a point in
semantics presented by a member of the American
Philological Association in 1894.

2. M. Breal.
In French M. Breal coined the term semantique
from the Greek language in 1883. In 1900 M. Breal
published Semantics: studies in the science of
meaning. The original in French was published in
1897.

3. C.K. Ogden and I.A. Richards.
C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards published The
Meaning of Meaning in 1923. Yet the term semantics
was not found in the body of the book, it appears in
the appendix.

B. Semantics and Linguistics
1. Semantics as a level of linguistics.
As it is stated above semantics is a component or
level of linguistics; the other levels are: phonetics,
phonology, morphology, and syntax.

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2. Language as a communication system.
As a communication system, a language is
related with (1) something to be communicated: a
message (signified) and (2) something that
communicates, a set of signs or symbols (signifier).

3. Other communication systems
There are other communication systems, such as
traffic lights, monkeys and crows communication
systems, but all of them are much simpler than
language.

4. A Communicative System.
Why language as communication system is
different from other communication systems?

a) Not every piece of language has a message in
any real sense. In many cases the function of
language is concerned with establishing and or
maintaining social relationships.

b) Each sign and message in language is very com-
plicated and the relationships between them are
even more complicated.

c) In language it is extremely difficult to specify
precisely what the message is, while in other
communication systems there is no problem,
because the message can be independently
identified in terms of language, e.g. Red means
stop and green means go. In language we
cannot describe the message independently of
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language, because we can only describe the
message in terms of language.

C. Semantics is Empirical
One of the requirements of the statement is that
linguistics should be empirical. Thus semantics
should be empirical, too. Any statement made within
it must be verifiable by observation. It is easy to apply
this method to speaking, but there is no simple way
of dealing with semantics.

D. Semantics Concerning Generalization.
1. Parole and langue
Linguistics as a science is not concerned with
specific instances, but with generalization.
Ferdinand de Saussure (1916) indicates this point by
stating the distinction between LANGUAGE
(langue) and SPEAKING (parole), later Noam
Chomsky (1957) uses the terms COMPETENCE and
PERFORMANCE to refer to more or less the same
point. Both are concerned essentially to exclude
what is purely individual and accidental (speaking
or performance), and to insist that the proper study
of linguistics is langue or competence.

2. The focus of the general study of semantics
The focus of the general study of semantics is on
studying the normal patterns of semantics. But
semantics is also concerned with individuals
meaning, because it is interesting as well as
important to know how and why an individual turns
from the normal patterns. For example, in studying
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literary work it is necessary to know what a certain
character really means in his/her utterances.

E. Speaker Meaning versus Word/Sentence Meaning
Speaker meaning is what a speaker means when
he utters a piece of language. Word/Sentence
meaning is what a word/sentence means, i.e. what it
counts as the equivalent of in the language
concerned.
Many sentences deliver information in a straight
forward way, but many other sentences do not give
any information at all they are used to maintain or
to establish various social relationships. The social
relationships can be either courteous or hostile.
Examples
a. A: Will you have a drink with us?
B: Id love to
b. P: Give me a break, please
R: No way
c. X: Thank you
Y: Y strikes the ball back to X.

F. Semantic Theory
Semantics is an attempt to set up a theory to
meaning. Hurford and Heasley (1984, 8) state that
A theory is a precisely specified, coherent, and
economical frame-work of interdependent state-
ments and definitions constructed so that as large a
number as possible of particular basic facts can
either be seen to follow from it or be describable in
terms of it
Examples of semantics facts are:
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a. Ken Arok caused Kebo I jo to die: Statement
b. Every man is mortal : Analytic
sentence
c. Bung Karno is the first president : Equative
sentence
d. The lamb is too hot to eat : Ambiguous
e. SBY is our president
Mrs. Any SBY is the first lady : Entailment

G. Aristotle
Aristotle (384-322 B. C.), the Greek philosopher,
can be regarded as a forerunner of modern
semantics, because he was concerned with the same
general areas that concern modern semanticists. It is
true that there are areas of meaning studied by
modern semanticists which were terra incognita
(unexplored field) to Aristotle, but the general areas
of Aristotle and modern semanticists are the same.


H. Exercise I
1. Who was M. Breal?
2. What is The Meaning of Meaning?
3. What is the relation between linguistics and
semantics?
4. Compare speaker meaning with sentence
meaning and use examples in your answer.
5. Compare langue with parole and use examples
in your answer.
6. Who was Aristotle?
7. What is meant by the term terra incognita?
8. What does semantic theory deal with?
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9. What is a semantic fact? Use examples in your
answer.
10. Who was Ferdinand de Saussure?
































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UNIT II:
UTTERANCE, SENTENCE, AND PROPOSITION

A. Utterance
1. Definition
An utterance is a stretch of talk, used by a person,
before and after which there is a silence on the part of the
speaker. An utterance is the use of a piece of language, a
word, a phrase, a clause, a sentence, or a sequence of
sentences, by a particular speaker on a particular occasion.
An utterance is a physical event or an object. It can be
recorded.

2. Examples:
a. Mother: Who called you just now?
Jill : Tom
b. John: Whats the matter with you?
Julie: Nothing
c. Mother: Do you like her?
Son : No, I love her

B. Sentence
1. Definition
A sentence is a string of words or phrases put
together by using grammatical rules of a language. It is not
a physical event or object.
A given sentence always consists of the same words or
phrases and in the same order. Any change in the words /
phrases, or in their order, makes a different sentence

2. Examples
a. J ohn only loves Mary
Only J ohn loves Mary They are different
sentences.
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b. Helen rolled up the carpet
Helen rolled the carpet up They are different sentences
c. Courtesy always pays
Courtesy always pays They are the same sentence

When a sentence is used by a particular person on a
particular occasion, it becomes an utterance. Any sentence
belongs to a particular language

Examples:
a) Hanako sang deska? Are you Mr. Hanako?
b) I kan paus itu mamalia Whales are mammals
c) I ch bin glucklich I am happy

There is no doubt that example a) is a Japanese
sentence, example b) is an Indonesian sentence, and
example c) is a German sentence.
When the same sentence is used by different speakers
on different occasions will be different utterances.

C. Proposition
1. Definition
A proposition is that part of the meaning of the
utterance of a declarative sentence which describes some
state of affairs. The state of affairs typically involves
persons or things referred to by expressions in the
sentence.
In uttering a declarative sentence a speaker typically
asserts a proposition. Propositions, unlike sentences,
cannot be said to belong to any particular language. Two
or more sentences in different languages can correspond to
the same proposition, if those sentences are perfect
translations of each other.

Examples:
a) Aku tresno kowe I love you
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b) Saya cinta kamu I love you
c) Wo ai ni I love you

In reality it is not always easy to have perfect translation
from one language to another.
Examples:
The Indonesian sentence: Saya telah menerima undang-
annya, can be translated into two different sentences in
English, they are I have received her invitation and I have
accepted her invitation These two sentences have different
senses. In the first sentence, the speaker states that he has
got the invitation, while in the second sentence the speaker
has promised to fulfill the invitation.

2. True versus false propositions
One can have propositions in the mind regardless of
whether they are true or false. True propositions
correspond to facts.

Examples:
a) The earth is round True
b) Experience is a good teacher True
c) Two and three are six False

A proposition is either true or false. In saying Herman
can do the job, a speaker asserts the proposition that
Herman can do the job. While in saying Can Herman do
the job? he mentions the same proposition, but he merely
questions its truth.
Corresponding declaratives and interrogatives /
imperatives have the same propotional contents.

D. Relationship between Utterance, Sentence, and
Proposition


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Utterance
Sentence Utterance
Utterance

Utterance
Proposition Sentence Utterance
Utterance

Utterance
Sentence Utterance
Utterance

Diagram 2.1: Relationship between utterance, sentence,
And proposition.

E. Proposition versus Thought
A proposition is an object of thought, yet propositions
are not equal to thought. Because thoughts are usually held
to be private, personal, and mental processes, whereas
propositions are public.
The relationship between mental processes (e.g.
thoughts), abstract semantic entities (e.g. propositions),
linguistic entities (e.g. sentences), and actions (utterances)
is problematic and complicated.

F. Techniques of Presenting
1. Utterances are written between double quotation
marks.
Examples: John : Who is he?
Nancy: Ive never seen him before

2. Sentences are typed in italic typeface.
Examples: a. Rinjani is higher than Semeru
b. There are two seasons in I ndonesia.
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3. Propositions are presented by using logical notation.
Examples:
a. Romeo loved J uliet . r LOVE l
b. Brutus killed Caesar b KILL c
c. Bung Karno is the first president bk = fp

G. Exercise II
1. What is an utterance? Use examples in your answer
2. What is a sentence? Use examples in your answer.
3. Compare an utterance with a sentence and use
examples in your answer
4. Do propositions belong to a particular language?
Illustrate your answer with examples.
5. Is a proposition always true?
6. When is a proposition true? Use examples in your
answer.
7. What is meant by perfect translation?
8. Is it possible to have a perfect translation?
9. Translate the following sentences into Indonesia:
a. Man the ship!
b. I have accepted his invitation.
10. What is meant by a family tree relationship between
utterance, sentence, and proposition?












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UNIT III:
SENSE RELATIONSHIP VS REFERENCE
RELATIONSHIP

A. Sense Relationship
Sense relationships are relationships inside the
language. Sense relates the complex system of relationship
between one linguistic element with other linguistic
elements. It deals with intra-linguistic relationships. The
intra-linguistic relations can be illustrated in the following
diagram.









Diagram 3.1: Sense Relationship


In a sentence, such as: Every house has got a main
bedroom, there are intra-linguistic relations between one
word and other words (between every and house or
between has and got) or between one phrase with other
phrases (between every house and has got or between has
got and a main bedroom) in that sentence. Those
relationships are called sense relationships.

B. Reference Relationship
The World
X1----X2
Language


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In talking a reference relationship, we deal with the
relationships between language elements (words, phrases,
clauses, and sentences) and non-linguistic elements (the
world or experience).
By means of reference, a speaker indicates which things
or persons in the world are being talked about.

Example: William Shakespeare lived in this house
William Shakespeare indicates a person, while
this house indicates a thing.

A reference relationship is a relationship between parts
of a language and things, animals and men outside the
language. This kind of relationship can be illustrated in the
following diagram.








Diagram 3.2: Reference Relationship

C. Kind of Expressions
Based on their references, expressions can be classified
into the following:

1. Expressions with variable references
Examples: His wife
Her boy friend
My office
Their brothers

2. Expressions which usually never refer to different
The World
Y

X
1
Language


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things.
Examples: The sun
The president
The lecturer
The dean

3. Two or more expressions referring to the same object.
Examples: The morning star and the evening star
Bung Karno and the first president
Mother, mama, and Mrs. So and so

D. Does Sense Belong to Words only?
We can talk about sense, not only of the words, but also
of longer expressions (phrases, clauses and sentences).
Each pair in the following examples has the same sense.
Examples: 1. The executive prefer educated ladies.
The executive prefer ladies with high education.
2. Every athlete exercises systematically
Every athlete practices his mind and body
systematically.
3. The child loves cats.
The child likes cats very much.

E. Ambiguous Words
In some cases, the same word can have more than one
sense.
Examples: 1. The Bank of Tokyo.
The bank of Musi
2. A mug of milk
He is a mug.
3. Hak wanita
Hak sepatu

F. Ambiguous Sentences
One sentence can have different senses, too.
Examples: 1. The chicken is ready to eat
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2. He greeted the girl with a smile.
3. Flying planes can be dangerous.


G. Meaning, Sense and Reference
It is important to remember that every expression that
has meaning has sense, but not every expression has
reference. Each of the following words has sense, but none
of them refers to thing: a. almost, b. probable, c. and, d. if,
hardly, and but.

H. Definitions in a Dictionary
There is something essentially circular about the set of
definitions in a dictionary. Similarly, defining the senses of
words and other expressions often has something of this
circular nature. This is not necessary a bad thing, and in
any case it is often unavoidable, since in many cases there is
no way of indicating the meaning of an expression except
with other words.

Examples: sphere any round body or figure having the
Surface equally distant from the centre
At all points; globe; ball.
Globe - any round, ball-shaped thing; sphere
Ball - any round, or spherical object; sphere;
globe

1. Proposition as Complete Independent Thought
There is something grammatically complete about a
whole sentence, as opposed to a smaller expression such as
a phrase or a single word. Generally speaking, a
proposition corresponds to a complete independent thought

Examples: 1.Shop lifting is a crime.
2. She finished her work on time.
3. Gambling is a bad habit.
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The three sentences above mentioned are propositions,
while the following are not:
1. An old friend (not understood as an elliptical
sentence fragment).
2. J ane (not understood as an elliptical sentence
fragment).
3. in Bali (not understood as an elliptical sentence)

J. Reference and Utterance
The relation between reference and utterance is not so
direct as that between sense and proposition, but there is a
similarity worth pointing out. Both referring and uttering
are acts performed by particular speakers on particular
occasions.
Most utterances contain, or are accompanied by, one or
more acts of referring. An act of referring is the picking
out of a particular referent by a speaker in the particular
utterance.

Exam.: 1. Oh, Im not fit for my job! (James, 1960: 110)
There are two acts of referring in this utterance
2. Then I may take it from you that he is good
(James, 1960: 111).
There are four acts of referring in the second
utterance.

K. Sense or Reference?
In everyday conversations the words meaning, means,
mean, or meant are sometimes used to indicate sense and
sometimes used to indicate reference.
Examples: 1. When a journalist mentioned LUSI, he meant
Lumpur Sidoarjo (reference)
2. When we mention SBY we mean our
President (Reference).
3. Sir, what does unique mean? (Sense)
4. Purchase has the same meaning as buy (Sense)
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L. Two Kinds of Semantics
Based on the distinction between sense and reference,
then there are two kinds of semantics:
1. The first kind deals with semantic structure or sense
relationships.
2. The other kind deals with meaning in terms of
experience outside language or reference relationship.
Some linguists have attempted to limit semantics to
sense relationships. As an example, J.J. Kartz and J.A.
Fodor, through their paper called The Structure of a
Semantic Theory 9163), presented their theory which is
based upon word meaning.

N. Exercise III
1. What do we deal with in talking of sense?
Illustrate with examples in your answer.
2. What do you deal with in talking of reference?
Use examples in your answer.
3. Mention five expressions that have constant
references.
4. Mention five expressions that have more than one
sense.
5. What is meant by an act of referring?
6. What is meant by an act of uttering?
7. Mention five examples of two or more expressions
that have one referent.
8. Do the morning star have the same meaning with
the evening star?
9. Are they mutually substitutable?
10. Are SBY and our president mutually substitutable?




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UNIT IV:
REFERRING EXPRESSIONS

A. Definition

A referring expression is any expression used in an
utterance to refer to something or someone (or a clearly
delimited collection of things or people), i.e. used with a
particular referent in mind (Hurford et al., 2007: 37).

Example: The name of Partono in an utterance such as
Partono telephoned you last night, where the speaker has
a particular person in mind when he says Partono, is a
referring expression. But Partono in There is no one called
Partono in this class is not a referring expression, because
in this case a speaker does not have a particular person in
his mind in uttering the name.

Which of the following are referring expressions:
J ack, her father, whales, or, the man living next door, a tiger,
sing, songs, beyond.

Comment: The same expression can be a referring
expression or not depending on the context. Compare it in
the following utterances: Every man who owns a donkey
beats it and Its sinking!

1. Opaque Context
Hurford et al. (2007, 40) define opaque context as
follows: An opaque context is a part of a sentence which
could be made into a complete sentence by the addition of a
referring expression, but where the addition of different
referring expression, even though they refer to the same
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thing or person, in a given situation, will yield sentences
with different meanings when uttered in a given situation.

The incomplete sentence Laura Bush thinks that . . . is a
genius is an opaque context. The following utterances
would make different meanings:

(a) Laura Bush thinks that the President is a genius
(b) Laura Bush thinks that the Leader of the Republic
Party is a genius

If, for example, Laura Bush believes erroneously that
the President is not the Leader of the Republic Party, then
(a) and (b) will mean different things.

Hurford et al. (2001: 41-42) state that the term opaque
is especially appropriate because these contexts seem to
block our view through them to the referential
interpretation of referring expression.
Opaque contexts typically involve a certain kind of verb
such as want, believe, think, and wonder about.
They state (2007:42) that . . . it was often in the context
of such opacity-creating verbs that indefinite noun phrases
could be ambiguous between a referring and non referring
interpretation, as in Nancy wants to marry a Norwegian.

2. Equative Sentence
Then Hurford et al. define An equative sentence is
one which is used to assert the identity of the referents of
two referring expressions, i.e. to assert that two referring
expressions have the same referent (2007:42)

Examples: SBY is the President of I ndonesia.
The morning star is the evening star.
The boy driving the blue car is her fianc

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Practice:
Are the following referring expressions?
1) he in If anyone ever marries Nancy, hes in for
a bad time (meaning that whoever marries
Nancy is in for a bad time)
2) it in Every man who owns a donkey beats it
3) a dancer in His uncle married a dancer.
4) a dancer in John wants to marry a dancer.
5) The whale in The whale is the largest mammal.
6) The man who shot Kennedy The man who shot
Kennedy was Lee Harvey Oswald.
7) The person who did this in The person who did
this must be insane, spoken by someone on
discovering a brutally mutilated corpse, where
the speaker has no idea who committed the
crime.

D. Exercise IV
1. What is a referring expression?
Give examples in your answer.
2. What is an opaque context? Use examples in
your answer.
3. What is a reversal test?
4. Is Ken Dedes believed that . . . had killed
Tunggul Ametung an opaque context?
5. What is a reversal test?
6. Is a reversal test always reliable?
7. The same expression can be a referring
expression or not depending on the context. How
is it possible?
8. Identify referring expressions found in the
following sentences:
a. The child is drawing a dog.
b. What is lying under the car is a dog.
9. What is an important feature of equitive
sentence?
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10. Are the following sentences equitive?
a. His father is a general manager.
b. The man sitting there is her fianc.

































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UNIT V:
PREDICATES

A. Definition of Predicator
According to Hurford et al. (2007: 47) The
predicator of a simple declarative sentence is the
word (sometimes a group of words) which does not
belong to any of referring expressions and which, of
the remainder, makes the most specific contribution
to the meaning of the sentence. Intuitively speaking,
the predicator describes the state or process in which
the referring expressions are involved.

Examples:
Mummy is asleep. Asleep is the predicator.
The tourist loved a Balinese dancer. Loved is the predicator.
Rinjani is in Lombok. I n is the predicator.

Practice: What is the predicator of each of the following
sentences

(1) She is sick.
(2) Lenny is in the library.
(3) The Mayor is a corruptor.
(4) The doctor who lives next door is a musician.
(5) The church is behind the mosque.
(6) They go to the church every Sunday.

Comment: The predicators of sentences can be of
various parts of speech: nouns (corruptor, writer,
musician, and mammal), verbs (go, teach, swim, enslave,
and corrupt), adjectives (sick, happy, frightened, and
creative), and propositions (in, behind, beyond, and out).
Other parts of speech, such as conjunctions (and, but, or)
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and articles (the, a) cannot serve as predicators in
sentences.

B. Predicator >< Argument
Simple declarative sentences consist of two major
semantic roles played by different subparts of the
sentences. These semantic roles are the role of
predicator, played by predicates, and the role of
arguments, played by the referring expressions.

Examples:
(1) Made is Balinese predicator : Balinese
argument : Made
(2) He teaches English predicator : teach
arguments: he, English
(3) He is in Denpasar predicator : in
arguments: he, Denpasar

3) Predicator >< Predicate
According to Hurford et al. (2007, 48) A predicate is
any word (or sequence of words) which (in a given single
sentence) can function as the predicator of a sentence.

Examples: school, song, sleep, boil, angry, tall, in, before
are all predicates; and, or, but, not, almost, and quite are
not predicates.

Comment: Predicate and predicator are quite
different terms. Predicate identifies elements in the
language system, independently of particular example
sentences. The term predicator identifies the semantic
role played by a particular word (a group of words) in a
particular sentence.

A simple sentence only has one predicator, although it
may contain more than one predicate.
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As an example, The young, tall, and beautiful doctor
examined an old patient.
There is only one predicator in the sentence, but the
sentence contains the words young, tall, beautiful, old,
and patient, all of which are predicates and can function
as predicators in other sentences such as The doctor is
young, She is tall. She is beautiful. The patient is old. He
is a patient.

Practice:
(1) In which of the following sentences does the
word easy function as a predicator?
(a) Easy come easy go.
(b) That is an easy chair.
(c) Im easy.

(2) In which of the following sentences does the
predicate mammal function as a predicator?
(a) A whale is a mammal.
(b) The mammal lives at sea.
(c) Whales are the biggest mammals.


3) The Degree of Predicates.
According to Hurford et al. (2007: 50) The degree of
predicate is a number of indicating the number of
arguments it is normally understood to have in simple
sentences

Examples: Tall is a predicate of degree one or one-place
predicate. While make is a predicate of degree two or a
two-place predicate.

In Nila made a cake, made is a two-place predicate: it
has an argument, Nila, as subject and an argument, a cake,
as direct object.
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There are several three-place predicates which are
mostly verbs in English.

Examples:
Ken Arok gave Kebo I jo a kris.
George sent her a nice card.
Father bought me a cycle.

Most prepositions are two-place predicates, except
between.

Examples
Ponorogo is in East J ava.
The mosque is behind the hospital.
The cat is under the car.
The school is between the church and the prison.

The majority of adjectives are one-place predicates, but
comparative degree of adjectives are two-place predicates.

Examples 1:
a. Snakes are useful.
b. Flowers are beautiful.
c. Driving is risky.

Examples 2:
a. Rinjani is taller than Semeru.
b. Surabaya is bigger than Medan.
c. Saying is easier than doing.

Most nouns are one-place predicates, but a few of them
such as father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, uncle,
aunt, cousin, nephew, neighbor, and class mate, are
inherently relational.
Examples:
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1) Mr. Johnson is Jacks father.
2) Alice is a daughter of Mrs. Smith.
3) Mrs. Smith is Alices mother.

3) Identity Relation
Identity relation is the relation that is found in equative
sentences. In English, the identity of the referents of two
referring expressions is expressed by a form of the verb be.
Examples:
1) SBY is our president.
2) J akarta is the capital city of I ndonesia.
3) London is the largest city in England.

G. Summary
Predicates and referring expressions have completely
different functions. Their roles cannot be exchanged. As an
example, Gesang is a composer makes sense, but A
composer is Gesang does not make sense.

H. Exercises V
1. Explain the following terms:
Predicator, predicate, degree of predicate, identity
relation
2. Identify the semantic roles of predicates found in
the following sentences:
a. I t is linguistics.
b. J ohn likes linguistics.
c. Linguistics is useful.
d. The school is between the museum and the
church.
e. Prof. Smith is the head of English department.
3. Indicate the degree of each predicate used as
predicators in item 2 above.
4. What are the function of the verb be in the
following sentences (does it function as an identity
predicate or as a grammatical device for linking a
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non-verbal predicate to its first argument)? Do all
instances of be carry tense?
a. Whales are mammals.
b. J ohn is successful.
c. B. D. Hartono is the Mayor of Surabaya.
d. A rose is a flower.
e. Yesterday was Monday.





























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UNIT VI
PREDICATES, REFERRING EXPRESSIONS, AND
UNIVERSE OF DISCOURSE

A. Referring Expressions >< Predicates
1. The same word can be used for the radically different
functions of reference and predications.

Examples:
a. The tiger attacked a man a man: referring
expression
b. J ack is a man a man: predicating
expression

2. Some expressions, proper names, are almost always
referring expressions no matter what sentences they occur
in.
Examples:
a. Mr. Smith is Johns father.
b. J akarta is the most crowded city in I ndonesia.
c. Jacob is Jacks parrot.

In the examples, Mr. Smith, J ohn, J akarta, I ndonesia,
J acob, and J ack are all referring expressions.
Hurford et al. (2007: 57) sate that The distinction
between referring expressions and predicates is absolute:
there is not a continuum running from proper names of
one end, through borderline cases to verbs and
prepositions at the other. Either an expression is used in a
given utterance to refer to some entity in the world or it is
not so used.

Examples:
a. Jacob is a parrot. A parrot in this utterance is a
predicating expression.
b. The cat caught a parrot. A parrot in this
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utterance is a referring expression.

They (2007: 58) state: Predicates do not refer. But they
can be used by a hearer when contained in the meaning of
a referring expression, to identify the referent of that
expression.

Examples:
1. The new house is to let -> The word new is a predicate, it
does not refer to anything, but it helps a hearer to identify
the referent of the expression, The new house

2. She met a young doctor. -> Though the word young does
nor refer to any referent, it helps a hearer to identify the
referent of the expression.

3) Generic Sentence
They define that A generic sentence is a sentence in
which some statement is made about a whole unrestricted
class of individuals, as opposed to any particular
individual.

Examples of generic sentences:
1) Whales are mammals.
2) Gentlemen prefer blondes
3) The male of penguins guards the eggs.

Examples of non generic sentences:
1) Some whales are coming here.
2) The gentle man sitting there prefers a blond.
3) My dog likes cats.

Hurford et al. (2007: 62) state that Even though
expressions like tomorrow, the British national anthem,
eleven hundred, the distance between the Earth and the Sun,
etc. do not indicate physical objects, language treats these
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expressions in a very exactly parallel to referring
expressions. They are called referring expressions.
They also state that language is used to talk about the
real world, and can be used to talk about an infinite variety
of abstractions, and even of entities in imaginary, unreal
world.

C. Universe of Discourse
Hurford et al. (2007:62) state that the UNIVERSE
OF DISCOURSE for any utterance as the particular world,
real or imaginary (or part real, part imaginary), that the
speaker assumes he is talking about at the time.

Examples:

1) When an astronomy lecturer states seriously that
the Earth revolves around the Sun, the universe of
discourse is the real world or universe.

2) When a mother tells her child a story and says,
The dragon set fire to the woods with his hot breath,
the universe of discourse is not real world but fictitious
world.

It should be remembered that no universe of discourse
is totally fictitious world. As an example, when a father
tells his son that Santa Clause is bringing a toy telephone for
him. Santa Clause is a fiction, but the toy telephone he might
bring is real. So in the example there is interaction between
fact and fiction.
Two people are arguing at cross-purposes means that
they are working within partially different universes of
discourse.
Examples.
Theist: Diseases must serve some good purpose,
or God would not allow them
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Atheist: I cannot accept your premises
In the example the theist is operating with a universe of
discourse which is a world in which God exists. The
atheists assumed universe of discourse is a world in which
God does not exist.

D. Summary:
1. In utterances speakers use referring expressions to refer
to entities which may be concrete or abstract, real or
fictitious.
2. The predicates embedded in a referring expression help
the hearer to identify its referent.
3. Semantics is not concerned with factual status of things
in the world but with meaning in language.
4. The notion of universe of discourse is introduced
to account for the way in which language allows
us to refer non-existent things.

E. Exercise VI
1. If Nyi Roro Kidul existed, would she be a physical
object?
2. Do unicorns exist in the real world?
3. What is meant by universe of discourse?
4. Compare a generic sentence with a non-generic
sentence and use examples in your answer?
5. Is there any fiction which is totally unreal?
6. Why?
7. Do all participants in a conversation always
have the same universe of discourse?
8. What will happen when the participants of
conversation do not share the same universe of
discourse?
9. Is a language miracle?
10. Why is it necessary to introduce the notion of
the universe of discourse?

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Mid-Term Examination
Academic Year of 2008-2009
Course: Semantics
Time: 100 minute
Books: Closed

1. What is the difference between speaker meaning and
sentence meaning? Use examples in your answer.
2. Why is Aristotle considered as a forerunner of modern
semanticists?
3. Compare an utterance with a sentence and use examples
in your answer.
4. What is the difference between sense relationship and
referent relationship?
Use examples in your answer.
5. What is a referring expression? Use examples in your
answer.
6. What is an equative sentence? How do you test it?
7. What is a predicator? Use examples in your answer.
8. Compare a predicate with a predicator and use examples
in your answer.

9. How do you classify predicates? Use examples in your
answer.
10. Why is the notion of universe of discourse introduced in
semantics?








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UNIT VII:
DEIXIS AND DEFINITENESS

A. Definition of Deictic Words
Hurford et al. (2007: 66) define that A deictic word is one
which takes some element of its meaning from the context
or situation (i.e. the speaker, the addressee, the time and
the place) of the utterance in which it is used

Examples: The first person singular pronoun I is a deictic
word. When Barack Obama says I will change the United
States of America The word I in the utterance refers to
Barack Obama. When SBY says Bersama kita pasti bisa,
kita refers to bangsa Indonesia. Kita is a deictic word.

B. Predicates Containing Deictic Ingredient
There are few predicates which have a deictic ingredient.
Such as: come, go, bring, and take.
In sentences:
Come to my office
Take this book to the library

C. Psychological Shifting
Some utterances involve a psychological shifting of the
speakers view-point for the purpose of interpreting one of
the deictic terms.
Examples:
1) If someone says to you, Come over there, please! while
pointing to a far corner of the room, could you reasonably
infer that the speaker intends to move to that corner of the
room as well?
Compare it with that when he says to you Go over there,
please!

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2) If someone says to you on the phone, Can I come and
see you some time? do the speaker probably have in mind
a movement to the place where the speaker, or to the place
where you are?

D. Grammatical Devices
Besides deictic words such as he, it, here, there, now,
yesterday, come, and go, there are certain grammatical
devices called tenses for indicating past, present, and future
time, which must be regarded as deictic.

E. Reported Speech
In reported speech, deivtic ters occurring in the original
utterance may be translated into other, possible non-
deictic, terms in order to preserve the original reference.
Example
Jack: Ill marry you here next year.
Julia (reporting Jacks utterance some time later) : Jack
said he would marry me there the coming year
In this example, five adjustments are made in the
reported speech, namely:
I -> he, ll ->would, you ->me, here ->there, next year ->
the coming year.


F. The Function of Deictic Words
Imagine a language called Zonglish, exactly like English
in all respects, except that it contains no deictic terms al all,
i.e. all English deictic terms have been eliminated from
Zonglish.
Is I would like a cup of tea a well-formed Zonglish
sentence? The answer is No, because it contains deictic
expressions, I and would.
A language without deictic terms could not serve the
communicative needs of its users anything like as well as a
real human language.
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The truth of a sentence containing a deictic expression
can only be considered in relation to some hypothetical
situation of utterance.
Practice:
(1) Can you tell by itself whether the sentence You
are standing on my toe is true or false?
(2) What would you need to know in order to be able
to tell whether the sentence just mentioned is
true or false?
(3) Can one tell whether the sentence There are tigers
in Sumatra, not considered in relation to any particular
time, is true or false?

The relationship of the truth of sentences to hypothetical
times and situations of utterance is brought out most
vividly by deictic terms.
The is traditionally called the definite article, and a the
indefinite article. But what exactly is definiteness? An
answer can be given in terms of several notions already
discussed, in particular the notion of referring expressions,
identifying the referent of referring expression, and
universe of discourse. A new notion, context, is also
needed.

G. Context of Utterance
Hurford et al. (2008: 71) define that The context of an
utterance is a small subpart of the universe of discourse
shared by speaker and hearer, and includes facts about the
topic of the conversation in which the utterance occurs, and
also facts about the situation in which the conversation
itself takes place.
Example: If someone meets a stranger on a train station
and they begin to talk about the weather, then facts about
the weather (e.g. that it is raining now, it is not as warm as
yesterday), facts about the train (e.g. that it is crowded),
and also facts about the speakers (e.g. their sex) are parts
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of the context of utterances in this conversation. While
facts not associated with the topic of the conversation on
the train (e.g. that Taufic Hidayat has beaten Lie Dan
several times, or that orang utangs live in Kaliman-tan) are
not parts of the context of this conversation, even though
they may happen to be known to both speakers.

H. Immediate Situation of Utterance
The context of an utterance is a part of the universe of
discourse. And an immediate situation of an utterance is a
part of its context. Therefore the relationship between the
universe of discourse, the context of utterance, and the
immediate situation of utterance can be illustrated through
the following diagram.



Universe
Of discourse

Context of
utterance

Immediate
Situation of
utterance







Diagram 4.1: Relationship of universe of discourse, context
of utterance, and immediate situation of utterance

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I. The Definite Article the
The definite article the is used to refer to some entity or
entities (i.e. person(s), object(s), place(s), etc.), if it (they)
is/are the only entity/entities of its/their kind in the context
of utterance.
Examples:
Bambang is involving in a conversation with one of his
friends about the time, ten years earlier, when they first
met at the Sydney University. Now they are holding the
conversation in the garden of Bambangs house in Jakarta.

1) Which one is more appropriate?
a) Do you remember when we met at the
university?
b) Do you remember when we met at a
university?
2) Which one is more appropriate?
a) It is windy shall we go into a house now?
b) It is windy shall we go into the house now?
3) In the context we are considering, would it be
appropriate to use referring expression the mammals?
4) In this context, would it be appropriate to use the
referring expression the politician?

Hurford et al. (2007: 73) state that The
appropriateness of the definite article the is dependent on
the context in which it is used. The expression judged
inappropriate in the previous practice would be quite
appropriate in other contexts.
Contexts are constructed continuously during the course
of conversation. As a conversation progresses
items previously unmentioned and not even associated with
the topics so far discussed are mentioned for the first time
and then become part of the context the following
utterance
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They further state that When something is introduced
for the first time into a conversation, it is
appropriate to use the indefinite article a. Once something
is established in the context of the conversation, it is
appropriate to use the. But the definite article the is not the
only word which indicates definiteness in English

J. Definiteness
They (2007: 73) define that Definiteness is a feature of a
noun phrase selected by the speaker to convey his
assumption that the hearer will be able to identify the
referent of the noun phrase, usually because it is the only
thing of its kind in the context of the utterance, or because
it is unique in the universe of discourse.
Examples:
That book is definite, if the speaker assumes the hearer can
tell which book is being referred to.
She is definite, when the speaker assumes the hearer can
tell which person is being referred to.
The Earth is definite, because it is the only thing in a
normal universe of discourse known by this name.

K. Simple Straightforward Narrative Style
Alice in Wonderland is written in a very simple
straightforward narrative style, in which things are
introduced into the context by means of indefinite
expressions, e.g. a table, a tree, a dormouse, and
subsequently referred to with definite expressions, e.g. it,
the dormouse. This kind of style is actually only found in
the simplest style.
Another example:
. . . A woman servant came into a room in which a child
was sleeping and drew the curtain . . . (Maugham, 1861: 9).

L. Other Stylistic Device
Very often authors begin a narrative using a
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number of definite referring expressions. This stylistic
device has the effect of drawing the reader into the
narrative fast, by giving the impression that the writer and
the reader already share a number of contextual
assumption.
Novelists use definiteness in strikingly abnormal ways
in the opening passages of novels.
Example:
Having met the girl one evening, at the house of the
office superintendent, M. Lantin became enveloped in love
in a net (Maupassant, 1976: 1).

M. Summary
1. By using deictic words, we can use the same words on
different occasions, at different times and places.
2. The definiteness of a referring expression gives the
hearer a clue in identifying its referent.

N. Exercise VII
1. What is a deictic word?
2. How do you classify deictic words?
3. What is Zonglish?
4. Where is Zonglish spoken?
5. Translate the following sentence into Zonglish
I would like to phone you the day after
tomorrow.
6. What is the function of deictic words?
7. Why is Zonglish introduced?
8. What is definiteness?
9. What is meant by a simple straightforward
narrative style?
10. What is a more common stylistic device used by
novelists?



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UNIT VIII
WORDS AND THINGS: EXTENSIONS AND
PROTOTYPES

A. Some Review of Previous Units.
1. Sense Vs. Reference
It is understood that reference is a relation-
ship between certain uttered expressions and
the things in the world. While the sense of an
expression is its relationship to semantically
equivalent or semantically related expressions
in the same language.
2. Predicates
Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and prepositions are
predicates, because they may function as
predicators. Other words such as and,
because, not, hardly are not predicates,
because they cannot function as predicators.
3. Context of Utterance.
The context of an utterance is a part of the
universe of discourse.

B. Referent
The referent of a referring expression is the thing picked
out by the use of that expression on a particular occasion of
utterance (Hurford et al., 2007: 90).

C. Extension
Hurford et al. (2007: 90) state that The extension of a
predicate is the complete set of all things which could
potentially (i.e. in any possible utterance) be the referent of
a referring expression whose head constituent is that
predicate
Examples:
The extension of cat is the set of all cats in universe.
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The extension of mango is the set of all mangoes in the
universe.

D. Prototype
A prototype of a predicate is a typical member of its
extension (Hurford et al. , 2007: 90).

Fill in the chart with + and - to indicate the
differences and similarities between these three concepts.

Chart 8.1: The Differences and Similarities between
Sense, Extension, and Reference

Sense Extension Reference
Involves a set
Independent
of particular
occasions or
utterance


Connects
language to
the world



If someone has the sense of a dog, he/she knows whether
an animal is a dog or not. Thus the sense of a predicate
provides him/her with an idea of its extension. While a
reference of a referring expression that is used in an
utterance is an individual member of the extension of the
predicate used in the expression. The context of the
utterance helps the hearer to identify which particular
member it is. For example, An old, thin, woman patient
came to see the doctor this morning.


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E. Exercise VIII
1. Does every word have sense?
2. Does every word have referent?
3. Does sense belong to words only?
4. Do you know the sense of whale? Do you know
the extension of whale?
5.What is a prototype? Illustrate with examples
in your answer.
6.Is the difference between reference and sense
clear-cut or not? Explain.
7.Distinguish between referent and extension.
8. Describe briefly the extension of a car.
9. Describe briefly the prototype of a house.
10. Can extension and meaning be equated?






















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Term Paper

A. Some Suggested Titles.
1. Relationships between utterances, sentences, and
propositions.
2. Sense relationships versus reference relationships.
3. A study of referring expressions.
4. A study of predicates in syntax versus predicates in
semantics.
5. A study of universe of discourse.
6. A study of deictic words.
7. What is Zonglish?
8. Relationships between sense, extension, prototype,
and stereotype.
9. A study of three important sense properties of
sentences.
10. Hyponymy versus entailment.
11. A study of ambiguity.
12. Homonymy versus polysemy.
13. Rational behavior versus logic.
14. A study of logical notation.
15. A study of rules in inferences.

B. Procedures
1. Choose or create a suitable title.
2. Collect relevant references.
3. Study those references collectively as well as
individually.
4. Make notes systematically.
5. Formulate the outline of your term paper carefully.
6. Write the draft of your paper individually.
7. Revise your draft carefully.
8. Type your term paper properly.
9. Photocopy your term paper.
10. Hand in a photocopy of your term paper on time
and keep the original.
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UNIT IX
SENSE PROPERTIES AND STEREOTYPES

Be sure that you know: 0ne-, two-, and three-placed
predicates, extension, and prototype. Through word
formation the degrees of predicates may change. As
examples, sharp (one-place predicate) to sharpen (two-
placed predicate).

A. Truism

To be able to communicate meaningfully about anything,
it is necessary to agree on the meanings of the words used.
This is called truism. In every day life, people reach
agreement and on the meanings of almost all the words
they apply and as results they can communicate effectively
and successfully (Hurford et al., 2007: 94).

B. Three Important Sense Properties of Sentences
1. Analytic sentence
An analytic sentence is one that is necessarily true, as
the result of the senses of the words in it.
Examples:
a. All whales are mammals
The truth of the sentence follows from the senses of
whale and mammal.
b. Every human being is mortal
The truth of the sentence follows from the senses of
human being and mortal.
c. Bachelors are unmarried.
The truth of the sentence follows from the senses of
bachelor and unmarried.
2. Synthetic sentence
A synthetic sentence is one which is not analytic, but
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may be either true or false, depending on the way the
world is.
Examples:
a. Today is Sunday.
The sentence is either true or false depending on
when it is spoken.
b. J ohn has been graduated.
The sentence is either true or false depending on
the facts related with the statement.
c. Tom is very happy.
The truth of the sentence depends on Johns
condition.

3. Contradiction sentence
A contradiction is a sentence that is necessarily false,
as a result of the words in it. Thus a contradiction is in a
way the opposite of an analytic sentence.
Examples:
a. Whales are vegetables.
The sentence is contradiction because of the senses
of whale and vegetable.
b. John is younger than his own son.
The sentence is contradiction because of senses of
the words used in the sentence.

Analytic sentences can be formed from contradictions,
and vice versa, by the insertion or removal of the negator
not.
Examples:
1. Whales are vegetables Whales are not vegetables.
2. Man is mortal Man is immortal.


C. A Necessary Condition and A Sufficient Set of
Conditions.
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A necessary condition (NC) on the sense of predicate is a
condition (or criterion) which a thing must meet in order to
qualify as being correctly described by that predicate.
A Sufficient set of conditions (SSC) on th3e sense of
predicate is a set of conditions (or criteria) which, if they
are met by a thing, are enough in themselves to guarantee
that the predicate correctly describe that thing.
Examples:
1. Predicate: square
NC : four-sided
SSC : Plane figure, four-sided, equal-sided,
containing right angles

2. Predicate: bule
NC : white colored
SSC : European/American/Australian/New
Zealander, white colored.

3. Predicate: moslem
NC : bersahadat
SSC : bersahadat, sembahyang lima waktu, puasa
dalam bulan ramadhan, zakat, haji.

Notes: As it is shown in the examples the conditions of
predicates are stated in terms of other predicates. Actually
it is possible to give complete definitions of some
predicates in the form of a necessary and sufficient list of
other predicates. Kinship predicates and shape predicates
are common in this case.
Examples:
1) Father is adequately defined as male parent.
2) Female spouse is adequately defined as wife.
3) Hexagon is adequately defined as five-sided plane figure.
4) Triangle is adequately defined as three-sided plane
figure.

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Ludwig Wittgennstein argued against the idea that
definitions of the meaning of words can be given in the
form of sets of necessary and sufficient conditions involves
the word game.

D. Stereotype
The stereotype of a predicate is a list of the typical
characteristics or features of things to which the
predicate may be applied.
Example:
Whale: big aquatic mammal, looking like a fish,
breathing air, bearing live young, having front limbs
modified into flippers and a flat and horizontal tail.

A stereotype is related to a prototype, but they are
different. A prototype of whale is an actual whale,
whereas the stereotype of whale is a list of characteristics
that describe the prototype. Another difference between
prototype and stereotype is that a speaker may know a
stereotype for some predicates, such as ghost,
witchdoctor, flying saucer, but he does not actually
know any prototype of them.

Table 9.1: Prototype and Stereotype Relationship

Thing(s) specified Abstract
specification
Connecting to all
examples
Extension Sense
Connecting to
typical examples
Prototype Stereotype

E. Summary
1. The notions of prototype and stereotype are
relatively new in semantics.
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2. The relationships between stereotype, prototype,
sense, and extension are illustrated in Table 9.1.
3. The sense of an expression can be thought of as the
sum of its sense properties and sense relation. Sense
properties of sentences include those of being analytic,
synthetic, and a contradiction.
4. Except a few predicates such as bachelor, mother,
square, and sphere, it is not possible to give complete
definitions of the sense of most predicates by sets of
necessary and sufficient conditions.
5. Stereotypes that are defined in terms of typical
characteristics describe the fact that people usually
agree on the meanings of the words they use.

E. Exercise IX
1. What is an analytic sentence? Use examples in your
answer.
2. What is a synthetic sentence? Illustrate with examples
in your answer.
3. Compare an analytic sentence with a contradictory
and use examples in your answer.
4. Compare an analytic sentence with a synthetic
sentence. Which one is more informative? Why?
5. What is a necessary condition on the sense of a
predicate? Use examples in your answer.
6. What is a sufficient set of condition on the sense of a
predicate? Use examples in your answer.
7. What is the prototype of a camel?
8. What is the stereotype of a camel?
9. Is it possible to give definitions of the sense of some
predicates by sets of necessary and sufficient
conditions?
10. Explain why?



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UNIT X
IDENTITY AND SIMILARITY OF SENSE

A. Synonymy
Synonymy is the relationship between two predicates
that have the same sense.
Examples:
Stubborn and obstinate
Mercury and quick silver
Brigand and bandit

1. Imperfect synonymy
In English as well as in other languages it is very hard
to find examples of perfect synonymy. The following
synonyms are the examples of imperfect synonymy in
English. The members of each pair are not mutually
substitutable.
Conceal and hide
Purchase and buy
Profound and deep
Kids and children
Fall and autumn
Freedomand liberty
Deep and profound

It is correct to say Lets hide from Mummy, but it is
semantically incorrect to say Lets conceal from
Mummy. The same thing with Accept our profound
sympathy, but it is wrong to say The well in my
garden is profound.

2. Predicate relation versus word relation
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The word hide has four different senses. They are:
hide1, the intransitive verb as in Lets hide from Mummy,
hide2, the transitive verb as in Hide your sweeties under the
pillow, hide3, the noun, as in We watch the birds fromthe
hide, and hide4, the noun, as in The hide of an ox weighs
200 lbs. Each distinct sense is a predicate. Only Hide2, but
neither hide1, hide3, nor hide4 has a synonym of conceal.
So synonymy is a relation between predicates, and not
between words.

B. Paraphrase
Hurford et al. (2007: 108) state: A sentence which
expresses the same proposition as another sentence is a
paraphrase of that sentence . . . Paraphrase is to
sentences . . . as synonymy is to predicates . . .

Examples:
Girls preferred university graduates is a paraphrase of
Graduates of university are preferred by girls

C. Hyponymy
They state: Hyponymy is a sense relation between
predicates (or sometimes longer phrases) such that the
meaning of one predicate (or phrase) is included in the
meaning of the other (2007: 109).

Examples:
1) The meaning of red is included in the meaning of
scarlet. Red is the super-ordinate term, while scarlet
is a hyponym of red.
2) The meaning of emotion is included in the meaning of
fear. Emotion is the super-ordinate, while fear is a
hyponym of emotion.

Hyponymy is defined in terms of the inclusion of the
sense of one item in the sense of another. As an example, the
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sense of mammal is included in the sense of cow. This
inclusion can be illustrated by the following diagram giving
a list of the sense components of cow. It is seen that this list
includes the component mammal.

Mammal sense of mammal
sense of cow bovine
female


Diagram 10.1: Inclusion of the sense of super-ordinate
in the sense of hyponym.

In the following diagram, the inclusion relationship
appears the other way round.


The set of all mammals

The set of all cows




Diagram 10.2: The extensions of cow and mammal

D. Symmetrical Hyponymy
Synonymy is a special case of hyponymy, i.e. symmetrical
hyponymy. If X is a hyponymy of Y and if Y is also a
hyponym of X, then X and Y are synonymous.
Examples:
1) Mercury and quick silver are synonymous, therefore
mercury and quick silver are hyponyms of each other.
2) Stubborn and obstinate are synonymous, so they are
hyponyms of each other.

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E. Entailment
1. Definition
They state: A proposition X ENTAILS a proposition Y if
the truth of Y follows necessarily from the truth of X (2007:
111).
Examples:
1) Corruption exists every where entails It is difficult to stop it.
2) SBY was elected as the president entails His wife became
the first lady.

2. Entailment applies cumulatively.
If X entails Y and Y entails Z, then X entails Z.
Example:
A, Ken Arok assassinated Tunggul Ametung entailed B,
Tunggul Ametung died entailed C, Ken Dedes became a
widow entailed D, Ken Arok married her entailed E, Ken Arok
became the king
A E

3. Paraphrase and entailment
Two sentences may be said to be paraphrases of each other
if and only if they have exactly the same set of entailments or
if and only if they mutually entail each other so that whenever
one is true the other must be true.
Examples:
Jane and Mary are twins entails Mary and Jane are twins.

4. Entailment- paraphrase and hyponymy-synonymy
The relation between entailment and paraphrase is parallel to
the relationship between hyponymy and synonymy.
Synonymy is symmetric hyponymy, paraphrase is symmetric
entailment.




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Table 10.1: Relation between ent.par. and hyp.syn.

Relation between
pairs of sentences
Relation between
pairs of words
Not necessarily
symmetric

Symmetric

Fill in the chart with entailment, paraphrase, hyponymy, and
synonymy.

4. Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion
The Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion (BRSI) can be stated as
follows: Given two sentences A and B, identical in every way
except that A contains a word X where B contains a different
word Y, and X is a hyponym of Y, then sentence A entails
sentence B.

Examples: A B
Henry was chewing a tulip Henry was chewing a flower
John was attacked by a bear John was attacked by an
animal
David fried a pound of beef David cooked a pound of beef
Mary drew an armed chair Mary drew a piece of furniture

The BRSI does not work in all cases. There are systematic
exceptions when certain logical words, such as not and all, are
involved.
Example one: A B
Sam was not chewing a tulip Sam was not chewing a flower
Bill wasnt attacked by a bear Bill wasnt attacked by an
animal
David did not fry a pound of David didnt cook a pound
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beef of beef
Mary didnt draw an armed Mary didnt draw a piece of
chair furniture.
In example one, the B sentences entail the A sentences.
Because if it is true that Sam was not chewing a flower, then it
must be true that he was not chewing a tulip.

Example two:
A B
Bob chewed up all my tulips Bob chewed up all my flowers
All Bills sheep are white All Bills animals are white.
Mary colored all chairs pink Mary colored all furniture red

The B sentences entail the A sentences, but the entailment
only happens when the set of things referred to by the phrase
including all actually exists. For example, All Bills animals
are white entails All Bills sheep are white only if Bill actually
has some sheep, i.e. if some of his animals are in fact sheep.

F. Exercise X
1. What is meant by the term perfectly synonymous?
2. Explain what is meant by stating Synonymy is a relation
between predicates, and not between words
3. What is the relation between hyponymy, super-ordinate,
and hyponym?
4. What is meant by the term entailment?
5. Explain that entailment applies cumulatively.
6. What is the relation between entailment and paraphrase?
7. What is the relation between hyponymy and synonymy?
8. What is the Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion (BRSI)?
9. What are the systematic exceptions of BRSI?
10. How are the notions of synonymy and paraphrase
distinguished in semantics?



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UNIT XI
OPPOSITENESS, DISSIMILARITY,
AND AMBIGUITY


A. Antonymy
1. Traditional view
A traditional view of antonymy is that it is simply
oppositeness of meaning. It is not adequate, because
words may be opposite in meaning in different ways, and
some words have no real opposites.
Examples:
1) hot >< cold
2) thick >< thin
3) buy >< sell
4) lend >< borrow
5) male >< female
6) true >< false
7) lunch >< . . .
8) liquid >< . . .

Hot is not the opposite of cold in the same way as borrow
is the opposite of lend. Thick is not the opposite of thin in
the same way as true is the opposite of false.

2. Four Basic types of Antonomy
a. Binary Antonyms
Hurford et al. (2007: 121) state: Binary antonyms are
predicates which come in pairs and between them exhaust all
the relevant possibilities. If the one predicate is applicable,
then the other cannot be, and vice versa
Examples:
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true >< false
If a sentence is true, it cannot be false. If it is false, it cannot be
true.
Married >< unmarried
Dead >< alive
Same >< different

b. Converses
Hurford et al. (2007: 123) state: If a predicate describes a
relationship between two things (people) and some other
predicate describes the same relationship when the two things
(people) are mentioned in the opposite order, then the two
predicates are converses of each other

Examples:
(1) Parent >< child
Parent and child are converses, because X is the parent of Y
describes the same relationship as Y is the child of X
(2) below >< above
(3) grandparent >< grandchild
(4) younger than >< older than
(5) own >< belong to

In binary antonomy and converses discussed so far, the
antonyms come in pairs. Between them, the members of a pair
of binary antonyms fully fill the area to which they can be
applied. Such area can be thought of as miniature semantic
systems, sometimes known as semantic fields.
For examples, male >< female and true >< false. Other
systems can be three, or four, or any number of members,
depending upon the way in which the system is organized.
Examples:
(1) Season system
(2) Physical state system
(3) Playing card system
(4) Day system
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(5) Traffic light system
Multiple Incompatibility
a) All the terms in a given system are mutually
incompatible. For instance, a playing card cannot
belong to both the hearts suit and the spade suit. Besides
hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs, there are no other
suits. These systems are called multiple incompatibility.
There are large numbers of open-ended systems of
multiple incompatible.

b) Together, the members of a system cover all the
relevant area.

Examples of open-ended systems
(1) English color system
(2) plant name system
(3) metal name system
(4) fish name system
(5) mammal name system

c. Gradable antonyms
Hurford et al. (2007: 125) state: Two predicates are
gradable antonyms if they are at opposite ends of a continuous
scale of values.
Examples:
(1) hot >< cold
Between hot and cold there is a continuous scale of values,
warm, cool, and tepid. What is called hot in one context could
be classed as cold in another context.
(2) tall >< short
(3) long >< short
(4) clever >< stupid
(5) love >< hate

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A good test for gradability is to see whether a word can
combine with a qualifier, or very much?, or how much? For
example, How tall is he? is acceptable, but How top is that
shelf? is not acceptable.

d. Contradictory
Antonymy is a relationship between predicates, and the
corresponding relationship between sentences is contra-
dictoriness.
Hurford et al. (2007: 126) state: A proposition is
contradictory of another proposition if it is impossible for them
both to be true at the same time and of the same circum-
stances.
Examples:
(1) This snake is alive is a contradictory of This snake is dead.
(2) That is true is a contradictory of That is false
(3) This doorhandle is brass is a contradictory of This
doorhandle is plastic.

B. Ambiguous
One of the goals of semantic theory is to describe and
explain ambiguities in words and in sentences.
1. Definition of ambiguous
Hurford et al. (2007: 128) state: A word or a sentence is
ambiguous when it has more than one sense. A sentence is
ambiguous if two or more paraphrases which are not
themselves paraphrases of each other
Example:
We saw her duck is a paraphrase of We saw her lower her head
and of We saw the duck belonging to her, and these two
sentences are not paraphrases of each other. So We saw her
duck is ambiguous.
Exercise:
Give two paraphrases which are not paraphrases of each other:
(1) The lamb is too hot to eat.
(2) Visiting relatives are boring.
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(3) They passed the port at midnight.
(4) The thing that bothered Bill was crouching under the table.
(5) The captain corrected the list.

2. Definition of ambiguous words and phrase
They (2007: 129) state: In the case of words and phrases, a
word or a phrase is ambiguous if it has two (or more)
synonyms that are not themselves synonyms of each other
Example:
Trunk is synonymous with elephants proboscis and with
chest, but the two are not synonyms of each other, so trunk is
ambiguous. In Indonesian bisa is synonymous with dapat and
with racun, but these two words are not synonyms of each
other, so bisa is ambiguous.
Exercise: For each of the following words, find two
synonymous words or phrases that are not themselves
synonymous.
(1) bust
(2) plane
(3) crop
(4) pen
(5) sage

C. Homonymy
Hurford et al. (2007: 130) state . . . homonymy is one of
ambiguous word whose different senses are far apart from
each other and not obviously related to each other in any
way with respect to a native speakers institution.
Examples:
(1) mug (drinking vessel vs. gullible person
(2) bank (financial institution vs. the side of a river or
stream).

D. Polysemy
They state . . . polysemy is one where a word has several
very closely related senses.
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Examples:
(1) Mouth (of a river vs of an animal)
(2) Foot (of a person or an animal vs of a mountain)

Polysemy is not restricted to just one part of speech.
Examples:
(1) The dog does not bark vs. The bark of tree
(2) To steer (to guide) vs. A steer (young bull)
(3) To punch (to blow with a fist) vs. Punch (kind of
fruity alcoholic drink)

Exercises: Disambiguate the following ambiguous words
simply by giving two or more parts of speech
(1) sack: verb vs. noun.
(2) Fast
(3) Flat
(4) Rock
(5) File

D. Structurally or Grammatically Ambiguous
A sentence which is ambiguous because its words relate to
each other in different ways, even though none of the
individual words are ambiguous, is structurally
(grammatically) ambiguous.

Examples:
(1) The lamb is too hot to eat.
(2) Visiting relatives can be boring.

E. Lexical Ambiguity
Any ambiguity resulting from the ambiguity of a word is a
lexical ambiguity.
Examples:
(1) The captain corrected the list is lexically ambiguous.
(2) Hak wanita Indonesia tinggi.

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F. Referentially Versatile
A phrase is referentially versatile if it can be used to refer to
a wide range of different things or persons.
Examples:
(1) Personal pronouns
(2) Relative pronouns
(3) Other kinds of pronouns.

G. Referential Vagueness
Some nouns and adjectives are gradable. Examples are tall
and short (adjectives) and mountain and hill (nouns). There is
no absolute line drawn between tall and short, there is no
absolute distinction between mountain and hill. What is
referred to on one occasion with that mountain might be called
that hill on another occasion. Hence expressions such as that
hill and that mountain are referentially vague. Referential
vagueness is not the same thing as ambiguity.

F. Exercise XI
(1) What is meant by binary antonymy?
(2) What is meant by converses?
(3) What is meant by the term mutually incompatible?
(4) What is meant by open-ended systems of multiple
incompatibility?
(5) What is a good test for gradability?
(6) When is proposition contradictory?
(7) Compare homonymy with polysemy.
(8) Compare referential versatility with vagueness.
(9) Compare structural ambiguity with lexical ambiguity.
(10) How are homonymy and polysemy treated in a
dictionary?





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UNIT XI
INTRODUCTORY LOGIC

A. Entry Requirements
1. Do the following pre-test
(1) Does the following sentence distinguish sentences
from propositions correctly?
A proposition is the abstract meaning of a declarative
sentence, when that sentence is used to make an
assertion.
Consider the following eight sentences:
(a) John passed the hammer and saw through the window
(b) John saw through the window and passed the hammer.
(c) John passed the hammer and the saw through the
window.
(d) John passed the saw and the hammer through the
window.
(e) John passed the hammer.
(f) John saw through the window.
(g) The hammer which John saw was not a hammer.
(h) A saw is a tool.
(2) Say which of the above sentences is ambiguous.
(3) Two other sentences in this set are in a paraphrase
relation.
Which two?
(4) Which sentence is entailed by sentence (d) but does not
entail it?
(5) Which of the above sentences is analytic?
(6) Which of the above sentences is contradiction?

2. Feedback
(1) Yes, (2) (a), (3) (c) and (d), (4) (e), (5) (h), and (6) (g).
If your score at least 5 correct out of 6, continue to
introduction. Otherwise, review the relevant units.

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B. Introduction
As a matter of fact, the word logic means many things in
our life. It may mean: (1) a science of reasoning, (2) a
particular system of reasoning, (3) a chain of reasoning, (4) an
ability to reason correctly, or (5) in computing principles used
in designing a computer
Many everyday uses of logic and logical could be replaced
by expressions such as reasonable behavior and reasonable.

1. Definition of logic
Hurford et al. (2007: 142) define: Logic deals with
meaning in a language system, not with actual behavior of any
sort. Logic deals most centrally with propositions. The terms
logic and logical do not apply directly to utterances (which
are instances of behavior).
Hurford et al. (2007:142) state that there is an important
connection between logic and rational action, yet it is wrong to
say that both of them are equal. Logic is just a contributing
factor of rational behavior.
A rational behavior contains:
(1) goals
(2) assumptions and knowledge about existing states of
Affairs (a situation)
(3) calculations, based on the assumptions and knowledge,
leading to ways of achieving the goals.

The first example of rational behavior:
(1) Goal: to eliminate my hunger
(2) Assumptions and knowledge:
Hunger is eliminated by eating food.
Fried rice is food.
There is a portion of fried rice in front of me.
I can eat this portion of fried rice.
(3) Calculations:
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If hunger is eliminated by eating this portion of rice,
then hunger is eliminated by eating fried rice.
If hunger is eliminated by eating fried rice, then my
own hunger would be eliminated by eating this portion
of fried rice in front of me, and eating this portion of
fried rice would eliminate my hunger, and my goal to
eliminate my hunger is achieved.
Rational action: eating the portion of fried rice.

The second example of rational behavior:
(1) Goal: To build a just and prosperous society.
(2) Assumptions and knowledge: Colonial governments,
Dutch as well as Japanese governments, have proved
to be suppressing Indonesian common people. A
liberal government has not been appropriate for most
people. It gave more right and protection to the strong;
on the other hand it suppressed the weak. A military
government has been corrupted and suppressing
common people. The ideal one is a democratic
government, it gives the same right and protection to
every body.
(3) Calculation: The Indonesian government is not a
colonial government; it is neither liberal nor military
government, but it is a transitional government from a
military and/or liberal government toward a
democratic one. The most remarkable characteristic of
the present government is that corruption occurs at all
levels through out the country. To have a democratic
government we have to eradicate corruption.
If






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