Semantics

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Intro to English Linguistics
JINSOK LEE
APR 25 TH , 2017
Where We are Now
Weve covered the structure of words, phrases, and sentences
And we are now going to go over the meaning and structure!
Syntax O
Semantics ?
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Jabberwocky Poem from Alice in Wonderland (2010) Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!

He took his vorpal sword in hand;

Long time the manxome foe he sought
So rested he by the Tumtum tree
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
He chortled in his joy.

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Semantics & Pragmatics
The link between
Language and the world.
Talk (including sign) and whats being talked about.

Concept of meaning
What is said
What is meant
What is communicated

Different varieties of meaning produce different discourse effects

I assert that something is the case.
I ask whether something is the case.
I direct that something be the case.
I express that I feel a certain way.
What is Meaning?
The link between
Language and the world
Talk and whats being talked about.

Three major contributors to meaning:

Linguistic
form

Mind The world

What is Meaning?
Concepts of meaning:
What is said
What is meant
What is communicated

Damn, my glass is empty

What I said was that there was no liquid in the (one) glass in my possession.
What I meant was the above, plus a request for you to refill the glass.
What I communicated was the above, plus that I was unhappy that my glass was empty, and that I liked
the drink.
What is Meaning?
Varieties of meaning:
I assert that something is the case There are more: as
Assertion -> declarative promising, wishing,
I ask whether something is the case
Asking -> interrogative
I direct that something be the case These same speech acts
Direction -> imperative can be performed in
I express that I feel a certain way other ways.
Expressive -> exclamatives
Semantics and Pragmatics
Semantics and Pragmatics together are the study of meaning in language

Semantics
Literal meaning
Takes into account meaning of words, morpho-syntactic structure, context of use (in the utterance)

Pragmatics
Speakers meaning
In addition to semantic meaning, takes into account speaker intentions, and other social factors
Semantics and Pragmatics
Grammar Lexicon

Semantics

Semantic meaning Speakers meaning

Pragmatics

Context of utterance
Can you pass the salt?
Semantic meaning: An inquiry about the hearers ability
Speakers meaning: A request for the hearer to do something

Mini activity
a. Its cold in here.
b. I wonder what time it is.
c. Theres a mountain lion behind you.
d. Its suppose to rain later. (in response to Should I take an umbrella?)
Semantics
Semantics is concerned with the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences, to the exclusion of
meanings that involve speakers intent, and other factors that are external to language
What Speaker Knows about Sentence
Meaning
The linguistic knowledge you have that permits you to determine whether a sentence is true or
false -> Truth conditional semantics
Proposition: The claim expressed by an utterance.
A proposition can be true or false
The ability to have a truth value.
In order to determine the truth value of a proposition, we should know its truth conditions.
-> Truth condition: The conditions that would have to hold in the world in order for some proposition to be true.

Tautology: Utterances that are always true.

Contradiction: Utterances that are always false.
Consider these
Jinsok is a linguistics professor.
Some professors are creepy.
There are three corners in a triangle.
Some students are not students.
Truth Values
Truth value
True = the proposition matches the world.
False = the proposition does not match the world.
To figure out the truth value of a proposition, we should know its truth conditions.

Steve Jobs was the CEO of Apple.

There is a bag of potatoes in my pantry.

What is the truth conditions for above?

Sentence Relations
Entailment: Sentence A entails sentence B if (and only if) B must be true, given A
e.g., I love all food entails I love pizza
Garfield is a cat entails Garfield is a mammal

Contradiction: Sentence A contradicts B if A and B cannot both be true simultaneously

e.g., I love all food and I hate pizza are contradictory
Odie is a dog and Odie is a cat are contradictory
Entailment
If the truth of sentence A ensures the truth of sentence B, then A entails B

Thor is an animal & Thor is a cat

I read the news every day & I read the news on Sunday
Entailment
For each of the following, tell whether A entails B. How do you know?

A: Fifi is a poodle
B: Fifi is a dog

A: My last name is Jones

B: My fathers last name was Jones

A: I live in Ohio
B: I live in the US

A: I speak Russian.
B: I am from Russia.

A: At least 30 people will come to the party.

B: At least 20 people will come to the party.

A: If you go to the party, I will go, too.

B: If you dont go to the party, I wont go.
Logical Operators - Conjunctions
Or
Two propositions connected with or is true if at least one conjunct is true

The Kings Speech won Best Picture or Black Swan won Best Picture = True
The Kings Speech won Best Picture = true
Black Swan won Best Picture = false

Natalie Portman won an Oscar or Lady Gaga won a Grammy = True

Natalie Portman won an Oscar = true
Lady Gaga won a Grammy = true

Justin Bieber won an Oscar or he shaved his head = false

Justin Bieber won an Oscar = false
Justin Bieber shaved his head = false
Logical Operators - Conjunctions
And
Two propositions connected with and is true if both conjuncts are true

Apple released the new iPhone7 and Samsung released the new Galaxy S8 = True
Apple released the new iPhone7 = true
Samsung released the new Galaxy S8 = true

Microsoft released the new Surface book and released Windows 11 = false
Microsoft released the new Surface book = true
Microsoft released Windows 11 = false
Logical Operators - Not
Not
Introducing negation reverses the truth value of a proposition

The French invented democracy = false

The French did not invent democracy = true

The French invented the hot air balloon = true

The French did not invent the hot air balloon = false
Logical Operators - Quantifiers
Quantifiers are expressions like all, every, some, and expressions derived from them, which
indicate some quantity
a. All mammals are warm-blooded
b. Some like their coffee hot.

Meanings:
- The meaning of a. is roughly, all things which have the characteristic property of being mammal also
have the characteristic property of being warm-blooded
- b. is roughly, there exists (at least) one thing that is a person and likes their coffee hot
Logical Operators - Quantifiers
All mammals are warm blooded
All expresses a relation between the set of mammals and the set of warm-blooded things

Some like their coffee hot

Some expresses a relation between the set of people and the set of people who like their coffee hot
Ambiguity
Structural ambiguity
The ambiguity can be canceled by looking into possible structures.
Ambiguity
Scope ambiguity (quantifiers)
Every girl loves a sailor.

Meaning 1: There is one sailor who all the girls love.

e.g., Chelsea, Marlo, Denise and Jen love Alex the sailor

Meaning 2: For each girl, there is a sailor that she loves.

e.g., Chelsea loves Alex the sailor
Marlo loves Josh the sailor
Denise loves James the sailor

Ambiguity
You can find one sailor who is loved by every girl
[one sailor]x [[every girl]y [y loves x]]

NP2 NP1

a sailor every girl 1 loves 2

wide scope narrow scope

Ambiguity
For every girl, there is one sailor that she loves.
[every girl]y [[a sailor]x [y loves x]]

NP1 NP2

every girl a sailor 1 loves 2

wide scope narrow scope

Ambiguity