Transcript Sentential Semantics

Sentential Semantics
Deny A. Kwary
http://www.kwary.net
Airlangga University
Sentential relations (1)

Paraphrase: Two sentences that can have the
same meaning.
a. The police chased the burglar &
The burglar was chased by the police.
b. Paul bought a car from Sue &
Sue sold a car to Paul
Sentential Relations (2)


Entailment: a relation in which the truth of
one sentence necessarily implies the truth of
another.
Examples of asymmetrical entailment.
a. The park wardens killed the tiger.
& The tiger is dead.
b. Robin is a man
& Robin is human
Sentential Relations (3)

Contradiction: When two sentences cannot
both be true.
a. Charles is a bachelor.
b. Charles is married.
Exercise #3, pp. 307-308
Metaphor: The understanding of one
concept in terms of another
Happy or Sad?
1. I’m feeling up
Happy
2. Her spirits sank
Sad
3. That boosted my spirits
Happy
4. The height of ecstacy
Happy
5. The depths of misery
Sad
6. He fell into a depression
Sad
Emotions: Happy is Up; Sad is down
Idioms
Two central features of idioms:
1. The meaning of the idiomatic expression
cannot be deduced by the examining the
meanings of its parts.
2. The expression is fixed both grammatically
and lexically.
For example:
Put a sock in it = ‘stop talking’
Can you identify the meanings of the following idioms?
1.
Ring a bell.
It sounds familiar to you / You have heard it before
2. By word of mouth.
In a spoken form.
3. On the house.
Free for the customers.
4. Hot spot
a. A place of political danger.
b. A lively nightclub.
c. An area on the screen which can be clicked on
to start an operation such as loading a file.
d. An area where you can get connected to the
Internet through a wireless network.
The Cooperative Principles:
Maxims of Conversations (Grice, 1989)
Name of Maxim
Description of Maxim
Quantity
Say neither more nor less
than the discourse requires
Be relevant
Relevance
Manner
Quality
Be brief and orderly; avoid
ambiguity and obscurity
Do not lie; do not make
unsupported claims
Examples:
1. I’m a multimillionaire (Actually, I’m penniless.)
Violated maxim: Quality
Explanation: The speaker has failed to tell the truth.
2. A: When am I going to get back the money I lent you?
B: Boy, it’s hot in here!
Violated maxim: Relevance
Explanation: B’s answer is not related to A’s question.
3. A: What should I do to get rid of this headache, Doctor?
B: Take some medicine.
Violated maxim: Quantity
Explanation: B has not provided enough information.
Exercises
1. Don’t be silly. I love working 80 hours a week
Quality
with no vacation.
2. A: Excuse me–how much is this screwdriver?
B: $9.95. The saw is $39.50, and the power drill
there on the table is $89.00.
Quantity
3. A: What’s playing at the Rialto tonight?
B: A film you haven’t seen. Relevance
4. Dr. Smith received his Ph.D in 1986, his B.A. in
1980, and his M.A. in 1982. Manner
Speakers sometimes deliberately violate the rules
of ordinary conversation to achieve certain ends
Example:
A: Would you like to go out with Andrea?
B: Is the Pope Catholic?
Violated maxim: Relevance
Motivation: B is being humorous. By replying
with a question whose answer is obvious,
he is implying that the answer to A’s
question is equally obvious: Yes!
Exercises:
1. A: I’ll pay you back in full next week, I promise.
B: Sure, and pigs will fly and fish will sing.
Violated maxim: Relevance
Motivation: B’s response implies sarcastically that he
does not believe A.
2. A: What are the three most important things in real
estate?
B: Location, location, and location.
Violated maxim: Quantity
Motivation: To emphasize the overwhelming importance
of location
3. A: So tell me, do you like what I did to my hair?
B: Er…what’s on TV tonight?
Violated maxim: Relevance
Motivation: B does not like A’s hairstyle, so he
changed the subject.
4. A: How can I develop a great body like yours?
B: Choose your parents carefully.
Violated maxim: Quality
Motivation: Indirectly saying that it is impossible,
because it’s all in the genes
THANK YOU
www.kwary.net