Transcript Document
LIN 1180 – Semantics
Lecture7
Albert Gatt
Continuation from last week
Ambiguity and vagueness
Ambiguity vs. Vagueness (I)
In context, a word can seem to have several distinct senses.
Some may appear more related than others.
In our example:
run1 = physical act of running
run2 = place where fowl are kept
So run is 2-ways ambiguous (2 senses)
But run1 exhibits vagueness between a general sense of
running, and the more specialised sense used in cricket.
Ambiguity vs. vagueness (II)
Similarly:
daħla1 = entrance or inlet
daħla2 = introduction to a text
2-ways ambiguous
daħla1 is vague between the sense of “entrance” and that of
“inlet”
Ambiguity vs. vagueness (IV)
Ambiguity:
In this case, the context will select one of the meanings/senses
We often don’t even notice ambiguity, because context clarifies the
intended meaning.
Vagueness:
Context adds information to the sense.
Therefore the sense of the word itself doesn’t contain all the
information.
It is underspecified.
Tests for ambiguity and vagueness
There are some tests to decide whether meaning distinctions
involve ambiguity or vagueness.
The do-so test of meaning identity
The synonymy or sense-relations test
The do-so test: preliminary example
I ate a sandwich and Mary
did so too
did too
The do-so construction is interpreted as identical to the preceding verb
phrase
Similar constructions in Maltese:
Kilt biċċa ħobż u anka Marija
Kilt biċċa ħobż u Marija għamlet hekk ukoll.
The do-so test and meaning identity
Main principle:
if a particular sense is selected for a word in a verb phrase, it
will also be the same sense in the do-so phrase
Therefore, very useful to test if two meanings are two
distinct senses.
Do-so examples
Lili għoġbitni d-daħla u lil Jimmy wkoll
(I liked the entrance/introduction and so did Jimmy)
Suppose daħla here = “introduction”
Is it possible that I liked the introduction and Jimmy liked the entrance?
If not, then these are two distinct senses or daħla
I made a run and so did Priscilla
If “I made a run” = “I ran”, then Priscilla cannot have made a run for
her chickens...
So, again, these are two distinct senses of run.
The sense relations test
Basic principle:
Words exhibit synonymy or similarity of meaning to other
words.
Therefore, if a word is ambiguous, we can substitute it for a
similar word in the same context, and see if the meaning stays
roughly the same.
Sense relations examples
Recall:
run1 = physical act of running (similar word: jog)
run2 = a closed space for animals (similar word: enclosure)
Pete went for
√ a run
.
√ a jog
*an enclosure
We can’t substitute one set of words for another and still
keep the same meaning.
Lexical relations: basic concepts
We have established that:
words in the lexicon can have multiple senses (ambiguity)
they can also be vague, so that the actual meaning is
underspecified and becomes clearer in context
In addition:
Words are not merely listed
they are often related to one another
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Part 1
Homonymy, polysemy, synonymy
How is the lexicon structured?
Lexical items belong to semantic fields
words that belong to the same “topic” ,“subject” or “usage”
lexical relations are often strongest within a semantic field
different senses of a word often fall into different fields
Examples:
computing: gigabyte, CPU, memory, disk, monitor
administration/diplomacy/politics: green, monitor, parliament, election
Notice that monitor here has two senses, each falling in a different field.
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Homonymy -- I
Homonyms are unrelated senses of a the same
phonological or orthographic word.
sometimes we use homographs for unrelated senses of a written
word
could be considered different words
lexicographers often treat derivationally related forms as
homonyms
Examples:
bank (river) / bank (financial)
ring / wring
house (N) / house (V)
right / write
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Two subtypes of homonymy
homphony
ring / wring
same phonology
different orthography
homography
articulate (ADJ) / articulate (V)
Maltese: domna (V) (stay-late.3PL) / domna (N) (religious
icon)
different phonology
same orthography
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Polysemy
One phonological word, multiple senses (ambiguity)
senses are related, though distinguishable
cf. daħla (entrance) vs. daħla (inlet)
in traditional dictionaries, multiple senses are listed under the
same head word.
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Homonymy vs. polysemy
Relatedness:
homonymy: senses are unrelated;
polysemy: senses are related
either historically or
based on speaker intuition
NB: Not always a clear-cut distinction. Speakers’ intuitions
vary considerably.
Do you consider sole (“bottom of foot”) and sole (“flat, riverbed
fish”) related?
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Synonymy
Different phonological words with highly related meanings:
sofa / couch
boy / lad
żgħir (small) / ċkejken (little)
moxt (comb) / petne (comb)
Very very difficult to find examples of perfect synonyms.
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Imperfect synonymy
Synonyms often exhibit slight differences, espcially in
connotations
petne (“comb”) has Romance origins; probably used by most
speakers today
moxt (“comb”) has Semitic origins (cf. xuxa “hair”)
Usage differs depending on dialect, context…
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
The importance of register
With near-synonyms, there are often register-governed
conditions of use.
Register = a style of language specific to a situation (e.g.
formal, colloquial etc)
E.g. naive vs gullible vs ingenuous
gullible / naive seem critical, or even offensive
ingenuous more likely in a formal context
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Synonymy vs. Similarity
Native speakers often have strong intuitions about words
which are “related”, though not necessarily identical, in
meaning.
E.g. boat/ship; car/truck; man/woman
But also near-synonyms such as: snake/serpent
Similarity is broader than synonymy, since even words with
“opposite” or “antonymous” meanings can be judged as
similar; e.g. large/small
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
When are two words similar?
Contextual view of meaning (Wittgenstein, 1953…):
the meaning of linguistic expressions can be characterised by
looking at how they are used
two words are similar to the extent that they’re used in similar
ways
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Example: master/pupil
These words have very different meanings, but share a core set of uses.
Both refer to human roles which tend to be practised in the same real world
contexts (school etc).
Is this reflected in the way we use the words?
master of X school, pupil of X school
past master, past pupil
…
Rather than in contextual terms, we could view similarity as simply arising
from links in a network of concepts.
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Part 2
Opposites and antonymy
Semantic opposition
Traditionally, antonyms are words which are opposite in
meaning.
dead – alive
We can find other kinds of opposition:
hot – cold
explode – implode
writer – reader, employer – employee
black – white, red – orange (?)
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Simple vs Gradable antonyms
Simple antonyms: dead – alive, hit – miss
truth of one implies falsity of the other
? X is dead but he’s alive.
Gradable antonyms: hot – cold, big – small
both may be “false”: neither tall nor short
typically, many terms to express gradations:
hot >> warm >> tepid >> cool >> cold
often modifiable with intensifiers:
very hot, somewhat cold
exhibit global dependencies: If we say X is big, we mean “big for an
object of type X”
big elephant is much bigger than a big mouse
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Reverses and converses
Reverses: explode – implode
a kind of opposition where one terms “reverses” the other.
often found with terms related to movement (go/come, etc)
Converses: employer – employee, own – belong to
describe a relation between two entities from different viewpoints
“complement eachother”
if X is Y’s employer, then Y is X’s employee
if X owns Y, then Y belongs to X
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Taxonomies
Colour
red
orange
yellow
green
blue
•Taxonomies are classification systems,
often in the form of a tree.
•Sisters are elements at the same level.
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Taxonomic sisters
Usually taken to be complementary or “opposed” or
“incompatible” or “mutually exclusive”
NB: Taxonomies are often our way of imposing a discrete
categorisation on a continuum (e.g. colour).
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Opposites and similarity
To many native speakers, the most highly related word to an
adjective is its antonym or opposite.
also typical of taxonomic sisters
does this mean that opposites are synonymous?
No! It just means that “similarity” under the contextual view is
much broader than synonymy.
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Part 3
Hyponymy and other relations
Definition of hyponymy
Hyponymy is a
relation of inclusion.
ANIMAL
Arrows can be
interpreted as “IS-A”
relations.
Unlike taxonomic
sisterhood, which is
horizontal, hyponymy
is vertical.
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
BIRD
CANARY
MAMMAL
SPARROW
Elements of hyponymy
If Y IS-A X then:
X is the superordinate or hypernym of Y
Y is a subordinate or hyponym of X
e.g. HUMAN is the hypernym of MAN, TOOL is the hypernym of
CHAINSAW
Inclusion:
if Y is a hyponym of X then Y contains the meaning of X (plus
something extra)
e.g. MAN includes all the features of HUMAN, plus the specification
of ADULT and MALE.
Transitivity:
if X IS-A Y and Y IS-A Z, then X IS-A Z
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Transitivity -- illustration
A CANARY IS-A BIRD
ANIMAL
A BIRD IS-A ANIMAL
Therefore, a CANARY
IS-A ANIMAL
BIRD
CANARY
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
MAMMAL
SPARROW
Special cases of taxonomic relations
Sometimes, language exhibits special cases of relations that are:
well-established and lexicalised
seem to depend on an underlying taxonomy or hierarchy
ADULT-YOUNG
dog – puppy, duck – duckling, etc
MALE-FEMALE
woman – man, dog – bitch, drake – duck, etc
NB: These pairs are often asymmetric. The unmarked case in the MALE-
FEMALE is the MALE.
We tend to use it for the name of the species.
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Meronymy or part-whole
A different kind of
taxonomic relationship.
Arrows are interpreted as
“HAS-A”
ANIMAL
LEG
HAS-A
IS-A
BIRD
WING
HAS-A
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Meronymy vs. Hyponymy
Meronymy tends to be less regular than hyponymy:
NOSE is perceived as a necessary part of a FACE
CELLAR may be part of HOUSE, but not necessarily
Meronymy need not be transitive:
If X HAS-A Y and Y HAS-A Z, it does not follow that Y HAS-A Z
window HAS-A pane
room HAS-A window
??room HAS-A pane
Common-sense knowledge plays a very important role in acceptability of
these relations.
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Member-collection relations
We often lexicalise names of collections of specific things:
flotta (fleet) : a collection of ships
merħla (flock): a collection of sheep
Native speakers know there is a member-collection relation:
flotta (fleet) – vapur (ship)
armata (army) – suldat (soldier)
merħla (flock) – nagħġa (sheep)
Can be viewed as a special, lexicalised case of meronymy.
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Are collections singular or plural?
In many languages, there is the possibility of switching from:
a view of a collection as a single entity vs. the “contents” of the
collection as a group or set
English:
The band played well tonight.
It drove the crowd nuts [SG]
They drove the crowd nuts [PL]
Maltese:
L-armata rtirat (The army retreated.SG)
?L-armata rtiraw. (The army retreated.PL)
Perhaps not as acceptable? Only with some nouns?
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Portion-mass
Mass nouns:
nouns denoting things which have no units
noun is also true of portions of the substance
liquid, coal, hair
Languages often have lexicalised concepts denoting portions
of specific substances:
qatra (drop) for liquids
strand of hair
LIN 1180 -- Semantics
Summary
This lecture gave an overview of some standard ways to
classify relations between lexical items.
homonymy vs. polysemy
synonymy (and contextual similarity)
taxonomic relations: part-whole and hyponymy
LIN 1180 -- Semantics