Transcript Analysing and teaching meaning SSIS Lazio - Lesson 1 prof. Hugo Bowles

Analysing and teaching meaning
SSIS Lazio - Lesson 1
prof. Hugo Bowles
January 2007
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Lesson 1 - part 1
Analysing word meaning
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PARADIGMATIC &
SYNTAGMATIC RELATIONS
Horizontal relationships are syntagmatic
Vertical relationships are paradigmatic
So semantic relationships are paradigmatic
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Lexical relations - Hyponymy
Flower
daffodil
tulip
pansy
rose
Sheep
ram
ewe
lamb
In this model one lexeme can substitute another: “X is a
kind of Y”.
This relation is called HYPONYMY
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Do these pairs mean the same
thing?
enough
sufficient
insane
mad
rancid
rotten
autumn
fall
die
kick the
bucket
freedom
liberty
deep
profound
fraternal
brotherly
sodium
chloride
endless
everlasting
purchase
buy
regal
kingly
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Lexical relations - SYNONYMY
Synonyms are lexemes which have the
same meaning
English has a lot of synonyms because its
vocabulary comes from different sources
(Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Greek, French)
But is it possible to have true synonyms, i.e.
words with exactly the same meaning?
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Distinguishing meanings
Some words only occur in particular contexts (e.g.
dialect words, autumn-fall)
Some words only occur in certain styles (die and
kick the bucket)
Some words only occur in certain collocations
(deep water but not profound water
Some words are emotionally stronger (e.g.
freedom, not liberty)
Some words overlap in meaning but are not
identical (e.g. govern and direct)
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Why is synonymy important for
teachers?
Because students will often ask you “why
do you say “x and not y” when x and y are
very similar and you need to be able to
explain this.
You will often find the answers in
dictionaries or in concordances (see lesson
2 - collocation)
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Are these pairs the same kind of
opposite?
alive
dead
big
little
buy
sell
clumsy
dexterous
dry
wet
first
last
happy
sad
husband
wife
large
small
married
single
over
under
hot
cold
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Lexical relations - Antonymy
Gradable antonyms - these are capable fo
comparison (e.g. wetter, very wet)
Complementary antonyms - if one applies
the other does not (e.g. alive/dead)
Converse antonyms - these are mutually
dependent; you cannot have one without the
other (e.g. wife/husband)
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How do we know antonyms?
By intuition.
The antonym of little is big and the
antonym of large is small. Large is not the
antonym of little even though they are
conceptual opposites.
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Lexical relations - polysemy
Eye
“Eye” is classified as one word
with two different meanings.
This happens when the
difference in meaning is
predictable or regular.
There is a core meaning
from which the other meanings
(“eye” of a needle, “eye” of a
tornado) can be predicted.
Metaphors are often ploysemous
QuickT i me™ e un
decompressore T IFF (Non com presso)
sono necessari per vi suali zzare quest 'i mm agine.
QuickT ime ™e un
dec ompr esso re TIFF ( Non co mpre sso)
son o nece ssar ip er visu aliz zar e ques t'immagine .
QuickT i me™ e un
decompressore T IFF (Non com presso)
sono necessari per vi suali zzare quest 'i mm agine.
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Lexical relations -homonymy
Bank
The word “bank” in “river bank”
and “Lloyd’s bank” are classified
as two different words with
separate meanings even though
they have the same form.
This is because the meaning of
one form is not predictable from
the meaning of another.
QuickTi me™ e un
decompressore TIFF (N on compresso)
sono necessari per visual izzar e q uest' immag i ne.
QuickT i me™ e un
decompressore T IFF (Non com presso)
sono necessari per vi suali zzare quest 'i mm agine.
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Implications for teachers
Leaning groups of hyponyms is easier for students
than learning words separately
It is important to know how to distinguish the
meaning of synonyms especially at advanced
levels
Polysemous words are easier for students to
understand than homonyms. Polysemous and
metaphorical meanings can be taught with “core”
meanings.
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Lesson 1 - part 2
Deciding what word meanings to
teach
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A word is easier to understand
when …
It is a cognate
The morphology is recognised
The context is understood (so students can make a
good guess at the meaning)
There is no interference from the L1
SO … there is no point in choosing a word for a
vocabulary comprehension exercise when none of
these factors are present because the student will
have NO CHANCE of understanding it!
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www.uniroma2.it
Didattica Web
Elenco corsi
Lingua Inglese 3 LLEM (prof. Bowles)
Deposito file
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Exercises
Definition
Gap-filling
Cloze test
Make a new sentence
Use word/expression in
another context (also
verbal)
Word buildin
Find the word in the
text
Match definition with
word
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