Lexis, Morphology & Semantics for English Language Teaching Exploration of semantic operations 3: Hyponymy & Meronymy

Exploration of semantic operations x 4 lectures Interrelationship between denotation, connotation & collocation Analysis of lexical sets, semantic fields & sense relations Synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy & meronymy Common conceptions of English semantic operations among Chinese-speaking learners

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy –as inclusion –as entailment Construing hyponymy Hyponymy as taxonomy / classification Meronymy –as inclusion parts vs pieces integral parts vs attachments Construing meronymy Hyponymy or meronymy?

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as inclusion red includes:[scarlet maroon] flower includes:[lotus rose] dog includes:[puppy bitch]

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as inclusion red includes:[scarlet maroon] It’s a red jacket. More accurately, it’s scarlet. ? It’s a scarlet jacket. More accurately, it’s red. The tie is red. More accurately, it’s maroon. ? The tie is maroon. More accurately, it’s red.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as inclusion flower includes:[lotus rose] Lotuses are flowers. ? Flowers are lotuses. This flower is a rose. ? This rose is a flower.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as inclusion dog includes:[puppy bitch] This dog is only a puppy. ? This puppy is only a dog. The dogs are bitches. ? The bitches are dogs.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as inclusion This woman is a mother. The others are not. ? This mother is a woman. The others are not. woman[  human;  male ] mother[  human;  male;  parent ]

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as inclusion This flower is a lotus, but the other is a rose. ? This lotus is a flower, but the other is a rose. ? This rose is a flower, but the other is a lotus. ? These are lotuses & roses, not flowers. flower[  plant;  petalled ] lotus[  plant;  petalled;  lotus ] rose[  plant;  petalled;  rose ]

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as inclusion These puppies & the other dogs … ? These dogs & the other puppies … dog[  canine ] puppy[  canine;  adult ]

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as inclusion Scarlet is a red. So is maroon. Both scarlet & maroon are reds. ? Red is a scarlet. ? Red is a maroon. ?? Red is both a scarlet and a maroon. red [  red ] scarlet[  red;  bright ] maroon[  red;  brownish ]

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as inclusion red[  red ] scarlet[  red;  bright ] maroon[  red;  brownish ] superordinate RED co-hyponym SCARLET co-hyponym MAROON co-hyponym X

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as inclusion dog[ +canine ] dog[ +canine;  adult;  male ] bitch[ +canine;  adult;  male ] puppy[ +canine;  adult;  male ] superordinate DOG co-hyponym DOG co-hyponym BITCH co-hyponym PUPPY

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as inclusion flower[  plant;  petalled ] scarlet[  plant;  petalled;  lotus ] maroon[  plant;  petalled;  rose ] superordinate FLOWER co-hyponym LOTUS co-hyponym ROSE co-hyponym X

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as inclusion woman[  female ] mother[  female;  parent ] superordinate WOMAN co-hyponym MOTHER “lexical gap” (not mother)

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as entailment It is a CAR. entails It is a VEHICLE. The dog BIT her. The dog INJURED her. The LITTLE BOY sang a song. The CHILD sang a song. She MURDERED the king. She KILLED the king.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as entailment CAR is a hyponym of VEHICLE. VEHICLE is CAR’s superordinate. (hyperonym) It is a CAR.entails It is a VEHICLE.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as entailment It is NOT a VEHICLE. entails It is NOT a CAR. The dog did NOT INJURE her. The dog did NOT BITE her. NO CHILDREN sang. NO LITTLE BOY sang. She did NOT KILL the king. She did NOT MURDER the king.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as entailment ?She murdered the king, but she did not kill him. She did NOT KILL the king.entails She did NOT MURDER the king.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as entailment NOT ALL CARS are hard to drive. entails NOT ALL VEHICLES are hard to drive. NOT ALL dogs BITE her. NOT ALL dogs INJURE her. NOT ALL the LITTLE GIRLS sang. NOT ALL the CHILDREN sang. NO ONE has been MURDERED. NO ONE has been KILLED.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as entailment ? Some of the little girls didn’t sing, but all the children sang. NOT ALL the LITTLE GIRLS sang.entails NOT ALL the CHILDREN sang.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Construing hyponymy profiling DOG as ANIMAL dogs & other animals animal[  animal ] (superordinate) dog[  animal;  canine ] (hyponym) ? animals & other dogs animal Xdogcat

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Construing hyponymy re- re-profiling DOG as PET (?)dogs & other pets (all dogs are pets?) pet[  animal;  companion ] (superordinate) dog[  animal;  canine ] (hyponym) dog X pet dog guard dog wild dog pet (pet) dog (pet) cat (pet) turtle (pet) X

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Construing hyponymy re- re-profiling PET ?tamagotchi & other pets pet[  animal;  companion;  electronic;  game ] tamagotchi[  animal;  companion;  electronic;  game ] ↓ electronic pets & other pets pets animalelectronic

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Construing hyponymy re- re-profiling lexical words dogs & other animals (?)dogs & other pets (?)tamagotchi & other pets (?)spiders & other insects (?)spiders & other poisonous insects guns & other weapons knives & cutlery items (?)knives & other weapons ?nail-clippers & other weapons

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy & taxonomy Hyponymy: is a A lotus is a flower. Taxonomy: is a kindclass of A lotus is a kind / class of flower. is a kindclass of Taxonomy is a kind / class of hyponymy.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as taxonomy / classification tableware cutlery X knife fork spoon teaspoon soup spoon table spoon X crockery cup bowl plate X Xglass tumbler wineglass X

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as taxonomy / classification profiling COOK cook steamboil simmer stew braise double boil fry stir fry fry deep-fry roast grill bake toast

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as inclusion & taxonomy profiling RAINBOW as spectrum rainbow as: –a spectrum of colours –a bow / an arch –? rain rainbow red ? orange ? yellow ? green ? blue ? indigo ? violet ?

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy as inclusion profiling TO COLOUR rainbow as: –a spectrum of colours –a bow / an arch –? rain to colour to redden ?to? orange to yellow to green to blue ?to? indigo ?to? violet

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Meronymy as inclusion hand includes:[thumb finger] knife includes:[blade handle] computer includes:[motherboard memory chip]

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Meronymy as inclusion hand includes:[thumb finger] A thumb is a part of a hand. ? A hand is a part of a thumb. A hand has fingers. ? A finger has a hand.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Meronymy as inclusion knife includes:[blade handle] The blade of this knife … ? The knife of this blade … This knife has a good handle. ? This handle has a good knife.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Meronymy as inclusion computer includes:[motherboard memory chip] A motherboard is a computer part. ?A computer is a motherboard part. This computer has good memory chips. ?This memory chip has a good computer.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Meronymy as inclusion hand includes:[thumb finger] THUMB is a meronym of HAND. FINGER is a meronym of HAND. HAND is the holonym of THUMB. HAND is the holonym of FINGER.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Meronymy as inclusion hand includes:[thumb finger] holonym hand co-meronym wrist co-meronym palm co-meronym back co-meronym / holonym finger co-meronym thumb co-meronym index finger co-meronym middle finger co-meronym ring finger co-meronym little finger

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Meronymy as inclusion knife includes:[blade handle] BLADE is a meronym of KNIFE. HANDLE is a meronym of KNIFE. KNIFE is the holonym of BLADE. KNIFE is the holonym of HANDLE.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Meronymy as inclusion knife includes:[blade handle ] holonym knife X co-meronym blade co-meronym handle

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Meronymy as inclusion construing the parts of BODY body head face eyes nose mouth ears skull necktrunk shoulder chest abdomen back waist limb leg arm upper arm elbow lower arm wrist hand

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Meronymy as inclusion construing the parts of FISH in a HK market fish headbellytail

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Meronymy as inclusion parts vs pieces computer includes:[motherboard memory chip] A motherboard is a computer part. ?A motherboard is a computer piece. ?This motherboard is a piece of the computer. ?This memory chip is a piece of the computer.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Meronymy as inclusion integral parts vs attachments A hand is a part of an arm. A hand is attached to an arm. A palm is a part of a hand. ?A palm is attached to a hand. A finger is a part of a hand. (?)A finger is attached to a hand. ?A finger is attached to an arm. ?A palm is attached to an arm.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Construing meronymy construing boundary construing detachability construing functionality examples: – arm & hand / palm / fingers – bottle & cap / cork – kettle / teapot & lid – pan & lid – torch & bulb / battery

Exploration of semantic operations 3 From hyponymy to meronymy: a conceptual construal general whole all/whole (component)(“broken”) specific partspieces

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy, taxonomy & meronymy Hyponymy: is a A lotus is a flower. Taxonomy: is a kindclass of A lotus is a kind / class of flower. is a kindclass of Taxonomy is a kind / class of hyponymy. Meronymy: is a part of A thumb is a part of a hand.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy and/or meronymy profiling CHASE & CHASER She is always chasing rainbows. She is a rainbow chaser. He is always chasing women. He is a woman chaser / skirt chaser. Your dog chased my cat around all day. ? Your dog is a cat chaser. The police chased the gunman down the road. ?? They are gunman chasers.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy and/or meronymy profiling CHASE & CHASER chase Xchasing chasing Y generally chasing Z specifically chaser X-in-general chaser

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy and/or meronymy profiling CHASE & SEEK She is chasing rainbows. He is chasing women. They are chasing fame & fortune. They are seeking fame & fortune. He is seeking spirituality. She is seeking the eternal kingdom.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy and/or meronymy profiling CHASE & SEEK pursue X chase (to catch) seek (to gain)

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy and/or meronymy profiling CHASE, SEEK, HUNT & FOLLOW pursue (target moving away) hunt (kill) chase (catch) (target not moving away) seek (gain) follow (reach)

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy and/or meronymy profiling CHASE, SEEK, HUNT & FOLLOW The sch teachers are pursuing an MA degree. The sch teachers are following an MA ( degree ) course. The sch teachers are seeking an MA degree. The sch teachers are chasing an MA degree. ? The sch teachers are hunting for an MA degree. The sch teachers are hunting for an MA course.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy and/or meronymy profiling CHASER & SEEKER She is a rainbow chaser. He is a woman chaser / skirt chaser. … fame chasers / fortune chasers … attention seekers / self-seekers … fame seekers / fortune seekers She is a knowledge seeker. They are spirituality seekers. He is a seeker of the eternal kingdom.

Exploration of semantic operations 3 Hyponymy –as inclusion –as entailment Construing hyponymy Hyponymy as taxonomy / classification Meronymy –as inclusion parts vs pieces integral parts vs attachments Construing meronymy Hyponymy or meronymy?