1. SEMANTICS (2)
Dr. Ansa Hameed

2. Previously…. Semantics: Study of Meanings
Why meanings are important???
Types of Meanings
Meanings at two levels:
Sentential Semantics
Lexical Semantics

3. Today’s Lecture
Lexical Semantics

4. Lexical Semantics Definitions:
1.The scientific study of the meanings of Words and the systematic meaning –related connections between words is known as Lexical Semantics.
2.The branch of Linguistics dealing with the meanings of words is called Lexical Semantics

5. Principal Goal of Lexical Semantics
The principal goal of Lexical Semantics is to build a model for the structure of the lexicon by categorizing the types of relationship between words .

6. Semantic Field
Semantic Field refers to the set of words with an identifiable semantic affinity.
The following set (1) is an example of Semantic Field in which all the words refer to the Emotional States , while in set (2), all the words refer to Vessels
Angry ,Sad, Exuberant , Depressed , Afraid
Cup, Mug, Wine glass, Plastic Cup, Goblet, Tumbler

7. Semantic Analysis at Word Level
Three types of semantic analysis at lexical level:
Words as ‘containers’ Semantic features
‘roles’ they fulfill Semantic roles
‘relationship’ with other words lexical relation

8. Lexical Semantics Analysis
1.Semantic Features:
Words as ‘containers’ of meanings
Examples:
Syntactically correct sentences but semantically odd.
The hamburger ate the man.
My cat studies linguistics.
The table listens to the radio
This relates to the conceptual components of the words ‘hamburger, cat & table’ not human.

9. Lexical Semantics Analysis
Semantic properties: The components of meaning of a word.
Meaning as collection of properties/features typically with two possible values (+ / -)
Example of componential analysis:
baby is [+ young], [+ human], [+animate]

10. Lexical Semantics Analysis
Semantic Features:

11. Lexical Semantics Analysis
2. Semantic Roles:
Words are described according to the roles they fulfill with the situation described in a sentence.
The boy kicked the ball
verb indicates action
Boy performs the action= agent
Ball undergoes the action= theme
The NPs describe the role of entities (people or things) involved in the action, i.e. they have certain semantic (or thematic) roles.

12. Lexical Semantics Analysis
Semantic Roles:
Agent= the entity that performs the action
Theme= the entity that undergoes the action
Experiencer= one who perceives something
Instrument= an entity used to perform an action
Location= the place where the action happens
Source= the place from which an action originates
Goal= the place where the action is directed

13. Lexical Semantics Analysis
Examples of Semantic Roles:
John is writing with a pen
agent instrument
Mary saw a mosquito on the wall
experiencer theme location
The children ran from the playground to the pool
agent source goal

14. Lexical Semantics Analysis
3.Lexical Relationships:
What is the meaning of ‘big’?
‘Large’ or the opposite of ‘small’
What is the meaning of ‘daffodil’?
A kind of flower
Analysis in terms of lexical relations- explain the meaning in terms of the relationship with other words
Synonymy
Antonymy
Hyponymy
Prototype
Homophones and Homonyms
Polysemy

15. Lexical Semantics Synonyms
words that have the same meanings or that are closely related in meaning
E.g. answer/reply – almost/nearly – broad/wide – buy/purchase – freedom/ liberty
‘sameness’ is not ‘total sameness’- only one word would be appropriate in a sentence.
E.g. Sandy only had one answer correct on the test. (but NOT reply)
Synonyms differ in formality
E.g. buy/purchase – automobile/car

16. Lexical Semantics Synonyms: Some More Examples:
Gloomy, Sorrowful, Rueful
Happy, Glad, Cheerful
Intelligent, Astute, Scintillating
Note: However, true synonyms are rare. In most cases, synonyms may differ in one or more of the following aspects:
A. Difference in origin
B. Difference in the shades of meaning
C. Difference in socio-expressive meaning
D. Difference in stylistic meaning
E. Differences in collocation and distribution

17. Lexical Semantics
Antonymy:
Antonymy is the relationship of oppositeness of meaning. When two or more lexemes or expressions are "opposite" in meaning, they are said to be antonyms. According to the semantic relationship, antonyms can be loosely divided into three categories:
A. Complementary antonyms
B. Gradable antonyms
C. Relational opposites

18. Lexical Semantics Complementary antonyms:
dead - alive 　single - married 　male – female
Gradable antonyms：hot cold （we can insert adjectives like warm and cool between them along the continuum. )
Relational opposites :
wife - husband 　student - teacher 　father - son

19. Lexical Semantics Hyponymy:
Words whose meanings are specific instances of a more general word, i.e. one thing is included (kind of) in another thing.
e.g. cats and dogs are hyponyms of the word animal.
In this case cats and dogs are co-hyponyms share the same ‘superordinate’
Other e.g. daffodil & flower / carrot & vegetable / ant & insect

20. Lexical Semantics
Hyponymy

21. Lexical Semantics Hyponymy vs. Meronymy
Meronymy is a term used to describe a part-whole relationship between lexical items. Root, trunk, branch and leaf are meronyms of a tree because they are in the relationship of X is part of Y, or Y has X.
Hyponymy is used to refer to a specific-general semantic relationship between lexical items.
Dog and cat, wolf and tiger are respectively hyponyms (or subordinates) of livestock and wildlife, which in turn are both hyponyms of animal.

22. Lexical Semantics Prototypes:
Canary– dove– duck –flamingo –parrot-robin ‘bird’
The best example that belongs to a bird is ‘robin’, but what about ‘ostrich’ and ‘penguin’?
Prototype: Characteristic instance
Furniture – chair is a better example than bench or stool.
Clothing – shirts more than shoes

23. Lexical Semantics Homonymy:
A word which has two or more entirely distinct (unrelated) meanings,
e.g. bank: ‘financial institution’ ; ‘of a river’.
Bat: ‘flying creature’ or ‘used in sports’
Race: ‘contest of speed’ or ‘ethnic group

24. Lexical Semantics Homophony:
Different words pronounced the same but spelled differently,
e.g. two, to and too.
Flour and flower
Meat and meet
Right and write

25. Lexical Semantics Polysemy:
A word which has multiple meanings related by extension,
e.g. bright: ‘shining’ ; ‘intelligent’
‘Head’ of the body and the person at the top of a company.
‘Foot’ of a body and of a mountain and of the bed or chair.
‘Run’ a person runs, the water runs

26. Lexical Semantics Metonymy: What do you think about these sentence?
It is "a figure of speech in which an attribute or commonly associated feature is used to name or designate something." A short definition is "part for whole."
What do you think about these sentence?
He drank the whole bottle. (container-content)
The White House announced. (king-crown)
I gave her a hand. (whole-part)
A word substituted for another word with which it is closely associated e.g. bottle is used for water

27. Lexical Semantics Collocation Words tend to occur with other words.
E.g. table/chair
Butter/bread
Salt/pepper
Hammer/ nail

28. Lexical Semantics Retronyms
1. a new term created from an existing word in order to distinguish the original referent of the existing word from a later one that is the product of progress or technological development (e.g. acoustic guitar for guitar).
2. a term consisting of a noun and a modifier which specifies the original meaning of the noun  e. g .“film camera” is a retronym
Some more Examples:
Day Baseball, Silent Movie, Whole Milk, First World War, Surface Mail
(Retronyms do not apply to the ‘individual words ‘ but rather to the ‘group of words’)

29. Finally……
Lexical Semantics is primarily concerned with discovering relationships in the lexicon of languages. The different facets of relationships are the basic tools of lexical semantics ,forming its fundamental crux. One type of meaning cannot be characterized in terms of another type .Every Lexical item, conveying a specific meaning is thus unique in itself.

30. Recap
Lexical Semantics

31. References
Allwood, Jens and Peter Gärdenfors (eds) Cognitive semantics. Meaning
and cognition. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Kittay, Eva Metaphor. Its cognitive force and linguistic structure. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Goodman, S. and Graddol, D. (1996) Redesigning English: new texts, new identities.
London: Routledge.
Hudson , R, A.Sociolinguistics,2nd ed, Cambridge University press, :Cambridge
Oxfords Advanced Learners’ Dictionary (2005).p.362
Prasad, Tarni,(2012) A Course in Linguistics.New Delhi:PHI Learning Pvt Ltd.
Retrieved from:
Winkler, E (2007)Understanding Language :A basic Course in Linguistics ,London :MPG Books