SEMANTICS IN ENGLISH
Compiled by Kem Soekemi
English Department Faculty of Language and Arts UNESA/PETRA
11
UNIT 0 INTRODUCTION
A. Linguistics Linguistics is a study of the nature and structure of human speech. While language is communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or or written symbols. Such a system, including rules for combining components, such as words, such a system is used by a particular group or community. B. Brunches of Linguistics There are many branches of linguistics. The main branches of linguistics are phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. 1. Phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics dealing with
sound features/qualities and their organization into phones (speech sounds). A sound is anything that can be heard, while a speech sound is a sound that is used in a language. Coughing or snatching of fingers are sounds but they are not phones or speech sounds. [ u, I, n, and s] are sound features, because they are used in many languages.
2. Phonology 22
Phonology is a branch of linguistics dealing with phones and their organization into phonemes. A phonemes. A phoneme is a group of phones which are phonetically similar and either in complementary distribution or in free variation. For example: pin [p In] lips [lIps] nip [nIp ] [p -], [-p-], and [-p ] are phonetically similar, their phonetic differences do not cause difference in meaning, and they are either in complementary distribution, each has its own distribution and the distribution of one member makes the distribution of the other members complete, or in free variation, their variation is free. So that [p -], [-p-] and [-p ] can be organized into a single phoneme /p/ (voiceless bilabial stop consonant phoneme). 3. Morphology Morphology is a branch of linguistics dealing with morphs and their organization into morphemes. It also deals with the organization of morphemes into is the smallest meaningful part of a words. A morph is word. Morphs are found by segmenting any word into the smallest meaningful parts. A morpheme is a is group of morphs which are semantically the same and in complementary distribution. Example:
J an ane e al always ways cooks /-s/ /-s/ me m eal alss. 33
She si n gs /-z/ be beaut autii f u l l y. She teache teachess /-i z/ F r en ch at a school school.. /-ss/, /- z/ /z/ and /-iz/ are morphs , because they are the smallest meaningful parts of the words. They can be organized into a morpheme, since they are semantically the same, they have the same meaning (third person singular present tense morphs), and in complementary complemen tary distribution.
4. Syntax Syntax is a branch of linguistics dealing with phrr as ase es, clau cl ausses words and their organization into ph , and sentences. 5. Semantics Semantics is a branch of linguistics dealing with morph phe emes mes,, wor ds ds,, phr ph r as ase es, utt u tte er ances meanings of mor , sentences, and propositions. C. Exercise 0 1. What is linguistics? 2. What is phonetics? 3. What is a phone? 4. What is a phoneme? 5. What is an allophone? 6. What is morphology? 7. What is a morph? 8. What is a morpheme? 9. What is an allomorph? 10. What is semantics?
44
UNIT I SEMANTICS AND LINGUISTICS A. Semantics 1. Semantics as aTerm. In English the term semantics appeared for the first time in a paper “Reflected meanings: a point in semantics” presented by a member of the American Philological Association in 1894. 2. M. Breal. In French M. Breal coined the term semantique from the Greek language in 1883. In 1900 M. Breal published Semantics: studies in the science of meaning . The original in French was published in 1897. 3. C.K. Ogden and I.A. Richards. C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards published The M eanin aning g of of Meaning Meaning in 1923. Yet the term semantics was not found in the body of the book, it appears in the appendix. B. Semantics and Linguistics 1. Semantics as a level of linguistics. As it is stated above semantics is a component or level of linguistics; the other levels are: phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax.
55
2. Language as a communication system. As a communication system, a language is related with (1) something to be communicated: a message (signified) and (2) something that communicates, a set of signs or symbols (signifier). 3. Other communication systems There are other communication systems, such as traffic lights, monkey‟s and crow‟s communication systems, but all of them are much simpler than language. 4. A Communicative System. Why language as communication system is different from other communication systems? a) Not every piece of language has a message in any real sense. In many cases the function of language is concerned with establishing and or maintaining social relationships. b) Each sign and message in language is very complicated and the relationships between them are even more complicated. c) In language it is extremely difficult to specify precisely what the message is, while in other communication systems there is no problem, because the message can be independently identified in terms of language, e.g. Red means means „stop‟ and green means „go‟. In language we cannot describe the message independently of 66
language, because we can only describe the message in terms of language. C. Semantics is Empirical One of the requirements of the statement is that linguistics should be empirical. Thus semantics should be empirical, too. Any statement made within ver i f i ab abll e by obs obse er va vatition. on. It is easy to apply it must be ver this method to speaking, but there is no simple way of dealing with semantics.
D . Se Semanti cs Conce Concerr ni ng General Generalii zati ation on . 1. Parole and langue Linguistics as a science is not concerned with specific instances, but with generalization. Ferdinand de Saussure (1916) indicates this point by stating the distinction between LANGUAGE (langue) and SPEAKING (parole), later Noam Chomsky (1957) uses the terms COMPETENCE COMP ETENCE and PERFORMANCE to refer to more or less the same point. Both are concerned essentially to exclude what is purely individual and accidental (speaking or performance), and to insist that the proper study of linguistics is langue or competence. 2. The focus of the general study of semantics The focus of the general study of semantics is on studying the normal patterns of semantics. But semantics is also concerned with individuals‟ meaning, because it is interesting as well as important to know how and why an individual turns from the normal patterns. For example, in studying 77
literary work it is necessary to know what a certain character really means in his/her utterances. E. Speaker Meaning versus Word/Sentence Meaning Speaker meaning is what a speaker means when he utters a piece of language. Word/Sentence meaning is what a word/sentence means, i.e. what it counts as the equivalent of in the language concerned. Many sentences deliver information in a straight forward way, but many other sentences do not give any information at all – all – they they are used to maintain or to establish various social relationships. The social relationships can be either courteous or hostile. Examples a. A: “Will you have a drink with us?” B: “I‟d love to” b. P: “Give me a break, please” R: “No way” c. X: “Thank you” Y: Y strikes the ball back to X. F. Semantic Theory Semantics is an attempt to set up a theory to meaning. Hurford and Heasley (1984, 8) state that “A theory is a precisely specified, coherent, and economical frame-work of interdependent statements and definitions constructed so that as large a number as possible of particular basic facts can either be seen to follow from it or be describable in terms of it” Examples of semantics facts are: 88
a. K en A r ok caus cause ed Kebo Kebo I j o to die : Statement Ever y man man i s mor mortal tal b. Ever : Analytic sentence c. B un : Equative ung g Kar no is i s the fi r st pre pr esi de dent nt : sentence i s too hot to t o eat eat d. T h e l amb is : Ambiguous e. SB SB Y is i s our pr pre esi de den n t M r s. Any An y SBY SBY i s the f i r st lad l ady y : Entailment G. Aristotle Aristotle (384-322 B. C.), the Greek philosopher, can be regarded as a forerunner of modern semantics, because he was concerned with the same general areas that concern modern semanticists. It is true that there are areas of meaning studied by modern semanticists which were terra incognita (unexplored field) to Aristotle, but the general areas of Aristotle and modern semanticists are the t he same.
H. Exercise I 1. Who was M. Breal? The e M eanin aning g of of M eanin aning? g? 2. What is Th 3. What is the relation between linguistics and semantics? 4. Compare speaker meaning with sentence meaning and use examples in your answer. 5. Compare langue with parole and use examples and in your answer. 6. Who was Aristotle? 7. What is meant by the term te terr r a inco in cognita gnita ? 8. What does semantic theory deal with? 99
9. What is a semantic fact? Use examples in your answer. 10. Who was Ferdinand de Saussure?
10 1
UNIT II: UTTERANCE, SENTENCE, AND PROPOS PROPOSITION ITION A. Utterance 1. Definition An utterance is a stretch of talk, used by a person, before and after which there is a silence on the part of the speaker. An utterance is the use of a piece of language, a word, a phrase, a clause, a sentence, or a sequence of sentences, by a particular speaker on a particular occasion. An utterance is a physical event or an object. It can be recorded. 2. Examples: a. Mother: “Who called you just now?” Jill : “Tom” b. John: “What‟s the matter with you?” Julie: “Nothing” c. Mother: “Do you like her?” Son : “No, I love her” B. Sentence 1. Definition A sentence is a string of words or phrases put together by using grammatical rules of a language. It is not a physical event or object. A given sentence always consists of the same words or phrases and in the same order. Any change in the words / phrases, or in their order, makes a different sentence 2. Examples onlyy love loves M ary a. John onl
Onl y John l ov ove es M ary
They are different sentences. 11 1
th e ca carr pe pett b. H el en r oll ed up the H el en r oll ed the ca carr pe pett up They are different sentences Cou r tes tesyy always al ways pays c. Cour Courr tes Cou tesyy always alw ays pays They are the same sentence When a sentence is used by a particular person on a particular occasion, it becomes an utterance. Any sentence belongs to a particular language Examples: anako o sang sang des deska? „Are you Mr. Hanako?‟ a) H anak paus itu mam mamalia alia „Whales are mammals b) I kan paus mammals‟ gluckli ch c) I ch bin gluckli „I am happy‟ There is no doubt that example a) is a Japanese sentence, example b) is an Indonesian sentence, and example c) is a German sentence. When the same sentence is used by different speakers on different occasions will be different utterances. C. Proposition 1. Definition A proposition is that part of the meaning of the utterance of a declarative sentence which describes some state of affairs. The state of affairs typically involves persons or things referred to by expressions in the sentence. In uttering a declarative sentence a speaker typically asserts a proposition. Propositions, unlike sentences, cannot be said to belong to any particular language. Two or more sentences in different languages can correspond to the same proposition, if those sentences are perfect translations of each other. Examples: k owe a) Ak u tr esno kowe
„I love you‟ 12 1
ci nta k amu b) Saya ci ai n i c) Wo ai
„I love you‟ „I love you‟
In reality it is not always easy to have perfect translation from one language to another. Examples: aya a tel tel ah mener mener i ma undang- u ndang- The Indonesian sentence: Say annya, can be translated into two different sentences in have e English, they are „ I I have received her invitation’ invitation’ and and „I hav accepted her invitation’ These two sentences have different senses. In the first sentence, the speaker states that he has got the invitation, while in the second sentence the speaker has promised to fulfill the invitation. 2. True versus false propositions One can have propositions in the mind regardless of whether they are true or false. True propositions correspond to facts. Examples: The e earth is round roun d a) Th … True perr i en ce i s a good teacher teacher … True b) E x pe an d thr ee ar are e si x c) Two and … False A proposition is either true or false. In saying “Herman can do the job”, a speaker asserts the proposition that Herman can do the job. While in saying “Can Herman do the job?” he mentions the same proposition, proposition , but he merely questions its truth. Corresponding declaratives and interrogatives / imperatives have the same propotional contents. D. Relationship between Utterance, Sentence, and Proposition
13 1
Sentence
Proposition
Utterance Utterance Utterance
Sentence
Utterance Utterance Utterance
Sentence
Utterance Utterance Utterance
Diagram 2.1: Relationship between utterance, sentence, And proposition. E. Proposition versus Thought A proposition is an object of thought, yet propositions are not equal to thought. Because thoughts are usually held to be private, personal, and mental processes, whereas propositions are public. The relationship between mental processes (e.g. thoughts), abstract semantic entities (e.g. propositions), linguistic entities (e.g. sentences), and actions (utterances) is problematic and complicated. F. Techniques of Presenting 1. Utterances are written between double quotation marks. Examples: John : “Who is he?” Nancy: “I‟ve never seen him before” 2. Sentences are typed in italic typeface. janii i s hi ghe gherr than Se Seme merr u Examples: a. Rin jan are e two se seas asons ons in I n done donessi a. b. Th er e ar 14 1
3. Propositions are presented by using logical notation. Examples: Romeo love l oved d Jul Ju l i et …. r LOVE l a. Romeo utuss ki l led Cae Caesar … b KILL c b. Br utu arno o is the f ir st pre pr eside ident nt … bk = fp c. Bu ng K arn G. Exercise II 1. What is an utterance? Use examples in your answer 2. What is a sentence? se ntence? Use examples in your answer. 3. Compare an utterance with a sentence and use examples in your answer 4. Do propositions belong to a particular language? Illustrate your answer with examples. 5. Is a proposition always true? 6. When is a proposition true? Use examples in your answer. 7. What is meant by perfect translation? 8. Is it possible to have a perfect translation? 9. Translate the following sentences into Indonesia: a. M an the shi p! acce cepte pted d hi s i nvi nvitation tation . b. I have ac 10. What is meant by a family tree relationship between utterance, sentence, and proposition?
15 1
UNIT III: SENSE RELATIONSHIP VS REFERENCE RELATIONSHIP A. Sense Relationship Sense relationships are relationships inside the language. Sense relates the complex system of relationship between one linguistic element with other linguistic elements. It deals with intra-linguistic relationships. The intra-linguistic relations can be illustrated in the following diagram.
The World X1----X2 Language
Diagram 3.1: Sense Relationship
In a sentence, such as: Every house has got a main bedroom , there are intra-linguistic relations between one word and other words (between every and house or between has and got ) or between one phrase with other verr y hou h ousse phrases (between eve and h as got or between has got and a main bedroom ) in that sentence. Those relationships are called sense relationships. B. Reference Relationship
16 1
In talking a reference relationship, we deal with the relationships between language elements (words, phrases, clauses, and sentences) and non-linguistic elements (the world or experience). By means of reference, a speaker indicates which things or persons in the world are being talked about. Example: “William Shakespeare Shakespeare lived in this house” “William Shakespeare” indicates a indicates a person, while “this house” indicates a thing. A reference relationship is a relationship between parts of a language and things, animals and men outside the language. This kind of relationship can be illustrated in the following diagram.
The World Y X1 Lan ua e
Diagram 3.2: Reference Relationship C. Kind of Expressions Based on their references, expressions can be classified classi fied into the following: 1. Expressions with variable references Examples: H is wif e
H er bo boyy fr ie iend nd M y off office ice Th ei r brothe brotherr s 2. Expressions which usually never refer to different 17 1
things. Examples: Th e sun
T he presi presi de dent nt Th e l ectur cture er T he dean dean 3. Two or more expressions referring to the same object. The e morn mornin in g star star and th the e eve veni ni ng star Examples: Th Bun g Karn Karn o and the fi f i r st pr esi de dent nt M othe otherr , mama, mama, and M r s. So So and so D. Does Sense Belong to Words only? We can talk about sense, not only of the words, but also of longer expressions (phrases, clauses and sentences). Each pair in the following examples has the same sense. cutii ve pr pre ef er edu ducate cated d ladi es. Examples: 1. T h e ex ecut
Th e exec xecuti uti ve prefer l adie adiess wi with th hi gh education education.. verr y athl ete exer xerci cisses sys ystemati tematical calll y 2. E ve E ve verr y ath athll ete pr practi actice cess hi s mi nd and an d body body systematically . ch i l d love l ovess cats cats.. 3. Th e ch Th e chi chill d lil i ke kess ca cats ts ve verr y much. E. Ambiguous Words In some cases, the same sa me word can have more than one sense. Th e Bank of Tokyo T okyo.. Examples: 1. The
Th e ba The bank nk of M us usii of milk 2. A mug of H e i s a mug. wani ta 3. H ak wani H ak sepatu sepatu F. Ambiguous Sentences One sentence can have different senses, too. chi cken n i s r eady to eat eat Examples: 1. T he chicke 18 1
gre eete ted d the gir l wi with th a smi smill e. 2. H e gr plan es can be dange dangerr ous. 3. F l yin g plane
G. Meaning, Sense and Reference It is important to remember that every expression that has meaning has sense, but not every expression has reference. Each of the following words has sense, but none and d of them refers to thing: a. almost , b. probable, c. an , d. if, hardly , and but. H. Definitions in a Dictionary There is something essentially circular about the set of definitions in a dictionary. Similarly, defining the senses of words and other expressions often has something of this circular nature. This is not necessary a bad thing, and in any case it is often unavoidable, since in many cases there is no way of indicating the meaning of an expression except with other words.
body or f i gur gure e having the th e Examples: sphere – any roun d body Sur f ace equal qualll y distant distant f r om the ce centr e At all al l points poin ts;; globe globe;; ball . Gl obe - any r oun Globe ound, d, ball -s -shape haped d thi ng; sphe spherr e Bal l - any r oun ound, d, or sphe pherr i cal obje object; ct; sphe pherr e; globe 1. Proposition as Complete Independent Thought There is something grammatically complete about a whole sentence, as opposed to a smaller expression such as a phrase or a single word. Generally speaking, a proposition corresponds to a complete independent thought
cr i me me.. Examples: 1.Shop li f tin g is a cr wor k on ti me me.. 2. She f i ni shed her work i s a bad bad habit . 3. Gambli ng is 19 1
The three sentences above mentioned are propositions, while the following are not: iend nd 1. An old fr ie (not understood as an elliptical (not sentence fragment). Jane e ( not 2. Jan not understood as an elliptical sentence fragment). 3. in Bali (not understood as an elliptical sentence) (not J. Reference and Utterance The relation between reference and utterance is not so direct as that between sense and proposition, but there is a similarity worth pointing out. Both referring and uttering are acts performed by particular speakers on particular occasions. Most utterances contain, or are accompanied by, one or more acts of referring. An act of referring is the picking out of a particular referent by a speaker in the particular utterance. Exam.:: 1. “Oh, I‟m not fit for my job!” (James, 1960: 110) Exam. There are two acts of referring in this utterance 2. “Then I may take it from you that he is good” (James, 1960: 111). There are four acts of referring in the second utterance. K. Sense or Reference? meani ani ng, me means, ans, In everyday conversations the words me mean, or meant are sometimes used to indicate sense and are sometimes used to indicate reference. Examples: 1. When a journalist mentioned LUSI, he meant Lumpur Sidoarjo (reference) 2. When we mention SBY we mean our President (Reference). 3. Sir, what does unique mean? (Sense) 4. Purchase has the same meaning as buy ( has Sense) Sense) 20 2
L. Two Kinds of Semantics Based on the distinction between sense and reference, then there are two kinds of semantics: 1. The first kind deals with w ith semantic structure or sense relationships. 2. The other kind deals with w ith meaning in terms of experience outside language or reference relationship. Some linguists have attempted to limit semantics to sense relationships. As an example, J.J. Kartz and J.A. Fodor, through their paper called “The Structure of a Semantic Theory” 9163), presented their theory which is based upon word meaning. N. Exercise III 1. What do we deal with in talking of sense? Illustrate with examples in your answer. 2. What do you deal with in talking of reference? Use examples in your answer. 3. Mention five expressions that have constant references. 4. Mention five expressions that have more than one sense. 5. What is meant by by an act act of referring? referring? 6. What is meant by an act of uttering? 7. Mention five examples of two or more expressions that have one referent. 8. Do „the morning star‟ have the same meaning with „the evening star‟? 9. Are they mutually substitutable? substitutable? 10. Are SBY and our president mutually mutually substitutable?
21 2
UNIT IV: REFERRING EXPRESSIONS A. Definition “A referring expression is any expression used in an utterance to refer to something or someone (or a clearly delimited collection of things or people), i.e. used with a particular referent in mind” mind” (Hurford et al., 2007: 37). Example: The name of Partono in an utterance such as „Partono telephoned you last night‟, where the speaker has a particular person in mind when he says „Partono‟, is a referring expression. But Partono in „There is no one called one called Partono in this class‟ is not a referring expression, because in this case a speaker does not have a particular person in his mind in uttering the name. Which of the following are referring expressions:
Jack, her her f ather ather , whale whal es, or or , the man l i ving vin g next next door, a tige ti gerr , si n g, songs, songs, beyon beyond. d. Comment: The same expression can be a referring expression or not depending on the context. Compare it in the following utterances: „Every man who owns a donkey beats it‟ and „It‟s sinking!‟ 1. Opaque Context Hurford et al. (2007, 40) define opaque context as follows: “An opaque context is a part of a sentence which could be made into a complete sentence by the addition of a referring expression, but where the addition of different referring expression, even though they refer to the same
22 2
thing or person, in a given situation, will yield sentences with different meanings when uttered in a given situation”.
aur a Bush Bush thi th i nks nk s that . . . is a The incomplete sentence L aura genius is an opaque context. The following utterances is would make different meanings: (a) „Laura Bush thinks that the President is a genius‟ (b) „Laura Bush thinks that the Leader of the Republic Party is a genius‟ If, for example, Laura Bush believes erroneously that the President is not the Leader of the Republic Party, then (a) and (b) will mean different things. Hurford et al. (2001: 41-42) 41-42) state that “the term opaque is especially appropriate because these contexts seem to block our view through them to the referential interpretation interpretation of referring expression”. Opaque contexts typically involve a certain kind of verb bel i eve, ve, thi th i nk , and wonder wonder about. about. such as want, bel They state (2007:42) that “ . . . it was often in the context of such opacity-creating verbs that indefinite noun phrases could be ambiguous between a referring and non referring interpretation, interpretation, as in „Nancy wants to marry a Norwegian.‟ 2. Equative Sentence Then Hurford et al. define “An equative sentence is one which is used to assert the identity of the referents of two referring expressions, i.e. to assert that two referring expressions have the same referent” (2007:42)
th e Pre Pr esi dent dent of I ndone ndon esi a. Examples: SB Y is the Th e morni mor ni ng star star i s the eve eveni ni ng star star.. T he boy dr dr i vin g the th e blu bl u e car i s her f i ancé
23 2
Practice: Are the following referring expressions? 1) he in „If anyone ever marries Nancy, he‟s in for a bad time‟ (meaning that whoever marries Nancy is in for a bad time) 2) i t in „Every man who owns a donkey beats it‟ dan cer r in „His uncle married a dancer‟. 3) a dance dan cer r in „John wants to marry a dancer‟. 4) a dance Th e whale in „The whale is the largest mammal‟. 5) The shot K enn edy „The man who shot 6) T he man who shot Kennedy was Lee Harvey Oswald. per son who wh o did thi th i s in „The person who did 7) The pe this must be insane‟, spoken by someone on discovering a brutally mutilated corpse, where the speaker has no idea who committed committed the crime. D. Exercise IV 1. What is a referring expression? Give examples in your answer. 2. What is an opaque o paque context? Use examples in your answer. 3. What is a reversal test? des bel bel i eved ved that th at . . . had h ad ki l l ed 4. Is K en D edes Tun ggul ggul A metung metung an an opaque context? 5. What is a reversal test? 6. Is a reversal test always reliable? 7. The same expression can be a referring expression or not depending on the context. How is it possible? 8. Identify referring expressions found in the following sentences: Th e chil d is dr dr awing a dog dog a. The . Wh at is l ying yin g unde un derr the car car i s a dog dog b. What . 9. What is an important feature of equitive sentence? 24 2
10. Are the following sentences equitive? ather i s a general general manager manager . a. H i s f ather T h e man si tti tt i n g the th er e i s h er f i ancé an cé . b. Th
25 2
UNIT V: PREDICATES A. Definition of Predicator According to Hurford et al. (2007: 47) “The predicator of a simple declarative sentence is the word (sometimes a group of words) which does not belong to any of referring expressions and which, of the remainder, makes the most specific contribution to the meaning of the sentence. Intuitively speaking, the predicator describes the state or process in which the referring expressions are involved”. Examples:
M u mmy is i s asl asl eep . Asleep is is the predicator. T he tour i st love l oved d a Bal i nese nese dancer dancer . Loved is is the predicator. Rinj ani is i s in L ombok ombok . I n is the predicator. Practice: What is the predicator of each of the following sentences
(1) Sh e i s si ck. (2) L enny is in the li brary . (3) The Th e M ayor ayor i s a corr corr uptor. (4) Th e doctor doctor who l i ves ves next door door i s a musician. musician . (5) Th e chur chu r ch i s behi behi nd the t he mosque mosque.. (6) T hey go to the chu chu r ch eve everr y Sun Sun day. Comment: The predicators of sentences can be of various parts of speech: nouns (corruptor, writer , musician, and mammal) , verbs (go, teach, swim, enslave, and corrupt) , adjectives (sick, happy , frightened, and creative) , and propositions (i n , behind , beyond, and out) . but , or ) Other parts of speech, such as conjunctions (and, but, 26 2
and articles (the, a) cannot serve as predicators in sentences. B. Predicator >< Argument Simple declarative sentences consist of two major semantic roles played by different subparts of the sentences. These semantic roles are the role of predicator, played by predicates, and the role of arguments, played by the referring expressions. Examples: nese (1) M ade i s Bal i nese
predicator : Balinese argument : Made teachess E n gli gl i sh predicator : teach (2) H e teache arguments: he, English npasar predicator : in (3) H e i s i n D enpasar arguments: he, Denpasar
3) Predicator >< Predicate al . (2007, 48) “A predicate is According to Hurford et al. any word (or sequence of words) which (in a given single sentence) can function as the predicator of a sentence”.
sl eep, boi boi l , angr y, tall, tall , in, i n, before Examples: school, song, sl bu t, not, al most most , and quite are are all predicates; and, or, but, not predicates. Comment: „Predicate‟ and „predicator‟ are quite different terms. „Predicate‟ identifies elements in the language system, independently of particular example sentences. The term „predicator‟ identifies the semantic se mantic role played by a particular word (a group of words) w ords) in a particular sentence. A simple sentence only has one predicator, although it may contain more than one predicate. 27 2
Th e youn young, g, tal tal l , and beautif beautif ul docto doctorr As an example, The exami ned an an old patie pati ent . There is only one predicator in the sentence, but the young, g, tall tall , beautif beautiful ul , old sentence contains the words youn , and patient , all of which are predicates and can function doctor i s as predicators in other sentences such as Th e doctor young i s tall . She She is beauti beauti f ul . The patient patient is i s old. H e , She is i s a patient. Practice: (1) In which of the following sentences does the word easy function as a predicator?
(a) E asy come easy easy go. (b) Th at is i s an eas easy chair chai r . (c) I’m easy. (2)
In which of the following sentences does the predicate mammal function as a predicator?
(a) A whale wh ale is a mammal. (b) Th e mammal l i ves ves at se sea. (c) Whal Wh ale es are ar e the th e bigge bi ggesst mammal mamm alss.
3) The Degree of Predicates. According to Hurford et al. (2007: 50) “The degree of predicate is a number of indicating the number of arguments it is normally understood to have in simple sentences” Examples: Tall is a predicate of degree one or one-place predicate. While make is a predicate of degree two or a is two-place predicate.
made a cake cake In N i l a made , made is is a two-place predicate: it has an argument, Nila , as subject and an argument, a cake , as direct object. 28 2
There are several three-place predicates which are mostly verbs in English. Examples:
Ken Ar ok gave gave Kebo Kebo I jo a kr k r i s. Geor George ge sent h er a ni n i ce card. car d. F ather ather bought me a cycle cycle.. Most prepositions are two-place predicates, except
between. Examples
Ponorogo Ponor ogo i s i n E ast ast Java. T h e mosque mosque is behi behi nd th e h ospi ospital tal.. Th e cat is under under the car. car. T h e school i s betwee between n th e chur chu r ch and an d the pri pr i son. The majority of adjectives are one-place predicates, but comparative comparative degree of adjectives are two-place predicates. Examples 1: nak es are ar e use usef ul . a. Snake lower s are be beautif auti f ul . b. F lower isky. c. Dr ivin g is r isky. Examples 2: Rin j ani i s tall er than Seme Semerr u. a. Rinj Sur abaya abaya is bi bi gger gger than M edan b. Sur . ayi ng i s easi asi er than doing. doin g. c. Sayi Most nouns are one-place predicates, predicates, but a few of them ather , mother, br other other , si si ster ter , son, son, daughter, u ncle ncl e, such as f ather aunt, aun t, cousin cousin,, nephew, nephew, n ei ghbor , and clas cl asss mate, are inherently relational. Examples: 29 2
1) Mr. 1) Mr. Johnson is Jack’s father. father. ) ) A l i ce i s a daugh dau ghter ter of M r s. Smith Smi th.. 2 3) Mrs. 3) Mrs. Smith is Alice’s mother. mother. 3) Identity Relation Identity relation is the relation that is found in equative sentences. In English, the identity of the referents of two referring expressions is expressed by a form of the verb be. Examples: i s our pre pr esi dent dent . 1) SB Y is capi tal city ci ty of of I ndonesi ndonesi a. 2) Jakar ta is the capi ondon i s the larges largest city in E ngland. ngl and. 3) L ondon G. Summary Predicates and referring expressions have completely different functions. functions. Their roles cannot be exchanged. As an Gesang g i s a composer composer makes sense, but A example, Gesan composer composer i s Gesan Gesang g does does not make sense. H. Exercises V 1. Explain the following terms:
Pr edicator di cator,, pre pr edicate di cate,, degr degre ee of pre pr edicate di cate,, identi ty relation 2. Identify the semantic roles of predicates found in the following sentences: nguistics a. I t is li nguistics . kes l i ngui stics b. John l i kes . ngu i stics ti cs i s use usef ul . c. L i ngui school i s betwee between n the th e muse museum and the th e d. T he school church . Pr of. Smi Smith th i s the head head of E ngli ngl i sh department department . e. Prof. 3. Indicate the degree of each predicate used as predicators in item 2 above. 4. What are the function of the verb be in the following sentences (does it function as an identity predicate or as a grammatical device for linking a 30 3
non-verbal predicate to its first argument)? Do all instances of be carry carry tense? Wh ales are ar e mammals a. Whales . Joh n i s succes uccessf ul . b. John D . H artono i s the M ayor ayor of Sur abaya abaya c. B. D. . ose i s a fl f l ower ower . d. A r ose Yesterday ter day was M onday. e. Yes
31 3
UNIT VI PREDICATES, REFERRING EXPRESSIONS, AND UNIVERSE OF DISCOURSE A. Referring Expressions >< Predicates 1. The same word can be used for the radically different functions of reference and predications. Examples: att acked d a man a. T he tiger attacke b. Jack i s a man
a man : referring expression a man : predicating expression
2. Some expressions, expressions, proper names, are almost always referring expressions no matter what sentences they occur in. Examples: a . Mr. Smith is John’s father. father.
b. Jakar ta is i s the most most crowde cr owded d city in i n I ndonesi ndonesi a. c. Jacob is Jack’s parrot.
Smith, John, Jakarta Jakarta In the examples, M r . Smith, , Indonesia, Jacob, and Jack are are all referring expressions. Hurford et al. (2007: 57) sate that “The distinction between referring referring expressions expressions and predicates is absolute: there is not a continuum running from proper names of one end, through „borderline cases‟ to verbs and prepositions at the other. Either an expression is used in a given utterance to refer to some entity in the world or it is not so used”. Examples: parr ot a. “Jacob is a parrot”. A parr in in this utterance is a predicating expression. b. “The cat caught a parrot”. A parrot in in this 32 3
utterance is a referring r eferring expression. They (2007: 58) state: “Predicates do not refer. But they can be used by a hearer when contained in the meaning of a referring expression, to identify the referent of that expression.” Examples:
1. Th e n ew hou h ousse i s to le l et -> The word n ew is is a predicate, it does not refer to anything, but it helps a hearer to identify the referent of the expression, T h e n ew hou se
2. She She met met a youn you n g doctor. doctor . -> Though the word young does nor refer to any referent, it helps a hearer to identify the referent of the expression. 3) Generic Sentence They define that “A generic sentence sentence is a sentence in which some statement is made about a whole unrestricted class of individuals, as opposed to any particular individual.” Examples of generic sentences: Wh ales are ar e mammal mammals s 1) Whales . Gentll emen men pr ef er blonde bl ondes s 2) Gent mal e of pengu penguii ns guar ds the th e eggs. ggs. 3) T he male Examples of non generic sentences: whal es are ar e comi coming ng h er e. 1) Some whale gentl e man sitti ng the th er e pre pr ef er s a blond . 2) Th e gentl cats. 3) M y dog l i kes cats.
al . (2007: 62) state Hurford et al. state that “Even though tomor r ow, the Br i tis ti sh national nati onal anthem, expressions like tomor el even ven h un dre dr ed, the th e dis di stance tan ce betwe betwee en the th e E arth ar th and th t h e Sun , etc. do not indicate physical objects, language treats these 33 3
expressions in a very exactly parallel to referring expressions”. expressions”. They are called referring expressions. They also state that “language is used to talk about the real world, and can be used to talk about an infinite variety of abstractions, and even of entities in imaginary, unreal world”. C. Universe of Discourse al . (2007:62) state that “the UNIVERSE Hurford et al. OF DISCOURSE for any utterance as the particular world, real or imaginary (or part real, part imaginary), that the speaker assumes he is talking about at the time.” Examples: 1) When an astronomy lecturer states seriously that the Earth revolves around the Sun, the universe of discourse is the real world or universe. 2) When a mother tells her child a story and says, “The dragon set fire to the woods with his hot breath”, the universe of discourse is not real world but fictitious world. It should be remembered that “no universe of discourse is totally fictitious world”. As an example, when a father San ta Clause Cl ause i s bri nging ngi ng a toy tel tel ephone f or tells his son that San h i m . Santa ant a Clause Cl ause th e toy tel tel ephone phon e is is a fiction, but the he he might nt er action acti on betwe betwee en bring is real. So in the example there is i nte
fact and fi ction. ction. Two people are arguing at cross-purposes means that they are working within partially different universes of discourse. Examples. Theist: “Diseases must serve some good purpose, or God would not allow them” 34 3
Atheist: “I cannot accept your premises” In the example the theist is operating with a universe of discourse which is a world in which God exists. The atheist‟s assumed universe of discourse is a world in which God does not exist. D. Summary: 1. In utterances speakers use referring expressions to refer to entities which may be concrete or abstract, real or fictitious. 2. The predicates embedded in a referring expression help the hearer to identify its referent. 3. Semantics is not concerned with factual status of things in the world but with meaning in language. 4. The notion of universe of discourse is introduced to account for the way in which language allows us to refer non-existent things. E. Exercise VI 1. If Nyi Roro Kidul existed, would she be a physical object? 2. Do unicorns exist in the real world? 3. What is meant by universe of discourse? 4. Compare a generic sentence with a non-generic sentence and use examples in your answer? 5. Is there any fiction which is totally unreal? 6. Why? 7. Do all participants in a conversation always have the same universe of discourse? 8. What will happen when the participants of conversation do not share the same universe of discourse? 9. Is a language miracle? 10. Why is it necessary to introduce the notion of the universe of discourse?
35 3
Mid-Term Examination Academic Year of 2008-2009 Course: Semantics Time: 100 minute Books: Closed
peaker meani meani ng and 1. What is the difference between speaker and sen tence meanin meani n g ? Use examples in your answer. ner of moder moder n 2. Why is Aristotle considered as a forerun ner semanticists? 3. Compare an utterance with a sentence and use examples in your answer. ense r el ationshi ati onship p and 4. What is the difference between sse
r ef er ent r elations lati onshi hi p? Use examples in your answer. r ef er r i ng express expressi on ? Use examples in your 5. What is a re answer. qu ati ve sen tence 6. What is an equati ? How do you test it? 7. What is a predicator ? Use examples in your answer. pr edicate di cate 8. Compare a pr with with a predicator and and use examples in your answer.
classi f y pr edicate di cates s 9. How do you class ? Use examples in your answer. ver se of di scour se 10. Why is the notion of un i ver introduced introduced in semantics?
36 3
UNIT VII: DEIXIS AND DEFINITENESS A. Definition of Deictic Words al . (2007: 66) define Hurford et al. de fine that “A deictic word is one which takes some element of its meaning from the context or situation (i.e. the speaker, the addressee, the time and the place) of the utterance in which it is used” Examples: The first person singular pronoun I is a deictic word. When Barack Obama says “I will change the United States of America” The word I in the utterance refers to Barack Obama. When SBY says “Bersama kita pasti bisa”, kita refers to bangsa Indonesia. Kita is a deictic word. refers B. Predicates Containing Deictic Ingredient There are few predicates which have a deictic ingredient. come, go, bri br i ng , and take. Such as: come, In sentences: “Come to my office” “Take this book to the library” C. Psychological Shifting Some utterances involve a „psychological shifting‟ of the speaker‟s view-point view-point for the purpose of interpreting one of the deictic terms. Examples: 1) If someone says to you, „Come over there, please!‟ while pointing to a far corner of the room, could you reasonably infer that the speaker intends to move to that corner of the room as well? Compare it with that when he says to you „Go over there, please!‟
37 3
2) If someone says to you on the phone, „Can I come and see you some time?‟ do the speaker probably have in mind a movement to the place where the speaker, or to the place where you are? D. Grammatical Devices i t, here her e, the th er e, now, Besides deictic words such as h e, it, yes yesterday, ter day, come , and go , there are certain grammatical devices called tenses for indicating past, present, and future time, which must be regarded as deictic. E. Reported Speech In reported speech, deivtic ters occurring in the original utterance may be translated into other, possible nondeictic, terms in order to preserve the original reference. Example Jack: „I‟ll marry you here next year.‟ Julia (reporting Jack‟s utterance some time later) : „Jack said he would marry me there the coming year‟ In this example, five adjustments are made in the reported speech, namely: I - > he, ‘ll -> would, woul d, you you -> me, me, her her e -> there, t here, next year year ->
the th e coming comi ng year year..
F. The Function of Deictic Words Imagine a language called Zonglish, exactly like English in all respects, except that it contains no deictic terms al all, i.e. all English deictic terms have been eliminated from Zonglish. l ik e a cup cup of tea tea Is I would lik a a well-formed Zonglish sentence? The answer is „No‟, because it contains deictic expressions, I and would. A language without deictic terms could not serve the communicative communicative needs of its users anything a nything like as well as a real human language. 38 3
The truth of a sentence containing a deictic expression can only be considered in relation to some hypothetical situation of utterance. Practice: (1) Can you tell by itself whether the sentence You
are ar e standi tan ding ng on my m y toe i s tr u e or f als al se? (2) What would you need to know in order to be able to tell whether the sentence just mentioned is true or false? Th er e are tigers (3) Can one tell whether the sentence The in Sumatra , not considered in relation to any particular time, is true or false? The relationship of the truth of sentences to hypothetical times and situations of utterance is brought out most vividly by deictic terms. The is traditionally called the definite article, and a the the indefinite article. But what exactly is definiteness? An answer can be given in terms of several notions already discussed, in particular the notion of referring expressions, identifying identifying the referent of referring expression, and universe of discourse. A new notion, notion, context, context, is also needed. G. Context of Utterance al . (2008: 71) define that “The context of an Hurford et al. utterance is a small subpart of the universe of discourse shared by speaker and hearer, and includes facts about the topic of the conversation in which w hich the utterance occurs, and also facts about the situation in which the conversation itself takes place.” Example: If someone meets a stranger on a train station and they begin to talk about the weather, then facts about the weather (e.g. that it is raining now, it is not as warm as yesterday), facts about the train (e.g. that it is crowded), and also facts about the speakers (e.g. their sex) are parts 39 3
of the context of utterances in this conversation. While facts not associated with the topic of the conversation on dayatt has h as beate beaten n L i e Dan the train (e.g. that Tauf i c H i daya sever ver al ti mes , or that orang utangs l ive in Kal i man -tan) are are not parts of the context of this conversation, even though they may happen to be known to both speakers. H. Immediate Situation of Utterance The context of an utterance is a part of the universe of discourse. And an immediate situation of an utterance is a part of its context. Therefore the relationship between the universe of discourse, the context of utterance, and the immediate situation of utterance can be illustrated through the following diagram.
Universe Of discourse Context of utterance Immediate Situation of utterance
Diagram 4.1: Relationship of universe of discourse, context of utterance, and immediate situation of utterance
40 4
I. The Definite Article the th e The definite article the is used to refer to some entity or is entities (i.e. person(s), object(s), place(s), etc.), if it (they) is/are the only entity/entities of its/their kind in the context of utterance. Examples: Bambang is involving in a conversation with one of his friends about the time, ten years earlier, when they first met at the Sydney University. Now they are holding the conversation in the garden of Bambang‟s Bamban g‟s house in Jakarta. 1) Which one is more appropriate? a) “Do you remember when we met at the university?” b) “Do you remember when we met at a university?” 2) Which one is more appropriate? a) “It is windy shall we go into a house now?” b) “It is windy shall we go into the house now?” 3) In the context we are considering, would it be th e mammal mamm alss? appropriate to use referring expression the 4) In this context, would it be appropriate to use the poli tician? tici an? referring expression the poli
al . (2007: 73) state that “The Hurford et al. th e appropriateness appropriateness of the definite article the is is dependent on the context in which it is used. The expression judged inappropriate inappropriate in the previous practice would be quite appropriate in other contexts. Contexts are constructed continuously during the course of conversation. As a conversation progresses items previously unmentioned unmentioned and not even associated with the topics so far discussed are mentioned for the first time and then become part of the context the following utterance”
41 4
They further state that “When something s omething is introduced for the first time into a conversation, it is appropriate to use the indefinite article a . Once something is established in the context of the conversation, it is th e appropriate to use the . But the definite article th e is is not the only word which indicates definiteness in English” J. Definiteness They (2007: 73) define that “Definiteness is a feature of a noun phrase selected by the speaker to convey his assumption that the hearer will be able to identify the referent of the noun phrase, usually because it is the only thing of its kind in the context of the utterance, or because it is unique in the universe of discourse.” Examples: Th at book book is is definite, if the speaker assumes the hearer can tell which book is being referred to. She is definite, when the speaker assumes is assu mes the hearer can tell which person is being referred to. The Earth is is definite, because it is the only thing in a normal universe of discourse known by this name. K. Simple Straightforward Narrative Style Alice in Wonderland is written in a very simple s imple straightforward narrative narrative style, in which things are introduced into the context by means of indefinite expressions, e.g. a tabl e, a tr ee, a dor mouse , and subsequently referred to with definite expressions, e.g. it, the th e dormou dor mousse. This kind of style is actually only found in the simplest style. Another example: . . . A woman w oman servant came into into a room in which a child was sleeping and drew the curtain . . . (Maugham, 1861: 9). L. Other Stylistic Device Very often authors begin a narrative using a 42 4
number of definite referring expressions. This stylistic device has the effect of drawing the reader into the narrative fast, by giving the impression that the writer and the reader already share a number of contextual assumption. Novelists use definiteness in strikingly abnormal ways in the opening passages of novels. Example: Having met the girl one evening, at the house of the office superintendent, M. Lantin became enveloped in love in a net (Maupassant, 1976: 1). M. Summary 1. By using deictic words, we can use the same words on different occasions, at different times and places. 2. The definiteness of a referring expression gives the hearer a clue in identifying its referent. N. Exercise VII 1. What is a deictic word? 2. How do you classify deictic words? 3. What is Zonglish? 4. Where is Zonglish spoken? 5. Translate the following sentence into Zonglish
I would woul d li ke to phone you you the th e day afte aft er tomorrow . 6. What is the function of deictic words? 7. Why is Zonglish introduced? 8. What is definiteness? 9. What is meant by a simple straightforward narrative style? 10. What is a more common stylistic device used by novelists?
43 4
UNIT VIII WORDS AND THINGS: EXTENSIONS AND PROTOTYPES A. Some Review of Previous Units. 1. Sense Vs. Reference It is understood that reference is a relationship between certain uttered expressions and the things in the world. While the sense of an expression is its relationship to semantically equivalent or semantically related expressions in the same language. 2. Predicates Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and prepositions are predicates, because they may function as predicators. Other words such as and, becaus because e, not, h ardl ar dly y are are not predicates, because they cannot function as predicators. 3. Context of Utterance. The context of an utterance is a part of the universe of discourse. B. Referent The referent of a referring expression is the thing picked out by the use of that expression on a particular occasion of al ., 2007: 90). utterance (Hurford et al., C. Extension al . (2007: 90) state that “The extension of a Hurford et al. predicate is the complete set of all things which could potentially (i.e. in any possible utterance) be the referent of a referring expression whose head constituent is that predicate” Examples: The extension of cat is the set of all cats in universe. is 44 4
The extension of mango is the set of all mangoes in the is universe. D. Prototype A prototype of a predicate is a typical member of its al . , 2007: 90). extension (Hurford et al. Fill in the chart with „+‟ and „„ -„ to indicate the differences and similarities between these three concepts. Chart 8.1: The Differences and Similarities between Sense, Extension, and Reference Sense
Extension
Reference
Involves a set Independent of particular occasions or utterance Connects language to the world
If someone has the sense of a dog , he/she knows whether an animal is a dog or not. Thus the sense of a predicate provides him/her with an idea of its extension. While a reference of a referring expression that is used in an utterance is an individual member of the extension of the predicate used in the expression. The context of the utterance helps the hearer to identify which particular member it is. For example, “An old, thin, woman patient came to see the doctor this morning”.
45 4
E. Exercise VIII 1. Does every word have sense? 2. Does every word have referent? 3. Does sense belong to words only? 4. Do you know the sense of whale? Do you know the extension of whale? 5.What is a prototype? Illustrate with examples in your answer. 6.Is the difference between reference and sense clear-cut or not? Explain. 7.Distinguish between referent and extension. 8. Describe briefly the extension of a car. 9. Describe briefly the prototype of a house. 10. Can extension and meaning be equated?
46 4
Term Paper A. Some Suggested Titles. 1. Relationships between utterances, sentences, and propositions. 2. Sense relationships versus reference relationships. 3. A study of referring expressions. 4. A study of predicates in syntax versus predicates in semantics. 5. A study of universe of discourse. 6. A study of deictic words. 7. What is Zonglish? 8. Relationships between sense, extension, prototype, and stereotype. 9. A study of three important sense properties of sentences. 10. Hyponymy versus entailment. 11. A study of ambiguity. 12. Homonymy versus polysemy. 13. Rational behavior versus logic. 14. A study of logical notation. 15. A study of rules in inferences. B. Procedures 1. Choose or create a suitable title. 2. Collect relevant references. 3. Study those references collectively as well as individually. 4. Make notes systematically. 5. Formulate the outline of your term paper carefully. 6. Write the draft of your paper individually. 7. Revise your draft carefully. 8. Type your term paper properly. 9. Photocopy your term paper. 10. Hand in a photocopy of your term paper on time and keep the original. 47 4
UNIT IX SENSE PROPERTIES AND STEREOTYPES
-pl aced d Be sure that you know: 0ne-, two-, and th r ee-place pre pr edicate di catess, ex ex tensi tensi on, on , and prototype. prototype. Thr ough word word formation the degrees of predicates may change. As examples, shar p ( one-place predicate) to sharpen (twoone-place (twoplaced predicate). A. Truism To be able to communicate meaningfully about anything, it is necessary to agree on the meanings of the words used. This is called truism. In every day life, people reach agreement and on the meanings of almost all the words they apply and as results they can communicate effectively effectively and successfully (Hurford et al., 2007: 94). B. Three Important I mportant Sense Properties of Sentences 1. Analytic sentence An analytic sentence is one that is necessarily true, as the result of the senses of the words in it. Examples: whal es are ar e mammals a. Al l whale The truth of the sentence follows from the senses of whale and mammal. Ever y human hu man bei bei ng i s mortal b. Ever The truth of the sentence follows from the senses of human hu man be bei ng and and mortal. c. Bachelors Bachelor s are ar e un marr mar r i ed . The truth of the sentence follows from the senses of bachelor and unmarried. 2. Synthetic sentence A synthetic sentence is one which is not analytic, but 48 4
may be either true or false, depending on the way the world is. Examples: i s Su nday a. Today is . The sentence is either true or false depending on when it is spoken. Joh n has be been graduated gr aduated b. John . The sentence is either true or false depending on the facts related with the statement. i s ver ver y happy. c. T om is The truth of the sentence depends on John‟s condition. 3. Contradiction sentence A contradiction is a sentence that is necessarily false, as a result of the words in it. Thus a contradiction is in a way the opposite of an analytic sentence. Examples: Wh ale es are ar e ve vegetabl getabl es a. Whal . The sentence is contradiction because of the senses of whale and vegetable. b. John is younger than his own son. The sentence is contradiction because of senses of the words used in the sentence. Analytic sentences can be formed from contradictions, and vice versa, by the insertion or removal of the negator not. Examples: 1. Whales are vegetables Whales are not vegetables. 2. Man is mortal Man is immortal.
C. A Necessary Condition and A Sufficient Set of Conditions.
49 4
A necessary condition (NC) on the sense of predicate is a condition (or criterion) which a thing must meet in order to qualify as being correctly described by that predicate. A Sufficient set of conditions (SSC) on th3e sense of predicate is a set of conditions (or criteria) which, if they are met by a thing, are enough in themselves to guarantee that the predicate correctly describe that thing. Examples: 1. Predicate: square NC : four-sided SSC : Plane figure, four-sided, equal-sided, containing right angles 2. Predicate: „bule’ „bule’ NC : white colored SSC : European/American/Australian/ European/American/Australian/New New Zealander, white colored. 3. Predicate: moslem NC : bersahadat : ber ber sahadat, sembahyang mbahyan g l i ma waktu, wakt u, puasa SSC
dal dal am bulan r amadhan, amadhan, zakat, zakat, haji . Notes: As it is shown in the examples the conditions of predicates are stated in terms of other predicates. Actually it is possible to give complete definitions definitions of some predicates in the form of a necessary and sufficient list of other predicates. Kinship predicates and shape predicates are common in this case. Examples: 1) Father is adequately defined as male parent. 2) Female spouse is adequately defined as wife. 3) Hexagon is adequately defined as five-sided plane figure. 4) Triangle is adequately defined as three-sided plane figure.
50 5
Ludwig Wittgennstein argued against the idea that definitions of the meaning of words can be given in the form of sets of necessary and sufficient conditions conditions involves the word game. D. Stereotype The stereotype of a predicate is a list of the typical characteristics or features of things to which the predicate may be applied. Example: Whale: big aquatic mammal, looking like a fish, breathing air, bearing live young, having front limbs modified into flippers and a flat and horizontal tail. A stereotype is related to a prototype, but they are different. A prototype of whale is an actual whale, whereas the stereotype of whale is is a list of characteristics that describe the prototype. Another difference between prototype and stereotype is that a speaker may know a stereotype for some predicates, such as ghost, witchdoctor, flying saucer, but he does not actually know any prototype of them. Table 9.1: Prototype and Stereotype Relationship Thing(s) specified Connecting to all examples Connecting to typical examples
Extension
Abstract specification Sense
Prototype
Stereotype
E. Summary 1. The notions of prototype and stereotype are relatively new in semantics.
51 5
2. The relationships between stereotype, prototype, sense, and extension are illustrated in Table 9.1. 3. The sense of an expression can be thought of as the sum of its sense properties and sense relation. Sense properties of sentences include those of being analytic, synthetic, and a contradiction. 4. Except a few predicates such as bachelor, mother, square, and sphere, it is not possible to give complete definitions definitions of the sense of most predicates by sets of necessary and sufficient conditions. 5. Stereotypes that are defined in terms of typical characteristics describe the fact that people usually us ually agree on the meanings of the words they use. E. Exercise IX 1. What is an analytic sentence? Use examples in your answer. 2. What is a synthetic sentence? Illustrate with examples examples in your answer. 3. Compare an analytic sentence with a contradictory and use examples in your answer. 4. Compare an analytic sentence with a synthetic sentence. Which one is more informative? Why? 5. What is a necessary condition on the sense of a predicate? Use examples in your answer. 6. What is a sufficient set of condition on the sense of a predicate? Use examples in your answer. 7. What is the prototype of a camel? 8. What is the stereotype of a camel? 9. Is it possible to give definitions of the sense of some predicates by sets of necessary and sufficient conditions? 10. Explain why?
52 5
UNIT X IDENTITY AND SIMILARITY OF SENSE A. Synonymy Synonymy is the relationship between two predicates that have the same sense. Examples: Stubborn and and obstinate Mercury si l ver ver and and qui ck si Brigand and and bandit 1. Imperfect synonymy In English as well as in other languages it is very hard to find examples of perfect synonymy. The following synonyms are the examples of imperfect synonymy in English. The members of each pair are not mutually substitutable. Conceal and hide Purchase and and buy Profound and and deep Kids and children Fall and autumn Freedom and and liberty
D eep and pr pr ofound ofou nd It is correct to say “Let‟s hide from Mummy”, but it is semantically incorrect to say “Let‟s conceal from Mummy”. The same thing with “Accept our profound sympathy”, but it is wrong to say “The well in my garden is profound”. 2. Predicate relation versus word relation
53 5
The word hide has four different senses. They are: hide1, the intransitive verb as in Let’s in Let’s hide from Mummy Mummy,, hide2, the transitive verb as in H i de your swee weeti es unde un der r the the pillow, hide3 , the noun, as in We watch the bir ds f r om the hide, and hide4, the noun, as in Th e hi de of an ox weighs 200 lbs . Each distinct sense is a predicate. Only Hide2, but neither hide1, hide3, nor hide4 has a synonym of conceal. So synonymy is a relation between predicates, and not between words. B. Paraphrase al . (2007: 108) state: “A sentence Hurford et al. sentence which expresses the same proposition as another sentence is a paraphrase of that sentence . . . Paraphrase is to sentences . . . as synonymy is to predicates . . . ” Examples:
Gir Gi r l s pre pr ef er r ed uni un i ver ver si ty graduates graduates is a paraphrase of Gr aduates aduates of u ni ver ver si ty are pre pr ef er r ed by gir l s C. Hyponymy They state: “Hyponymy is a sense relation between predicates (or sometimes longer phrases) such that the meaning of one predicate (or phrase) is included in the meaning of the other” (2007: 109). Examples: 1) The meaning of r ed is is included in the meaning of scarlet . Red is the super-ordinate term, while scarlet is is a hyponym of red. 2) The meaning of emotion is included in the meaning of f ear. Emoti on is is the super-ordinate, su per-ordinate, while fear is is a hyponym of emotion.
Hyponymy is defined in terms of the inclusion of the sense of one item in the sense of another. As an example, the 54 5
sense of mammal is included in the sense of cow. This inclusion can be illustrated by the following diagram giving a list of the sense components of cow. It is seen that this list includes the component mammal.
sense of cow
Mammal bovine female
sense of mammal
Diagram 10.1: Inclusion of the sense of super-ordinate in the sense of hyponym. In the following diagram, the inclusion relationship appears the other way round.
The set of all mammals The set of all cows
Diagram 10.2: The extensions of cow and mammal D. Symmetrical Hyponymy Synonymy is a special case of hyponymy, hyponymy, i.e. symmetrical s ymmetrical hyponymy. If X is a hyponymy of Y and if Y is also a hyponym of X, then X and Y are synonymous. Examples: 1) Mercury 1) Mercury and and quick silver are are synonymous, s ynonymous, therefore mercury and quick silver are hyponyms of each other. 2) Stubborn and Stubborn and obstinate are obstinate are synonymous, so they are hyponyms of each other.
55 5
E. Entailment 1. Definition They state: “A proposition X ENTAILS a proposition Y if the truth of Y follows necessarily from the truth of X” (2007: 111). Examples: 1 ) Corruption exists every where where entails entails It It is difficult to stop it. 2) SBY was elected as the president entails His entails His wife became the first lady. 2. Entailment applies cumulatively. If X entails Y and Y entails Z, then X entails Z. Example: A, Ken A, Ken Arok assassinated Tunggul Ametung Ametung entailed entailed B, Tunggul Ametung died entailed entailed C, Ken Dedes became a widow entailed widow entailed D, Ken D, Ken Arok married her entailed entailed E , Ken Arok became the king A E 3. Paraphrase and entailment Two sentences may be said to be paraphrases of each other if and only if they have exactly the same set of entailments or if and only if they mutually entail each other so that whenever one is true the other must be true. Examples: Jane and Mary are twins entails twins entails Mary Mary and Jane are twins. 4. Entailment- paraphrase and hyponymy-synonymy hyponymy-synonymy The relation between entailment and paraphrase is parallel to the relationship between hyponymy and synonymy. Synonymy is symmetric hyponymy, paraphrase is symmetric s ymmetric entailment.
56 5
Table 10.1: Relation between ent. – par. and hyp. – syn. – – syn. Relation between pairs of sentences
Relation between pairs of words
Not necessarily symmetric Symmetric Fill in the chart with entailment, paraphrase, hyponymy, and synonymy. 4. Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion The Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion (BRSI) can be stated as follows: Given two sentences A and B, identical in every way except that A contains a word X where B contains a different word Y, and X is a hyponym of Y, then sentence A entails sentence B. Examples: A Henry was chewing a tulip John was attacked by a bear bear David fried a pound of beef beef Mary drew an armed chair
B Henry was chewing a flower John was attacked by an animal David cooked a pound of beef Mary drew a piece of furniture
The BRSI does not work in all cases. There are systematic exceptions when certain logical words, such as not and and all, are all, are involved. Example one: A B Sam was not chewing a tulip Sam was not chewing a flower Bill wasn’t attacked by a bear bear Bill wasn’t attacked by an animal David did not fry a pound of David didn’t cook a pound pound 57 5
beef of beef Mary didn’t draw an armed Mary didn’t draw a piece of chair furniture. In example one, the B sentences entail the A sentences. Because if it is true t rue that Sam was not chewing a flower, then it must be true that he was not chewing a tulip. Example two: A B Bob chewed up all my tulips tulips Bob chewed up all my flowers All Bill’s sheep are white All Bill’s animals are white. Mary colored all chairs pink Mary colored all furniture red red The B sentences entail the A sentences, but the entailment only happens when the set of things referred to by the phrase including all actually exists. For example, All example, All Bill’s animals are white entails white entails All All Bill’s sheep are white only white only if Bill actually has some sheep, i.e. if some of his animals are in fact sheep. F. Exercise X 1. What is meant by the term perfectly synonymous? 2. Explain what is meant by stating “Synonymy is a relation between predicates, and and not between words” 3. What is the relation between hyponymy, super-ordinate, and hyponym? 4. What is meant by the term entailment? 5. Explain that entailment applies cumulatively. 6. What is the relation between entailment and paraphrase? 7. What is the relation between hyponymy and synonymy? 8. What is the Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion Inclusion (BRSI)? (BRSI)? 9. What are the systematic exceptions of BRSI? 10. How are the notions of synonymy and paraphrase distinguished in semantics?
58 5
UNIT XI OPPOSITENESS, OPPOSITENESS, DISSIMILARITY, DISSIMILARITY, AND AMBIGUITY
A. Antonymy 1. Traditional view A traditional view of antonymy is that it is simply „oppositeness of meaning‟. It is not adequate, because words may be opposite in meaning in different ways, and some words have no real opposites. Examples: 1) hot >< cold 2) 2) thick >< thin 3) buy >< sell 4) lend >< borrow 5) 5) male >< female 6) true >< false 7) lunch >< . . . 8) liquid >< . . . Hot is is not the opposite of cold in in the same way as borrow is the opposite of lend. Thick is not the opposite of thin in thin in the same way as true is the opposite of false. of false. 2. Four Basic types of Antonomy a. Binary Antonyms Hurford et al. (2007: 121) state: “Binary antonyms are predicates which come come in pairs and between them them exhaust all the relevant possibilities. If the one predicate is applicable, then the other cannot be, and vice versa” Examples: 59 5
true >< false If a sentence is true, it true, it cannot be false be false.. If it is false, it cannot be true. Married >< unmarried Dead >< alive Same >< different b. Converses Hurford et al. (2007: 123) state: “ If a predicate describes a relationship between two things (people) and some other predicate describes describes the same relationship when the the two things (people) are mentioned in the opposite order, then the two predicates are converses converses of each other” Examples: (1) Parent (1) Parent >< child Parent and and child are converses, because because X X is the parent of Y describes the same relationship as Y is the child of X (2) below >< above (3) grandparent >< grandchild (4) younger (4) younger than >< older than (5) own >< belong to In binary antonomy and converses discussed so far, the antonyms come in pairs. Between them, the members of a pair of binary antonyms fully fill the area to which they can be applied. Such area can be thought of as miniature semantic systems, sometimes known as semantic fields. For examples, male >< female and female and true >< false. false. Other systems can be three, or four, or any number of members, depending upon the way in which the system syste m is organized. Examples: (1) Season system (2) Physical state system (3) Playing card system (4) Day system 60 6
(5) Traffic light system Multiple Incompatibility a) All the terms in a given system are mutually incompatible. For instance, a playing card cannot belong to both the hearts hearts suit and the spade suit. Besides hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs, there are no other suits. These systems are called multiple incompatibility. There are large numbers of open-ended systems of multiple incompatible. b) Together, the members of a system s ystem cover all the relevant area. Examples of open-ended systems (1) English color system (2) plant name system (3) metal name system (4) fish name system (5) mammal name system c. Gradable antonyms Hurford et al. (2007: 125) state: “Two predicates are gradable antonyms if they are at opposite ends of a continuous scale of values.” values.” Examples: (1) hot >< cold Between hot and cold there is a continuous scale of values, warm, cool , and tepid. What tepid. What is called hot in one context could be classed as cold in in another context. (2 ) tall >< short (3) long >< short (4) clever >< stupid (5) love >< hate
61 6
A good test for gradability is to see whether a word can combine with a qualifier, or very much?, or much?, or how much? For much? For example, How example, How tall is he? is he? is acceptable, but How but How top is that shelf? is shelf? is not acceptable. d. Contradictory Antonymy is a relationship between predicates, and the corresponding relationship between sentences is contradictoriness. Hurford et al. (2007: 126) state: “A proposition is contradictory of another proposition if it is impossible for them both to be true at the same same time and of the same circumstances.” Examples: (1) This snake is alive is alive is a contradictory of This snake is dead. (2) That is true is true is a contradictory of That is false (3) This doorhandle is brass is brass is a contradictory of This doorhandle is plastic. B. Ambiguous One of the goals of semantic theory is to describe and explain ambiguities in words and in sentences. 1. Definition of ambiguous Hurford et al . (2007: 128) state: “A word or a sentence is ambiguous when it has more than one sense. A sentence is ambiguous if two or more paraphrases which are not themselves paraphrases of each other” Example: We saw her duck is is a paraphrase of We saw her lower her head and of We saw the duck belonging to her , and these two sentences are not paraphrases of each other. So We saw her duck is is ambiguous. Exercise: Give two paraphrases which are not paraphrases of each other: (1) The lamb is too hot to eat. (2) Visiting relatives are boring. 62 6
(3) They passed the port at midnight. (4) The thing that bothered Bill was crouching under the table. (5) The captain corrected the list. 2. Definition of ambiguous words and phrase They (2007: 129) state: “In the case of words and phrases, a word or a phrase is ambiguous if it has two (or more) synonyms that are not themselves synonyms of each other” Example: Trunk is is synonymous with elephant’s proboscis and proboscis and with chest, but chest, but the two are not synonyms of each other, so trunk is is ambiguous. In Indonesian bisa is synonymous with dapat and with racun, but racun, but these two words are not synonyms of each other, so bisa is ambiguous. Exercise: For each of the following words, find two synonymous words or phrases that are not themselves synonymous. (1) bust (2) plane (3) crop (4) pen (5) sage C. Homonymy Hurford et al. ( 2007: 2007: 130) state “ . . . homonymy is one of ambiguous word whose different senses are far apart from each other and not obviously related to each other in any way with respect to a native speaker‟s institution.” Examples: (1) mug (drinking vessel vs. gullible person (2) bank (financial institution institution vs. the side of a river river or stream). D. Polysemy They state “ . . . polysemy is one where a word has several very closely related senses.” 63 6
Examples: (1) Mouth (of a river vs of an animal) (2) Foot (of a person or an animal vs of a mountain) Polysemy is not restricted to just one part of speech. Examples: (1) The dog does not bark vs. The bark of tree (2) To steer (to guide) vs. A steer (young bull) (3) To punch (to blow with a fist) vs. Punch (kind of fruity alcoholic drink) Exercises: Disambiguate the following ambiguous words simply by giving two or more parts of speech (1) sack: verb vs. noun. (2) Fast (3) Flat (4) Rock (5) File D. Structurally or Grammatically Ambiguous A sentence which is ambiguous a mbiguous because its words relate to each other in different ways, even though none of the individual words are ambiguous, is structurally (grammatically) (grammatically) ambiguous. Examples: (1) The lamb is too hot to eat. (2) Visiting relatives can be boring. E. Lexical Ambiguity Any ambiguity resulting from the ambiguity of a word is a lexical ambiguity. Examples: (1) The captain corrected the list is lexically ambiguous. a mbiguous. (2) Hak wanita Indonesia tinggi.
64 6
F. Referentially Versatile A phrase is referentially versatile if it can be used to refer to a wide range of different things or persons. Examples: (1) Personal pronouns (2) Relative pronouns (3) Other kinds of pronouns. G. Referential Vagueness Some nouns and adjectives are gradable. Examples are tall and short and short (adjectives) and mountain and mountain and hill (nouns). (nouns). There is no absolute line drawn between tall and short and short , there is no absolute distinction between mountain and hill . What is referred to on one occasion with that mountain might mountain might be called that hill on on another occasion. Hence expressions such as that hill and and that mountain are mountain are referentially vague. Referential vagueness is not the same thing as ambiguity. F. Exercise XI (1) What is meant by binary antonymy? (2) What is meant by converses? (3) What is meant by the term mutually incompatible? incompatible? (4) What is meant by open-ended systems of multiple incompatibility? (5) What is a good test for gradability? (6) When is proposition contradictory? contradictory? (7) Compare homonymy with polysemy. (8) Compare referential versatility with vagueness. (9) Compare structural ambiguity with lexical ambiguity. (10) How are homonymy and polysemy treated in a dictionary?
65 6
UNIT XI INTRODUCTORY LOGIC A. Entry Requirements 1. Do the following pre-test (1) Does the following sentence distinguish sentences from propositions correctly? A proposition is the abstract meaning of a declarative sentence, when that sentence is used to make an assertion. Consider the following eight sentences: (a) John passed the hammer and saw through the window (b) John saw through the window and passed the hammer. (c) John passed the hammer and the saw through the window. (d) John passed the saw and the hammer through the window. (e) John passed the hammer. (f) John saw through the window. (g) The hammer which John saw was not a hammer. (h) A saw is a tool. (2) Say which of the above sentences is ambiguous. (3) Two other sentences in this set are in a paraphrase relation. Which two? (4) Which sentence is entailed by sentence (d) but does not entail it? (5) Which of the above sentences is analytic? (6) Which of the above sentences sen tences is contradiction? 2. Feedback (1) Yes, (2) (a), (3) (c) and (d), (4) (e), (5) (h), and (6) (g). If your score at least 5 correct out of 6, continue to introduction. Otherwise, review the relevant units.
66 6
B. Introduction As a matter of fact, the word logic means logic means many things in our life. It may mean: (1) a science of reasoning, (2) a particular system of reasoning, reasoning, (3) a chain of reasoning, reasoning, (4) an ability to reason correctly, or (5) in computing principles used in designing a computer Many everyday uses of logic and logic and logical could could be replaced by expressions such as reasonable behavior and and reasonable. 1. Definition of logic Hurford et al. (2007: 142) define: “Logic deals with meaning in a language system, not with actual behavior of any sort. Logic deals most centrally with propositions. The terms „logic‟ and „logical‟ do not apply directly to utterances (which are instances of behavior).” Hurford et al. (2007:142) state that there is an important connection between logic and rational action, yet it is wrong to say that both of them are equal. Logic is just a contributing factor of rational behavior. A rational behavior contains: (1) goals (2) assumptions and knowledge about existing states of Affairs (a situation) (3) calculations, based on the assumptions and knowledge, leading to ways of achieving the goals. The first example of rational behavior: (1) Goal: to eliminate my hunger (2) Assumptions and knowledge: Hunger is eliminated by eating food. Fried rice is food. There is a portion of fried rice in front of me. I can eat this portion of fried rice. (3) Calculations: 67 6
If hunger is eliminated by eating this portion of rice, then hunger is eliminated by eating fried rice. If hunger is eliminated by eating fried rice, then my own hunger would be eliminated by eating this portion p ortion of fried rice in front of me, and eating this portion of fried rice would eliminate my hunger, and my goal to eliminate my hunger is achieved. Rational action: eating the portion of fried rice. The second example of rational behavior: (1) Goal: To build a just and prosperous society. (2) Assumptions and knowledge: Colonial governments, Dutch as well as Japanese Ja panese governments, have proved to be suppressing Indonesian common people. A liberal government has not been appropriate for most people. It gave more right and protection to the strong; on the other hand it suppressed the weak. A military government has been corrupted and suppressing common people. The ideal one is a democratic government, it gives the same right and protection to every body. (3) Calculation: The Indonesian government is not a colonial government; it is neither liberal nor military government, but it is a transitional government government from a military and/or liberal government toward a democratic one. The most remarkable characteristic of the present government is that corruption occurs at all levels through out the country. To have a democratic government we have to eradicate corruption. If
68 6
69 6