Module 3 L4. Word and Sentence Meaning Consists of: word 1/ Semantics and the study of the word: sense relation 3/ Aspect of Sentential Meaning sentence 2/ Semantics and the Nature of the Lexicon 4/ Pragmatics and Speech Acts Theory

Unit 1: 1/ Semantics and the study of the word: sense relation Sense/lexical relations used to explain meaning of English words as: Synonymy Antonymy Hyponymy Homonoymy Polysemy Mentonymy

As you study you know: 1/ Semantics theories try to explain the nature the meaning of words and sentences. 2/ meaning of a word is realized from its referential or denotation characteristics. 3/ some words it is not easy to analyze their characteristics.  Therefore, it is better to study them by the relation that create with other words which is based on the sense of the words

 This sense relation study through Synonymy Antonymy Hyponymy Homonoymy Polysemy Metonymy We will use these sense relation to study t he meaning of words, as follows:

when the relation is closed and similar..   between word we used it. We call them synonymous. Like this set of synonymy: Sad/angry/depressed/afraid(emotional set)  Pairs of words with similar meaning called synonymys as:-  Friends/ally  Boss/master  Amiable/friendly s ynonymy

Synonym typeDefinitionExample Stylistic (most common) A lexical unit that has a similar range of reference but is differentiated by speaker intention, the audience, and the situation.range of reference {happy, glad, joyful}

a word opposite in meaning to another. Fast is an antonym of slow. Has two types: Gradable: : Differ by degree and can compared with suffix As tall --- taller- tallest More most Antonymy

Also in substitution like: Everybody/everyone Bandit /brigand( قاطع طريق Some are broad or near: Rich غني / sumptuous باذخ

nongradable No compare – but complementary(binary) pairs Examples: Male/ female Sister/brother Buy/ sell Master/ servant

Categories of Antonyms There are three categories of antonyms: Graded antonyms - deal with levels of the meaning of the words, like if something is not “good”, is may still not be “bad.” There is a scale involved with some words, and besides good and bad there can be average, fair, excellent, terrible, poor, or satisfactory. Complementary antonyms - have a relationship where there is no middle ground. There are only two possibilities, either one or the other. Relational antonyms - are sometimes considered a subcategory of complementary antonyms. With these pairs, for there to be a relationship, both must exist. The chart below shows examples of all three categories of antonyms.

More example for un-gradable for final exam fat and skinny- young and old -happy and sad -hard and soft last and first - foolish and wise -fast and slow -warm -and cool wide and narrow- abundant and scarce- joy and grief - dark and light -dangerous and safe -clever and foolish early and late empty and full -smart and dumb -risky and safe bad and good pretty and ugly best and worst simple and challenging soft and hard worried and calm sane and crazy rich and poor cool and hot wet and dry late and early ignorant and educated big and small optimistic and pessimistic excited and bored

L adding a Prefix Sometimes, an antonym can be easily made by adding a prefix. Examples of antonyms that were made by adding the prefix “un” are: Likely and unlikely Able and unable Fortunate and unfortunate Forgiving and unforgiving By adding the prefix “non” you can make these pairs:

Entity and nonentity Conformist and nonconformist Payment and nonpayment Combatant and noncombatant Lastly, adding the prefix “in” can make the following pairs: Tolerant and intolerant Decent and indecent Discreet and indiscreet Excusable and inexcusable

hyponymy A hyponym is a subordinate, specific term whose referent is included in the referent of super ordinate term. Likes: blue- green= ar to super word color. Hyponymy is not restricted to objects, abstract concepts, or nouns. It can be identified in many other areas of the lexicon.

Examples: E.g. the verb cook has many hyponyms. Word: Cook Hyponyms: Roast مشوي, boil مسلوق, fry مقلي, grill مشوي, bake محمص, etc. Word: color Hyponyms: blue, red, yellow, green, black and purple. In a lexical field, hyponymy may exist at more than one level. A word may have both a hyponym and a super ordinate term. For example, Word: Living Hyponym: bird, insects, animals Now let's take the word bird from above hyponyms. Word: Bird Hyponyms: sparrow, عصفور hawk صقر, crow, غراب fowl طير / ذجاج

Homonymy Words with same spelling and pronunciation but with different meaning:: Bank- river Bank- financial Fly- insect Fly move Lead- verb guide Lead –make pencil9 رصاص

Words with same pronucaition but different spelling Key- quay Been- bean Court- caught Were- where two- to Eye- I

Hyponymy It describes what happens when we say 'An X is a kind of Y'--A daffodil is a kind of flower, or simply, A daffodil is a flower.“ A meaning of word included in the meaning of another. Dogs- elephant, goat,… are included in animals, Hierarchical structure

المفهوم الماخوذ

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Polysemy It means when a word has multiple meaning Has one entry in dictionary examples Foot head

of a person Foot of mountain of notes part of a body Head department of meeting How?

Metonymy كناية Metonymies are frequently used in literature and in everyday speech. A metonymy is a word or phrase that is used to stand in for another word. Sometimes a metonymy is chosen because it is a well-known characteristic of the word. One famous example of metonymy is the saying, "The pen is mightier than the sword,“ which originally came from Edward Bulwer Lytton's play Richelieu. This sentence has two examples of metonymy: The "pen" stands in for "the written word."

Examples for Metonymy words Crown - in place of a royal person The White House - in place of the President or others who work there The restaurant: staff Dish - for an entire plate of food The Pentagon - to refer to the staff Ears - for giving attention ("Lend me your ears!" from Mark Antony in Julius Caesar)

More examples Eyes - for sight The library - for the staff or the books Pen - for the written word Sword - for military might Silver fox - for an attractive older man Hand - for help The name of a country - used in place of the government, economy, etc. The name of a church - used in place of its individual members The name of a sports team - used in place of its individual members

Examples for metonymy sentences These sentences will further enhance your appreciation and understanding of metonymies. The metonymy is underlined. We must wait to hear from the crown until we make any further decisions. The White House will be announcing the decision around noon today. If we do not fill out the forms properly, the suits will be after us shortly. She's planning to serve the dish early in the evening. The cup is quite tasty. The Pentagon will be revealing the decision later on in the morning.

The restaurant has been acting quite rude lately. Learn how to use your eyes properly! The library has been very helpful to the students this morning. That individual is quite the silver fox. Can you please give me a hand carrying this box up the stairs? The United States will be delivering the new product to us very soon.

Why to use metonymy As with other literary devices, one of the main purposes of using a metonymy is: to add flavor to the writing. Instead of just repeatedly saying, "the staff at the restaurant" or naming all of the elements of a dinner each time you want to refer to the meal, one word breaks up some of that awkwardness. Using a metonymy serves a double purpose - it breaks up any awkwardness of repeating the same phrase over and over and it changes the wording to make the sentence more interesting.

Questions’ Bank A. 1. Give the synonymy of the following 2. Give the antonym for these words: ___________________ 3. Give the Hyponymy for these words: _______________ 4. Give the homonymy for the following?

B. What are the types meaning sense relation ? Word 1Word 2Sense relation fatthinsynonymy happygladhomonymy antonym hyponymy polysemy

Next: Semantics and the Nature of the Lexicon 1. Semantics and the nature of the Lexicon Subcategorizing English Words Role Relations of Lexical items