English 306A; Harris 1 Semantics Ambiguity The proposition and truth conditions Entailment Denotation Intension Extension Linguistic relativity Semantic primes

English 306A; Harris 2 Linguistic relativity A.K.A. “Whorfian hypothesis” After Benjamin Lee Whorf, author of Language, thought, and reality

English 306A; Harris 3 Linguistic relativity A.K.A. “Whorfian hypothesis” That different languages shape different perceptions of the world.

English 306A; Harris 4 Linguistic relativity “ the principle of linguistic relativity holds that all observers are not led by the same physical evidence to the same picture of the universe, unless their linguistic backgrounds are similar, or can in some way be calibrated” (Language, thought, and reality, 214)

English 306A; Harris 5 Whorf on Hopi (as a metonym) I find it gratuitous to assume that a Hopi who knows only the Hopi language and the cultural ideas of his own society has the same notions, often supposed to be intuitions, of time and space that we have, and that are generally assumed to be universal. In particular, he has no general notion or intuition of time as a smooth flowing continuum in which everything in the universe proceeds at an equal rate, out of a future, through a present, into a past … In [the] Hopi view, time disappears and space is altered, so that it is no longer the homogeneous and instantaneous timeless space of our supposed intuition or of classical Newtonian mechanics. Language, thought, and reality (56, 58).

English 306A; Harris 6 Linguistic relativity hypothesis Strong form Language determines thought; speakers of different languages inhabit different, mutually inaccessible realities Weak form Language influ- ences thought

English 306A; Harris 7 Navajo and “obligation” English I must go there. Navajo It is only good that I go there.

English 306A; Harris 8 Navajo and “control” English I am riding the horse. Navajo The horse runs for me.

English 306A; Harris 9 Lexical Elaboration Quiz ShoulderBreast

English 306A; Harris 10 Navajo kinship lexicalization (partial) ?akso˘t hakso˘t no≥yeh ha≥nih hakhno≥she akeÚ˘hak grandmother or maternal great aunt grandfather or paternal great uncle mother or maternal aunt father or paternal uncle maternal uncle paternal aunt

English 306A; Harris 11 Navajo and motion one moves into clothing one moves about here and there a fabric-like object moves about one moves about newly to move words out of an enclosed space ≥e˘h÷ha˘h na÷ha˘h na$˘lco$˘s ≥ani˘÷na÷h a ha÷di÷≥a˘h

English 306A; Harris 12 Navajo and motion one dresses one moves about here and there a fabric-like object moves about one moves about newly to move words out of an enclosed space ≥e˘h÷ha˘h na÷ha˘h na$˘lco$˘s ≥ani˘÷na÷h a ha÷di÷≥a˘h

English 306A; Harris 13 Navajo and motion one dresses one lives a fabric-like object moves about one moves about newly to move words out of an enclosed space ≥e˘h÷ha˘h na÷ha˘h na$˘lco$˘s ≥ani˘÷na÷h a ha÷di÷≥a˘h

English 306A; Harris 14 Navajo and motion one dresses one lives a letter one moves about newly to move words out of an enclosed space ≥e˘h÷ha˘h na÷ha˘h na$˘lco$˘s ≥ani˘÷na÷h a ha÷di÷≥a˘h

English 306A; Harris 15 Navajo and motion one dresses one lives a letter to be young to move words out of an enclosed space ≥e˘h÷ha˘h na÷ha˘h na$˘lco$˘s ≥ani˘÷na÷h a ha÷di÷≥a˘h

English 306A; Harris 16 Navajo and motion one dresses one lives a letter to be young to sing ≥e˘h÷ha˘h na÷ha˘h na$˘lco$˘s ≥ani˘÷na÷h a ha÷di÷≥a˘h

English 306A; Harris 17 to-strike-with-foot in Navajo and English English [kHIk] The horse kicked the mule. The mule kicked the horse. The man kicked the horse. The horse kicked the man. Navajo [yizta¬] The horse kicked the mule. The mule kicked the horse. The man kicked the horse. The horse kicked the man.

English 306A; Harris 18 English and striking-with-foot English “kick” The horse kicked the mule. The horse controlled the action. The horse struck the mule with its foot/feet. The mule did not help bring this action about. Partial overlap in meaning with [yizta¬], but low relevance Full overlap in meaning with [yizta¬], high relevance Full mismatch with [yizta¬], complete irrelevance

English 306A; Harris 19 Navajo and striking-with-foot Navajo “kicking” [yizta¬] The horse “kicked” the man. The horse controlled the action. The horse struck the mule with its foot/feet. The man did not help bring this action about. Semantically anomalous--horses can’t control actions that impact humans--and grammatically screwy

English 306A; Harris 20 RoleDefinition Agent The entity that performs the action Patient The entity undergoing the action; the object of the experience Experiencer The entity that experiences the state Receiver The entity that receives something from the action Beneficiary The entity that benefits from the action Essive Anything predicated by the (main) verb “to be” Possessor The entity who possesses something. Source The starting point for a movement Goal The end point for a movement Path The route over which movement happens Time The time an event occurs Location The place an event happens Semantic Roles

English 306A; Harris 21 RoleEvent Schemata Agent DOING, MOVING, TRANSFERRING Patient BEING, HAPPENING, DOING, EXPERIENCING, HAVING, MOVING, TRANSFERRING Experiencer EXPERIENCING Receiver TRANSFERRING Essive BEING Possessor HAVING, TRANSFERRING Source MOVING, TRANSFERRING Goal Path Time ALL Location Semantic Roles

English 306A; Harris 22 Navajo Agency yizta¬ mules and horses, reciprocal agency non-human-animate  non-human-animate humans and horses (and mules), unilateral agency human  non-human-animate kick mules, horses, humans, reciprocal agency animate  animate Agent, Patient Agent human, Patient non-human Agent non-human, Patient -human

English 306A; Harris 23 Semantic primes ABOVE, AFTER, ALL, BAD, BECAUSE, BEFORE, BELOW, BIG, BODY, CAN, DIE, DO, FAR, FEEL, FOR SOME TIME, GOOD, HAPPEN, HAVE, HEAR, HERE, I, IF, INSIDE, KIND OF, KNOW, LIKE, LIVE, MANY(/MUCH), MAYBE, MOMENT, MORE, MOVE, LONG, NEAR, NOT, NOW, ONE, OTHER, PART-OF, PERSON, THE SAME, SAY, SEE, SIDE, SMALL, SOME, SOMEONE, SOMETHING, THERE-IS, THINK, THIS, TOUCH, TRUE, TWO, VERY, WANT, WHEN, WHERE, WORD, YOU, …

English 306A; Harris 24 Semantic primes FRED CAUSE-PAST (BARNEY BECOME NOT-ALIVE) Fred killed Barney Barney is dead BARNEY BE NOT-ALIVE Barney died. BARNEY BECOME-PAST NOT-ALIVE FRED CAUSE-PAST (BARNEY BECOME NOT-ALIVE) WITH BAD- INTENT WITH PLAN Fred murdered Barney

English 306A; Harris 25 Event SchemataSemantic Primes HAPPENING HAPPEN DOING DO EXPERIENCING FEEL BEING BE HAVING OWN MOVING HAPPEN-GO DO-CAUSE-TO-GO TRANSFERING COME-T0-OWN DO-CAUSE-TO-OWN Semantic Primes / Event Schemata

English 306A; Harris 26 ≥e˘h÷ha˘h na÷ha˘h na$˘lco$˘s ≥ani˘÷na÷h a ha÷di÷≥a˘h Navajo and motion SOMEONE GO INTO CLOTHING SOMEONE GO HERE AND THERE SOMETHING LIKE FABRIC GO HERE AND THERE SOMEONE NEW GO TO CAUSE (WORDS GO OUT FROM CONTAINER)

English 306A; Harris 27 Navajo and “control” English I am riding the horse. Navajo The horse runs for me. Agent Patient Beneficiary

English 306A; Harris 28 Navajo and control/causation English I am riding the horse. I CAUSE (HORSE GO-FOR-ME) Navajo The horse runs for me. HORSE CAUSE (HORSE GO-FOR-ME)

English 306A; Harris 29 Navajo and control/causation English I am riding the horse. Doing, V 2 Navajo The horse runs for me. Doing, V 1 (≈ V COMP )

English 306A; Harris 30 Navajo and control/causation English I am riding the horse. Doing, V 2 Navajo The horse runs for me. Doing, V 1 (≈ V COMP ) Navajo and English use the same basic resources (Universality) to different effects. They can be mapped into one another via these resources (Parity).

English 306A; Harris 31 Navajo worldview (Weltsicht) What is it? Who knows? Is it the same as the SAE worldview? No. Is it compatible with the SAE worldview? Sometimes, sometimes not. Is it accessible to the SAE worldview (and vice versa)? Absolutely (with diligence respect). MOVE, KIN, PART-OF WHEN, THING, OWN

English 306A; Harris 32 Colour terms 2-color system: black, white 3-color system: black, white, red 4-color system: black, white, red, yellow or GRUE 5-color system: black, white, red, yellow, GRUE 6-color system: black, white, red, yellow, green, blue … then purple, pink, orange, gray

English 306A; Harris 33 white black red GRUE yellow green blue purple pink orange gray Colour terms yellow GRUE There is something about the world, our brains, or our eyes (or any combination thereof) that constrains lexicalization.

English 306A; Harris 34 Linguistic relativity “ the principle of linguistic relativity holds that all observers are not led by the same physical evidence to the same picture of the universe, unless their linguistic backgrounds are similar, or can in some way be calibrated” (Language, thought, and reality, 214)

English 306A; Harris 35 Linguistic relativity “ the principle of linguistic relativity holds that all observers are not led by the same physical evidence to the same picture of the universe, unless their linguistic backgrounds are similar, or can in some way be calibrated” (Language, thought, and reality, 214)

English 306A; Harris 36 Cross-linguistic calibrators Semantic primes. Semantic roles. Event schemata. Verb-argument structure Perception. (goodwill, common-interests, …)

English 306A; Harris 37 Linguistic relativity hypothesis Strong form Language determines thought; speakers of different languages inhabit different, mutually inaccessible realities Weak form Language influences thought There are cultural Misunderstandings. Translation is impossible.

English 306A; Harris 38 Linguistic relativity hypothesis Strong form Language determines thought; speakers of different languages inhabit different, mutually inaccessible realities Weak form Language influ- ences thought

English 306A; Harris 39 Semantics The proposition and truth conditions. Entailment Denotation Intension Extension Event schemata and semantic roles redux Semantic primes Ambiguity Linguistic relativity Universality Semantic roles Semantic primes Cognitive and experiential universals Colour systems Parity (calibration)