Universität des Saarlandes Department 4.3 English Linguistics Professor Dr. N. R. Norrick Lecture: Semantics Semantics: Exam Topics

1What’s semantics? Linguistic meaning semantics between syntax and pragmatics semantics and adjacent disciplines: semasiology, semiotics, philology, philosophy, anthropology, psychology Semantics Exam

2 Semantics as a discipline synchronic Saussure (1916) Bréal (1883) Trier (1931) Porzig (1934) Firth (1935) “The technique of semantics”

3Semantics in linguistic theories Structuralism Behaviorism Generative Grammar Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

4 Models of meaning conduit model of communication (Reddy 1969) Shannon and Weaver (1949): Saussure (1916) dyadic model arbitraire du signe The semiotic triangle

5 Deixis (Indexicality) Person, space, time Discourse deixis

6 Meaning properties Meaningfulness Meaninglessness Tautology Anomaly Ambiguity Zeugma Depletion

7 Compositionality Principle of Compositionality: Syncategorimaticity Non-compositional constructions

8 Lexical relations Semantic fields Sense relations Synonymy Polysemy Homophony cf. Homonymy, Homography Hyponymy Inclusion Metonymy Antonymy: Graded (scalar) adjectives Complementaries Converses Incompatibles

9 Componential analysis Features in Semantic Theory Psychologically real concepts vs. meta-language notation Markerese in TG Projection Rules

10 Metaphor Traditional accounts original vs dead metaphor extended metaphor Metaphor as ungrammatical structure Metaphor as anomaly Metaphor as figurative speech act Interactional theories of metaphor Cognitive Linguistic theories of metaphor

11 Semantic scripts prototypes Prototype Effects in grammar: Scripts/Frames/Schemas/Cognitive Models inferences

12 Semantics and grammar Grammatical categories Grammatical relations Semantic Case (Fillmore 1968, 1977) Sentence Type

13 Utterance Meaning Uses of language Speech events, text types Presupposition Implicature The Cooperative Principle: The maxims Speech acts

14 Coherence Thematic structure Information structure