1. CHAPTER 9-SEMANTICS

2. Why is 6 afraid of 7? -Because 789

3. The study of meanings of words, phrases, and sentences
Semantics
The study of meanings of words, phrases, and sentences
Conceptual meaning covers the basic, essential components of meaning of a particular word
- Needle
Associative meaning entails every possible ‘association’ or ‘connotation’ that a word might evoke

4. What’s the first meaning you think of?
- Hot
- Cool
- Chicken
- Yeah, right.
- Sweet
- Blue
- Sick
If your ELLs don’t know alternative
meanings of words, they will become
very confused!

5. What we need to know? Meaning Semantic Features Semantic Roles
Lexical Relations
Meaning
The … kicked the ball. N [+human]
Girl Ball
Animate
Human
Female
Adult
The Girl: Agent
The ball: theme/patient
The girl: lady/unmarried/
Kicked: hit with leg
Ball: a round object filled with air/not metal ball

6. Semantic Features
We assign particular features to the crucial elements (noun/pronoun) of a sentence or phrase and compare them. The presence of the feature is denoted by + (plus) sing and absence by – (minus) sign.
student boy girl university flamingo bike
Animate
Bird
Has Wheels
Human
Female
Adult

7. Semantic Roles
Noun and pronouns present in a sentence/phrase or clause play certain type of roles which is known as semantic/thematic roles.
Agent
Theme
Instrument
Experiencer
Location
Doer of the action
Receiver of the action
The entity employed by the subject to perform task for him/her
The entity who performs some tasks that related to feeling, perception, and state of being
Source
Goal
Where the entity is/where the entity moves from
Where the entity moves to
The frog caught an insect. (Frog-agent, insect-theme/patient)
She told me to boil pasta. (She-agent, I-Instrument, Pasta- Theme)
I enjoyed the beach yesterday. (I- experiencer)
She squashed the bug with the magazine. (she-agent, the bug-theme, magazine- instrument)
The car travelled to Orlando from Tampa. (car-agent, Orlando-Goal, Tampa- Source)

8. Lexical Relations Synonymy Antonymy Metonymy Relations Hyponymy
Polysemy
Homonyms
Prototypes

9. SYNONYMS Two or more words very closely related in meaning:
big/large, broad/wide, buy/purchase, cab/taxi, freedom/liberty, couch/sofa
Sometimes it doesn’t make any difference if you substitute one for another. If we ask:
What was his answer? or What was his reply?
No two words have exact same meaning in English. They are two for a reason.
Sandy had only one correct reply on the test.

10. ANTONYMS Two forms with opposite meanings
alive/dead, big/small, male/female, fast/slow, rich/poor, happy/sad, true/false, single/married, tall/short, long/short
Second language learners will often confuse tall and long as both are paired as antonyms with short

11. The meaning of one form is included in the meaning of another
HYPONYMY
The meaning of one form is included in the meaning of another

12. Homophones
Two or more words with different written forms but the same pronunciation.
to/too/two
your/you’re
there/their/they’re
its/it’s
right/write
meet/meat
pause/paws
When homophones are spoken, the listener must infer the meaning from context – a challenge for ESL students.

13. When one word form has two or more unrelated meanings
Homonyms
When one word form has two or more unrelated meanings

14. More Homonyms

15. Polysemy Two or more words with the same form and related meanings
Head: the top of your body, a person at the top of a company, the foam at the top of beer
Foot: part of your body (or of a chair or bed or table for that matter)
Run: a river does it, a person does it, color does it

16. Metonymy
Polysemy is based on similarity. The head of a company and the head of a person both convey the idea of something that is on top and controlling everything else.
Metonymy is when close connection in everyday experience also conveys a type of relationship.
Container-contents: bottle/water, can/juice
Whole-part: car/wheels, house/roof
Representative/symbol: king/crown, the President/White House

17. Can you establish the relationships?
Examples of Metonymy
He drank the whole bottle.
Get your butt over here (informal talk/USA).
Please, answer the door.
The strings are too quiet.
I’m boiling a kettle so we can make some tea.
He loves giving someone a hand.
Can you establish the relationships?
I do need some wheels.
The White House has announced its health plan.

18. Collocation Words that often occur together Salt and ______________
Coffee and ____________
Cream and ____________
Crystal _______________
____________ smoker

19. EUPHEMISM
A euphemism is a substitution of an agreeable or less offensive expression in place of one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the listener, or to make it less troublesome for the speaker.
Euphemisms are a central aspect of political correctness.
Can you think of some euphemisms?
passed away (died), correctional facility (jail/prison), put to sleep (euthanized/killed), between jobs (unemployed)

20. Semantic Shift: A change in meaning/usage of a word over time
Language & Change
Semantic Shift: A change in meaning/usage of a word over time
Gay Sick
Happy/joyful (1300s) Vomit (1200s)
An immoral woman (1800s) Illness of any kind (1500s)
Homosexuals (1980s) Evil/malevolent (1900s)
Girl
A child of either sex (1200s)
Female child (1500s)
Prostitute/mistress (1700s)
Female child (1900s)
Awful originally meant inspiring wonder, literally full of awe or amazement.

21. its fleece as white as snow…
Word Play #2…
Mary had a little lamb….
its fleece as white as snow…
with rice and vegetables…

22. Idiomatic Expressions
(Idioms) A type of informal language use where there is not a literal translation of the individual words in the expression. That can create a lot of confusion!

23. Hold your tongue!
Bite your tongue!
Cat got your tongue?

24. 20 Common Idiomatic Expressions in English & Their Meanings
1. She was tickled pink by the good news. (Made very happy) 2. You were hands down the best player on the team. (There was no competition) 3. I've been feeling pretty down in the dumps lately. (Sad or depressed) 4. I'm feeling sick as a dog! (Very sick) 5. I've been feeling under the weather. (Sick)

25. 6. Rise and shine. Wake up and be happy. 7. Close, but no cigar
6. Rise and shine! Wake up and be happy! 7. Close, but no cigar. You were very close, but you did not succeed. 8. I could play outside ‘til the cows come home. For a very long time 9. Wow! It's raining cats and dogs out there! Very hard rain 10. That sound is driving me up the wall! Making me very annoyed

26. 11. This assignment is a piece of cake. (Very easy)
12. Although he broke the rules, he was only given a slap on the wrist. (A mild punishment)
13. Yikes! This shirt costs an arm and a leg. (It is extremely expensive.)
14. No, I was just pulling your leg. (Just joking)
15. It's Greek to me! (I don't understand.)
16. Keep your chin up. (Be happy.)
17. Hold your horses. (Be patient.)
18. We're all in the same boat. (All of us are in the same position.)
19. He's a bit of a loose cannon. (Unpredictable)
20. I will clean my room when pigs fly.(Never)

27. no longer used, but appears in MANY ESL/EFL textbooks
Surfing the Internet
no longer used, but appears in MANY ESL/EFL textbooks
Channel Surfing
Still used
Not typically in text books

28. EXTRA PRACTICE: Group Work
Get together with your classmates and build a list of at least 5 words and their respective conceptual and associative meanings
Try to give examples of how these words can carry symbolic meanings and assign positive qualities or criticism depending on how they are used
For example, when you say that someone is ‘wild’, what is this word clearly trying to say about this person, although he/she was probably not born and raised in the wilderness?