1. Semantics A presentation by Jaafar Nabeel
Course tutor: Dr. Ahmad Q. Abed
Department of Translation
College of Arts

2. Outlines of the presentation
Compositionality
Linguistic and non-linguistic meaning

3. What is the principle of compositionality?
It is basically a principle that deals with interpreting complex linguistic expressions
In other words
The meaning of a complex expression is determined by the structure and the meaning of its constituents

4. This principle is derived from two assumptions
The first assumption is that language has an infinite amount of grammatical sentences
The second one is that language has an unlimited power of expression
Anything the mind conceives can be expressed

5. There are many ways to combine meanings
Modes of combination
There are many ways to combine meanings
Additive form of combination where meanings are added together without radical change in the combination
Ex: [Mary and John] [studied the materials and passed the test]

6. Endocentric combinations
Interactive from of combination sees at least one radical change in the combination.
There are two forms of interactive combinations
Endocentric combinations
The eventual meaning is of the same type as the constituent.
Exocentric combinations
The eventual meaning is completely different than the constituents.

7. Endocentric combinations
This form of combinations refers to the fact that the eventual meaning is of the same type as one of the constituents
Endocentric combinations are divided into:
Boolean combinations
Relative descriptors
Negational descriptors
Indirect types

8. The usage of the word red restricted the applicability of hat.
Boolean combination is the most elementary type of combination and is illustrated by the following example:
Red hats
The class of this phrase is constituted by the class of hats and the class of red things
The usage of the word red restricted the applicability of hat.

9. Relative descriptors:- this type of combination is illustrated by the following example:
A large mouse
This phrase isn’t interpreted as something that is large and mouse since all mice are small in their size!
However, the meaning refers to a mouse that is relatively larger than others!

10. Negational descriptors: this type of combination is done by negating the head noun.
A former president
In the above phrase, we notice that the modifier former negated the head noun president.

11. The above phrase has two interpretations.
Indirect types of combination require a more complex compositional process.
A beautiful dancer
The above phrase has two interpretations.
The first interpretation is according to the Boolean combination and would be someone who is beautiful and also a dancer.
The other interpretation requires a more semantic reconstruction of the phrase. the interpretation would be someone who dances beautifully.

12. Exocentric combinations
This type of combination will result in a radically different meaning than its constituents that formed the combination.
A combination between a preposition (in) which refers to a relation and a noun phrase (the box) which refers to a thing will result in a phrase denoting a place (in the box)

13. Limits to compositionality: non compositional expressions
Semantic constituents are recognized by the recurrent contrast test.
This test is based on the assumption that meaning implies choice and states that a semantic constituent can be substituted by some other constituent belonging to the same grammatical class.
The girl plays tennis
Tennis can be substituted by football changing the entire meaning

14. We cannot substitute the word to here since its an obligatory element
However, in a sentence such as:
I want to read a novel
We cannot substitute the word to here since its an obligatory element
The recurrent contrast test would pass only in cases where it’s possible to substitute a word

15. Idioms
Idioms refer to expressions whose meaning is not compositional in the sense that its meaning doesn’t follow the meaning of its constituents.
Idioms usually have two different interpretations a literal and a figurative one
Bury the hatchet
The above example either mean the actual process of burying a hatchet which is a literal interpretation or figurative interpretation which means to make peace with someone.
The figurative interpretation is the intended one when a native speaker uses this phrase.

16. The ball is in your court now
Frozen metaphors are some kind of idiomatic expressions that possess some degree of compositionality.
The ball is in your court now
If we substitute in your court now with on your side of the net, we realize that the substitution has an effect; however, the non-literal meaning can still be recovered.

17. Collocations: the collocation of a word plays a major role in knowing its meaning in a context.
Red in red rose which refers to the flower that is red whereas the red in red grapefruit refers to the color of the flesh of the fruit.
Like idioms, collocations need to be understood individually. They need to be considered from the view point of the speaker and the viewpoint of the recipient.

18. Correct
incorrect
Heavy rain
Great rain
High speed
Tall speed
High wind
Heavy wind

19. Characteristics of clichés:
Clichés: the meaning of a cliché is a phrase, expression, or idea which has been so overused to the point of losing its intended force.
Characteristics of clichés:
They are stored as complete units in the brain making them easy to retrieve and decode
They tend to slip past without making a serious impact
The truth and falsehood of them aren’t seriously examined
Examples on clichés
In the nick of time – something that happened just in time
Frightened to death – to be too scared

20. Linguistic and non-linguistic meaning
Linguistic communication is rather different than non-linguistic communication. In linguistic communication, we have the whole language to communicate with. However, the choices are limited when it comes to non-linguistic communication.

21. Aspects of linguistic communication: The participants
In each and every communicative situation, there are at least two participants who are the speaker and the recipient.
The medium of communication
Medium here refers to the way or method used for communication
The topic of communication
Setting and topic play a vital role in the communication process and decide the mood and the kind of language to be used

22. References
Cruse, A.(2000). Meaning in Language: An Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics. Oxford. Oxford University Press.