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Semantics

Dr. Yunisrina Qismullah Yusuf, S.Pd.,


M.Ling.
Lesson #1
Basic Course Outline

Refer to BCO_Semantics
Semantics

Dr. Yunisrina Qismullah Yusuf, S.Pd.,


M.Ling.
Lesson #2
Semantics

semantics → Greece
sema (noun) which means ‘symbol’ or
‘sign’
semaino (verb) which means ‘signify’

Semantics – the study of meaning communicated through


language

Saussure, 1996; Leech, 1974; Lyons; 1977; Palmer, 1981;


Tarigan, 1985; Halliday, 1985; Arcnoff & Miller, 2003;
Hurford et al., 2007; Saeed, 2011
Semantics in Linguistics
Basic assumption: “A person’s linguistic abilities are based
on knowledge that they have” (Saeed, 2011).

…meaning???

Different types of linguistic knowledge:


• how to pronounce words – phonology
• how to construct sentences – syntax
• and about the meaning of individual words and
sentences – semantics
Semantics in Linguistics
Semanticists is acquainted with other disciplines –
philosophy and psychology (they also
investigates the creation and transmission of
meaning) (Thomason, 2012)

The study of semantics includes the study of how


meaning is constructed, interpreted, clarified,
obscured, illustrated, simplified, negotiated,
contradicted and paraphrased.
Importance
Why is it important to study Semantics?

An understanding of semantics is essential to the study of


(Saeed, 2011):
• language acquisition – how language users acquire a sense
of meaning (speakers, writers, listeners and readers)
• language change – how meanings alter over time
• language in social contexts – likely to affect meaning, and
for understanding varieties of a language and effects of style

Dictionary – produced with a view to explain the meaning of


words
Semantics in Linguistics
Thomason (2012):
“The meaning of a sentence is not just an
unordered heap of the meanings of its words.
If that were true, then ‘Cowboys ride horses’
and ‘Horses ride cowboys’ would mean the
same thing.”

So…we need to think about arrangements of


meanings.
Meaning
(Thomason, 2012)
Idea of meaning:
•meaningful units combine systematically to
form larger meaningful units, and
understanding sentences is a way of working
out these combinations

•look for general rules that bring out the


relationship between form, which is the
observed arrangement of words in sentences
and meaning
Meaning
For example (Thomason, 2012):

(S) I can't untie that knot with one hand.

From this sentence, you can imply the following:


• The sentence is about the abilities of whoever spoke or wrote it
(call this person the speaker).
• It's also about a knot, maybe one that the speaker is pointing at.
• The sentence denies that the speaker has a certain ability (this is
the contribution of the word ‘can't’).
• Untying is a way of making something not tied.
• The sentence doesn't mean that the knot has one hand; it has to do
with how many hands are used to do the untying.
Meaning
Other examples from you … ???

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Semantics

Dr. Yunisrina Qismullah Yusuf, S.Pd.,


M.Ling.
Lesson #3
Types of Meaning
Types of meaning by Leech (1974, p. 23):

1. Conceptual meaning
2. Connotative meaning
3. Social meaning
4. Affective meaning
5. Reflected meaning
6. Collocative meaning
7. Thematic meaning
Conceptual Meaning
Definition:

• logical, cognitive, or denotative content;


associative meaning.

• when you think of the word, images, words,


thoughts, and memories are activated to
provide the concept behind the word.
Conceptual Meaning
For example: CAT

- mammal - covered in fur


- has whiskers - has whiskers
- sleek and fast - have great flexibility
- meows - not a dog, not a bird, not a
cow (contrastive)
- is unfriendly - sleeps up to 18 hours a day
/friendly - related to tiger
- scratches/has claws - likes to eat fish
Conceptual Meaning
For example: “walk”

• The newlyweds strolled down the streets of Paris. –


stroll suggests a leisurely, carefree walk

• The wealthy businessman swaggered into the


restaurant and demanded a table. – swagger suggest
walking in a bold, arrogant manner.

• The overweight man lumbered along, breathing heavily


and occasionally tripping. – lumber suggests a clumsy,
awkward movement.
Conceptual Meaning
Other examples from you … ???

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Connotative Meaning
Definition:

• A word that refers to the association or set of


associations that a word usually brings to mind.

• It is something that goes beyond mere referent of a


word and hints at its attributes in the real world.

• It is something more than the dictionary meaning.


Connotative Meaning
For example:

“There is no place like home.”

• The person is not referring to place where one lives


or residence (denotative meaning), but the emotions
from the word 'home' that strikes him and most
people.
• Sense and certain value are added
• It embrace accepted properties of a referent due to
viewpoint adopted by individual, group, and society
as a whole.
Connotative Meaning
Other examples from you … ???

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Social Meaning
Definition:

• refers to the psychological position that people react to


things differently depending on their immediate
environment.

• it is concerned with the social circumstances of the use of a


linguistic expression (e.g. some dialectic words inform us
about the regional and social background of the speaker).

• in the same way, some stylistic usages let us know


something of the social relationship between the speaker
and the hearer
Social Meaning
For example:
A person who tries coffee for the first time.
• in a busy or loud establishment, he may immediately sense he does not
like coffee at all
• in a quiet group of immediate friends who are all enjoying coffee together,
he may like coffee
* environment made him perceive coffee a different way

“Yo, homey…I ain’t done nothing, man!”


• the speaker is probably a black American

Prosad (2009):
“Come on yaar, be a sport. Don’t be Lallu.”
• the social meaning can be that of Indian young close friends.
Social Meaning
Other examples from you … ???

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Affective Meaning
Definition:

• also called “emotive” meaning.

• emotional meaning that is attached to words and


utterances.

• more directly a reflection of the speaker’s


personal attitude or feelings towards the listener
or the target of the utterance.
Affective Meaning
For example:
• ‘home’ for a sailor/soldier or expatriate
• ‘mother’ for a motherless child

Other examples:
• “You are a vicious tyrant and a villainous
reprobation and I hate you!”
• “I hate you, you idiot!”
• “I am terribly sorry but if you would be so kind as
to lower your voice a little.”
Affective Meaning
Other examples from you … ???

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Reflected Meaning
Definition:

• a word has more than one conceptual meaning or


multiple conceptual meaning.

• it is the product of people’s recognition and


imagination.

• used a lot in poetry.


Reflected Meaning
For example:

Words:
Daffodils (1807) “The could not but be gay
In such jocund company”

The word ‘gay’ was frequently used in the time of William


Wordsworth (a famous poet in the late 1700 to early 1800), but
the word now is used for ‘homosexuality’.

Product Names:
IRISH SPRING deodorant soap

We perceive the fresh scent of IRISH SPRING soap (Wilson, 2004).


Reflected Meaning
For example:

Newspapers headlines:
THE ZAMBIAN OIL INDUSTRY: NOT JUST A PIPE DREAM

Phrases and Statements:


“There still appears to be delineation between home
language in KA and the language used outside of KA
creating in a sense an island of Acehnese within KA
amidst a sea of Kedah dialect and standard Malay
outside KA” (Yusuf et al., 2013, p. 52)
Reflected Meaning
Other examples from you … ???

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Collocative Meaning
Definition:

• it is the conventionality of collocation


between word and word or the meaning of a
word in a fixed term.

• formed by people’s habit in using language in


the long term process.

• it is “accepted through common practice”.


Collocative Meaning
For example, the word “heavy” (Edmonds, 1995):

• heavy smoker (a person who smokes a lot)


• heavy news (a piece of sad news)
• heavy schedule (a very tight schedule)

We can use “a heavy smoker” to express a person


who smokes a great deal, but we cannot express “a
productive writer” by using “a heavy writer”.
Collocative Meaning
Other examples from you … ???

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Thematic Meaning
Definition:

• various parts of the sentence also can be used as subject,


object or complement to show prominence. It is done
through focus, theme (topic) or emotive emphasis.

• the meaning arising out of the way in which the writer or


speaker organizes his message.

• helps us to understand the message and its implications


properly.
Thematic Meaning
For example:
The following statements in active and passive voice have same
conceptual meaning but different communicative values
(Prosad, 2009):

1) Mrs. Smith donated the first prize.


2) The first prize was donated by Mrs. Smith.

• In the first sentence who gave away the prize is more


important, but in the second sentence what Mrs. Smith gave
is important.
• The change of focus also change the meaning.
• The first suggests that we already know Mrs. Smith (perhaps
through earlier mention) (known/given information), while
the second suggests that it is new information.
Thematic Meaning
Other examples from you … ???

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Task
In your groups:

• Instruction: Provide 3 examples for every type


of meaning that you have just learned (may be
in English, Bahasa Indonesia, Acehnese or
other languages, but ONE example for every
type MUST be in English).
References
Edmonds, P. (1995). Lexical knowledge for natural language generation.
Retrieved on February 20, 2014 from
ftp://ftp.cs.toronto.edu/pub/pedmonds/papers/edmonds-lexis.ps.gz
Leech, G. (1974). Semantics. Middlesex, England: Penguin.
Prosad, L. (2009). Seven types of meaning in semantics. Retrieved on February
20, 2014 from http://universeofenglish.blogspot.com/2009/02/seven-
types-of-meaning-in-semantics.html
Saeed, J. I. (2011). Semantics (3rd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Thomason, R. H. (2012). What is semantics? Retrieved on February 20, 2014
from http://web.eecs.umich.edu/~rthomaso/documents/general/what-is-
semantics.html
Wilson, L. (2004). The trademark guide (2nd ed). New York: Allworth Press.
Wordsworth, W. (1807). Daffodils. Retrieved on February 20, 2014 from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/poetryseason/poems/daffodils.shtml
Yusuf, Y. Q., Pillai, S. & Mohd. Ali, N. T. A. (2013). Speaking Acehnese in
Malaysia. Language & Communication, 33(1), 50-60.
Semantics

Dr. Yunisrina Qismullah Yusuf, S.Pd.,


M.Ling.
Lesson #4
Presentation

Group presentations on examples for types of


meaning!

…and let’s discuss!


Semantics

Dr. Yunisrina Qismullah Yusuf, S.Pd.,


M.Ling.
Lesson #5
Scope of Semantics
Literal interpretations of sentences in a context.
(right, appropriate, proper, exact, precise)

• Naming
• Concepts
• Sense and Reference
• Kinds of Meaning
• The Word as a Semantic Unit
(1) Naming
Definition:

• The signifier is a word in the language and the


signified is the object in the world that it “stands
for, refers to, or denotes”.

• The word that is to say to refer the things is called


“names or label”
Naming
Signifier ----------- Signified

a word the object in


in the language the world that it
stands for/ refers to/
denotes

But…
• It seems to apply only to nouns; therefore, it seems
impossible to extend the theory of naming to include the
other parts of speech. Adjectives (beautiful)? Verbs (think)?
Prepositions? Conjunctions? Pronouns? Abstract nouns?
Naming
For examples:
• nouns and pronouns: Ali, table, he, them, etc.
• adjectives : beautiful, handsome, difficult, etc.
• verbs : run, think, swim, etc.
• abstract nouns: hate, love
• Prepositions: to, for, in
• Conjunctions: and, because, therefore
Naming
So…

• Words are not just names of things


• Words are not simply names of the objects of
our experience.
• Even where there are identifiable physical
objects, the meaning is not necessarily the
same as its denotation. For example: book
Naming
Should consider…

Experience
• objects cannot be clearly grouped and labelled by a single word.
• Sometimes no precise equivalents in other languages.
• For example:

Culture
• The words of a language often reflect not so much the reality of the
world, but the interests of the people who speak it.
• For example: rice
(2) Concept
• Relates them through the mediation of concepts
of the mind.

Two prominent concepts by:


• Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913) “sign theory”
– dyadic signs
• Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914) – triadic
triangle → Richards and Ogden (1923) “semiotic
triangle” (the triangle of meaning)
Concept
Saussure “sign theory”: communication system
with the signifier and the signified (a process
of naming)
ROSE
Concept
Richards and Ogden (1923) “semiotic triangle” (the triangle of
meaning)

Symbol :
• the linguistic element, e.g.
word, sentence, etc.

Referent :
• the object, in the world of
• experience

Thought or Reference :
• concept
Concept
Concept
Concept
What is the link between symbol and concept?

• psychological one
our ability and practice of associating one
with the other, e.g. apple.
• some kind of permanent association stored in
the mind or in the brain.
Concept
(3) Sense and Reference
Sense :
Deals with relationships inside the language (intra-
lingustics)
Abstract (concept, non-figurative, instangible)
De-contextualized (isolated from its context)

Reference :
Deals with the relationship between language and the
world
Concrete (real, tangible, solid, physical)
Linguistic element ↔ meta-linguistic world of experience
Sense
(1) Sense in word-form

HAPPY

Joyful, Content, Fortunate, etc.

• Joyful over a birthday present .


• Content with the birthday present.
• Fortunate to receive the birthday present.
Sense
(2) Sense in phrase/sentence-form.

I almost fell over.


I nearly fell over.
I practically fell over.
Reference
(1) Variable reference:
One word
Many expressions
Refer to different types of that object

(2) Constant reference


One word
Many expressions
Refer to the same thing
Reference
Variable reference: Chair
Reference
Constant reference: 7
Sense and Reference
The relationship?

All linguistic forms have sense, but not


necessarily reference
Every expression that has meaning has sense,
but not every expression has meaning
Sense and Reference
(1) Sense with many references:

The cat is eating fish.


Sense and Reference
(2) Reference with many senses
Sense and Reference
Sense and Reference
(3) Sense with no reference
A white unicorn is in my garden.
Sense and Reference
But…guess what?

A unicorn does not exist, dude!


Sense and Reference
(4) Reference with no sense

???
Sense and Reference

If you don’t know what ASAM SUNTI are,


then you are missing a delicious
ingredient in the Acehnese culinary!
(4) Kinds of Meaning
• Language is not only to provide information,
inform hearers or readers of facts that they do
not know.

• A great deal of our meaning is not “ideational”,


but is “inter-personal” or “social”, relating
ourselves to others.

• We do not merely make statement. We also make


questions and imperatives.
Kinds of Meaning
• Speech acts (acts done in the process of
speaking) e.g. influencing, warning.
Kinds of Meaning
John Searle’s six speech act classes:
Kinds of Meaning
• A variety of social relations is involved.
polite – less polite – impolite
social language : greeting

• We do not “mean what we say”


(5) Word as a Semantic Unit
• Not all words seem to have the same kind of meaning.
full words - form words
form words - grammatical meaning

• It is not all clear that the word is a clearly defined unit.


Is it a morpheme (smallest grammatical unit in a
language)? Or lexeme (a lexical unit in a language, as a
word or base; vocabulary item)?
Word as a Semantic Unit
• Transparent and Opaque Words
e.g. chopper, doorman vs axe, porter

• Many words in English are called ‘Phonaesthetic’.


e.g. –ump refers to some kind of rounding mass plump,
chump, rump, hump, stump
cannot to be generalised

• Semantic division seems to “override” word division.


e.g. heavy smoker, good singer, artificial florist, criminal
lawyer
Denotation
Denotation is
• when you mean what you say, literally
• refers to the literal meaning of a word
• "dictionary definition”

For example: the word snake in a dictionary, its


denotative meanings is "any of numerous scaly,
legless, sometimes venomous reptiles, having a
long, tapering, cylindrical body and found in most
tropical and temperate regions."
Denotation
Denotation in semantics can also mean:
• translation of a sign to its meaning

For examples: sign of the dome, cross, love,


earth, etc.
Connotation
Connotation is
when you mean something else, something that might be initially
hidden
the connotative meaning of a word is based on implication, or shared
emotional association with a word.
important in poetry because poets use them to further develop or
complicate a poem's meaning.

For example:
The connotations for the word snake could include evil or danger
Strong-willed
Pig-headed
Connotations
• Greasy is a completely innocent word: Some
things, like car engines, need to be greasy.
But greasy contains negative associations for
most people, whether they are talking about food
or about people. Often there are many words
that denote approximately the same thing, but
their connotations are very different.
• Innocent and genuine both denote an absence of
corruption, but the connotations of the two
words are different: innocent is often associated
with a lack of experience, whereas genuine is not.
Implication
Implication is
• something that is suggested without being
communicated directly
• the conclusion that can be drawn from
something, although it is not explicitly stated

For example: He criticized her and, by


implication, her country.

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