LEXICAL RELATIONS 1

A PAPER

PRESENTED TO FULFILL THE REQUIREMENT OF THE TASK OF

ENGLISH SEMANTICS

Subject guided by: TrisnaDinillahHariya, M.Pd.

Presented by group 7:

1. Astuti 1601070069
2. Luthfi Roqiqoh 1601070106
3. Putri Jayanti 1601070043
4. Vinna Naralita 1601070055
5. Vivi Ulya Putri 1601070057

Class: B
TARBIYAH AND TEACHING TRAINING FACULTY
STATE INSTITUTE FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES OF METRO
2018
 INTRODUCTION

According to James R. Hurford Semantics is the study of meaning1.

Moreover, according to Geoffrey Leech semantics is the central study of
communication and as the communication becomes more and more a crucial factor in
social organization2 Semantics also the centre study of human mind though processes,
cognitive, and conceptual.3 Based on these experts’ definitions can be concluded that
the main study of semantics is the study of meaning. The study of meaning is
necessary needed as an important factor to communicate in the social environment.
Furthermore, the branch of semantics that deals with word meanings is called
lexical semantics. There are a lot of relations between the single words of a language
and the meanings of these words, respectively. The words can be treated as
containers of meaning, or as fulfilling roles in events, the words can also have
“relationships” with each other. In everyday talk, people often explain the meanings
of words in terms of their relationships. If people are asked the meaning of the word
conceal, for example, people might simply say, “It’s the same as hide,” or give the
meaning of shallow as “the opposite of deep,” or the meaning of pine as “a kind of
tree.”
This approach is used in the semantic description of language and treated as
the analysis of lexical relations. The lexical relations we have just exemplified are
synonymy (conceal/hide), Antonymy (shallow/deep) and hyponymy (pine/tree). A
lexeme is a minimal unit that can take part in referring or predicating. All the lexemes
of a language constitute the lexicon of the language, and all the lexemes that you
know make up your personal lexicon. Lexical relation means two or more things are
connected with the words of language.

1
Hurford, James R Et Al. 2007. Semantics: A Coursebook. I Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
P.1
2
Leech, Geoffrey.1976. Semantics. Middlesex. Penguin Books. Ix
3
Ibid
 DISCUSSION

A. Word Form
Words forms are the different ways a word can exist in the context of a
language. Many words exist as nouns, verbs or adjectives and change when
prefixes or suffixes are added. For example, the words beautify, beautiful and
beautifully are the verb, adjective and adverb forms of the noun beauty, but they
are not interchangeable when used in a sentence. These are some word forms:

Beauty Benefit Creation

Beautify Beneficiary Creator

Beautiful Benefit Create

Beautifully Beneficial Creative

Beneficially Creatively

1. Lexeme
To some extent people can ‘define’ a lexeme by telling what ‘set’ it
belongs to and how it differs from other members of the same set. Some
obvious sets of this sort are sports (tennis, badminton, golf, soccer,
basketball…), creative writings (poem, novel, short story, biography,
essay…), manual occupations (electrician, plumber, welder, carpenter,
painter…), colors (red, blue, black, green, yellow …).4 Based on the definition
can be concluded that a lexeme is the fundamental unit of the lexicon (word
stock) of a language, also known as a lexical unit, lexical item, or lexical
words.

4
Kreidler, Charles. 1998. Introducing English Sementics. London: Routledge.p 87-88
 The lexeme is the name of the abstract unit which unites all the
morphological variants of a single word. Thus, we can say that go, goes, went,
have gone and to go all are instantiations of the lexeme to go.5
It is easy to tell what the members of each set have in common.
However, It may be more difficult to tell just how much a thing is included in
the set and to find the truly essential characteristics that differentiate each
lexeme in a set from all the others in the same set, to establish the most
economical system of features that explains how the members of the set are
related to one another.
Some lexical sets involve part-whole relationships (arm includes hand,
which includes finger and thumb). The set second-minutehour-day is a part-
whole relationship that is also hierarchical. Some sets are sequential (numbers
one, two, three etc.) or cyclical (January, February, etc.; Sunday, Monday,
etc.; spring, summer, autumn, winter).
Some sets, mostly small ones, form paradigms. The words man,
woman, boy and girl, all denoting humans, are interrelated this way:

Male Female

Adult Man Woman

Child Boy Girl

Using square brackets to indicate such semantic features,

[male/female], and [adult/child] are the features, or components, that
differentiate the members of the set from one another. The determination of
such features has been called componential analysis.
The paradigm provides definitions (man=[adult male human], and so
on) and analogies (man is to woman as boy is to girl, boy is to man as girl is

5
Reamer, Nick. 2010. Introducing Semantics. New York: Cambridge University Press P.17
 to woman); in other words, a paradigm shows that lexemes are systematically
related.
2. Lexicon
Lexicon might be imagined as a kind of mental dictionary in which we
store specific information about all the words that we use: how they are
pronounced, what they mean, etc. To take an example, the English word cat is
known to be pronounced [kæt], is known to mean ‘a small, domesticated
animal of meagre intelligence that says meow’ and is known to be able to fit
into the marked slots in sentences:
a. the cat slept
b. he fed Pete’s cat
c. I tripped over a cat
It is obvious that this knowledge is not predictable from anything.
There is no reason why the object that we call a cat should be called a cat, as
witnessed by the fact that other languages do not use this word to refer to the
same object (e.g. macska (Hungarian), chat (French), Katze (German), gato
(Spanish), quatus (Maltese) kot (Russian), kissa (Finnish), neko (Japanese),
mao (Chinese), paka (Swahili)). Moreover, there is nothing about the
pronunciation [kæt] that means that it must refer to this object: one can
imagine a language in which the word pronounced [kæt] is used for almost
anything else. This kind of linguistic knowledge is not ‘rule governed’, but is
just arbitrary facts about particular languages.6
Based on the definition above can be concluded that lexicon are:
a. All the words that make up the language of a group of people, an
individual, or an area of knowledge or practice.
b. A book or other collection that lists words and their meaning.

6
Newson, Mark. Basic English Syntax With Exercise.p. 4
 c. All of the individual morphemes and their combination present in a
language.
B. Semantics Field Theory and Truth Conditional Sentence
There are two approaches to describe the lexical relations in semantics
fields, the approaches are semantics field theory and truth conditional sentence.
The explanation of the material is in the following discussion:
1. Semantics Field Theory
The concept of semantic fields is that a class or a group of words
divide the semantic field of a word. The words that divide the semantic field
of a word are mutually exclusive, which means that every word that belongs
to the class or the group has its own meaning which cannot be used to
substitute for the meaning of the other words in the group.7 Some examples in
English are:

Semantics Field A Class of Mutually-Exclusive Words

Walk a. Walk: to move forward by putting each foot in turn

b. Wade: walk with an effort such as through water or
mud
c. Waddle: walk with slow steps and a sideways roll,
as a duck does
d. Dash: move forward violently
e. Stroll: walk quietly and unhurriedly
f. Linger : walk slowly
g. Tiptoe: walk or move on tiptoe
h. Hobble: walk as when lame, or as when the feet or
legs are impeded
i. Saunter: walk in a leisurely way

7
Wagiman Adisutrisno. 2008. Semantics: An Introduction To The Basic Concepts. Yogyakarta: Andi
Offset P.22-25
 j. Stagger: walk or move unsteadily
k. Toddle: walk with short, uncertain steps as a baby
does
l. Trudge: walk wearily or heavily
m. Paddle : walk with bare feet in shallow water
n. Mince : walk with light steps, trying to eat appear
delicate or refined
o. Stalk : walk with slow, stiff strides
p. Limp : walk lamely or unevenly
q. Slog : walk hard and steadily

Weep a. Weep : cry, tears fall from the eyes

b. Cry : weep, shed tears
c. Bawl : cry loudly
d. Blubber : weep noisly
e. Howl : utter a long, loud cry as when ir pain
f. Yowl : utter a long distressful cry
g. Mewl : cry as a baby does
h. Pule : cry feebly, as a baby does
i. Snivel : cry from pretended grief, sorrow, or fear
j. Sob : cry by drawing in the breath sharply and
irregularly from sorrow or pain
k. Squall : cry loudly because of pain or fear cry
loudly in a shrill voice
l. Wail : cry loudly in a shrill voice
m. Whimper : cry by uttering weak frightened or
complaining sounds
 Laugh a. Laugh: make sounds, and movements of the face
and body, showing amusement, joy, contempt, etc.
b. Giggle: laugh in a nervous and silly way
c. Chuckle: laugh in a low, quiet way with a closed
mouth
d. Snicker: laugh in a half-suppressed way
e. Titter: laugh in a half-suppressed way
f. Guffaw: laugh noisily
g. Cachinnate: laugh loudly or immoderately
h. Chortle: chuckle
i. Snigger: laugh in a half-suppressed way

In the other hand, according to Charles Kreidler, Field theory is an

attempt to classify lexemes according to shared and differentiating features.
For example, wasp, hornet, bee and other items denote ‘flying, stinging
insects’; moth and housefly, among others, denote insects that fly but do not
sting; ant and termite are names of insects that neither fly nor sting. (And
what differentiates wasp, hornet and bee from one another? What
differentiates insects from other living things?) Entomologists develop a
careful classification on a scientific basis but semanticists often need to pay
more attention to folk taxonomy, the traditional ways in which non-scientists
classify the phenomena of their world.8
Based on the definitions above can be concluded that semantics field
theory is that a class or a group of words divide the semantic field of a word
and an attempt to classify lexemes according to shared and differentiating
features. Hence, semantics field is the a class or a group where the word is
divided based on the word’s differentiating and features.

8
Kreidler, Charles. 1998. Introducing English Sementics. London: Routledge P. 86
 2. Truth Conditional Semantics
According to the Charles Kreidler, truth conditional semantics studies
lexical relations by comparing predications that can be made about the same
referring expression. Its task is to account for the meaning relations between
different expressions in a language. The relations of truth conditional
semantics are Entailment, Paraphrase, and Contradiction.
First, Entailment is the relation between two propositions let’s label
them ‘p’ and ‘q’ such that if p is true, q must also be true, but if q is true, it
does not necessarily follow that p is true. Based on the definition above can
be illustrate as the following, if it is true that my necktie is (entirely) maroon,
is it true that my necktie is red? If it is true that my necktie is red, is it true that
my necktie I maroon?
Second, Paraphrase is the relation between two propositions, p and q,
such that if either is true, the other is necessarily true also, and if either is
false, the other is false. If it is true that my necktie was cheap, is it true or
false that my necktie was inexpensive? If it is true that my necktie was
inexpensive, is it true or false that my necktie was cheap?
Third, Contradiction is the relation between two propositions such that
if either is true, the other is necessarily false. If my necktie was cheap, is it
true or false that my necktie was expensive? If it was expensive, was it cheap?
C. Paraphrases, Entailment, and Contradictions
The relations of truth conditional semantics are Paraphrases,
Entailment, and Contradictions:
1. Paraphrase
Paraphrase is a sentence or prepositional preposition that has
the same meaning as another preposition. A preposition is an assertion
or a statement that has a predicate with or without an argument.
However, a preposition is an assertion that has predicate that have one
or more argument. For example the paraphrase of:
 Ted is very intelligent, can be:
Ted is very brilliant
Ted is very clever
Ted is very witty
Ted is very smart
Ted is not stupid
The examples above have the same meaning with one another,
although it used the difference usage of words. The paraphrase of Tom
is always punctual can be:
Tom is always on time.
Tom is never early.
Tom is never late.
The paraphrase of Barbara is a teacher, can be:
Barbara is an instructor.
Barbara is educator.
Barbara is a preceptor.
2. Entailment
An entailment is a proposition that follows another proposition. For
example:
Andrew is a bachelor, can be:
Andrew is unmarried
Andrew is single.
The entailment of:
Greg’s grandfather died yesterday, can be”
Greg does not have a grandfather anymore.
The entailment of:
Paul is an orphan, can be:
Paul does not have a father anymore.
Paul does not have a mother anymore.
 Paul does not have a father and mother anymore.
3. Contradiction
Contradiction is a sentence that has very different meaning. the
meaning is contrast to each other. For example:
The orphan has a mother.
The rich man cannot buy his food.
D. Lexical Relations
Lexical relations consist of some categories, the categories are homonymy,
polysemy, synonymy, and hyponymy. The explanation of the material is in
the following:
1. Homonymy
Homonymy is a term to refer to one form, which is the same in both
written and spoken, with two or more unrelated meanings. Some
examples of homonymy are:
1) bank (of a river)
bank (of a financial institution)
2) pupil (student)
pupil (in the eye)
3) mole (an animal)
mole (a small dark mark on the skin)
mole (a stone wall built in the sea)
4) sole (of the shoes)
sole (fish)
5) leaf (of a tree)
leaf (of a book)
6) crane (a large wading bird)
7) crane (a machine with a long arm that can be swung around to
lift or move heavy weights)
 2. Synonymy
According to Palmer synonymy is used to mean 'sameness of
meaning'.9 based on the definition above can be concluded that
Synonymy is sameness of meaning which is not concerned with the
conceptual meaning of words, but relations of words which have, more
or less, the same conceptual meaning.
Synonymous words may have exactly the same conceptual
meaning, like: elevator and lift, gala and festivity, or marvis and
thrush, but many synonymous words are not exactly alike in meaning.
Some examples of synonymy are:
Big : large, great, enormous, huge, tremendous, immense,
gigantic
Marvelous : astonishing, wonderful
Weak : feeble
Tiny : small, diminutive
Timorous : timid, shy
Fat : obese
3. Hyponymy
Hyponymy involves the notion of inclusion. Hyponymy is a
term to refer to a set or a group of words that are included in a higher
term or word. The higher or upper term or word is called a super
ordinate, and the lower term is called a hyponym. Some examples of
hyponymy are:

9
Palmer, F. R. (1981). Semantics Second Edition: A New Outline. Cambridge: Cambridge Univerisy
Press
 Vegetables

Carrots Lettuce

Spinach
Cabbages

Avian

Duck Canary

Goose Cock Hen

s s
4. Polysemy
Polysemy is a term to refer to a word which has a set of
different meanings which are related by extension. The following are
the examples of polysemy:
Word A Set of Different Meanings
Back human back
the back of a chair
the back of a sofa
the back of a knife
the back of the hand
the back of the head
the back football player
Eye human eye
the eye of a needle
the eye of a potato
 a hook and an eye
Foot human foot
the foot of a bed
the foot of a hill
the foot of a mountain
 CONCLUSION

Semantics is the study of meaning and the branch of semantics that deals with
word meanings is called lexical semantics. There are a lot of relations between the
single words of a language and the meanings of these words, respectively. The words
can be treated as containers of meaning, or as fulfilling roles in events, the words can
also have “relationships” with each other.
In everyday talk, people often explain the meanings of words in terms of their
relationships. If people are asked the meaning of the word conceal, for example,
people might simply say, “It’s the same as hide,” or give the meaning of shallow as
“the opposite of deep,” or the meaning of pine as “a kind of tree.” There are some
parts discussed in lexical relation:
1. Word Form
Words forms are the different ways a word can exist in the context of a language.
a. The lexeme is the name of the abstract unit which unites all the
morphological variants of a single word.
b. Lexicon might be imagined as a kind of mental dictionary in which we store
specific information about all the words that we use: how they are
pronounced, what they mean, etc.
2. Semantics Field Theory is an attempt to classify lexemes according to shared and
differentiating features. For example, wasp, hornet, bee and other items denote
‘flying, stinging insects’.
3. Truth conditional semantics studies lexical relations by comparing predications
that can be made about the same referring expression.
4. Paraphrase is a sentence or prepositional preposition that has the same meaning
as another preposition.
5. An entailment is a proposition that follows another proposition.
6. Contradiction is a sentence that has very different meaning. the meaning is
contrast to each other.
7. Homonymy is a term to refer to one form, which is the same in both written and
spoken, with two or more unrelated meanings.
8. Synonymy is used to mean 'sameness of meaning'.
9. Hyponymy is a term to refer to a set or a group of words that are included in a
higher term or word.
10. Polysemy is a term to refer to a word which has a set of different meanings
which are related by extension.
 REFERENCES

Hurford, James R Et Al. 2007. Semantics: A Coursebook. I Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press
Leech, Geoffrey.1976. Semantics. Middlesex. Penguin Books.
Kreidler, Charles. 1998. Introducing English Sementics. London: Routledge.
Reamer, Nick. 2010. Introducing Semantics. New York: Cambridge University Press
Newson, Mark. Basic English Syntax With Exercise.
Wagiman Adisutrisno. 2008. Semantics: An Introduction To The Basic Concepts.
Yogyakarta: Andi Offset
Palmer, F. R. (1981). Semantics Second Edition: A New Outline. Cambridge:
Cambridge Univerisy Press