How to make a dictionary - Lecture 11

Lecture Eleven, 4th of January 2007

Semantics - revision


1. Introduction
2. Learner's Diary
3. Tasks and Quizzes
4. Evaluation
5. References



1. Introduction

First a revision of the topic semantics, after the revision we started a new topic pragmatics and the most important facts.



2. Learner's Diary


Microstructure

- properties of lexical entries
- microstructure information types
- modality structure meaning
- derived noun: depoodler
- derived verb: poodlize
- compund noun: poodleface


Approaches to define meaning

Paradigmatic definition

sense (intentional) definition
- concept of something, ideal
- componential definition (standard dictionary definition)
- relational definition (synonym, antonym)
- field definition (word fields)

reference (extensional) definition
- a rose is a rose is a rose
- ostensive definition
- definition by model

syntagmatic definition (definition in context)
- love: has a sense but no reference
- pegasus: the same
- dragons: as well

onomasiological definition: semantic fields
semasiological definition: components



Taxonomy

Hyponym
Antonym
- opposite: good and evil
- complementary: more than two: tall – short, big – small
- inverse: involving a syntagmatic relation between items: X is the husband of Y, Y is the wife of X

hyponyms: of creature are animals: bird, fish
co-hyponym: negation: animal not a plant
genus proximum: three different ways to define a thing



Pragmatics

- intention
- how a word can be used
- concerning practical matters
- straightforward
- functionality
- practical, way of doing something
- action

pragmatics: study of what people do with signs (relation of sign and user)
semantics: sense of signs, signs and the world


pragmatic meanings

- value judgements
“my favourite dog”, “very nice”, “cool”
they do not describe, they tell you something about the speaker (personal impression)


speech acts

doing things with words
- stating, claiming, promising, predicting,….



3. Tasks and Quizzes


semantic fields: sets of related words: baking->yeast, sugar, raising bread, baker, Saccharomyces cerevisiae; fermentation-> raising bread, fermenting wine, brewing beer, ethyl alcohol, carbon dioxide, carbonate different types of definition Saccharomyces cerevisiae: a fungus (genus proximum), fermentation (defined by examples): used by mankind for thousands of years for raising bread, fermenting wine and brewing beer; carbonate (defined by an example): addition of bubbles to champagne



4. Evaluation

The part about sense and reference is clear to me. Especially the example with the Venus made it extremely understandable. With the homework I had some difficulties, because I do not know if I understand everything in the right way.



5. References


http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/~gibbon/Classes/Classes2007WS/ITL/index.html