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Exercise 6.4: Semantic FieldsRelated to the concept of hyponymy, but more loosely defined, is thenotion of a semantic field or domain.. A thesaurus is generally organized according to subs

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Chapter 6

Lexical Semantics

Exercise 6.1: Traditional Semantics

1 Consult a number of dictionaries on the meaning of the word hero.

Then consider the meaning of the word in contemporary usage (inmagazines, newspapers, and casual conversation) Does the dictionarymeaning reflect the current meaning, or would you say that the mean-ing has changed and that dictionaries have not kept pace with thischange?

2 For the following words, explain the background or contextual mation which is necessary to understand the meaning of the word.(a) reconcile

infor-(b) generous(c) procrastinate(d) patient(e) reputation

3 Discuss the following expressions in respect to the concepts of tion and intension:

exten-(a) the instructor of Linguistics 101(b) the day before yesterday

(c) the capital of Brazil

Exercise 6.2: Basic Semantic Concepts

1 For the following words, list as many synonyms as you can think of anddiscuss the connotations that these synonyms have

(a) frugal

(b) thin (of a person)

2 Fill in the columns below with the appropriate synonym In each case,the word in column A is of English origin and the word in column B is

of French or Latin origin Can you make a general statement about theconnotations of the words in columns A and B?

(a) I’m allergic to nuts There are walnuts in the cookies

(b) Flight 2048 arrives and departs at 8:00 a.m

(c) George is a pig

(d) That is a large bat

(e) I appreciate your help You helped me

(f) That is a well-known club

(g) My brother married a doctor My male sibling joined in

wedlock with a physician

(h) In walked the corpse

(i) The corpse is alive

(j) Professor Mulhausen went to his office Professor Mulhausen

went to the university.

(k) He cleaned the keys of the piano

(l) They have a love-hate relationship

(m) The escaping convict accidentally assassinated the guard

(n) Jane ate a piece of chicken Jane ate a piece of poultry

(o) My husband is living I am a widow

(p) She stepped on an idea

(q) Edith amused the salad

(r) My brother is an only child

(s) He unintentionally committed perjury

(t) She wore a colorless pink dress

(u) He dusted the plants

(v) Othello killed Desdemona Desdemona died

(w) He descended from the ground floor to the attic

4 Determine whether the following are cases of homophony or polysemy.(a) fine ‘superior in quality’

‘a sum of money paid as a penalty’

(b) bank ‘an incline of land adjoining a river’

‘a financial institution’

(c) monitor ‘a pupil who assists a teacher’

‘a device that receives video signals from a computer’(d) tattoo ‘a permanent design on the skin’

‘a military exercise’

(e) school ‘an institution for instruction’

‘a large group of fish’

(f) leech ‘a bloodsucking worm’

‘a physician’

‘a hanger-on, a sycophant’

(g) horn ‘a structure projecting from the head of an animal’

‘a musical instrument’

(h) ear ‘the organ for hearing’

‘the seed-bearing spike of a cereal plant’

(i) spell ‘to name or write the order of the letters in a word’

‘a magical formula’

‘a period of time’

(j) butt ‘to hit with the head’

‘a target (for jokes)’

‘the larger or thicker end of an object’

(k) pilot ‘one who operates an aircraft or ship’

‘a television program produced as a prototype of aseries’

5 Say what is presupposed by each of the following sentences

(a) Is Frank playing that loud music?

(b) What I want for my birthday is a new computer

(c) Alistair didn’t go to work today

(d) Grace stopped playing the piano several years ago

(e) When did Tara go back to school?

(f) Sally renewed her subscription to People magazine.

6 Which of the following are factive and which nonfactive?

(a) John criticized Mark for not working hard enough

(b) John acknowledged that Mark was not working hard enough.(c) I was hoping that the game was cancelled

(d) It turns out that the game was cancelled

(e) The student forgot that the assignment was due today

(f) The student assumed that the assignment was due today

(g) It’s nice that you could get away

(h) It’s nice to get away

(i) I realized that he had stolen the money

(j) I suspected that he had stolen the money

Exercise 6.3: Structural Semantics

1 Identify the superordinate term in each set

(a) house, shed, building, garage, cottage, hut

(b) plate, saucer, cup, soup bowl, dish, serving bowl

(c) stream, river, rivulet, creek, brook, tributary

(d) glance, peep, stare, leer, look (at), view, watch

(e) hurricane, tornado, gale, storm, typhoon

2 Identify the relationship of oppositeness expressed in the followingsentences

(a) The window pane is open, but it should be shut

(b) This class is better than last year’s class

(c) This painting is similar to that one

(d) He pushed the lever forwards instead of backwards

(e) This plant was sick, but now it’s healthy

(f) My poor relatives envy my rich relatives

(g) Western Bank merged with Eastern Bank

(h) It is better to give than to receive

3 Below is one member of a set of scalar adjectives Identify the othermember of the set; if an alternative member exists (in a differentcontext), list that as well

5 Name the structural relation expressed by each of the following pairs ofwords.

Exercise 6.4: Semantic Fields

Related to the concept of hyponymy, but more loosely defined, is thenotion of a semantic field or domain A semantic field denotes a segment

of reality symbolized by a set of related words The words in a semanticfield share a common semantic property Most often, fields are defined bysubject matter, such as body parts, landforms, diseases, colors, foods, orkinship relations Internally, these may be organized hierarchically (e.g.,royalty, military ranks), part to whole (e.g., body parts), sequentially (e.g.,numbers), or cyclically (e.g., days of the week, months of the year), as well

as with no discernible order A thesaurus is generally organized according

to substantive fields (although it also makes use of hyponymy and synonymy).The words which are part of a semantic field enter into sense or mean-ing relationships with one another Each word delimits the meaning of thenext word in the field and is delimited by it; that is, it marks off an area orrange within the semantic domain However, there may be a fair amount ofoverlap in meaning between words in a domain, and it is often difficult tofind mutually delimiting terms Within a domain, some words are marked,while some are unmarked; the unmarked members are more frequent,more basic, broader in meaning, easier to learn and remember, not meta-phorical, and typically one morpheme or single lexical item The markedmembers often consist of more than one lexical item and may denote asubtype of the unmarked member

Let’s consider some examples of semantic fields The field of “parts ofthe face” (see the table below, part a) is a substantive field of part to whole.Terms within the field are arranged spatially and quite clearly delimited,

though there is some overlap between terms such as forehead and temple Terms such as bridge of the nose or eyelids would constitute marked mem-

bers of the field The field of “stages of life” (see b) is arranged sequentially,

though there is considerable overlap between terms (e.g., child, toddler) as

well as some apparent gaps (e.g., there are no simple terms for the different

stages of adulthood) Note that a term such a minor or juvenile belongs to

a technical register, a term such as kid or tot to a colloquial register, and a term such as sexagenarian or octogenarian to a more formal register The

semantic field of “water” (see c) could be divided into a number of fields; in addition, there would appear to be a great deal of overlap between

sub-terms such as sound/fjord or cove/harbor/bay The semantic field of “clothing”

(see d) is a particularly rich one, with many unmarked terms (such as dress

or pants) as well as many marked terms (such as pedal-pushers or smoking

jacket) The field of clothing might be organized in many different ways —

by sexof wearer, by occasion of wearing, by body part covered, and so on.Finally, the field of “jewelry” (see e) would seem to include quite well-delimited terms, with a number of unmarked terms

Examples of Semantic Fields: (a) Parts of the Face, (b) Stages of Life, (c)Water, (d) Clothing, and (e) Jewelry

(a) parts of the face

(b) stages of life

nursling, suckling grown up person

juvenile, minor centenarian

(c) water

forms: ice, water, steam, vapor, sleet, rain, snow, hail

bodies of water: ditch, slough, swamp, narrows, strait, inlet, bight,bayou, brine, deep, firth, loch, tarn, well, reservoir, firth, pool, sea,ocean, lake, pond, bay, inlet, estuary, fjord, sound, gulf, lagoon,

gown (evening-, ball-)

lab-)

(e) jewelry

Now try to list the possible members of the following semantic fields:

1 vocalization

2 types of roads

3 personality traits

Exercise 6.5: Semantic Features (Nouns)

1 Using the inherent features of nouns discussed in the chapter, analyzethe underlined noun in each of the following sentences:

(a) Have you made plans for tonight?

(b) He had the flu last week

(c) The group made its way through the forest

(d) He has a very healthy appetite

(e) We have managed to stay within our budget

(f) She spilled the coffee grounds on the floor

(g) Have you any grounds for making such a claim?

(h) After the long boat trip, it felt good to stand on solid ground.(i) Do you like seafood?

(j) My grandparents are coming for visit

(k) A herd of caribou crossed the road

(l) Our vacation begins next week

(m) She has symptoms of the flu

(n) You should take responsibility for the planning

(o) The scenery here is so beautiful

(p) Where is the receiver?

(q) My clothes need to ironed

(r) The doctor prescribed bed rest

(s) The scissors are missing

(t) Are there any requirements for this course?

2 Give two different feature analyses for each of the following

(a) bank

(b) response

Exercise 6.6: Semantic Features (Verbs)

1 Analyze the predicates in the following sentences using the inherentverbal features [±STATIVE] [±DURATIVE] [±TELIC] [±VOLUN-TARY]

(a) The skaters are practicing

(b) She skated around the rink

(c) She skates gracefully

(d) She bumped into another skater

(e) He polished her skates for her

(f) Pam has a cold

(g) Pam recently recovered from her illness

(h) Pam caught a cold last week

(i) Pam was coughing loudly

(j) Pam cured herself with large doses of vitamin C

(k) Charles and Julia got married yesterday

(l) The ceremony lasted an hour

(m) They have been engaged a long time

(n) Julia’s mother was crying

(o) He studied for the test

(p) The test began at 9:00

(q) While studying, he drank lots of coffee

(r) He is happy with the results

(s) After the exam, he got drunk

2 Often the same verb can denote a number of different situations Beloware verbs used in several different ways Analyze using the four inherentfeatures of verbs

I hear well

I heard a Mozart symphony last night

I hear the waves

He is lying on the bed

Then he lay down

(c) HELP She is helping him.

She is helping him wash the car

(d) IDENTIFY He finally identified the insect

She identifies with her idol

It took ten minutes for her to dress

The ship is sinking

She regretted it as soon as she said it

He bent over and tasted the soup

Then he tasted the mint in the drink

3 Answer the following using the verb play.

(a) (i) Give a sentence of the form N – V (– N) which is an

(b) (i) Give a sentence of the form N – V – N [+COUNT]

[+SINGULAR] which is an accomplishment

(ii) Give a sentence of the form N – V – N [+COUNT]

[+PLURAL] which is an accomplishment

(iii) Give a sentence of the form N – V – PP [−COUNT]

[+PLURAL] which is an accomplishment

(c) Give a sentence of the form N – V – N [−COUNT] which is anactivity

4 Answer the questions in (3) in respect to the verb read.

Exercise 6.7: Modal Auxiliaries

1 Determine whether the following sentences with modal expressions, innormal readings, have deontic or epistemic meaning or are ambiguous:(a) I must be getting sick

(b) You may be pregnant

(c) Nitric acid will dissolve zinc

(d) John must leave now

(e) He can miss the class

(f) You could clean your room

(g) He must have passed the examination

(h) You might have fallen,

(i) Cocktail parties can be boring

(j) She could be discouraged

(k) I will marry her

(l) You ought to be ashamed of yourself

(m) You can’t be serious

(n) Harris has to retire next year

(o) He might try a bit harder to pass the course

(p) She can be very obstinate

(q) Guests may not use their cellular phones in the restaurant.(r) Only experts can advance to the next stage of the competition.(s) She must be careful with her money

(t) Grant is in New York now, I guess

(u) The movie shouldn’t be violent

(v) The revised paper could be better

2 For the following, say whether the modal or the main verb is negated.(a) You mustn’t say a thing

(b) She doesn’t have to resit the examination

(c) I can’t reach the upper shelf

(d) I won’t interfere

Exercise 6.8: Prototypes

For the concept of furniture, list the core, or prototypical, members and theperipheral members Justify your distinction between core and periphery.What are the defining characteristics of this concept?

Exercise 6.9: Figurative Language

1 Give the selectional restrictions for the following words:

(k) The pen is mightier than the sword

(l) a new set of wheels

(m) “Death, thou shalt die” (John Donne)

(n) a hot topic

(o) the hands of a clock

(p) blood, sweat, and tears

(q) an on-off relationship

(r) The traffic is crawling

(s) search one’s soul

(t) Enough is enough

(u) room and board

(v) live on borrowed time

(w) table linen

(x) an aide

(y) The law is the law

(z) be under the weather

(aa) sell for money

(bb) circumnavigate around(cc) working vacation(dd) close proximity(ee) extinct life

3 Explain what is “wrong” with each of the following expressions usingsemantic features and the notion of selectional restrictions

Example: a fatherless orphan Answer: fatherless has the feature [−FATHER], while orphan also has the

feature [−FATHER]; thus, this expression is tautological

(a) pregnant pause(b) eloquent silence(c) misery loves company(d) bitter reproach

(e) joint partnership

4 State the principle upon which each of the following metaphors isbased (Do not simply paraphrase the metaphors.)

(a) That’s food for thought

(b) He is a giant among film directors

(c) Let me put in my two cent’s worth

(d) She is a member of the upper class

(e) His health is declining

(f) His mood is down/depressed

5 Give a focus and vehicle interpretation of the following metaphors.(a) “My thoughts are ripe in mischief” (Shakespeare)

(b) “But ye lovers that bathen in gladnesse” (Chaucer)(c) “That time of year thou mayst in me behold / When yellowleaves, or none, or few, do hang / Upon the boughs …”

(Shakespeare)

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Answer to Exercise 6.1

1 A hero is generally defined as a person who exhibits extraordinarybravery or greatness of soul and who is admired for his or her achieve-ments and noble qualities Furthermore, this bravery is usually in theface of danger and is selfless

Does this definition seem to coincide with the use of the word incontexts such as “sports hero”? How would the definition need to bemodified?

2 (a) reconcile: once there was a friendly relationship between two or

more parties; something happened to create a rift or distancing;now this rift has healed (through some action of the parties) andthey are once more close

(b) generous: describes a person who is willing to give or share; thisgiving or sharing is perhaps above the norm of what is expected;this quality is considered a virtue or a sign of nobility of charac-ter

(c) procrastinate: describes the tendency to put off something ordelay in doing something; the thing delayed is unpleasant in someway but is deemed necessary or is expected; procrastination isoften habitual and is seen as resulting from carelessness or lazi-ness; hence, procrastinating is judged negatively or is seen as acharacter defect

(d) patient: describes the quality of enduring or bearing somethingwith equanimity or calmness; this something is unpleasant (pain,difficulty, deprivation, etc.) but unavoidable; patience is seen as apositive characteristic, a virtue

(e) reputation: describes the quality of being well (or ill) thought of;this recognition must be generally acknowledged and must be theresult of actions over an extended period of time

3 (a) The phrase “the instructor of Linguistics 101” has a single

inten-sion, but different extensions, as different people may teach thiscourse from year to year or even in any given year

(b) The phrase “the day before yesterday” has a single intension aswell, but the actual day referred to differs depending upon which