Lexical Semantics. An Introduction

Boris IomdinRussian Language Institute,

Russian Academy of [email protected]

Lecture 1. PlanWhat is semantics?History of the termSemioticsTypes of linguistic signsProperties of the linguistic signHomonymy and synonymySemantic trianglesSense and meaningTypes of meaning

What is semantics?Semantics is the study of meaning

communicated through language. The basic task in semantics is to show how

people communicate meanings with their language.

In a broader sense, semantics deals with everything that the listener has to know in order to understand what the speaker said.

La sémantiqueFirst occurrence of the term semantics:

M. Bréal, Les lois intellectuelles du langage. Fragment de sémantique, 1883

< Greek σημαίνω [sēmainō] ‘to signify’Bréal: semantics studies the “intellectual

laws of language change”. Each language has its own habits and its own logic, not always consistent with the logic of reality.

Michel Bréal also invented the marathon race.

Intellectual laws (Bréal)• Redistribution• Analogy• Contamination• Specialization• Strengthening• Weakening• Metaphor• Generalization

Die SemasiologieCh. C. Reisig, Vorlesungen über

lateinische Sprachwissenschaft, 1839< Greek: σημασία [sēmasia] ‘signification,

meaning’Just some short remarks in Reisig’s

lectures: semasiology (or Bedeutungslehre) should be added to two existing disciplines: syntax and etymology. It should study relationships between words and their meanings.

Semantics or Semasiology?Semantics and semasiology: conflicting

synonymical terms until the 1960-es:S. Ullmann. The principles of semantics. A

linguistic approach to meaning. 1959.H. Kronasser. Handbuch der Semasiologie:

kurze Einführung in die Geschichte, Problematik und Terminologie der Bedeutungslehre. 1952

Since 1960-es: semanticsA.-J. Greimas. Sémantique structural.

Recherche de métode. 1966W. Frawley. Linguistic semantics. 1992W. T. Gordon. Semantic: a

bibliography. 1965 – 1978; 1978 – 1985.J. J. Katz. Semantic theory. 1972G. N. Leech. Semantics. 1974.J. Lyons. Semantics. 2 vols. 1977F. R. Palmer. Semantics. 1981

Important recent handbooksJ. R. Hurford, B. Heasley. Semantics: a

course-book. 1983Semantik: ein internationales Handbuch

der zeitgenössischen Forschung. 1991T. R. Hoffmann. Realms of meaning: an

introduction to semantics. 1993.J. Lyons. Linguistic semantics: an

introduction. 1995J. I. Saced. Semantics. 1997

Three uses of the term SemanticsLinguistic semantics: scientific study of all

kinds of linguistic meaning, including grammatical meaning, but first of all lexical.

Logical semantics: analyzing only the expressions and their designata (Morris, Carnap and others)

General semantics: a technique for correcting “certain abuses of language“ (Korzybski). Widely criticized.

SemioticsStill earlier, Greek σημα gave birth to

another term: semiotics, proposed by Charles Peirce (1839-1914).

Pierce studied mathematical logic, philosophy, and chemistry. In the 1860s he began writing on semiotic and defined what a sign is.

Bertrand Russell: Pierce was “one of the most original minds of the later nineteenth century, and certainly the greatest American thinker ever.”

Is this a sign?

Sign (Pierce)“Nothing is a sign unless it is interpreted as a

sign”.If S represents some character(s) of object, O, to

an Interpreter, then S is a sign of O and the information conveyed to the Interpreter is an Interpretant, I, of O.

Semiosis: action, or influence, which is, or involves, a cooperation of three subjects, such as a sign, its object, and its interpretant, this tri-relative influence not being in any way resolvable into actions between pairs.

Ch. Pierce, Logic as Semiotic: The Theory of Signs.

Types of signsIconsIndexesSymbols

IconAn icon is a sign which would possess

the character which renders it significant, even though its object had no existence. An icon and its object are similar in form or structure. Examples:A pencil streak representing a geometrical

line. A photograph in the passport representing the

passholder.A geographical map representing a country.

IndexAn index is a sign which would, at

once, lose the character which makes it a sign if its object were removed, but would not lose that character if there were no interpretant. The index might be caused by the object. Examples:A bullet-hole as sign of a shotSmoke as sign of fireFever as sign of flu

SymbolA symbol is a sign which would lose

the character which renders it a sign if there were no interpretant. The link between the sign and its object is purely conventional. Examples:Traffic lightsMusical notesInteraction of spies

Almost all linguistic signs are…Symbols. The interpreter cannot understand

what a sign means if he does not know the convention.

But also Icons?Onomatopeia: meow, bow-wow, moo. However: French ouaf ouaf, English ribbit

ribbit, …And Indexes?“Shifters”: I, you; here, there; now, then; …

But not only soundsVisual signsTactile signs (contacts)Olfactory signs (smells)Gustatory signs (tastes)Examples?

Systems of signs: examplesStreet lamp signalsMoneyMusical notationGenesNumbering systemsProgramming languagesGesturesHuman languages

Language as a sign system Universal: all kinds of information (or

almost) can be transmitted by means of language

Highly complicated Natural: each human language developed

“by itself” for thousands of years Not hereditary: can only be mastered by

means of imitation and/or learned

De Saussure: language and speech Human language (system of signs

that express ideas) may be divided into 2 components:

Langue (the abstract system of language)

Parole (individual acts of speech using this system).

De Saussure: synchrony and diachronySynchronic view: the way a language

works in its current stateDiachronic view: the way a language

changesThese views must be distinguished

and not confused. Within any current state of the language, it does not matter how the things have been changing before in order to describe the current system.

Changes arise in speechDe Saussure: Everything which is diachronic

in languages is only so through speech.

German: was – waren > war – waren

Two sides of the linguistic signClassic theory by de Saussure:

the signifier (French le signifiant)the signified (French le signifié)

• The relation between both sides is arbitrary.• A sign is the basic unit of language (a given language at a given time). • Every language is a complete system of signs.

Two sides of the linguistic sign

Arbitrariness of the linguistic sign[nam]

‘numb’ (English)‘to us’ (Russian)‘took’ (German)‘year’ or ‘five’ (Vietnamese)…

Linguistic signs are Symbols Sounds Can be combined into new complex signs Can produce infinitely long messages

Asymmetric dualism of the linguistic signS. Kartsevski, Du dualisme asymétrique du

signe linguistique, Travaux du Cercle linguistique de Prague 1, 1929

We speak and comprehend only “approximately”, without even noticing it

Most words have several different meanings, and most meanings can be expressed by several different words.

Homonymy and synonymyOne signifier, several signifieds: homonymy

English: table, bear, miss, type, lieRussian: пол (‘floor’ / ‘sex’)

One signified, several signifiers: synonymyEnglish: speak, talk, utter, say, verbalise, …Czech: mluvit, řečnit, říct, povědět, hovořit, …

Lexical semantics mostly deals with synonyms, computational linguistics mostly deals with homonymy and its resolution.

Semantic triangle

C. K. Ogden & I. A. Richards, The Meaning of Meaning, 1923

Other semantic trianglesG. Stern, Meaning and change of meaning,

1931S. Ullmann, Semantics. An introduction to

the science of meaning, 1962J. Lyons, Semantics. 2 vols, 1977

Different understanding of the relation between meanings, objects and words.

Types of meaningConceptual meaning: logical interpretationThematic meaning: What is communicated

by the way in which the message is organized in terms of order and emphasis.

Associative meaning: see below

G. N. Leech, Semantics, 1981

Associative meaningConnotative meaning: What is communicated

by virtue of what language refers to.Social meaning: What is communicated of the

social circumstances of language use.Affective meaning: What is communicated of

the feelings and attitudes of the speaker.Reflected meaning: What is communicated

through association with another sense of the expression.

Collocative meaning: What is communicated through association with words which tend to occur in the environment of another word.

Sense and meaningSinn / Bedeutung (German)jelentoség / értelem (Hungarian)смысл / значение (Russian)Czech? Other languages?

Meaning of proper namesA proper name has no meaning?Does Aristotle mean ‘the writer of

De Anima’?Does Aristotle was Greek mean ‘The

writer of De Anima was Greek’?

Sinn und BedeutungG. Frege, Über Sinn und Bedeutung, 1892A = A is not the same thing as A = B.Samuel Clemens is Samuel ClemensSamuel Clemens is Mark Twain A = A is trivial, but A = B is interesting.Samuel Clemens and Mark Twain have the

same reference (Bedeutung), but two different senses (Sinn)

Confusing translationsFor Sinn, the terms sense,

intension, connotation, content, and meaning are used.

For Bedeutung, the terms reference, referent, extension, denotation, nominatum, designatum, and meaning are used.

Sense without reference?Non-referring expressions:the greatest integerOdysseusthe capital of Czechoslovakiaking of FranceB. Russell: The king of France is bald.

Theory of descriptionsB. Russell, On Denoting, 1905Denoting phrases which do not denote

anything: the current Emperor of Germany.Phrases which denote one definite object:

the current President of the USA.Phrases which denote ambiguously:

a linguist giving lectures on lexical semantics.

Next lecturelexical meaning VS. grammatical

meaning