Semantic Relations. Semantic Fields 语义场 (134) Words can be classified into sets according to their meaning. The semantic field of kinship members in English:

Semantic Relations

Semantic Fields 语义场 (134)

Words can be classified into sets according to their meaning.

The semantic field of kinship members in English:

father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, cousin, husband . . .

The semantic field of character ： easy-going, aggressive, arrogant, self-

conceited, modest, considerate, sympathetic, extrovert, introvert, amicable, ambitious, honest, loyal, obedient, obstinate, strong-willed, iron-willed, trustworthy, stubborn, unyielding, confident . . .

The semantic field of Chinese food tofu, 馒 头 steamed bun, 花 卷 steamed

roll/bread, dumplings, dim-sum, wonton . . . The semantic field of American food hot dog, hamburger, sandwich, pizza, apple pie,

turkey, brownie . . .

The semantic field of color: Set1: red blue green yellow white black Set 2 : indigo saffron 橙黄色 royal blue 宝

蓝色 aquamarine 碧绿色，浅绿色 bisque 橘黄色

Compare set1 with set2, what are the differences?

In a semantic field , not all lexical items necessarily have the same status. Some are more usual, less marked (blue) and some are more marked (indigo).

Sense Relations between Words

Sense may be defined as the semantic relations between one word and another, or more generally between one linguistic unit and another. It is concerned with the intra-linguistic relations.

Major sense relations

Synonymy 同义（现象）Antonymy 反义（现象）Meronymy 部分整体关系Hyponymy 下义关系Polysemy 多义（现象）Homonymy 同音 / 形异义（现象）

Types of Synonyms

True synonyms are few:

motherland—fatherland,

word-formation---word building

fricative ---spirant 摩擦音 mother tongue-----native language

scarlet fever----scarlatina. [,skɑ:lə'ti:nə]

compounding and composition

Native words borrowed words (Anglo-Saxon) (Latin) brotherly fraternal bodily corporal 身体的肉体的 friendly amicable hearty cordial 衷心诚恳 homely domestic answer reply help aid inner interior hide conceal

1) Difference in origin

Might power house mansion Buy purchase Fiddle violin World universe Motherly maternal Tire fatigue same identical outer exterior

Anglo-Saxon French Latin Kingly royal regal Time age epoch Belly stomach abdomen Rise mount ascend Ask question interrogate Holy sacred consecrated Fire flame conflagration Fear terror trepidation Goodness virtue probity

Dialectal- synonyms Brit. E Am. E Fall— autumn Lift- elevator Luggage baggage Lorry truck Flat apartment Torch flashlight Petrol gasoline

Anger: emotional reaction to conceal one’s anger

Rage: implies a loss of self-control

Fury: suggest a rage so violent that it may approaches madness.

Indignation: denotes anger based on a moral condemnation of something felt to be wrong and unfair.

wrath: limited in use of literature and figures of speech, the wrath of the gods

2) Difference in the shades of meaning

let- --------allow----- permit

want------ wish----- desire

rich------- wealthy

big-------- large---------huge

Cool---chilly---cold---frosty---frigid---icy

look: stare, gaze, eye, peep, glance

laugh: chortle 哈哈大笑 , chuckle 开心笑 , giggle 咯咯笑 , guffaw, 狂笑 哄笑 , snicker/snigger 窃笑 , titter 偷笑

make one’s way: thread one’s way, dig one’s way, break one’s way, push one’s way, shoulder one’s way, elbow one’s way, worm one’s way

3) Difference in socio-expressive meaning Thrifty/frugal, economical, stingy

Collaborator 合干者 , 合作者 , 共同研究者， accomplice 共犯 , 同谋

Singer 歌手， vocalist 歌唱家

4) Stylistic synonyms old man, Daddy, dad, father, male parent kick off, start/ begin, commence kick the bucket, pop off, die ,

decease, pass away, penalties, fines going down, declining

5) Collocational synonyms accuse of /charge with/ rebuke for/reproach

for( with )

rotten tomatoes 烂西红柿 addled eggs 臭蛋 rancid bacon/butter 腐臭的咸肉 , 熏肉 sour milk 酸腐的牛奶 yogurt

sail a small boat, navigate a liner

teach arithmetics, inculcate doctrine 学说主义

empty (box, street, room), vacant (seat, chair, apartment), blank (check, a blank sheet of paper )

make efforts, take measure a lump of sugar, a sheet of paper, a slice of

meat/bread, a cake of soap, a chunk of wood a flock of sheep/goats/birds, a herb of

cows/elephants/zebras/antelopes 羚羊 , a school of fish/whales/dolphins, a swarm of ants/bees/wasps/locusts 蝗虫 , a stable of horses, a pride of lions

6) Synonyms different in distribution

Pre-modifier VS. post-modifier He is the greatest living scientist. He is the greatest scientist alive. Don’t disturb the sleeping old man in the

next room. Don’t disturb the old man asleep in the

next room.

Types of Antonymy

Gradable antonymy Un-gradable antonymy Converse antonymy (Relational

opposites)

hot---- warm-----tepid----cool---- cold

beautiful---pretty-- good-looking---plain----ugly

euphoric ---elated---happy—so-so- sad---gloomy---despondent

Tiny—small--- medium--- large--- huge--- enormous

1) Gradable antonymy

2) Un-gradable Antonymy Ungradable antonymy (complementary

antonyms ) is the sense relation between two antonyms which constitute a positive-negative entity.

Ex.:

dead pass man girl legal right male

alive fail woman boy illegal wrong female

3) Converse antonymy 反向反义关系 It is a a special type of antonym in that

the members of a pair constitute a reciprocal entity.

It is the same relationship seen from

two different angles.

Ex.: p. 139

Meronymy 部分整体 X is part of Y.

Body

Head neck arm torso hip thigh leg feet

car

wheel engine door window

piston ／活塞 valve ／阀 etc.

Living plant Animal

bird fish insect animal

human animal

tiger lion elephant ...

Hyponymy (X is a kind of Y) 上下义

literature

prose fiction drama

short storynovelettenovel

poetry

swimming

boxingrunning racewrestlingweight-lifting

hurdle racerunning

relaysprintinglong-distance race

gymnasticsAthletics 田径运动ball games

sports

Vegetable : potato cabbage carrot Flower: rose ,tulip, carnation, lily,

morning glory Animal: dog, cat, tiger, lion, wolf,

elephant, fox, bear Furniture: bed, table, desk, dresser, 化妆

台 , wardrobe, settee 长靠椅 , 长沙发椅

Hyponymy is helpful in coherence in reading and writing.

There was a fine rocking-chair that his father used to sit in, a desk where he wrote letters, a nest of small tables and a dark, imposing bookcase. Now all this furniture was to be sold, and with it his own past.

Homonymy 同形同音异义关系 Homonyms are generally defined as

words different in meaning but either identical both in sound and spelling or identical only in sound or spelling.

同形同音异义词是意义不同、而发音与拼写皆相同或只有拼写或只有发音相同的词。

(1) Homographs 同形异义词When two words with different meanings and sounds

are identical in spelling, they are and meaning, they are called homographs. 同形异音异义

EX: The tree is swaying in the wind. The path is winding into the forest. bow n. 弓 [bəu] v. 鞠躬 , 弯腰 [bau] tear n. 眼泪 , v. 撕破 lead n. 铅 [led] v. 引导 , 带领 [li:d]

(2) Homophones 同音异义词 When two words with different meanings and

spellings are identical in sound, they are called homophones. 同音异形异义

EX:

sun/son, air/heir ， know/no, threw/through, rode/rowed, bare/bear, meat/meet, flour/flower, sew/so, rain/reign, night/knight, piece/peace, leak/leek 韭菜

Polysemy 多义 When a word has two or more meanings

that are related conceptually or historically, it is said to be polysemous or polysemic. Words of this kind are called polysemic or polysemous words

Ex: table

1. a set of data arranged in rows and columns

2. a piece of furniture having a smooth flat top that is usually supported by one or more vertical legs

3. a piece of furniture with tableware for a meal laid out on it

4 flat tableland with steep edges5. a company of people assembled at

a table for a meal or game6. food or meals in general

1. 桌子；台子 2. 餐桌，饭桌 3. ( 餐桌上的 ) 餐具；食物，酒菜；伙食 4. 写字台；工作台；会议桌；手术台 5. 游戏台；赌台，牌桌 6. [ 常作 a table 或 the table]( 进餐者、打牌者或洽谈业务者 ) 一桌

人；同席的人 7. 表 ; 目录 ; 项目表 ; 一览表 ; 表格 ;[ 复数 ] 乘法表

(=multiplication table) 8. =tableland 9. 平面；平地；【地质学】高原，台地；平地层 10 ( 铭刻文字的 ) 石板，平板，木牌 11. [ 复数 ]( 碑、板上刻的 ) 铭文，文献，法典 12. ( 宝石顶部的 ) 切平面；有切平面的宝石 13. 【建筑业】花檐；上楣 ( 柱 ) ；镶板；嵌板；装饰板；束带层 14. [ 手相用语 ] 掌，手掌 15. 【解剖学】 ( 头颅的 ) 骨板 16. 【音乐】共鸣板 17. 十五子游戏棋盘拆叶之一

Note:

A polysemic word is the result of the evolution of the primary meaning of the word (the etymology of the word); while complete homonyms are often brought into being by coincidence.

一般地说，多义词是一词多义，几个意义之间有历史的或现实的联系，它们都是从一个基本意义派生出来的，有“同源、同族”的关系，而同形同音异义词则是同一拼写或同一发音，但在意义上大多没有任何历史的或现实的联系，它们非同出一源，而只是读音和拼写上的偶合。在词典中，同形同音词通常以独立项分立，而多义词的各不同义项则全部列在同一词项下。

Intersentential Semantic Relations

Sentence and Proposition 命题

1. John loves Jane .2. Jane is loved by John.3. It is John that loves Jane.4. It is Jane that is loved by John. 5. The one who is loved by John is Jane.6. The one who loves Jane is John. JOHN LOVES JANE.

The six sentences have the same semantic content but are different in grammaticality, so the semantic content shared by the six sentences is a proposition.

A proposition is what is expressed by a declarative sentence when that sentence is uttered to make a statement. 命题是陈述句被用于描述时所表达的意义。

Sentence: less abstract, grammatical or ungrammatical.

Proposition: more abstract ,with truth value.

The same proposition can be expressed by different grammatical sentences.

1) X is synonymous with Y The dog chased the man. The man was chased by the dog. He was a bachelor. He never married.

Condition: If X is true, Y is true. If X is false, Y is false.

2) X is inconsistent with Y

He is married.

He is single.

She passed the exam.

She failed the exam.

Condition: If X is true, Y is false.

If X is false, Y is true. 有的人活着， 他已经死了； 有的人死了， 他还活着。 臧克家《有的人》

3) X entails Y 蕴含 / 衍推

He went to Paris. (X) He went to France. (Y)

Y is an entailment of X.

Conditions: If X is true, Y is necessarily true.If X is false, Y may be true or false.

两个句子中如果有一个对应的语言单位是上下位概念，这两个句子就是蕴含关系。

More EXS ： a. The man bought a dog today. b. The man bought an animal today. a. Janet plays the fiddle ( 小提琴 ). b. Someone plays a musical instrument. a. He has been to France. b. He has been to Europe. a. Marry has been to Beijing. b. Marry has been to China.

4) X presupposes Y (Y is a prerequisite of X)

预设 X: His wife is a lawyer.

Y: He is married.(He has a wife)

Conditions:If X is true, Y must be true.

If X is false, Y is still true.

EX(2) a. The president of USA is black.

b. There is a president of USA.

EX(3) a. 小张的老婆很漂亮 presupposes

b. 小张有老婆(Ex4)When did you stop beating your wife?

a. He has been beating his wife.

b. He stopped beating his wife

5) X implies Y 言外之意 (implicature)

a. Today is my birthday. b. Send me a birthday gift.

a. It’s getting very late. b. You’d better leave here.

Ex. 1: Provide two interpretations for each of the following sentences which contain lexical ambiguities.

1. He saw a piece of wood.

2. He found the drill is boring.

3. They carefully examined the table.

4. There are two bats in my room.

5. They are amazed by those matches.

6. They are lying on the grass.

Ex. 2: Identify the word that does not belong to the same semantic field as the others in the list:

(a) misleading, deceitful, disappointed, deceptive, delusive

(b) mixture, blend, combination, association, composite, compound

(c) occasional, infrequent, rare, scatter, never, sporadic, uncommon

Ex. 3: Write whether you think it is, in its context, used to show the speaker's approval (a positive connotation) or disapproval (a negative

connotation) or neither (neutral).

Ex. 4: