Ngữ nghĩa học tiếng anh nn0035 pdf

ÑAÏI HOÏC QUOÁC GIA THAØNH PHOÁ HOÀ CHÍ MINH

TRÖÔØNG ÑAÏI HOÏC KHOA HOÏC XAÕ HOÄI VAØ NHAÂN VAÊN

Toâ Minh Thanh

GIAÙO TRÌNH

NHAØ XUAÁT BAÛN ÑAÏI HOÏC QUOÁC GIA

TP HOÀ CHÍ MINH — 2007

LÔØI NOÙI ÑAÀU

Giaùo trình Ngöõ nghóa hoïc tieáng Anh ñöôïc biên soꢀn mꢁt

cách có hꢂ thꢃng, dꢄa trên cꢅ sꢆ tham khꢇo có chꢈn lꢈc nhöõng tư

liꢂu cuûa nưꢉc ngoài, kꢊt hꢋp vꢉi kinh nghiꢂm giꢇng dꢀy nhiꢌu nꢍm

vꢌ môn hꢈc này cꢎa tác giꢇ và tꢏp thꢐ giꢇng viên trong Bꢁ môn Ngꢑ

hꢈc Anh. ꢒây là tꢏp giáo trình ꢓưꢋc biên soꢀn duøng ꢓꢐ giꢇng dꢀy

môn hꢈc Ngữ nghĩa học tiếng Anh (English Semantics) cho sinh

viên nꢍm thꢔ tư Khoa Ngꢑ vꢍn Anh, Trưꢕng ꢒꢀi hꢈc Khoa hꢈc Xã

hꢁi và Nhân vꢍn, ꢒꢀi hꢈc Quꢃc gia Thành phꢃ Hꢖ Chí Minh.

Giaùo trình gꢖm bꢃn phaàn:

1

2

3

4

. Introduction (phaàn daãn nhaäp)

. Word meaning (nghóa cuûa töø);

. Sentence meaning (nghóa cuûa caâu);

. Utterance meaning (nghóa cuûa phaùt ngoân)

Lꢗn ꢓꢗu tiên biên soꢀn giáo trình này, chúng tôi không tránh

khꢘi nhꢑng sai sót, nhꢑng khuyꢊt ꢓiꢐm. Rꢙt mong nhꢏn ꢓưꢋc nhiꢌu

ý kiꢊn ꢓóng góp cꢎa bꢀn ꢓꢈc vaø cꢎa bꢀn bè ꢓꢖng nghiꢂp ꢓꢐ giáo

trình ngày càng hoàn thiꢂn hꢅn, phꢚc vꢚ giꢇng dꢀy sinh viên ꢓꢀt chꢙt

lưꢋng toát hꢅn. Ý kiꢊn ꢓóng góp vꢌ tꢏp giáo trình này xin gꢛi vꢌ Hꢁi

ꢓꢖng Khoa hꢈc Khoa Ngꢑ vꢍn Anh, Trưꢕng ꢒꢀi hꢈc Khoa hꢈc Xã

hꢁi và Nhân vꢍn, ꢒꢀi hꢈc Quꢃc gia Thành phꢃ Hꢖ Chí Minh, sꢃ 10-

1

2 ꢒinh Tiên Hoàng Quꢏn 1, Thành phꢃ Hꢖ Chí Minh. ꢒiꢂn thoꢀi:

(08)8243328.

Thaønh phoá Hoà Chí Minh, ngaøy 14 thaùng 12 naêm 2006

Toâ Minh Thanh

iii

CONTENTS

Preface ....................................................................................... iii

Contents .......................................................................................v

Notational symbols ................................................................... vii

1

INTRODUCTION...................................................................... 9

1

.1 What is semantics?......................................................... 9

.2 Semantics and its possible included aspects ............. 10

2

WORD MEANING .................................................................. 12

2

.1 Semantic features ........................................................ 12

.2 Componential analysis .................................................. 20

.3 Semantic fields ............................................................. 21

.4 Lexical gaps .................................................................... 25

.5 Referent, reference and sense ................................. 26

.6 Denotation and connotation ........................................ 30

.7 Multiple senses of lexical items ................................ 34

.8 Figures of speech ................................................... 36

.9 Hyponymy ................................................................ 57

.10 Synonymy .............................................................. 63

.11 Antonymy .............................................................. 67

.12 Homonymy ............................................................. 72

.13 Polysemy ................................................................ 78

v

2

.14 Ambiguity .............................................................. 81

.15 Anomaly ................................................................. 87

3

4

SENTENCE MEANING ............................................... 91

3

.1 Proposition, utterance and sentence ........................ 91

.2 Sentence types (classified according to

truth value) .............................................................. 96

3

.3 Paraphrase .............................................................. 99

.4 Entailment ............................................................. 104

UTTERANCE MEANING .................................................... 109

4

.1 Presupposition ...................................................... 109

.2 Conversational implicature ................................... 128

.3 Conventional implicature ...................................... 145

.4 Speech acts .................................................................. 146

.5 Performatives and constatives ............................ 165

.6 Politeness, co-operation and indirectness ............ 171

.7 Deixis .................................................................... 173

Answer keys ............................................................................177

List of English-Vietnamese equivalent linguistic terms .......227

Bibliography ............................................................................252

vi

NOTATIONAL SYMBOLS

Most of the symbols used in this text follow conventions, but

since conventions vary, the following list indicates the meanings

assigned to them here.

A: adjunct

AdjP: adjective phrase

AdvP: adverb phrase

C: countable

dO: direct object

Ex: example

mono-trans: mono-transitive verb

n: noun

NP: noun phrase

op: optional

opA of Means: optional adjunct of means

Pro: pronoun

PP: prepositional phrase

RP: Received Pronunciation

S: sentence

Vgrp: verb group

VP: verb phrase

*

: unaccepted form

iv

-

[

/

- : related in some way

] : embedded unit

: or

⇒

: one-way dependence

: two-way dependence

⇔

=

+

−

±

: be equivalent to

: with the semantic feature specified

: without the semantic feature specified

: with or without the semantic feature specified

v

Section

INTRODUCTION

1

.1 What is semantics?

Semantics is a branch of linguistics which deals with

meaning. In order to understand this definition, we need to know what

meaning is. However, before we discuss the “meaning” of meaning, it

is necessary to talk about the main branches of linguistics.

Linguistics has three main branches: syntax, semantics and

pragmatics. Syntax is the study of grammar (consisting of

phonology, morphology, syntax, and textual grammar)

whereas semantics and pragmatics deal with meaning.

Semantics is the study of meaning in language (i.e. what language

means) while pragmatics is concerned with meaning in context

(i.e. what people mean by the language they use). Although this is

a semantics course, part of what we are going to discuss is

concerned with pragmatics, for semantics and pragmatics are

closely related.

Take the distinction between semantic meaning and pragmatic

meaning as an illustration of how semantics is different from but, at

the same time, closely related to pragmatics.

Semantic meaning is context-free whereas pragmatic meaning

is context-dependent.

(1) A: ‘Would you like a piece of cake?’

B: ‘I’m on a diet.’

9

The semantic meaning of ‘I’m on a diet’ in (1) is ‘I want to

lose weight by eating the food which is not rich in fat, sugar, etc.’

The pragmatic meaning of ‘I’m on a diet’ in (1) is ‘I don’t want

any piece of cake’ or ‘I’m afraid that I have to refuse your invitation.’

(2) Tom: ‘Do you like the wine I picked out?’

Gina: ‘It’s Italian, isn’t it?’

The semantic meaning of ‘It’s Italian, isn’t it?’ in (2) is ‘Is it

right that the wine is made in Italy?’

The pragmatic meaning of ‘It’s Italian, isn’t it?’ in (2) is ‘I

don’t like the wine you picked out.’

1

.2 Semantics and its possible included aspects

Semantics is a technical term used to refer to the study of

“

meaning, and since meaning is part of language, semantics is

part of linguistics. Unfortunately, ‘meaning’ covers a variety of

aspects of language, there is no general agreement about the

nature of meaning, what aspects of it may properly be

included in semantics, or the way in which it should be

described.” [Palmer, 1981: 1] This little textbook will try to show

three main aspects that are commonly considered as included in

semantics: word meaning (or, to be more precise, lexical

meaning) [Lyons, 1995: 33], sentence meaning and utterance

meaning.¹

1

In semantics it is necessary to make a careful distinction between utterances

and sentences. In particular we need some way of making it clear when we are

discussing sentences and when utterances. We adopt the convention that anything

1

0

The meaning of remarried, for example, can be analysed in

the three different levels.

At the word level, remarried may be regarded a set of the

four following semantic features: [+human], [±male], [+used to

be married], and [+married again].

At the sentence level when remarried occurs in She is not

remarried, only the fourth semantic feature of the word,

namely [+married again], is informative, i.e. it is part of the

statement.

At the utterance level within the particular context of the

following conversation when remarried occurs in B’s response, it

is the word that helps the utterance presuppose that pastors are

allowed by rule to get married and implicate that the pastor was

once married.

A: ‘How is the pastor?’

B: ‘He is remarried.’

Because of the nature of the subject and the variety of views

on semantics and its possible included aspects, the little

textbook cannot hope to be more than an introductory survey.

written between single quotation marks represents ‘an utterance’, and

anything italicized represents a sentence or (similarly abstract) part of a

sentence, such as a phrase or a word:

‘She is not remarried’ represents an utterance.

She is not remarried represents a sentence.

Married represents a word conceived as part of a sentence.

1

Section

WORD MEANING

2

WORD MEANING is what a word means, i.e. “what counts as

the equivalent in the language concerned.” [Hurford and Heasley,

1

984: 3]

2

.1 Semantic features

2

.1.1 Definition

2

Semantic features are “the smallest units of meaning in a

word.” [Richards et al, 1987: 254]

We identify the meaning of a word by its semantic

features. For example, father may have the following semantic

features: [+human], [+male], [+mature], [+parental] and

[+paternal]. And hen may be described as a set of the following

semantic features: [+animate], [+bird], [+fowl], [+fully grown]

and [+female].

2

.1.2 Characteristics

2

.1.2.1 Some semantic features need not be specifically

mentioned. For example, if a word is [+human] it is

automatically” [+animate]. This generalization can be expressed

“

as a redundancy rule:

2

Semantic features are also referred to as semantic components or semantic

properties.

1

2

A word that is [+human] is [+animate].

That is why [+animate] need not be specified as a semantic

feature of father, girl, professor, etc. since the semantic feature

can be inferred from [+human].

Some redundancy rules infer negative semantic

features. Thus, semantic features are often shown in the form of

binary oppositions, which can be stated in terms of pluses and

minuses (that is, [+] and [−

If father is [+human], it is therefore [−

If father is [+male], it is therefore [−female];

If father is [+mature], it is therefore [−immature];

If father is [+paternal], it is therefore [−maternal].

]):

inhuman];

Notice that we identify the meaning of a word according to its

primitive semantic features first, e.g. [+animate], [+human],

[+male], etc.; and then with the assistance of its other semantic

features, e.g. [+parental], [+paternal], etc.

2

.1.2.2 Different words may share the same semantic

feature. In other words, the same semantic feature can be

found in many different words.

Ex1: Doctor, engineer, teacher, physicist, chemist,

tailor, hairdresser, etc. all share the same semantic feature

[+professional].

Ex2: Mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister,

grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc. are all [+kinship].

1

3

2.1.2.3 The same semantic feature can occur in words of

different parts of speech. In other words, words of different

parts of speech may share the same semantic feature.

For example, [+female] is part of the meaning of the noun

mother, the verb breast-feed and the adjective pregnant. And

[+educational] is a semantic feature found in the nouns school,

teacher, textbook, etc. and in the verbs teach, educate,

instruct, etc.

2

.1.2.4 Fromkin and Rodman [1993: 148-149] confirm that

“

the semantic properties of words determine what other

words they can be combined with.” These authors give the two

following sentences that are grammatically correct and

syntactically perfect but semantically anomalous:

(

1) My brother is an only child.

2) The bachelor is pregnant.

(

(1) is strange, or semantically anomalous, because this

sentence represents a contradiction: brother is [+having at least

one sibling] while an only child is [+having no other sibling];

(

[

2) is semantically anomalous for a similar reason: bachelor is

+male] whereas pregnant is [+female].

Here, Fromkin and Rodman also cite Noam Chomsky’s famous

classic example of semantically anomalous sentences:

(3) Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

This sentence seems to obey all the syntactic rules of English:

its subject is colorless green ideas and its predicate is sleep

furiously; but there is obviously something semantically wrong

1

4

with the sentence. The adjective colorless is [−

occurs with the adjective green the semantic feature of which

+green in colour]. How can something be [−colour] and [+green

colour], but it

[

in colour] at the same time? In the same way, the noun ideas,

which is [+abstract], is semantically incompatible with the verb

sleep the noun phrase subject of which must be [+concrete] and

[

+animate]. How can an abstract notion like ideas sleep? Then,

3

the verb sleep, whose adverbial collocations are well, badly and

soundly, is semantically incompatible with the adverb furiously.

How can a living being sleep when he is full of violent anger?

In conclusion, knowing all the possible semantic features of a

word enables us to combine semantically compatible words

together to form larger but meaningful linguistic units such as

phrases, clauses and sentences.

Fromkin and Rodman [1993:134] also believe that “because

we know the semantic properties of words, we know when two

words are antonyms, synonyms or homonyms, or are unrelated

in meaning.”

Exercise 1: For each group of words given below, state what

semantic features are shared by the (a) words and the (b)

words, and what semantic features distinguish between the

classes of (a) words and (b) words. The first one is done as an

example.

³Collocations are regular combinations of words, e.g. by accident and strong tea

are English collocations.

Adverbial collocations refer to the adverbs regularly used together with a certain

verb.

1

5

1

. (a) lobster, shrimp, crab, oyster, mussel

b) trout, sole, herring, salmon, mackerel

(

The (a) and (b) words are [+edible water animal].

The (a) words are [+shellfish].

The (b) words are [+fish].

2

. (a) widow, mother, sister, aunt, seamstress

b) widower, father, brother, uncle, tailor

(

The (a) and (b) words are ___________________________

The (a) words are _________________________________

The (b) words are __________________________________

3

. (a) bachelor, son, paperboy, pope, chief

b) bull, rooster, drake, ram, stallion

(

The (a) and (b) words are ___________________________

The (a) words are __________________________________

The (b) words are _________________________________

4

. (a) table, pencil, cup, house, ship, car

b) milk, tea, wine, beer, water, soft drink

(

The (a) and (b) words are ____________________________

The (a) words are __________________________________

The (b) words are __________________________________

5

. (a) book, temple, mountain, road, tractor

b) idea, love, charity, sincerity, bravery, fear

(

1

6

The (a) and (b) words are ____________________________

The (a) words are __________________________________

The (b) words are __________________________________

6

. (a) rose, lily, tulip, daisy, sunflower, violet

b) ash, oak, sycamore, willow, beech

c) pine, cedar, jew, spruce, cypress

(

The (a) (b) and (c) words are _________________________

The (a) words are __________________________________

The (b) words are __________________________________

The (c) words are __________________________________

7. (a) book, letter, encyclopaedia, novel, notebook, dictionary

(b) typewriter, pencil, ballpoint, crayon, quill, charcoal, chalk

The (a) and (b) words are ____________________________

The (a) words are __________________________________

The (b) words are __________________________________

8

. (a) walk, run, skip, jump, hop, swim

b) fly, skate, ski, ride, cycle, canoe, hang-glide

(

The (a) and (b) words are ____________________________

The (a) words are __________________________________

The (b) words are __________________________________

9

. (a) ask, tell, say, talk, converse

b) shout, whisper, mutter, drawl, holler

(

1

7

The (a) and (b) words are ____________________________

The (a) words are __________________________________

The (b) words are __________________________________

1

0. (a) alive, asleep, awake, dead, half-dead, pregnant

(b) depressed, bored, excited, upset, amazed,

surprised

The (a) and (b) words are ____________________________

The (a) words are __________________________________

The (b) words are __________________________________

Exercise 2: Identify the semantic features in each of the

following words.

1. Child:_____________________________________________

2. Aunt: ____________________________________________

3. Hen: _____________________________________________

4. Oak (-tree): ______________________________________

5. Flower: ___________________________________________

6. Palm: _____________________________________________

7. Bachelor: _________________________________________

8. Actress: __________________________________________

9. Plod: _____________________________________________

10. Ewe:_____________________________________________

11. Fly: _____________________________________________

18

1

2

3

2. Stallion: _________________________________________

3. Police-officer: ___________________________________

4. Beauty: __________________________________________

5. Imagine: _________________________________________

6. Doe: ____________________________________________

7. Drive: ___________________________________________

8. Home: __________________________________________

9. Elm: ____________________________________________

0. Chalk: ___________________________________________

1. Rose: ____________________________________________

2. Chick: ___________________________________________

3. Pap: _____________________________________________

4. Tiptoe: __________________________________________

5. Pine (-tree): _____________________________________

6. Owe: ____________________________________________

7. Computer: _______________________________________

8. Honesty: ________________________________________

9. Maid: ___________________________________________

0. Spinster: ________________________________________

Exercise 3: How can you distinguish the words given in the

following table from one another, considering their semantic

features?

1

9

Malay

English

Vietnamese

Chinese

huynh

ñeä

anh

brother

sadara

em

chò

muoäi

tyû

sister

_

___________________________________________________

2

.2 Componential analysis

In Semantics, componential analysis is “an approach to the

study of meaning which analyses a word into a set of

meaning components or semantic features.” [Richards et al,

1

987: 53]

For example, the meaning of boy may be shown as [+human],

+male] and [−adult] while that of man may be a combination of

+human], [+male] and [+adult]. Thus, man is different from boy

[

basically in one primitive semantic feature: [±adult].

2

0

Generally speaking, componential analysis is applied to a

group of related words which may differ from one another only

by one or two semantic features.

2

.3 Semantic fields

.3.1 Definition

2

4

A semantic field is “the organization of related words

and expressions into a system which shows their

relationship to one another.” [Richards et al, 1987: 53]

A semantic field can also be defined as “a set of words with

identifiable semantic affinities.” [Finegan, 1994: 164]

Ex1. The semantic field of kinship terms: father, mother,

brother, sister, uncle, aunt, etc.

Ex2. The semantic field of adjectives describing human

emotional states: angry, sad, happy, exuberant,

depressed, afraid, etc.

Ex3. The semantic field of drinking vessels: cup, mug,

tumbler, wine glass, beer glass, etc.

2

.3.2 Ways of organising semantically similar items into

semantic fields

There are various ways according to which semantically

similar items are related to one another:

(a) Items related by topics:

4

A semantic field is also referred to as a lexical field or a lexical set.

2

1

•

Types of fruit: apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, pears,

plums, etc.

•

Pieces of furniture: seats, tables, beds, storage, etc.

Terms of colour: blue, red, yellow, green, black, white, etc.

(b) Items similar in meaning:

•

Ways of cooking: stew, boil, fry, steam, roast, grill, smoke,

etc.

5

•

Ways of looking : gaze, glance, peer, squint, stare, etc.

6

Ways in which a liquid escapes from its container : drip,

leak, ooze, run, seep, etc.

5

Gaze = look long and steadily (at somebody/something) usually in surprise or

admiration: She gazed at me in disbelief when I told her the news.

Glance = take a quick look at: She glanced shyly at him and then lowered her eyes.

Peer (at, through, up, etc,) = look closely and carefully, especially as if unable to see

well: peer at somebody, peer out of the window, peer over the wall, peer through

the gap, peer over one’s spectacles, etc.

Squint (at, through, up, etc,) = look (at somebody/something) with eyes half shut or

turn sideways, or through narrow opening: squint in the light of sunshine, squint

through the letter box.

Stare = look (at somebody/something) with the eyes wide open in a fixed gaze (in

astonishment, wonder, fear, etc.):They all stared in/with amazement. It’s rude tostare.

6

Drip (allow liquid to) fall in drops: Rain was dripping down from the trees. Is that

roof still dripping?

Leak (allow liquid or air to) get in or out wrongly: The boat leaks like a sieve. Air

leaked out of the balloon.

Ooze (from/out of something; out/away) = (allow a thick liquid to) come or flow out slowly:

Black oil was oozing out of the engine. All the toothpaste has oozed out.

Run = (allow a liquid to) flow: The River Rhine runs into the North Sea. Water was

running all over the bathroom floor. The bathroom floor was running with water.

Seep (through/into/out of something; through/out) = (of a liquid) flow slowly and in small

quantities through a substance: Water seeped through the roof of the tunnel.

2

(

c) Terms describing people whose weight is below

7

normal: thin, bony, skinny, scrawny, underweight,

emaciated, slender, slim, etc.

(d) Items which form pairs of antonyms: long/short,

light/heavy, alive/dead, love/hate,

approve/disapprove, approve/disapprove, begin/end,

inside/outside, upstairs/downstairs, etc.

Oil is seeping through a crack in the tank.

“Drip, leak, ooze, run, seep indicate the way in which a liquid escape from a

container or tap. Most (not seep) also indicate the way in which a container or tap

allows a liquid to escape. 1 Drip = (allow sth to) fall in regular drops: Water is

dripping from the pipe. The pipe is dripping (water). 2 Leak = (allow sth to) get

out (through a hole in sth): Wine is leaking from the barrel. The barrel is leaking

(

wine). 3 Ooze = (allow sth to) move slowly (out of sth) because thick: Blood is

oozing from the wound. The wound is oozing (blood). 4 Run = (allow sth to) flow

continuously (from sth): Water is running from the tap. The tap is running. 5

Seep = move slowly (through a small opening in sth) because thick: Oil is seeping

from the engine.” [Crowther (ed.), 1992: 272]

7

“

When describing people whose weight is below normal, thin is the most general word,

It may be negative, suggesting weakness or lack of health: She‘s gone terribly thin

since operation. Bony is often applied to parts of the body such as hands or face;

skinny and scrawny are negative and can suggest lack of strength: He looks much

too skinny/scrawny to be a weight-lifter. Underweight is the most neural: The

doctor says I’m underweight. Emaciated indicates a serious condition resulting from

starvation. It is often thought desirable to be slim or slender, slim being used

especially of those who have reduced their weight by diet or exercise: I wish I was

as slim as you. You have a beautifully slender figure.” [Crowther (ed.), 1992: 947]

2

3

(e) Items which form pairs or trios of synonyms:

smart/bright/intelligent, conserve/preserve/safeguard,

fix/repair/mend, kind/sort/type/variety, happy/glad, etc.

(f) Items grouped as an activity or a process:

•

Do the housework: clean the rooms, do the washing, iron

the clothes, get the food, prepare a meal, wash up, etc.

Do research: make hypotheses, collect data, analyze data,

get results and come to conclusions.

(g) Items classified according to:

Male: waiter, tiger, actor, host, landlord, sir, etc.

•

Sex

Female: waitress, tigress, actress, hostess,

landlady, madam, etc.

•

Age: grown-ups, adults, elderly people, middle-aged

people, teenagers, children, infants, babies, etc.

Age and sex:

horse ⇒ stallion:[+male],[+fully grown] dog ⇒ dog: [+male],[+fully grown]

mare:[+female],[+fully grown] bitch:[+female],[+fully grown]

male], [−fully grown] male], [−fully grown]

foal: [±

puppy: [±

Exercise 4: Organise the given words (and probably those of your

own) into three semantic fields: shirts, end, forward(s), new,

hats, lend, coats, shorts, beginning, trousers, amble, out,

2

4

limp, tiptoe, plod, socks, trudge, borrow, stomp, in, stump,

old, backward(s), and tramp.

1

_

2

_

3

_

._________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

._________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

._________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

2

.4 Lexical gaps

“

The absence of a word in a particular place in a lexical

field of a language” is called a lexical gap. [Richards et al, 1987:

64]

For example, in English there is no singular noun that covers

1

bull, cow and calf either as horse covers stallion, mare and foal

or as goat covers billy-goat, nanny-goat and kid.

horse

goat

?

stallion mare foal billy-goat nanny-goat kid

bull cow calf

Exercise 5: Try to fill in each of the two blanks with an

appropriate word to prove that there is no lexical gap in the

given semantic fields.

2

5

sheep

ram ewe

giraffe

male giraffe

baby giraffe

2

.5 Referent, referenceand sense

.5.1 Distinction between referent, reference and sense

In Semantics, a distinction is often made between referent,

reference and sense:

.5.1.1 A referent is an object or an entity in the real

2

world or in the world of your imagination, e.g. your school,

your classmates, your teacher, any thing you can see in the

classroom right now, the idealistic working conditions you have

ever dreamed of, etc. that is talked about.

8

Several words, especially the so-called function words , have

no obvious referents: the, could, in, since, and, etc.

9

2

.5.1.2 The reference of a word or a linguistic expression is

the relationship between that word or expression and the thing

book), the action (read), the event (graduate from university),

(

the quality (sincerity), etc. it refers to.

8

It is commonly believed that function words like prepositions (of, in, etc.),

definite and indefinite articles (the, a/an), conjunctions (if, however, or, etc.),

and auxiliaries (may, should, will, etc.) only “signal grammatical relations.”

[

Finegan, 1994: 175]

9

Or, to be more precise, a lexical item

2

6

For example, the reference of Peter’s house is the

relationship between this English noun phrase and the house that

belongs to Peter.

Peter’s house

the house that belongs to Peter

(in the Eng. language) REFERENCE

(in the real world)

2

.5.1.3 The sense¹⁰of a word or a linguistic expression¹¹

shows the internal relationship between that word or expression

and others in the vocabulary of a language.

Ex1. Teacher and student have the sense relationship of the former

is the one who gives a lesson and the latter is the one

who has the lesson given by the former.

Ex2. A dog is chasing a cat has some sense. However, a dog is

human has no sense.

Ex3. The King of Vietnam is bald has some sense: its sense is

constructed by its individual lexical components and its

syntactic structure. However, this sentence has no reference: it

does not refer to any real person because the King of

Vietnam does not exist nowadays.

Consider the following table and identify referent,

reference and sense via their main features.

1

0

1

It is necessary to notice that the two linguistic terms sense and meaning will be

used interchangeably from now on in this text.

“

The SENSE of an expression is its indispensable hard core of meaning.”

[

Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 91]

2

7

REFERENT

REFERENCE

SENSE

between a language

in the external

world

in a language

and the external

world

either real

or imaginary

abstract

the relationship

between the word

bachelor and a certain

unmarried man

a man who has not

ever been married

unmarried

man

bachelor

the relationship

between

the name Baïch Tuyeát

and the very princess

the lovely princess

in a fairy tale which

I have already read

Baïch

Tuyeát

“Tuyeát Traéng”

2

.5.2 Distinction between variable reference, constant

reference and co-reference

.5.2.1 When the same linguistic expression refers to different

2

referents, it has variable reference.

Ex1. There are as many potential referents for the phrase your

left ear as there are people with a left ear in the world.

Ex2. The referent of the phrase the present prime minister

used in Britain in 1944 is Mr. Churchill and in 1982 is Mrs.

Thatcher.

2

8

2

.5.2.2 When one linguistic expression refers to one and the

same referent, it has constant reference: the sun, the moon,

12

Halley’s comet , the People’s Republic of China, Angola, the

United Nations, FIFA, UNESCO, etc.

2

.5.2.3 When two or more linguistic expressions share the

same referent, they have co-reference.

Ex1. The morning star and the evening star both refer to

the planet called Venus.

Ex2. In a conversation about Britain in 1982, the Prime

Minister and the leader of the Conservative Party

share the same referent: Mrs Thatcher.

Ex3. If we are talking about a situation in which John is

standing alone in the corner, John and the person in

the corner share the same referent.

Exercise 6: What is identified by the word mean or meaning in

the following examples, i.e. reference or sense? Write R for

reference and S for sense.

_

____ 1. When Albert talks about “his former friend”, he means me.

____ 2. Daddy, what does logic mean?

____ 3. Purchase has the same meaning as buy.

1

2

Halley’s comet is the bright comet which reappears about every 76 years. It was first

recorded in 240 BC, and the fact of its regular return was established by Edmond

Halley. Its next reappearance is due in 2061.

2

9

_

____ 4. Look up the meaning of democracy in your dictionary.

____ 5. If you look out of the window now, you’ll see who I mean.

1

3

14

2

.6 Denotation and connotation

.6.1 Definition

The denotation of a word is the core, central or

referential meaning of the word found in a dictionary. In

2

15

English, a content word may have its denotation described in

terms of a set of semantic features that serve to identify the

particular concept associated with the word.

The connotation of a word is the additional meaning that

the word has beyond its denotative meaning. It shows

people’s emotions and/or attitudes¹⁶towards what the word

refers to.

1

3

Denotation is also referred to as denotative meaning.

Connotation is also referred to as connotative meaning.

1

4

5

Content words — principally nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs like

democracy, mother, stir-fry, happy, and totally — “have meaning in that they

refer to objects, events, and abstract concepts” [Finegan, 1994: 161] while

function words specifically articles, prepositions, conjunctions and auxiliaries

like a/an, including, nevertheless, but, should, etc. also carry meaning, though

in a different way from content words: “to signal grammatical relations.”

[

Finegan, 1994: 175]

¹⁶“

The referential meaning of a word or sentence is frequently called its

denotation, in contrast to the connotation, which includes both its social and

affective meaning.” [Finegan, 1994: 161]

3

0

Ex1. Child is denotatively described as [+human], [−mature]

and [±male].

Under a certain circumstance, child may positively be

connoted as [+affectionate] or [+innocent].

Under another circumstance, child may negatively be connoted

as [+noisy] or [+irritating].

Ex2. Woman is denotatively described as [+human], [+mature]

and [+female].

Under a certain circumstance, woman may positively be

connoted as [+devoted] or [+patient].

Under another circumstance, woman may negatively be

connoted as [+wicked] or [+talkative].

The denotation of a word can easily be found in a dictionary

while its connotation(s) may probably depend on such factors as

(1) the culture in which the word is used; (2) the language user’s

family and/or educational background; (3) the language user’s

social and/or political class; (4) the language user’s speech

community and/or ethnic group; etc. In brief, these factors are

by virtue of personal and cultural associations.

2

.6.2 Distinction between denotation and connotation

Consider the following table and identify denotation and

connotation via their main features.

3

1

DENOTATION

CONNOTATION

what a lexical item

means

emotions and/or attitudes towards

what a lexical item refers to

core, central

referential

peripheral

social, affective

-

still single after the usual age for marrying

decided by himself to stay single

enjoying freedom, friendship, life, etc.

ready for his impending marriage

bachelor

spinster

unmarried man

-

still singleaftertheusualageformarrying

not decided by herself to stay single

left in an unfavourable state

unmarried woman

the twelfth month

a symbol for some failure in life

bad weather (usually rainy or snowy),

dark evening, grey sky, slippery streets,

holiday season, Christmas, winter break,

loneliness, separation from the beloved

December of the year, next

after November

Ex1. The word fox almost always has a negative connotation in

English when it is associated with any person who is cunning

or deceitful.

3

2

Ex2. Some English words usually have positive connotations (+);

others usually have neutral connotations (∅); still others

usually have negative connotations (−):

-

mother/mom (+), woman (∅), witch (−);

father/dad (+), man (∅), the old man (−);

slender (+), thin (∅), skinny (−);

plump (+), overweight (∅), fat (−).

Ex3. Synonyms, words that have the same basic meaning, do

not always have the same emotional meaning. For

example, the words stingy and frugal both mean ‘careful

with money.’ However, to call a person stingy is an insult,

while the word frugal has a much more positive connotation.

Similarly, a person wants to be slender but not skinny, and

aggressive¹⁷but not pushy. Therefore, you should be

careful in choosing words because many so-called

synonyms are not really synonyms at all.

Exercise 7: Identify all the possible connotations associated with

the word Christmas.

_

_________________________________________________

_______________________________________________

1

7

Aggressive (often approved) = forceful = (self-)assertive = showing strong and

confident personality; expressing one’s views; demands; etc. confidently:

A good salesman must be aggressive if he wants to be succeeded.

Pushy (also pushing, informally derogative) = trying constantly to draw attention

to oneself and gain an advantage:

He made himself unpopular by being so pushy.

3

2

.7 Multiple senses of lexical items

.7.1 Primary meaning vs. secondary meaning

The first and foremost distinction made in multiple senses of a

word is between its primary and secondary meanings.

.7.1.1 The primary meaning of a word (or, to be more

2

precise, a lexical item) is the first meaning or usage that the

word will suggest to most people when it is said in isolation.

The primary meaning of the English noun wing, for instance,

is ‘either of the pair of feathered limbs that a bird uses to fly.’

2

.7.1.2 Secondary meanings of a word are the meanings

besides its primary meaning. They are said to be not central but

peripheral.

In addition, secondary meanings of a word are context-

bound whereas its primary meaning is not.

In He usually plays on the wing, for example, wing means

‘

side part of the playing area in football, hockey, etc.’ Such a

secondary meaning is derived from the context denoted by the

verb plays.

2

.7.2 Literal meaning vs. figurative meaning

It is time to distinguish then within all the possible meanings of

the English noun wing, for example, those that are literal and those

that are figurative.

2

.7.2.1 “The basic or usual meaning of a word” [Crowther

(ed.), 1992: 527] is usually referred to as its literal meaning.

3

4

Some literal meanings are identified via context in the noun wing:

ꢀ

Part that projects from the side of an aircraft and supports it

in the air: the two wings of an airplane;

ꢁ

Part of a building that projects from the main part:

the east/west wing of a house;

ꢂ Projecting part of the body of a motor vehicle above the wheel:

The left wing of his car was damaged in the collision;

ꢃ Part of a political party that holds certain views or has a

particular function: the radical wing of the Labour Party.

2

.7.2.2 The figurative meaning of a word is one which is

different from its usual (literal) meaning and which create

vivid mental images to readers or listeners.

Below are some figurative meanings of the noun wing:

-

We hope college life will help him to spread his wings a bit.

= extend his activities and interests)

Having a new baby to look after has clipped her wings a bit.

= has prevented her from achieving her ambition)

She immediately took the new arrivals under her wing.

(

-

(

= looked after the new arrivals)

He retires as chairman next year; his successor is waiting in

the wings. (= is ready to replace him)

Wing is an English word that has several closely related but

slightly different meanings. It is said to be polysemous.

3

5

2

.8 Figures of speech

A figure of speech is “a word or phrase which is used for

special effect, and which does not have its usual or literal

meaning.” [Richards et al, 1987: 105]

2

.8.1 Simile and metaphor

2

.8.1.1 Definition

Simile is “the use of comparison of one thing with

another, eg. as brave as a lion, a face like a mask. [Crowther (ed.),

1

992: 848]

It is incredible to notice that not all comparisons belong to simile,

eg. He is much taller than his elder brother. Only the comparisons

clearly employed as examples of figures of speech do.

Metaphor is “the use of a word or phrase to indicate

something different from (though related in some way to)

the literal meaning, as in I’ll make him eat his words or She has a

heart of stone.” [Crowther (ed.), 1992: 564]

2

.8.1.2 Distinction between a simile and a metaphor

A simile is an explicit or direct comparison in which

something is compared to something else by the use of a

function word such as like or as:

-

My hands are as cold as ice. (= My hands are very cold.)

Tom eats like a horse.

(= Tom eats as much as a horse does. In other words, Tom’s

appetite IS explicitly COMPARED TO that of a horse.)

3

6

A metaphor is an implicit or indirect comparison in which

no function word is used. Something is described by stating another

thing with which it can be compared:

-

She has a heart of stone.

= She has a pitiless and unfeeling nature.)

I’ll make him eat his word.

= I’ll make him admit that what he’s said is wrong.)

He was a lion in the fight.

= He fought bravely and successfully just like a lion

(

-

(

-

(

in the fight for food.)

-

His words stabbed at her heart.

(= Like a knife, his words are so sharp that they can

cause great pain or much unhappiness for her. In other

words, his words did not actually stab, but their effect IS

implicitly COMPARED TO the stabbing of a knife.)

18

2

.8.1.3 Distinction between dead metaphors and live metaphors

Dead metaphors are used so often that they have lost

their metaphoric characteristics: the leg/face of the table,

the back of the chair, the mouth of the river, the head of the

state, the childhood of the earth, etc.

19

Dead metaphors are in fact idioms or fixed expressions

that native speakers of a language give special meanings and use

1

8

Dead metaphors are also called either unconscious or fossilized metaphors.

1

9

An idiom is an expression which functions as a single unit and whose meaning

cannot be worked out from its separate parts. Thus, we cannot understand an

3

7

naturally and unconsciously: these speakers do not pay attention to

the implicit comparison found in any dead metaphor; they just

think directly of its meaning used in a given context:

-

He looks as though he hasn’t had a square meal for months.

= a large and satisfying meal)

He washed his hand out of the matter.

= refused to have anything more to do with the matter)

(

-

(

Live metaphors²⁰are implied or indirect comparisons

which have a variety of figurative meanings through their

endless use: Tom is a pig may be interpreted as Tom is short

and fat, Tom is slow and lazy, Tom is greedy, Tom is not

intelligent, Tom is neither intelligent nor ambitious, etc.

Live metaphors can only be understood after the implicit

comparison found in any of them is seriously considered and

fully appreciated. Native speakers of a language use live

metaphors intentionally and creatively in order to make their

speech more vivid, figurative, concise, etc.: You are a mist that

appears for a little time and then vanishes.

(= You are implicitly compared to a mist that does not last

long, i.e. you come and leave quickly.)

idiom just by looking at the separate meanings or the word classes of its

members. We have to consider an idiom as a whole and figure out its meaning

in context.

-

His excuses cut no ice with me. (= had little or no effect on me)

The project has been going great guns.(=proceeding vigorously & successfully)

Live metaphors are also called conscious metaphors.

2

0

3

8

2

.8.2 Personification

Personification is a special kind of metaphor in which some

human characteristic is attributed to an inanimate object

or abstract notion; that is, a lifeless thing or quality is

stated as if it were living, as in pitiless cold, cruel heat, a

treacherous calm, a sullen sky, a frowning rock, the thirsty

ground, the laughing harvest, the childhood of the world, the

anger of the tempest, the deceitfulness of riches, etc.

2

.8.3 Metonymy

2

.8.3.1 Definition

Metonymy is the substitution of the name of one thing for

that of another to which it is related/with which it is

associated. (In Greek, meta- means ‘substitution’ and onyma

means ‘name’.)

(a) A sign substitutes for the person or the object it signifies or

symbolizes.

-

He succeeded to the crown (= the royal office).

She is a fighter against red tape (= bureaucracy, office routine).

The new proposal might affect the cloth (= the clergy) in some way.

Backstairs did influence.

(

= intrigues, secret plans to do something bad, secret arrangements)

Can you protect your children from the cradle to the grave?

= from childhood to death)

-

(

3

9

(b) An instrument substitutes for an agent.

-

The pen (= the writer) has more influence than the sword

= the soldier).

(

-

He is the best pen (= the best writer) of the day.

Who brought fire and sword (= a destructive war) into our country?

We need a force of a thousand rifles (= soldiers).

Sceptre and crown (= kings)

Must tumble down,

And in the dust be equal made

With the poor crooked scythe and spade (= peasants).

[James Shirley]

(

= Like peasants, kings must die.)

c) A container substitutes for the thing contained.

(

-

The kettle (= the water in the kettle) is boiling.

He drank the cup.

(= the coffee, the tea, the chocolate, etc. in the cup)

-

He is too fond of the bottle (= the liquor in the bottle).

The conquerors smote the city (= the inhabitants of the city).

Why don’t you recognize the power of the purse?

(= the money kept in the purse)

(

d) The concrete, like an organ of the human body,

substitutes for the abstract such as love, hatred, sincerity, a

mental ability, a natural talent, etc.

4

0

-

She has an ear for music. (= She possesses a remarkable talent

for learning, imitating, appreciating, etc. music.)

She has a good head of business.

(= She is gifted in/is clever at dealing with business.)

(e) The abstract substitutes for the concrete:

-

His Majesty (= the king) died a year ago.

His Holiness (= the Pope) has just come back to Rome.

The authorities put an end to the riot.

(= the group of people who have the power to give orders or take action)

(

-

f) The material substitutes for the thing made.

The marble (= the marble statue ) speaks.

All our glass is kept in the cupboard.

21

(

= vessels and articles made of glass)

He was buried under this stone.

= this tomb made of stone, this tombstone)

-

(

(g) An author/a producer/a place where goods are made

substitutes for his work(s)/its product(s).

-

I have never read Keat (= Keat’s poems).

Have you ever read Homer (= the works of Homer)?

I love old china (= crockery made in China).

2

1

A scene found in a fairly tale shows the prince of a kingdom going for a walk

in his garden. When passing by the marble statue, he notices a sweet call:

“My dear prince!”

4

1

2

.8.3.2 Distinction between metaphor and metonymy

On the one hand, metaphor is based on the associated

similarity shared by the two things being implicitly

compared. In other words, only if A and B are similar to each other

in some way can the name commonly referred to A be

metaphorically used to refer to B.

On the other hand, metonymy does not depend on such

similarity.

Let’s consider the two following sentences:

(

1) The organization is keeping the brake on pay rises.

2) No man is an island: entire of itself; every man is a piece of the

continent.

The sentence marked (1) exemplifies a metaphor: the core

meaning of keep the brake on a certain vehicle in order to reduce

its speed or to stop it has been changed to its metaphoric

meaning: control pay rises or cause pay rises to slow down.

The whole sentence means the organization is controlling the

increase in the amounts/sums of money paid for its current

activities.

This sentence marked (2) consists of two metonymies:

respectively, an island and the continent, which are both

[

+concrete], stand for isolation and community, which are both

+abstract].

The whole sentence means no one can isolate himself from the

community he has been living in.

4

2

.8.4 Synecdoche

.8.4.1 Definition

Synecdoche is a special kind of metonymy in which “a part

or aspect of a person, object, etc. is meant to refer to the

whole person, object, etc.” [Crowther (ed.), 1992: 925]

-

They organized a fleet of fifty sails (= ships).

He is a man of seventy winters (= years of age).

He managed to earn his bread (= necessaries).

This is a village of only more than one hundred souls

(= people).

-

Gray hairs (= old or elderly people) should be respected.

Synecdoche also involves a whole or genus used to

substitute for a part or species: vessel for ship, the smiling

year for the smiling season of the year, especially the spring, the

Christian world for the Christian Church as a whole, etc.

2

.8.4.2 Distinction between metonymy and synecdoche

Let’s consider the four following sentences:

1) The princess captures the hearts of the nation.

(

The hearts, which is [+organ of the human body] and thus

+concrete], is used to stand for the love, which is [+emotional

[

experience] and thus [+abstract]. The hearts in this case is a

metonymy. The sentence means all the people of that country love

the princess.

4

3

(2) He has a kind heart.

A heart, which is [+organ of the human body], [+concrete] and

+part], is used to stand for a person, which is [+human], [+concrete]

[

and [+whole]. A kind heart in this case is a synecdoche. The

sentence means he is a kind/kind-hearted person who is concerned for

others around him.

(3) Spare the rod and spoil the child.

The rod, which is [+thing] and thus [+concrete], is used to

stand for the punishment, which is [+human activity], [+intention] and

thus more or less [+abstract]. The rod in this case is a metonymy.

The sentence means if you do not punish a child when he does wrong, you

will spoil his character.

(4) All hands on deck did help.

Hands, which is [+organ of the human body], [+concrete] and

+part], is used to stand for people, which is [+human], [+concrete]

[

and [+whole]. In this case, hands must be a synecdoche. This

sentence means all the people on one of the floors of the ship worked

hard to accomplish a certain task.

2

.8.5 Hyperbole

Hyperbole, which is also called overstatement, is the use of

exaggerated statement that is made for special effect

“

and is not meant to be taken literally.” [Crowther (ed.), 1992:

4

46]

4

Below are a few hyperboles or overstatements:

-

I’ve invited millions of (= a lot of) people to my party.

She sheds floods of tears (= cries a lot) whenever she is upset.

Don’t live in such a sea of doubt!

(

= Don’t be too suspicious!)

Never in a million years will he admit defeat.

= He will never admit defeat.)

-

(

I haven’t seen you for ages.

= for a few weeks, for a couple of months, for a while)

(

2

.8.6 Litotes

Litotes, which is also called meiosis, is the use of

deliberately gentler, milder or weaker statements to

express something in a controlled way.

-

I don’t think I would agree with you. (= I disagree with you.)

I am afraid that no passenger is allowed to smoke in here.

(= You are not allowed to smoke in here.)

Quite often, an expression of litotes is an “ironical

understatement, especially using a negative to emphasize

the contrary.” [Crowther (ed.), 1992: 527]

-

It’s not bad. (= It is fine.)

It wasn’t easy. (= It was very difficult.)

Always remember that she is no fool.

(= She is worldly-wise, in fact.)

-

Jim was rather upset when he again failed in the final exam.

(= very upset)

4

5

2

.8.7 Irony

Irony is the “expression of one’s meaning by saying the

direct opposite of one’s thoughts in order to be emphatic, amusing,

sarcastic, etc.” [Crowther (ed.), 1992: 479]

Below are a few expressions of irony:

-

What a lovely day it was! Everything I had went wrong.

He is so intelligent that no examiner has agreed to pass him

so far.

-

He is lucky to have such an ugly and awkward wife.

She is extremely unlucky to be born

in such a prosperous family in a developed European country.

-

Your plan is really tricky. The other team will figure it out

in about one play.

2

.8.8 Euphemism

.8.8.1 Definition

2

Euphemism is “the use of pleasant, mild or indirect words

or phrases in place of more accurate or direct ones.”

[Crowther (ed.), 1992: 305] Respectively, morticians (also called

undertakers) and a garbage man may be euphemistically replaced

by funeral directors and a sanitation engineer.

2

.8.8.2 Distinction between a taboo word and a euphemism.

A taboo word, a ‘dirty’ word, is the word or the linguistic

expression that refers to a taboo act or behaviour in a society,

a culture or a speech community while a euphemism is the word or

the linguistic expression that replaces a taboo word or serves

to avoid a frightening or unpleasant subject.

4

6

It is crucial to recognize that a taboo word and its

euphemism share the same denotative meaning but they differ in

their connotative meanings: the taboo word has a negative

connotation whereas its euphemism has a positive connotation.

Below are a number of common euphemisms and their taboo words:

Taboo words

Euphemisms

social disease

criminal assault

syphilis

rape

handicapped

crippled

insane

poor

mentally ill

underprivileged

developing or less developed (country)

poor (country)

(

more) developed (country)

rich (country)

the aged

senior citizens

laid to rest

perspiration

intoxicated

abdomen

buried

sweat

drunk

belly

odour

stink or smell

spit

expectorate

retarded or unusual

hard of hearing

love child

mentally defective

deaf

bastard

4

7

Below are a few expressions of euphemism:

-

Pass away is a euphemism for die.

He was his Majesty’s guest for two years is a euphemism

for He was in jail for two years.

2

.8.9 Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is the imitation of natural sounds by means

of words or groups of words. Hiss, cuckoo, thud, moo, baa,

hush, pop, etc. are onomatopoeic words. Growl, splash, crackle,

etc. exemplify semi-onomatopoeia.

Onomatopoeia can be identified in the following sentences:

-

She is always squeaking and squawking.

We could hear the enemy guns booming (away) in the distance.

He felt a tap on his shoulder.

Rain was dripping down from the trees. Its steady drip kept

me awake all night long.

Exercise 8: Interpret the meaning the following sentences and

state what kind of figures of speech (also called figurative

language) used in each of them.

1

_

. When he gets going, Jack is a streak of lightning.

_____________________________________________________

4

8

2

. I found the fifty-two pounds of books you left for me to carry. Your

kindness really moved me.

_

_____________________________________________________

3

_

. The man is a demon for work.

_____________________________________________________

4

_

. When you take that course, plan to study thirty hours a day.

_____________________________________________________

5

_

. The wind howled angrily around the house all night.

_____________________________________________________

6

_

. When the White House called, the ambassador went at once.

_____________________________________________________

7

_

. My dormitory room is like a cave.

_____________________________________________________

4

9

8

_

. Come to the dormitory and see what a cave I live in.

_____________________________________________________

9. Dick was fairly pleased when he won the brand-new car in the contest.

_

_____________________________________________________

10. If you are not happy with the service, go and talk to the City Hall.

_

_____________________________________________________

_

1

_

1

_

_____________________________________________________

1. Man does not live by bread alone.

_____________________________________________________

2. We now live under the same roof.

_____________________________________________________

1

3. Albert was as sharp as a tack this morning. He answered every

question as soon as it was asked.

_

_____________________________________________________

5

0

1

_

4. The river ate the bank away.

_____________________________________________________

1

5. Keep overeating like that and pretty soon you’ll weigh a

thousand pounds.

_

_____________________________________________________

16. After she heard the good news, she grinned like a mule eating briars.

_

1

_

1

_

1

_

_____________________________________________________

7. The captain was in charge of one hundred horses.

_____________________________________________________

8. Joe cried a little when he lost the thousand dollars.

_____________________________________________________

9. You can depend on Gina; she is a rock when trouble comes.

_____________________________________________________

5

1

2

_

2

_

2

_

0. Life is a dream.

_____________________________________________________

1. He’s so hardheaded that he won’t listen to anyone.

_____________________________________________________

2. Research says that these methods are best.

_____________________________________________________

2

3. Right at this minute, I could drink a barrel of water without

stopping.

_

2

_

2

_

_____________________________________________________

4. It is amazing what a great mind he is.

_____________________________________________________

5. Alice came in gently, like a May breeze.

_____________________________________________________

_

_____________________________________________________

5

2

_

2

_

6. Susie is a picture of loveliness in her new dress.

_____________________________________________________

7. A thousand thanks are for your kindness.

_____________________________________________________

28. I walked past the big sad mouth which didn’t know what to say then.

_

2

_

3

_

3

_

_____________________________________________________

9. We are tired to death of such movies.

_____________________________________________________

0. Give every man thine ears, bid a few thy voice.

_____________________________________________________

1. There was a storm in Parliament last night.

_____________________________________________________

5

3

_

3

_

3

_

3

2. I’m afraid he has misrepresented the facts.

_____________________________________________________

3. He worked and worked until he breathed his last.

_____________________________________________________

4. We’ll just have to go our separate ways.

_____________________________________________________

5. They were vital, unforgettable matches that gave us a new

window on the game.

_

3

_

3

_

_____________________________________________________

6. I’ve told you a thousand times not to touch that again.

_____________________________________________________

7. He is as mute as a fish.

_____________________________________________________

5

4

3

_

8. We stopped to drink in the beautiful scenery.

_____________________________________________________

3

_

9. His words can be trusted.

_____________________________________________________

_

4

_

4

_

4

_

4

_

_____________________________________________________

0. The police team has cemented close ties with the hospital staff.

_____________________________________________________

1. The boss gave her a hot look.

_____________________________________________________

2. He could not bridle his anger.

_____________________________________________________

3. He attacked every weak point in my argument.

_____________________________________________________

5

4

4. In 1940, after the fall of France, England had no defense left but

her ancient valor.

_

_____________________________________________________

4

5. The fire snaps and crackles like a whip; its sharp acrid smoke stings

the eyes. It is the fire that drives a thorn of memory in my heart.

_____________________________________________________

6. The organization is keeping the brake on pay rises.

_

4

_

4

_

_____________________________________________________

7. Her father is a captain of industry.

_____________________________________________________

4

_

8. I am the captain of my soul.

_____________________________________________________

4

9. To fall out of a tree in one’s early childhood is not a particularly

reassuring experience.

_

_____________________________________________________

5

6

50. Nomanisanisland: entire of itself; every manisapiece of the continent.

_

_____________________________________________________

2

.9 Hyponymy

2

.9.1 Definition

Hyponymy is a relation in which the referent of a word is

totally included in the referent of another word. In other

words, hyponymy is the relationship between each of the

hyponyms²²(the “lower” word) and its superordinate²³(the

“

higher” word):

cook

grill toast boil fry²⁴roast

bake

smoke

………

stir-fry sauteù

deep-fry

2

.9.2 Distinction between a hyponym and a superordinate

2

3

4

Hyponyms are also referred to as subordinates or specific lexical items.

Superordinates are also referred to as hyper(o)nyms or generic lexical items.

stir-fry = fry (vegetables, meat, etc.) for a short time in very hot oil

while stirring them

sauteù = fry (food like potatoes) quickly in a little fat

deep-fry = fry (food like potatoes) quickly in hot fat that completely covers them

5

7

A hyponym is a word “whose referent is totally included

in the referent of another word (the prefix hypo- in hyponym

means ‘below’).” [Finegan, 1994: 165]

Accordingly, a superordinate is a word whose referent

covers all the referents of its hyponyms. (The prefix hyper-

in hyper(o)nym means ‘over.’)

Ex1.

plant

tree bush (shrub) flowering plant moss

grass

………

Hyponyms often exist at more than one level, resulting in

multiple layers of hyponymic relationships:

Ex2.

colour

blue red

yellow

green

black

………

turquoise²⁵aquamarine royal blue

In this case, blue is a word that has a hyponym and a

superordinate at the same time. Since turquoise, aquamarine and

royal blue refer to different shades of blue, these words are

IMMEDIATE hyponyms [Palmer: 1981: 87] of blue. The word

blue in its turn is, along with many other colour terms, an

IMMEDIATE hyponym of colour. We thus obtain a hierarchy of

2

5

Turquoise = greenish blue; aquamarine = bluish green; royal blue = deep

bright blue

5

8

terms related to each other through hyponymic relationships.

Similar hierarchies can be established for many lexical fields:

Ex3.

physical entity

animal

plant

rock

fish

bird insect bug

reptile

mammal

………

sparrow hawk crow fowl ……… human

animal (beast)

chicken turkey quail ………

dog cat cow ………

Note in this case that the word animal appears on two different

levels. English speakers indeed use the word to refer to at least

two different referents: animals as distinct from plants and rocks,

and animals (generally mammals other than humans) as distinct

from humans.

2

.9.3 Hyponymy and inclusion

“

HYPONYMY involves us in the notion INCLUSION in the

sense that tulip and rose are included in flower, and lion and

elephant in mammal (or perhaps animal). Similarly, scarlet is

included in red. Inclusion is thus a matter of class

membership. The ‘super’ term is the SUPERORDINATE and the

‘lower’ term is the HYPONYM.” [Palmer, 1981: 85]

5

9

Exercise 9: Each of the following sentences presents a pair of

words. Which of them is a superordinate and which, a

hyponym?

1

. She reads books all day – mostly novels.

2

. A crocodile is a reptile.

3

. There’s no flower more beautiful than a tulip.

4

. He likes all vegetables except carrots.

_

_____________________________________________________

Exercise 10: Draw a chart to show the relationship between a

superordinate and a hyponym.

1

. luggage and suitcase

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

. green vegetable and bean

2

6

0

3

4

5

6

. animal and foal

. animal and child

. fowl and rooster

. plant and coconut

7

. plant and rose

6

1

8

9

1

. vocal organ and tongue tip

. head and eyelash

0. furniture and dressing table

1. vehicle and convertible

1

2. vocalize and croon

6

2

.10 Synonymy

.10.1 Definition

Synonymy is a relation in which various words have different

written and sound) forms but have the same or nearly the

2

(

same meaning.

Ex1: The two English verbs hide and conceal are synonyms; they

both mean keep somebody/something from being seen or

known about.

Ex2: The four English nouns kind, type, sort and variety are

synonyms; they all refer to a group having similar

characteristics.

2

.10.2 Distinction between true synonymy and

partial synonymy

2

.10.2.1 True synonymy

There are few true synonyms in the lexicon of a language.

26

Ex1. Movie, film, flick and motion picture may be considered

as synonyms because they all refer to the same set of referents

in the real world. In other words, they have the same

denotative meaning. However, these lexical items differ in

their connotative meanings: movie may strike you as American

while film may strike you as British or as appropriate for

movie classics or art movies; flick is used chiefly in very

informal contexts whereas motion picture is quaintly

outdated and has connotations as a term from the thirties or

th

forties of the 20 century.

2

6

flick n [C] (dated, informal) cinema film

6

3

In brief, movie, film, flick and motion picture are not true

synonyms.

Ex2. Fast, quick and rapid may be considered as synonyms

because they may be used interchangeably in reference to

someone’s running speed: He’s a fast/quick/rapid runner.

However; a fast talker, one who is able to get out of trouble

by talking cleverly, is different from a quick talker, one who

usually talks in a rapid manner; some people may lead their

lives in the fast lane, not in the rapid lane or in the quick

lane; he has a quick mind, not a rapid mind or a fast mind; he

gave her a quick glance, not a rapid glance or a fast glance;

and rapid is the usual term when reference is made to a

person’s strides, especially metaphorical strides: Tom has made

rapid strides in his math this term. In brief, fast, quick and

rapid are not true synonyms.

Quite often, words that appear synonymous at first glance

actually refer to slightly different sets of concepts or are used in

different situations. “The fact that there are few true synonyms in

the lexicon of a language reflects the general tendency of language

users to make most of what is available to them. If two terms have the

same referent, the meaning of one of them is usually modified to

27

express differences in referential, social or affective meaning .

Although true synonymy is rare, the notion is useful because it

helps describe similarities between the meanings of different

terms in the lexicon.” [Finegan, 1994: 168]

2

7

In other words, synonyms usually have different connotations: mother, Mum,

Mom, Mummy, and Mommy.

6

4

2

.10.2.2 Partial synonymy

Partial synonymy is a relation in which a polysemous word

shares one of its meanings with another word.

For example, one meaning of deep is synonymous with

profound in the pair of sentences marked (1)a-b. In other words,

deep and profound can be used interchangeably in (1)a-b. No

such interchange can be found in (2)a-b:

(1)a. You have my deep sympathy.

(

1)b. You have my profound sympathy.

2)a. The river is very deep at this point.

(

(2)b. *The river is very profound at this point.

Partial synonymy leads to collocations: a bunch of keys, a

herd of sheep, a school of ants, a flock of birds, a group of

teachers, a gang of thieves, etc.

Exercise 11: The following pairs of words are partial synonyms,

i.e. they do not share all their senses. For each pair, (a) gives a

sentence in which the two can be used interchangeably; (b)

gives another sentence in which only one of them can be used.

1

. strong/powerful

(

a) ________________________________________________

b) ________________________________________________

(

2

. ripe/mature

(

a) ________________________________________________

b) ________________________________________________

(

6

5

3

4

5

6

. broad/wide

(

a) ________________________________________________

b) _______________________________________________

(

. soil/earth

(

a) ________________________________________________

b) ________________________________________________

(

. edge/side

(

a) ________________________________________________

b) ________________________________________________

(

. permit/allow

(

a)_________________________________________________

b)_________________________________________________

(

Exercise 12: Identify various meanings of each of the two given

polysemous words and then point out which meaning exemplify

partial synonymy.

1

. deep

(i) This is a deep well.

(

ii) He only gave a deep sigh.

iii) You have my deep sympathy.

iv) With his hands deep in his pockets, he went away.

The ________ meaning of deep is synonymous with __________.

6

2

. broad

(

i) The river is very broad at this point.

ii) He just gave a broad smile.

iii) Luckily, my boss is a man of broad views.

iv) He speaks English with a broad Yorkshire accent.

The _________ meaning of broad is synonymous with ________.

2

.11 Antonymy

2

.11.1 Definition

Antonymy is a relation in which two words have different

(written and sound) forms and are opposite in meaning.

Ex1: Pass--fail, hot--cold and thinner--fatter are three

pairs of antonyms.

Ex2: True--false, big--small and buy--sell are three pairs of

antonyms.

2

.11.2 Classification

28

2

.11.2.1 Binary antonymy and gradable antonymy

2

.11.2.1.1 Below is probably a common way of telling binary

antonymy from gradable antonymy:

Binary antonymy is a relation in which two members of a pair

of antonyms:

2

8

Binary antonymy is also referred to as complementary antonymy.

6

7

(

a) are mutually exclusive: not aliveis dead and not deadis alive.

b) cannot be used in a comparative or superlative sense:

He is more single/more married than his brother.

c) cannot be used in questions with how to ask about degrees:

How single/How married is he?

(

*

Thus, alive--dead and married--single are two pairs of

binary antonyms.

Gradable antonymy is a relation in which two members of a

pair of antonyms:

(a) are gradable: between hot and cold are three

“

intermediate terms” [Palmer, 1981: 95] warm, tepid (or

lukewarm) and cool.

(b) can be used in a comparative or superlative sense: wider is

less narrow, more difficult is less easy, etc.

(

c) can be used in questions with how to ask about degrees:

How difficult is the test?²⁹

Thus, hot--cold and difficult--easy are two pairs of

gradable antonyms.

2

.11.2.1.2 The distinction between binary antonymy and

gradable antonymy is sometimes blurred by language users. In

English, for example, it is reasonable to assume that whatever is

alive is not dead and that whatever is dead is not alive, and thus

2

9

How easy is the test? is also possible, but its context is very restricted, e.g. to

show that one can manage to pass the test without any difficulty.

6

8

that the adjectives dead and alive form a pair of binary antonyms.

However, we do have expressions like half-dead, barely alive,

and more dead than alive, which suggest that, in some contexts,

we see alive and dead as gradable antonyms. Nevertheless, the

distinction between the two types of antonyms is useful in

that it describes an important distinction between two types of

word relationships.

2

.11.2.2 Relational antonymy

Two members of a pair of relational antonyms³⁰display

symmetry in their meaning. The “if…, then …” formula can be

used to test and identify relational antonyms: if Mr. Brown is

Jack’s employer, then Jack is Mr. Brown’s employee; if Jenny is

thinner than Mary, then Mary is fatter than Jenny; if John

bought a car from Fred, then Fred sold a car to John; etc.

Thus, buy--sell, employer--employee, and thinner--fatter

are three pairs of relational antonyms.

Relational antonyms belong to various word classes:

ꢀ

Verbs: buy--sell, give--receive, lend--borrow, import--

export, own--belong to, etc.

ꢁ

Nouns: employer--employee, grandparent--grandchild,

father/mother--son/daughter, fianceù--fianceùe,

parent--child/offspring, professor--student,

teacher--pupil, doctor--patient, debtor--creditor,

landlord/landlady--tenant, husband--wife,

uncle/aunt--nephew/niece, etc.

3

0

Relational antonyms are also called converses.

6

9

ꢂ Comparative adjectives: thinner--fatter, cheaper --

more expensive, greater than--less than, etc.

ꢃ Comparative adverbs: more efficiently--less efficiently,

faster--more slowly, etc.

ꢄ Prepositions: above--below, in front of--behind,

over--under, before--after, north of--south of,

west of--east of, etc.

2

.11.3 Antonymy and (un)markedness

Words that are in an antonymous relationship often do

not have equal status with respect to markedness. In a pair of

antonyms, one member is more unmarked (or less marked) and

the other is more marked (or less unmarked), e.g. high--low, tall-

-

short, heavy--light, far--near, expensive--cheap, hot--cold,

long--short, wide--narrow, deep--shallow, difficult--easy,

married--single, well--badly, etc.

The unmarkedness of one member of any pair of antonyms

enables it to occur in questions of degree like How heavy is it?

(not How light is it?), How tall are you? (not How short are

you?), How deep is the canal? (not How shallow is the canal?),

How expensive is this bracelet? (not How cheap is this bracelet?),

How well can you speak English? (not How badly can you speak

English?), etc.

Similarly, since married is less marked than single, we say we

talk about one’s marital status, and not about one’s single status.

7

0

Exercise 13: Are the following pairs of words binary antonyms?

(

1) chalk--cheese

2) same--different Yes / No (5)married--unmarried

3) copper--tin Yes / No (6) cheap--expensive

Yes / No (4) dead--alive

Yes / No

Exercise 14: Are the following pairs of words relational

antonyms?

(

1) below--above Yes / No (4)grandparent--grandchild Yes / No

2) love--hate Yes / No (5) greater than--less than Yes / No

Yes / No (6) own--belong to Yes / No

3

1

3) conceal--reveal

Exercise 15: Identify the continuous scale of values between the

two given words.

1. love--hate: _________________________________________

2. hot -- cold: _________________________________________

3. big -- small: _________________________________________

4. rich -- poor: ________________________________________

5. none -- all: _________________________________________

6. possibly -- certainly: ________________________________

7. never--always: ______________________________________

3

1

Conceal sb/sth (from sb/sth) = keep sb/sth from being seen or known about:

He tried to conceal/did not reveal his heavy drinking from his family.

Reveal sth (to sb) = make sth known (to sb):

The doctor did not reveal the truth to him/concealed the truth from him.

-

7

1

Exercise 16: State whether the following pairs of antonyms are

binary, gradable or relational by writing B (binary), G

(gradable) or R (relational):

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

. good--bad: ______________

. pass--fail: ______________

.deciduous--evergreen:_____

.expensive—cheap: ________

.parent--offspring: ________

. beautiful--ugly: __________

. false--true:______________

. lessor--lessee: ___________

9. import--export: ______________

10. better than--worse than: ____

11. easy--difficult: _____________

12. hot--cold: __________________

13. legal--illegal: _______________

14. asleep--awake: ______________

15. rude--polite: ________________

16. husband--wife: _____________

2

.12 Homonymy

.12.1 Distinction between homonymy, homophony and

2

homography

2

.12.1.1 Homonymy is a relation in which various words have

the same (sound and written) form but have different

meanings.

Ex1: Classified as two homonyms are the noun bank , which

1

means a financial institution, and the noun bank , which

2

means the shore of a river; both being pronounced /b`7k/ in

3

2

RP .

³²Received Pronunciation (usually abbreviated to RP) “is most familiar as the

accent used by most announcers and newsreaders on serious national and

international BBC broadcasting channels.” Also, it “is often most recommended

for foreign learners studying British English.” [Roach, 1991: 4]

7

2

Ex2: Classified as three homonyms are the noun bear, which refers to

a large heavy animal with thick fur, the verb bear , which

1

means give birth to, and the verb bear , which means tolerate;

2

all being pronounced /be6(r)/ in RP.

2

.12.1.2 Homophony is a relation in which various words have

33

the same sound form but have different meanings and

written forms.

Ex1: Classified as two homophones are the noun hour, which

means a twenty-fourth part of a day and night, and the

possessive adjective our, which means belonging to us; both

being pronounced /aυ6(r)/ in RP.

Ex2: Classified as two homophones are the noun place, which

means a particular area or position in space, and the noun

plaice, which means a type of fish; both being pronounced

/ple1s/ in RP.

2

.12.1.3 Homography is a relation in which various words

34

have the same written form but have different meanings

and sound forms.

Ex1: Classified as two homographs are the verb lead /li:d/ in Does

this road lead to town and the noun lead /led/ in Lead is a

heavy metal.

Ex2: Classified as two homographs are the bare infinitive form

read /ri:d/ and the past tense form read /red/.

3

4

also referred to as pronunciation

also referred to as spelling

7

3

2

.12.2 Homophones as a distinct type of homonyms

The terminological relationship between homonymy,

“

homography, and homophony is not entirely clear. For instance,

homophones that are not homographs are sometimes

classified as a distinct type of homonyms, but the formal identity

of homonyms may also be defined so strictly as to exclude non-

homographic homophones from the class of homonyms (at least

for those languages that have written records). The very fact that

homonyms are different words (i.e., that they are distinct entities in

the lexicon) implies that they are semantically distinct.” [Asher

and Simpson, 1994: 1595]

Consider the following table and identify antonymy,

synonymy, homonymy, homophony, and homography via their

main features.

Written form Sound form Meaning

antonymy

synonymy

−

+

−

+

−

+

−

+

−

homonymy

homophony

homography

+

: the same or nearly the same;

: different or opposite

−

7

4

Among a number of linguists who regard non-homographic

homophones as a distinct type of homonyms are Fromkin and

Rodman [1993: 129]: “Homonyms are different words that are

pronounced the same, but may or may not spelled the same. To,

two and too are homonyms because they are pronounced the

same, despite their spelling differences.”

These authors and many others may require homonymy re-

defined:

Homonymy is a sense relation in which various words are

written the same way and/or sound alike but have different

meanings, e.g. feat (strength or courage) and feet (plural of

foot), know (have something in one’s mind) and no (not any), row

(a quarrel) and row (a line), wound (an injury) and wound (past of

wind), etc.

Exercise 17: Give the phonemic transcription shared by two

members of each of the given pairs of words to identify

them as a pair of homophones:

The first one is done as an example.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

. altar /‘0:lt6(r)/

alter

11. herd __________ heard

12. knight _________ night

13. nose __________ knows

14. leek ____________ leak

15. maid ___________ made

16. pail _____________ pale

17. reign ___________ rain

. beech __________ beach

. boar ___________ bore

. coarse _________ course

. crews ___________ cruise

. deer ____________ dear

. draft ___________ draught

7

5

8

9

1

. fare ____________fair

. flour ___________ flower

0. grate _________ great

18. scene __________ seen

19. thrown ________throne

20. whole ___________ hole

Exercise 18: Give the phonemic transcription shared be two

members of each of the given pairs of words to identify

them as a pair of homonyms: The italic words in bracket are

to clarify the meaning in question of the given words.

The first one is done as an example.

1

2

. lie (meaning tell lies)

1

lie (meaning put one’s body on a horizontal surface)

2

Classified as two homonyms are the verb lie , which means

tell lies, and the verb lie , which means put one’s body

on a horizontal surface; both being pronounced /la1/ in

RP.

1

2

. bat (meaning a tool for hitting in baseball)

bat (meaning the small mouse-like animal that flies at night and

feeds on fruit and insects)

_

_____________________________________________________

3

. too (meaning more than should be)

too (meaning also)

_

7

_____________________________________________________

6

4

. might (meaning great strength or power)

might (expressing possibility)

_

_____________________________________________________

5

. bare (meaning without the usual covering or protection)

bare(meaning uncover or reveal something)

_

_____________________________________________________

6

. sound (meaning thing that can be heard)

sound(meaning healthy or in good condition)

_

_____________________________________________________

7

. lead (as in Does this road lead to town)

lead(as in He’s the chief trouble-maker; the others just follow his

lead)

_

_____________________________________________________

Exercise 19: What is the relationship between the words in the

following pairs? If the words are antonyms, specify what kind

of antonyms they are. The italic words in bracket are to clarify

the meaning in question of the given words.

7

The first one is done as an example.

. true -- false: binary antonymy

1

2

3

. gloom -- darkness: __________________

. dark (as in a dark room) -- dark (as in Don’t look on the dark

side of things): __________________

4

. wind (as in The wind is blowing hard) -- wind (as in wind one’s

watch): __________________

5

6

7

. deny -- admit: __________________

. host -- guest: __________________

. sow (as in sow a field with wheat) -- sow (meaning a female

pig): __________________

8

9

1

. pupil (at a school) -- pupil (of an eye): __________________

. cheap -- expensive: __________________

0. coarse -- course: __________________

2

.13 Polysemy

2

.13.1 Definition

Polysemy is a relation in which a single word has two or more

slightly different but closely related meanings.

Ex1: The noun chip has the three following meanings:

(i) a small piece of some hard substance which has been

broken off from something larger: a chip of wood/glass.

7

8

(ii) a small cut piece of potato which is fried for eating: Can I

try one of your chips?

(iii) a small but vital piece of a computer: This computer has

got a faster chip than the old one.

The three meanings are closely related because they all

contain the semantic feature [+small piece].

Ex2: The verb break has the two following meanings:

(i) separate into two or more parts as a result of force

or strain (but not cutting): He broke that cup.

(ii) become unusable by being damaged; make (something)

unusable by damaging: My watch is broken.

The two meanings are closely related because both contain the

semantic feature [+can no longer be used].

2

.13.2 Distinction between polysemy and homonymy

A well-known problem in semantics is how to decide whether

we are dealing with a single polysemous word (like plain) or with

two or more homonyms (like port , as in The ship left port, and

1

port , as in He drank port). In other words, how do you know

2

when you have separate lexical items rather than a single word

with different meanings?

Using SPELLING as a criterion is misleading: many sets of

words are obviously distinct but have the same spelling as, for

example, the noun sound meaning noise and the adjective sound

meaning healthy, or the noun bank meaning financial institution

1

and the noun bank meaning shore of a river.

2

7

9

One modestly reliable criterion is the word’s ETYMOLOGY,

or historical origin. Take as an example the two English words

which derive from different Anglo-Saxon roots: bank meaning

1

financial institution is an early borrowing from French while bank₂

meaning shore of a river has a Scandinavian origin.

The various ANTONYMS and SYNONYMS of a word provide

a different kind of criterion that can be useful in distinguishing

between HOMONYMY and POLYSEMY. Since the two senses of

plain, which are (1) clear or easy and (2) undecorated, share a

synonym in simple and an antonym in complex. This fact suggests

that they are indeed two meanings of one and the same

POLYSEMIC word. No such shared synonym or antonym can be

identified for the two meanings of sound, which is, by chance, the

form of two different words, sound and sound , which have the

1

2

same spelling and thus, also sound alike.

Another interesting question is whether there is any

COMMONALITY between the different meanings of what

appears to be the same word. The two meanings of plain can be

characterized as devoid of complexity, which suggests that they are

related, but no such description exists for bank and bank . Thus

1

2

plain in these two senses is POLYSEMIC, while the two senses of

bank reflect HOMONYMIC lexical items.

There is no doubt that it is often difficult to decide whether a

particular pair of look-alike and sound-alike word forms are

two separate homonymous words or simply a polysemic word

with different meanings. Though HOMONYMY and

POLYSEMY can be distinguished as different notions, the

boundary between them is not clear-cut.

8

0

Also notice that homonyms like bank and bank , port and

1

2

1

port , sound and sound , etc. are treated in distinct dictionary

2

1

2

entries whereas two or more closely related meanings of the

polysemous word foot, chip, or plain are linked together within

only one dictionary entry.

2

.14 Ambiguity

.14.1 Structural ambiguity

A sentence is considered as structurally ambiguous when its

2

structure permits more than one interpretation.

For example, we can consider the prepositional phrase with

binoculars in We watched the hunters with binoculars either as

an adjectival to be the post-nominal modifier of the noun phrase

the hunters or as an adverbial to be the optional adjunct of means

of the verb watched.

S

NP₁

VP

NP₁

VP₁

Pro Vgrp

NP₂

Pro

VP₂

AdvP

[

mono-trans] [dO]

[opA of Means]

NP₂

PP

Vgrp

[mono-trans] [dO]

NP₃

AdjP

We watched the hunters with binoculars. We watched the hunters with binoculars.

8

1

2

.14.2 Lexical ambiguity

Any ambiguity resulting from the ambiguity of a word is

lexical ambiguity.

Ex1. We can interpret the sentence They were waiting at the bank

in two different ways because the two nouns bank — bank₁,

which means financial institution and bank , which means

2

shore of the river — are two homonyms.

Ex2. We can interpret the sentence That robot is bright in two

different ways because the adjective bright is a polysemous

word which has two slightly different but closely related

meanings: shining and intelligent.

Thus, both polysemy and homonymy contribute to lexical

ambiguity.

Exercise 20: Explain the lexical ambiguity in each of the

following sentences by providing two sentences that

paraphrase its two different meanings.

The first one is done as an example.

1

. They were waiting at the bank.

Meaning one: They were waiting at the financial institution.

Meaning two: They were waiting at the shore of the river.

2

. The long drill is boring.

Meaning one: ______________________________________

Meaning two: ______________________________________

8

2

3

. When he got the clear title to the land, it was a good deed.

Meaning one: ______________________________________

Meaning two: ______________________________________

4

. The proprietor of the fish store was the sole owner.

Meaning one: ______________________________________

Meaning two: ______________________________________

5

. We like the ball.

Meaning one: ______________________________________

Meaning two: ______________________________________

6

. They passed the port at night.

Meaning one: ______________________________________

Meaning two: ______________________________________

7

. The captain corrected the list.

Meaning one: ______________________________________

Meaning two: ______________________________________

8

. He was knocked over by the punch.

Meaning one: ______________________________________

Meaning two: ______________________________________

9

. The camel swallowed the chocolate and then ate it.

Meaning one: ______________________________________

Meaning two: ______________________________________

8

3

Exercise 21: Does polysemy or homonymy contribute to the lexical

ambiguity in each of the two given sentences.

(1) She cannot bear children.

(2) The cat sat on the mat.

_

_______________________________________________

_

_____________________________________________________

_

_______________________________________________

_

_____________________________________________________

Exercise 22: In what way are homonyms related to lexical

ambiguity?

_

_______________________________________________

_

_____________________________________________________

Exercise 23: In what way is a polysemous word related to lexical

ambiguity?

_

_______________________________________________

_

8

_____________________________________________________

4

Exercise 24: Explain the structural ambiguity in each of the

following sentences:

1

. The drunkard visitor

rolled up the carpet.

6. They are cooking bananas.

2

3

. Is he really that kind?

. My fianceùe is reserved.

7. They are moving sidewalks.

8. John

loves Richard more than Martha.

4

5

. I saw her slip.

. I saw her duck.

9. Old men and women

will be served first.

10. The thing that bothered Bill

was crouching under the table.

1

(a) The drunkard visitor

1(b) The drunkard visitor

rolled up the carpet.

2(a) Is he really that kind?

2(b) Is he really that kind?

3

(a) My fianceùe is reserved. 3(b) My fianceùe is reserved.

8

5

4(a) I saw her slip.

4(b) I saw her slip.

5(a) We saw her duck.

5(b) We saw her duck.

6(a) They are cooking bananas. 6(b) They are cooking bananas.

7(a) They are moving sidewalks. 7(b) They are moving sidewalks.

8

(a) John loves Richard

8(b) John loves Richard

more than Martha.

8

6

9

(a) Old men and women

9(b) Old men and women

will be served first.

10(a)ThethingthatbotheredBill 10(b)ThethingthatbotheredBill

wascrouchingunderthetable.

2

.15 Anomaly

2

.15.1 Definition

Anomaly is “a violation of semantic rules to create

nonsense.” [Finegan, 1993: 148]

Ex1. That bachelor is pregnant is semantically anomalous because

bachelor is [+male] whereas pregnant is [+female].

Ex2. My brother is the only child in the family is an English

sentence that is grammatically correct and syntactically

perfect; however, it is semantically anomalous because it

represents a contradiction. The meaning of brother includes

the semantic feature [+having at least one sibling] whereas

the only child in the family is [+having no other sibling].

8

7

2

.15.2 Anomaly and contradiction

Anomaly involves us in the notion contradiction in the sense that

semantically anomalous sentences constitute a type of

contradictory sentences. For example, John killed Bill, who

remained alive for many years after is semantically anomalous

because the so-called sentence represents a contradiction: no living

organism can remain alive after being killed. In fact, Bill died right at

the moment John killed him.

Exercise 25: Explain the anomaly of each of the following

sentences.

1

. Christopher is killing phonemes.

_

_____________________________________________________

_

_____________________________________________________

2

. My brother is a spinster.

_

_____________________________________________________

_

_____________________________________________________

3

. The boy swallowed the chocolate and then chewed it.

_

_____________________________________________________

_

_____________________________________________________

4

. Babies can lift one ton.

_

_____________________________________________________

_

_____________________________________________________

8

5

. Puppies are human.

_

_____________________________________________________

_

_____________________________________________________

6

. My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor.

_

_____________________________________________________

_

_____________________________________________________

7

. The bigger key and John opened the door.

_

_____________________________________________________

_

_____________________________________________________

8

. James sliced the ideas.

_

_____________________________________________________

_

_____________________________________________________

9

. Jack’s courage chewed the bones.

_

_____________________________________________________

_

_____________________________________________________

1

0. I hear the cloud.

_

_____________________________________________________

_

_____________________________________________________

1

1. The tiger remained alive for an hour after the hunter killed it.

8

9

_

_____________________________________________________

Exercise 26: How can each of the given sentences be changed to

avoid anomaly?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

. ____________________________________________________

0. ___________________________________________________

1

1. __________________________________________________

9

0

Section

SENTENCE MEANING

3

“

SENTENCE MEANING is what a sentence means,

regardless of the context and situation in which it may be used.”

Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 269]

[

3

.1 Proposition, utteranceand sentence

.1.1 “A PROPOSITION is that part of the meaning of the

3

utterance of a declarative sentence which describes some

state of affairs. The state of affairs typically involves persons or

things referred to by expressions in the sentence. In uttering a

declarative sentence a speaker typically asserts a proposition.”

[Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 19]

Ex1. The following pair of sentences expresses the same

proposition:

1

(a) Harry took out the garbage.

(b) Harry took the garbage out.

The following pair of sentences expresses different propositions:

2

(a) Isobel loves Tony.

(b) Tony loves Isobel.

9

1

Ex2. The following pair of sentences expresses the same

proposition:

3

(a) John gave Mary a book.

(b) Mary was given a book by John.

The following pair of sentences expresses different propositions:

4

(a) George danced with Ethel.

(b) George didn’t dance with Ethel.

Exercise 27: Do the two following sentences have the same

proposition?

(1) Mr Dindlay killed Janet.

(2) Mr Dindlay caused Janet to die.

_

_____________________________________________________

Exercise 28: Explain why the two members of each of the

following pairs of sentences³⁵do not share the same

proposition.

3

5

This means the two members of each pair are not paraphrases of each other.

9

2

1

(a) John is the parent of James. 3(a) The fly was on the wall.

(b) James is the parent of John.

3

(b) The wall was under the fly.

2

(a) The hunter bit the lion.

(b) The lion bit the hunter.

4(a) Jack was injured by a stone.

4(b) Jack was injured with a stone.

_

_____________________________________________________

3

.1.2 Distinction between a proposition and a sentence

“

Propositions, unlike sentences, cannot be said to belong to

any particular language. Sentences in different languages can

correspond to the same proposition, if the two sentences are

perfect translations of each other.” [Hurford and Heasley, 1984:

2

1-22] For example, English I’am cold, French J’ai froid, German

Mir ist kalt and Vietnamese Toâi laïnh can, to the extent to which

they are perfect translations of each other, be said to correspond to

the same proposition.

9

3

.1.3 Distinction between an utterance and a sentence

“An UTTERANCE is the USE by a particular speaker, on a

particular occasion, for a particular purpose, of a piece of

language, such as a sequence of sentences, or a single phrase,

or even a single word.” [Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 15]

“

A SENTENCE is neither a physical event nor a physical

object. It is conceived abstractly, a string of words put

together by the grammatical rules of a language. A sentence

can be thought of as the IDEAL string of words behind various

realizations in utterances and inscriptions.” [Hurford and Heasley,

1

984: 16]

Jane: ‘Coffee?’ ← Would you like some coffee?

Steve: ‘Sure!’ ← I’m sure to love it.

Jane: ‘White?’

Steve: ‘Black.’ ← I’d like black coffee, please.

←

Would you like (black coffee or) white coffee?

(One-word utterances)

(Well-formed sentences)

“The distinction between sentence and utterance is of

fundamental importance to both semantics and pragmatics.

Essentially, we want to say that a sentence is an abstract

theoretical entity defined within a theory of grammar, while

utterance is the issuance of a sentence.” [Levinson, 1983: 18]

“

Utterances of non-sentences, e.g. short phrases or

single words, are used by people in communication all the time.

People do not converse wholly in (tokens of) well-formed

sentences. But the abstract idea of a sentence is the basis for

understanding even those expressions, which are not

9

4

sentences. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the meaning of

non-sentences can be best analysed by considering them to be

abbreviations, or incomplete versions, of whole sentences.”

[Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 18]

“

The term ‘utterance’ can be used to refer either to the

process (or activity) of uttering or to the product of that

process (or activity). Utterances in the first of these two senses

are commonly referred to nowadays as speech acts; utterances in

the second sense may be referred to — in a specialized sense of

36

the term — as inscriptions .” [Lyons, 1995: 235]

.1.3 Distinction between a proposition, a sentence and an

utterance

3

.1.3.1 “It is useful to envisage the kind of family tree

relationship between the three notions shown in the diagram. For

example, a single proposition could be expressed by using

several sentences (say The Monday Club deposed Mrs Thatcher, or

Mrs Thatcher was deposed by The Monday Club) and each of these

sentences could be uttered an indefinite number of times.”

[Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 23]

PROPOSITION

SENTENCE

UTTERANCE UTTERANCE UTTERANCE UTTERANCE UTTERANCE UTTERANCE

3

6

The term ‘inscriptions’ is “not widely used by linguists. It must be interpreted

as being more appropriate to the written than it is to the spoken language.”

[

Lyons, 1995: 235]

9

5

3

.1.3.2 Also, it is interesting to note that the same

proposition can be expressed by different sentences and that

the same sentence can be realised by different utterances on

particular occasions.

Exercise 29: Fill in the following chart given by Hurford and

Heasley [1984: 23] with ‘+’ or ‘–’ as appropriate. Thus, for

example, if it makes sense to think of a proposition being a

particular regional accent, put a ‘+’ in the appropriate box; if

not put a ‘–.’

Utterances Sentences Propositions

Can be loud or quiet

Can be grammatical or not

Can be true or false

In a particular regional accent

In a particular language

37

.2 Sentence types (classified according to truth value )

3

³⁷“

You can understand well-formed sentences of your language without knowing

their truth value. Knowing the truth conditions is not the same as knowing the

actual facts. Rather, the truth conditions, the meaning, permit you to examine

the world and learn the actual facts … Knowing a language includes knowing

the semantic rules for combining meanings and the conditions under which

sentences are true or false.” [Fromkin and Rodman, 1993: 146]

9

6

3

.2.1 “An ANALYTIC sentence is one that is necessarily

TRUE, as a result of the senses of the words in it.” [Hurford and

Heasley, 1984: 91-92]

Ex1. All elephants are animals.

The truth of this sentence follows from the senses of

elephants and animals.

Ex2. Sam’s wife is married.

The truth of this sentence follows from the senses of wife and

married.

3

.2.2 A contradictory sentence, which is also called “A

38

CONTRADICTION , is a sentence that is necessarily FALSE, as a

result of the senses of the words in it. Thus a contradiction is in a

way the opposite of an analytic sentence.” [Hurford and Heasley,

1

984: 93]

Ex1. This animal is a vegetable is a contradictory sentence; it

must be false because of the senses of animal and vegetable.

Ex2. Sam is older than himself ³⁹is a contradictory sentence; it

must be false because of the senses of older than and

himself. In fact, Sam can be older (or younger) than somebody

else, but not than himself.

3

8

A contradictory sentence is also referred to as a contradiction by Peccei

[

1999: 9] and Hurford and Heasley [1984: 93]. Goddard [1998: 17] uses the term

contradiction to refer to a somewhat different notion: “Contradiction is where a

sentence must be false because of the meanings involved.”

3

9

Notice that Sam looks older than he is proves to be a synthetic sentence.

9

7

3

.2.3 “A SYNTHETIC sentence is one which is NOT analytic,

but may be either true or false, depending on the way the world

is.” [Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 92]

Ex1. John is from Ireland.

There is nothing in the senses of John, Ireland or from

which makes the sentence necessarily true or false.

Ex2. Sam’s wife is German.

There is nothing in the senses of Sam’s, wife or German

which makes the sentence necessarily true or false.

Exercise 30: Circle the following sentences A for analytic, S for

synthetic or C for contradiction, as appropriate.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

. John’s nine-year-old brother is a boy.

. John’s brother is nine years old.

. Cats are not vegetables.

. No cats like to bathe.

. Cats never live more than 20 years.

. My watch is slow.

. My watch is a device for telling the time.

. That girl is her own mother’s mother.

. That boy is his own father’s son.

0. Alice is Ken’s sister.

1. Some typewriters are dusty.

2. If it breaks, it breaks.

3. John killed Bill, who remained alive for many years after. A / S / C

4. Bachelors cannot form lasting relationships.

5. Bachelors are lonely.

A / S / C

9

8

3

.3 Paraphrase

.3.1 Definition

.3.1.1 PARAPHRASE is “the relationship between a word

3

and a combination of other words with the same meaning. For

instance, many people would agree that loud means something like

can be heard from far away. Ultimately, the whole project of

describing or explaining word-meanings depends on paraphrase

because we must use words — or other equivalent symbols —

to explain other words.” [Goddard, 1998: 18]

3

.3.1.2 “When asked what a sentence means, people usually

provide another sentence that has virtually the same

meaning, a paraphrase.” [Peccei, 1999: 3]

3

.3.1.3 “A sentence which expresses the same proposition

as another sentence is a paraphrase of that sentence.”

Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 104]

.3.1.4 “Sentences are paraphrases if they have the same

[

3

meaning (except possibly for minor differences in

emphases).” [Fromkin and Rodman, 1993: 132]

Consider the two following sentences:

(1) The girl kissed the boy.

(2) The boy was kissed by the girl.

Although there may be a difference in the emphasis in these two

sentences — in the second the emphasis is on what happened to the

boy, whereas in the first the emphasis is on what the girl did — the

meaning relations between the verb kiss and the two noun

9

phrases the girl and the boy are the same in both cases, and on

this basis the two sentences are paraphrases of each other.

3

.3.2 Possible ways to paraphrase a sentence

There are a variety of ways that we could paraphrase a sentence:

(1) Change individual words:

1

(a) using synonyms:

Cats DRINK cream. ⇔ Domestic felines CONSUME

the liquid fat of milk.

(b) using relational antonyms (also called converses):

1

I LENT that book to Jim. ⇔ Jim BORROWED that book from me.

2) Change sentence structure:

(

Cats DRINK cream. ⇔ Cream IS DRUNK by cats.

3) Change both individual words and sentence structure:

Cats DRINK cream. ⇔ The liquid fat of milk IS DRUNK

by domestic felines.

To provide a paraphrase we use our knowledge of both the

meanings of individual words and of the English grammar.

Exercise 31: The following pairs are paraphrases of each other.

Identify the way employed to paraphrase them.

1

(a) The house was CONCEALED by the tree.

(b) The house was HIDDEN by the tree.

1

00

2

(a) The needle is too short.

(b) The needle is not long enough.

3

(a) Some countries have no coastline.

(b) Not all countries have a coastline.

4

(a) Watching television is not a waste of time.

(b) Watching television is a good way to spend one’s time.

5

(a) My friend LOATHES string beans.

(b) My pal HATES pole beans.

6

(a) I’ll LOOK FOR that book right now.

(b) I’ll SEEK FOR that book at once/immediately.

7

(a) Steve HUGGED Jane.

(b) Steve GAVE Jane a hug.

8

(a) John is the parent of James.

(b) James is the child of John.

9

(a) My father OWNS this car.

(b) This car BELONGS TO my father.

1

0(a) John SOLD the book to David.

0(b) David BOUGHT the book from John.

1

1(a) Steve HUGGED Jane.

1(b) Jane WAS HUGGED by Steve.

1

01

1

2(a) We HAD hardly BEGUN our work when it rained.

2(b) Hardly HAD we BEGUN our work when it rained.

1

3(a) Sitting in one place for so long is very uncomfortable.

1

3(b) It is very uncomfortable to sit in one place for so long

1

4(a) I saw Ted at the party.

4(b) It was Ted that I saw at the party.

1

5(a) The nearest service station is 50 miles away.

5(b) It is 50 miles to the nearest service station.

1

6(a) Jenny and Kevin are twins.

6(b) Kevin and Jenny are twins.

1

7(a) They had a wonderful holiday

even though the weather was bad.

7(b) Despite/In spite of the bad weather,

they had a wonderful holiday.

1

7(c) They had a wonderful holiday, despite the bad weather.

7(d) They had a wonderful holiday in spite of the bad weather.

1

8(a) Bachelors PREFER red-haired girls.

8(b) Girls with red hair ARE PREFERRED by unmarried men.

1

9(a) Sam SLICED the salami with a knife.

9(b) Sam USED a knife to slice the salami.

1

02

2

0(a) Considering your condition, we won’t press charges.

0(b) Under the circumstances, we won’t press charges.

2

1(a) The laser HAS a wide variety of applications.

1(b) As we have seen, the use of the laser IS numerous.

2

2(a) In order to make a good impression at a job interview,

you should prepare well for the interview.

2(b) As you can see, it is necessary to be well prepared for

the job interview.

2

3(a) Synonyms, words that have the same basic meaning,

do not always have the same emotional meaning.

3(b) Many so-called synonyms are not really synonyms at all.

2

4(a) The composition proficiency requirements as now stated

should not apply.

2

4(b) I would propose that the standard used to judge international

student papers be relaxed or done away with.

5(a) Although Grants Pass, Oregon, is a fairly small town,

it offers much to amuse summer visitors.

2

5(b) If you want to give your family a nice, wholesome

vacation, try visiting Grants Pass, Oregon.

1

03

3

.4 Entailment

.4.1 Definition

.4.1.1 “Entailment is a relationship that applies between two

3

40

sentences , where the truth of one implies the truth of the

other because of the meanings of the words involved.” [Goddard,

1

998: 17]

For example, John was killed entails John died. Obviously,

John died could not be true any time before it was true that John was

killed.

3

.4.1.2 “An entailment is something that logically follows

from what is asserted in the utterance.” [Yule, 1996: 25]

Shirley: ‘It’s so sad. George regrets getting Mary pregnant.’

Jean: ‘But he didn’t get her pregnant. We know that now.’

In the above conversation, Jean’s utterance of ‘he didn’t get

her pregnant’ actually entails ‘George didn’t get Mary pregnant’

as a logical consequence. “The entailment (a necessary

consequence of what is said) is simply more powerful than the

41

presupposition (an earlier assumption ).” [Yule, 1996: 32]

.4.1.3 “Entailments are inferences that can be drawn

solely from our knowledge about the semantic relationships

3

4

0

1

For brevity here, as elsewhere in the little textbook, we speak of entailment

between sentences, rather than, more strictly, between the propositions

underlying sentences.

Quite contrary to the entailment ‘George didn’t get Mary pregnant’ is the

earlier assumption that ‘George got Mary pregnant’.

1

04

in a language. This knowledge allows us to communicate much

more than we actually ‘say’.” [Peccei, 1999: 14]

3

.4.2 Characteristics

3.4.2.1 “Entailment applies cumulatively. Thus if X entails Y

and Y entails Z, then X entails Z.” [Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 108]

Take the following as an example:

X, Some boys ran down the street entails Y, Some kids ran

down the street.

Y, Some kids ran down the street entails Z, Some kids went

down the street.

Therefore

X, Some boys ran down the street entails Z, Some kids went

down the street.

3

.4.2.2 “Hyponymy involves entailment. To say This is a

tulip entails This is a flower, and This is scarlet entails This is

red.” [Palmer, 1981: 87] The relation between tulip and flower

and between scarlet and red brings out the HIERARCHICAL

CLASSIFICATION involved in hyponymy.

3

.4.3 Types of entailment

There are two types of entailment:

i) One-way entailment:

(

The entailments of this first type come about because of

hyponymic relations between words:

Ex1. Alfred saw a bear asymmetrically entails Alfred saw an animal.

1

05

If Alfred saw a bear then he necessarily saw an animal; but if

Alfred saw an animal, he could have seen a bear but not

necessarily. It could be a big bad wolf, for example.

Ex2. Max ate the pizza asymmetrically entails

Max did something to the pizza.

Since the meaning do something to is found in eat, the

sentence Max ate the pizza asymmetrically entails Max did

something to the pizza; but if Max did something to the pizza,

he could have eaten it but not necessarily. He could have baked

or bought it, for example.

42

(

ii) Two-way entailment :

The entailments between a pair of sentences are mutual since

the truth of either sentence guarantees the truth of the other.

Ex1. Paul borrowed a car from Sue symmetrically entails

Sue lent a car to Paul.

Ex2. The police chased the burglar symmetrically entails

The burglar was chased by the police.

It is interesting to notice that ꢀ hyponymic relations

between words result in a great number of one-way

entailments; ꢁ paraphrases are two-way entailments; and ꢂ

relational pairs of antonyms such as sell--buy, lend--borrow,

own--belong to, etc. do contribute to two-way entailments.

4

2

Two-way entailment is also referred as mutual entailment by Peccei [1999: 12].

1

06

Exercise 32: Use ⇒ to show one-way entailment and ⇔ to show

two-way entailment in each of the following pairs of

sentences:

1

(a) John is a bachelor.

(b) John is a man.

11(a) Eliza plays the flute.

1

11(b) Someone/Eliza plays a musical instrument.

2(a) I’m wearing black boots.

12(a) Alan planted roses.

2(b)I’m wearing black footwear. 12(b) Someone/Alan planted flowers.

3

(a) Mary owns three houses.

(b) Mary owns a house.

13(a) All dogs have fleas.

3

13(b) My dog has fleas./Some dogs have fleas.

4

(a) Alvin is Mary’s husband.

(b) Mary is married.

14(a) My uncle teaches at the community college.

14(b) My uncle is a teacher.

4

5

(a) The wolf killed the bear.

(b) The bear is dead.

15(a) My pet cobra likes the taste of chocolate.

15(b) My pet cobra finds chocolate tasty.

5

6(a) My father owns this car.

16(a) The Jones sold their house to the Cruses.

6

(b) This car belongs to my father. 16(b) The Cruses bought the house from the Jones.

(a) I gave Erin the summons. 17(a) Some countries have no coastline.

(b) I gave the summons to Erin. 17(b) Not all countries have a coastline.

(a) John is the parent of James. 18(a) I saw Ted at the party.

(b) James is the child of John. 18(b) It was Ted that I saw at the party.

7

8

9(a) Jenny and Kevin are twins.

19(a) It is 50 miles to the nearest service station.

9(b) Kevin and Jenny are twins. 19(b) The nearest service station is 50 miles away.

1

0(a) The bear killed the wolf.

0(b) The wolf was killed

by the bear

20(a) Bachelors prefer red-haired girls.

20(b) Girls with red hair are preferred

1

by unmarried men.

1

07

Exercise 33: What sense relation holds between the two

sentences in each of the following pairs:

1

(a) Tom is married to Mary.

(b) Mary is married to Tom.

6(a) Jim is fatter than Ed

and Ed is fatter than Bob.

(b) Jim is fatter than Bob.

1

6

2

(a) John is the father of Neil.

(b) Neil is the father of John.

7(a) Some of the students came to my party.

7(b) Not all of the students came to my party.

2

3

(a) Dick is a bachelor.

(b) Dick is a man.

8(a) The fly was over the wall.

8(b) The wall was under the fly.

3

4(a) Gina plays tennis.

9(a) Jane is a spinster.

4

(b) Someone/Gina plays sports. 9(b) Jane is married.

5

(a) Kevin boiled an egg.

(b) Kevin cooked an egg.

10(a) The beetle is alive.

10(b) The beetle is dead.

5

1

08

Section

UTTERANCE MEANING

4

“

UTTERANCE MEANING is what a speaker means when

he makes an utterance in a particular situation.” [Hurford and

Heasley, 1984: 269]

43

4

.1 Presupposition

.1.1 Definition and characteristics

.1.1.1 Presupposition is “what a speaker or writer

assumes that the receiver of the message already knows.”

Richards et al, 1987: 228] Thus, ‘John doesn’t write poems

anymore’ presupposes that John once wrote poetry. And

Would you like another beer?’ presupposes that the person called

you here has already had at least one beer.

.1.1.2 “Presuppositions are inferences about what is

4

[

‘

4

assumed to be true in the utterance rather than directly

asserted to be true:

‘

Faye has looked for the keys’ directly asserts Faye has

looked for the keys

⁴³“

It is proved very difficult for authors in the area to agree on a definition for it. This

definition problem is partly a reflection of the fuzzy boundary between pragmatics

and semantics.” [Peccei, 1999: 19]

1

09

‘

Where has Faye looked for the keys? ’ presupposes Faye

has looked for the keys

‘

Annie has a sofa’ directly asserts Annie has a sofa

Don’t sit on Annie’s sofa’ presupposes Annie has a sofa.”

[

Peccei, 1999: 19]

.1.1.3 “Speakers often make implicit assumptions about

the real world, and the sense of an utterance may depend on

those assumptions, which some linguists term

presuppositions. ” [Fromkin and Rodman, 1993: 161]

4

44

In the following dialogue, for example, both A and B know (1)

who Simon and Monica are; that (2) Simon has a vehicle, most

probably a car; and that (3) Monica has no vehicle at the moment.

A: ‘What about inviting Simon tonight?’

B: ‘What a good idea; then he can give Monica a lift.’

4.1.1.4 Presuppositions can be used to communicate

information indirectly. If someone says My brother is rich, we assume

that the person has a brother, even though that fact is not

explicitly stated. Much of the information that is exchanged in a

conversation or discourse is of this kind. Often, after a conversation

has ended, we will realize that some fact imparted to us was not

specifically mentioned. That fact is often a presupposition.

⁴⁴“

Other linguists describe the same phenomenon as implication. Presupposition

is used here because it seems to be more widely accepted usage.” [Fromkin

et al, 1990: 193]

1

10

4

.1.2 Characteristics

.1.2.1 The presupposition of an utterance remains the same

under its NEGATION:

4

(

1)a. ‘John stopped smoking.

1)b. ‘John didn’t stop smoking.’

(

1)a-b both presuppose that John once smoked cigarettes.

(

2)a. ‘The dog’s tail was cut.’

2)b. ‘The dog’s tail wasn’t cut.’

(

2)a-b both presuppose that the dog had a tail.

(3)a. ‘I like his car.’

(3)b. ‘I don’t like his car.’

3)a-b both presuppose that he owns a car.

.1.2.2 The presupposition of an utterance remains the same

under its INTERROGATION:

4

(

4)a. ‘John stopped smoking.’

4)b. ‘Did John stop smoking?’

4)c. ‘Why did John stop smoking?’

(

4)a-c all presuppose that John once smoked cigarettes.

.1.2.3 The presupposition of an utterance may be cancelled

under its EXTENSION:

4

(5)a. ‘She didn’t feel regret at the over-cooked meat.’

(5)b. ‘She didn’t feel regret at the over-cooked meat

because it was in fact well-done.’

1

11

(

5)a presupposes that the meat was overcooked while (5)b

presupposes that the meat was well-done.

.1.3 Classification

There exist a number of different types of presupposition.

.1.3.1 The existential presupposition

4

45

A possessive noun phrase (abbreviated to NP)

a complete statement: X had / has / will have + an indefinite NP

46

⇒

1. ‘They haven’t spoken to each other since their last week’s quarrel.’

(countable noun: singular) their last week’s quarrel

The utterance presupposes that they had a quarrel last week.

. ‘I lost my watch yesterday at Beán Thaønh market.’

2

3

4

(countable noun: singular) my watch

The utterance presupposes that I had a watch.

. ‘That her turtle ran away made Emily very sad.’

(countable noun: singular) her turtle

The utterance presupposes that Emily had a (pet) turtle.

. ‘John’s sister has been in hospital for a week.’

(countable noun: singular) John’s sister

The utterance presupposes that John has a sister.

4

5

6

My, your, their, John’s, the book’s, etc. make a noun phrase possessive.

The indefinite article a/an makes

a singular noun phrase indefinite.

Respectively, to signal that a noun phrase whose head noun is either

uncountable or plural is indefinite, one may use some or a number of instead

of a/an.

1

12

5

6

. ‘Could you come to our party this weekend?’

our party (countable noun: singular)

The utterance presupposes that

we are going to have a party this weekend.

. ‘This is my youngest sister.’

47

my youngest sister

The utterance presupposes that I have a number of younger sisters.

. ‘Itry to hand in this assignmenton time.’ (countable noun: singular)

7

an assignment of mine = my assignment = this assignment

The utterance presupposes that I have an assignment.

. ‘Her mother’s death was a great blow to Mary.’

8

‘

Mary can’t get over her mother’s death.’

The utterance presupposes that

Mary’s mother died. (intransitive verb)

Mary’s mother is dead. (be + adjective)

4

8

A definite NP ⇒ a complete statement

There is/was/are/were (not)+ an indefinite NP (+adjunct of place)

There exist/exists/existed + an indefinite NP (+adjunct of place)

4

7

Are going to is [+future], [+near], and [+arrangement].

The definite article the as well as the demonstrative adjectives this, that,

8

these, and those make a noun phrase definite.

1

13

9

1

. ‘The American girl next door is having a party.’

the American girl next door (countable noun: singular)

The utterance presupposes that

there is an American girl next door.

there is a girl from the USA living next door.

0. ‘Children like all the pictures in this book very much.’

all the pictures in this book (countable noun: plural)

The utterance presupposes that

there are/exist a number of pictures in this book.

a number of pictures can be found in this book.

1. ‘The king of Sweden has just left for France.’

1

(countable noun: plural) the king of Sweden

The utterance presupposes that there is/exists a king in Sweden.

The utterance presupposes that the king of Sweden exists.

2. ‘They searched everywhere for the missing child.’

(countable noun: singular) the missing child

The utterance presupposesthatthere wasa child who was missing.

The utterance presupposes that a child was missing.

A definite NP ⇒ an indefinite NP

1

3. ‘The book you gave me is worth reading.

the book (= which/that) you gave me

The utterance presupposes that you gave me a book.

1

14

4

.1.3.2 The factive presupposition

1

4. ‘Nobody realized that Kelly was ill.’

The utterance presupposes that Kelly was ill.

5. ‘Ed realized/didn’t realize that he was in debt.’

The utterance presupposes that Ed was in debt.

6. ‘I was aware/wasn’t aware that she was married.’

The utterance presupposes that she was married.

7. ‘It is odd/isn’t odd that he left early.’

The utterance presupposes that he left early.

8. ‘I am glad that it’s over.’

The utterance presupposes that it’s over.

9. ‘We regret(ted) telling him the truth.’

The utterance presupposes that we told him the truth.

20. ‘He regretted/didn’t regretnot booking the ticket in advance.’

Theutterancepresupposesthathedidnot booktheticketinadvance.

The speaker assumes that

(

the hearer already knows what the ticket is.)

4

.1.3.3 The non-factive presupposition

2

1. ‘I imagined that Kelly was ill.’

The utterance presupposes that Kelly was not ill.

2. ‘I dreamed that I was rich.’

The utterance presupposes that I was not rich.

1

15

2

3. ‘We imagined that we were in Hawaii.’

The utterance presupposes that we were not in Hawaii.

4. ‘He pretends to be ill.’

The utterance presupposes that he is not ill.

5. ‘She pretended that he had understood what she meant.’

The utterance presupposes that

he did not understand what she meant.

4

.1.3.4 The lexical presupposition

2

6. ‘You’re late again.’

The utterance presupposes that you were late before.

7. ‘The Brazilian team beat the French team again.’

The utterance presupposes that

the Brazilian team beat/had beaten the French team before.

8. ‘I’m not going to let him come under my roof anymore.’

The utterance presupposes that

2

he often comes under my roof/to my house.’

9. ‘I ’m going to change job.’

2

3

The utterance presupposes that I have a job already.

0. ‘My sister’s going to change job. ’

The utterance presupposes that my sister has a job already.

The utterance presupposes that

I have a sister and she has a job already.

3

1. ‘I’ve just got a driving license.’

1

16

The utterance presupposes that I had no driving license before.

The utterance presupposes that

I did not have a driving license before.

2. ‘Jim wants more popcorn.’

3

The utterance presupposes that

Jim has had/has eaten some popcorn.

3. ‘She managed/didn’t manage to pay her debt.’

The utterance presupposes that she tried to pay her debt.

The utterance presupposes that

she owed a debt and she tried to pay it.

4. ‘Can you stop making that noise?’

The utterance presupposes that you are making that noise.

The utterance presupposes that

there is some noise and you are making it.

5. ‘He stopped smoking.’

3

The utterance presupposes that

he used to smoke/he once smoked.

3

6. ‘After a while they stopped arguing.’

The utterance presupposes that they had been arguing.

7. ‘The police ordered the teenagers to stop drinking.’

The utterance presupposes that

the teenagers had been drinking.

(The speaker assumes that

the hearer already knows who the teenagers are.)

1

17

3

8. ‘They started complaining.’

The utterance presupposes that

they had never complained before.

.1.3.5 The structural presupposition

4

A Wh-question ⇒ a complete statement

9. ‘Where did you buy the bike?’

The utterance presupposes that you bought a bike.

(

The speaker assumes that

the hearer already knows what the bike is.)

0. ‘How long has your grandfather been in hospital?’

The utterance presupposes that

your grandfather has been in hospital.

4

1. ‘When did he leave?’

The utterance presupposes that he left.

4

2. ‘What do you usually do in your free time?’

The utterance presupposes that you have some free time

and that you do something at leisure.

4

3. ‘When did you get your bachelor degree?’

The utterance presupposes that you got a bachelor degree.

4. ‘How long have you been selling cocaine?’

The utterance presupposes that you have been selling cocaine.

1

18

4

5. ‘Why don’t pigs have wings?’

The utterance presupposes that pigs don’t have wings.

6. ‘How did you know the defendant had bought a knife?’

The utterance presupposes that

you knew the defendant had bought a knife.

(

The speaker assumes that

the hearer already knows who the defendant is.)

7. ‘Who is going to give me a lift to the airport?’

The utterance presupposes (1) that the speaker needs to go

4

to the airport, (2) that the hearers already know what the

airport is and where it is located, and (3) that the hearers own

a vehicle, most probably a car, and are able to drive.’

A Wh-embedded clause ⇒ a complete statement

4

8. ‘I was eating popcorn when Mike smashed the television set.’

The utterance presupposes that Mike smashed the television set.

(

The speaker assumes that

the hearer already knows what the television set is.)

9. ‘I don’t know why I’ve got an average mark.’

The utterance presupposes that I’ve got an average mark.

0. ‘How fast was the car going when it ran the red light?’

The utterance presupposes that the car ran the red light.

4

5

(The speaker assumes that

the hearer already knows what the car is.)

1

19

5

1. ‘It is odd how proud he was.’

The utterance presupposes that he was proud.

49

2. ‘I wonder how he managed to get the job.’

The utterance presupposes that he managed to get a job.

(

The speaker assumes that

the hearer already knows what the job is.)

.1.3.6 The counter-factual presupposition

4

An if clause ⇒ a complete statement

5

3. ‘If I had enough money, I would buy that house.’

if I had enough money

The utterance presupposes that I do not have enough money.

4. ‘If I had had enough money, I would have bought that house.’

if I had had enough money

The utterance presupposes that I did not have enough money.

5. ‘If you were my friend, you’d have helped me.’

if you were my friend

The utterance presupposes that you are not my friend.

6. ‘If he hadn’t made such a terrible mistake, we would be very

happy now.’

if he hadn’t made such a terrible mistake

4

9

The utterance ‘He managed to get the job’ presupposes that he tried to get the

job.

1

20

The utterance presupposes that

he did make/made a terrible mistake.

An embedded clause after ‘wish’ ⇒ a complete statement

5

7. ‘They wish they could go on vacation now.’

they could go on vacation now

The utterance presupposes that they cannot go on vacation now.

5

8. ‘I wish I had studied medicine.’

I had studied medicine

The utterance presupposes that I did not study medicine.

A clause with a modal perfect verb form ⇒ a complete statement

5

9. ‘You shouldn’t have seen such a horror film.’

The utterance presupposes that

you did see/saw a horror film.

6

0. ‘You could have talked to the dean.’

The utterance presupposes that you did not talk to the dean.

In brief, it is believed that “presuppositions are closely

linked to the words and grammatical structures that are

actually used in the utterance and our knowledge about the

way language users conventionally interpret them” and that

“presuppositions can be drawn when there is little or no

surrounding context.” [Peccei, 1999: 22]

1

21

Exercise 34: Identify the presupposition(s) in each of the

following sentences.

1

. ‘I am sorry I cannot find your book right now.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

. ‘On the occasion of my friend's birthday, I intend to buy her a

_

2

new vase.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_

_______________________________________________

. ‘The exam is not so difficult.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

. ‘She is not happy about the chemistry course she's taking.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

. ‘We haven't heard anything from Barbara.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

. ‘They were rich.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

3

_

4

_

5

_

6

_

7

. ‘Can you stop playing with your cat?’

1

22

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

. ‘She was not aware that her son had an accident.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

. ‘The explosion was so loud that it could be heard from miles

_

8

_

9

away.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_

_______________________________________________

0. ‘I wish I had not booked the tickets.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

1. ‘Tom might find the chocolate cake in the kitchen.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

2. ‘You will be amazed when you see the view.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

3. ‘I am so sorry, I am in a hurry and I can't answer your question

1

_

1

_

1

_

1

right now.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_

_______________________________________________

1

23

1

4. ‘She was not aware that it would hurt her so much.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

6. ‘Could you drive me to the airport?’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

7. ‘It took us two days to come back from Hanoi by train.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

8. ‘It is going to rain for a long time.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

9. ‘I am going to have a final examination in Semantics.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

0. ‘We are going to be teachers of English.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

1. ‘I think I will pass the exam.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

_

1

_

1

_

1

_

1

_

2

_

2

_

1

24

2

2. ‘I hope to have a good result for this exam.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

3. ‘But before your encouragement, we would have given up.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

4. ‘I got an excellent mark for my essay last time.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

5. ‘I missed my class on Monday because I overslept.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

6. ‘My sister is going to graduate from university.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

7. ‘I've got a good mark for the exam in American Literature.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

8. ‘I am going to have a new grammar book.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

_

2

_

2

_

2

_

2

_

2

_

2

_

1

25

2

9. ‘When did you give up teaching?’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

0. ‘When did you stop beating your wife?’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

1. ‘Fred continued/didn't continue speaking.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

2. ‘I cleaned/didn't clean the room.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

3. ‘He killed/didn't kill the bird.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

4. ‘What was John worried about?’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

5. ‘Bill drank another glass of beer?’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

_

3

_

3

_

3

_

3

_

3

_

3

_

1

26

3

6. ‘Could you lend me the novel when you finish it?’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

7. ‘I can't guess when the rain stops?’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

8. ‘Please take me to the circus again.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

9. ‘He pretended to be pleased with the gift.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

0. ‘If only you had taken his offer.’

The utterance presupposes that _________________________

_______________________________________________

_

3

_

3

_

3

_

4

_

Exercise 35: Which of the following utterances share the same

presupposition?

(1) ‘Did Mike smash the television set?’

(2) ‘When did Mike smash the television set?’

(3) ‘I was eating popcorn when Mike smashed the television set.’

(4) ‘Why did Mike smash the television set?’

1

27

(5) ‘I don’t understand why Mike smashed the television set.’

(

6) ‘I wonder if Mike smashed the television set.’

7) ‘I wonder how Mike smashed the television set.’

(

_

______________________________________________________

4

.2 Conversational implicature

4

.2.1 Introduction

In the middle of their lunch hour, one woman asks another how

she likes the hamburger she is eating, and receives the answer in

1):

(

(1) ‘A hamburger is a hamburger.’

When the listener hears the utterance marked (1), she first has

to assume that the speaker is being co-operative and intends to

communicate something. “That something must be more than

just what the words mean. It is an additional conveyed

meaning, called an implicature.” [Yule, 1996: 35]

The notion implicature, which is the shortened form of the

notion conversational implicature (although distinctions between

this and another kind of implicature namely conventional

implicature should be introduced later, in Section 4.3), provides

some explicit account of how it is possible to mean more than

what is really ‘said’:

1

28

(2) A: ‘I hope you brought the bread and the cheese.’

B: ‘Ah, I brought the bread.’

B’s utterance may implicate that B did not bring the cheese, since

what is not mentioned was not brought.

4

.2.2 Definition

Conversational implicature promises to bridge “the gap

between what is literally said and what is conveyed.”

[Levinson, 1983: 98]

(3)a A: ‘Coffee?’

B: ‘It would keep me awake all night.’

B’s utterance may implicate that B would rather not drink

coffee.

(4)a A: ‘Have you finished the student’s evaluation form and

reading list?’

B: ‘I’ve done the reading list.’

B’s utterance may implicate that B has not done the evaluation

form, since what is not mentioned has not been done yet.

(5)a Phil: ‘Are you going to Mark’s barbecue?’

Jean: ‘Well, Mark’s got those dogs now.’

Jean’s utterance may implicate that she is not going to Mark’s

barbecue.

4

.2.3 Characteristics

1

29

4

.2.3.1 People may draw somewhat different

conversational implicature from a certain utterance. For

example, not everyone infers from (6)a that Mike was not very

keen on the dessert and from (7)a that Mary does not like the hat:

(6)a Annie: ‘Was the dessert any good?’

Mike: ‘Annie, cherry pie is cherry pie.’

Mike’s utterance may implicate that he was not very keen on

the dessert.

(7)a Virginia: ‘Do you like my new hat?’

Mary: ‘It’s pink.’

Mary’s utterance may implicate that she does not like the hat.

Respectively compare (3-7)a with (3-7)b to see that a

different conversation implicature may be drawn despite the

fact that the content of the second speaker’s utterance

remains the same.

(3)b A: ‘We went to see The Omen last night but it wasn’t very

scary.’

B: ‘It would keep me awake all night.’

B’s utterance may implicate that B thinks The Omen is scary.’

(4)b A: ‘You look very pleased with yourself.’

B: ‘I’ve done the reading lists.’

B’s utterance may implicate that B’s pleased with himself

because he’s done the reading lists.

1

30

(5)b Phil: ‘His garden looks awful.’

Jean: ‘Well, Mark’s got those dogs now.’

Jean’s utterance may implicate that Mark’s dogs have wrecked

the garden.

(6)b Annie: ‘I thought the pie would cheer you up.’

Mike: ‘Annie, cherry pie is cherry pie.’

Mike’s utterance may implicate that it takes more than cherry

pie to cheer him up.

(7)b Virginia: ‘Try the roast pork.’

Mary: ‘It’s pink.’

Mary’s utterance may implicate that she is not having the

roast pork.

In brief, “unlike presuppositions and entailments,

50

51

implicatures are inferences that cannot be made in isolated

utterances. They are dependent on the context of the

utterance and shared knowledge between the speaker and

the hearer.” [Peccei, 1999: 30]

4

.2.3.2 Conversational implicature can be suspended or

denied. Since conversational implicature is part of what is

5

0

This is true only for conversational implicatures, not for conventional

implicatures.

An INFERENCE is any conclusion that one reasonably entitled to draw from

⁵¹“

a sentence or utterance. All entailments are inferences, but not all inferences

are entailments. Implicature … is another kind of inference, distinct from

entailment.” [Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 279-280]

1

31

communicated and not said, the speaker can explicitly suspend

or deny that he/she intended to communicate such meaning in

different ways.

The speaker can suspend the implicature that the hearer only

won five dollars by using the expression at least, as in (8)b; the

speaker can deny the implicature by either adding further

information, often following the expression in fact, as in (8)c or

reinforcing the implicature with additional information, as in (8)d:

(8)a. ‘You have won five dollars.’

b. ‘You have at least won five dollars.’

c. ‘You have won five dollars, in fact, you’ve won ten!’

d. ‘You have won five dollars, that’s four more than one.’

4.2.3.3 Conversational implicatures are “conclusions drawn

from utterances on particular occasions and not from isolated

sentences … In this respect the problem of implicature resembles

the problem of how a hearer arrives at the indirect illocutions

of utterances.” [Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 280]

4

.2.4 Grice’ theory of conversational implicature

Grice [1975, 1978]⁵²has proposed a way of analysing

conversational implicature based on the co-operative principle

and its four basic maxims of Quality, Quantity, Relevance, and

Manner.

⁵²The key ideas concerning conversational implicature “were proposed by Grice

in the William James lectures delivered at Harvard in 1967 and still only

partially published.” [Levinson, 1983: 100]

1

32

The co-operative principle, which can be stated simply as

be as helpful to your hearer as you can” [Hurford and Heasley,

984: 281] and which “controls the way in which a conversation

“

1

may proceed” [Palmer, 1981: 173], and its maxims, which are

guidelines for the efficient and effective use of language in

conversation” [Levinson, 1983: 101], are expressed as follows:

The co-operative principle

“

make your contribution such as is required, at the stage at

which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk

exchange in which you are engaged

The maxim of Quality

try to make your contribution one that is true, specifically:

(i) do not say what you believe to be false

(ii) do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence

The maxim of Quantity

(

i) make your contribution as informative as required for current

purposes of the exchange

(ii) do not make your contribution more informative than is required

The maxim of Relevance

make your contribution relevant

The maxim of Manner

53

be perspicuous , and specifically:

(

i) avoid obscurity⁵⁴

ii) avoid ambiguity

iii) be brief

iv) be orderly

5

3

4

Be perspicuous means ‘express yourself clearly’.

Obscurity means ‘state of being unclear’.

1

33

In short, these maxims specify what participants have to do in

order to converse in a maximally efficient, rational, co-operative

way: they should speak sincerely, relevantly and clearly, while

providing sufficient information.” [Levinson, 1983: 101-102] In

fact, these conversational maxims are not always observed.

One way, Grice believes, in which conversational implicatures

may be derived is where the speaker observes the maxims in a

fairly direct way: he may amplify what he says by some

straightforward inferences:

(9) A (to a passer-by): ‘I am out of petrol.’

B: ‘Oh; there is a garage just around the corner.’

B’s utterance may implicate that the garage is probably open

and A may obtain petrol there.

Another way in which implicatures may be derived is where

the speaker deliberately and ostentatiously breaches or (as

Grice put it) flouts the maxims:

(10) A: ‘Let’s get the kids something.’

B: ‘Okay, but I veto I-C-E C-R-E-A-M-S.’

B’s utterance may implicate that it is not allowed to mention

ice-cream directly in front of the kids.

In this example, “B ostentatiously infringes the maxim of

Manner (be perspicuous) by spelling out the word ice-creams, and

thereby conveys to A that B would rather not have ice-creams

mentioned directly in the presence of the children, in case they are

thereby prompted to demand some.” [Levinson, 1983: 104-105]

4

.2.5 Classification

1

34

The two following types of conversational implicature are

both of great interest.

4

.2.5.1 Those that derive from the observation of

conversational maxims:

Maxim of Quantity: Make your contribution as informative as required and

do not make your contribution more informative than

is required.

(

11) Mother: ‘Have you finished your homework

and put your books away?’

Son: ‘I have finished my homework.’

B’s utterance may implicate that B has not put his books away

or the books have not been put away yet.

Maxim of Relevance: Make your contribution relevant.

(12) A: ‘Can you tell me the time?’

B: ‘Well, the milkman has come.’

B’s utterance may implicate that B does not know the exact time of

the present moment, but B can provide some information from

which A may be able to deduce the approximate time, namely

the milkman has come.

4

.2.5.2 Those that derive from the violation of conversational

maxims:

Maxim of Quality: Make your contribution one that is true.

(13) A: ‘John has two PhDs.’

B: ‘John has two PhDs but I don’t believe he has.’

B’s utterance may implicate that A should be suspicious of the

true value of John’s two PhDs.

1

35

Here B’s contribution, taken literally, is pragmatically

anomalous because, by violating the maxim of Quality, “it

contradicts the standard Quality implicature⁵⁵that one

believes what one asserts.” [Palmer, 1981: 105] At some

deeper (non-superficial) level, however, B’s contribution should

not in fact be anomalous for “implicatures (as we shall see) are

deniable.” [Levinson, 1983: 105]

56

(

14) A: ‘Does your farm contain 400 acres ?’

B: ‘I don’t knowthat it does, and I want to know if it does.’

B’s utterance may implicate that B does not think that his/her

farm contains 400 acres.

B’s contribution violates the maxim of Quality by pointing

out that since A does not ask sincerely and hence does not lack and

require the requested information, B does not need to try to make

his/her response one that is true, i.e. B is also free to say what

he/she believes to be false.

Maxim of Relevance: Make your contribution relevant.

(15) A: ‘Where’s Bill?’

B: ‘There’s a yellow VW outside Sue’s house.’

B’s utterance may implicate that if Bill has a yellow VW, he is

now in Sue’s house.

B’s contribution, taken literally, fails to answer A’s question,

and thus seems to violate at least the maxims of Quantity and

Relevance. Despite this apparent failure of co-operation, there

could be possible connection between the location of Bill and that

5

6

Levinson [1983: 104] calls the inferences that arise from observing the four

basic maxims of conversation ‘standard implicatures’.

An acre is a measure of land which equals 4,050 square meters or 4,840 square

yards.

1

36

of a yellow VW. Thus, at some deeper (non-superficial) level, B’s

contribution is in fact co-operative since it implicates that Bill is

probably in Sue’s house.

Exercise 36: Write down one implicature that can be drawn from

the second speaker’s response in each of the following

conversations:

(1) Mary: ‘Did you manage to fix that leak?’

Jim: ‘I tried to.’

Jim’s utterance may implicate that ______________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(2) Steve: ‘What happened to your flowers?’

Jane: ‘A dog got into the garden.’

Jane’s utterance may implicate that ______________________

_______________________________________________________

_

(3) Laura: ‘Who used all the printer paper?’

Dick: ‘I used some of it.’

Dick’s utterance may implicate that _____________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(4) Gina: ‘I hear you’re always late with the rent.’

Robin: ‘Well, sometimes I am.’

Robin’s utterance may implicate that ____________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(

5) Jenny: ‘Mike and Annie should be here by now. Was their

plane late?’

Alfred: ‘Possibly.’

1

37

Alfred’s utterance may implicate that ____________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(

6) Gwen: ‘This cheese looks funny. The label said not to store the

cheese in the freezer.’

Alvin: ‘Yeah, I did see the label.’

Alvin’s utterance may implicate that _____________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(7) Mat: ‘What’s with your mother?’

Bob: ‘Let’s go to the garden.’

Bob’s utterance may implicate that ______________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(8) Carmen: ‘Did you buy the car?’

Maria: ‘It cost twice as much as I thought it would.’

Patricia’s utterance may implicate that ___________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(9) Robert: ‘Where’s the salad dressing?’

Gabriela: ‘We’ve run out of olive oil.’

Gabriela’s utterance may implicate that __________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(10) Maggie: ‘The bathroom’s flooded!’

Jim: ‘Someone must have left the tap on.’

Jim’s utterance may implicate that ______________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(11)Austin: ‘Want some fudge brownies?’

Jenny: ‘There must be 20,000 calories there.’

1

38

Jenny’s utterance may implicate that _____________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(12)Alice: ‘Have you seen my sweater?’

Max: ‘There’s a sweater on the sofa.’

Max’s utterance may implicate that ______________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(13)Phil’s mother: ‘How did you do on these exams?’

Phil: ‘I failed physics.’

Phil’s utterance may implicate that ______________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(14) Paul: ‘I didn’t take it.’

Virginia: ‘Why do you always lie?’

Virginia’s utterance may implicate that ___________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(15)Tom: ‘It works now.’

Janet: ‘When did Eric fix it?’

Janet’s utterance may implicate that _____________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(16)Liza: ‘I hear you’ve invited Mat and Chris.’

Ed: ‘I didn’t invite Mat.’

Ed’s utterance may implicate that _______________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(17) A: ‘What are the Nelsons like?’

B: ‘They were rich.’

1

39

B’s utterance may implicate that ________________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(18) A: ‘What is this examination in Semantics like?’

B: ‘It is so easy this time.’

B’s utterance may implicate that ________________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(19)A: ‘Did you get the milk and the eggs?’

B: ‘I got the milk.’

B’s utterance may implicate that ________________________

_

_______________________________________________________

(20)A: ‘Did Carmen like the party?’

B: ‘She left after an hour.’

B’s utterance may implicate that ________________________

_

_______________________________________________________

Exercise 37: In each case below decide which maxim has not

been observed and what conversational implicature might

be drawn. Background information is given in square brackets.

(1)A: ‘I really like that dinner.’

B: ‘I’m a vegetarian.’

_

_______________________________________________________

(2) A: ‘Would you like a cocktail? It’s my own invention.’

B: ‘Well, mmm uh it’s not that we don’t drink.’

1

40

_

_______________________________________________________

(3) A: ‘How are you?’

B: ‘I’m dead.’

_

_______________________________________________________

(4) A: ‘We’re going to the movies.’

B: ‘I’ve got an exam tomorrow.’

_

_______________________________________________________

(5) A: ‘Are you going to Steve’s barbecue?’

B: ‘A barbecue is an outdoor party.’

_

_______________________________________________________

(6) Teacher [towards the end of a lecture]: ‘What time is it?’

Student: ‘It is 10: 44 and 35.6 seconds.’

_

_______________________________________________________

(

7) Policeman [at the front door]: ‘Is your father or your mother at

home?’

Small boy [who knows that his father is at home]: ‘Either my

mother’s gone out shopping or she hasn’t.’

1

41

_

_______________________________________________________

(

8) Mother: ‘Now tell me the truth. Who put the ferret in the

bathtub?’

Son [who knows who did it]: ‘Someone put it there.’

_

_______________________________________________________

4

.2.6 Distinction between presupposition and conversational

implicature

4

.2.6.1 A presupposition is “anything the speaker assumes

to be true before making the utterance” [Peccei, 1999: 19]

while a conversational implicature is an inference or an

additional unstated meaning drawn from any conversation.

(1) A: ‘What happened to my calculator?’

B: ‘Someone used it this morning.’

A’s utterance presupposes that

A

has

a

calculator

and that the calculator worked well before.

B’s utterance may implicate that it is not B who broke the

calculator.

(2) A: ‘Will your brother go to the conference this afternoon?’

B: ‘He’s gone to Hanoi.’

A’s utterance presupposes that

B

has

a

brother

and that there will be a conference this afternoon.

1

42

B’s utterance may implicate that B’s brother will not go to the

conference.

4

.2.6.2 Compare their few main properties to distinguish

presupposition from conversational implicature:

PRESUPPOSITION

CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURE

Presupposition is more

straightforward and more

objective.

Conversational implicature is less

straightforward and more

subjective/personal.

It is easily drawn before making an It is derived from observing or

utterance.

violating one or more maxims and

drawn after a conversation is over.

Ex: ‘Is the Pope Catholic?’

Ex: A: ‘Do you like apples?’

B: ‘Is the Pope Catholic?’

The utterance presupposes that

the Pope does exist in the world. B’s utterance may implicate that

he/she does like apples.

Exercise 38: In each of the following decide whether each of the

inferences in brackets is a presupposition (P) or an implicature

(I) derived from the underlined utterance.

(

1) A: ‘My girlfriend lives in New York.’

B: ‘My girlfriend lives in Boston.’ (I have a girlfriend.)

2) A: ‘What?’

B: ‘Why are you laughing at me?’ (You are laughing at me.)

3) A: ‘Why is she eating those?’

B: ‘Her father didn’t give her any supper.’ (She didn’t have any

supper.)

1

43

(

4) A: ‘Is John engaged?’

B: ‘He’s bought a ring.’ (John is engaged.)

5) A: ‘You look pleased.’

B: ‘I managed to pass the exam.’ (I tried to pass the exam.)

6) A: ‘Did you finish that report?’

B: ‘I started it.’ (I didn’t finish it.)

7) Paul: ‘I didn’t take it.’

Virginia: ‘Why do you always lie?’ (You always lie.)

Exercise 39: In each of the following decide whether each of the

inferences in brackets is a presupposition (P) or an implicature (I).

(1) A: ‘What’s with Jean?’

B: ‘She discovered that her central heating is broken.’

(Her central heating is broken.)

(

2) A: ‘How do you like your bath?’

B: ‘Warm.’ (I don’t like it hot.)

3) A: ‘What do you think of this necklace and bracelet?’

B: ‘The bracelet is beautiful.’ (The necklace is not beautiful.)

4) A: ‘Has the kitchen been painted?’

B: ‘Tom’s away.’ (No.)

5) A: ‘How come Mary’s all dressed up?

B: ‘We’re going to the D-E-N-T-I-S-T.’

(Mary hates the dentist.)

1

44

(6) A: ‘It works now.’

B: ‘When did Eric fix it?’ (Eric fixed it.)

4

.3 Conventional implicature

Unlike conversational

implicatures,

conventional

implicatures “don’t have to occur in conversation, and they don’t

depend on special contexts for their interpretation. Not unlike

lexical presuppositions, conventional implicatures are

associated with specific words and result in additional conveyed

meanings when those words are used.” [Yule, 1996: 45] Among

these words are and, but, even, and yet.

(1) ‘Linda suggested black, but I chose white.’

The utterance may implicate that the speaker does

something in contrast to what has been suggested.

(2) ‘Even John came to the party.’

The utterance may implicate that contrary to the speaker’s

expectation, John came.

(3) ‘Jenny isn’t here yet.’

The utterance may implicate that the speaker expects that

Jenny should be there by then.

(4) ‘She put on her clothes and left the house.’

The utterance may implicate that there are two action

occurring in sequence, i.e. one after another.

1

45

4

.4 Speech acts

An important part of the meaning of utterances is what

speakers DO by uttering them.” [Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 334]

.4.1 Definition

A speech act is an UTTERANCE as a functional unit in

communication.” [Richards et al, 1985: 265]

Quite contrary to the popular belief that actions and words

“

4

“

are entirely distinct, many actions can actually be performed with

words.” [Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 235]

4

.4.2 Characteristics

A speech act has two kinds of meaning:

(

a) locutionary meaning (also known as propositional

meaning), which is its basic literal meaning conveyed by

its particular words and structure(s);

(

b) illocutionary meaning (also known as illocutionary

force), which is the effect the utterance might have

on the hearer. [Richards et al, 1985: 265]

Consider the two following sample dialogues:

(1) Sam: ‘I am thirsty.’

(= ‘Give me something to drink, please.’)

Annie: ‘I’ll bring you a glass of water.’

The locutionary meaning of ‘I am thirsty’ is

I am suffering from my thirst.

The illocutionary meaning of ‘I am thirsty’ is Sam indirectly

requests Annie to give him something to drink.

1

46

(2) Jane: ‘Can you shut the window?’

(= ‘Shut the window, please.’)

Jane’s husband: ‘Certainly.’

The locutionary meaning of ‘Can you shut the window?’ is

I wonder whether you are able to shut the window.

The illocutionary meaning of ‘Can you shut the window?’ is

Jane indirectly requests her husband to shut the window.

4

.4.3 Classification

There are five main types of speech acts, according to Searl

1981]:

.4.3.1 The representative describes a state of affairs in the

[

4

world: asserting, stating, claiming, affirming, making hypotheses,

describing, predicting, reporting, etc. The representative can

generally be characterized as being true or false.

(

3) Tom: ‘Where are you from?’

David: ‘I’m from Canada.’⁵⁷

‘

I’m from Canada’ is a representative: David directly gives a

piece of information concerning where he was born and grew

up.

5

7

Describing a state of affairs requested by its preceding question, a response is

usually classified as a representative.

1

47

(

4) Teacher: ‘There are only two seasons in the south: the

dry season and the rainy season.’⁵⁸

Student 1: ‘Then, each season is exactly six months long?’

Student 2: ‘Is there any transitional period between them?’

‘

There are only two seasons in the south: the dry season and the

rainy season’ is a representative: the teacher directly informs

his/her students of what the weather is like in the south.

4

.4.3.2 The commissive commits the speaker to a course

of action: promising, vowing, threatening, offering, etc.

(5) Jenny: ‘If you don’t stop fighting, I’ll call the police.’

Bill: ‘Call them at once to turn your brother in.’

‘I’ll call the police’ is a commissive: Jenny directly threatens to call

the police if Bill and her brother don’t stop fighting.

(6) Alice: ‘When will I receive my reimbursement?’

Victor: ‘Authors always pay their debts.’

(

= ‘I’ll pay you back later.’)

Authors always pay their debts’ is a commissive: Victor indirectly

promises to pay Alice back later.

.4.3.3 The declarative changes the world by bringing

‘

4

about or altering the state of affairs it names: dismissing,

sentencing, naming, announcing marriage, etc.

5

8

The teacher’s statement is true when it is used to describe the weather in the

south of Vietnam, for example. This statement may be false when it refers to

the weather in the south of China.

1

48

(7) Vicar: ‘I now pronounce you man and wife.’

[at the wedding ceremony held in a church]

‘

I now pronounce you man and wife’ is a declarative: the vicar is

directly announcing the legal and permanent union between a man

and a woman as husband and wife, simultaneously changing their

marital status.

(8) Minister of Education: ‘I resign.’

Prime Minister: ‘You’ll be free from tomorrow.’

(

= ‘I dismiss you from your current position.’)

I resign’ is a declarative: the Minister of Education directly

declares to give up his/her current position.

You’ll be free from tomorrow’ is also a declarative: the Prime

‘

Minister indirectly declares to dismiss the Minister of Education

from his/her current position.

This type of speech acts is quite special that it can only count if

the speaker has the appropriate authority to perform the type of acts.

4

.4.3.4 The directive intends to get the listener to carry

out an action: commanding, requesting, begging, warning,

challenging, inviting, suggesting, giving advice, etc.

(9) Ed: ‘The garage is a mess.’

Faye: ‘Clean it up.’

‘

Clean it up’ is a directive: Faye directly orders Ed to make the

garage tidy.

1

49

(10) George: ‘How about a dinner out?’

Beth: ‘My essay is due tomorrow morning.’

(

= ‘Leave me alone to write my essay.’)

My essay is due tomorrow morning’ is a directive: Beth indirectly

asks/requests George to leave her alone, writing her essay.

.4.3.5 The expressive indicates the speaker’s

‘

4

psychological state(s) or feeling(s)/attitude(s) about

something: greeting, apologizing, complaining, thanking, etc.

(11)Desk clerk: ‘I beg your pardon. I’ll be right back.’

Client: ‘No problem.’

‘

I beg your pardon’ is an expressive: the desk clerk directly

apologizes to the client for his/her absence for a while.

(12)Jack’s friend: ‘This beer is disgusting.’

Jack: ‘Why don’t you learn to take the bad with the good?’

‘

This beer is disgusting’ is an expressive: Jack’s friend directly

shows that he/she extremely dislikes the beer.

Leech (1983) proposed an extra category, which is called the

rogative.

4

.4.3.6 The rogative refers to a special kind of directives

which deals with requests for information and which is

typically in form of a question.

(13)Tom: ‘Where are you from?’

David: ‘I’m from Canada.’

1

50

‘Where are you from’ is a rogative: Tom directly asks/requests

David for some information on his nationality or origin.

Peccei [1999: 54] gives the following linguistic expressions

typically related to various types of speech acts:

Speech-act

category

Example

Typical expression

declarative structure

We find the defendant guilty.

I resign.

with speaker as subject and

a performative verb

in simple present tense

declarative structure

Declaratives

Tom’s eating grapes.

Bill was an accountant.

I’m sorry to hear that.

This beer is disgusting.

Representatives

Expressives

Directives

declarative structure with

wordsreferringtofeelings

imperative sentence

Sit down!

Fasten your seat belts.

Where did he go?

Is she leaving?

interrogative sentence

Rogatives

declarative structure

with speaker as subject and

future time expressed

I’ll call you tonight.

We ’re going to turnyou in.

Commissives

4

.4.4 Distinction between direct and indirect speech acts

Speech acts can be classified as direct or indirect. In a direct

“

speech act there is a direct relationship between its linguistic

structure and the work it is doing. In indirect speech acts the

speech act is performed indirectly through the performance of

another speech act.” [Peccei, 1999: 56]

Performing a direct speech act, the speaker utters a

sentence which means exactly what he or she says:

1

51

1

2

(a) ‘Come in, please.’ is a direct request.

(a) ‘It is quite wrong to condone robbery.’ is a direct assertion

against robbery.

3

(a) ‘You should go to the doctor.’ is a direct piece of advice.

Performing an indirect speech act, the speaker utters a

sentence which does not mean exactly what he or she says:

1

2

3

(b) ‘Won’t you come in?’ is not merely a Yes-No question. It is an

indirect request made in a very concerned manner.

(b) ‘Is it right to condone robbery?’ is an indirect assertion against

robbery though it is in form of a Yes-No question.

(b) ‘Why don’t you go to the doctor?’ is not used to ask for any

reason. Instead, it is used to give an indirect piece of advice

though it is in form of a Wh-question.

Indirect speech acts are often felt to be more polite ways of

performing certain kinds of speech acts, such as requests and refusals. It

is crucial for any language learner to approach indirect speech acts and

learn how to recognize them and then use them in context.

Exercise 40: Give a situation in which each of the following

utterances occurs, interpret its meaning and then classify it

according to different types of speech acts.

1

. ‘Let’s go to our place for a beer.’

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘I don’t know how to answer this question.’

_

2

1

52

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘Mind your head!’

_

3

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘How nice to see you!’

_

4

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘Who will believe this story?’

_

5

A:

_

_______________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘Is it right to cheat in any exam?’

_

6

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘Would you like a cup of coffee?’

_

7

A: _____________________________________________

1

53

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘I was so sorry to hear about your loss.’

_

8

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘I’m dead tired now!’

_

9

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

0. ‘I’m awfully sorry I wasn’t at the meeting this morning.’

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

1. ‘If you don’t try your best, you’ll fail in the exam.’

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

2. ‘Why don’t you take a seat?’

_

1

_

1

_

1

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_

1

54

1

3. ‘How dare you speak to her like that?’

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

4. ‘You look lovely today in your new dress.’

_

1

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

5. ‘I’d sell it if I were you.’

_

1

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

6. ‘I’ll be right back.’

_

1

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

7. ‘I beg you to reconsider your decision.’

_

1

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

8. ‘Do you think I’m an idiot?’

_

1

A: _____________________________________________

1

55

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

9. ‘May I hand in my final paper the day after tomorrow.’

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

0. ‘We select Alfred as the head of our group.’

_

1

_

2

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

1. ‘I’ll pay you back in two days.’

_

2

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

2. ‘We are going to turn you in.’

_

2

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

3. ‘I would appreciate it if you went away.’

_

2

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

_

1

56

2

4. ‘Can I help you?’

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

5. ‘I’ve stopped smoking.’

_

2

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

6. ‘Goodness!’

_

2

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

7. ‘Drink a cup of coffee.’

_

2

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

8. ‘That doesn’t sound very serious.’

_

2

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

9. ‘I’ve got to go now.’

_

2

A: _____________________________________________

1

57

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

0. ‘Someone said you got fired.’

_

3

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

_

Exercise 41: For each of the following utterances, provide two

situations so that one utterance performs two different acts.

Interpret the utterances and identify the acts performed in the

light of the situations you provide.

1

. ‘Do you feel better today?’

SITUATION 1:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

_

____________________________________________________

SITUATION 2:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘I beg your pardon.’

_

2

SITUATION 1:

A: _____________________________________________

1

58

B: ______________________________________________

_

____________________________________________________

SITUATION 2:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘It’s going to rain.’

_

3

SITUATION 1:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

_

____________________________________________________

SITUATION 2:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘It’s snowing.’

_

4

SITUATION 1:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

_

____________________________________________________

SITUATION 2:

A: _____________________________________________

1

59

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘I said I didn’t.’

_

5

SITUATION 1:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

_

____________________________________________________

SITUATION 2:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘There’s a bend ahead.’

_

6

SITUATION 1:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

_

____________________________________________________

SITUATION 2:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘Keep off the grass.’

_

7

SITUATION 1:

1

60

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

_

SITUATION 2:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘I’m very upset that so many of you are talking.’

_

8

SITUATION 1:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

_

____________________________________________________

SITUATION 2:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

. ‘Be aware of dogs.’

_

9

SITUATION 1:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

_

____________________________________________________

SITUATION 2:

1

61

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

0. ‘What else do you want?’

_

1

SITUATION 1:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

_

____________________________________________________

SITUATION 2:

A: _____________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________

_

____________________________________________________

4.4.5 Distinction between locution, illocution and perlocution

4

.4.5.1 “A locutionary act is the saying of something which

is meaningful and can be understood. For example, saying the

sentence Shoot the snake is a locutionary act if hearers

understand the words shoot, the, snake and can identify the

particular snake referred to.

4

.4.5.2 An illocutionary act is using a sentence to perform

a function. For example, ‘Shoot the snake’ may be intended as

an order or a piece of advice.

4

.4.5.3 A perlocutionary act is the results or effects that

are produced by means of saying something. For example,

shooting the snake would be a perlocutionary act.

1

62

The above-mentioned three-part distinction by Austin [1962] is

less frequently used than a two-part distinction between the

propositional content of a sentence (the PROPOSITION(S)

which a sentence expresses or implies) and the illocutionary

force or intended effects of speech acts.” [Richards et al, 1985:

1

68-169]

In brief, the LOCUTION of an utterance is producing an

utterance, which is “a meaningful linguistic expression” [Jule,

996: 48]; the ILLOCUTION of an utterance is using such an

1

utterance “to perform a function” [Richards et al, 1985: 168];

the PERLOCUTION of an utterance is “causing a certain effect

on the hearer or others.” [Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 243]

Exercise 42: Using the locution, illocution, perlocution

analysis, analyse the underlined utterance in each of the

following dialogues.

(1) Mrs Smith’s neighbour: ‘I was so sorry to hear about your loss.’

Mrs Smith:‘Thank you. Itwas a greatshock, butImustgetused to it.’

Locution:_______________________________________________

______________________________________________________

_

Illocution:_____________________________________________

______________________________________________________

_

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63

Perlocution:____________________________________________

______________________________________________________

_

(2) A: ‘Would you like a cup of coffee?’

B: ‘Yes, please.’

Locution:_______________________________________________

______________________________________________________

_

Illocution:_____________________________________________

______________________________________________________

_

Perlocution:____________________________________________

______________________________________________________

_

(3) Son: ‘Can I go out for a while, Mum?’

Mother: ‘You can play outside for half an hour.’

Locution:_______________________________________________

______________________________________________________

_

Illocution:_____________________________________________

______________________________________________________

_

Perlocution:____________________________________________

_

______________________________________________________

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64

4

.4.6 Felicity conditions

“

FELICITY CONDITIONS are the conditions which must

be fulfilled for a speech act to be satisfactorily performed

or realized.

The felicity conditions necessary for promises are:

(a) A sentence is used which states a future act of the speaker.

(b) The speaker has the ability to do the act.

(

c) The hearer prefers the speaker to do the act rather than not to do

it.

(

d) The speaker would not otherwise usually do the act.

e) The speaker intends to do the act.” [Richards et al, 1987: 104]

(

4

.5 Performativesand constatives

.5.1 Definition

A performative is “one that actually describes the act

4

that it performs, i.e. it PERFORMS some act and

SIMULTANEOUSLY DESCRIBES that act.” [Hurford and

Heasley, 1984: 235]

For example, ‘I promise to repay you tomorrow’ is a

performative because in saying it the speaker actually does what

the utterance describes, i.e. he promises to repay the hearer the

next day. The utterance both describes and is a promise.

A constativeasserts something that is either true or false.

1

65

For example, ‘John promised to repay me tomorrow’ is a

constative because the utterance does not simultaneously do

what it describes, i.e. John promised to repay the hearer the next

day. The utterance describes a promise but is not itself a promise.

59

Exercise 43: Are the following utterances performative (P) or

constative (C)?

1

2

3

4

5

. ‘I NAME this ship Hibernia.’

. ‘I BELIEVE in the dictatorship of the Proletariat.’

. ‘I ADMIT I was hasty.’

P / C

. ‘I THINK I was wrong.’

. ‘I hereby INFORM you that you are sacked.’

6

. ‘I GIVE you supper every night.’

7

8

9

. ‘I WARN you not to come any closer.’

. ‘I TRY to get this box open with a screwdriver.’

. ‘I PRONOUNCE you man and wife.’

1

0. ‘I SENTENCE you to be hanged by the neck.’

Exercise 44: Also note that the most reliable test to determine

whether an utterance is performative is to insert the word

hereby and see if the modified utterance is acceptable. Can

hereby be acceptably inserted in the following utterances?

5

9

Note that direct performative utterances contain A PERFORMATIVE VERB,

st

“one which, when used in a simple positive present tense sentence, with a 1

person singular subject, can make the utterance of that sentence

performative.” [Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 237]

1

66

1

2

. ‘I ( ) GIVE notice that I will lock these doors in 60 seconds.’ Yes/No

. ‘I ( ) PROMISED him that I would be at the station at 3:00pm.’Yes/No

3

. ‘It ( ) GIVES me great pleasure to open this building.’

Yes/No

4

. ‘I ( ) WARN you not to talk to my sister again.’

5

6

. ‘I ( ) WARN you that you will fail.’

. ‘They ( ) WARN her that she will fail.’

7

. ‘I ( ) COMMAND you to teach first-year Semantics.’

8

9

. ‘Tokyo ( ) IS the captain of Japan.’

. ‘I ( ) ASK you to mind your head.’

1

0. ‘I ( ) BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty,

Creator of Heaven and Earth.’

Yes/No

4

.5.2 Characteristics

“

Performative utterances contain a performative verb and

st

many have 1 person singular subjects and are in the present

tense.” [Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 238] But there are exceptions

to this pattern. Some performatives do not have a 1^s^tperson

singular subject.

4

.5.2.1 To make his/her utterance more polite, the speaker

tends to replace an active performative with the 1^s^tperson

singular subject by its passive version with the 2ⁿ^dor 3^r^d

person singular/plural subject:

1

(a) ‘You ARE hereby FORBIDDEN to leave this room.’

(b) ‘I hereby FORBID you to leave this room.’

1

67

2

3

(a) ‘Spitting IS hereby FORBIDDEN.’

(b) ‘I hereby FORBID you to spit.’

(a) ‘All passengers on flight number forty-seven

ARE REQUESTED to proceed to gate ten.’

3

4

(b) ‘I REQUEST all passengers on flight number forty-seven

to proceed to gate ten.’

(a) ‘Listeners ARE (hereby) REMINDED

that BBC wireless licenses expire on April 9^t^h.’

(b) ‘I (hereby) REMIND listeners

that BBC wireless licenses expire on April 9^t^h.’

st

4

.5.2.2 The 1 person singular subject, which is I, can be

st

replaced by the 1 person plural subject, which is we:

5

(a) ‘We hereby THANK you for

the compliments you have paid us.’

(b) ‘My wife and I hereby THANK you for

the compliments you have paid us.’

5

st

4

.5.2.3 The 1 person singular subject, which is I, can be

rd

replaced by the 3

person plural subject, which is the

management, for example:

6

(a) ‘The management hereby WARN customers that

mistakes in change cannot be rectified once the

customer has left the counter.’

1

68

6(b) ‘I hereby WARN customers that mistakes in change cannot

be rectified once the customer has left the counter.’

4

.5.3 Distinction between explicit performatives and implicit

performatives

Explicit performatives are those that contain

A

PERFORMATIVE VERB while implicit performatives are those

that do not contain A PERFORMATIVE VERB.

Ex1. ‘I hereby WARN you that you will fail’ is an explicit

performative (i.e. a verbalized warning) while ‘If you do

not try your best, you’ll fail in the exam’ is an implicit

performative (i.e. an implied warning).

Ex2. ‘I PROMISE to give you a helpful hand when you are in

need’ is an explicit performative (i.e. a verbalized

promise) while ‘If you need me at any time, just call’ is an

implicit performative (i.e. an implied promise).

Exercise 45: Fill in each of the blanks with an appropriate word.

The first one is done as an example.

1

2

. Semantics is a branch of linguistics which deals with meaning.

. __________ is a relation in which various words have the same

written form but have different meanings and sound forms.

3

4

. A ________ is a sentence that is necessarily false, as a result of

the senses of the words in it.

. _________ is a relation in which the referent of a word is totally

included in the referent of another word.

1

69

5

6

7

8

. A ______ is an ideal string of words put together by the

grammatical rules of a language.

. _________ is a relation in which two words have different

(written and sound) forms and are opposite in meaning.

. A _________ is that part of the meaning of the utterance of a

declarative sentence which describes some state of affairs.

. ___________ is a relation in which various words have the same

sound form but have different meanings and written forms.

9

. An ________ is the use by a particular speaker, on a particular

occasion, for a particular purpose, of a piece of language, such as a

sequence of sentences, or a single phrase, or even a single word.

1

0. The _____ of a word or an expression is the relationship

between that word or expression and the thing, the action, the

event, the state of affairs, etc. it refers to.

1

1. _________ is a violation of semantic rules to create nonsense.

2. Semantic _______ are the smallest units of meaning in a word.

3. _________ is a relation in which various words have the same

(

sound and written) form but have different meanings.

4. Any ambiguity resulting from the ambiguity of a word is

_________ ambiguity.

1

_

5. ________ synonymy is a relation in which a polysemous word

shares one of its meanings with another word.

6. A sentence is considered as __________ ambiguous when its

structure permits more than one interpretation.

7. ________ is a relation in which a single word has two or more

slightly different but closely related meanings.

1

70

1

2

8. An _____ sentence is one that is necessarily true, as a result of

the senses of the words in it.

9. Semantic meaning is context-free whereas ______________

meaning is context-dependent.

0. _________ is a relation in which various words have different

(written and sound) forms but have the same or nearly the same

meaning.

2

1. A ______ performs some act and simultaneously describes that

act.

4

.6 Politeness, co-operationand indirectness

4

.6.1 The principle of politeness

Leech [1983] proposes two maxims concerning the principle

of politeness:

-

The approbation maxim: Minimize dispraise of the other;

maximize praise of the other.

The tact maxim: Minimize the cost to the other;

maximize the benefit to the other.

-

Accordingly, some utterances seem more polite than others.

The higher the cost of the direct act, the more likely it is for the

speaker to use an indirect form.

(

1) ‘Set the table.’ (the least polite)

2) ‘Can you set the table?’

3) ‘Could I possibly ask you to set the table?’ (the most polite)

1

71

4

.6.2 Politeness and co-operation

There is no doubt that politeness and co-operation are often

in conflict with each other. Language users must be consciously

aware of this conflict and flexibly apply both of the principles in

face-to-face conversation.

(1) Tom: ‘Do you like the wine I picked out?’

Gina: ‘Not really.’ (+direct, +negative)

(2) Tom: ‘Do you like the wine I picked out?’

Gina: ‘It’s Italian, isn’t it?’ (−direct, +negative)

In (2), ‘It’s Italian, isn’t it?’ implies a less than whole-hearted

endorsement of the wine by failing to be relevant since the topic

was the wine’s taste not its country of origin. Still, Gina was

being more polite than coming right out with the fact that she did

not like the wine as in (1), though she has proved to observe the

maxim of Relevance of the co-operation principle strictly.

4

.6.3 Politeness and indirectness

Politeness and indirectness are closely related to each

other and that is why indirect negative responses are more

polite than direct ones:

(

1) Jenny: ‘Well, I’ve done this. I’ve dyed my hair blonde.’

Ed: (a) ‘You look awful.’ (+direct, +negative)

(b) ‘You look amazing.’ (−direct, ±negative)

1

72

(2) Jean: ‘What did the students say about my teaching?’

Kate: (a) ‘Pretty bad.’ (+direct, +negative)

(

b) ‘Let’s hope none of them are lawyers.’

−direct, +negative)

c) ‘Some students are very positive.’

−direct, +negative)

(

In (1), the ambiguity of amazing (amazing for its beauty or

amazing for its awfulness) in ‘You look amazing’ allows the

speaker to be truthful and yet somewhat more polite than the direct

answer ‘You look awful.’

In (2), ‘Let’s hope none of them are lawyers’ and ‘Some

students are very positive’ both imply rather than directly state

that overall the student evaluations were not good and

therefore are more polite than ‘Pretty bad.’

4

.7 Deixis

.7.1 Definition

Deixis is a technical term (from Greek) for one of the most

4

“

basic things we do with utterances. It means ‘pointing’ via

language. Any linguistic form used to accomplish this ‘pointing’ is

called a deictic expression. When you notice a strange object

and ask, ‘What’s that?’, you are using a deictic expression

(‘that’) to indicate something in the immediate context. Deictic

expressions are also sometimes called indexicals.” [Yule, 1996: 9]

4

.7.2 Classification

1

73

Deixis consists of three notions:

i) Personal deixis “can mark a number of overlapping

distinction: person, gender, number, and social relations.”

Finegan, 1994: 178] Pronouns and their alternative forms are

(

[

usually markers of personal deixis. The system of English pronouns

contrasts in person between first person, second person and third

person and in number between singular and plural. The gender

distinction is made in English in the third person singular only: he for

masculine referents and she for feminine referents. Unlike French,

for example, the choice of an English pronoun in the second person

does not clearly reflect the social status of referents:

(1) ‘In this family, we rarely smoke or drink.’

(2) ‘Did you get the carton of milk I asked you to?’

(ii) Spatial deixis is “the marking in language of the

orientation or position in space of the referent of a linguistic

expression.” [Finegan, 1994: 179] Common markers of spatial

deixis in English are demonstratives (this vs. that) and such

adverbs of place as here, there and the like:

(3) ‘I’m over here.’

(4) ‘Would you like this one or that one?’

(iii) Temporal deixis is “the orientation or position of the

reference of actions and events in time.” [Finegan, 1994: 180] In

English, temporal deixis can be marked either by such words and

phrases as before, last time, now, then, tomorrow, and the like

or through tense, encoded on the verb with affixes or expressed in

an independent morpheme:

1

74

(

5) ‘I walked to school every day.’

6) ‘Tomorrow is a holiday.’

(

4

.7.3 Complexity in the use of deictic expressions

.7.3.1 As for the first person plural in (7), “there is, in

4

English, a potential ambiguity in such uses which allows two

different interpretations. There is an exclusive ‘we’ (speaker plus

other(s), excluding addressee) and an inclusive ‘we’ (speaker and

addressee included).” [Yule, 1996: 11]

(

7) ‘We clean up after ourselves around here.’

.7.3.2 “The distance associated with third person forms”

Yule, 1996: 11] is also used to make potential accusations (for

4

[

example, ‘you didn’t clean up’) less direct, as in 8(a), or make a

potential personal issue seem like an impersonal one, based on

a general rule, as in 8(b):

8

(a) ‘Somebody didn’t clean up after himself.’

(b) ‘Each person has to clean up after him or herself.’

4

.7.3.3 If here means the place of the speaker’s utterance and

now means the time of the speaker’s utterance, an utterance such as

9) should be nonsense:

(

(9) ‘I am not here now.’

However, one can say (9) into the recorder of a telephone

answering machine, projection that now will apply to anytime

someone tries to call him/her, not to when he/she actually records

the word.

1

75

4

.7.3.4 Then applies to both past in 10(a) and present in (10)b

time relative to the speaker’s present time:

th

(

10)a ‘April 29 , 1999? I was in Hanoi then.’

(10)b ‘Dinner at 8:30 on Friday? Okay, I’ll see you then.’

4

.7.3.5 “The present tense is the proximal form and the

past tense is the distal form.” [Yule, 1996: 15] Treated as

distant from the speaker’s current situation are both, typically,

something that has taken place in the past, as in 11(a), and,

less obviously, something that is treated as extremely

unlikely, as in 11(b):

(11)a ‘At ten, I could ride a bicycle.’

(11)b ‘I could buy the house, if I had enough money.’

4

.7.3.6 “There exists in English a distinction between “the

near speaker’ meaning of direct speech and the ‘away from

speaker’ meaning of indirect speech.” [Yule, 1996: 16]

‘

(12)a ‘I’ll call you tonight.’

(12)b ‘He promised to call me that night.’

1

76

ANSWER KEYS

Exercise 1: For each group of words given below, state what semantic features

are shared by the (a) words and the (b) words, and what semantic features

distinguish between the classes of (a) words and (b) words.

The first is done as example.

1. (a) lobster, shrimp, crab, oyster, mussel

(

b) trout, sole, herring, salmon, mackerel

The (a) and (b) words are [+edible water animal].

The (a) words are [+shellfish].

The (b) words are [+fish].

2. (a) widow, mother, sister, aunt, seamstress

(

b) widower, father, brother, uncle, tailor

The (a) and (b) words are [+human].

The (a) words are [+female].

The (b) words are [+male].

3. (a) bachelor, son, paperboy, pope, chief

(

b) bull, rooster, drake, ram, stallion

The (a) and (b) words are [+animate] and [+male].

The (a) words are [+human].

The (b) words are [+animal].

4. (a) table, pencil, cup, house, ship, car

(

b) milk, tea, wine, beer, water, soft drink

The (a) and (b) words are [+inanimate] and [+concrete].

The (a) words are [+solid].

The (b) words are [+liquid].

5. (a) book, temple, mountain, road, tractor

(

b) idea, love, charity, sincerity, bravery, fear

The (a) and (b) words are [+inanimate].

The (a) words are [+concrete thing].

The (b) words are [+abstract notion].

1

77

6. (a) rose, lily, tulip, daisy, sunflower, violet

(

b) ash (taàn bì), oak (soài), sycamore (sung daâu), willow (lieãu),

beech (soài)

(

c) pine (thoâng), cedar (tuyeát tuøng), jew (thuûy tuøng), spruce (vaân

sam), cypress (baùch)

The (a) (b) and (c) words are [+plant].

The (a) words are [+flowering plant].

The (b) words are [+deciduous tree].

The (c) words are [+evergreen tree].

7. (a) book, letter, encyclopedia, novel, notebook, dictionary

(

b) typewriter, pencil, ballpoint, crayon, quill, charcoal, chalk

The (a) and (b) words are [+non-living thing].

The (a) words are [+thing to read or write].

The (b) words are [+thing used to write or draw with].

8. (a) walk, run, skip, jump, hop, swim

(

b) fly, skate, ski, ride, cycle, canoe, hang-glide

The (a) and (b) words are [+motion] or [+way of movement].

The (a) words are [+movement made without the help of any means].

The(b)wordsare[+movement made with thehelpof acertainkind of means].

9. (a) ask, tell, say, talk, converse

(

b) shout, whisper, mutter, drawl, holler

The (a) and (b) words are [+way of talking].

The (a) words are [+generic].

The (b) words are [+specific].

10. (a) alive, asleep, awake, dead, half-dead, pregnant

(

b) depressed, bored, excited, upset, amazed, surprised

The (a) and (b) words are [+state closely associated with living things].

The (a) words are [+physical state].

The (b) words are [+emotional state].

Exercise 2: Identify the semantic features in each of the following words.

1

. Child: [+human], [−

mature], [±male], [+innocent]¹

1

This semantic feature is optional.

1

78

2. Aunt: [+human], [±mature], [+female], [+father’s/mother’s sister (-in-law)]

3. Hen: [+animate], [+bird], [+fowl], [+fully grown], [+female]

4. Oak (-tree): [+plant], [+deciduous tree], [+tough hard wood]

5. Flower: [+part of a plant], [+colored], [+usually good-smelling],

[

+bloom/blossom], [+fruit or seed is developed]

6a. Palm: [+part of a hand], [+inner surface], [+between the wrist and the fingers]

6b. Palm (-tree): [+plant], [+tree] [−branches] [+a mass of large wide

leaves at the top], [+in warm or tropical climates] ₂

7

8

9

1

. Bachelor: [+human], [+mature], [+male], [+stay single]

. Actress: [+human], [+female], [+professionally artistic], [+perform a role]

. Plod: [+motion], [+walk], [+slowly and laboriously]

0. Ewe: [+animate], [+sheep], [+fully grown], [+female], [+producing wool

and meat]

11a. Fly: [+motion], [+through air or space], [+fast], [+wings or a means of

transport]

11b. Fly: [+animate], [+insect], [+two wings], [+in and around houses]

12. Stallion: [+animate], [+horse], [+fully grown], [+male], [+for breeding]

13. Police-officer: [+human], [±male], [+member of the police force],

[+disciplined]

14. Beauty: [+attractive feature], [+combination of shape, color, behavior,

etc.], [+giving pleasure to senses]

1

5. Imagine: [+mental state], [+form a concept or an image], [+thoughtfulness]

6. Doe: [+animate], [+deer, reindeer, rabbit or hare], [+fully grown],

[

+female]

17. Drive: [+motion], [+operate/direct], [+related to a vehicle]

18. Home: [+thing], [+place for human habitation], [+closely related to a

family or its life]

19. Elm: [+plant], [+deciduous tree], [+large rough-edged leaves], [+tough

hard wood]

20. Chalk: [+thing], [+limestone], [+soft], [+white or colored], [+for writing

or drawing]

2

This semantic feature is required.

1

79

21. Rose: [+plant], [+bush/shrub], [+sweet-smelling flowers], [+different

colors, usually pinkish or red], [+thorns], [+symbol for love]

2

2. Chick: [+animate], [+bird], [+fowl], [−fully grown], [±male]

3. Pap: [+thing], [+food], [+soft or semi-liquid], [+for babies or invalids]

4. Tiptoe: [+motion], [+walk], [+on toes], [+silently]

5. Pine(-tree): [+plant], [+evergreen tree], [+needle-shaped leaves],

[

+pale soft wood]

2

6. Owe: [+state], [+be in debt], [+obligation/duty], [+pay/repay]

7. Computer: [+thing], [+electric/electronic device], [+storing/processing

data], [+making calculations], [+controlling machinery]

2

3

8. Honesty: [+abstract notion], [+virtue], [+trustfulness], [+hard to evaluate]

9. Maid: [+human], [+mature], [+female], [+servant]

0. Spinster: [+human], [+mature], [+female], [+stay single]

Exercise 3: How can you distinguish the words given in the following table

from one another, considering their semantic features?

Malay

English

Vietnamese

Chinese

huynh

ñeä

muoäi

tyû

anh

brother

sadara

em

chò

sister

To distinguish the given words, their one or more prominent

semantic features must be considered with care:

•

Sadara has one prominent semantic feature: [+born by the same parents].

•

Brother and sister share their two prominent semantic features:

[

+born by the same parents] and [±male].

Anh and chò share their three prominent semantic features: [+born by

•

the same parents], [±male] and [+older] while em is marked by its two

prominent semantic features: [+born by the same parents] and

[

+younger]. That is, to the Vietnamese people, it is unnecessary to

distinguish the sex of younger siblings though it is a must whenever they deal

with their older siblings.

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80

•

Huynh, ñeä, tyû and muoäi all share their three prominent semantic

features: [+born by the same parents], [±male] and [±older].

Exercise 4: Organise the given words (and probably those of your own) into

three semantic fields: shirts, end, short, forward(s), long, hats, lend,

coats, shorts, beginning, trousers, amble, out, limp, tiptoe, plod,

socks, trudge, borrow, stomp, in, stump, backward(s), and tramp.

ANSWER:

(

1) Articles of clothing: shirts, socks, hats, coats, shorts, trousers, etc.

3

(2) Ways of walking : amble, limp, tiptoe, plod, trudge, stomp,

stump, tramp, etc.

3

Amble = ride or walk at a slow, leisurely pace: He came ambling down the road.

Limp = walk unevenly, as when one foot or leg is hurt or stiff:

That dog must be hurt — he’s limping.

Plod (along/on) = walk with heavy steps or with difficulty:

Labourers plodded home through the muddy fields.

Tiptoe = walk quietly and carefully on the tips of one’s toes/with one’s heels not

touching the ground: She tiptoed to the bed where the child lay asleep.

Trudge = walk slowly or with difficulty because one is tired, on a long journey, etc.:

He trudged along for more than 2 miles.

Stump = walk stiffly or noisily: They stumped up the hill. He stumped out in fury.

Stomp (about, around, off, etc.) = move, dance, or walk with a heavy step (in a

specified direction): She stomped about noisily.

Tramp = walk with heavy or noisy steps: We could hear him tramping about upstairs.

“Stomp, stump, plod, trudge, and tramp all indicate styles of walking with

heavy steps. Stomp and stump can both suggest making noise while walking in

order to show anger: She slammed the door and stomped/stumped upstairs.

Additionally, stump can indicate walking with stiffs legs: stumping up the garden

path. Stomp can suggest clumsy and noisy walking or dancing: He looked funny

stomping around the dance floor. Plod and trudge indicate a slow weary walk

towards a particular destination. Plod suggests a steady pace and trudge suggests

greater effort: They had to plod wearily on up the hill. We trudged home through

deep snow. Tramp indicates walking over long distances, possibly with no

specified destination: They tramped the streets, looking for somewhere to

stay the night.” [Crowther (ed.), 1992: 908]

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81

(3) Items which form pairs of antonyms: long/short,

forward(s)/backward(s), in/out, beginning/end, lend/borrow, etc.

Exercise 5: Try to fill in the each of the two blanks with an appropriate word

to prove that there is no lexical gap in the given semantic fields.

sheep

giraffe

ram

ewe lamb

male giraffe female giraffe baby giraffe

Exercise 6: What is identified by the word mean or meaning in the

following examples, i.e. reference or sense? Write R for reference and S

for sense.

1. R; 2. S; 3. S; 4. S; 5. R

Exercise 7: Identify all the possible connotations associated with the word

Christmas.

The word Christmas could call up “images of Christ trees, family

gatherings, presents and carols”; “these associations may be specific for a

particular culture or group of people; they may even be individual. [Asher

and Simpson, 1994: 2155].

Exercise 8: Interpret the meaning the following sentences and state what

kind of figure of speech (also called figurative language) used in each of

them.

1

. When he gets going, Jack is a streak of lightning.

Jack is a streak of lightning is a metaphor which means Jack is very

fast.

2

. I found the fifty-two pounds of books you left for me to carry.

Your kindness really moved me.

Your kindness really moved me is an expression of irony which

means you were not kind to me at all.

3

. The man is a demon for work.

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82

The man is a demon for work is a metaphor which means the man is

an energetic person who works very hard.

4

5

. When you take that course, plan to study thirty hours a day.

Study thirty hours a day is an overstatement/a hyperbole which

means study for a long time every day.

. The wind howled angrily around the house all night.

The wind is [−animate] and/or [−human] while howled angrily is

[

+animate] and/or [+human]. Therefore, howled angrily is an

expression of personification which means blew strongly.

6

7

. When the White House called, the ambassador went at once.

The White House, which is [+sign], is a metonymy meaning the US

President, which is [+person].

. My dormitory room is like a cave.

My dormitory room is like a cave is a simile which means my

dormitory room is small and uncomfortable. In this case, my

dormitory room is explicitly compared to a cave.

8

9

. Come to the dormitory and see what a cave I live in.

A cave is a metaphor which means a small and uncomfortable room.

In this case, my dormitory room is implicitly compared to a cave.

. Dick was fairly pleased when he won the brand-new car in the

contest.

Fairly pleased is an ironical understatement which means very

pleased.

1

0. If you are not happy with the service, go and talk to the City Hall.

The City Hall, which is [+sign], is a metonymy meaning the city’s

Mayor, which is [+person].

1. Man does not live by bread alone.

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83

Bread, which is [+part], is a synecdoche which means necessaries or

things needed for living, which is [+whole].

1

2. We now live under the same roof.

Roof is [+part] while house is [+whole]. Therefore, live under the

same roof is a synecdoche which means live in the same house.

3. Albert was as sharp as a tack this morning. He answered every

question as soon as it was asked.

Albert was as sharp as a tack is a simile which means Albert was

quick-minded.

4. The river ate the bank away.

The river is [−animate] and/or [−human] while ate away is

1

[

+animate] and/or [+human]. Therefore, ate the bank away is an

expression of personification which means eroded the bank or

gradually destroyed the bank.

5. Keep overeating like that and pretty soon you’ll weigh a thousand

pounds.

Weigh a thousand pounds is an overstatement/a hyperbole which

means be too heavy or get too fat.

1

6. After she heard the good news, she grinned like a mule eating

briars.

Grinned like a mule eating briars is a simile which means smiled

broadly.

7. The captain was in charge of one hundred horses.

Horses, which is [+instrument], is a metonymy which means

cavalries or soldiers fighting on horseback, which is [+agent].

1

8. Joe cried a little when he lost the thousand dollars.

Cried a little is an ironical understatement which means cried a lot.

9. You can depend on Gina; she is a rock when trouble comes.

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84

She is a rock is a metaphor which means she is strong-minded or she

has strong nerves.

2

0. Life is a dream.

There may be two possible ways to interpret this sentence:

Life is a dream is a metaphor which means life is short or life passes

quickly.

Life is a dream is a metaphor which means life is as beautiful as a

dream.

2

1. He’s so hardheaded that he won’t listen to anyone.

Hardheaded is an idiom/a dead metaphor which means obstinate or

stubborn.

2. Research says that these methods are best.

There may be two possible ways to interpret this sentence:

•

The first way: Research is [−animate] and/or [−human] while

says is [+animate] and/or [+human]. Therefore, the whole

sentence is an expression of personification which means

researchers say that these methods are best.

•

The second way: Research, which is [+controlled], stands

for/substitutes for researchers, which is [+controller]. This is a

metonymy. The whole sentence means researchers say that

these methods are best.

2

3. Right at this minute, I could drink a barrel of water without

stopping.

A barrel of water is an overstatement/a hyperbole which means a lot of

water.

4. It is amazing what a great mind he is.

A great mind, which is [+part], stands for/substitutes for an erudite

scholar, which is [+whole]. This is a synecdoche. The whole sentence

means I am amazed by his intellectual power.

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85

2

5. Alice came in gently, like a May breeze.

Alice is like a May breeze is a simile which means Alice is as young,

fresh, sweet and warm as a breeze signaling the beginning of a

summer.

2

6. Susie is a picture of loveliness in her new dress.

Susie is a picture of loveliness is a metaphor which means Susie is very

lovely.

7. A thousand thanks are for your kindness.

A thousand thanks are for your kindness is an overstatement/a

hyperbole which means thank you very much for your kindness.

2

8. I walked past the big sad mouth which didn’t know what to say

then.

Mouth, which is [+part], stands for person, which is [+whole]. This is

a synecdoche.

The whole sentence means I passed by the talkative person who was

then too upset to give an immediate response.

2

3

9. We are tired to death of such movies.

Tired to death is an overstatement/a hyperbole which means

extremely bored with.

0. Give every man thine ears, bid a few thy voice.

This sentence consists of two metonymies: give every man thine

4

ears which means listen to everyone, and bid a few thy voice which

means talk to only a few people. The whole sentence means you

should listen to everyone but talk to only a few people.

3

1. There was a storm in Parliament last night.

4

Both thine and thy mean your. Respectively, thine and thy occur before a

noun beginning with a vowel and a consonant.

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86

A storm is a metaphor which means a heated argument, a bitter

disagreement or a terrible conflict.

3

2. I’m afraid he has misrepresented the facts.

He has misrepresented the facts is a euphemism which means he

5

has lied or he has told lies.

3

3. He worked and worked until he breathed his last.

Breathed his last is a euphemism which means died.

4. We’ll just have to go our separate ways.

Go our separate ways is a metaphor which implies that life is a

journey.

5. They were vital, unforgettable matches that gave us a new window on the

game.

3

A new window on the game is a metaphor meaning a new

understanding of the game.

3

6. I’ve told you a thousand times not to touch that again.

A thousand times is an overstatement/a hyperbole which means

more than one time.

3

7. He is as mute as a fish.

He is as mute as a fish is a simile which means he rarely speaks or he is

quiet.

8. We stopped to drink in the beautiful scenery.

Drink in is a metaphor which means enjoy or admire. In other words,

the beautiful scenery is implicitly compared to a delicious drink.

3

9. His words can be trusted.

5

Mis- is a verb-forming prefix meaning ‘wrongly.’ Re- is another verb-

forming prefix meaning ‘again.’

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87

His words stands for/substitutes for that person himself. This is a

metonymy.

The whole sentence means you can trust him.

4

0. The police team has cemented close ties with the hospital staff.

-

Cemented literally means joined (the police team and the hospital

staff) together as with cement.

-

Cemented in this context is a metaphor which means firmly

established or strengthened.

The whole sentence means close connections have been established

between the police team and the hospital staff.

4

1. The boss gave her a hot look.

A hot look is a metaphor which means an angry look.

The whole sentence means the boss looked at her angrily.

2. He could not bridle his anger.

-

Bridle literally means put on a horse part of a harness, including

the metal bit for the mouth, the straps and the reins.

Bridle in this context is a metaphor which means control or

restrain.

-

The whole sentence means he failed to control his anger.

4

3. He attacked every weak point in my argument.

-

Attacked literally means made a violent attempt to defeat

(

somebody).

Attacked is a metaphor which means criticized (somebody)

severely.

Attacked every weak point in my argument is another metaphor

which implies that argument is war.

The whole sentence means he severely criticized every weak point

in my argument.

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88

4

4. In 1940, after the fall of France, England had no defense left but

her ancient valor.

The fall of France is a metaphor which means the failure of France.

England is compared to a woman who had no defense left but her

former bravery in war. This is an expression of personification.

The whole sentence means after the failure of France in 1940,

England could not defend herself against her war enemy/enemies.

6

7

8

9

10

5. The fire snaps and crackles like a whip ; its sharp acrid smoke

1

12

13

stings the eyes. It is the fire that drives a thorn of memory in

my heart.

-

In the fire crackles like a whip, the sound of fire is explicitly

compared to that of a whip. This is a simile.

Smoke and fire are each given a human act: sting the eyes and

drives a thorn in the heart. These are two expressions of

personification.

6

7

8

Snaps = makes sudden sharp sounds

Crackles = makes small cracking sounds as when dry sticks burn

A whip = a length of cord or a strip of leather fastened to a handle, used

especially for urging on an animal (especially a horse)

Sharp (adj., usually attributive, of sounds) = shrill, piercing: a sharp cry of

distress, the sharp raucous cawing of a crow

0

Acrid (adj) = having a strong bitter smell or taste: acrid fumes from burning

rubber

9

1

A sting = a sharp pointed organ of some insects, e.g. bees, wasps, etc.,

used for wounding or injecting poison

Stings = pricks or wounds (somebody) with or as if with a sting; causes

(

somebody) to feel sharp pain: A bee stung me on the cheek.

1

2

Drives = forces (something) to go in a specified direction or into a

specified position: drive a nail into wood

A thorn = a sharp pointed growth on the stem of a plant: The thorns on the

1

3

roses scratch her hands

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89

-

A thorn of memory is a metaphor which means some unpleasant

thing, event, situation, etc. that one can hardly forget.

The whole sentence means the fire, with its sharp acrid smoke and

small crackling sounds, reminds me of some unpleasant thing that I can

hardly forget.

6. The organization is keeping the brake on pay rises.

Keep the brake on pay rises is a metaphor which means control pay

rises.

4

The whole sentence means the organization is controlling the

increase in the amounts/sums of money paid for its current activities.

4

7. Her father is a captain of industry.

This sentence consists of an idiom/a dead metaphor — a captain of

industry, which means one who manages a large industrial

company.

8. I am the captain of my soul.

This sentence consists of two metonymies:

1

4

(

1) The captain, which is [+specific] , stands for the leader, which is

+generic].

2) My soul, which is [+more abstract], stands for my life, which is

+less abstract].

[

The whole sentence means I can decide my own life or I can control

myself.

4

9. To fall out of a tree in one’s early childhood is not a particularly

reassuring experience.

To fall out of a tree is a metaphor which means to be exposed to real

life.

1

4

Captain (n) 1 person in charge of a ship or civil aircraft. 2 (a) officer in the

British Army between the ranks of lieutenant and major; (b) officer in the British

Navy between the ranks of commander and admiral. 3 person given authority

over a group or team: He was (the) captain of the football team for five years.

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90

The whole sentence means it is terrible to be exposed to real life in

one’s early childhood without any parental protection.

5

0. No man is an island: entire of itself; every man is a piece of the

continent.

This sentence consists of two metonymies:

(

1) An island, which is [+concrete], stands for isolation, which is

[

+abstract];

2) The continent, which is [+concrete], stands for community, which

is [+abstract].

The whole sentence means no one can isolate himself from the

community he has been living in.

Exercise 9: Each of the following sentences presents a pair of words. Which

of them is a superordinate and which, a hyponym?

1

2

3

. She reads books all day – mostly novels.

. A crocodile is a reptile.

. There’s no flower more beautiful than a tulip.

4

. He likes all vegetables except carrots.

ANSWER:

SUPERORDINATE

books

HYPONYM

novels

1

2

3

4

.

reptile

crocodile

tulip

.

flower

vegetables

carrots

Exercise 10: Draw a chart to show the relationship between a superordinate

and a hyponym.

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91

1. luggage and suitcase

luggage

suitcase briefcase handbag (or purse) trunk rucksack (or backpack) ………

. green vegetable and bean

green vegetable

2

cabbage

lettuce

Brussels sprout

bean

broccoli

………

3. animal and foal

animal

fish bird

insect bug

human

mammal reptile

………

animal (beast)

horse sheep

dog

………

stallion

mare

foal

4. animal and child

animal

mammal

human

woman

fish

bird

insect

bug

reptile

………

animal (beast)

man

child

5. fowl and rooster

fowl

turkey

chicken

goose

duck

………

rooster (American)/cock (British)

hen

chick

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92

6. plant and coconut

plant

flowering plant bush/shrub

tree moss grass

………

pine

palm gum ………

palm

coconut betle nut

. plant and rose

sago ………

7

plant

moss

tulip rose

tree bush/shrub

flowering plant

grass

………

lily

daisy violet

8. vocal organ and tongue tip

vocal organ

lip

tongue tip

tongue

nose larynx

tongue front

lower jaw ………

tongue blade

tongue back tongue root

9. head and eyelash

head

face

hair

skull

cheek forehead

eyelid pupil ………

brain

………

mouth

nose

eye

chin ………

eyeball

eyehole

eyelash

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93

10. furniture and dressing table

furniture

seat

table

bed

storage

wardrobe dressing table chest of drawers writing desk Welsh dresser ………

11. vehicle and convertible

vehicle

bus

truck car

lorry

bicycle train

………

hardtop

convertible

sports car ………

1

5

16

1

2. vocalize and croon

vocalize

articulate

………

speak

read aloud

yodel

sing

………

croon

hum

Exercise 11: The following pairs of words are partial synonyms, i.e. they

do not share all their senses. For each pair, (a) gives a sentence in which

the two can be used interchangeably; (b) gives another sentence in

which only one of them can be used.

1

5

6

Vocalize = say or sing (sounds or words); utter

Croon (sth) (to sb) = sing or say (sth) softly and gently: croon a sentimental tune;

croon soothing to a child.

Yodel (also yodle) = sing (a song) or utter a musical call, with frequent changes

from the normal voice to high falsetto notes, in the traditional Swiss manner.

Hum (sth) (to sb) = sing (a tune) with close lips: I don’t know the words of the song

but I can hum it to you.

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94

1. strong/powerful

(

a) There are strong/powerful arguments for and against capital

punishment.

b) He loves strong coffee.

2. ripe/mature

(

a) This cheese is ripe/mature enough for us to eat.

b) We cannot eat this fruit because it isn’t ripe yet.

3. broad/wide

(

a) The Thames is a broad/wide river.

(

b) My boss is not broad-minded.

4. soil/earth

(

a) We can plant the trees on this good soil/earth.

b) The rocket fell back to earth.

5. edge/side

(

a) This house is at the edge/side of the forest.

b) I will be on your side.

6. permit/allow

(

a) Photography is not permitted/allowed in this area.

b) If the weather permits, we’ll go boating.

Exercise 12: Identify various meanings of each of the two given polysemous

words and then point out which meaning exemplify partial synonymy.

ANSWER:

1

(

. deep

i) This is a deepwell. (Deepmeans extending a long way from top to bottom)

ii) He only gave a deep sigh. (Deep means taking in or going out a lot of air)

(

iii) You have my deep sympathy. (Deep means profound)

iv) With his hands deep in his pockets, he went away.

(

Deep means far down in something)

The third meaning of deepis synonymous with profound.

1

95

2

(

. broad

i) The river is very broad at this point.

Broad means wide or large in size from one side to the other.)

ii) He just gave a broad smile. (Broad means clear, obvious or unmistakable)

iii) Luckily, my boss is a man of broad views. (Broad means liberal, tolerant)

iv) He speaks English with a broad Yorkshire accent.

Broad means having many sounds typical of a particular region)

(

The first meaning of broad is synonymous with wide.

Exercise 13: Are the following pairs of words binary antonyms?

1. No; 2. Yes; 3. No; 4. Yes; 5. Yes; 6. No (Gradable)

Exercise 14: Are the following pairs of words relational antonyms?

. Yes; 2. No (Gradable); 3. No (Binary); 4. Yes; 5. Yes; 6. Yes

1

Exercise 15: Identify the continuous scale of values between the two given words.

1

2

3

. love -- hate: love, like, be indifferent to, dislike, hate

. hot -- cold: hot, warm, tepid (also called lukewarm), cool, cold

. big -- small: big, rather big/fairly big, medium-sized, rather small/fairly

small, small

4. rich -- poor: rich, wealthy, meager, poor

5. none -- all: none, few/little, some (= a few/a little), half, most, almost all, all

6

. possibly -- certainly: possibly, probably, quite probably, almost

certainly, certainly

7. never--always: never, rarely/seldom, occasionally, sometimes, often,

usually/frequently, always

Exercise 16: State whether the following pairs of antonyms are binary, gradable or

relationalby writing B (binary), G (gradable) or R (relational):

1. G; 2. B; 3. B; 4. G; 5. R; 6. G; 7. B; 8. R;

9. R; 10. R; 11. G; 12. G; 13. B; 14. B; 15. G; 16 R

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96

Exercise 17: Give the phonemic transcription shared by two members of each

of the given pairs of words to identify them as a pair of homophones:

The first one is done as an example.

1

. altar

/‘0:lt6(r)/

/bi:t∫/

/b0: (r)/

/k0:s/

/kru:z/

/d16(r)/

/dra:ft/

/fe6(r)/

/‘flaυ6(r)/

/gre1t/

alter 11. herd

beach 12. knight

bore 13. nose

course 14. leek

cruise 15. maid

dear 16. pail

/h3:d/

/na1t/

/n6υz/

/li:k/

/me1d/

/pe1l/

/re1n/

/si:n/

heard

night

knows

leak

made

pale

rain

seen

throne

hole

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

. beech

. boar

. coarse

. crews

. deer

. draft

. fare

. flour

0. grate

draught 17. reign

fair 18. scene

flower 19. thrown /8r6υn/

great 20. whole /h6υl/

Exercise 18: Give the phonemic transcription shared be two members of

each of the given pairs of words to identify them as a pair of

homonyms: The first one is done as an example.

1

. Classified as two homonyms are the verb lie , which means tell lies, and

1

the verb lie , which means put one’s body on a horizontal surface;

2

both being pronounced /la1/ in RP.

2

. Classified as two homonyms are the noun bat , which means the small

1

mouse-like animal that flies at night and feeds on fruit and

insects, and the noun bat , which means a tool for hitting in

2

baseball; both being pronounced /b`t/ in RP.

3

. Classified as two homonyms are the adverb too , which means more than

1

should be, and the adverb too , which means also; both being

2

pronounced /tu:/ in RP.

4

. Classified as two homonyms are the noun might, which means great

strength or power, and the modal verb might, which expresses

possibility; both being pronounced /ma1t/ in RP.

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97

5. Classified as two homonyms are the adjective bare, which means without

the usual covering or protection, and the verb bare, which means

uncover or reveal (something); both being pronounced /be6(r)/ in RP.

6

. Classified as two homonyms are the noun sound, which means thing that

can be heard, and the adjective sound, which means healthy or in good

condition; both being pronounced /saυnd/ in RP.

7

. Classified as two homonyms are the verb lead in Does this road lead to

town and the noun lead in He’s the chief trouble-maker; the others just

follow his lead; both being pronounced /li:d/ in RP.

Exercise 19: What is the relationship between the words in the following

pairs? If the words are antonyms, specify what kind of antonyms they

are. The italic words in bracket are to clarify the meaning in question of

the given words.

The first one is done as an example.

1

2

3

. true -- false: binary antonymy

. gloom -- darkness: synonymy

. dark (as in a dark room) -- dark (as in Don’t look on the dark side of

things): poslysemy

. wind (as in The windis blowing hard)-- wind (as in windone’s watch): homography

4

5

6

. deny -- admit: binary antonymy

. host -- guest: relational antonymy

7. sow (as in sow a field with wheat) -- sow (meaning a female pig): homography

8. pupil (at a school)--pupil (of an eye): homonymy

9. cheap -- expensive: gradable antonymy

10. coarse -- course: homophony

Exercise 20: Explain the lexical ambiguity in each of the following sentences

by providing two sentences that paraphrase its two different meanings.

The first one is done as an example.

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98

1. They WERE WAITING at the bank.

Meaning one: They WERE WAITING at the financial institution.

Meaning two: They WERE WAITING at the shore of the river.

2. The long drill IS boring.

Meaning one: The long tool for drilling MAKES me bored/tired.

In other words, the tool for drilling IS blunt/not sharp enough.

Meaning two: The long training exercise IS uninteresting/dull/tedious.

3. When he got the clear title to the land, it WAS a good deed.

Meaning one: When he got the clear title to the land, it WAS a good act.

Meaning two: When he got the clear title to the land, it WAS a great

achievement.

4. The proprietor of the fish store WAS the sole owner.

Meaning one: The proprietor of the fish store WAS the only owner.

Meaning two: The proprietor of the fish store WAS single/unmarried.

5. We LIKE the ball.

Meaning one: We LIKE the sphere.

Meaning two: We LIKE the formal social gathering for dancing.

6

. They PASSED the port at night.

Meaning one: They WENT by the harbour at night.

Meaning two: They DELIVERED the Portuguese wine at night.

1

7

. The captain CORRECTED the list.

Meaning one: The captain CORRECTED the tilt ¹⁸.

Meaning two: The captain CORRECTED the inventory ¹⁹.

8. He WAS KNOCKED OVER by the punch.

1

7

8

9

Strong, sweet (usually dark red) wine made in Portugal

the listing position = the position of a ship that leans over one side

the detailed list of task done during a journey

1

99

Meaning one: He WAS KNOCKED OVER because of a blow given with the fist.

Meaning two: He WAS KNOCKED OVER near/beside

the tool/the machine for cutting holes in leather, metal, paper, etc.

9. The camel SWALLOWED the chocolate and then ate it.

Meaning one: The camel GULPED the chocolate down and then ate it.

Meaning two: The camel easily BELIEVED something to be chocolate and

then ate it.

Exercise 21: Explain the lexical ambiguity in each of the two given

sentences. Does polysemy or homonymy contribute to such ambiguity.

(

1) She cannot bear children.

2) The cat sat on the mat.

We can interpret (1) in two different ways because the two verbs bear — bear₁,

which means give birth to and bear , whish means tolerate — are two homonyms.

2

We can interpret (2) in two different ways because the noun mat is a polysemous

word which has two slightly different but closely related meanings:

(

i) piece of material, made of straw, fibre, rushes, etc. used to cover part of a floor;

ii) small piece of material placed under a hot dish, a glass, a vase, etc.

Exercise 22: In what way are homonyms related to lexical ambiguity?

Homonyms can create lexical ambiguity.

She cannot bear children, for example, is lexically ambiguous because the

sentence contains one ambiguous word — bear. The sentence may mean

either she is unable to give birth to children or she cannot tolerate children.

The lexical ambiguity of the sentence in question is due to the two

homonyms, bear and bear , with two quite different meanings.

1

2

Exercise 23: In what way is a polysemous word related to lexical ambiguity?

A polysemous word can create lexical ambiguity.

That robot is bright, for example, is lexically ambiguous because it contains

one ambiguous word — bright. The sentence may mean either that robot is

shining or that robot is intelligent.

2

00

The lexical ambiguity of the sentence in question is due to the two slightly

different but closely related meanings of the polysemous word bright —

shining and intelligent.

Exercise 24: Explain the structural ambiguity in each of the following

sentences.

1

2

3

4

5

. The drunkard visitor rolled up the carpet.

6. They are cooking bananas.

. Is he really that kind?

. My fianceùe is reserved.

. I saw her slip.

7. They are moving sidewalks.

8. John loves Richard more than Martha.

9. Old men and women will be served first.

. I saw her duck

10. The thing that bothered Bill was crouching

under the table.

1(a) The drunkard visitor FOLDED the carpet over on itself.

(

Rolled up is a transitive separable phrasal verb and the carpet is a

noun phrase functioning as the direct object of the verb head.)

1(b) The drunkard visitor TURNED over and over up the carpet.

(

Rolled is an intransitive verb and up the carpet is a prepositional

phrase functioning as the adverbial adjunct of place of the verb head.)

S

NP₁

VP₁

S

Vgrp

NP₂

NP₁

VP₁

[mono-trans] [dO]

VP₂

AdvP

[

op A of place]

1(a)The drunkard visitor ROLLED UP the carpet.

Vgrp

intrans]

[

PP

1(b) The drunkard visitor ROLLED up the carpet.

2

01

2

(a) Is he really that kind?

2(b) Is he really that kind?

That is a demonstrative adjective, a

pre-nominal modifier of the noun kind.

That is an adverb of degree

meaning ‘to such a degree’,

2

(a) means ‘Does he really belong pre-modifying the adjective kind.

to that kind of people?’

2

(b) means ‘Is he really so kind?’

3

(a) My fianceùe IS RESERVED.

3(b) My fianceùe IS reserved.

Reserved is a past participle, part of

the finite verb is reserved.

Reservedisanadjectivemeaning‘quiet’.

3

(a) means ‘My fianceùe is kept only

3

(b)means‘My fiance eù rarely talks.’

for me.’ In other words, you should

always stay away from her.

4

(a) I SAW her slip.

4(b) I SAW her SLIP.

Slip is a noun meaning ‘petticoat; Slip is a verb meaning ‘lose one’s

loose sleeveless garment worn balance and (nearly) fall in this way.’

under a dress.’

4

(b) means ‘We saw her lose

her balance and nearly fall.’

4

(a) means ‘We saw the petticoat

that belongs to her.’

(a) We SAW her duck.

5

5(b) We SAW her DUCK.

Duck is a noun meaning ‘domestic Duck is a verb meaning ‘move (one’s

water bird.’

(a) means ‘We saw the domestic

water bird that belongs to her.’

head) down quickly, to avoid being

seen or hit.’

5

5(b)means‘Wesawherlowerherhead.’

6(a) They ARE COOKING bananas.

6(b) They ARE cooking bananas.

Cooking is a present participle, part Cooking is a gerund, a pre-nominal

of the finite verb are cooking. modifier of bananas.

(b) means

6

(a) means ‘Bananas are cooked.’

‘They are bananas for cooking.’

2

02

7(a) They ARE MOVING sidewalks.

7(b) They ARE moving sidewalks.

Moving is a present participle, part of Moving is a present participle, a

the finite verb are moving.

(a)means ‘the sidewalks are moved.’

pre-nominal modifier of sidewalks.

7

7(b) means ‘they are the

sidewalks that are movable.’

8

(a) John LOVES Richard more

S₁V₁dO₁

than Martha (LOVES Richard).

S₂V₂dO₂

8(b) John LOVES Richard more

S₁V₁

than (he LOVES) Martha.

S₂V₂dO₂

dO₁

In 8(a), loves Richard is omitted.

In 8(b), he loves is omitted.

9(a)Old men and women WILL BE 9(b)Old men and women WILL

BE

SERVED first.

Old only modifies men.

Old modifies men and women.

9

(a) means ‘we first serve the men 9(b) means ‘we first serve the

who are old and all of the women, men and women who are all old.’

irrespective of their age.’

10(a) The thing that bothered Bill WAS 10(b) The thing that bothered Bill

CROUCHING under the table. WAS crouching under the table.

Crouching is a present participle, Crouching is a gerund, head of the

part of the finite verb was crouching. phrase crouching under the table.

10(b) means ‘Bill was annoyed by 10(b) means ‘it is crouching under

the thing that was crouching the table that annoyed Bill.’

under the table.’

Exercise 25: Explain the anomaly of each of the following sentences.

1. Christopher is killing phonemes.

This sentence is semantically anomalous because killing and phonemes

are not semantically compatible to be combined in this way. Kill means

cause the death of a living organism’ whereas phonemes are non-living

things — things that cannot be killed.

‘

2

03

2. My brother is a spinster.

This sentence is semantically anomalous because my brother is [+male]

whereas a spinster is [+female].

3. The boy swallowed the chocolate and then chewed it.

This sentence is semantically anomalous because of the wrong order of

the two verb phrases — swallowed the chocolate and chewed it.

4. Babies can lift one ton.

This sentence is semantically anomalous because babies are [+young]

and [−

strong]. How can they lift a weight of 2,240 pounds in Britain or of

2,000 pounds in the U.S.A.?

5. Puppies are human.

This sentence is semantically anomalous because puppies are

[

+animate] and thus [− human].

6. My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor.

This sentence is semantically anomalous because both my unmarried

sister and a bachelor are [+single], and thus they can’t be husband and wife.

7. The bigger key and John opened the door.

This sentence is semantically anomalous because its instrument (the

bigger key) cannot be conjoined with its agent (John).

8. James sliced the ideas.

This sentence is semantically anomalous because the ideas are

[

+abstract notion] while only concrete things that are long, round, and

soft enough like a sausage or a tomato can be sliced.

9. Jack’s courage chewed the bones.

This sentence is semantically anomalous because Jack’s courage is

[

+abstract notion], and thus it could not chew anything.

2

04

10. I hear the cloud.

This sentence is semantically anomalous because “hear, presumably,

presupposes that its object is audible” [Palmer, 1981: 170] while the cloud

is [− audible].

11. The tiger remained alive for an hour after the hunter killed it.

This sentence is semantically anomalous because no living organism can

remain alive after being killed. In fact, the tiger died right at the moment

the hunter killed it.

Exercise 26: How can each of the given sentences be changed to avoid

anomaly?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

. Christopher is killing himself.

. My brother is a bachelor.

. The boy chewed the chocolate and then swallowed it.

. This crane can lift one ton.

. Puppies are not human.

. My unmarried sister will be married to a bachelor.

. John (the agent) opened the door with the bigger key (the instrument).

. James sliced the tomatoes or James raised/ could finally come up with

the ideas.

9

1

. Jack chewed the bones.

0. I hear the piece of news already / I see the cloud.

1. The tiger remained alive for an hour after the hunter injured it.

2

05

Exercise 27: Do the two following sentences have the same proposition?

(

1) Mr Dindlay killed Janet.

(

2) Mr Dindlay caused Janet to die.

No, they don’t. Killed somebody in (1) implies [+intentionally]

whereas caused somebody to die in (2) implies [+accidentally]. The

semantic feature [±intention] is crucial in distinguishing the different

propositions in (1-2).

Exercise 28: Explain why the two members of each of the following pairs of

sentences do not share the same proposition.

1(a) John is the parent of James.

1(b) James is the parent of John.

2(a) The hunter bit the lion.

2(b) The lion bit the hunter.

3(a) The fly was on the wall.

3(b) The wall was under the fly.

4(a) Jack was injured by a stone.

4(b) Jack was injured with a stone.

ANSWER:

The two pairs of sentences marked 1(a-b) and 2(a-b) are not related to

each other. In other words, they indicate different states of affairs:

(a) tells us about John, 1(b) tells us about James, 2(a) tells us about the

hunter, and 2(b) tells us about the lion.

ꢀ

1

ꢁ

The pair of sentences marked 3(a-b) expresses different propositions.

On the one hand, the preposition on in 3(a) indicates that the fly was in a

position that allows it to touch the wall. On the other hand, the preposition

under in 3(b) indicates that though the wall was in a position directly below

the fly, there was no touching between them. The semantic feature

[

±touching] is crucial in distinguishing different propositions in 3(a-b).

ꢂ The preposition by in 4(a) tells us that a stone fell and accidentally

injured Jack whereas the preposition with in 4(b) implies that somebody

intentionally used a stone as a means to injure Jack. The semantic feature

[±intention] is crucial in distinguishing different propositions in 4(a-b).

2

06

Exercise 29: Fill in the following chart given by Hurford and Heasley [1984:

3] with ‘+’ or ‘–’ as appropriate. Thus, for example, if it makes sense

2

to think of a proposition being in a particular regional accent, put a ‘+’ in

the appropriate box; if not put a ‘–.’

Utterances Sentences Propositions

Can be loud or quiet

Can be grammatical or not

Can be true or false

In a particular regional accent

In a particular language

+

–

+

–

+

–

+

–

Exercise 30: Circle the following sentences A for analytic, S for synthetic

or C for contradiction, as appropriate.

1

. A; 2. S; 3. A; 4. S; 5. S; 6. S; 7. A; 8. C; 9. A; 10. S;

1. S; 12. A; 13. C; 14. S; 15. S

Exercise 31: The following pairs are paraphrases of each other. Identify the

way employed to paraphrase them.

-

Change individual words by using synonyms: 1-7(a-b)

Change individual words by using relational antonyms: 8-10(a-b)

Change sentence structure: 11-16(a-b) and 17(a-d)

Change both individual words and sentence structure: 18-25(a-b)

Exercise 32: Use ⇒ to show one-way entailment and ⇔ to show two-way

entailment in each of the following pairs of sentences:

-

One-way entailment (⇒): 1-5(a-b) and 11-15(a-b)

Two-way entailment (⇔): 6-10(a-b) and 16-20(a-b)

Exercise 33: What sense relation holds between the two sentences of each pair:

-

1(a-b) and 7-8(a-b) are the paraphrases of each other.

2(a-b) and 9-10(a-b) contradict each other.

Respectively, 3-6(a) asymmetrically entail 3-6(b)

2

07

Exercise 34: Identify the presupposition(s) in each of the following sentences.

. ‘I am sorry I cannot find your book right now.’

The utterance presupposes that you have/own a book, and you have lent it to me.

. ‘On the occasion of my friend's birthday, I intend to buy her a new vase.’

1

2

The utterance presupposes that (1) I have a friend, (2) soon comes her

birthday, and (3) she has a vase already.

3

. ‘The exam is not so difficult.’

The utterance presupposes that there is an exam

and that the hearer already knows what the exam is.

The speaker assumes that the hearer already knows what the exam is.

. ‘She is not happy about the chemistry course she’s taking.’

4

The utterance presupposes that she’s taking a chemistry course.

The utterance presupposes that there is a chemistry course and she’s taking it.

5. ‘We haven’t heard anything from Barbara.’

The utterance presupposes that the hearer already knows who Barbara is.

The speaker assumes that the hearer already knows who Barbara is.

6. ‘They were rich.’

The utterance presupposes that the hearer already knows who they are.

The speaker assumes that the hearer already knows who they are.

7

. ‘Can you stop playing with your cat?’

The utterance presupposes that

you have a cat, and you’re playing with him/her.

. ‘She was not aware that her son had an accident.’

8

The utterance presupposes her son had an accident.

The utterance presupposes that she has a son, and he had an accident.

9

. ‘The explosion was so loud that it could be heard from miles away.’

The utterance presupposes that there was an explosion somewhere.

0. ‘I wish I had not booked the tickets.’

1

2

08

The utterance presupposes that I booked the tickets.

The speaker assumes that the hearer already knows what the tickets are.)

1. ‘Tom might find the chocolate cake in the kitchen.’

The utterance presupposes that there is a chocolate cake in the kitchen.

2. ‘You will be amazed when you see the view.’

(

1

The utterance presupposes that you will see a beautiful view.

The utterance presupposes that

there is a beautiful view somewhere and that you will see the view soon.

1

3. ‘I am so sorry, I am in a hurry and I can’t answer your question right now.’

The utterance presupposes that you’ve asked me a question.

4. ‘She was not aware that it would hurt her so much.’

The utterance presupposes that it (did) hurt her very much.

6. ‘Could you drive me to the airport?’

1

The utterance presupposes that

the hearer already knows what the airport is and where it is located.

1

7. ‘It took us two days to come back from Hanoi by train.’

The utterance presupposes that we once went to Hanoi.

8. ‘It is going to rain for a long time.’ (a prediction)

The utterance presupposes that it is raining now or it has been raining.

9. ‘I am going to have a final examination in Semantics.’

Near future with arrangement)

The utterance presupposes that I haven’t taken the final exam in Semantics yet.

0. ‘We are going to be teachers of English.’

1

(

2

The utterance presupposes that we haven’t been teachers of English yet.

The utterance presupposes

(

1) that the hearer already knows who the other members of this group are

and (2) that the persons in question haven’t been teachers of English yet.

1. ‘I think I will pass the exam.’

2

09

The utterance presupposes that there was an exam, and I have taken it.

The utterance presupposes that

there will be an exam soon, and I’m going to take it.

22. ‘I hope to have a good result for this exam.’

The utterance presupposes that there was an exam, and I have taken it.

The utterance presupposes that

there will be an exam soon, and I’m going to take it.

2

3. ‘But before your encouragement, we would have given up.’

The utterance presupposes that you encouraged us.

4. ‘I got an excellent mark for my essay last time.’

The utterance presupposes that I wrote/ I had written an essay.

5. ‘I missed my class on Monday because I overslept.’

The utterance presupposes that I had a class on Monday.

6. ‘My sister is going to graduate from university.’

The utterance presupposes that

I have a sister, and she hasn’t graduated from university yet.

7. ‘I've got a good mark for the exam in American Literature.’

The utterance presupposes that

there was an exam in American Literature, and I have taken it.

8. ‘I am going to have a new grammar book.’

The utterance presupposes that

I have a grammar book, and I haven’t bought any new one yet.

9. ‘When did you give up teaching?’

The utterance presupposes that you gave up teaching.

0. ‘When did you stop beating your wife?’

The utterance presupposes that

you once beat your wife, and you stopped beating her.

1. ‘Fred continued/didn’t continue speaking.’

2

3

2

10

The utterance presupposes that Fred was speaking previously.

The speaker assumes that the hearer already knows who Fred is.)

2. ‘I cleaned/didn’t clean the room.’

The utterance presupposes that the room was dirty.

The speaker assumes that the hearer already knows what the room is.)

3. ‘He killed/didn’t kill the bird.’

The utterance presupposes that the bird was alive.

The speaker assumes that the hearer already knows what the bird is.)

4. ‘What was John worried about?’

The utterance presupposes that John was worried.

The speaker assumes that the hearer already knows who John is.)

5. ‘Bill drank another glass of beer?’

The utterance presupposes that Bill had drunk at least one.

The speaker assumes that the hearer already knows who Bill is.)

6. ‘Could you lend me the novel [when you finish it]?’

non-fact → fact: + → −) you finish the novel

The utterance presupposes that you haven’t finished (reading) the novel yet.

The speaker assumes that the hearer already knows what the novel is.)

7. ‘I can’t guess when the rain stops?’

the rain stops (non-fact → fact: −

The utterance presupposes that rain is falling / it is raining.

8. ‘Please take me to the circus again.’

The utterance presupposes that the speaker was at the circus before.

(

3

(

3

(

3

(

3

(

3

(

3

→ +)

3

The utterance presupposes that the speaker has been to the circus before/

at least once.

The utterance presupposes that the hearer has taken the speaker to the

circus before/at least once.

(

The speaker assumes that the hearer already knows what the circus is.)

2

11

3

9. ‘He pretended to be pleased with the gift.’

The utterance presupposes that he was not pleased with the gift.

0. ‘If only you had taken his offer.’

4

The utterance presupposes that you didn’t take his offer.

Exercise 35: Which of the following utterances share the same

presupposition?

The utterances marked (2), (3), (4), (5), and (7) all presuppose that Mike

smashed the television set whereas the utterances marked (1) and (6) both

presuppose that the speaker does not know whether (or not) Mike smashed the

television set.

Exercise 36: Write down one implicature that can be drawn from the second

speaker’s response in each of the following conversations:

(

1) Mary: ‘Did you manage to fix that leak?’

Jim: ‘I tried to.’

His utterance may implicate that Jim did not fix the leak.

(

2) Steve: ‘What happened to your flowers?’

Jane: ‘A dog got into the garden.’

Jane’s utterance may implicate that the dog was not Jane’s

and that her flowers got destroyed.

3) Laura: ‘Who used all the printer paper?’

(

Dick: ‘I used some of it.’

His utterance may implicate that Dick did not use all the paper.

4) Gina: ‘I hear you’re always late with the rent.’

Robin: ‘Well, sometimes I am.’

His utterance may implicate that Robin is not always late with the rent.

5) Jenny: ‘Mike and Annie should be here by now. Was their plane late?’

Alfred: ‘Possibly.’

His utterance may implicate that

Alfred’s not certain that the plane was late.

2

12

(

6) Gwen: ‘This cheese looks funny. The label said not to store the

cheese in the freezer.’

Alvin: ‘Yeah, I did see the label.’

His utterance may implicate that Alvin did not freeze the cheese.

7) Mat: ‘What’s with your mother?’

Bob: ‘Let’s go to the garden.’

His utterance may implicate that

Bob cannot talk about his mother’s problem in the very place.

8) Carmen: ‘Did you buy the car?’

(

Maria: ‘It cost twice as much as I thought it would.’

Her utterance may implicate that Maria did not buy the car.

9) Robert: ‘Where’s the salad dressing?’

Gabriela: ‘We’ve run out of olive oil.’

Gabriela’s utterance may implicate that there is not any salad dressing left.

10) Maggie: ‘The bathroom’s flooded!’

Jim: ‘Someone must have left the tap on.’

His utterance may implicate that Jim did not leave the tap on.

11) Austin: ‘Want some fudge brownies?’

Jenny: ‘There must be 20,000 calories there.’

Her utterance may implicate that

Jenny does not want any fudge brownies.

(

12) Alice: ‘Have you seen my sweater?’

Max: ‘There’s a sweater on the sofa.’

His utterance may implicate that

Max is not sure whether the sweater on the sofa is Alice’s.

13) Phil’s mother: ‘How did you do on these exams?’

Phil: ‘I failed physics.’

His utterance may implicate that

Phil passed/did not fail the other exams.

(

14) Paul: ‘I didn’t take it.’

Virginia: ‘Why do you always lie?’

Virginia’s utterance may implicate that it is Paul who took it.

2

13

(

15) Tom: ‘It works now.’

Janet: ‘When did Eric fix it?’

Janet’s utterance may implicate that it is Eric, not Tom, who fixed it.

16) Liza: ‘I hear you’ve invited Mat and Chris.’

Ed: ‘I didn’t invite Mat.’

His utterance may implicate that Ed invited Chris.

(

17) A: ‘What are the Nelsons like?’

B: ‘They were rich.’

B’s utterance may implicate that the Nelsons are not rich any more.

18) A: ‘What is this examination in Semantics like?’

B: ‘It is so easy this time.’

B’s utterance may implicate that

the last examination in Semantics was really difficult.

19) A: ‘Did you get the milk and the eggs?’

B: ‘I got the milk.’

(

B’s utterance may implicate that he/she did not get the eggs.

20) A: ‘Did Carmen like the party?’

B: ‘She left after an hour.’

B’s utterance may implicate that Carmen did not like the party.

Exercise 37: In each case below decide which maxim has not been

observed and what conversational implicature might be drawn.

Background information is given in square brackets.

(1) is a flouting of the maxim of Relevance. If meat had been the main course,

A would probably draw the implicature that B didn’t like the dinner.

(

2) is a flouting of the maxim of Manner. Since B could not help being

unclear, A would probably draw the implicature that B is a bit dubious

about drinking that cocktail.

(

3) is a flouting of the maxim of Quality. B can only be co-operative if A

would draw the implicature that B was very tired.

2

14

(

4) is a flouting of the maxim of Relevance. B’s exam is not apparently

relevant to a discussion about going to the movies. A would draw the

implicature that B is not going to the movies.

(

5) is a flouting of the maxim of Quantity. Stating that a barbecue is an

outdoor party is apparently both too informative (since people all know that

a barbecue is an outdoor party) and not informative enough since B has not

directly answered the question. A would draw the implicature that B is

possibly not coming to the barbecue.

(

6) is a flouting of the maxim of Quantity. The student is providing much

more information than is normally required in this situation. The teacher

would probably draw the implicature that the student was bored and

“

counted the minutes” until the end of the lecture.

(

7) is a flouting of the maxim of Quantity. The small boy is unhelpful in

someway because he fails to give enough information explicitly requested by

the policeman, i.e. the boy does not say anything about his father, who is in

fact at home.

(

8) is a flouting of the maxim of Quality. The son refused to release the

name of the one who put the ferret in the bathtub though he certainly knows

who did it. A would draw the implicature that it is not B who put the

ferret in the bathtub.

Exercise 38: In each of the following decide whether each of the

inferences in brackets is a presupposition (P) or an implicature (I)

derived from the underlined utterance.

1.

P; 2. P; 3. I; 4. I; 5. P; 6. I, 7. P

Exercise 39: In each of the following decide whether each of the

inferences in brackets is a presupposition (P) or an implicature (I).

1.

P; 2. I; 3. I; 4. I; 5. I; 6. P

2

15

Exercise 40: Give a situation in which each of the following utterances

occurs, interpret its meaning and then classify it according to

different types of speech acts.

1. ‘Let’s go to our place for a beer.’

A: ‘Let’s go to our place for a beer.’

B: ‘All right.’

A informally invites B to go and have a glass of beer.

This is A DIRECTIVE.

2. ‘I don’t know how to answer this question.’

A: ‘Why did you divorce her?’

B: ‘I don’t know how to answer this question.’

By acknowledging his failure to give an appropriate answer to A’s

(

question,)

B indirectly conceals the real reason of the divorcefrom his ex-wife.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

3. ‘Mind your head!’

A: ‘Mind your head!’

B: ‘Thanks for your timely warning.’

A directly warns B of a danger. This is A DIRECTIVE.

4. ‘How nice to see you!’

A: ‘How nice to see you!’

B: ‘Yes, it’s been quite a while.’

A greets B in a friendly and somewhat surprising manner.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

5. ‘Who will believe this story?’

A: ‘To make a long story short, Ed’s girlfriend falls in love with

Ed’s younger brother.’

B: ‘Who will believe this story?’

By making a Wh-question which needs no answer,)

(

B indirectly shows his or her doubt about such a crazy story.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

6. ‘Is it right to cheat in any exam?’

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16

Student [taking an exam]: ‘I’ve just asked my neighbor for a

correction pen.’

Teacher: ‘Is it right to cheat in any exam?’

(

= ‘It is quite wrong to cheat in any exam.’)

The teacher indirectly says that cheating is not accepted in any exam.

This is A REPRESENTATIVE.

7. ‘Would you like a cup of coffee?’

A:‘Would you likeacupof coffee?’(=‘Havesomecoffe, please.’)

B: ‘Yes, please.’

As the hostess, A indirectly invites B, her honored guest, to have a cup

of coffee. This is A DIRECTIVE.

8. ‘I was so sorry to hear about your loss.’

A: ‘I was so sorry to hear about your loss.’

B: ‘Thank you for your great sympathy.’

A directly shows his/her willingness to share B’s suffering.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

9. ‘I’m dead tired now!’

Wife: ‘Dinner is almost ready. Can you set the table, dear?’

Husband [complaining about his tiredness]: ‘I’m dead tired now!’

The husband indirectly refuses to set the table for dinner.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

1

0. ‘I’m awfully sorry I wasn’t at the meeting this morning.’

A: ‘I’m awfully sorry I wasn’t at the meeting this morning.’

B: ‘You don’t need to apologize.’

A directly apologizes to B. This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

11. ‘If you don’t try your best, you’ll fail in the exam.’

Professor: ‘If you don’t try your best, you’ll fail in the exam.’

(= ‘I’ll refuse to passthose who have not tried their best to take the course.’)

Student 1: ‘Oh, my goodness!’

Student 2: ‘There is no doubt about that.’

Student 3: ‘I’m sure to take the make-up exam.’

The professor indirectly commits to fail those who have not tried their

best to take the course. This is A COMMISSIVE.

2

17

1

2. ‘Why don’t you take a seat?’

A: ‘Can I talk to you for a while?’

B: ‘Certainly. ‘Why don’t you take a seat?’ (= ‘Sit down, please.’)

B indirectly requests A to sit down. This is A DIRECTIVE.

3. ‘How dare you speak to her like that?’

Tom: ‘I told Jane that she was a talented liar.’

Jack: ‘How dare you speak to her like that?’

Jack is annoyed by Tom’s rudeness. This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

4. ‘You look lovely today in your new dress.’

Manager: ‘You look lovely today in your new dress.’

Secretary: ‘Thanks/Thank you for your nice compliment.’

The manager directly compliments his secretary on her new dress.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

15. ‘I’d sell it if I were you.’

Gordon’s friend: ‘My car breaks down again.’

Gordon: ‘I’d sell it if I were you.’ (= ‘You should sell it.’)

Gordon indirectly advises his friend to get rid of the frustrating car.

This is A DIRECTIVE.

16. ‘I’ll be right back.’

Desk clerk: ‘I beg your pardon. I’ll be right back.’

Client: ‘No problem.’

The desk clerk directly promises to return in a few minutes.

This is A COMMISSIVE.

1

7. ‘I beg you to reconsider your decision.’

Mrs. Brown: ‘I beg you to reconsider your decision.’

= ‘Please think it over.’)

(

Mr. Brown: ‘I have nothing to reconsider.’

Mrs. Brown earnestly asks her husband to give his decision a second

thought. This is A DIRECTIVE.

18. ‘Do you think I’m an idiot?’

Paul: ‘Why don’t you marry her?’

Morris: ‘Do you think I’m an idiot?’

2

18

(

By making a Yes-No question the answer of which must be no,)

Morris indirectly rejects Paul’s suggestion. This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

1

9. ‘May I hand in my final paper the day after tomorrow?’

Student: ‘May I hand in my final paper the day after tomorrow?’

Professor: ‘I’m afraid that I cannot give you any more time.’

The student directly asks for permission to hand in his/her final paper

in two days. This is A DIRECTIVE.

20. ‘We select Alfred as the head of our group.’

Teacher: ‘Who is the head of Group 2?’

Doris: ‘We select Alfred as the head of our group.’

On behalf of all the members of Group 2, who have just selected Alfred to

(

be their head,) Doris is directly announcing her group’s selection.

This is A DECLARATIVE.

21. ‘I’ll pay you back in two days.’

Carol: ‘I’ll pay you back in two days.’

Laura: ‘Can I trust your words?’

Carol directly promises to pay Laura back in two days.

This is A COMMISSIVE.

22. ‘We are going to turn you in.’

A drunken relative: ‘Just bring me another bottle of red wine.’

The host: ‘If you keep on misbehaving, we are going to turn you in.’

On behalf of his wife, the speaker, who is the host of a party, threatens to

let the police arrest the hearer, who is a drunken irritating relative.

This is A COMMISSIVE.

23. ‘I would appreciate it if you went away.’

A: ‘I can’t live without your love.’

B: ‘I would appreciate it if you went away.’ (= ‘Go away.’)

B indirectly orders A to go away.

This is A DIRECTIVE.

24. ‘Can I help you?’

Shop assistant: ‘Can I help you?’

Customer: ‘Yes, I’m looking for some cheap shoes.’

2

19

The shop assistant directly asks the customer for some information.

This is A ROGATIVE.

The shop assistant indirectly offers the customer some help.

This is A COMMISSIVE.

25. ‘I’ve stopped smoking.’

A: ‘Have a cigarette!’

B: ‘No, thanks. I’ve stopped smoking.’

B directly explains why he/she refuses A’s invitation.

This is A REPRESENTATIVE.

26. ‘Goodness!’

John’s mother [talking on the phone]: ‘John had thirteen friends to tea on

his birthday yesterday.’

John’s grandmother: ‘Goodness! I didn’t think a three-year-old like him

had as many as thirteen friends.’

John’s grandmother directly cries out in surprise.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

27. ‘Drink a cup of coffee.’

A: ‘I can’t keep awake.’

B: ‘Drink a cup of coffee.’

B directly advises A to drink a cup of coffee. This is A DIRECTIVE.

28. ‘That doesn’t sound very serious.’

A: ‘I’ve got a sore throat.’

B: ‘That doesn’t sound very serious.’

B directly shows no sympathy towards A’s sore throat.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

29. ‘I’ve got to go now.’

A: ‘I’ve got to go now.’

B: ‘OK. See you later.’

A: ‘See you.’

A indirectly pre-closes the conversation between him/her and B.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

30. ‘Someone said you got fired.’

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20

Mother: ‘Someone said you got fired.’ (= ‘Did you get fired?’)

Daughter: ‘Yes, but I’ve already applied for another job.’

The mother indirectly asks her daughter for some information.

This is A ROGATIVE.

Exercise 41: For each of the following utterances, provide two situations so

that one utterance performs two different acts. Interpret the utterances

and identify the acts performed in the light of the situations you provide.

1

. ‘Do you feel better today?’

SITUATION 1:

Doctor: ‘Do you feel better today?’

Patient: ‘Yes, I do.’

The doctor directly asks her patient for some information.

This is A ROGATIVE.

SITUATION 2:

Mother [in hospital for a while]: ‘I’m glad that you’re here with me again.’

Son [in a very concerned manner]: ‘Do you feel better today?’

The son indirectly expresses his worry about his mother’s health.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

2

. ‘I beg your pardon.’

SITUATION 1:

A: ‘Take this paper to the lady over there and ask for her signature.’

B: ‘I beg your pardon (= Repeat, please). I didn’t hear what you said.’

B indirectly requests A to repeat what he/she has just said.

This is A DIRECTIVE.

SITUATION 2:

A: ‘You’ve taken my seat.’

B: ‘Oh, I beg your pardon.’ (= ‘I’m terribly sorry.’)

B directly apologizes to A for taking A’s seat by mistake.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

3

. ‘It’s going to rain.’

SITUATION 1:

Wife: ‘It’s going to rain.’

= ‘Remember to bring the new raincoat with you.’)

(

2

21

Husband: ‘I’ll bring the new raincoat with me.’ (= ‘I will.’)

The wife indirectly reminds her husband to bring the new raincoat with him.

This is A DIRECTIVE.

SITUATION 2:

Wife: ‘The weatherman says that it’s going to rain.’

Husband: ‘I heard that on the radio this morning, too.’

The wife directly reports what the weatherman has said.

This is A REPRESENTATIVE.

4

. ‘It’s snowing.’

SITUATION 1:

Mary: ‘What’s the weather like in Boston?’

Steve: ‘It’s snowing.’

Steve directly gives a piece of information (to answer Mary’s

question). This is A REPRESENTATIVE.

SITUATION 2:

Hazel: ‘Could you go and post this letter?’

Glen: ‘It’s snowing.’ (= ‘I’m afraid that I have to say ‘no’ to your

request.’)

(

By stating the fact that it’s snowing,) Glen indirectly refuses to go and

post the letter for Hazel.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

5

. ‘I said I didn’t.’

SITUATION 1:

A: ‘Did you go to the theater last night?’

B: ‘I didn’t.’

A: ‘Tell me the truth. Did you go to the theater last night?’

B: ‘I said I didn’t.’

B is annoyed by A’s repetition of the same question.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

SITUATION 2:

Jane: ‘Mum asked me if I knew your new address.’

Jane’s sister: ‘And what did you say?’

Jane: ‘I said I didn’t.’

Jane directly gives a piece of information(to answer her sister’s question).

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22

This is A REPRESENTATIVE.

6

. ‘There’s a bend ahead.’

SITUATION 1:

A: ‘Is there any bend near here?’

B: ‘There’s a bend ahead.’

B directly informs A of the fact that there is a bend ahead of them.

This is A REPRESENTATIVE.

SITUATION 2:

A: ‘Be careful. There’s a bend ahead.’

(

= ‘Drive carefully and slow down a bit.’)

B: ‘Thanks for your timely warning.’

A indirectly asks B to drive carefully and slow down a bit (because

there’s a bend ahead). This is A DIRECTIVE.

7

. ‘Keep off the grass.’

SITUATION 1:

Son: ‘What does the sign say, Mum.’

Mother: ‘Keep off the grass.’

The mother directly gives a piece of information (to answer her son’s

question). This is A REPRESENTATIVE.

SITUATION 2:

A: ‘How smooth the lawn is!’

B: ‘Keep off the grass.’

B directly orders A not to walk on the lawn. This is A DIRECTIVE.

8

. ‘I’m very upset that so many of you are talking.’

SITUATION 1:

Joe: ‘It’s my book.’

Jenny: ‘Your book is over there. This one’s mine.’

Jack: ‘Your book is there and over there is Joe’s. This one’s mine.’

Mother: ‘I’m very upset that so many of you are talking.’

The mother of three young children directly shows that she is

extremely annoyed by her children’s talkativeness.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

SITUATION 2:

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23

Teacher: ‘I’m very upset that so many of you are talking.’

Class monitor: ‘Be quiet, please.’

The teacher of a big class indirectly orders her pupils to stop talking

(

and the monitor just paraphrases what the teacher has really said).

This is A DIRECTIVE.

9

. ‘Be aware of dogs.’

SITUATION 1: [There are some dogs in the street. A sees the dogs

approaching B.]

A: ‘Be aware of dogs.’

B: ‘Thanks for your timely warning.’

A directly warns B of the dogs’ approaching. This is A DIRECTIVE.

SITUATION 2:

Daughter: ‘What does the sign mean, Mum?’

Mother: ‘Be aware of dogs.’

The mother directly provides her daughter with a piece of information.

This is A REPRESENTATIVE.

1

0. ‘What else do you want?’

SITUATION 1: [Mary goes shopping. She’s already chosen a fashionable blouse

and a well-formed skirt.]

Shop assistant: ‘What else do you want?’

Mary: ‘That’s all. Thanks.’

The shop assistant directly asks Mary for some information.

This is A ROGATIVE.

SITUATION 2:

A misbehaved seven-year-old boy keeps asking his mother to do this or

that for him while she is busy with a lot of housework. Being annoyed, the

mother shouts: ‘What else do you want?’ The mother indirectly expresses

her annoyance.

This is AN EXPRESSIVE.

Exercise 42: Use the locution, illocution, and perlocution analysis to

analyse the underlined utterance in each of the following dialogues.

2

24

(

1) Mrs Smith’s neighbour: ‘I was so sorry to hear about your loss.’

Mrs Smith: ‘Thank you. It was a great shock, but I must get used to it.’

Locution: Mrs Smith’s neighbour uttered the words ‘I was so sorry to hear

about your loss’, which can be semantically paraphrased as ‘You

have my great sympathy’, with I referring to the neighbour.

Illocution: The neighbour performed the act of condoling.

Perlocution: Mrs Smith, who is a recently bereaved widow and who expects

the neighbour’s utterance, gives a prepared reply: ‘Thank you.

It was a great shock, but I must get used to it.’

(

2) A: ‘Would you like a cup of coffee?’

B: ‘Yes, please.’

Locution: A uttered the words ‘Would you like a cup of coffee’, which can

be semantically paraphrased as ‘Have a cup of coffee, please’,

with you referring to B.

Illocution: A performed the act of offering.

Perlocution: The utterance may cause B, who is the hearer, to think the

speaker, who is A, is more generous than he/she thought.

(

3) Son: ‘Can I go out for a while, Mum?’

Mother: ‘You can play outside for half an hour.’

Locution: The mother uttered the words ‘You can play outside for half an

hour’, which can be semantically paraphrased as ‘You have my

permission to go out for a while’, with you referring to the son.

Illocution: The mother performed the act of giving permission.

Perlocution: The utterance may cause the son to race out of the room,

picking up his football on the way.

Exercise 43: Are the following utterances performative (P) or constative (C)?

1. P; 2. C; 3. P; 4. C; 5. P; 6. C; 7. P; 8. C; 9. P; 10. P

2

25

Exercise 44: Also note that the most reliable test to determine whether an

utterance is performative is to insert the word hereby and see if the

modified utterance is acceptable. Can hereby be acceptably inserted in

the following utterances?

1.Yes; 2. No; 3. No; 4. Yes; 5. Yes; 6. No; 7. Yes; 8. No; 9. Yes; 10. No

Exercise 45: Fill in each of the blanks with an appropriate word.

The first one is done as an example.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

.

Semantics

Homography

contradiction

Hyponymy

sentence

Antonymy

proposition

Homophony

utterance

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Anomaly

features

Homonymy

lexical

Partial

structurally

Polysemy

analytic

pragmatic

Synonymy

permorfative

.

0.

reference

21

2

26

LIST OF ENGLISH-VIETNAMESE

EQUIVALENT LINGUISTIC TERMS

(

in alphabetical order)

abbreviation

abstract

additional

adjectival

adjunct

daïng ruùt goïn, daïng tænh löôïc

(coù tính) tröøu töôïng

phuï, boå sung

phuï ngöõ laø tính töø

traïng ngöõ cuûa vò töø

traïng töø

adverb

adverbial (1)

adverbial (2)

article

(coù tính) traïng ngöõ

phuï ngöõ laø traïng töø

quaùn töø

ambiguity

tính mô hoà veà nghóa,

tính löôõng nghóa

(coù tính) mô hoà veà nghóa,

löôõng nghóa

ambiguous

analytic sentence

caâu phaân tích

approbation maxim

assert

phöông chaâm taùn ñoàng

tuyeân boá

assertion

assume

(söï/lôøi) tuyeân boá

nhaän ñònh

assumption

asymmetric

asymmetrically

anomaly

anomalous

antonym

(söï/lôøi) nhaän ñònh

khoâng ñoái xöùng

(moät caùch) khoâng ñoái xöùng

tính baát thöôøng

(coù tính) baát thöôøng

töø traùi nghóa

antonymy

quan heä/tính traùi nghóa

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27

binary antonym

binary antonymy

binary oppositions

class

töø traùi nghóa löôõng phaân

quan heä/tính traùi nghóa löôõng phaân

theá ñoái laäp coù-khoâng

lôùp, chuûng loaïi

class membership

co-reference

co-operative

tö caùch laø thaønh vieân cuûa moät lôùp

(quan heä) ñoàng sôû chæ

tính hôïp taùc

co-operative

(coù tính) hôïp taùc

co-operative principle

collocation (1)

collocation (2)

commonality

nguyeân taéc hôïp taùc

quan heä keát hôïp

keát ngoân, ngöõ coá ñònh

tính chaát chung

commissive

compatibility

haønh ñoäng cam keát

tính töông hôïp

compatible

componential analysis

concrete

(coù tính) töông hôïp

söï phaân tích nghóa toá

(coù tính) cuï theå

connotation

nghóa lieân töôûng

connotative meaning

conscious metaphor

constant reference

constative (1)

constative (2)

content word

nghóa lieân töôûng

aån duï coù yù thöùc

sôû chæ coá ñònh

(coù tính) nhaän ñònh

caâu nhaän ñònh

thꢀc tꢁ

context

ngoân caûnh

context-bound

context-dependent

context-free

bò ngoân caûnh raøng buoäc

khoâng bò ngoân caûnh raøng buoäc

thang giaù trò lieân tuïc

continuous scale of values

2

28

contradiction

contradictory sentence

conventional implicature

söï/caâu nghòch lyù

caâu nghòch lyù

haøm ngoân öôùc ñònh

conversational implicature haøm ngoân hoäi thoaïi

conversational maxim

converse

core meaning

countable

phöông chaâm hoäi thoaïi

töø traùi nghóa nghòch ñaûo

nghóa coát loõi

coù theå ñeám ñöôïc

counter-factual presupposition tieàn giaû ñònh phaûn hàm thꢀc

dead metaphor

declarative

declarative sentence

definite

aån duï cheát

haønh ñoäng tuyeân boá

caâu traàn thuaät

xaùc ñònh

definite article

deixis

quaùn töø xaùc ñònh

tröïc chæ

deictic

deictic expression

demonstrative adjective

(coù tính) tröïc chæ

töø tröïc chæ

tính töø chæ xuaát

deny

deniable

phuû nhaän, choái boû đ

coù theå bò phuû nhaän,

coù theå phuû nhaän ñưꢂc

denotation

nghóa sôû thò

denotative meaning

dictionary entry

direct

direct speech act

directness

nghóa sôû thò

haïng muïc (lieät keâ) trong töø ñieån

(coù tính) tröïc tieáp

haønh ñoäng ngoân töø tröïc tieáp

tính tröïc tieáp

directive

distinct

distinction

haønh ñoäng caàu khieán

(coù tính) khu bieät

söï khu bieät

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29

entail

keùo theo

entailment

entity

quan heä/caâu keùo theo

thöïc theå

explicit

explicit performative

explicitly

explicitness

etymology

exclusive

(coù tính) hieån ngoân

caâu haønh ngoân hieån ngoân

(moät caùch) hieån ngoân

tính hieån ngoân

töø nguyeân (hoïc)

loaïi tröø

exclusive ‘we’

expressive

chuùng toâi

haønh ñoäng bieåu caûm

expression of personification lôøi noùi coù nhaân caùch hoaù

existential presupposition

extension

euphemism (1)

tieàn giaû ñònh tꢃn tꢄi

söï/quaù trình môû roäng

pheùp noùi kheùo

euphemism (2)

lôøi noùi kheùo, uyeån ngöõ

tieàn giaû ñònh hàm thꢀc

ñieàu kieän höõu hieäu

ngoân ngöõ töôïng/gôïi hình

nghóa boùng

factual presupposition

felicity condition

figurative language

figurative meaning

figure of speech

fixed expression

hình thaùi tu töø

caùch bieåu ñaït coá ñònh, ngöõ coá ñònh

vipha mï , ba át cha áp (phöôngcha mâ ho iä thoa iï )

flout(conversationalmaxim)

flouting

söï vi phaïm, vieäc baát chaáp

(of conversational maxim)

(phöông chaâm hoäi thoaïi)

form

hình thaùi, hình thöùc, daïng

aån duï hoùa thaïch

hư tꢁ, tꢁ chꢅc nꢆng

(coù tính) toång loaïi

fossilized metaphor

function word

generic

generic lexical item

töø ngöõ coù nghóa toång loaïi

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30

gradable antonym

gradable antonymy

grammar

töø traùi nghóa coù thang ñoä

quan heä/tính traùi nghóa coù thang ñoä

ngöõ phaùp

grammatical

grammatical rule

grammatical structure

grammatically

grammatically correct

hierarchy

(coù tính) ngöõ phaùp

quy taéc ngöõ phaùp

caáu truùc ngöõ phaùp

(veà maët) ngöõ phaùp

ñuùng ngöõ phaùp

(heä) toân ty

hierarchical

(coù tính) toân ty

hierarchical classification

homograph

söï phaân loaïi toân ty

töø ñoàng töï

homographic

homography

homonym

homonymic

homonymy

(coù tính) ñoàng töï

quan heä/tính ñoàng töï

töø ñoàng aâm ñoàng töï

(coù tính) ñoàng aâm ñoàng töï

quan heä/tính ñoàng aâm ñoàng töï

töø ñoàng aâm dò töï

homophone

homophonic

homophony

hyperbole (1)

hyperbole (2)

hyper(o)nym

hyponym

(coù tính) ñoàng aâm dò töï

quan heä/tính ñoàng aâm dò töï

pheùp noùi khoa tröông, ngoa duï

lôøi noùi khoa tröông, ngoa duï

thöôïng danh

haï danh

hyponymic

hyponymic relation(ship)

hyponymy

(coù tính) bao nghóa

quan heä bao nghóa

quan heä/tính bao nghóa

(coù tính) lyù töôûng

ideal

idiom

thaønh ngöõ

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31

illocution/illocutionary act haønh ñoäng taïi ngoân

illocutionary force/

illocutionary meaning löïc taïi ngoân

implicate

coù haøm yù laø

implicature

implicit

implicit performative

implicitness

imply

haøm ngoân

(coù tính) haøm aån

caâu haønh ngoân haøm aån

tính haøm aån

aùm chæ

implied

inclusion

(coù tính) haøm aån

quan heä bao nghóa

chuùng ta

tính khoâng töông hôïp

khoâng (coù tính) töông hôïp

phieân baûn khoâng hoaøn chænh

baát ñònh

inclusive ‘we’

incompatibility

incompatible

incomplete version

indefinite

indefinite article

indexical

quaùn töø baát ñònh

töø tröïc chæ

indirect

(coù tính) giaùn tieáp

haønh ñoäng ngoân töø giaùn tieáp

tính giaùn tieáp

indirect speech act

indirectness

infer

suy dieãn

inference

söï/ñieàu suy dieãn

coù giaù trò thoâng tin

söï/quaù trình nghi vaán hoaù

vaên töï

informative

interrogation

inscription

irony

pheùp noùi mæa

ironical

ironical understatement

lexical

(coù tính) mæa mai

lôøi noùi giaûm ñeå mæa mai

(thuoäc/coù tính) töø vöïng

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32

lexical ambiguity

lexically ambiguous

lexical field

tính löôõng nghóa töø vöïng

(coù tính) löôõng nghóa töø vöïng

tröôøng tꢁ vꢀng

lexical gap

oâ troáng töø vöïng

lexical item

(yeáu toá) töø vöïng

lexical meaning

lexical presupposition

lexical set

nghóa töø vöïng

tieàn giaû ñònh tꢁ vꢀng

tröôøng tꢁ vꢀng

lexicon

(voán) töø vöïng

linguistic

(thuoäc) ngoân ngöõ

linguistic expression

linguistics

caùch bieåu ñaït baèng ngoân töø

ngoân ngöõ hoïc

literal

(thuoäc) nghóa ñen

literal meaning

literally

litotes

live metaphor

locution/locutionary act

locutionary meaning

marked

nghóa ñen, nghóa nguyeân vaên

(xeùt veà) nghóa ñen

pheùp noùi giaûm, khieâm duï

aån duï soáng

haønh ñoäng taïo ngoân

nghóa meänh ñeà

(coù tính) höõu tröng, coù ñaùnh daáu

tính höõu tröng, tính chaát coù ñaùnh daáu

phöông chaâm veà phöông thöùc

phöông chaâm veà tính quan yeáu

phöông chaâm veà chaát

phöông chaâm veà löôïng

nghóa

markedness

maxim of Manner

maxim of Relevance

maxim of Quality

maxim of Quantity

meaning

meiosis

metaphor (1)

pheùp noùi giaûm, khieâm duï

pheùp aån duï

metaphor (2)

aån duï

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metaphoric

(coù tính) aån duï

metaphoric meaning

metonymy (1)

metonymy (2)

morphology

nghóa aån duï

pheùp hoaùn duï

hoaùn duï

hình thaùi hoïc

multiple

ña, nhieàu

multiple senses

mutual

nhieàu nghóa

laãn nhau

mutual entailment

mutually

quan heä/caâu keùo theo laãn nhau

laãn nhau

mutually exclusive

negation

loaïi tröø laãn nhau

söï/quaù trình phuû ñònh

nghóa lieân töôûng tieâu cöïc

nghóa lieân töôûng trung hoøa

tieàn giaû ñònh hàm hư

khoâng (coù tính) ñoàng töï

(caáu truùc) khoâng phaûi caâu

saâu, saâu hôn

negative connotation

neutral connotation

non-factual presupposition

non-homographic

non-sentence

non-superficial

nonsense

caùi voâ nghóa

notion

khaùi nieäm

observation

vieäc tuaân thuû

(

of conversational maxim)

(phöông chaâm hoäi thoaïi)

observe

tuaân thuû

(

conversational maxim)

(phöông chaâm hoäi thoaïi)

one-way entailment

onomatopoeia

onamatopoeic word

opposite (1)

quan heä/caâu keùo theo moät chieàu

pheùp duøng töø töôïng thanh

töø töôïng thanh

ñoái laäp, traùi ngöôïc

caùi ñoái laäp

opposite (2)

optional

tuøy choïn

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34

overstatement (1)

overstatement (2)

paraphrase (1)

paraphrase (2)

partial synonym

partial synonymy

particular

pheùp noùi khoa tröông, ngoa duï

lôøi noùi khoa tröông, ngoa duï

phoûng nghóa

quan heä/caâu phoûng nghóa

töø ñoàng nghóa boä phaän

quan heä/tính ñoàng nghóa boä phaän

(coù tính) caù bieät

performative (1)

performative (2)

(coù tính) haønh ngoân

caâu haønh ngoân

performative verb

vò töø haønh ngoân

perlocution/

perlocutionary act haønh ñoäng xuyeân ngoân

personal deixis

personification

phonology

tröïc chæ ngöôøi

pheùp nhaân caùch hoùa

aâm vò hoïc, ngöõ aâm hoïc

tính lòch söï

politeness

polysemy

polysemic

polysemous

quan heä/tính ña nghóa

(coù tính) ña nghóa

töø ña nghóa

nghóa lieân töôûng tích cöïc

(coù tính) sôû höõu

(ñöùng/theo) sau danh töø

(coù tính) ngꢇ duïng

nghóa ngöõ duïng

(veà maët) ngöõ duïng

baát thöôøng veà ngöõ duïng

ngꢇ duïng hꢈc

polysemous word

positive connotation

possessive

post-nominal

pragmatic

pragmatic meaning

pragmatically

pragmatically anomalous

pragmatics

presuppose

tieàn giaû ñònh

presupposition

tieàn giaû ñònh

2

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primary meaning

nghóa nguyeân caáp

primitive semantic feature neùt nghóa goác

principle of politeness

pronunciation

proposition

nguyeân taéc lòch söï

caùch phaùt aâm, daïng aâm thanh

meänh ñeà

propositional meaning

redundancy rule

referent

nghóa meänh ñeà

pheùp thöøa

vaät sôû chæ

reference

sôû chæ

referential

(thuoäc) sôû chæ

referential meaning

regional accent

relation

nghóa sôû chæ

gioïng ñòa phöông

(moái) quan heä

relational antonym

relational antonymy

relationship

töø traùi nghóa nghòch ñaûo

quan heä/tính traùi nghóa nghòch ñaûo

(moái) quan heä

relevance

tính quan yeáu

relevant

representative

rogative

(coù tính) quan yeáu

haønh ñoäng bieåu hieän

haønh ñoäng caàu khieán ñeå xin thoâng tin

secondary meaning

semantic

nghóa thꢅ caáp

(coù tính) ngꢇ nghꢉa

neùt nghóa

semantic component

semantic feature

semantic field

semantic meaning

semantic property

semantic rule

semantically

neùt nghóa

tröôøng tꢁ vꢀng

nghóa ngöõ nghóa

neùt nghóa

quy taéc ngöõ nghóa

(veà maët) ngꢇ nghꢉa

2

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semantically anomalous

semantically compatible

baát thöôøng veà ngöõ nghóa

töông hôïp veà ngöõ nghóa

semantically incompatible khoâng töông hôïp veà ngöõ nghóa

semantics

ngꢇ nghꢉa hꢈc

semi-onomatopoeia

semi-onamatopoeic word

sense

pheùp duøng töø baùn töôïng thanh

töø baùn töôïng thanh

nghóa

sense relation

sentence

quan heä veà nghóa

caâu

sentence meaning

sentence type

simile (1)

nghóa cuûa caâu

loaïi caâu

pheùp tyû duï

simile (2)

tyû duï

situation

tình huoáng, tình theá

hình thöùc/daïng aâm thanh

tröïc chæ khoâng gian

(coù tính) loaïi bieät, cuï theå

töø ngöõ coù nghóa loaïi bieät, cuï theå

(moät caùch) cuï theå

lôøi noùi, ngoân töø, dieãn ngoân

haønh ñoäng ngoân töø

tieåu loaïi haønh ñoäng ngoân töø

caùch ñaùnh vaàn, daïng chöõ vieát

khaúng ñònh

sound form

spatial deixis

specific

specific lexical item

specifically

speech

speech act

speech-act category

spelling

state

statement

state of affairs

structure

lôøi/caâu khaúng ñònh

söï tình, söï theå

caáu truùc

structural

structural ambiguity

(coù tính) caáu truùc

tính löôõng nghóa caáu truùc

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structural presupposition

structurally

structurally ambiguous

subordinate

superordinate

symmetric

tieàn giaû ñònh cꢊu trúc

(veà maët) cꢊu trúc

(coù tính) löôõng nghóa caáu truùc

haï danh

thöôïng danh

ñoái xöùng

symmetrically

symmetry

(moät caùch) ñoái xöùng

söï ñoái xöùng

synecdoche (1)

synecdoche (2)

synonym

pheùp caûi dung

lôøi noùi coù pheùp caûi dung

töø ñoàng nghóa

synonymic

synonymous

synonymy

synthetic sentence

syntax

(coù tính) ñoàng nghóa

quan heä/tính ñoàng nghóa

caâu toång hôïp

cuù phaùp (hoïc)

syntactic

(coù tính) cuù phaùp

(veà maët) cuù phaùp

hoaøn haûo veà cuù phaùp

töø kieâng kî

syntactically

syntactically perfect

taboo word

tact maxim

phöông chaâm xöû trí

ñöôïc hieåu theo nghóa ñen

tröïc chæ thôøi gian

ngöõ phaùp vaên baûn

lyù thuyeát

taken literally

temporal deixis

text(ual) grammar

theory

theorical

(coù tính) lyù thuyeát

töø ñoàng nghóa toaøn phaàn

quan heä/tính ñoàng nghóa toaøn phaàn

töø, thuaät ngöõ

true synonym

true synonymy

term

2

38

terminological

(coù tính) thuaät ngöõ

terminological relationship quan heä giöõa caùc thuaät ngöõ

terminology

thuaät ngöõ

truth value

giaù trò chaân nguïy, giaù trò chaân lyù

quan heä/caâu keùo theo hai chieàu

aån duï voâ thöùc

two-way entailment

unconcious metaphor

uncountable

khoâng theå ñeám ñöôïc

understatement (1)

understatement (2)

unmarked

unmarkedness

unverbalized

pheùp noùi giaûm, khieâm duï

lôøi noùi giaûm, khieâm duï

(coù tính) voâ tröng, khoâng ñaùnh daáu

tính voâ tröng, tính chaát khoâng ñaùnh daáu

khoâng ñöôïc noùi ra, haøm aån

phaùt ngoân, noùi ra

utter

utterance

phaùt ngoân

utterance meaning

variable reference

verbalized

nghóa cuûa phaùt ngoân

sôû chæ khoâng coá ñònh

ñöôïc noùi ra (thaønh lôøi), hieån ngoân

violate

vi phaïm, baát chaáp

(

conversational maxim)

(phöông chaâm hoäi thoaïi)

violation

söï vi phaïm, vieäc baát chaáp

(of conversational maxim)

(phöông chaâm hoäi thoaïi)

well-formed sentence

word

caâu chænh, caâu ñuùng ngöõ phaùp

tꢁ, tiꢋng

word meaning

written form

nghóa cuûa töø

hình thöùc/daïng chöõ vieát

2

39

LIST OF ENGLISH-VIETNAMESE

EQUIVALENT LINGUISTIC TERMS

(

in related groups of notions as well as in alphabetical order)

abbreviation

abstract

additional

adjectival

adjunct

daïng ruùt goïn, daïng tænh löôïc

(coù tính) tröøu töôïng

phuï, boå sung

phuï ngöõ laø tính töø

traïng ngöõ cuûa vò töø

traïng töø

adverb

adverbial (1)

adverbial (2)

ambiguity

(coù tính) traïng ngöõ

phuï ngöõ laø traïng töø

tính mô hoà veà nghóa,

tính löôõng nghóa

lexical ambiguity

structural ambiguity

ambiguous

lexically ambiguous

structurally ambiguous

article

tính löôõng nghóa töø vöïng

tính löôõng nghóa caáu truùc

mô hoà veà nghóa, löôõng nghóa

löôõng nghóa töø vöïng

löôõng nghóa caáu truùc

quaùn töø

definite article

indefinite article

assert

quaùn töø xaùc ñònh

quaùn töø baát ñònh

tuyeân boá

assertion

assume

(söï/lôøi) tuyeân boá

nhaän ñònh

assumption

asymmetric

(vieäc/lôøi) nhaän ñònh

khoâng ñoái xöùng

asymmetrically

anomaly

(moät caùch) khoâng ñoái xöùng

tính baát thöôøng

anomalous

(coù tính) baát thöôøng

2

40

semantically anomalous

baát thöôøng veà ngöõ nghóa

pragmatically anomalous baát thöôøng veà ngöõ duïng

antonym

töø traùi nghóa

binary antonym

gradable antonym

relational antonym/

töø traùi nghóa löôõng phaân

töø traùi nghóa coù thang ñoä

converse töø traùi nghóa nghòch ñaûo

quan heä/tính traùi nghóa

antonymy

binary antonymy

quan heä/tính traùi nghóa löôõng phaân

quan heä/tính traùi nghóa coù thang ñoä

quan heä/tính traùi nghóa nghòch ñaûo

theá ñoái laäp coù-khoâng

lôùp, chuûng loaïi

gradable antonymy

relational antonymy

binary oppositions

class

class membership

collocation (1)

tö caùch laø thaønh vieân cuûa moät lôùp

quan heä keát hôïp

collocation (2)

commonality

keát ngoân, ngöõ coá ñònh

tính chaát chung

compatibility

tính töông hôïp

compatible

(coù tính) töông hôïp

semantically compatible

componential analysis

concrete

töông hôïp veà ngöõ nghóa

söï phaân tích nghóa toá

(coù tính) cuï theå

co-operative principle

constative (1)

nguyeân taéc hôïp taùc

(coù tính) nhaän ñònh

constative (2)

caâu nhaän ñònh

context

ngoân caûnh

context-bound/

context-dependent bò ngoân caûnh raøng buoäc

context-free

contextual

khoâng bò ngoân caûnh raøng buoäc

(thuoäc/coù tính) ngoân caûnh

2

41

continuous scale of values

conversational maxim

maxim of Manner

maxim of Relevance

maxim of Quality

maxim of Quantity

approbation maxim

tact maxim

thang giaù trò lieân tuïc

phöông chaâm hoäi thoaïi

phöông chaâm veà phöông thöùc

phöông chaâm veà tính quan yeáu

phöông chaâm veà chaát

phöông chaâm veà löôïng

phöông chaâm taùn ñoàng

phöông chaâm xöû trí

coù theå ñeám ñöôïc

countable

declarative sentence

definite

caâu traàn thuaät

xaùc ñònh

deixis

tröïc chæ

personal deixis

spatial deixis

temporal deixis

deictic

tröïc chæ ngöôøi

tröïc chæ khoâng gian

tröïc chæ thôøi gian

(coù tính) tröïc chæ

deictic expression/indexical töø tröïc chæ

demonstrative adjective

tính töø chæ xuaát

deny

deniable

phuû nhaän, choái boû

coù theå bò phuû nhaän,

coù theåphuû nhaän ꢌưꢂc

dictionary entry

direct

haïng muïc (lieät keâ) trong töø ñieån

(coù tính) tröïc tieáp

directness

tính tröïc tieáp

distinct

khu bieät

distinction

söï khu bieät

entail

keùo theo

entailment

one-way entailment

two-way entailment

quan heä/caâu keùo theo

quan heä/caâu keùo theo moät chieàu

quan heä/caâu keùo theo hai chieàu

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mutual entailment

entity

quan heä/caâu keùo theo laãn nhau

thöïc theå

etymology

exclusive

töø nguyeân (hoïc)

loaïi tröø

exclusive ‘we’

explicit/verbalized

explicitly

explicitness

extension

felicity condition

figurative language

simile

chuùng toâi

(coù tính) hieån ngoân

(moät caùch) hieån ngoân

tính hieån ngoân

söï/quaù trình môû roäng

ñieàu kieän höõu hieäu

ngoân ngöõ töôïng/gôïi hình

pheùp tyû duï

metaphor

pheùp aån duï

personification

metonymy

pheùp nhaân caùch hoùa

pheùp hoaùn duï

synecdoche

pheùp caûi dung

hyperbole/overstatement

pheùp noùi khoa tröông, ngoa duï

litotes/meiosis/

understatement pheùp noùi giaûm, khieâm duï

irony

pheùp noùi mæa

euphemism

onomatopoeia

semi-onomatopoeia

figure of speech

simile

pheùp noùi kheùo

pheùp duøng töø töôïng thanh

pheùp duøng töø baùn töôïng thanh

hình thaùi tu töø

tyû duï

metaphor

aån duï

dead metaphor

fossilized metaphor

unconcious metaphor

idiom

aån duï cheát

aån duï hoùa thaïch

aån duï voâ thöùc

thaønh ngöõ

2

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fixed expression

live metaphor

caùch bieåu ñaït coá ñònh

aån duï soáng

conscious metaphor

expressionofpersonification

metonymy

aån duï coù yù thöùc

lôøi noùi coù nhaân caùch hoaù

hoaùn duï

synecdoche

lôøi noùi coù pheùp caûi dung

lôøi noùi khoa tröông, ngoa duï

lôøi noùi giaûm, khieâm duï

lôøi noùi giaûm ñeå mꢍa mai

töø kieâng kî

overstatement/hyperbole

understatement

ironical understatement

taboo word

euphemism

onamatopoeic word

lôøi noùi kheùo, uyeån ngöõ

töø töôïng thanh

semi-onamatopoeic word

töø baùn töôïng thanh

vi phaïm, baát chaáp

(phöông chaâm hoäi thoaïi)

flouting/violation

söï vi phaïm, vieäc baát chaáp

of conversational maxim)

(phöông chaâm hoäi thoaïi)

form

sound form/pronunciation hình thöùc/daïng aâm thanh

flout/violate/breach/infrindge

(conversationalmaxim)

(

hình thaùi, hình thöùc, daïng

written form/spelling

grammar

hình thöùc/daïng chöõ vieát

ngöõ phaùp

grammatical

(coù tính) ngöõ phaùp

quy taéc ngöõ phaùp

caáu truùc ngöõ phaùp

(veà maët) ngöõ phaùp

ñuùng ngöõ phaùp

grammatical rule

grammatical structure

grammatically

grammatically correct

hierarchy

(heä) toân ty

hierarchical

(coù tính) toân ty

hierarchical classification

hyponymy

söï phaân loaïi toân ty

quan heä/tính bao nghóa

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44

hyponymic

(coù tính) bao nghóa

quan heä bao nghóa

haï danh

haï danh tröïc tieáp

thöôïng danh

quan heä/tính ñoàng töï

(coù tính) ñoàng töï

khoâng (coù tính) ñoàng töï

töø ñoàng töï

hyponymic relation(ship)

hyponym/subordinate

immediate hyponym

superordinate/hyper(o)nym

homography

homographic

non-homographic

homograph

homophony

homophonic

homophone

quan heä/tính ñoàng aâm dò töï

(coù tính) ñoàng aâm dò töï

töø ñoàng aâm dò töï

homonymy

homonymic

homonym

ideal

quan heä/tính ñoàng aâm ñoàng töï

(coù tính) ñoàng aâm ñoàng töï

töø ñoàng aâm ñoàng töï

(coù tính) lyù töôûng

coù haøm yù laø

implicate

implicature

haøm ngoân

conversational implicature haøm ngoân hoäi thoaïi

conventional implicature

implicit/implied/unverbalized

implicitness

haøm ngoân öôùc ñònh

(coù tính) haøm aån

tính haøm aån

imply

aùm chæ

inclusion

inclusive ‘we’

quan heä bao nghóa

chuùng ta

incompatibility

incompatible

semantically incompatible

incomplete version

tính khoâng töông hôïp

khoâng töông hôïp

khoâng töông hôïp veà ngöõ nghóa

phieân baûn khoâng hoaøn chænh

2

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indefinite

indexical/deictic expression töø tröïc chæ

baát ñònh

indirect

(coù tính) giaùn tieáp

indirectness

infer

tính giaùn tieáp

suy dieãn

inference

söï/ñieàu suy dieãn

coù giaù trò thoâng tin

vaên töï

söï/quaù trình nghi vaán hoaù

(thuoäc/coù tính) töø vöïng

oâ troáng töø vöïng

(yeáu toá) töø vöïng

töø ngöõ coù nghóa toång loaïi

töø ngöõ coù nghóa loaïi bieät

nghóa töø vöïng

informative

inscription

interrogation

lexical

lexical gap

lexical item

generic lexical item

specific lexical item

lexical meaning

lexicon

(voán) töø vöïng

linguistics

ngoân ngöõ hoïc

linguistic

linguistic expression

literal

(thuoäc) ngoân ngöõ

caùch bieåu ñaït baèng ngoân töø

(thuoäc) nghóa ñen

(xeùt veà) nghóa ñen

literally

taken literally

markedness

marked

meaning

denotation/

ñöôïc hieåu theo nghóa ñen

tính hö õu tröng, tính chaát coù ña ùn h da áu

(coù tính) höõu tröng, coù ñaùnh daáu

nghóa

denotative meaning nghóa sôû thò

referential meaning

connotation/

nghóa sôû chæ

connotative meaning nghóa lieân töôûng

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positive connotation

negative connotation

neutral connotation

primary meaning

secondary meaning

literal meaning

figurative meaning

core meaning

nghóa lieân töôûng tích cöïc

nghóa lieân töôûng tieâu cöïc

nghóa lieân töôûng trung hoøa

nghóa nguyeân caáp

nghóa thöù caáp

nghóa ñen

nghóa boùng

nghóa coát loõi

metaphoric meaning

word meaning

nghóa aån duï

nghóa cuûa töø

lexical meaning

sentence meaning

utterance meaning

semantic meaning

pragmatic meaning

morphology

nghóa töø vöïng

nghóa cuûa caâu

nghóa cuûa phaùt ngoân

nghóa ngöõ nghóa

nghóa ngöõ duïng

hình thaùi hoïc

multiple

ña, nhieàu

mutual

laãn nhau

mutually

laãn nhau

mutually exclusive

negation

non-superficial

loaïi tröø laãn nhau

söï/quaù trình phuû ñònh

saâu, saâu hôn

notion

khaùi nieäm

observation

söï/vieäc tuaân thuû

(phöông chaâm hoäi thoaïi)

tuaân thuû

(phöông chaâm hoäi thoaïi)

(

of conversational implicature)

observe

(conversational implicature)

opposite (1)

opposite (2)

optional

ñoái laäp, traùi ngöôïc

caùi ñoái laäp

(coù tính) tuøy choïn

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paraphrase (1)

paraphrase (2)

performative (1)

performative (2)

explicit performative

implicit performative

performative verb

particular

phoûng nghóa

quan heä/caâu phoûng nghóa

(coù tính) haønh ngoân

caâu haønh ngoân

caâu haønh ngoân hieån ngoân

caâu haønh ngoân haøm aån

vò töø haønh ngoân

(coù tính) caù bieät

phonology

politeness

aâm vò hoïc, ngöõ aâm hoïc

tính lòch söï

polysemy

quan heä/tính ña nghóa

(coù tính) ña nghóa

töø ña nghóa

polysemous/polysemic

polysemous word

possessive

(coù tính) sôû höõu

post-nominal

pragmatics

(ñöùng/theo) sau danh töø

ngꢇ duïng hꢈc

pragmatic

pragmatically

pragmatically anomalous

presuppose

(coù tính) ngꢇ duïng

(veà maët) ngꢇ duïng

baát thöôøng veà ngöõ duïng

tieàn giaû ñònh

presupposition

existential presupposition

factual presupposition

tieàn giaû ñònh

tieàn giaû ñònh tꢃn tꢄi

tieàn giaû ñònh hàm thꢀc

non-factual presupposition tieàn giaû ñònh hàm hư

lexical presupposition

structural presupposition

tieàn giaû ñònh tꢁ vꢀng

tieàn giaû ñònh cꢊu trúc

counter-factualpresupposition tieàn giaû ñònh phaûn hàm thꢀc

principle of politeness

proposition

nguyeân taéc lòch söï

meänh ñeà

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redundancy rule

reference

pheùp thöøa

sôû chæ

constant reference

variable reference

co-reference

referent

sôû chæ coá ñònh

sôû chæ khoâng coá ñònh

(quan heä) ñoàng sôû chæ

vaät sôû chæ

regional accent

relation/relationship

relevance

relevant

semantics

gioïng ñòa phöông

(moái) quan heä

tính quan yeáu

(coù tính) quan yeáu

ngꢇ nghꢉa hꢈc

(coù tính) ngꢇ nghꢉa

semantic

semanticfeature/component/property neùt nghóa

primitive semantic feature

semantic field/lexical field/lexical set

neùt nghóa goác

tröôøng tꢁ vꢀng

semantic rule

semantically

quy taéc ngöõ nghóa

(veà maët) ngꢇ nghꢉa

semantically anomolous

semantically compatible

baát thöôøng veà ngöõ nghóa

töông hôïp veà ngöõ nghóa

semantically incompatible khoâng töông hôïp veà ngöõ nghóa

sense

multiple senses

sense relation

nonsense

nghóa

nhieàu nghóa

quan heä veà nghóa

caùi voâ nghóa

caâu

sentence

sentence type

analytic sentence

synthetic sentence

contradiction/

loaïi caâu

caâu phaân tích

caâu toång hôïp

contradictory sentence caâu nghòch lyù

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well-formed sentence

non-sentence

declarative sentence

situation

caâu chænh, caâu ñuùng ngöõ phaùp

(caáu truùc) khoâng phaûi caâu

caâu traàn thuaät

tình huoáng, tình theá

speech

speech act

lôøi noùi, ngoân töø, dieãn ngoân

haønh ñoäng ngoân töø

direct speech act

indirect speech act

locution/locutionary act

illocution/illocutionary act

haønh ñoäng ngoân töø tröïc tieáp

haønh ñoäng ngoân töø giaùn tieáp

haønh ñoäng taïo ngoân

haønh ñoäng taïi ngoân

perlocution/perlocutionary act haønh ñoäng xuyeân ngoân

locutionary meaning/

propositional meaning nghóa meänh ñeà

illocutionary meaning/

illocutionary force

löïc taïi ngoân

speech-act category

tieåu loaïi haønh ñoäng ngoân töø

haønh ñoäng bieåu hieän

haønh ñoäng cam keát

haønh ñoäng tuyeân boá

haønh ñoäng bieåu caûm

representative

commissive

declarative

expressive

directive

haønh ñoäng caàu khieán

haønh ñoäng caàu khieán ñeå xin thoâng tin

rogative

state

khaúng ñònh

statement

state of affairs

structure

(lôøi/caâu) khaúng ñònh

söï tình, söï theå

caáu truùc

symmetry

söï ñoái xöùng

symmetric

symmetrically

synonymy

ñoái xöùng

(moät caùch) ñoái xöùng

quan heä/tính ñoàng nghóa

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true synonymy

partial synonymy

synonym

quan he ä/ tính ño àn g nghóa toa øn pha àn

quan he ä/ tính ño àn g nghóa boä phaän

töø ñoàng nghóa

true synonym

partial synonym

synonymic

töø ñoàng nghóa toaøn phaàn

töø ñoàng nghóa boä phaän

(coù tính) ñoàng nghóa

cuù phaùp

syntax

syntactic

(thuoäc/mang tính) cuù phaùp

(veà maët) cuù phaùp

hoaøn haûo veà cuù phaùp

töø, thuaät ngöõ

syntactically

syntactically perfect

term

terminological

(coù tính) thuaät ngöõ

terminological relationship quan heä giöõa caùc thuaät ngöõ

terminology

thuaät ngöõ

text(ual) grammar

ngöõ phaùp vaên baûn

truth value

giaù trò chaân nguïy, giaù trò chaân lyù

uncountable

unmarkedness

khoâng theå ñeám ñöôïc

tính voâ tröng,

tính chaát khoâng ñaùnh daáu

unmarked

utter

utterance

word

(coù tính) voâ tröng, kho ân g ña ùn h daáu

phaùt ngoân, noùi ra

phaùt ngoân

tꢁ, tiꢋng

content word

function word

word relationship

thꢀc tꢁ

hư tꢁ, tꢁ chꢅc nꢆng

quan heä giöõa caùc töø

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