CHAPTER 6 SEMANTICS
CHAPTER 6 SEMANTICS
Hyponymy: Superordinate or Hyponyms
Superordinate:bird tool
Hyponyms: crow hawk duck etc. hammer saw chisel etc.
(or superordinate)
Hyponyms Kestrel sparrowhawk etc. hacksaw jigsaw etc.
H yponymy is a …one-way? relation. We say that being an animal is a necessary condition for being a lion; it is not, however, a sufficient condition, an animal is of course not a type of lion.
Creature
animal bird fish reptile lion dog cow sparrow eagle ostrich trout eel shark snake lizard newt Verbs also enter into hyponymy relations. We can use the test sentence for a simple test: X-ing is a sort of / type of Y-ing.
get move
borrow steal find buy walk run stagger crawl
Thus we can say borrowing is a sort of getting and crawling is a type of moving.
Meronymy and Meronyms
We can use the next systems to show this relationship:
Car body
wheel engine door window etc. arm leg piston valve etc. elbow wrist knee ankle
6.1.1Semantic Features or Componential Analysis
For example: Male Previous Related by
generation birth
aunt -+ -
uncle + + -
mother -+ +
father + + +
son + -+
daughter --+
niece…….
Nephew
grandfather
figure 6.1(adapted from Poole 2000:27) The assignment of Thematic Roles:
We can illustrate such kind of thematic roles in the following sentences:
1. John sold the book to Mary.
agent theme goal
2. Mary bought the book from John.
agent theme source
3. The boy opened the door with the key.
agent theme instrument
4. Mary fell over.
theme/patient
5. John killed Harry.
agent / causer patient
6. They baked me a cake.
agent beneficiary patient
7. The audience enjoyed the play.
experiencer theme
8. John got Mary a present.
agent recipient/ possessor theme
9. John went home.
theme goal
10. The band played in a hall.
agent location
EXERCISES
Exercises I
Which of the following statements are true?
a.Tennis is a hyponym of sport.
b.Pea and vegetable are co-hyponyms.
c.Plant is a superordinate of tree.
https://www.wendangku.net/doc/4410764293.html,mb is a hyponym of creatur
e.
e.Lemon and tomato are co-hyponyms.
f.Poker is a hyponym of game.
g.Game is a hyponym of sport.
h.Poker is a hyponym of sport.
i.Bread is a co-hyponym of butter.
j.Disease is a superordinate influenza.
k.Swing and toy are co-hyponyms.
Exercises II
There are several kinds of antonymy. Please indicate whether the pairs in columns A and B are complementary, gradable, or relational opposites.
A B C
good bad gradable
expensive cheap ________
parent offspring ________
beautiful ugly ________
false true ________
pass fail ________
hot cold ________
legal illegal ________
poor rich ________
fast slow ________
asleep awake ________
husband wife ________
rude polite ________
Exercises III
Complete the following diagram by (a) devising a category that distinguishes the word bus from the word car, and (b) giving the appropriate symbol against each component for the word motorcycle.
Powered carries people four-wheeled
bus + + +
car + + +
van + _ +
bicycle _ + _
motorcycle ………
Exercises IV
For each group of words given as follows, state what semantic feature or features distinguish between the classes of (a) words and (b) words. If asked, also indicate a semantic feature that the (a) words and the (b) words share.
Example: (a) widow, mother, sister, aunt, maid
(b) widower, father, brother, uncle, valet
The (a) and (b) words are “human”.
The (a) words are “female” and the (b) words are “male”.
1.(a). bachelor, man, son, paperboy, pope, chief
(b). bull, rooster, drake, ram
The (a) and (b) words are _________________________________.
The (a) words are _______________________________________.
The (b) words are _______________________________________.
2.(a). pine, elm, ash, weeping willow, sycamore
(b). rose, dandelion, aster, tulip, daisy
The (a) and (b) words are _________________________________.
The (a) words are _______________________________________.
The (b) words are _______________________________________.
3.(a). walk, run, skip, jump, hop, swim
(b) fly, skate, ski, ride, ride, cycle, canoe
The (a) and (b) words are _________________________________.
The (a) words are _______________________________________.
The (b) words are _______________________________________.
4.(a). ask, tell, say, talk, converse
(b). shout, whisper, mutter, drawl, holler
The (a) and (b) words are _________________________________.
The (a) words are _______________________________________.
The (b) words are _______________________________________.
5.(a). absent-present, alive-dead, asleep-awake, married-single
(b). big-small, cold-hot, sad-happy, slow-fast
The (a) and (b) words are _________________________________.
The (a) words are _______________________________________.
The (b) words are _______________________________________.
Exercises V
The following sentences consist of a verb, its noun phrase subject, and various complements and prepositional phrases. Identify the thematic role of each NP by writing agent, theme, instrument, location, source, goal, experiencer, causer, patient, recipient, beneficiary above the noun.
agent theme source instrument Example: [The boy] took [the books] from [the cupboard] with [a handcart]
1.Mary found a ball.
2.The children ran from the playground to the swimming pool.
3.One of the men unlocked all the doors with a paper clip.
4.John melted the ice with a blowtorch.
5.The farmer loaded the hay onto the truck with a pitchfork.
6.Robert filled in the form for his grandmother.
7.Kevin felt ill.
8.The monster was hiding under the bed.
Exercises VI
Identify the relations between the following pairs of sentences:
1. a. Tom?s wife is pregnant.
b. Tom has a wife.
2. a. This is my first visit to your country.
b. I have been to your country before.
3. a. Jack swims.
b. Jack swims beautifully.
4. a. He was a bachelor all his life.
b. He never married all his life.
5. a. My sister will soon be divorced.
b. My sister is a married woman.
6. a. He speaks English.
b. He speaks a foreign language.
Exercises VII
The following sentences may be lexically or structurally ambiguous, or both. Provide paraphrases showing you comprehend all the meanings.
1.I saw him walking by the bank.
2.The police were urged to stop drinking by the fifth.
3.Wanted: Man to take care of cow that does not smoke or drink (actual notice).
4.She can?t bear children.
5.Every man loves a woman.
Exercises VIII
In section 6.1.3, figure 6.1, we have given some semantic features to distinguish the subset of English kinship vocabulary including aunt, uncle, father, mother, son, and daughter. Now try to complete the figure by including the other items representing the kinship relations such as grandfather, grandmother, grandson, grand-daughter, sister, brother, cousin, nephew,and niece. If necessary, please add some other semantic features to distinguish them.
Male Previous Related by
generation birth
aunt -+ -
uncle + + -
mother -+ +
father + + +
son + -+
daughter --+
grandfather ………
grandmother
……
Niece ………
Suggested answers to Chapter 5
Exercise I
e.g.: The prisoners brutally attacked the guard who spotted them.
Two clauses: 1. The prisoners brutally attacked the guard…--------- main clause
2. ... who spotted them. ---------relative clause
They are both declarative clauses. In clause 1, the prisoners (NP) is the subject; brutally (Adv.) is an adjunct modifying the VP (attacked the guard …); attacked (V) is the predicate; and the guard who spotted them(NP) is the complement of the sentence. In the second clause, who is the subject; spotted is the predicate; and them is the complement. The whole clause is used as a relative clause modifying the antecedent NP the guard.
Exercise II
Draw the sub-trees for the italicized phrases in the following sentences with the X-bar format.
1.Angry men in dark glasses roamed the streets.
NP
N’
angry N’
N PP
men
P’
P NP
in
N’
dark N
glasses
2.My aunt and uncle’s trip to Alaska was wonderful.
DP
D’
NP
D NP
‘s trip my NP
NP1CoordP
aunt
Coord NP2
and uncle
3.The reporter realized that the senator lied.
CP
C’
C IP
that
the senator I’
I VP
(-ed)
V’
V
Lie
4. A stranger cleverly observed that a dangerous spy from CIA lurked in the house.
IP
NP I’
A N’I VP
(-ed)
N cleverly V’
stranger
V CP
observe
C’
C IP
that
a dangerous spy from CIA I’
I VP
(-ed)
V’
V’PP
in the house
V
lurk
Exercise III
Using one or more of the constituency tests ( i.e., stand alone, move as a unit, replacement by a pronoun.) discussed in the chapter, determine which boldfaced portions in the sentences are constituents. Provide the grammatical category of the constituents.
1.Tom found a lovely puppy in the house.
A lovely puppy is a constituent. It is an NP; It can be moved as a unit to the front
of the sentence: it is a lovely puppy that Tom found in the house. It can stand alone as the answer to the question: what did Tom find in the house?
2.The light in this room is terrible. (not a constituent.)
3.Jack and Jerry are fighting over the bone. (a constituent.)
4.I gave a bone to Jack and to Jerry yesterday. (a constituent: I gave a bone to Jack
yesterday and to Jerry.)
5.I gave a bone to Jack and to Jerry today.(not a constituent: *I gave a bone to Jack
and today to Jerry.)
6.Sam asked if he could play soccer. (a constituent.)
Exercise IV
In terms of C-selection restrictions, explain why the following sentences are ungrammatical:
1.*Those women located. (locate is a verb which must be followed by a
complement: those women located a town on a map.)
2.*Robert is fond that his children love animals.(fond must be followed by a PP
complement: fond of sth./doing sth.)
3.*The children laughed the man. (laugh is a verb followed by a PP: laugh at …)
4.*Lisa gave a book. (give is a verb with 3 arguments; thus we must provide another
argument after give: Lisa gave a book to him or Lisa gave him a book.)
Exercise V
Paraphrase and draw tree diagrams for each of the following sentences in two ways to show that you understand the ambiguity involved.
1.The student is a dirty street fighter.
a. a dirty [street fighter].
b. a [dirty street] fighter.
2.They said she would go yesterday.
a. Yesterday they said she would go.
b. She would go yesterday, they said.
3.The magician touched the child with the wand.
a. The magician touched the child who is with the wand
b. With the wand, the magician touched the child.
4.Anna threw the book that Mary had been reading in the study.
a. The book that Mary had been reading, Anna threw it in the study.
b. The book that Mary had been reading in the study was thrown by Anna.
5.Who would you like to visit?
a. Would you like who to visit?
b. Would you like to visit who?
All these ambiguities could be demonstrated by tree diagrams. You can refer to this chapter to do this.
Exercise VI
Analyze the following sentences, showing their structure is build up in a pairwise fashion by successive merger operations.(Assume that don’t is a single word which belongs to the same category as words like must, might, etc., and that infinitival to sometimes (but not always)has a specifier/subject of its own).
1.She is trying to solve the problem.
IP
D I?
she I VP
(is…v-ing) V IP
try D I?
(PRO) I VP
to V DP
solve D N
the problem.
2.I would imagine she has forgotten them.
IP
DP I’
I would VP
Imagine CP
(that) IP
she I’
I VP
(has, -n)
forget them
3.They don?t seem keen to approve the plan to cut the budget.
IP
D I?
they I VP
don?t V AP
seem Adj. IP
keen I VP
to V DP
approve D N
the N?
N IP
plan to cut the budget
4.They are expecting you to contact them.
5.He wants to try to help others.
( 4 and 5 are omitted )
Exercise VII
The tree diagrams below representing the structures of a variety of different sentences. For each of the five numbered positions in each structure, say what kinds of item (overt or covert) can occupy the position, and what determines the choice of item occupying each position.
(a). IP
D I?
(John)I VP
(-s)V IP
want D I?
(PRO)I VP
(or his wife)
(to) V DP
buy D N
(a) car
(1): John, he, she, ……
(2): -s, -ed, would, should…
(3): overt or covert: him, his wife, Zhang shan,… or PRO.
(4): to
(5): a, the ,this, that,…
(d). IP
DP I?
D NP I VP
(the) N PP (have, -n)V PP leaders P DP vote P DP
(of) D N (for) D N
the (city) the bill
Exercise VIII
Draw a separate tree diagram to represent the structure of each of the following sentences, using arrows to show what has moved from where to where; discuss the role played by traces in accounting for the syntax of these sentences.
(1)a. what did you say had happened to who ?
b. *who did you say what had happened to ?
CP
C’
What
C IP
did
Spec. I’
you
I VP
t
V IP
say
Spec. I’
t
I VP
(had…-n)
V PP
happen
P NP
to who
CP
C’
Who
C IP
did
Spec. I’
you
I VP
t
V IP
say
Spec. I’
what
I VP
(had…-n)
V PP
happen
P NP
to t
(2)a. The neofascists, I wouldn?t want to win the election.
b. *The neofascists, I wouldn?t wanna win the election.
CP
C’
The neofascists
C IP
(topic)
Spec. I’
I
I VP
wouldn’t
V IP
want
Spec. I’
t
I VP
to
V DP
win
D NP
the election
(3)a. How many people do you wanna invite to your party ?
CP
C’
how many people
C IP
(do)
Spec. I’
you
I VP
t
V IP
(want)
I’
I VP
( to)
V NP
invite
NP PP
t to your party
b.*How many people do you wanna come to your party ?
CP
C’
how many people
C IP
(do)
Spec. I’
you
I VP
t
V IP
(want)
Spec I’
(t )
I VP
( to)
V PP
Come to your party Suggested answers to Chapter 6
Exercise I
Which of the following statements are true?
a. tennis is a hyponym of sport---------------T
b.pea and vegetable are co-hyponyms------ F
c.plant is a superordinate of tree-------------T
https://www.wendangku.net/doc/4410764293.html,mb is a hyponym of creature-------------T
e.lemon and tomato are co-hyponyms-------T
f.poker is a hyponym of game----------------T
g.game is a hyponym of sport-----------------T
h.poker is a hyponym of sport-----------------T
i.bread is a co-hyponym of butter------------T
j.disease is a superordinate influenza---------T
k. swing and toy are co-hyponyms-------------F
Exercise II
There are several kinds of antonymy. Please indicate whether the pairs in columns A and B are complementary, gradable, or relational opposites.
A B C
good bad gradable
expensive cheap gradable
parent offspring _relational
beautiful ugly _gradable
false true _complementary
pass fail complementary
hot cold gradable
legal illegal complememtary
poor rich gradable
fast slow gradable
asleep awake complementary
husband wife relational
rude polite gradable
Exercise III
Complete the following diagram by (a) devising a category that distinguishes the word bus from the word car, and (b) giving the appropriate symbol against each component for the word motorcycle.
Powered carries four-wheeled public/ with
people fixed stops
and routes bus + + + +
car + + + _
van + _ + _
bicycle _ + _ _
motorcycle + + _ _
Exercise IV
For each group of words given as follows, state what semantic feature or features distinguish between the classes of (a) words and (b) words. If asked, also indicate a semantic feature that the (a) words and the (b) words share.
Example: (a). widow, mother, sister, aunt, maid.
(b). widower, father, brother, uncle, valet.
The (a) and (b) words are “human”.
The (a) words are “female” and the (b) words are “male”.
1.(a). bachelor, man, son, paperboy, pope, chief.
(b). bull, rooster, drake, ram.
The (a) and (b) words are _____animate, male______.
The (a) words are ___human,_male_______.
The (b) words are animal, male_______.
2.(a). pine, elm, ash, weeping willow, sycamore.
(b). rose, dandelion, aster, tulip, daisy.
The (a) and (b) words are ____plants_________________________.
The (a) words are __________trees__________________________.
The (b) words are __________flowers________________________.
3.(a). walk, run, skip, jump, hop, swim.
(b) fly, skate, ski, ride, ride, cycle, canoe.
The (a) and (b) words are __move___or____a change in location__.
The (a) words are _move on feet__________.
The (b) words are _move with an instrument_.
4.(a). ask, tell, say, talk, converse.
(b). shout, whisper, mutter, drawl, holler.
The (a) and (b) words are ________manner of speaking________.
The (a) words are ________say sth. in a Noamal manner________.
The (b) words are ________say sth, in an abNoamal/unnatural way.
5.(a). absent-present, alive-dead, asleep-awake, married-single.
(b). big-small, cold-hot, sad-happy, slow-fast
The (a) and (b) words are ______antonyms_____________.
The (a) words are _____complementary antonyms_______.
The (b) words are _____gradable antonyms_____________.
Exercise V
The following sentences consist of a verb, its noun phrase subject, and various complements and prepositional phrases. Identify the thematic role of each NP by writing agent, theme, instrument, location, source, goal, experiencer, causer, patient, recipient, beneficiary above the noun.
agent theme source instrument Example: [The boy] took [the books] from [the cupboard] with [a handcart].
experiencer theme
1. [Mary] found [a ball].
agent source goal
2. [The children] ran from [the playground] to [the swimming pool].
agent theme instrument
3. [One of the men] unlocked [all the doors] with [a paper clip].
causer patient instrument
4. [John] melted [the ice] with [a blowtorch].
agent theme goal instrument
5. [The farmer] loaded [the hay] onto[ the truck] with [a pitchfork].
agent patient beneficiary
6. [Robert ] filled in [the form] for [his grandmother].
experiencer
7. [Kevin] felt ill.
agent location
8. [The monster] was hiding under [the bed].
Exercise VI
Identify the relations between the following pairs of sentences:
1.Sentence a presupposes sentence b.
2.Sentence a is inconsistent/contradictory with sentence b.
3.Sentence b entails sentence a.
4.Sentence a is synonymous with sentence b.
5.Sentence a presupposes sentence b.
6.Sentence b entails sentence a.
Exercise VII
The following sentences may be lexically or structurally ambiguous, or both.