Lexical Semantics An Introduction Boris Iomdin Russian Language

Lexical Semantics. An Introduction Boris Iomdin Russian Language Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences iomdin@ruslang. ru

Lecture 1. Plan What is semantics? History of the term Semiotics Types of linguistic signs Properties of the linguistic sign Homonymy and synonymy Semantic triangles Sense and meaning Types of meaning

What is semantics? Semantics is the study of meaning communicated through language. The basic task in semantics is to show people communicate meanings with their language. In a broader sense, semantics deals with everything that the listener has to know in order to understand what the speaker said.

La sémantique First occurrence of the term semantics: M. Bréal, Les lois intellectuelles du langage. Fragment de sémantique, 1883 < Greek σημαίνω [sēmainō] ‘to signify’ Bréal: semantics studies the “intellectual laws of language change”. Each language has its own habits and its own logic, not always consistent with the logic of reality. Michel Bréal also invented the marathon race.

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

Die Semasiologie Ch. C. Reisig, Vorlesungen über lateinische Sprachwissenschaft, 1839 < Greek: σημασία [sēmasia] ‘signification, meaning’ Just some short remarks in Reisig’s lectures: semasiology (or Bedeutungslehre) should be added to two existing disciplines: syntax and etymology. It should study relationships between words and their meanings.

Semantics or Semasiology? Semantics and semasiology: conflicting synonymical terms until the 1960 -es: S. Ullmann. The principles of semantics. A linguistic approach to meaning. 1959. H. Kronasser. Handbuch der Semasiologie: kurze Einführung in die Geschichte, Problematik und Terminologie der Bedeutungslehre. 1952

Since 1960 -es: semantics A. -J. Greimas. Sémantique structural. Recherche de métode. 1966 W. Frawley. Linguistic semantics. 1992 W. T. Gordon. Semantic: a bibliography. 1965 – 1978; 1978 – 1985. J. J. Katz. Semantic theory. 1972 G. N. Leech. Semantics. 1974. J. Lyons. Semantics. 2 vols. 1977 F. R. Palmer. Semantics. 1981

Important recent handbooks J. R. Hurford, B. Heasley. Semantics: a coursebook. 1983 Semantik: ein internationales Handbuch der zeitgenössischen Forschung. 1991 T. R. Hoffmann. Realms of meaning: an introduction to semantics. 1993. J. Lyons. Linguistic semantics: an introduction. 1995 J. I. Saced. Semantics. 1997

Three uses of the term Semantics Linguistic semantics: scientific study of all kinds of linguistic meaning, including grammatical meaning, but first of all lexical. Logical semantics: analyzing only the expressions and their designata (Morris, Carnap and others) General semantics: a technique for correcting “certain abuses of language“ (Korzybski). Widely criticized.

Semiotics Still earlier, Greek σημα gave birth to another term: semiotics, proposed by Charles Peirce (1839 -1914). Pierce studied mathematical logic, philosophy, and chemistry. In the 1860 s he began writing on semiotic and defined what a sign is. Bertrand Russell: Pierce was “one of the most original minds of the later nineteenth century, and certainly the greatest American thinker ever. ”

Is this a sign?

Sign (Pierce) “Nothing is a sign unless it is interpreted as a sign”. If S represents some character(s) of object, O, to an Interpreter, then S is a sign of O and the information conveyed to the Interpreter is an Interpretant, I, of O. Semiosis: action, or influence, which is, or involves, a cooperation of three subjects, such as a sign, its object, and its interpretant, this tri-relative influence not being in any way resolvable into actions between pairs. Ch. Pierce, Logic as Semiotic: Theory of Signs.

Types of signs Icons Indexes Symbols

Icon An icon is a sign which would possess the character which renders it significant, even though its object had no existence. An icon and its object are similar in form or structure. Examples: A pencil streak representing a geometrical line. A photograph in the passport representing the passholder. A geographical map representing a country.

Index An index is a sign which would, at once, lose the character which makes it a sign if its object were removed, but would not lose that character if there were no interpretant. The index might be caused by the object. Examples: A bullet-hole as sign of a shot Smoke as sign of fire Fever as sign of flu

Symbol A symbol is a sign which would lose the character which renders it a sign if there were no interpretant. The link between the sign and its object is purely conventional. Examples: Traffic lights Musical notes Interaction of spies

Almost all linguistic signs are… Symbols. The interpreter cannot understand what a sign means if he does not know the convention. But also Icons? Onomatopeia: meow, bow-wow, moo. However: French ouaf, English ribbit, … And Indexes? “Shifters”: I, you; here, there; now, then; …

But not only sounds Visual signs Tactile signs (contacts) Olfactory signs (smells) Gustatory signs (tastes) Examples?

Systems of signs: examples Street lamp signals Money Musical notation Genes Numbering systems Programming languages Gestures Human languages

Language as a sign system Universal: all kinds of information (or almost) can be transmitted by means of language Highly complicated Natural: each human language developed “by itself” for thousands of years Not hereditary: can only be mastered by means of imitation and/or learned

De Saussure: language and speech Human language (system of signs that express ideas) may be divided into 2 components: Langue (the abstract system of language) Parole (individual acts of speech using this system).

De Saussure: synchrony and diachrony Synchronic view: the way a language works in its current state Diachronic view: the way a language changes These views must be distinguished and not confused. Within any current state of the language, it does not matter how the things have been changing before in order to describe the current system.

Changes arise in speech De Saussure: Everything which is diachronic in languages is only so through speech. German: was – waren > war – waren

Two sides of the linguistic sign Classic theory by de Saussure: the signifier (French le signifiant) the signified (French le signifié) • The relation between both sides is arbitrary. • A sign is the basic unit of language (a given language at a given time). • Every language is a complete system of signs.

Two sides of the linguistic sign

Arbitrariness of the linguistic sign [nam] ‘numb’ (English) ‘to us’ (Russian) ‘took’ (German) ‘year’ or ‘five’ (Vietnamese) …

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

Asymmetric dualism of the linguistic sign S. Kartsevski, Du dualisme asymétrique du signe linguistique, Travaux du Cercle linguistique de Prague 1, 1929 We speak and comprehend only “approximately”, without even noticing it Most words have several different meanings, and most meanings can be expressed by several different words.

Homonymy and synonymy One signifier, several signifieds: homonymy English: table, bear, miss, type, lie Russian: пол (‘floor’ / ‘sex’) One signified, several signifiers: synonymy English: speak, talk, utter, say, verbalise, … Czech: mluvit, řečnit, říct, povědět, hovořit, … Lexical semantics mostly deals with synonyms, computational linguistics mostly deals with homonymy and its resolution.

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

Other semantic triangles G. Stern, Meaning and change of meaning, 1931 S. Ullmann, Semantics. An introduction to the science of meaning, 1962 J. Lyons, Semantics. 2 vols, 1977 Different understanding of the relation between meanings, objects and words.

Types of meaning Conceptual meaning: logical interpretation Thematic meaning: What is communicated by the way in which the message is organized in terms of order and emphasis. Associative meaning: see below G. N. Leech, Semantics, 1981

Associative meaning Connotative meaning: What is communicated by virtue of what language refers to. Social meaning: What is communicated of the social circumstances of language use. Affective meaning: What is communicated of the feelings and attitudes of the speaker. Reflected meaning: What is communicated through association with another sense of the expression. Collocative meaning: What is communicated through association with words which tend to occur in the environment of another word.

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

Meaning of proper names A proper name has no meaning? Does Aristotle mean ‘the writer of De Anima’? Does Aristotle was Greek mean ‘The writer of De Anima was Greek’?

Sinn und Bedeutung G. Frege, Über Sinn und Bedeutung, 1892 A = A is not the same thing as A = B. Samuel Clemens is Mark Twain A = A is trivial, but A = B is interesting. Samuel Clemens and Mark Twain have the same reference (Bedeutung), but two different senses (Sinn)

Confusing translations For Sinn, the terms sense, intension, connotation, content, and meaning are used. For Bedeutung, the terms reference, referent, extension, denotation, nominatum, designatum, and meaning are used.

Sense without reference? Non-referring expressions: the greatest integer Odysseus the capital of Czechoslovakia king of France B. Russell: The king of France is bald.

Theory of descriptions B. Russell, On Denoting, 1905 Denoting phrases which do not denote anything: the current Emperor of Germany. Phrases which denote one definite object: the current President of the USA. Phrases which denote ambiguously: a linguist giving lectures on lexical semantics.

Next lecture lexical meaning VS. grammatical meaning