introduction to linguistics meaning and use

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Introduction to linguistics I:Introduction to linguistics I:Meaning and UseMeaning and Use

Summer Term 2006Summer Term 2006

Daniel WiechmannDaniel Wiechmann

daniel.wiechmann(at)uni!ena.dedaniel.wiechmann(at)uni!ena.de

www.danielwiechmann.netwww.danielwiechmann.net

0"6#$%##&"#0"6#$%##&"#

'ice hour: Mo ".00 #.00'ice hour: Mo ".00 #.00



Scoe o this courseScoe o this course

$.$. *rere+uisites*rere+uisites

a.a. What is linguistic ,nowledge-What is linguistic ,nowledge-

. . What are the unctions o language-What are the unctions o language-

c.c. What are the design eatures o natural language-What are the design eatures o natural language-d.d. What ranches and methods are there in linguistics-What ranches and methods are there in linguistics-

2. Meaning: /roaches to the semantics o natural2. Meaning: /roaches to the semantics o natural

languageslanguages

". e1ond meaning: Seech /ct Theor1 and ricean". e1ond meaning: Seech /ct Theor1 and ricean

InerenceInerence



3ourse schedule3ourse schedule

session to)ic reading

$%.#. $ introductor1 session n.a.

26.#. 2

the sign 4 unctions o language/,ma!ian et al. $%%& . &% /5D

Diren78ersoor $%%97200# $#

".&. " linguistic ,nowledge :rom,in7;odman $%%9 "2<

$0.&. # design eatures o language =ule $%%6 . $%6%

$<.&. & ranches and methods in linguistics Saeed 3h. $ "22

2#.&. 6 meaning> thought and realit1 Saeed 3h. 2 2"&2

"$.&. < (cont) (cont)

<.6. 9 word meaning Saeed 3h. " &"<%

$#.6. % sentence relations and truth Saeed 3h. # <%$06

2$.6. $0 (cont) (cont)29.6. $$ ricean ma?ims Saeed 3h. < $<2202

2%.6. $2 (cont) (cont)

&.<. $" seech act theor1 Saeed 3h. 9 20"22<

$2.<. $# (cont) (cont)

$%.<. $& inal e?am ood @uc,

Introduction to @inguistics I: Meaning and Use7 Summer Term 20067 Daniel Wiechmann7

p r

e l i m i n a r i e s

s e m a n t i c s

p r a g m a t i c s



3ourse re+uirements3ourse re+uirements

$. 3ome to class reared> and articiate$. 3ome to class reared> and articiate

2. Short homewor, assignments as,ing 1ou to2. Short homewor, assignments as,ing 1ou to

discuss (some asect o) a te?tdiscuss (some asect o) a te?t

". inal e?am". inal e?am



;ecommendations: eneral Intro;ecommendations: eneral Intro

/,ma!ian et al. (200$)/,ma!ian et al. (200$)

@inguistics: /n@inguistics: /n

Introduction to @anguageIntroduction to @anguageand 3ommunication.and 3ommunication.

3amridge> M/: MIT3amridge> M/: MIT

*ress*ress



;ecommendations: ;esource;ecommendations: ;esource

uAmann ($%%%)uAmann ($%%%)

;outledge Dictionar1 o;outledge Dictionar1 o

@anguage and@anguage and

@inguistics.@inguistics. B IS5 0#$&20"$%9IS5 0#$&20"$%9

@e?i,on der@e?i,on der

SrachwissenschatSrachwissenschat B IS5 "&20#&20"0IS5 "&20#&20"0



;ecommendations: 3ourse oo, ;ecommendations: 3ourse oo,

Saeed (200")Saeed (200")

SemanticsSemantics

B IS5:: 06"$226%"$06"$226%"$



What is (natural) language-What is (natural) language-

@anguage is a@anguage is a system ofsystem of

communicationcommunication

Human languageHuman language is theis the mostmostpowerful communicationpowerful communication systemsystem in the ,nown uniersein the ,nown unierse



What is (natural) language-What is (natural) language-

CC 5atural language onl1 alies to a 5atural language onl1 alies to alanguage that has eoled naturall1>language that has eoled naturall1>and the stud1 o natural languageand the stud1 o natural language

rimaril1 inoles natie (irst rimaril1 inoles natie (irstlanguage) sea,ers.language) sea,ers.

The understanding o naturalThe understanding o naturallanguages reeals much aout howlanguages reeals much aout how

the human mind and the humanthe human mind and the human rain unction. rain unction.



What is linguistics-What is linguistics-

@inguistics is the scientiic@inguistics is the scientiicstud1 o human language.stud1 o human language.

Eow do we get rom the h1sicalEow do we get rom the h1sical roerties o the sound waes in roerties o the sound waes inutterances to the intentions outterances to the intentions osea,ers towards others insea,ers towards others in

conersations-conersations-

B switch to raat isualiFation aout hereswitch to raat isualiFation aout here

B sound snietsound sniet




@inguistic descrition is an@inguistic descrition is an

attemt to relect a sea,erGsattemt to relect a sea,erGs

(unconscious) ,nowledge aout(unconscious) ,nowledge aouthis natie language.his natie language.

This descrition is deided into aThis descrition is deided into a

set o suields (ranches)set o suields (ranches)




ranches oranches o

linguistics (core):linguistics (core):

B *honetics*honetics

B *honolog1*honolog1

B Morholog1Morholog1

B S1nta?S1nta?

B SemanticsSemantics B *ragmatics*ragmatics

Introduction to *honetics

and *honolog1

Introduction (II):Morhos1nta?

Introduction (I):

Meaning and Use



What else is there-What else is there-

(eriheral ranches)(eriheral ranches)

*s1cholinguistics*s1cholinguistics B 5eurolinguistics 5eurolinguistics

3omutational linguistics3omutational linguistics B 3oruslinguistics3oruslinguistics

Discourse anal1sisDiscourse anal1sis

Eistorical linguisticsEistorical linguistics

/lied linguistics/lied linguistics H...H...

5atural @anguage *rocessing



S1molic units (signs)S1molic units (signs)

@anguage can e iewed as a s1stem o signs> i.e.@anguage can e iewed as a s1stem o signs> i.e. airings o orm and meaning. airings o orm and meaning.

/ sign is something which/ sign is something which stands for stands for somethingsomethingelse.else.

Two sides o the coin:

Form and Meaning

SIGN meaning

orm



Semantics The stud1 oSemantics The stud1 o

meaning in languagemeaning in language

i. I did not mean to hurt 1ou.

ntent on

ii. Ee neer sa1s what he means.

ntent on to convey mean ng

iii. She neer means what she sa1s.

ntent on d verg ng from mean ng

___________________________

*3. 'gden> 3. J. 4 I. /. ;ichards. $%2". The meaning

of meaning . @ondon: Jegan *aul.





i. @ie without aith has no meaning.

value, s gn f cance

ii. What is the meaning o carnivorous -

language mean ng

iii. What do 1ou mean 1 the word concept -

speaker mean ng

i. Dar, clouds mean rain.

ndex cal mean ng





i. Ee means well> ut heKs rather clums1.

fr endly d spos t on, ntent ons

ii. It was Lohn I meant not Earr1.reference

iii. ame and riches meant nothing to the true

scholar. importance,

s gn f cance




meaning o languagemeaning o language

Language/l ngu st c mean ng

Reference

Speaker mean ng

@inguistic e?ressions hae

(conentional) meanings

@inguistics e?ressions standin some relation to an e?tra

linguitic realit1 (world)

What sea,ers tr1 tocommunicate is usuall1richer than what is said(strictl1 sea,ing).




meaning o languagemeaning o language

Language/l ngu st c mean ng

Reference

Speaker mean ng

an,N :

$. inancial institution

2. @and sloing along each side oa rier

an,N

S$: What time is it-

S2: Well> the mil,man has !ustcome.



unctions o languageunctions o language



SignsSigns

What relations can hold etween orm and meaning-

Sign: airing o orm and meaning S

erdinand de Saussure ($9&<$%$")



SignsSigns

motiated not motiated

(aritrar1)

lin, etween and S

contiguit1 similarit1 conention

Index SymbolIcon

3.S. *eirce ($9"%$%$#)



SignsSigns

i. signost or traic ointing towards the direction o the ne?t town

ii. inerted triangle (traic sign)iii. smo,e

i. smo,eN. raising o e1erowsi. " (/raic numer)

ii. III (;oman numer)



SignsSigns

contiguit1

similarit1

aritrariness

Sign /

Sign



The rincile o inde?icalit1 in languageThe rincile o inde?icalit1 in language

i. I am now here




Inde?ical (deictic) e?ressions

I> 1ou> he>...

5ow> then> tomorrow ...Eere> there> ...come> go> ...

H...

5eed to e interretedagainst a deictic centre




deictic orientation ersus inherent orientation



The rincile o iconicit1 in languageThe rincile o iconicit1 in language

I. rinciple of se!uential order

8irginia got married and had a a1ill ainted the green door|door green

II. rinciple of distance

I made her leaeI wanted her to leae

I hoed that she would leae

III. rinciple of !uantity

ThatGs a looooooong stor1



/ simle model o/ simle model o

communicationcommunication

concentrates on the (intentional) Ctranser o inormation

(i) I did not manage to get my ideas on paper (ii) The lecturer did not get his ideas across



Ohler IOhler I

Jarl Ohler ($9<%$%6")

Die Dinge

Piner (sender) Der /ndere (receier)

'rganum



Ohler II: 'rganon ModellOhler II: 'rganon Modell

Jarl Ohler ($9<%$%6")



Multile leels: /n e?amleMultile leels: /n e?amle

Scenario:/ and are sitting in a car. / is driing. is on assenger seat.

B:“It’s green.”

Aspects of the message:QSacherhaltsinormation (descripti"e):

The traiclights indicate that crossing the road is now ermitted.Q/ell (conati"e):

et goingRQeFiehungshinweis (phatic):

=our reaction time is longer than mineQSelstoenarung (emoti"e):

I am in a hurr1R



LacosonLacoson

;oman Lacoson ($9%6$%92)



Communication functions

$ referential ( conte?tual inormation)2 poetic ( autotelic)" emotive ( sele?ression)

# conative ( ocatie or imeratie addressing oreceier)& phatic ( chec,ing channel wor,ing)6 metalingual ( chec,ing code wor,ing)


LacosonLacoson



C'ne o the si? unctions is alwa1sthe dominant unction in a te?t and

usuall1 related to the t1e o te?t.

or e?amle> in oetr1> the dominant unction is the

oetic unction: the ocus is on the message itsel.

LacosonLacoson




The roerties o languageThe roerties o language

i. me sneeFing

ii. me shiting around in m1 seatiii. me wearing nonmatching soc,s

i. I would li,e to al1 or the acant osition

communicati"e "s. informati"e signals

(intentional s. Unintentional)

e?amles: signals



What is (natural) language:What is (natural) language:

Design eaturesDesign eatures /ritrariness

There is no rational relationshi etween a sound and its meaning (i.e. there isnothing hous1 aout a house.)

Discreteness @ is comosed o discrete units that are used in comination to create meaning

Dualit1

@ wor,s on two leels at once> a surace leel and a semantic (meaningul) leel. *roductiit1

/ inite numer o units can e used to create an ininite numer o utterances.Q(c. recursion)

Dislacement @anguages can e used to communicate ideas aout things that are not in the

immediate icinit1 either satiall1 or temorall1. 3ultural transmission

@anguage is assed rom one language user to the ne?t> consciousl1 or

unconsciousl1.



/n aside:/n aside:This one oo, or this lonel1 island...This one oo, or this lonel1 island...

"In order to understand recursion, one must first understand recursion."

"If you already no! !hat recursion is, ustremem#er the ans!er. $ther!ise, find

someone !ho is standing closer to %ouglas &ofstadter than you are' then as him or her

!hat recursion is."

Douglas Eostadter ($%#&)



Jnowledge o language

/ sea,ers linguistic,nowledge is tacit> i.e.

unconscious.

@inguistics is the attemt toma,e this ,nowledge e?licit.

(ma1e switch to rocessing +uic,l1)



#nowledge of the sound system

$phonology%

identification of sounds and sound

se!uences in language

#nowledge of words

$lexical semantics%sound se!uences signify some

concept or meaning

#nowledge of linguistic structures

$morphology and syntax%

&interpretation of language is

structure dependent




*henomenon $:

(s) /ll the assengers on the lane would rather listen to /ott and3ostello than watch another crumm1 moie.

*henomenon 2:

(s$) Sara is a graduate student.

(s2) William eliees Hthat Sara is a graduate student.

(s") *eter said Hthat William eliees Hthat Sara is a graduate student.(s#) Mar1 remar,ed Hthat *eter said Hthat William eliees Hthat Sara is a

graduate student.Hs$> ... > sn




rom this it ollows that a sea,er (S) cannot hae

siml1 memoriFed the comlete set o sentences oa language (@).

(the ,nowledge o @ cannot e characteriFed as alist o sentences)

/s a wor,ing h1othesis> we will sa1 that linguistic

'nowledge is etter conceied o as consisting o a initeset o rules and rinciles (mental grammar) alied to

a inite set o le?ical items (mental lexicon).


l d l



(i) Lohn is diicult to loe.(i) It is diicult to loe Lohn.

(ii) Lohn is an?ious to go.(ii) VIt is an?ious to go Lohn.

(iii) Lohn romised me to go.

(i) Lohn ersuaded me to go.

Jnowledge o language:curious stu

l d l d



(ompetence and erformance

(i) / man that a woman loes ...(ii) / man that a woman that a child ,nows loes ...(iii) / man that a woman that a child that a ird saw ,nows loes ...

(i?) / man that a woman that a child that a ird that I heard saw ,nows loes ...

/d ininitum (-)

Jnowledge o language and erormance



Structure dependence principleStructure dependence principle::

/ll grammatical oerations are structure deendent./ll grammatical oerations are structure deendent. e.g. +uestion ormation rule in Pnglish (1es7noe.g. +uestion ormation rule in Pnglish (1es7no

+uestions)+uestions)




Structure deendenc1:deendenc1:/n e?amle/n e?amle

Mininmal assumtion: 5o structure deendenc1

Declaratie: Lohn can lit &00 ounds

$ 2 " # &Interrogatie: 3an Lohn lit &00 ounds-X;: Moe item 2 to initial osition

5ow> consider: Man1 linguists are thought to e odd. The eole who are standing there will leae soon.



Xuestion ormation rule

To orm a (iolar) +uestion rom a

declarative sentence> locate the irstauiliary ver# that ollows the su#ect o thesentence and lace it immediatel1 to the let

o the su!ect.

S h d C,



So> what do we C,now aout

language

Whereer humans e?ists> language e?ists.There are no rimitie language B all languages are e!ually complex/ll languages change through time

The relationships etween forms and meanings is or the most artarbitrary> ut.../ll languages utiliFe a finite set o discrete sounds (7orms) that are comined

to orm meaningul elements (words)> which themseles orm an infinite set o ossile sentences/ll grammars (mental grammars7cometence) contain rules or the formation

o words and sentences) ut....



loc, II: Semantics

Saeed ($%%<)Saeed ($%%<)

3hater $:Semantics in @inguistics3hater $:Semantics in @inguistics



Three challenges

$. 3ircularit1

2. 3onte?t

". Status o linguistic ,nowledge



$. 3ircularit1

Eow can we state the meaning o a word> e?cet in otherwords> either in the same or a dierent language-

P?amle:

erret: domesticated alino ariet1 o the olecat> ustela putorius> red or hunting raits> rat> etc.

3an we eer ste outside this circle> i.e. ste outsidelanguage to descrie language-

Three challenges



2. 3onte?t

eatures o conte?t are art o the meaning o an utterance

P?amle:

CMarelous weather 1ou hae here in Ireland

Three challenges



". Status o linguistic ,nowledge

Eow can we ma,e sure that our deinitions o a words meaningare correct-

;elated issues:linguistic ,nowledge B enc1cloedic ,nowledgeidiolect

Three challenges



Meeting the challenges

3oing with circularit1:

Designing a metalanguage with which we can descrie

the semantics and the rules o all languages

o!ect language B metalanguage

ut: Is such a metalanguage attainale-



3oing with relating linguistic to enc1cloedic:

metalanguage might hel here as well> since meaning

reresentations inoles arguing aout which elementso ,nowledge should e included




3oing with conte?t:

traditional solution:

slit e?ressions meaning:

conte?tree elements o meaning (semantics)local conte?tual eects (ragmatics)

ut: This is not e?actl1 eas1.




'utloo,

*ttempt to create a semantic metalanguage

5'TP:/lthough chater 2 touches some o the issues alread1> the attemt to create

a semantic metalanguage will e made onl1 in chater $0 o the oo,> whichwe will not e concerned with in this course.

We will onl1 osere semantic relations among words (3h. ") and semanticrelations that hold etween sentences (3h. #).

These latter relations will e descried 1 means o the notion o truth>which has grown out o the stud1 o logic

Eoweer> we will hae a loo, at the semantics7ragmaticsdistinction(3h. <).

Meaning Thought and ;ealit1



Meaning> Thought and ;ealit1

(3hater 2)

CCEow is it ossile H... that 1 uttering strings o sounds I canEow is it ossile H... that 1 uttering strings o sounds I can

cone1 inormation to a listener aout what is haening in acone1 inormation to a listener aout what is haening in a

scene> sa1 outside m1 window-scene> sa1 outside m1 window-



;eerence as meaning

The reerential theor1 holds that the meaning o a roer name is siml1 the indiidual to which> inthe conte?t o its use> the name reers.

(indiidual: numericall1 singular thing)




(i) I saw(i) I saw Michael +ac'sonMichael +ac'son on teleision last night.on teleision last night.

(ii) Wee !ust lown ac, rom(ii) Wee !ust lown ac, rom arisaris..

Michael Lac,son : reerring e?ression

Micheal Lac,son : reerent


(3hater 2)




P?tension and Denotation

dogN set o (ossile)

dogs

term e?tension

denotes


(3hater 2)



;eerential theor1 o meaning

@inguistic e?ression t1e real world reerent

roer names denote indiiduals(Lohn> erman1> earth)

common names denote sets o indiiduals(girl> lanet> countr1)

ers denote actionsad!ecties denote roerties o indiidualsaders denote roerties o actionssentences denote situations7 eents




;eerring (;) s. nonreerring (5;) e?ressions

e?amles 5; e?ressions(and, so, very, may#e, if, not, all )

ut nouns are ; e?ressions> arent the1-

Eae a loo, at indeinite noun hrases:

(iii) The1 erormed a cholec1stectom1 this morning(i) / cholec1stectom1 is a serious rocedure


(3hater 2)




3onstant s. ariale reerence

() I wrote to 1ou.

(i) She ut it in m1 oice.

P?ressions with ariale reerence deictic(or inde?ical) e?ressions


(3hater 2)




The reerential aroach to meaning: *rolems

i. In the ainting a unicorn is ignoring the maiden

ii. World War Three might egin in the al,ansiii. atman is a wim

I a sea,er using these e?ressions is not

reerring to an1thing in realit1> and suchreference is meaning > how do thesesentence hae meaning-


(3hater 2)




urther rolems

Pen i we are tal,ing aout things in realit1> there is notalwa1s a onetoone relationshi etween a linguistic

e?ression and the thing we want to identi1

i. Then in $%9$ *nswar ,l Sadat was assassinated.

ii. Then in $%9$ the resident of ,gypt was assassinated.


(3hater 2)

Same reerence> ut same meaning-



Sense and reerence

ottlo regeottlo rege

$9#9$%2&$9#9$%2&

erman mathematician> logician> and hilosoher whowor,ed at the Uniersit1 o Lena.

rege essentiall1 reconceied the disciline o logic 1constructing a ormal s1stem which> in eect>constituted the irst Gredicate calculusK.

In this ormal s1stem> rege deeloed an anal1sis o+uantiied statements and ormaliFed the notion o aGrooK in terms that are still acceted toda1.

rege conceied a comrehensie hilosoh1 olanguage that man1 hilosohers still ind insightul.



regerege

rege ounded the modern disciline o logic 1 deeloing a sueriormethod o ormall1 reresenting the logic o thoughts and inerences.

igure: reges egrisschrit ($9<%) alread1 had the e?ressie ower o modern redicatecalculus.



reges uFFlesreges uFFles

reges *uFFle /out Identit1 Statements

Eere are some e?amles o identit1 statements:

$$<Y$"6 2&". The morning star is identical to the eening star. Mar, Twain is Samuel 3lemens.

ill is Deies ather.




@einiFK @aw o the identity of indiscernibles states that i there is no wa1 o telling two entitiesaart then the1 are one and the same entit1.

That is> entities and y are identical i and onl1 i

an1 redicate ossessed 1 is also ossessed 1 y and ice ersa.

x and y can be substituted salva veritate



Eoweer> the1 are oiousl1 cogniti"ely different:

gien: Maril1n Monroe (/) 5orma Lean a,er ()

/ is more inormatie than //

Someone who eliees

that Marilyn Monroe is the most beautiful woman of all time

need not hae the same attitude towards the roositionthat Norma +ean -a'er is the most beautiful woman of all time





Interim conclusion:

There is more to meaning then reerence ( i.e. sense)

Sense laces a new leel etween words and the

world: the leel o mental representation


(3hater 2)





(3hater 2)

;eerential theor1 o meaning

content word

(e.g. 5>8> /d!> /d)

reerence (e?tension)entities (or sets7classes)

denotes

';M:

m1 houseNhouseN

MP/5I5:





(3hater 2)

content word

(e.g. 5>8> /d!> /d)


denotes

sense (intension)concets (mental res)

means

determines

Semiotic triangle or content words




eferential theory of meaning


(3hater 2)

content word

(e.g. noun)


denotes

sense (intension)concets (mental res)

means

determines






(3hater 2)

content word

(e.g. 8)


redicates aout

*redicate7;elation

means

is true o






(3hater 2)

content word

(e.g. 8)

set o entities(Mar1> *eter> all)

denotes

sense Z concet

means

determines






(3hater 2)

content word

(e.g. 8)

sense Z concet

means


So> what e?actl1 is a concet-Unless we hae a good idea owhat a concet is> we are let withrather emt1 deinition.





(3hater 2)

(oncepts:

/hat form can we assign to concepts0

Eow do children ac+uire them-

(we will ocus on lexicalised concets)





(3hater 2)

Necessary and $1ointly% sufficient conditions:

/2M*N

3 is a woman if and only if 4

/here 4 is a list of attribute5properties5conditions li'e

? is human? is adult[ is emale





(3hater 2)

Necessary and $1ointly% sufficient conditions:

roblems:

/ell) for /2M*N this might wor') but what about) say)

-*(H,42

? is human

? is adult? is male

? is unmarried

? has neer een married

/re these eatures !ointl1 suicient-

/re all o them necessar1What aout the oe-





(3hater 2)

Next session: rototype 6heory

(cancelled)

3 h d l3 h d l



3ourse schedule3ourse schedule

session to)ic reading

$%.#. $ introductor1 session n.a.

26.#. 2

the sign 4 unctions o language/,ma!ian et al. $%%& . &% /5D

Diren78ersoor $%%97200# $#

".&. " linguistic ,nowledge :rom,in7;odman $%%9 "2<

$0.&. # design eatures o language =ule $%%6 . $%6%$<.&. & ranches and methods in linguistics Saeed 3h. $ "22

2#.&. 6 meaning> thought and realit1 Saeed 3h. 2 2"&2

"$.&. < (cont) (cont)

<.6. 9 word meaning Saeed 3h. " &"<%

$#.6. % sentence relations and truth Saeed 3h. # <%$06

2$.6. $0 (cont) (cont)

29.6. $$ ricean ma?ims Saeed 3h. < $<2202

2%.6. $2 (cont) (cont)

&.<. $" seech act theor1 Saeed 3h. 9 20"22<

$2.<. $# (cont) (cont)

$%.<. $& inal e?am ood @uc,

Introduction to @inguistics I: Meaning and Use7 Summer Term 20067 Daniel Wiechmann7

p r e l i m i n a r i e s

s e m a n t i c s

p r a g m a t i c s

W d i (3h ")



Word meaning (3hater ")

Wor,ing h1otheses (interim summar1):

$. / word is a ,ind o linguistic sign

$.$. / word is a pairing of form and meaning

2. The descrition o word meaning inoles theleels o intension (sense) and e?tension (reference)". / ossile candidate o what sense is is the

concept > i.e. the mental representation

".$. / er1 inluential aroach to descriing the semantic

content o an e?ression is tr1ing to ind the set ofnecessary and 1ointly sufficient conditions that

define the concept

W d i (3h t ")




/hat is a word0

meaningorthograhic word phonological word

unit of form

7f

t7ootN

has

W d i (3h t ")




Words in the mind

It is usuall1 assumed in linguistics> that eole must hae a

(relatiel1 static) storage de"ice> which is oten called the

mental lexicon or mental dictionar1

/mong the units in such a mental le?icon must e some asicentr1 orms> or lemmas

,xample: lemma play play, plays, played, playing --> play lemma!

W d i (3h t ")



Such lemmas (minimall1) contain inormation aout:

The ronunciation o the word (phonological inf )7f t7

The selling o the word (orthographical inf )ootN

rammatical categor1 o the word (syntactic inf )

5'U5

Meaning7unction o the word (semantic inf )

@ist @ o necessar1 and !ointl1 conditions deining the concet


W d i (3h t ")




/nother imortant ,ind o "nowledge that eole

hae aout words inoles the relations that wordse?hiit to ot#er words in the s1stem

Eence> the le?icon ma1 e conceied o as a

networ"

W d i (3h t ")




/miguit1

8agueness

S1non1m1/ntonom1E1on1m1

Meron1m1

So) what relations are there0

W d i (3h t ")



Eomon1m1

Eomograh1

/miguit1

*ol1sem1

Eomohon1


/ orm can e e associated with more than one meaning.

The meanings can e semanticall1 related or unrelated:

W d i (3h t ")




*mbiguity "s. 8agueness

/re the meanings mutuall1 e?clusie-

/miguit1

tas, or human comrehension s1stem:N sense selection

P?amle: #an an,$: inancial institution an,2: edge o a rier

8agueness

tas, or human comrehension s1stem:N shade meaning such that it isaroriate to conte?t (seciication)

P?amle:thing: 8er1 general meaning (could eused to reer to an1thing)#a#y: Deends on age and deelomentalstage o the child (denotation has le?ile oundaries)

W d i (3h t ")




Meaning relations:

Synonymy: two orms hae e?actl1 the same meaning

N true sZ is irtuall1 none?istent in natural languages

I we disregard dialectal ariation and er1 inegrainedsemantic destinctions> we ma1 ind s1non1ms li,e

P?amles:

*amstag + *onna#end $range + Apfelsineautumn + fall

MP/5I5

';M ';M a





Meaning relations:

2pposition: two orms hae oosite meaningN there are man1 relations which show oositeness

$. $ntonomy: Antonyms denote e?treme oosites out o a

range o ossiilities

P?amles:old 1oung> ig small> diicult eas1

ig smallneither nor





Meaning relations:

2pposition: two orms hae oosite meaning

N there are man1 relations which show oositeness

2. %irectional opposites are related to oosite directions on acommon a?is

P?amles:come go> right o let o> high low

ascend descend> 1esterda1 tomorrow




Meaning relations:

2pposition: two orms hae oosite meaningN there are man1 relations which show oositeness

#. 'eteronyms are elements o a set o terms which are

contraries logicall1 sea,ing

P?amles:da1s o the wee,> manner o motion ers (!al, run, s!im,

fly,...)





Meaning relations:

2pposition: two orms hae oosite meaning

N there are man1 relations which show oositeness

&. &onverses: two e?ressions are conerses o each other iand onl1 i the1 e?ress the same relation with reersed roles

P?amles:aoe (?>1)7 elow (1>?)

entail (?>1) 7 ollow rom (1>?)




Wo d ea g (3 ate ")

Hyponymy

lant

animate o!ect

human

horsecat

animal

hus,1collie

dog

coh1on1ms

E1on1m:

E1eron1m:

[ is a ,ind o =

(transitie relation)

Sentence ;elations and Truth



(3hater #)

E1othesis:

The tools o logic can hel us to reresent sentence

meaning

* statement is true) if it is in correspondence with the

facts) i.e. i it is a correct description of states and

affairs in the world

@ogic and truth



@ogic and truth

CTo understand a sentence is to ,now

under what conditions it is true

9Snow is white iff snow is white

Tars,i

/lred Tars,i $%02$%9"

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

;/: possible alternati"es:

6o understand a sentence is to ,now which experiences would confirm that

sentence and which would disconirm it

Truth



Truth

/s a irst aro?imation> we can distinguish...

empirical $contingent% "s. analytic truth

e. 5eil /rmstrong was the irst man on the moon.

. This corse is dead.

truth alues and truth conditions



truth alues and truth conditions

/ sentence can e true or alse (inar1distinction] tertium non datur).

This alue is called trut# value ()!

a. The pope is unmarried T (necessarily)#. Triangles are t!o+dimensional. T (necessarily)

Same truth "alues but different truth conditions $6(%

The truth conditions o a sentence are the conditions thatmust hold such that the sentence is in accordance with theacts] i.e. T3s descrie the states o aairs that wouldhae to otain in realit1 or the sentence to e true.

Some simle oerators



Some simle oerators

5egation

=our car has een stolen

=our car has not een stolen

GnotK is ehaes li,e G<K

<p

======

6 F

F 6

*roositional logic



Truth tales

T

T ? 1+

w F

Some conigurations are rominent in roositionallogic

(all alues are inar1] T7)

Some simle oerators



Some simle oerators

3on!oining7coordinating

c. The house is on ire ()d. The irerigade is on the wa1 (+)

e. The house is on ire and the ire rigade is on the wa1

. The ire rigade is on the wa1 and the house is on ire(c 4 d are truthconditionall1 e+uialent)

Gand is (similar to) G>K Hor ∧ + 4+

==========

6 6 6

6 F F

F 6 F

F F F

Some simle oerators



Some simle oerators

Inclusie dis!unction

c. I am going to hae a stea, tonite ()d. I am going to hae a salad tonite (+)e. I am going to hae a stea, tonite or I am going to hae a salad tonite

. I am going to hae a stea, or a salad toniteg. ut: I am either going to hae a stea, or a salad tonite (e?clusie)

Gor is (similar to) G∨

K (i.e. inclusie or) + ∨+ ==========

6 6 6

6 F 6

F 6 6

F F F

Some simle oerators



Some simle oeratorsP?clusie dis!unction

c. I am going to watch soccer tonite ()

d. I am going to watch a moie tonite (+)

Gor is (similar to) G∨eK (e?clusie or)

+ ∨e+

==========

6 6 F6 F 6

F 6 6

F F F

Some simle oerators



Some simle oeratorsMaterial imlication

c. I it rains> I am going to the moies ()d. ItKs raining ()e. I am going to the moies (+)

GIf?then is (similar to) G→

K

+ →

+ ==========

6 6 6

6 F F

F 6 6

F F 6

$this seems irritating) but dont forget these are

logical operators) not descriptions of ,nglish

terms:

if p is false) the claim p→ ! simply cannot be

in"alidated@ so we treat it as 6

-y definition) material implication 9→ 9

produces a "alue of false if and only if the first

operand is true and the second operand is false.

more on material imlication




→ +

is a sufficient condition or +

is not a necessary condition or +

P?amle:I it rains ()> I get wet (+)




more on material imlication3ounteractuals

c. I wishes were mone1 ()> we would all e rich (+)

+ →

+

==========

6 6 6

6 F F

F 6 6

F F 6

The truthconditional relation misses our intuitions aout the senserelations here> ut that should not other us too much.




more on material imlicationiconditionals

c. I wishes were mone1 ()> we would all e rich (+)

+ ≡

+ Hor +

==========

6 6 6

6 F F

F 6 F

F F 6

and + must hae the same truth alue

Pntailment



Pntailment

p !

===================

6→

6

F → 6 or F

F F

6 or F 6

a. Someone ,illed Jurt 3oain ()

. Jurt 3oain is dead (+)

Pntailment deined 1 truth:

/ sentence entails a

sentence + i the truth of p

!uarantees the truth of ! 4and the falsity of !

guarantees the falsity of p

*arahrases



*arahrases

*arahrase can e deined as mutual entailment relations

() The Ptruscans uilt this tom

(+) This tom was uilt 1 Ptruscans

entail + and + entails ( ≡ + ^ ↔ +)

*resuosition:



Some e?amles

The present ing of france is #ald.*resuosition:There e?ist an indiidual who is resent ,ing

o rance

%o you !ant to do it again *resuosition: =ou hae done it alread1> at least once.

y !ife is pregnant. *resuosition: The sea,er has a wie.

* iti



*resuosition

+

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

T → T → T

T or ← T

-( T or ) ←

*resuosition as a truth relation:

truth alue ga

*resuosition triggers



*resuosition triggers

@e?ical triggers:

actie ers: reali-e> notice> no!> regret > forget, ...

ample: p: I regret eating your sand!ich|that I have eaten your sand!ich

/: I have eaten your sand!ich (presupposition)

These ers (and other li,e them) resuose the truth o their o!ects

Introducing *ragmaticsIntroducing *ragmatics



Introducing *ragmaticsIntroducing *ragmatics

A central topics left:

Seech /ct Theor1

@inguistic e?change can e descried

rom a theory of acts5action perspecti"e (Eandlungstheorie).The guiding +uestion is something li,e:

CWhat is it that eole do when the1 uttera se+uence o sounds-C

ricean Inerence

@isteners articiate actiel1 in the

construction of meaning B in articular 1 drawing inferences to arrie at an satisactor1

assessment o (the most li,el1)spea'er meaning)]Eow can these inerences e

descried-

Tas,s or a hearerTas,s or a hearer



Tas,s or a hearer Tas,s or a hearer

ill in deictic e?ressionsi? the reerence o nominals/ccess ac,ground ,nowledge

Ma'e inferences

uiding h1othesis:uiding h1othesis:

h i i lTh i i l



The econom1 rincileThe econom1 rincile

It is a characteristic o natural language use thatsea,ers calculate how much inormation their

hearers need to ma,e successul reerences.

'r more generall1> how much information theirhearers need to reconstruct the situation descried 1 the utterance and the

communicati"e intention o the sea,er.

uiding +uestionuiding +uestion



uiding +uestionuiding +uestion

How exactly can we communicate more than what is

actually said0

P?amle:

/: 3are or some icecream-: IGm on a diet.

'iousl1 we can> gien an utterance> oten derie a numer

o inerences rom it. ut how does this wor,- Wh1 do mema,e some inerences (+uite naturall1 and automaticall1)

and not others-

ridging inerences:ridging inerences:



The role o ac,ground ,nowledgeThe role o ac,ground ,nowledge

i. I loo,ed into the room. 6he ceiling was er1 high.

ii. Lohn went wal,ing out at noon. 6he par' was eautiul.

. Ee ic,ed u the ,e1 and unloc,ed the door.

ridging inerencesridging inerences



ridging inerencesridging inerences

I let earl1 (). I had a train to catch(+).

Did 1ou gie Mar1 the mone1- B IGm

waiting or her now-

Inerence:

#ecause o +

Inerence:S2 did not gie themone1 to Mar1

Eow come we ma,e these inerences so naturall1 and automaticall1-

5othing in the logic o these utterances seems to license them.

Eerert *aul riceEerert *aul rice



Eerert *aul riceEerert *aul rice

E. *. rice $%$" $%99

imortant Pnglish hilosoher o

language and logic ounder o modern ragmatics distinguished natural rom nonnatural meaning sentence meaning s. spea'er9s

meaning riceGs concet o sea,erGs meaning

is a reinement o the idea thatcommunication is a matter o

intentionall1 aecting another ersonGsmental^s1chological state

3ooeratie *rincile3ooeratie *rincile



3ooeratie *rincile3ooe e c e

rice roosed an aroach to the sea,erGs and hearerGscooeratie use o inerences (outcomes o some reasoning)

The redictailit1 o inerence ormation can e e?lained 1 ostulating a coopperati"e principle.

S and E seem to assume a certain set o generall1 acceted

ma?ims] these assumtions are e?loited in communication.

3ooeratie rincile (cont.)3ooeratie rincile (cont.)



3ooeratie rincile (cont.) ( )

(ooperati"e rinciple:

CMa,e 1our contriution such as re+uired> at the stage

at which it occurs> 1 the acceted urose or directiono the tal, e?change in which 1ou are engagedC

3ooeratie *rincile (cont.)3ooeratie *rincile (cont.)



3o oe at e c e (co t.) ( )

5ow> the great thing o the account is that is roides

an e?lanation (or a irst indication) as to how wederie inerences.

The hearer (E) alwa1s assumes that> contrar1 toaearance o the utterance (U)> the rinciles areneertheless eing adhered to at some deeer leel

Ma?ims o conersationMa?ims o conersation



I. Maxim of Buality

I. Tr1 to ma,e 1our contriution one that is true> i.e.

I. Do not sa1 what 1ou eliee is alseII. Do not sa1 or which 1ou lac, ade+uate eidence

III. Maxim of Buantity

I. Ma,e 1our contriution as inormatie as is re+uired or the current uroses

o the e?change (i.e. not more or less)

8. Maxim of ele"ance I. Ma,e 1our contriution releant

8II. Maxim of Manner

I. e ersicuous] and seciicall1:I. /oid amiguit1II. /oid oscurit1III. e rie I8. e orderl1

Ma?im o Xualit1Ma?im o Xualit1, i i h it t , t i ti th t i t



tr1 to ma,e 1our contriution one that is truetr1 to ma,e 1our contriution one that is true

(i) Lohn has a *hD in anal1tical hilosoh1 ()

YN I eliee and I hae ade+uate eidence o

(ii) -- Lohn has a *hD in anal1tic hilosoh1> ut I donGt eliee it

(c. MooreGs *arado?)

Ma?im o Xuantit1Ma?im o Xuantit1h i dh i d



sa1 as much as re+uiredsa1 as much as re+uired

(i) Earr1 has $2 children

This cone1s that Earr1 has not

more than $2 children> althoughit is logicall1 comatile with(ii)

(ii) Earr1 has 20 children

Earr1



Ma?im o Manner Ma?im o Manner i d l id it i it i d l id it i it



e rie> orderl1 aoid oscurit1> amiguit1 e rie> orderl1 aoid oscurit1> amiguit1

(i) 'en the door

(i) -Wal, u the door> turn the door handlecloc,wise as ar as it will go> and then ull

gentl1 towards 1ou

(ii) The lone ranger rode into the sunset and !umed onto his horse.




( ) ( )

So) what exactly is this0

/ st1listic adice-

/n agreement in a social communit1-

/ metahoric descrition o how our cognities1stem that goerns communication oerates-

Something een more general than this> i.e. could it

e a characteriFation o how our mind interretsactions-

...




( ) ( )

These ma?ims seci1 what articiants (/P5TS) haeto do to conerse in a ma?imall1 eicient> rational> cooeratie wa1: the1 should sea, sincerel1> releantl1 and

clearl1> while roiding suicient inormation




( ) ( )

/: WhereGs ill-: ThereGs a 1ellow *orsche in ront o SueGs house.

Gs contriution Bta,en literall1 ails to answer /Gs

+uestionRSeems to iolate ma?ims o o +uantit1 and releance (at

least)ut / is li,el1 to e satisied with Gs answer./ assumes that is cooeratie> so he egins searchingor ossile connections etween the location o ill and a

1ellow *orsche ...




( ) ( )

/: WhereGs ill-: ThereGs a 1ellow *orsche in ront o SueGs house.

...thus / arrie at the suggestion (which eectiel1

cone1s) that> i ill has a 1ellow *orsche> he ma1 e atSueGs house

So) inferences arise to preser"e the

assumption of co&ooperation

*roosed general attern or*roosed general attern or

drawing inerencesdrawing inerences



drawing inerencesdrawing inerences

(i) S has said that

(ii) There is no reason to thin, S is not osering the cooeratie rincile

(iii) In order or S to sa1 that and e indeed cooeratie> S must thin,that +

(i) S must ,now that it is mutual ,nowledge that + must e suosedi S is ta,en to e cooeratie

() S has done nothing to sto me> the addressee> thin,ing that +

(i) Thereore S intends me to thin, that +

Seech /ctsSeech /ctsEow to do things with wordsEow to do things with words



Eow to do things with wordsEow to do things with words

*ction> as a concet in hilosoh1> is what humans can do.

*hilosohical action theory is concerned with con!ectures

aout the rocesses causing intentional (wilul) human odil1

moements o more or less comle? ,ind.

/ asic action theor1 t1icall1 describes beha"iour as theresult o an interaction between an indi"idual agent and a

situation.





The speech act can e descried as in sa1ingsomething> we do something



Mills *roessor o *hilosoh1 at theUniersit1 o 3aliornia> er,ele1

noted or contriutions to the hilosoh1 olanguage> hilosoh1 o mind and

consciousness> on the characteristics osociall1 constructed ersus h1sical realities>and on ractical reason.

was awarded the Lean 5icod *riFe in 2000.


Lohn ;. Searle$%""

Traditional assumtions inTraditional assumtions in

*hilosoh1 o @anguage*hilosoh1 o @anguage



*hilosoh1 o @anguage*hilosoh1 o @anguage

I. asic sentence t1e in language is the declaratie

(e?resses statements or assertions)II. The rincile use o language is to descrie states o

aairs (1 using statements)

III. The meaning o utterances can e descried in terms otheir truth or alsit1

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 4ogical positi"ism: 8ienna 3ircle ($%22$%""):oal: Uniied scienceTwo main eatures

I. experience is the onl1 source o ,nowledgeII logical analysis erormed with the hel o s1molic logic is the

reerred method or soling hilosohical rolems

MoritF Schlic,

$999$%"6

/ustinGs oosition/ustinGs oosition



There are declaraties that cannot e

ealuated on the asis o truth and alsit1

Q I romise to ta,e a ta?i home

Q I et 1ou ie oundsQ I declare this meeting oenQ I warn 1ou that legal action will ensueQ I name this shi The 0lying %utchman

*erormatie Utterances*erormatie Utterances



X: So> are all o these sentences meaningless-

/: 5o> it is !ust not useul to as, whether the1 are true or not.

ut i so: How should their meanings be described-

/ustin claimed that these sentences were in themseles a ,indo action (romises> warnings> threats>...)

erformati"e utterances are seech acts which

erorm the action the sentence descries.

P?licit *erormatie UtterancesP?licit *erormatie Utterances



i. I (here1) re+uest that 1ou leae m1 roert1

*;5 $st S (here#y) 8er*P;';M that S

resent

simle

indicatieactie

Utterance o this t1e e?ress most directl1 the

intended communicatie unction.

The1 count as actions o the associated t1e

Seech /ctsSeech /ctselicit1 conditionselicit1 conditions



elicit1 conditionselicit1 conditions

/ erormatie can e elicitous orinelicitous> i.e. it can wor, ... or not

There are social conentions goerning the

elicitous conditions o a seech act.



elicit1 conditionselicit1 conditions

I. The rocedure must e e?ecuted 1 all articiants correctl1...

III. ...and comletel1...

/ustin then added sincerity conditions (sets o re+uisite

thoughts> eelings and intentions) and distinguished two ,inds o

infelicitous speech acts: seech acts can misfire and the can eabused




Infelicitous speech act

misfire

8iolation o conditionsseciied in II8

abuse

Sea,er is insincere(iolation o sincerit17

sincerit1 conditions notmet)




When sa1ing something> one is simultaneousl1 doingsomething_ut what-.

I. Ctterance *ct $4*%

@/ is erormed in oicing words and sentences]

II. ropositional act $*%

*/ is carried out 1 reerring to entities and redicating states and actions.

III. Illocutionary *ct $I*%

I/ is the interersonal act erormed in sea,ing .

I8. erlocutionary *ct

The intended eect on the addressee is a erlocutionar1 act.


Seech /ctsSeech /ctsSearleGs classiicationSearleGs classiication



Searle s classiicationSearle s classiication

There is a m1riad o (language articular) seech acts> ut ma1e thesecan e collased into a small numer o coherent classes.

$. epresentati"es> which commit S to the truth o the e?ressed roosition. Hasserting) concluding2. ;irecti"es> which are attems 1 S to get E to do something

H!uestioning) re!uesting". (ommissi"es> which commit S to some uture course o action

Hpromising) threatening". ,xpressi"es> which e?ress a s1chological state

Hthan'ing) apologising

#. ;eclarations> which eect immediate changes in the institutionalstate o aairs and which tend to rel1 on elaorate e?tralinguisticinstitutions

Hexcommunicating) naming

Seech /ctsSeech /ctsSearleGs classiicationSearleGs classiication



Searle s classiicationSearle s classiication

ut how did he come u with this classiication-

Three criteria:

$. Illocutionary point

incl. direction of fit (words world)

2. sychological state of S

". (ontent of the act

Seech /ctsSeech /ctselicit1 conditions reisitedelicit1 conditions reisited



elicit1 conditions reisited1

elicit1 conditions

rearator1 roositional sincerit1 essential

Seech /ctsSeech /cts/n e?amle: 3onditions or romising/n e?amle: 3onditions or romising



/n e?amle: 3onditions or romising g

CWhen I romise to mow 1our lawn> the rearator1 conditions are that 1ou want me to

mow 1our lawn and that I eliee that this is the case and that neither o us eliees that I

would in an1 case mow 1our lawn as art o the normal course o eents] the roositional

conditions are that m1 utterance GI romise to mow 1our lawnK redicates the right sort o act on m1 art] the sincerit1 condition is that I trul1 do intend to mow 1our lawn] and the

essential condition is that m1 utterance counts as an underta,ing on m1 art to erorm this

action.

arr1 (200")

Seech /ctsSeech /cts/n e?amle: 3onditions or romising/n e?amle: 3onditions or romising



g g

Where / uture action] * roosition e?ressed in the seech act> e linguistic e?ression

*rearator1 $: E would reer SGs doing / to his not doing / >

S eliees E would reer SGs doing / to his not doing /

*rearator1 2: It is not oious to oth S and E that S will do / in the normalcourse o eents

*roositional: In e?ressing that *> S redicates a uture act / o SSincerit1: S intends to do /

Pssential: The utterance e counts as an underta,ing to do /

Seech /ctsSeech /cts/n e?amle: 3onditions or +uestioning/n e?amle: 3onditions or +uestioning



+ g + g

Where / uture action] * roosition e?ressed in the seech act

*rearator1 $: S does not ,now the answer> i.e. or a 1es7no+uestion> doesnot ,now whether * is true or alse] or an Wh+uestion> does not

,now the missing inormation

*rearator1 2: It is not oious to oth S and E that E will roide theinormation at that time without eing as,ed

*roositional: no constraints N an1 roositionSincerit1: S wants this inormationPssential: The act counts as an attemt to elicit this inormation rom E

Seech /cts:Seech /cts:direct s. indirect seech acts (IS/)direct s. indirect seech acts (IS/)



( ) ( )

Utterance direct act indirect act

Would 1ou mind assing me the ashtra1- +uestion re+uest

Wh1 donGt 1ou inish 1ou drin, and leae- +uestions re+uest

I must as, 1ou to leae m1 house statement re+uest

@eae me and IGll !um in the rier order Y statement threat

(secondar1) (rimar1)

Seech /ctsSeech /ctsEow to interret IS/sEow to interret IS/s



(onditions for re!uesting

*rearator1 condition: E is ale to erorm /Sincerit1 condition: S wants E to do /*roositional condition: S redicates a uture act / o EPssential condition: 3ounts as an attemt 1 S to get E to do /

5ow> one wa1 o erorming an indirect re+uest inoles as,ing itherearator1 condition otains.N 3an 1ou oen the window (as,ing or E ailit1 to do /)

/nother ossiilit1 is stating the sincerit1 condition:N I wish 1ou would oen the window

'r 1ou +uestion the roositional content condition:N Will 1ou oen the window (lease)-



ThatGs it.ThatGs it.

Than,s or 1our attention.Than,s or 1our attention.

est o luc, or the inal e?am.est o luc, or the inal e?am.


Meronymy



Meronymy

arm

od1

trun,

ear

head

ace

Meron1m:

Eolon1m:

[ has a =

art7whole relation

(transitie relation-)

introduction to linguistics meaning and use

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