Week 2 Handout 1

Semantics (2023/2024)
Week 2_Handout 1
Instructor: Dr. Aseel Zibin
Demonstrating semantic knowledge in daily-life conversations:

 How can we explain the speaker’s knowledge of meanings? It is not
about being a walking dictionary.
 There are ten primary aspects of any speaker’s semantic knowledge:
1. Speakers know, in a general way, whether something is or is not

meaningful in their language. Speakers of English can tell which of
the following are meaningful in English:
Exercise (1): Decide whether the following sentences are meaningful or anomalous
(meaningless).
 Jack wrote a letter.

 The letter wrote Jack.
 A letter was written by Jack.
 The letter smiled to Jack.
2. Speakers of a language generally agree as to when two sentences

have essentially the same meaning and when they do not.
1
Exercise (2): Decide which of the following sentences make equivalent statements about the
same entities.
 Giraffes like Acacia leaves and hay and they can consume 75 pounds of food a day.
 Be sure to include a Tuscan pasta experience when visiting Italy.
 A giraffe can eat up to 75 pounds of Acacia leaves and hay every day.
 Any trip to Italy should include a visit to Tuscany to try their exquisite pasta.
3. Speakers generally agree when two words have essentially the same
meaning—in a given context (synonymous).
Exercise (3): Provide other words that have a similar meaning to the underlined one.
 The girl sitting next to me in class is hilarious.

 I hate her, she is so controlling.
 Teachers should be impartial.
4. Speakers recognize when the meaning of one sentence contradicts

another sentence.
Exercise (4): The sentences below are all about the same person, but two of them are related
in such a way that if one is true the other must be false.
 John is a nomad.
 John is a hero.
 John is settled.
 John is a villain.
5. Speakers generally agree when two words have opposite meanings in

a given context.
Exercise (5): Choose the words that are contrary to the underlined ones.
 I thought Layla is generous.

 He is timid.
(Terrible, stingy, immature, bold, sparse, sane, rigid)
Two words that make opposite statements about the same subject are antonyms; they are
antonymous, instances of antonymy.
6. Synonyms and antonyms have to have some common element or

component of meaning in order to be, respectively, the same or
different. Words can have some element of meaning without being
2
synonymous or antonymous. For example, we should all agree that in
each of the following groups of words, all but one of the words have
something in common. Which of the following is the word that
doesn’t belong?
 Street, lane, road, path, house, avenue
 Buy, take, use, steal, acquire, inherit
The common element of meaning, shared by all but one word in and by all but one item in, is
a semantic feature.
Test-your-brain question: Do you think that it is possible for words to share all their
meaning components with other words?
7. Some sentences have double meanings; they can be interpreted in

two ways. Speakers are aware of this fact because they appreciate
jokes which depend on two-way interpretation.
Exercise (6): Decide whether the following sentence has more than one meaning.
Look at the dog with one eye.
8. Speakers know how language is used when people interact. If one

person asks a question or makes a remark, there are various possible
answers to the question or replies one might make to the remark.
Thus for the question in A some answers are suggested, of which all
but one might be appropriate. Similarly the statement in B is
followed by several possible rejoinders, all but one of which could be
appropriate.
3
A. When did you last see my brother?
Ten minutes ago. Last Tuesday. Very nice.
Around noon. I think it was on the first of June.
B. There’s a great new comedy at the Old town Playhouse.
So I’ve heard. What’s it called? When did it open?
So do I. Are you sure it’s a comedy?
9. Speakers are aware that two statements may be related in such a way
that if one is true, the other must also be true (entailment).
10.Speakers know that the message conveyed in one sentence may
presuppose other pieces of knowledge (presupposition).
 Presupposition and Entailment
Presupposition is what the speaker assumes to be the case prior to making an

utterance. Entailment, which is not a pragmatic concept, is what logically
follows from what is asserted in the utterance. Speakers have presuppositions
while sentences, not speakers, have entailments.
Exercise (7): Decide whether the following sentences are examples of

entailment or presupposition. The first two examples have been done for you.
(1) Her husband is a fool.

(2) She has a husband.
Presupposition. Because even if the first statement is false, the second
will remain true.
(1) The president of Polvenia is a bachelor.

(2) The president of Polvenia is unmarried.
Entailment. Because if the first statement is false, the second statement
must be false.
4
(1) He’s stopped turning into a werewolf every full moon.
(2) He used to turn into a werewolf every full moon.
(1) The Prime Minister of Malaysia is in London this week.

(2) Malaysia has a prime minster.
(1) I saw my father today.

(2) I saw someone today.
Exercise (8): What does the following sentence presuppose and what
does it entail?
Susan’s sister bought two houses.

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Semantics (2023/2024)

Instructor: Dr. Aseel Zibin

Demonstrating semantic knowledge in daily-life conversations:

1. Speakers know, in a general way, whether something is or is not

 Jack wrote a letter.

2. Speakers of a language generally agree as to when two sentences

 The girl sitting next to me in class is hilarious.

4. Speakers recognize when the meaning of one sentence contradicts

5. Speakers generally agree when two words have opposite meanings in

 I thought Layla is generous.

(Terrible, stingy, immature, bold, sparse, sane, rigid)

6. Synonyms and antonyms have to have some common element or

 Street, lane, road, path, house, avenue

 Buy, take, use, steal, acquire, inherit

7. Some sentences have double meanings; they can be interpreted in

Look at the dog with one eye.

8. Speakers know how language is used when people interact. If one

Ten minutes ago. Last Tuesday. Very nice.

Around noon. I think it was on the first of June.

B. There’s a great new comedy at the Old town Playhouse.

So I’ve heard. What’s it called? When did it open?

So do I. Are you sure it’s a comedy?

 Presupposition and Entailment

Presupposition is what the speaker assumes to be the case prior to making an

Exercise (7): Decide whether the following sentences are examples of

(1) Her husband is a fool.

(1) The president of Polvenia is a bachelor.

(1) The Prime Minister of Malaysia is in London this week.

(1) I saw my father today.

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