This document provides a summary of key concepts in semantics. It defines semantics as the study of meaning in language. There are three main points: 1. Meaning can be studied at the level of sense (the concept or idea associated with a word/expression) or reference (what a word/expression refers to in the real world). There are complex relationships between forms, senses, and referents. 2. A proposition is the basic meaning expressed by a declarative sentence, which can be true or false. Sentences in different languages can express the same proposition. 3. The "semantic triangle" illustrates the relationships between forms, senses, and referents - how a word's form relates to its sense

1. Unit 1
BASIC IDEA S
I N SEMANTICS

2. I. What is semantics?
II. Meaning
III. SENTENCE,
UTTERANCE,
PROPOSITION
IV. Semantic triangle
V. Reference and Sense
Basic I d e a s i n Se m a n t i c s

4. Semantics = a branch of Linguistics
studying the meanings of words,
expressions, or
sentences
dealing with meaning in the language forms

5. NOTES
(1) Semantics is an attempt to set up a
theory of
meaning. (p.8)
(2) Semantic theory deals with semantic
facts
e.g. The chicken is ready  to eat
1. The chicken is ready 1 to
eat . He’s single. / He’s
unmarried. He’s unmarried. /
He’s married.

6. pp.S-9
Practice Mark each of the following statements true (T)or false (
F
)
.
(1) Alive means the opposite of dead. TI
P
(2) Buy has an opposite meaning from sell. TI
P
(3) Caesar is and is not a meaningful English sentence. TI
P
(4) Caesar is a prime number is nonsensical. TI
P
(5) Caesar is a man is nonsensical. TI
P
(6) Both of John's parents are married to aunts of mine is in a sense
contradictory, describing an impossible situation.
T IF
(7) If the sentence John killed Bill is true of any situation, then so
is the sentence Bill is alive. TIP
(8) If someone says, 'Can you pass the salt?', he is normally not
asking about his hearer's ability to pass the salt, but requesting
the hearer to pass the salt. T IF
(9) If someone says, 'I tried to buy some rice', his hearer would

7. NOTES
(3) Semantics concentrates on the similarities
b/w languages rather than on the
differences. (p.11)
> there are parallels among languages
e.g. as strong as a horse (E) =>
A leopard cannot change its spots.
(E) =>
> Purpose: to make general statements
about languages
e.g. Idioms / proverbs in different languages
can
convey the same concepts, but

8. •

9. Language
soun
ds
word
formatio
n
structur
es
meaning
s
Meaning = an aspect / component of
language
> Sentence/ Word meaning =
> Speaker meaning > meaning carried by
words
affected by a speaker’s will >

10. E.g.1
Situation A: Where can we find a peacock?
Situation B: (mother to daughter who
brought her
boyfriend home)
“Where did you find that peacock?”

11. E.g.2
Situation C:
Ann: Try this cake. Is it delicious?
Tom: Yeah! You’re quite a good
cook.
Situation D
Kim (daughter): I’m sorry, dad. The rice’s burnt
again. Jack (father): You’re quite a good cook,
dear!
Question: In which situation can you find
the speaker meaning?

12. MEANING
Litera
l
Non-
literal

13. Literal meaning  found in dictionaries (e.g.
“peacock 1”)
 Non-literal meaning  in actual use, in
utterances
(sarcasm, irony, metaphor,… =>
Linguistic context  actual words /
sentences that precede or follow an utterance
- We need to fix a date for the next
meeting.
- This date tastes sweet. Can I have
another?
 Situational context  situation, background

14. p.6
Practice Look at the following utterances and state whether they are intended to be
taken literally (Yes) or not (No).
(1) Tired traveller: <This suitcase is killing me' YesI No
(2) Assistant in a shop: <W
e regularly do the impossible;
miracles take a little longer'
(3) During a business meeting: <It's a dog-eat-dog situation'
(4) During a heated argument: <Don't bite my head offl'
(5) Hungry person at the dinner table: <Icould eat a horse!'
YesI No
YesI No
YesI No
YesI No

15. pp. 16-24

16. III. SENTENCE, UTTERANCE,
PROPOSITION
She put my books on the
counter. She put my book.
On the counter.
1.
=> Which has meaning? Which is a
sentence?
e.g.
A sentence =>
- a grammatically complete string of
words
-

17. An utterance =>
- what is said by any speaker, before and
after
another person begins to speak (“_”)
-
=> Identify the utterances:
2.
E.g. Susan
:
“Nice day today. Going out?”
Peter: “No. I’d rather stay indoors.
Coffee?”
Susan
:
“Yes, no sugar.”

18. 3. => How many basic meanings are there in
this simple sentence?
E.g. Mary’s friend, Carol’s brother, is a married
lawyer.
- Mary has a friend.
- Carol has a brother.
- This brother is Mary’s friend.
-
-
=> 5 propositions
A proposition =>
-the basic meaning which a sentence expresses
-part of the meaning of the utterance of a
declarative sentence which describes some

19. NOTES:
1. A proposition (of a declarative sentence) can be
TRUE
or FALSE. (p.20)
e.g. I found lots of coconut palms in Ben Tre
province.
He found lots of coconut palms in London.
2. The notion of TRUTH decides whether 2
sentences express the same proposition.
g. (a) I found lots of coconut palms in BT
province.
(b) Lots of coconut palms are found in BT
province.

20. Practice Consider the following pairs of sentences. In each case, say whether there are
any circumstances of which one member of the pair could be true and the
other false (assuming in each case that the same name, e.g. Harry, refers to
the same person).
p.20
( 1) Harry took out the garbage
Harry took the garbage out
(2) John gave Mary a book
Mary wasgiven a book by John
(3) Isobelloves Tony
Tony loves Isobel
(4) George danced with Ethel
George didn't dance with Ethel
(5) Dr Findlay killed Janet
Dr Findlay caused Janet to die
YesI No
YesI No
Yes/ No
Yes/ No
Yes!No

21. 3. Sentences of different languages (p.22)
=> may have the same
proposition
e.g. My name is Alice./ Toâi teân Alice./ Je
m’appelle
Alice.
4. Different sentences => same
proposition (p.20)
e.g. The porters have shut the gates.
5. A question can be uttered with a
proposition, but
without a TRUTH VALUE.
e.g. Are you a student?
=>

22. 6. A declarative sentence + its corresponding
interrogative / imperative one => same
propositional content (p.22)
e.g. The porters have shut the
gates. Have the porters shut
the gates? Ask the porters to
shut the gates!
=> referring to the action of shutting the gate

23. Exercise: Identify the propositions in these
utterances.
1. “Malaria – a dangerous, infectious disease
spread by mosquitoes – is usually found in the
tropics.”
2. “Jack’s girlfriend, Jane, who is a nurse, is working
at
Central Hospital.”
3. “The tall, stately building collapsed after an
earthquake.”
4. “Fires in Australia are increasingly under control as
cooler temperatures and light winds stay
consistent.”

24. IV. Semantic Triangle

25. sens
e
for
m
refere
nt

26. sens
e
for
m
refere
nt
Form-sense
rel.
=>
=> no reason for naming a concept,
e.g.
=> agreement

27. sens
e
for
m
refere
nt
Sense-referent
rel.
=>
=> no simple correlation of one referent
– one sense
e.g.

28. sens
e
for
m
refere
nt
Form-referent
rel.
=>
=> label (form) is given after a concept for a
referent has been framed (i.e. via concept)
e.g.

29. V. Rafaranca and Sanaa

30. A. Relationships b/w Form-Referent (=
reference) (p.27)
B. Relationships b/w Form-Sense (p.29)
C. Relationships b/w Sense-Reference
(p.31)
D. Relationships b/w Reference-
Utterance (p.33)

31. A. Relationships b/w Form-Referent
(= reference) (p.27)
Examples
1. one expression
– different
referents
> variable reference
2. one expression
– unique
referent
> constant reference
3. different expressions
–
same referent

32. B. Relationships b/w Form-Sense (p.29)
Examples
4. different
expressions – one
sense
> synonymous words
5. one expression –
different senses
> polysemous /
homonymous
words
6. one sentence –
different senses
> ambiguous structure

33. Examples
7. expressions in
different languages /
dialects – same
sense
> same proposition

34. C. Relationships b/w Sense-Reference (p.31)
=> Every expression in language has
sense BUT not all expressions have
REFERENCE Examples
8. with sense –
w/o reference
> abstract notions
> imagery entities
> non-existent entities

35. D. Relationships b/w Reference-Utterance
(p.33)
Examples
9. same utterance –
different
reference
> variable reference

36. Practice 1
<A. Relationships b/w Form – Reference> (p.28)

37. Practice 2
<B. Relationships b/w Form – Sense> (p.29)

38. Practice 3
<C. Relationships b/w Sense-Reference> (p.31)

39. SUMMARY
In everyday conversation, the words meaning,
means, mean, meant, etc. can be used to
indicate Reference or Sense. (p.33)