Questions tagged [semantics]
Semantics is the study of meaning, used to understand expressions through language.
452
questions
2
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2answers
59 views
Compositional semantic: Type of conjunctions
My question is in regard to semantic type theory in connection with syntax. I understand the underlying structure of what type a certain type of phrase is ( i.e., proper names are <e>, verbs can ...
20
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5answers
2k views
Is the connection between 'right' in the sense of direction and concepts like 'correct' limited to Indo-European languages?
I'm now familiar with enough Indo-European languages to know in almost all of them there's an etymological connection or outright homonymy between the word(s) for 'right' in the sense of direction and ...
-1
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2answers
93 views
Proto-Indo-European words for moon?
There are two words for moon in Proto-Indo-European, *lówksneh (cognate with 'lunar'), and *méhns (cognate with 'moon' and 'month'). I think that *lówksneh means "a shining moon" and is more common, ...
2
votes
1answer
54 views
What is meaning according to Saussure?
Did Ferdinand de Saussure define meaning in his Course in General Linguistics?
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0answers
47 views
Acyclic Graph of Definitions of a Language
Given a certain language L, let's define it's language graph G as the graph where nodes correspond to words and a directed edge between node B and node A implies that the word referenced by B belongs ...
1
vote
2answers
58 views
What is the semantic relationship of the words 'ask' and 'tell'?
I'm not quite sure which of these semantic relationships it would be: Synonymy, Hyponymy, Hypernymy, and Antonymy. Or would there be no semantic relationship between these words?
2
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3answers
166 views
What explanatory advantages does so-called “type theory” have?
Some linguists use a theory called "type theory"; you can see it in a few questions on this site.
Apparently it is based on the "type theory" of maths, logic, and computer science. Wikipedia's ...
1
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1answer
87 views
Is this an example of the third person? [closed]
Suppose Alice says to Bob, "I cook dinner with Bob." Is Alice talking about Bob in the third person?
2
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0answers
120 views
Why don't modern Romance languages have the verb “to stand”?
I noticed that modern Romance languages don't have a specific word for the verb "to stand", or - you could say - don't consider the notion of standing to be a verb.
For example, in Spanish - you can ...
2
votes
0answers
78 views
What word category do twink, adonis, muse etc. belong to? [closed]
Terms such as candy, cutie, honey, princess, diamond, queen(?), stud and bunny are terms of endearment (these terms are often used in a relationship to show affection and may also be used, with ...
0
votes
0answers
47 views
Two meanings of “Someone believes everyone to be invited”
Carnie claims in his syntax book that the sentence
Someone believes everyone to be invited
has two meanings. I can see only one (when the existential quantifier has scope over universal one: when ...
4
votes
0answers
126 views
How would languages that use an absolute frame of reference say that the heart is on the left side of the body?
In languages that use a relative frame of reference we can say that the heart is on the left side of the body, and no matter what direction you are facing that is true. But in an absolute frame of ...
0
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1answer
68 views
What are linguistics foundations of how a message can be on topic?
What I am looking for
Is there a linguistics perspective on a message being "on topic" or "off topic" in some context and/or something inbetween?
Is there even a linguistics definition and research ...
1
vote
2answers
95 views
Is there a formal definition of the term meaning?
According to Wiktionary and Wikipedia,
meaningfulness is "the state or measure of being meaningful",
while meaningful is "having meaning, significant",
while meaning is "the information or ...
-1
votes
1answer
48 views
Has the notion of “semainophoric” structure been considered so far?
Semitic languages like Arabic use consonantic roots conveying meaning, like ktb which is related to writing. The vowels to be added to form a word vary and give a nuance to this general meaning. ...
0
votes
2answers
61 views
How to cite an edited book [closed]
I want to cite some articles directly in Semantics, Volume 2 by de Gruyter (2011). I wonder if each article in it is a journal or conference paper that can be cited directly. Otherwise, I should cite ...
-1
votes
3answers
183 views
Etymological Fallacy
What is actually wrong with using Etymology to infer a word's meaning?
I mean other than semantics( or more subtle meaning, nuance) of what other use could studying etymology be.
I cannot see the ...
1
vote
2answers
47 views
Predicate logic and always?
How do I translate a sentence like this into predicate logic?
Always if an amateur chef bakes a burnt cookie, then nobody eats that burnt cookie.
My attempt is something like this
∀[chef’(x)∧ ...
3
votes
1answer
177 views
When turned “to hear” into “to belong” in Germanic Languages?
In most Germanic languages the verbs for „to hear“ and „to belong [to]“ are the same or very closely related.
It seems a plausible explanation, that in practice belonging to someone (G. gehören) meant ...
2
votes
1answer
73 views
Semantic arguments of nouns
Consider the following NPs:
[1] an alcohol ban
[2] a cotton shirt
Various discussions in CGEL would seem to imply the following:
P: alcohol expresses a semantic argument of the head noun ban in [...
-1
votes
2answers
148 views
How can a word for 'the act of Xing', semantically shift to mean 'the thing Xed'?
I don't grasp this Reddit comment.
An example of (3) might be this (from a 15th-century will):
I now the seid John Smyth, for diu[er]se causez and consyderacyonys shevyd vnto me, will ...
5
votes
0answers
59 views
How was excession expressed in Proto-Germanic?
The state of excession (of an adjective) is indicated differently accross Germanic languages.
West Germanic Languages (E: too long, Du: te lang, G: zu lang) build it by the use of descendants from ...
0
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0answers
22 views
What is the meaning of “metaphorical sliding”
Can anyone please give a definition for a "metaphorical sliding"? I have problem understanding the "sliding" part. What exactly happens to this metaphor?
1
vote
2answers
77 views
Definite descriptions and essentially indistinguishable participants
In the analysis of definite descriptions there is a problem called "The Problem of Indistinguishable Participants", exemplified by the so-called bishop sentences:
If a bishop meets a bishop, the ...
1
vote
2answers
75 views
Does this English exercise test syntactic or semantic knowledge of a student?
I am confused in how to distinguish a syntactically oriented language exercise from semantically oriented language exercise.
For example, suppose a teacher gave the English exercise below to his ...
1
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0answers
35 views
Relationship between semantical understanding of a text and the level of language used in the text
I am a Machine Learning researcher who is doing research in the Natural Language Processing (NLP).
I need better understanding about human language for my new research, so I decided to write this ...
2
votes
2answers
75 views
Is there an equivalent to “Turing completeness” for a spoken language? [duplicate]
I had read that some tribe in the Amazonian region speaks a language that lacks any number. So they would use "many" to describe more than say, 2 or 3 things. Hence for them, I suppose, 99 is the same ...
0
votes
1answer
109 views
What are the semantic functions of a complementizer phrase (CP)
What does semantic functions mean? and what are they for a CP?
Thank you
2
votes
1answer
76 views
Can a semantic prime have a homophone which is also a semantic prime?
If semantic primes which are homophones exist, is it possible to create sentences which have perfectly valid interpretations which differ?
I'm thinking of something like a "meaning" hash-collision ...
-4
votes
1answer
103 views
Discrepancy between Classical Logic, Set Theory, Propositional Logic and Languages [closed]
In logic, "Or" strictly refers to logical disjuntion, while "And" strictly refers to logical conjuction.
But in common parlance, both can fill the role of Logical Disjunction
I understand that one ...
3
votes
0answers
54 views
Which are the social differences which lead to the variance in the way to address a person?
My question is: Which are the social differences which lead to the variance in the way to address a person?
An example of the difference is T-V distinction some languages abolished it while others ...
2
votes
2answers
477 views
Is there a strict difference between syntax and semantics? [duplicate]
On many places I may read that syntax is about structure, and semantics is about meaning, and this makes sense. But, lets think of the canonical example
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
said ...
1
vote
1answer
59 views
“Indifferent” reference of specific indefinites?
There is a class of indefinites sometimes called "specific indefinites" that refer to one individual. For example:
A man walked into a bar followed by two others. He ordered a drink.
With this ...
1
vote
0answers
123 views
What semantic frameworks are there for computational linguistics?
Besides Frege's principle of compositionality are there any other philosophical frameworks of language to form distributional semantics in the English language?
Edit -
Although I'm still yet to ...
1
vote
1answer
77 views
Do some communities prefer indirect discourses to direct discourses?
Jamaliah Mohd. Ali, in her research paper, says, "the use of indirectness in communication is an important aspect of Malay community life because one of its main intentions is conflict avoidance" (...
1
vote
1answer
38 views
What words relate to thinking about possible events? (Could've Should've Would've) [closed]
I'm thinking about how the mind works, and how the mind dreams or simulates events. This seems to be an important part of how the brain works so it seems like we should have special words to describe ...
2
votes
0answers
29 views
Terminology/resources for descriptions like “…the other one…”
Suppose, e.g., that there are two brothers, Bob and Bill, that must do two things but it doesn't much matter which brother does which task. I am interested in constructions like the following:
One ...
0
votes
1answer
88 views
Define “own” with more primitive linguistic concepts?
I am trying to define the concept of ownership or "having" with basic more primitive concepts.
My first try is:
I own X == Only I can take X
But does the word take imply taking ownership of? So ...
0
votes
2answers
137 views
Is “parent” a hyponym or a meronym of “parents”?
A hyponym is a word or phrase whose semantic field is included within
that of another word.
A meronym denotes a constituent part of, or a member of something
It can be said that "parents" is ...
0
votes
1answer
37 views
What are the recommended sources for research about conceptual metaphor?
I would like to find what have been done in research about conceptual metaphor. I've looked into some database, e.g. ERIC, Sciencedirect, WileyOnlineLibrary, JSTOR, Cambridgecore, Taylor&Francis, ...
3
votes
0answers
101 views
Is language “necessarily underspecified”?
I've read an exam question given in a class on Semantics, that was asking
Why is language necessarily underspecified
I did not find much about this at the time, which is surprising because it ...
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votes
1answer
102 views
What English words can not be motivated and are arbitrary? [closed]
What is the evidence for the arbitrariness of the sign?
Continuing this question, what English words can not be motivated and should be considered arbitrary?
I think only the natural meanings would ...
6
votes
3answers
322 views
What is the evidence for the arbitrariness of the sign?
The "arbitrariness of the sign" is a fundamental principle of modern linguistics: that is, that there's nothing intrinsic about the sound sequence [kʰæt̚] or the phoneme sequence /kæt/ that links it ...
1
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0answers
65 views
Agentive vs Intentional vs Volitional
What are the differences between these three terms?
Agentivity
Intentionality
Volitionality
If they have different definitions, could you provide examples where their values do not match? (For ...
2
votes
1answer
91 views
Was there a Proto-Germannic root of “miskunn”
I was not able to find an etymology of ON "miskunn" within PrG.
Is the first syllable a prefix "mis-" indicating any "wrong kunn, lack of kunn" or a deformed "midi-" as in E "com-passion", G "Mit-leid"...
0
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0answers
36 views
Why do you call ideal wishes “dreams?” [duplicate]
One property of dreams, which you have when you sleep, is that they are not real but imaginary, and thus may give you unlikely experiences.
In many languages throughout the world, not limited to ...
4
votes
1answer
107 views
What happened to *kweþana?
In a time when distinct Germanic dialects already existet in geographically diffenrent areas, the usual verbs to signal a following direct speech seem to be descendant of PrG „*kweþana“ in any dialect ...
0
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0answers
42 views
Semantics of a focus particle and Epistemic/Alethic Modality
I've been working on a paper which focuses on interaction of focus particle and epistemic/alethic modality in Turkish.
Focus particle "de/da" in Turkish is a clitic and comes right after the word, ...
0
votes
1answer
93 views
existential force and universal force
I was reading the paper below, and because of my lack of knowledge on the linguistic terms, I have been stuck half way through. If you would be kind enough to enlighten me, I would be very much ...
0
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0answers
27 views
Is there a term for the unit comprising a lexical item and its semantic role?
In a sentence such as "The man ate the cheese," man is a noun, with a definition in the lexicon, and is also the agent in the sentence. Is there a term for a unit that includes all of these components,...
