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Components of Grammar: Lexicon One thing which users of a language must know is a stock vocabulary items — a lexicon . The lexicon contains all the items in the language which must be learned individually, rather than constructed by general rules. The lexicon must also contain idioms — multi-word phrases whose meanings are not completely predictable from the meanings of their parts. For example, the phrase keep tabs on must be learned as a single vocabulary item. Its meaning is not predictable from the meanings of the individual parts keep , tab , s , and on .
Components of Grammar: Lexicon For each lexical item (whether a word, morpheme or idiom), the language user must know several things. So we can think of each lexical item as having a “lexical entry” which specifies several kinds of information: Most importantly for our purposes, the lexical entry of a vocabulary item must specify what the item means . The study of this aspect of language is lexical semantics , and will be a major topic of this course.
Components of Grammar: Lexicon For each lexical item (whether a word, morpheme or idiom), the language user must know several things. So we can think of each lexical item as having a “lexical entry” which specifies several kinds of information: In addition, it must specify how that item is pronounced — or at least, those aspects of its pronunciation which do not follow from general rule. Aspects of pronunciation which are rule-governed — for example the fact that the p in pie is produced with aspiration — do not need to be represented in that item’s lexical entry.
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Components of Grammar: Lexicon For each lexical item (whether a word, morpheme or idiom), the language user must know several things. So we can think of each lexical item as having a “lexical entry” which specifies several kinds of information: And it must specify the item’s morphosyntactic categories — its part of speech (noun, verb, etc.), and inflectional features (tense, number, etc.) These categories will be referenced by general rules to determine the combinatorial properties of the lexical item — what larger constructions it can fit into, and how.
Components of Grammar: Rule Systems One such rule system — the syntactic rules — specifies what combinations of words are part of the language, based on their morphosyntactic categories. For example, a speaker of English must know that the combination of a determiner (such as the ) and a common noun (such as fish ) forms a phrase, and that such phrases can appear in (most of) the same positions as proper names. The fact that such phrases can appear in the same position as proper names implies that they and proper names belong to a common morphosyntactic category. We should regard the syntactic rules not just as specifying which combinations are allowed, but also as assigning them to categories . In addition to the lexicon, a speaker’s knowledge of a language must include several different rule systems , which account for regular patterns in the language.
Components of Grammar: Rule Systems In addition to the lexicon, a speaker’s knowledge of a language must include several different rule systems , which account for regular patterns in the language. If syntactic rules work this way, they define a part-whole structure (constitutent structure) on phrases and sentences, which we may represent using a labeled tree diagram: S NP VP D N′ V NP a N ate D N′ bird the N fish
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Components of Grammar: Rule Systems In addition to the lexicon, a speaker’s knowledge of a language must include several different rule systems , which account for regular patterns in the language. S NP VP D N′ V NP a N ate D N′ bird the N fish Note that rules which simply specify what combinations are allowed in the language, and what categories they belong to, will not by themselves tell us what those combinations mean .
Components of Grammar: Rule Systems In addition to the lexicon, a speaker’s knowledge of a language must include several different rule systems , which account for regular patterns in the language. S NP VP D N′ V NP a N ate D N′ bird the N fish For that, we will need a separate set of rules — the compositional semantic rules . The nature of these rules will be another major topic for this course.
Components of Grammar: Rule Systems In addition to the lexicon, a speaker’s knowledge of a language must include several different rule systems , which account for regular patterns in the language. S NP VP D N′ V NP a N ate D N′ bird the N fish The compositional semantic rules of a language should tell us what each non-lexical phrase in the language means. The number of phrases is infinite, so they must do this in a systematic way, rather than by listing.
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Components of Grammar: Rule Systems In addition to the lexicon, a speaker’s knowledge of a language must include several different rule systems , which account for regular patterns in the language. S NP VP D N′ V NP a N ate D N′ bird the N fish If the meanings of complex phrases are assigned based on the meanings of their syntactic parts… …the assignment will ultimately cash out in terms of the meanings of lexical items, which are listed in the lexicon.
Components of Grammar: Rule Systems In addition to the lexicon, a speaker’s knowledge of a language must include several different rule systems , which account for regular patterns in the language. S NP VP D N′ V NP a N ate D N′ bird the N fish For example, the meaning of this sentence should be calculable from the meaning of the phrase a bird and the meaning of the phrase ate the fish .
Components of Grammar: Rule Systems In addition to the lexicon, a speaker’s knowledge of a language must include several different rule systems , which account for regular patterns in the language. VP NP N′ the N fish The meaning of the phrase ate the fish in turn is calculable from the meaning of the verb ate and the meaning of the phrase the fish . And so on, until we reach the meanings of the individual lexical items: a , bird , ate , the , and fish . NP N′ a N bird D ate D V
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Components of Grammar: Rule Systems In addition to the lexicon, a speaker’s knowledge of a language must include several different rule systems , which account for regular patterns in the language. This means that compositional semantic rules must be formulated in a way which permits them to interact properly both with syntactic structure and with lexical semantics .
Components of Grammar: Rule Systems In addition to the lexicon, a speaker’s knowledge of a language must include several different rule systems , which account for regular patterns in the language. In addition to syntactic and compositional semantic rules, a language normally must also contain morphological rules . These determine how complex words are formed, for example by compounding, prefixation, or suffixation. Compositional semantic rules must assign meanings to regularly formed complex words, just as they do to syntactic phrases. For example, a morphological rule determines that the past tense of walk is walked , while a compositional semantic rule determines what walked means, from the meanings of walk and – ed .
Components of Grammar: Rule Systems In addition to the lexicon, a speaker’s knowledge of a language must include several different rule systems , which account for regular patterns in the language. Finally, a language must include phonological rules , which determine those aspects of pronunciation which are not stipulated the lexicon. For example, vowels in English are systematically shortened before voiceless consonants in the same syllable. The [æ] in bat is shorter than the [æ] in bad . This kind of phonological effect is “non-contrastive” and does not affect meaning in the usual sense. But some aspects of pronunciation — for example intonational contours or stress — do help determine semantic interpretation. It is a matter of debate whether these kinds of effects show that semantic rules are directly sensitive to phonological representation.
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Overview Lexicon listing individual vocabulary items, with idiosyncratic information about each — including lexical semantics Morphological Rules specifying how complex words are formed Syntactic Rules specifying how complex phrases and sentences are formed Compositional Semantic Rules specifying what those complex words, phrases and sentences mean, based on the meanings of their parts Phonological Rules Specifying those aspects of pronunciation which are regular and patterned ? In studying semantics , we are naturally most interested in the lexicon and in the compositional semantic rules. But we must always bear in mind how these fit into the larger system.
REFERENCE, PREDICATION, AND PROPOSITIONS LING/PHIL 307: Elements of Semantics and Pragmatics
Subject and Predicate Our central task in semantic analysis is to formulate compositional semantic rules and the semantic parts of lexical entries. Let’s start by recognizing that simple sentences (not all sentences!) can be divided into two main parts, traditionally called the subject and the predicate : John snores The president spoke. They saw a worm Spot is a dog Typically, the subject is a noun phrase (NP), and the predicate is a verb phrase (VP). This much is syntax, not semantics.
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Subject and Predicate A very simple analysis of what such sentences mean: The subject is used to refer to a particular individual or group. For example, in John snores , the name John is used to refer to an actual person named John ; In The president spoke , the phrase the president is used to refer to a specific person occupying the office of president (currently Joe Biden); Etc.
Subject and Predicate A very simple analysis of what such sentences mean: The predicate holds true of certain individuals and/or groups, but not of others. For example, snores holds true of all those individuals who snore, but not of individuals who don’t snore; Is a dog holds true of dogs, but not of other things; Etc.
Subject and Predicate A very simple analysis of what such sentences mean: The sentence as a whole means that the predicate holds true of the group or individual referred to by the subject. So They saw a worm means that the predicate saw a worm holds true of the group referred to using the pronoun they ; Etc.
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Cautions Caution : This analysis is not intended for sentences which are not of subject/predicate form — for example, sentences which consist of multiple smaller sentences: The rutabagas tasted delicious, but the fish was awful. It might be appropriate for each of these smaller sentences, but not for the whole larger sentence of which they are constituents.
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Cautions Caution : For sentences which are of subject/predicate form, it will not work for examples where the subject is not used to refer to one particular individual or group. Such examples include cases where the subject “quantifies over” individuals rather than referring to them: Every dog likes to take walks No beets were in the salad
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Cautions Caution : This analysis does not imply that only subjects are used to refer. Expressions other than subjects can also be used to refer. For example, in the sentence We saw the president , the direct object is the phrase the president , which might be used to refer to Joe Biden. The fact that this phrase is used to refer does not mean that it is a subject. Expression is a general term for morphemes, words, phrases, and sentences.
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Cautions Caution : Like all linguistic analyses, this one is open to debate. Arguments can be given against it even for sentences where the subject is a name, pronoun, or definite NP as subject. We will see some of these arguments later in the course. But it is a simple, natural and intuitive analysis, which makes a good starting point for further discussions and development…
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Reference and Holding True In order to use this analysis to explain the meanings of sentences, we will need to develop theories of the concepts it appeals to: What is involved in referring to a particular group or individual, and what constraints are there on which words or phrases can be used to refer to which groups or individuals? How is it that a predicate can hold true of certain groups/individuals but not others, and how does this relate to knowledge of language users? A simple analysis of what subject-predicate sentences mean: The subject is used to refer to a particular individual or group. The predicate holds true of certain individuals and/or groups, but not of others. The sentence as a whole means that the predicate holds true of the group or individual referred to by the subject.
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Reference and Holding True What is involved in referring to a particular group or individual, and what constraints are there on which words or phrases can be used to refer to which groups or individuals? How is it that a predicate can hold true of certain groups/individuals but not others, and how does this relate to knowledge of language users? These are both complex topics, to which we will return in more detail later in the course. But it is worth considering them both in a preliminary way now…
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Referring & Indexicality Which individual or group a NP refers to depends heavily on the pragmatic context in which it is used. This is most evident in the case of pronouns: The first person singular pronoun I refers to the speaker; the second person singular pronoun you refers to the addressee, etc. So in a context where John is speaking, the sentence I am an ostrich means that John is an ostrich; But in a context where Mary is speaking, the sentence I am an ostrich means that Mary is an ostrich. Terms whose reference varies according to context in this way are called indexical expressions.
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Indexicality & Propositions Of course in some sense, the pronoun I means the same thing for everyone, and so does the sentence I am an ostrich . But the fact that the pronoun refers to different individuals in different contexts means that the sentence is used in different contexts to make different claims — or, as we will put it, to assert different propositions . Part of the analysis of the meanings of sentences is formulating principles to determine which proposition a given sentence expresses in which contexts.
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