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Lexical Semantics
Exercise 6.1: Traditional Semantics (MM)
1. (a) Consult a number of dictionaries on the meaning of the word hero. Then
consider the meaning of the word in contemporary usage (in magazines,
newspapers, and casual conversation). Does the dictionary meaning reflect the
current meaning, or would you say that the meaning has changed and that
dictionaries have not kept pace with this change?
(b) Some dictionaries list the meaning of decimate as 'kill or remove one in
every ten of', while most speakers of English would argue that it means 'destroy a
large proportion of'. How do you account for this discrepancy?
(a) reconcile
(b) generous
(c) procrastinate
(d) patient
(e) reputation
(a) the instructor of Linguistics 101
(b) the day before yesterday
(c) the capital of Brazil
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1. For the following words, list as many synonyms as you can think of and discuss the
connotations that these synonyms have.
(a) frugal
(b) thin (of a person)
2. Fill in the columns below with the appropriate synonym. In each case, the word in
column A is of English origin and the word in column B is of French or Latin origin.
Can you make a general statement about the connotations of the words in columns A
and B?
A B
feed ____________
____________ conceal
____________ people
begin ____________
____________ aid/assist
mistake ____________
____________ labor
____________ vision
middle ____________
____________ altitude
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3. Below is one member of a set of scalar adjectives. Identify the other member of the set; if
an alternative member exists (in a different context), list that as well.
(a) hard
(b) strong
(c) short
(d) happy
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(e) light
(f) cheap
(a) tired
(b) wet
(c) poor
(d) sad
(e) hot
5. Name the structural relation expressed by each of the following pairs of words.
6. Identify whether the following pairs are examples of antonymy or complementarity. Are
these concepts gradable?
(a) clean/dirty
(b) drunk/sober
(c) fresh/stale
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relations. Internally, these may be organized as a hierarchy (e.g. royalty, military ranks), as
a meronymy (e.g. body parts), as a sequence (e.g. numbers), or as a cycle (e.g. days of the
week, months of the year), as well as with no discernible order. A thesaurus is generally
organized according to substantive fields (although it also makes use of hyponymy and
synonymy).
The words which are part of a lexical field enter into sense or meaning relationships with
one another. Each word delimits the meaning of the next word in the field and is delimited
by it; that is, it marks off an area or range within the semantic domain. However, there may
be a fair amount of overlap in meaning between words in a domain, and it is often difficult
to find mutually delimiting terms. Within a domain, some words are marked, while some
are unmarked; the unmarked members are more frequent, more basic, broader in meaning,
easier to learn and remember, not metaphorical, and typically one morpheme or single
lexical item. The marked members often consist of more than one lexical item and may
denote a subtype of the unmarked member.
Let's consider some examples of lexical fields. The field of "parts of the face" (see the table
below, part a) is a substantive field of part to whole. Terms within the field are arranged
spatially and quite clearly delimited, though there is some overlap between terms such as
forehead and temple. Terms such as bridge of the nose or eyelids would constitute marked
members of the field. The field of "stages of life" (see b) is arranged sequentially, though
there is considerable overlap between terms (e.g. child, toddler) as well as some apparent
gaps (e.g. there are no simple terms for the different stages of adulthood). Note that a term
such a minor or juvenile belongs to a technical register, a term such as kid or tot to a
colloquial register, and a term such as sexagenarian or octogenarian to a more formal
register. The semantic field of "water" (see c) could be divided into a number of subfields;
in addition, there would appear to be a great deal of overlap between terms such as
sound/fjord or cove/harbor/bay. The semantic field of "clothing" (see d) is a particularly
rich one, with many unmarked terms (such as dress or pants) as well as many marked terms
(such as pedal-pushers or smoking jacket). The field of clothing might be organized in many
different ways – by sex of wearer, by occasion of wearing, by body part covered, and so on.
Finally, the field of "jewelry" (see e) would seem to include quite well-delimited terms, with
a number of unmarked terms.
Examples of lexical fields: (a) Parts of the Face, (b) Stages of Life, (c) Water, (d) Clothing,
and (e) Jewelry
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(c) water
forms: ice, water, steam, vapor, sleet, rain, snow, hail
bodies of water: ditch, slough, swamp, narrows, strait, inlet, bight, ___bayou, brine, deep,
firth, loch, tarn, well, reservoir, firth, pool, sea, ___ocean, lake, pond, bay, inlet, estuary,
fjord, sound, gulf, lagoon, ___cove, harbor
water in motion: creek, river, waves, billows, stream, rain, brook, ___rivulet, tributary,
spring
frozen water: ice, snow, crystal, sleet, hail, icicle, iceberg, rime, ___hoarfrost, glacier
gas: vapor, steam
(d) clothing
dress (cocktail-, strapless-, shirtwaist-) gown (evening-, ball-)
toga shift jumper smock
jumpsuit suit pantsuit sports coat
vest pajamas nightgown smoking jacket
bathrobe tee-shirt shirt blouse
undershirt turtleneck pants/slacks trousers
shorts knickers cut-offs skorts
culottes skirt peddle-pushers bloomers
underwear panties brassière girdle
hat cap beret tam
toque scarf headband earmuffs
belt tie suspenders gaiters, spats
socks tights pantyhose stockings
gloves mittens muff muffler
shawl cape coat (sports-, rain-, over-, top-, lab-)
jacket parka wind-breaker anorak
sweater pullover cardigan apron
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(e) jewelr
y
ring earring nose-ring brooch
watch wristwatch pocket-watch stud
pin pendant necklace choker
crown tiara bracelet anklet
cufflinks stick-pin tie-clasp belt buckle
Now try to list the possible members of the following semantic fields:
1. vocalization
2. types of roads
3. personality traits
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(a) bank
(b) response
2. Often the same verb can denote a number of different situations. Below are verbs used in
several different ways. Analyze using the four inherent features of verbs.
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3. Any particular verb may fit into a number of different syntactic contexts, and as a result
may form different situation types. For example, the verb write may appear in a sentence of
the form N – V (He is writing) or N – V – N (He writes songs), both of which are activities.
Or it may appear in a sentence of the form N – V – PP (He writes on the board), which is
likewise an activity.
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2. Identify and name the modal element in each of the following and say whether it is
[+EPISTEMIC] or [+DEONTIC].
(a) It's not likely that he will want to help.
(b) There isn't any necessity to tell her the results.
(c) The event will have to be cancelled, I guess.
(d) I insist that you are guilty.
2. Among the terms in the following, name the basic level term(s) and the lower-level terms
in each case.
car, hearse, fire engine, jeep, station wagon, van, truck, pick-up truck, tow truck, delivery
van, humvee, semi-trailer truck, diesel bus, flatbed truck, bus, taxi(cab), cement mixer,
tanker truck, sports utility vehicle (SUV), hybrid, dump truck, garbage truck, sports car,
convertible, sedan, coupe, roadster, minivan, school bus, trolley bus, panel truck, camper
van, recreational vehicle (RV)
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(a) study
(b) surprise
(c) slither
(d) invest
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3. Explain what is "wrong" with each of the following expressions using semantic features
and the notion of selectional restrictions.
Answer: fatherless has the feature [–FATHER], while orphan also has the feature [–
FATHER]; thus, this expression is tautological.
5. State the image schema upon which each of the following metaphors is based. (Do not
simply paraphrase the metaphors.)
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