14-09-2018

Video What is meaning?

Meaning have all symbolic features. But they stands for something else. All signs stands for
something.

Semantics: -fuzzines.

-meaning change over time

-meaning and form is not the same

-context matterspragmatics; non verbal communication

Logic

Phycology

philosophy of lanugue.

Questions:

-What is a sign?

Undersurface symbolic feature. Stands for something else. Symbolic relation between the
signifier and signify.

-What is meaning?

Relationship between symbols and what they stand for. Meaning is the signify. Meaning are
the sematic features, the signify.

-What is semantics?

Study the relationship between signify and signifier. Studies meaning Semantic is a branch of
linguistics that studies meaning.

-What is fuzziness?

It is when the words don’t have a fix or independent meaning because they depend on each
other. Concept that has to do with two branches of linguistics: semantics and pragmatics. Pizza
has always the same meaning, the semantic features never changes what changes is the
context. Fuzziness has to do with the context. Meaning is inalterable but depending to the
context we can interpret in a different way.

-Find a word that describes the Relationship signifier and signify?

Arbitrary because is a social convention. It is arbitrary because there is nothing in the

graphemes or phonemes that tell us ??. non-arbitrary onomatopoeia

-What is pragmatics?

context to obtain the meaning of words. Branch of linguistics that studies meaning in context.
-Examples of non-verbal communication?

Tone, touch, movement, timing. Other features that adds meaning to communication.
Communication is trasmition of meaning, non-verbal means without words, for instance: touch,
movements, distance, tone

-What is proxemics?

Distance when we approach to other people. Science that studies the distance between
speakers and its impact in communication.

-What is semiotics?

Study the symbols that allows communication. Science that study signs, semantic is included
within semiotics.

-What is a logical form?

A pattern Symbolic representation of meaning

-Which issues question does philosophy ???

Philosophy of language different questions…

-“How context and communication impact on meaning”, why is wrong?

Graphemes and phones are all signs are they are all included in the category of symbols. The
context has no impact in meaning, the changes is how we interpret that meaning.

19/09/18

SEMINARIO

Video about “interface”.

Interface: interaction.

Semantics interfaces with other parts of grammar: syntax, phonology, pragmatics… It is not
isolated.

1. Which are the branches of linguistics? Can you define them?

They are branches of linguistic because they study different components of grammar.

SOUNDS:

Phonetics: branch of linguistic or component of grammar that deals/studies of sound systems

of particular languages. Allophones: “t” with or without aspiration, does not change meaning.

Phonology: branch of linguistic or component of grammar that deals/studies of sound systems

of particular languages. Phonemes: pin/tin changes meaning.

STRUCTURE:

Morphology: studies the internal structure of words and how words are built put of smaller
components.

Syntax: investigates how words combine in larger structures to form sentences and phrases.
MEANING:

Semantics: studies meaning of word, phrases and sentences independently of context

Pragmatics: the interpretation of meaning within context.

2. What is an interface?

Interaction between different levels of grammar.

3. With which parts of grammar does semantics interface with?

Morphology, phonology, syntax and pragmatics(according to the video). Not phonetics

because it studies the system of sound but it deals with allophones which has nothing to do
with meaning.

4. Can you give examples of interfaces between semantics and phonology?

-minimal pairs(ben and pen), stress effects(contrast, export), sentence stress(it is more of ,
pragmatics because meaning does not change but emphasis does), tonal effect or pitch
variation(interrogations, exclamations…)

5.Can you give examples of interfaces between semantics and morphology?

Inflection(-ed), compounding (school-boy), derivation(destroy-destroyer…)

Transparency: is predictability. It is transparent when we can predict what would be the effect
in the meaning.

-inflection is predictable so the interface semantic morphology is transparent.

-Derivation: the prefix an- we know it is negation. -able stands for the capacity of… -ion is not
transparent: distract-distraction/ elect-election(act and event) / coalification… -ion can affect
the root in different ways so it is not transparent.

-compounding: sometime is transparent. For endocentric compounds is transparent, we can

predict the meaning of the compound from the meaning of their parts and exocentric it is not,
we cannot get the meaning of the compound by knowing the meaning of its parts.

Exocentric: bullseye, breakfast, bluestocking, green house.

6. Semantics and syntax?

Word order. We change the syntactic order which brings along a semantic change.

The lion chases the mouse/ the mouse chases the lion.

The lecturer teaches the student / the student lectures the teacher.
7. Semantics and pragmatics?

Meaning+Context, utterance+context or situation, interpretation, performancefunctions,

use.

Context: time, participants or language users and space.

Implicature

Inference

-What time is it? +The milkman just arrived.

Sentenceutterance

Contextsitutation

Literalnon-literal or figurative

Within a context interlocutors or participants

Influencias de factores contextuales en la interpretación del significado.

Theoretical model of study langue: the theorist choses a theoretical framework and according
to that framework

Exocentric compounds: an exocentric compound is a compound construction that lacks a head

word: that is, the construction as a whole is not grammatically and/or semantically equivalent
to either of its parts. Also called a headless compound. The central meaning of the compound
isn't conveyed by the head. The meaning is external to the literal meaning of the
compound. Examples of exocentric compounds include scarecrow, redhead, pickpocket,
showoff and paperback.

Mas Adelante definiciones iguales pero en clase.

Theoretical linguistics, or general linguistics: is the branch of linguistics which inquires into the
nature of language itself and seeks to answer fundamental questions as to what language is;
how it works; how universal grammar (UG) as a domain-specific mental organ operates, if it
exists at all; what are its unique properties; how does language relate to other cognitive
processes, etc. Theoretical linguists are most concerned with constructing models of linguistic
knowledge, and ultimately developing a linguistic theory.

Cognitive linguistics (CL): is an interdisciplinary branch of linguistics, combining knowledge and

research from both psychology and linguistics. It describes how language interacts with
cognition, how language forms our thoughts, and the evolution of language parallel with the
change in the common mindset across time.

Neurolinguistics: the branch of linguistics dealing with the relationship between language and
the structure and functioning of the brain. The study of the neural mechanisms in the human
brain that control the comprehension, production, and acquisition of language.

Psycholinguistics: the study of the relationships between linguistic behaviour and psychological
processes, including the process of language acquisition. The study of the interrelation between
linguistic factors and psychological aspects. It also
studies psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use,
comprehend and produce language.

QUESTIONS ON THE ARTICLE:

1. Synonyms for language, states of mind and outside world.

State of mind: mental image concepts and mental representations
Outside world: real world reference
Language: linguistic expressions
Those three things make up the semiotic triangle. Semiotics studies signs.

1.linguistic expressions

2. mental rep/concepts

3.outside world: reference (objects, person, events,

feelings…)

Number two is where meaning is.

2. Define a mentalistic theory of meaning. Use the concepts on number one.

Approach that meanly claims that words primarily stand for ideas.
Claims that linguistic expressions stand for concepts
3. What is a mentalistic theory of meaning good for? What is it not good for?
The mental approach is good for words that have clear conceptual content.
Not good for building a psychological realistic theory of meaning. An important problem
of mentalistic theory is that this approach does not give us clear view of the relation
between words , concepts and the outside world. not good for abstract conepts.

4. Define referential theory of meaning. Using concepts in number one.

An approach that establishes a direct relation between words and the objects they
represent does not exclude that we also talk about non-existing objects.
Claims that linguistic expressions stand for the outside world.
5. What is it good for and not good for?
The theory is used in explaining our knowledge of language, but makes no claim about
how we know these things, what kind of knowledge this is, or how it is stored in the
brain. Good for linguistic expression that stand for an obvious referent phone. Not good
for linguistic expression which do not stand for obvious referents.
6. Definition of reference and 5 types of references.
Reference is the relation between linguistic expressions and things in the world.
examples: objects, properties of the individuals, relations between individuals(love),
events(verbs) and situations.
7. Is reference only applicable to tangible things?
No tangible and intangible.
Buscar prototype theory.

Semantic theory focused on the categorization of meaning. How we process concept as if they
are prototype of a group or not.

26/09/2018

Other questions about the text:

-What is a world creating predicate?

Predicates like: to dream, to believe, to think are called “word creating” predicates since they
introduce their own “possible world” not necessary identical the real one. They create a
world. The mentalistic theory deal good with these the referential theory not(it’s on unreal
world). I dreamt that I was a queen  a new world

-Name two problems related to phrase and sentence conceptualisation.

1. INTERSUBJECTIVITY: the concepts need to be able to be communicated among people.

Concepts need to be shared so we have intersubject communication, they can’t be too private.
2. SYNTAX-SEMANTIC INTERFACE: not only do I need to take into account the meaning of the
lexical items but also the syntactic order of them.

Predicate and argument are semantic categories. Predicate is the semantic function that takes
semantic argument that fulfil its meaning. Argument which the predicate needs to assure that
the semantic function if fulfilled.

The arguments are: agent-theme-goal

The predicate is: -sent

A copulative verb is not predicate

[I] am the [teacher ]

Arg predicate

I travel from Spain to Italy 3 arguments: agent “I” source “from Spain” goal “to Italy” predicate
“travel”

I drink a coffee agent “I” predicate “drink” theme “coffee”.

I will have eaten a sandwich  agent “I” predicate “eat” theme “sandwich”

The book is read  agent: omitted theme “book” predicate “read”

The semantic structure has fixed order.

Word meaning are stored.

Listen to podcast: Linguistics Podcast episode 6: semantics.

Questions:

1.What is semantics?

Study of all meaning. It is a branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of word phrases and
sentences.

2.Why is semantics very philosophical?

You can’t really put down what is the meaning of meaning. We can’t touch, see or hear meaning.
It is philosophical because you can’t pin down the meaning.

3. Is the definition of meaning always the same? If not, what does it depend on?

No, it depends on the theoretical framework

4. What is the lexicon? What do we store and we do not store in it?

Lexicon: the mental dictionary of lexical items. In the lexicon we store: functional
units(prepositions), content words(nouns), productive morphemes(-ed), irregular verbs. We do
NOT store: everything that can be derived from the meaning of its parts or productively from
the combinations of units.

5. do we store word meaning? Sentence meaning?

Yes, but not always. It depends: if we have 1 word that can be not derived from another, we
store it.

Phrase meaning: not always, yes when you can’t comprehend the meaning by the meaning of
its components(idiomatics).

Sentence meaning: some thing. Normally you don’t but if it’s idiomatic yes(it’s raining dogs and
cats)

6. how are lexicon and meaning related?

We store meaning in lexicon, they interface because semantic information is part of the lexical
unit. It has morphomatic, phonological, syntactical, semantic information it self,

7.what is productivity?

8.”the king of the usa has a wife” does it have a meaning and a reference?

It has not have a reference. According to the mentalistic framework it does have meaning.
According to the referential framework it does NOT have it.

9. what is Fregean semantics?

Fregean Semantics says that the meaning of a sentence is its truth value. We have two truth
values: true/false or one/zero. So any sentence can have two meaning: T/F

10. Unger Fregean semantic do the sentences: “Lucia has a watch” “Lucia has a pen” have the
same meaning?

They have the same meaning: T. if it was mentalistic theory their meaning would be different.
11.Do tautology always means the same under Fregean semantics?

It is a redundancy( a teacher teaches). Yes it means always the same: T. “the student
studies”=tautology “oh, a student who’s studying”= semantically is a tautology, pragmatically
not.

12.What is a Boolean ideal?

A Boolean algebra is a definition based on attribute and value (1/0). One attribute: two different
values.

13.What is the main problem of ve

The problems with semiotic.

a. You need to try to pull yourself out for long to talk about language(we use long to talk
about long/we use meaning to talk about meaning) it is called circularity.
b. It is very philosophical

14. How can theory of meaning be more or less descriptive?

[SING] is the concept, the semantic representation of sings/sang is not descriptive.

According with Boolean we have more descriptive by decomposing meaning.

27/09/2018

Theoretical linguistics: does theories. Concerned with the construct of theoretical model.
Branches of theoretical linguistic: semantic, syntax, phonology and morphology.

Theoretical frameworks represent or formalise the different components of grammar. The same
sentence can be represented in different ways according to the different theoretical frameworks

General linguistics: studies the nature of language what is language?, universal grammar..

Artificial intelligence:

Difference between component of grammar and branches of linguistics: every branch of

linguistic studies every component of grammar and every component of grammar has a
linguistic branch.

According to generative grammar: syntax is the most important component of grammar

Functional grammar gives more importance to pragmatics and semantics.

Semantics is a branch of theoretical linguistics and component of grammar.

Syntax: component of grammar that deals with the structure of sentences. Or branch of
theoretical linguistic which studies the structure of sentence.

It is a branch of linguistics because there is a component of grammar.

Philosophy of language: deals with reference and philosophical questions like the meaning of
meaning.

Semiotics and semantics: semantics is part of semiotic. Semiotics is the science of sing and the
sign is something that stands for another thing and semantic is precisely that. Semiotics is a great
group of signs and within them, the linguistics ones form the semantics.
Artificial intelligence: is a term for simulated intelligence in machines. These machines are
programmed to "think" like a human and mimic the way a person acts.

Cognitive linguistic: cognition is thinking, remembering, reasoning… all that have to do with
thought. Cognitive linguistic is interdisciplinary because it mixes cognition(thought) and
linguistics. Here semantics is a subset of cognition. According to cognitive linguistic language is
part of our whole cognitive capacity. How is language represented in the brain?

Categorization has to do with language and cognition. There is no categorization of reality

independent of my language. Strong relationship between language and thought: linguistic
relativity.

Psycholinguistics: an interdisciplinary branch of linguistics that deal with psychology and

linguistics. It deal with mental processes concerned with the production and reception of
language.

Neurolinguistics: part of psycholinguistics. It is interdisciplinary branch that deals with neural

system and linguistics. It really have experimental work. One very important subset is la
aphasiology

03/10/2018

1. What is semantics?
Semantic is the study of meaning communicated through language. Branch of
theoretical linguistics that deals with the meaning of words, phrases and sentences. It is
also a component of grammar.
2. Which are the levels of representation of a grammatical framework? Define them. And
tell why do we have these levels?
Phonology: the branch of theoretical linguistics that studies the sound system of a
language which distinguish the meaning of words the study of what sounds a language
has and how these sounds combine to form words. Phonetics: branch of linguistic that
studies the sounds of language that not necessarily distinguish the meaning of a word.
Syntax: branch of theoretical linguistics that studies the structure, how we combine
words into sentences. is the study of how words can be combined into sentences. And
semantics: is the study of meanings of words and sentences abstracted from the context.
Pragmatic: Branch of theoretical linguistics that studies meaning within context.
Because knowing a word unites different kinds of knowledge. Relation of cause. Because
we have different types of knowledge we have a theoretical framework of different levels
of grammar and so we have different branches of linguistics
3. Define and give an example(different) of semantic contradiction, semantic ambiguity
and semantic entailment.
Semantic contradiction: is a phenomenon whereby two sentences cannot coexist
logically. Intrasentence(the blind man saw the sheep in the field) and intersentence(I love
but I hate you semantically is a contradiction but pragmatically is informative). This
married women doesn’t have a husband(semantically is a contradiction but
pragmatically speaking is informative)
Semantic ambiguity: a linguistic phenomenon whereby a word, a phrase or a sentence
may have several possible meanings. a sentence that has several possible meanings.
Types: she gave her the slip(lexical ambiguity) he kicked the boy with the stick(structural
ambiguity), all the students hate a teacher(scope ambiguity)
 Semantic entailment: a linguistic phenomenon whereby knowing sentence A implies
knowing the meaning of sentence B. relationship between sentences so that if A entails
B, then if we know A we automatically know B. My brother is coming(I have a brother).
If I have an entailment and I negate one of them it results on a semantic contradiction.

4. Define signification, signifier, signify, icon, index, symbol. And give examples.
Signification: creating and interpreting symbols. Process of producing and
understanding signs. Process of associating a signifier with a signify
Signifier: linguistic expression or the image or any element that makes something stands
for something else.
Signify: the referent in the outer world
Within signs we have three different types:
Icon: non arbitrary relation between signifier and signify where there is a similarity
between a sign and what it represents – symbol of a cow
Index: arbitrary relation between signifier and signify is where the sign is closely
associated with is signified -
symbol: totally arbitrary relation between signifier and signify is where there is only a
conventional link between the sign and its signified – white pigeon/peace

5. What is the Definitions theory and name three problems and three solutions.

It is a semantic framework whereby the meaning of words is the definition. This theory
state that to give the meaning of linguistic expressions we should establish definitions
of the meanings of words. First problem: circularity, if the definitions of word meaning
are given in words, the process might never end. Second: how to make sure that our
definitions of a word’s meaning are exact; whether linguistic knowledge is different from
general knowledge. Third: look at what particular utterances mean in context: the
contribution of context to meaning.

PROBLEMS:

-Circularity: because we are studying language using langue, we are defining language
using language. But meanly because the object of study and the tool to study are the
same. Solution: create a metalanguage. Metalanguage: is the tool of representation of
language(in this case). We have different symbols to talk about language.

-Difference between encyclopaedic knowledge and linguistic knowledge. Maybe my

knowledge(encyclopaedic) does not coincide with what is on dictionary(linguistic). The
solution is to make a clear distinction of both knowledges because we can understand
each other because we know enough.

-Sometimes we cannot interpret only with the definition. It excludes pragmatic

information. The solution: we have different component pragmatic that are not included
in the dictionary but allows us to understand each other.

Solutions: to cope the problem of circularity one solution is to design a semantic

metalanguage with which to describe the semantic units and rules of all languages. An
idea metalanguage would be neutral with respect to any natural languages. It should
satisfy scientific criteria of clarity, economy, consistency. Setting a metalanguage might
help too with the problem of relating semantic and encyclopaedic knowledge. To cope
with the third problem one traditional solution has been assume a split in an
 expression’s meaning between the local contextual effects and a context-free element
of meaning, which we might call conventional or literal meaning.

6. What is an idiolect.
The technical term for an individual’s language.
Linguistic variety of one person.
Antonym of intersubjetivity of subjects
7. What is a metalanguage.
Describe the semantic units and rules of language. It is a tool of description.

05/10/2018

1.Define module of grammar?

Synonyms: module, component, level of grammar.

2.Why do linguistics believe that we need separate modules and why some do not?

Because our linguistic knowledge has different types, and these are independent. Because of
these interfaces other think that we should only have one module, a macrocomponent.

3. What is the mental lexicon?

The mental store or storage of lexical expressions with their semantic, syntactic, morphological
and phonological features. We store what is productive.

4. What is productivity?

Ability to create bigger linguistic expressions. Watch+edwatched

It is the ability of creating new words and sentences (bigger linguistic expressions) from the
lexical expressions stored in the mental lexicon. (-ed is productive because it allows speakers to
create bigger expressions, like walked- from walk + ed)

5. What is a recursive rule?

Is the ability to create repeating structures. It creates by repeating. For example: I know Paul
and Mary and Tessa and … NP and NP=NP and NP=NP the man who was standing there was
doing pragmatics. Coordination and subordination or embedding.

6. What is compositional semantics?

A semantic theory of language or semantic framework according to which the meaning of the
sentence is the addition of the meaning of the element plus the meaning of its syntactic
combination or syntactic structure.

The dog followed the cat  [the+ dog+ follow+ed+the+cat] + [agent+action+pacient]

The problem are idiomatic expressions because we cannot get the meaning from the meaning
of the elements and its syntax.

7. What is reference?

Relation between linguistic expression and the referent(outer world) one and three of triangle
8.What is sense?

Number two of triangle. Meaning, concept.

9.What is the scope of meaning?

Alcance. It depends on the language because we define the meaning in relation with other
meanings. It depends with how many meaning or concepts I oppose to it. For instance: the scope
of pez is the half of the scope of fish(pez y pescado)

En inglés decimos fish para vivo y muerto en español decimos pez para vivo y pescado para
muerto. Es la amplitud del concepto que se define en oposición a otros conceptos.

10/10/2018

What is the difference between utterance, sentence and proposition?

There are three different terms to describe the levels of language. Utterance: a piece of language
both written and spoken. They are concrete. Real pieces of speech. Sentence: are abstract
grammatical elements obtained from utterances. Propositions: descriptions of states of affairs
and some writers see them as basic element of sentence meaning. Utterance: real piece os
speech spoken or written by, a particular speaker in a specific moment. If you abstract the
utterance of phonetic information, contextual information and idiolect. Sentence is an
abstraction of the pragmatic information of an utterance. If we abstract some grammatical
information you obtain propositions. You remove the syntactic info that do not affect semantics.

Two sentences said out loud by two persons: Two sentences four utterance and 1 proposition.

I have broken the computer break(I, computer)

The cat chases the dog chase(cat, dog)

The dog chases the cat chase(dog, cat)

El primero siempre es el agente, el segundo el paciente o el tema y después los temas.

Proposition

Abstraction - some grammatical info

Sentence

-phonetic info - context -idiolect

Utterance

What is a cleft sentence? And what is a pseudo-cleft sentence?

A cleft sentence is a sentence in which an element is emphasized by being put in a separate

clause, with the use of an empty introductory word such as it or that. A pseudo-cleft sentence is
a kind of cleft sentence in which the subordinated clause is a relative clause headed by an
interrogative pro-form. The effect is to have focus upon a particular element.

The structure. How many utterances, sentences and propositions there are?

It was me who might have travelled travel(I, y, z) ‘y’ ‘z’ are omitted arguments. El orden es
siempre agente, tema, goal (x,y,z)
I might have travelled travel(I, y, z)

Who might have travelled was me travel(I, y, z)

The one who might have travelled was me travel(I, y, z)

They are all the same propositions. Cleft and pseudo cleft do not affect the predicates. All have
the same representation travel(I, y, z), that proves that cleft sentence do not affect meaning.

They are all different sentences and different utterances.

What is the difference between semantics and pragmatics? Where does sentence meaning
and speaker meaning?

These terms denote related and complementary fields of study, both concerning the
transmission of meaning through language. Pragmatics: meaning described in relation to
speakers and hearers. Semantics: meaning abstracted away from users.

Sentences and words have a meaning independently of any particular use(semantic meaning)
which meaning is the incorporated by a speaker into the particular meaning he wants to
convey(pragmatic meaning). In this view semantics is concerned with sentence meaning and
pragmatics with speaker meaning.

Branch of theoretical linguistics or a component of grammar that studies the meaning of

linguistic expressions, semantics abstracted away from context and pragmatics within the
context.

1.Define and give examples of paraphrase, superordination, subordination, semantic

anomaly, ambiguity, entailment, presupposition.

There are all semantic phenomenon

-Paraphrase: the relation of sameness of meaning. It is the semantic phenomenon whereby the
same meaning can be expressed through different expressions. Ice-frozen water

-Superordination: A thing that represents a superior order or category within a system of

classification. Dog-puddle a semantic phenomenon whereby a linguistic expression encapsulate
other linguistic expression Rose(sub)-Flowe(super)

-Subordination: is the inverse of superordination

Superordination and subordination are semantic phenomenon whereby the semantic features of
a subordinated term are contained by a wider superordinate term.

-Meaningfulness and Semantic anomaly: semantic phenomenon whereby a linguistic expression

has a meaning or the opposite, does not have a meaning following the semantic features. ‘The
colourless green ideas sleep furiously.’

-Ambiguity: multiplicity of senses

-Entailment: the relation between two sentences under which one follows necessarily from the
other by virtue of a certain semantic relation between them. “My sister is called FlorenciaI
have a sister.” ‘A dog is an animal, a bulldog is an animal’ If something is true with the
superordinate term it would be true with the subordinate term. Semantic phenomenon whereby
truth value of a linguistic expression implies the truth of another linguistic expression.

-Presupposition: why did you steal the car? -Presupposes 1.there is a car 2. I did steal the car

Semantic phenomenon whereby a linguistic expression presupposes the existence of another

linguistic expression

-Semantic similarity and difference: there is a component common to the meaning of each
linguistic expression. Semantic phenomenon whereby two linguistic expression share one or
several semantic features. Difference is the opposite, the semantic features that they do not
share. Police man/women both are police but one is female and the other male.

-Antonymy: incompatibility of meanings semantic phenomenon whereby two linguistic

expressions have opposite meaning or incompatible semantic features. Good/bad

-Redundancy: a female queen. Semantic phenomenon whereby semantic features are explicitly
expressed and unnecessary.

-Analytic truth: some linguistic expression is true by the virtue of the fact that the meaning of
the subject contains the property expressed by the predicate. The queens are females. It is a
type of semantic redundancy. Semantic redundancy whereby the repetition of superfluous
features takes place both in subject and predicate.

The female queen is here/the queen is female

Both are redundant. The second is also a analytic truth because the truth is in the predicate.

It is also called tautology.

-Contradictoriness: some linguistic expression is false just by the virtue of the fact that the
meaning of the subject contains information incompatible with what is attributed to it in the
predicate. Semantic phenomenon whereby semantic features expressed by different linguistic
expressions are incompatible. Uncles are women/A male queen died las night.

-Syntheticity: semantic phenomenon whereby the truth value of the sentence is determined by
the context it is used.-->it would be a semantic-pragmatic phenomenon. Linguistic expression
that is only true in a specific context

-Inconsistency: the fact that linguistic expressions are neither true together nor false together
when they refer to the same individual but, rather, one must be true and the other false.
Semantic-pragmatic phenomenon whereby two linguistic expressions that are antonym that
cannot coexist and be true at the same time if the referent is the same. Referent is from
pragmatics.

-Possible answer: whereas some linguistic expression could be the answer of another one.
Semantic phenomenon whereby different linguistic expressions could fit as possible answers to
the same question.

-Self-answer question: linguistic expressions that represent questions that are answered by the
same question. Semantic phenomenon whereby questions include their own answer.

Speakers have presuppositions while sentences have entailments.

Entailment is the relationship between two sentences/propositions, where the truth of one
proposition implies the truth of the other since both of them are involved with the meaning of
words. It’s the sentences, not speakers that have entailments. Entailments also depend on the
meaning of the sentence, not the meaning of the context.

A presupposition is something that the speaker assumes to be the case prior to making an
utterance. It’s the speakers, not the sentences that have presuppositions.

What is the difference between Entailment and Presupposition?

Meaning:

Entailment: Entailment is the relation between sentences or propositions.

Presupposition: Presupposition is an assumption a speaker makes prior to making an

utterance.

Speakers vs Sentences:

Entailment: Sentences have entailments.

Presupposition: Speakers have presuppositions.

Truth:

Entailment: The negation of the first sentence will affect the truth of the second sentence.

The king was assassinated.

The king died.

Negation: The king was not assassinated.

The king died. → not true.

Presupposition: The negation of the first utterance may not affect the second sentence.

Her car is new.

She has a car.

Negation: Her car is new.

She has a car.→ presupposition is not changed.

17/10/2018

-Difference between literal and non-literal use of language or meaning.

Non literal: figurative use of language. Literal meaning: composition of semantic features
abstracted away of context. Non-literal or figurative meaning is the interpretation of semantic
features within a context for particular rhetorical purposes. Connotation is non-literal and
denotation is literal.
-Examples of metaphors, irony, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole and litotes.

Metaphors: the classroom was a zoo. Non literal or figurative use of English whereby…

Irony: a character who was afraid of heights. One day, her boyfriend surprises her with two
tickets for a hot air balloon ride. She replies with, "Wow, I can't wait!" In irony we say the
opposite.

Metonymy: Heart - to refer to love or emotionMy dear, you have all of my heart. Metáfora
pero por aproximación.

Synecdoche: The word "bread" can be used to represent food in general or moneybring bread
to the table

Hyperbole: I am so hungry I could eat a horse.

Litotes: William Shakespeare was not a bad playwright at all.

-example 1.31. we have examples. What for? Why?

All verbs are usually used with money but they are being used with time. We have been using it
for so long that it seems for us literal language, they are fossilized metaphors.

You’re wasting my time

This gadget will save you hours

I don’t have the time to give you.

How do you spend your time these days?

That flat tire cost me an hour.

I’ve invested a lot of time in her.

-Literal language theory

A theory according to which non-literal meaning requires more processing effort. Because we
first try to assign a literal meaning and then we realize that

18/10/2018

Siempre que hay presupposition hay entailment pero no siempre que hay entailment hay
presupposition.

1. Any trip to Italy should include wine tasting. Implies that if you go to Italy you have to
taste wine.
Entailment.
2. The gangster killed the policeman. Implies the policeman is dead.
entailment
3. Queens are monarchs.
Analytic truth(todas las analytic truth are semantic redundancy)
4. -Have you study for the exam? +It’s a very nice there out there.
Irony –impossible answer
5. The university opens from nine to two and the exam takes place at the university at
three.
 Inconsistency
6. I have misunderstood as well.
Presupposition . it presupposes that the other one misunderstood.
7. The computer was broken. Implies that the computer broke.
Entailment
8. Politicians always say the truth.
Irony(if we believe they do not say the truth) / Syntheticity(if they always say the
truth)
9. I am going to start to starve to death.
Hyperbole
10. My sisters are older than me. Implies that I have sisters.
Entailment and presupposition

Presuppositions, say the presupposition behind them:

1. I hate semantics too. the interlocutor or someone else hates semantic.

2. The restaurant is no longer open.  there is a restaurant. the restaurant was open
before the moment of the utterance
3. Your mom is very happy.  you have mom
4. My bike stop working tonight.  I have a bike. It used to work.

(fotocopias 4)

Definition of intention and extension and give example.

Intension is the meaning and the extension the referent. In the triangle intension is number 2
and the extension number 3.

Intension a set of features that defines something and extension the set of references that fulfil
those semantic features.

Relacion inversamente proporcional. While there are more semantic features(intension) we

have less referents(extension) that fulfil those features

TUTORÍA GRUPAL 19-10-2018

-Utterances, sentences, propositions

-presuppositions and entailments

-semantic anomaly: different semantic features of a linguistic expression are not compatible
within one linguistic expressions.

-scope meaning: the meaning range defined in opposition with other ranges of meanings???
 24/10/2018

1. Try and represent graphically groups of words:

-Learn, know and forget.-/Go, be and leave./-On and onto./-In and into.

forget

Into/onto. In/on

A. B. C

Go, learn. Be, know. Leave, forget

Process(dynamic) state(static) process(dynamic)

2. What phenomenon they represent. Look for other options to express the same content on
a different way.

I am not wasting any time on this.  I’m done with thisfossilized metaphor

Computers are time savers.  you will be quicker if you use a computer fossilized metaphor

If he doesn’t call me I would die.  hyperbole

He kicked the bucket at the age of ninety.  He died at the age of 90. idiom

3 and 4 are easier to paraphrase because they are not fossilized.

3. What they mean if interpreted literally or not.

He kicked the bucket literally: he gave a kick to a bucket /non-literally: he died

It is an idiom. These are included in sematic although it is a figurative use of English.

I am going to starve  literally: to die of hunger/ non-literally: to be very hungry.

Semantics: literal reading, I’m very hungry. Pragmatics: figurative English

4. Which semantic phenomena(plural) can you see in the sentence. What happens at the
semantic level and the pragmatic level.

My head is killing me hyperbole, personification

Semantic level: a head cannot kill someoneit doesn’t have sensesemantic anomalous

Pragmatic level: it has sense, very strong headache although it is semantic anomalous
sentence it is pragmatically interpretable utterances

5. Tell semantic phenomena, what happens a the semantic level and the pragmatic level.

Context: I want you to imagine that we have somebody flirting in a bar and one of them says:
 -Where are you from?

+It’s getting late.

In the semantic level it has no sense such answer but in the pragmatic level we can infer that
the second person do not want to keep talking.

It is semantically anomalous sentences it doesn’t answer the question, it is a no possible

answer. It is a Pragmatically interpretable utterance because although it is irrelevant
information, we can infer an implicature: He is not interested.

6. Tell semantic phenomena, what happens at the semantic level and the pragmatic level.

You look really good this morning. Context: I am sharing a flat and he was going out last night,
he is really hangover. irony

He says the opposite of what he wants to say. Semantically it has sense, it is semantically correct
but pragmatically it means the opposite.

Semantically normal but it isn’t truth, truth values belong to semantics so at semantic level it is
a false sentence. At pragmatic level it is a pragmatically interpretable utterance because it is
irony. I am saying exactly the opposite of what I mean.

7. Tell semantic phenomena, what happens at the semantic level and the pragmatic level.

This teacher teaches.

Context: a world where teachers usually don’t teach.

Semantically: it is a redundancy.

Pragmatically: it makes sense

Semantically speaking it a semantic redundancy, it is an analytic truth.

In theory it flouts the maxim of relevance but as we have a particular context it is Pragmatically
interpretable utterance.

Intension: sematic features

Extension: the actual reference to which I can apply the intension

INTENSION EXTENSION

Human -

Dog. Animal +

Bulldog. + semantic features

Connotation: non literal interpretation of the semantic features within a particular context.
Denotation: is the meaning, so it has to do with intension and literal meaning. Literal meaning
of semantic features of a concept.

Truth condition: the requirement for someone to establish the truth value of a sentence

Truth values: true or false

If I have as a truth condition: it isn’t raining and I say it is raining the truth value is T, if I say it
isn’t raining the truth value is F.

If I say cat are animals; truth value: depends on truth condition.

Difference between referent and reference.

A referent is the actual object, event, person, feeling, thought…in the outer world. The reference

is the act of referring.


-Brat and child.

-toilet and rest room.

-country town and regional centre.

-underprivileged and the slum.

-mutt and dog

-doctor and quack

-incident and accident

Denotation is the same but different connotation. We would have the same intension.


-If you keep on…

-he’s just kicked the bucket.

-stop dragging the chain.

-can you run off twenty more copies.

-I’ll take 20 percent off the price

-hello down here!

Idioms, phrasal verbs.

The meaning is not compositional. Idioms are not compositional semantically speaking.
Compositional principle: meaning of whole sentence is The addition of the meaning of the
parts plus the meaning contributed by the syntactic arrangement(when it influence over the
meaning)
Idioms are not semantically compositional but pragmatically interpretable.

25/10/2018

1.p. 20Why the meaning of the things in bold is no compositional?

Because we cannot obtain their meaning from their parts.

They flout the compositional principle. But we can interpret them. Although they do not have
compositional meaning, but it is a type of meaning that you store in lexicon and their meaning
doesn’t change according to the context.

2.Difference between utterance meaning and sentence meaning and example.

The sentence meaning is the compositional meaning of the sentence as constructed out of the
meanings of its individual component lexemes.

Utterance meaning is the meaning which the words have on a particular occasion of use in the
particular context in which they occur.

Sentence meaning vs speaker or utterance meaning: semantics vs pragmatics.

Sentence meaning: semantic features, normally compositional. Meaning abstracted away of

the context.

Utterance meaning; meaning within the context.

It is raining and we say “What a lovely day”. irony. From the positive semantic to the
negative semantic meaning through the irony.

3.Why different theories have different boundaries for semantics and pragmatics.

(Based on the previous example.)

Conceptual theory: would have meaning.

Referential theory: would not have meaning because it doesn’t have referent.

Some believe that you should have an distinction between abstract meaning(pragmatics) and
conceptual meaning(semantics) . There are people who formulates semantics and pragmatics
with same symbols(a macrocomponent for meaning), other only have for one branch or the
other, others have symbols for semantics and other different for pragmatics and different levels
of representation.

4.What is circularity.

Defining meanings by other meanings.

Circularity happens when the object language and the metalanguage are the same.

5.Difference between metalanguage and object language.

Object language is the language whose meanings we are describing whereas metalanguage is
the language in which we describe those meanings.

The object language is what I am studying and the metalanguage is the language I use to
describe that object language. In this class the object language is English and the metalanguage
is English and Spanish.
6.P. 26. Explain what represent the examples.

Those are sentences without referent. They can have meaning depending on the theory.
Conceptual theory we have meaning, with referential theory we don’t have. Use theory of
meaning we have meaning.

26/10/2018

1.What are semantic primitives?

Basic units which cannot be broken down into any constituent part.

Concepts than in theory cannot be broken down anymore.

AH! BE(X,surprise)

CAUSE(BE(X, surprise)

2.Referential theory, conceptual theory and use theory of language. Advantages and
disadvantages. IMPORTANTE

-Referential theory of meaning: a semantic theory which identify meaning with referents(objects,
events, people, feelings…) in the outer worlds. ADV: good for things that have a clear
referent for instance dog.. DISADV: don’t good for things that don’t have a referent such
as unicorn

-Conceptual theory of meaning: a semantic theory of meaning which identifies meanings with
concepts(mental representations) ADV: good for linguistic expression that have clear
concepts for example objects, some feelings, everything you have a clear image of it.
DISADV: 1.not good for linguistics expression which don’t have real obvious concepts for
instance pronouns or prepositions. 2.Concept are not very objective, they are abstract.
3.difference between linguistic knowledge and encyclopaedic knowledge.

Difference between conceptual and prototype theory. Prototype theory is a type of conceptual
theory.

-Use theory of meaning: is a type of theory of meaning which identifies meaning with the actual
interpretation of the linguistic expression when we perform. ADV: it is very good for
sorry, ah, oh because they are use in very particular context DISADV: very bad for other
linguistic expressions because they are no bounded to a particular context and they can
have different interpretations in different situations.

Compositional theory goes against the use theory of meaning. Use of theory is good because it
mixes semantics and pragmatics. But for the same reason it is bad because we don’t
have clear distinction between both.
3.Explain the different positions or opinions regarding use theory of meaning.

31-10-2018

1.Words related to reference and denotation

Semantics pragmatics
Denotation Connotation/reference
Context free Context bound
Literal meaning Non-literal/figurative
Sentence/proposition Utterance
Concept
Intension Extension
Intention
The distinction between both is theory bound. Reference can be both but more in pragmatic.

2.Referential theory of meaning.

We identify meaning with a referent.

3.What is a representational theory of meaning.

Different conceptualizations influence the description of the real world situtations.

Identifies meaning with mental representation. They try to mimic the way we conceptualize
meaning.

4.What is the description theory.

Understanding a name and identifying the referent are both dependent on associating the
name with the right description.

Identifies meaning with a description.

5.What is the causal theory.

Based on the idea that names are socially inherited or borrowed. So the users of the name
form a kind of chain back to an original naming or grounding.

6.What is constant reference and variable reference.

Constant: The same referent across a range of utterances. Variable: The referent depends on
the context.

The referent does not change, for instance proper names. The epitome of variable referent are
pronouns.
7.Difference between referring and non-referring noun phrases: 1. Indetify noun prahses and
tell if are referring or no referring

-I love the phone you got in Rome.  I: R/ the phone: R/you: R /Rome: R(constant) the other
variable. The referent depends on the utter. The referent varies because the speaker varies.

-Smith is the author of a book. “You have Smith on the table” you: R(variable) /Smith: R /
The table: R Smith is a book

-I love Smith.  I: R /Smith: R

-Mr know-all is quiet today.  Mr know-all: R / today: R

-I want that computer.  I: R/that computer: R

-I want a computer.  I: R / a computer: NR

-Who want a teacher these days?  a teacher: NR / these days: R

-I am a looking for my teacher.  I: R /my teacher: R

-I am looking for a teacher. a teacher: NR (not always, is ambiguous, you may have some in
your mind)

-I am a looking for some teacher. some teacher: NR(ambiguous)

-Just talk to a teacher.  a teacher: NR

-Talk to the teacher over there. R

-Talk to any teacher.  any teacher: NR

-Mary talk to me about it.  Mary: R /me: R / it: R

-They are looking for a new teacher. They: R / a new teacher: NR

-They hired a new teacher.  a new teacher: R

-They fired a new teacher.  a new teacher: R(ambiguous)

-A new teacher is needed.  NR

-I had a bad dream yesterday.  I: R /a bad dream: R

8.How you could represent in a conceptual theory of meaning these words:

Turn into: CAUSE(BE(X))

Arrive:

Happy: [HAPPY(STATE)]

9.What is the meaning of the following sentences according to referential theory.

-Unicorns are beautiful creatures.  non meaning because RT tell that the meaning is the
referent. If one part of the sentence is false, the whole sentence is false. NO reference- false
Conceptual it has a meaning. There is no need of referent to understand it.

-The former president of the United States will be re-elected(Obama)  is false meaning.

-The king of the United states will be elected.  non meaning because RT tell that the
meaning is the referent. If one part of the sentence is false, the whole sentence is false. NO
reference- false

Conceptual it has a meaning.

10.Define according to referential and conceptual theory of meaning the word ‘you’-

According to referential theory the meaning of you depends on the context.

According of conceptual: addressee

10.Fine the meaning of the words according to use theory of meaning: hello, ah, sorry, whats
up, can you answer, do you have a minute.

Hello: greeting

Ah: surprise, pain

Sorry: apology or attention

What’s up: greeting

Can you answer: request or order

Do you have a minute: request

2/11/2018

1. I am me

Semantically is a semantic redundancy: a tautology

Uninformative-semantically

Interpretable within a particular context-pragmatically

The referents are coreferential (I and me)

2. I am you

Semantic contradiction: ‘I’ the concept is speaker/ ‘You’ the concept is addressee

Semantically: false value(intension)

Pragmatically: interpretable (the referent is not coreferential: extension) as long as it is

interpretable it is informative.

3.
 14/11/2018

1. Tell what is the peculiarity of: ex president.

It extension changes over time. It is a modifier that affects the intension rather than
the extension. Non-intersective modification.

extension

Ex president
Ex-president
Smart students: intersective modification. It is compositional. We have smart people
and students, the intersection between both is smart students. Semantic features of
each and put together.
2. Intension and extension of:
Dog: intension: concept[DOG] or meaning(semantic features) of dog /extension: the
set of possible referents different types of dogs
I have a dog: intension is the meaning, the meaning is a proposition=
p(q,r…)/extension: it is the referent, and the referent is the truth value and the truth
value depends on the truth conditions. TRUE/ONE or FALSE/ZERO

3. What is the peculiarity of conditional sentences(type 1,2)?

With conditionals we evaluate the antecedent in a context in which we know the
antecedent is false. We evaluate the antecedent as always false.

In conditionals we have main clause and subordinate clause. For the main clause to be
true we need that the subordinate clause truth value is false or zero.
If I were rich, I wouldn’t be teaching here. I am not rich.
4. What is the truth value or extension of: I have a car and I dreamt that I had a car.

1. If the truth condition is that I have a car the truth value is true if not the truth value
is false.
2. The intension is the proposition p=I dream I have a car(without tense). The
extension is the truth value which depends on the truth conditions.
We cannot say the truth value of the dream. Because you can have or not a car. We
are saying that what is true is that I dreamt but not if I have or not a car.
I think that I am a baby if I think that I am a baby it is true if I don’t think so it is false.
But we cannot analyse I am a baby within the other sentence
5. Extension of 2+2 is four, 2+2 is five, teachers are humans, the president of Spain
nowadays is Sanchez.
2+2=4: it does not depend on the possible world so the truth condition is always true
and the truth value is TRUE
2+2=5: the truth conditions will always coincide with the truth value
 Teachers are humans: it depends on the truth conditions. It is a semantic redundancy,
an analytic truth and a tautology. The truth value is one or TRUE
The president of Spain nowadays is Sanchez: the extension is the truth value and the
truth value depends on the truth conditions.
6. Look for the difference between epistemic and deontic model verbs.
Deontic model verbs express an obligation to act in a certain way.
Epistemic model verbs
Epistemic model verbs express opinion of the speaker according to their knowledge. If
she can do that she must be very good.
Deontic model verbs are commands and permissions.
7. Whether the modals are epistemic or deontic:
Can you swim?: epistemic / deontic
you can leave now: deontic
you must do this: deontic
he must have arrived by now: epistemic
you may leave: deontic
it might rain: epistemic
he told me I might leave: deontic
he told me it might rain: epistemic

1. What is semantic theory.

It is the study of the linguistic aspects of the meanings of expressions. Or study of the
meaning of linguistic expressions.
2. What is recursivity?
Recursivity of concepts: apply the meaning of a linguistic expression to understand the
meaning of other
3. What is extensional semantics.
It is a referential theory of meaning. It focuses on the referent. Identifies the meaning
with the extension of the concept.
4. What is compositional semantics.
The meaning of a sentence is determined by the meanings of its parts and by the ways
in which those parts are assembled.
5. Is it compositional?
Business men are business men: C tautology and semantic redundancy.
Pragmatically interpretable: irony
All girls like a boy: C  it is ambiguous. I can have two readings: a different boy for
each girl or a specific boy for all the girls. First reading is non-compositional, second
reading is compositional. This ambiguity is called scope ambiguity. It has to do with the
quantifiers.
Nice and hot: NC semantically we have a subordination and syntactically we have a
coordination. It really means it is nicely hot. We don’t mean that it is nice and that is
hot.
An adult teach her.: C  it is ambiguous but both readings are compositional
I will try and do this: C
Schoolgirl: C
Hot potato: if it is a potato hat is hot is compositional and the meaning is the idiom it is
NC
 The notes of the book of my classmate: C it is ambiguous. Each of them corresponds
to a transparent reading. So, both are compositional.
I was at the wrong tree.
The glass ceiling: it depends: literal meaning compositional and no literal meaning is
NC
15/11/2018
EJEMPLOS A MANO
VIDEO: SEMANTICS 131 AMBIGUITY

1.Different types of ambiguity and examples(then different examples).

Phenomena when an expression can have two or more interpretations. It usually disappears if
it appears in the appropriate context. Alternative readings which may be in other context may
not come to our minds.

-Lexical: occurs at the level of the lexical items of the language.

-several lexemes have same form but different meaninghomonymy

Should never be mixed up with hyponymy. Homonymy is the relation with separate
lexical items with the same lexeme but different and unrelated meanings. Types:

-Homophones: male/mail  berry-bury

-Homographs: tear(lágrima)/tear(romper algo) read(pasado)/read(present)

-Complete: bank  school(colegio)/school(peces)

-Different etimology 

-lexical items different meaning but related sensespolysemy

Single lexeme with several senses. The meaning of polysemy expressions are related in
different ways:

-Metonoymy:

-Metaphors: I am on top of the situtation

The distinction between both is difficult to make.

-Structural: English teacher.

It is a question of what goes with what. Constituents can relate each other in different ways.

Porcelain egg container

1.We can have a container for porcelain eggs.

2.An egg container made of porcelain.

Other examples at the level of sentences and phrases:

Old men and women

 1.Only men are old.

2.Both men and women are old.

We can find it in coordination, non-finite clauses…

The chickens are ready to eat: 1. They are ready to eat something 2.They are ready to be
eaten.

-Referential: Mary like her boyfriend

Raises when a word or a pronoun can refers to one or more referent on the same sentence.

John kissed her girlfriend: 1.His own girl friend 2.Someone’s else girlfriend

-Scope: 4 students shot 3 professors

One student have a car/ Two students have two cars

It occurs when there are two quantifiers.

Every child like a book: 1.Every child likes the same book 2. Every child like some book.

-Pragmatic: I’ll be there on Sunday.

In any specific context a given utterance have an interpretation and in other context it has
another. Raises when languages are out to use the same sentence to perform different speech
acts in different contexts.

Do you have a life insurance?

I’ve got plans for you!

16/11/2018

Apuntes a mano

Semantic Ambiguity a semantic phenomenon whereby an expression may have several

meanings:

-Lexical

-Structural

-Referential: you can say is pragmatics. Example: He broke his teeth. Any referential noun
phrases or pronouns are possible to be ambiguous.

-Scope:

All students own a car

-Universal quantifier: ꓯ all

-Existential quantifier: ꓱ a

If the universal quantifier has scope over the existential, all students have each one car.

If the existential quantifiers has scope over the universal, all students have one car

-Pragmatic: we can have different speech acts

 16/11/2018

Structural ambiguity: a linguistic phenomenon which affects the relation between lexical items;
there are several possible syntactic combinations between lexical items. Different types:
• Morphosyntactic: Porcelain egg container: individually, the lexical items are not
ambiguous, but the arrangement is. [porcelain egg] [container] or [egg container] that
is made of porcelain. So this structural ambiguity is not syntactic but morphosyntactic.
• Coordination: red t-shirt and shoes. [red t-shirt] [and] [shoes] or t-shirt and shoes which
are red. The lexical items are not ambiguous, but their arrangement is.
• Adverbial and prepositional phrases: I talked about the trip with Mary
• Non-finite clauses: a sentence that has an agent and a patient and the ambiguity lies in
that the interlocutor does not know who is affected. The hunter’s shooting affects me.
Is the hunter shooting or being shot?

• The relation between pragmatics and semantics:

They are intertwined because Pragmatics cannot study language use without a prior conception
of meaning: without knowing what words mean, one cannot decide how speakers modify and
manipulate these meanings in actual situations of language use. Pragmatics needs language.
Semantics needs Pragmatics because without particular situations with particular uses of
languages you cannot deduce the meaning of language.

• Distinction between referent and sense:

Referent = object, entity, individual, event, situation, to which a linguistic expression refers.
Sense = meaning extracted away from the context.

• Examples pages 90 and 91 (2,3,4,5,6): Why do these explain the difference between
sense and referent?
(2) a.The morning star is the morning star,
b.The morning star is the vening star.
(3)a.Abou Ammar is Abou ammar.
b.Abou Ammar is Yasser Arafat
(4) a. Amber is amber,
b. Amber is fossilized tree resin.
(5) …
Examples (a): tautologies and semantic redundancies. But examples (b) offer more information.
They all have the same referent but not the same meaning. So semantic redundancy happens
when things at the level of semantics are repeated, not things at the level of referent. The
evening star and the morning star are the same referent, but they do not have the same
meaning. You cannot always substitute linguistic expressions that have the same meaning and
the same referent.

• Difference between: I am I // I am your teacher of semantics // I am your teacher of

semantics, which means you are my student // I am I, which means you’re my student.

I = teacher of semantics. Same referent, but not a semantic redundancy or tautology. Only the
first one is a tautology. Tautology happens when two expressions are semantically redundant,
not referentially redundant.
 • Which comes first, the sense or the referent according to Freger. What is the sense
and what is the referent of the sentence? What is a truth condition?

To Freger, sense comes before reference because sense determines reference. It is the sense of
an expression which allows us to know what it refers to. According to him. The sense is the
conception, the meaning we have in our minds, and the referent is the real item.
Freger stated that the truth condition is the reference of a linguistic expressions in the same way
expression. Thus, a true sentence refers to Truth and a false sentence refers to Falsity in the
same way as proper names like Tom refer to particular individuals.

• In which cases does sense not explain the use of language?

When speakers say something that happens to be not relevant enough for the
conversation.

• Are sense and meaning intersubjective? According to Frege

According to Frege, sense is intangible but objective (shared). Intersubjectivity of meaning:
meaning is shared between subjects. Meaning is private (according to some semantic theories)
but it is possible because it is intersubjective, it shares enough features between speakers so
that communication is possible.

• Look for examples of variability of reference. Successful referents vs. correct referents.
An act of reference can be successful but not correct. If I refer to something but the sense is not
true, even if we understand each other, it is a successful but incorrect referent. Irony is a form
of a successful act of reference but incorrect.
Example of the bin: “throw that into the bin” you may mean only the trash bag, so the reference
is incorrect but successful.

• Look for the definition of referring expressions and the typical categories that are and
are not referring.
Referring expressions are those that refer to something(?). Referents in the real world. Non-
referring: referents does not exist in our world (unicorn).
Typically non-referring expressions: adverbs, verbs (BUT verbs can be referring in some cases)
Typically referring: nouns. My dog is hungry.
But there are non-referring nouns: He’d like to adopt a dog. Non-referring because there is no
pinpointed particular dog.

Look for two referring noun phrases, two non-referring noun phrases, one predicative verb
and one predicative noun phrase. One example of variability of reference when you’re being
diplomatic, one when somebody says something that is not true but communication works,
and one with irony.
Two referring noun phrases: My cat is sleeping // Your sister is pretty // I want to buy this dress
Non-referring: Go see a doctor // Have you ever been to a beach?
Predicative noun phrase: I am a teacher. Verbs to be, to seem. Los copulativos de toda la vida.
Predicative verb phrase: almost any verb will be predicative. I go to the swimming-pool. She is
eating lunch. Give, buy.
Variability of reference when you’re being diplomatic: incorrect but successful act of reference.
You disagree with the reference that a speaker has made but you say nothing to be diplomatic.
Someone says “That huge city, Oviedo”, and you disagree with it being huge but you say nothing
to be diplomatic.
Three types of variability of reference (incorrect but successful acts of reference):
• The bin example (or calling a normal computer “laptop”): That beautiful girl // That
beautiful song.
• The question of diplomacy
• Irony: the cake is good (it is bad)
Something not true but communication works: I’m starving
Irony: You’re the smartest person I know. (true = dumbest) It is raining and you say: How lovely.

METALANGUAGE

Definition of:
• Metalanguage: A symbolic representation system (a language) used to describe the
semantic units and roles to all languages. A language that refers to another language.
This system is created to avoid circularity.
• Object language: the language in which the linguistic expressions whose meaning is
being explained are produced. The language upon which propositional logic is used. In
a sentence like I am a teacher, the object language is English, for instance.
• Propositional logic: It is a logic reasoning that analyses certain ways of combining
propositions to form complex propositions. The expressions which are used to combine
propositions are the connectives. Propositional logic deals with truth-functional
expressions. It also deals with negation because it is truth-functional. Two definitions
are put together here: metalanguage + propositions. Propositional logic is a
metalanguage, a system of representation of the abstract meaning of propositions. And
propositions are:
• Proposition: The basic meaning of a declarative sentence (the kind that can be used to
make a statement which can be true or false) abstracted away from the context and
without considering the grammatical features of the sentence.
• Which are the connectives of propositions? and look for examples: The syntactic
components arranged in a syntactic structure that create a complex formula. Negation,
conjunction, disjunction, implication.
Negation: ㄱ He isn’t tall.
Conjunction: Λ He is tall and you are thin
Implication: → if it rains it’s wet
Disjunction: V
Two types of disjunction:
• Exclusive: either this or that. Either you are tall or you are short.
p V q. P = either you are tall // q = or you are short
• Inclusive: you can have ice cream or yogurt, but not exclusive. P Λ Q. P = you have ice
cream // Q = you have yogurt

21/11/2018
According to Freegan:
1. what is the sense of a sentence?
Its general meaning abstracted from its use to refer.

The shared thought that a sentence expresses. The thought that a sentence expresses.
Sense is only the shared knowledge. What is objective and neutral and abstracting it
form the particular.
2. Referent?(en el texto usa igual que reference)
 The object to which it refers.
For him sense determines reference. It is the sense of an expression which allows us to
know what it refers to.

The truth value. A sentence refers to truth or to falsity.

According to Frege the sense comes before reference because if I don’t know what is
something(definition) I cannot refer to it. Reference is 1,2,3. Referent is only 3.

3. What is the truth condition?

What the world needs to be like in order to a sentence to be true.
4. Sense is shared or not?
Definido antes

1. What is a referring expression?

A referring noun phrase is the noun phrase that takes a particular referent in a particular
possible world.
2. Which are the typical referring and typical non-referring
Typical Referring: noun-phrases
Cat: n
A cat: np
The cat: np
Cats: n/np
The cats: np
Noun phrases can be used in sentences.

Typical Non-referring: verbs

3. Example of referring and non-referring noun phrase.

Referring: my dog was eating that shoe./ if you see her pigeon tell her/ this bottle is
empty/the car is broken
Non-referring: Maria wants to adopt a child./ if you see a pigeon tell her/ I want a cheap
computer/I want a useful book/peter is a teacher
4. What is variability of referents?

5. Irony, successful vs correct, diplomacy.

Irony: That skirt is amazing(it is awful).
Successful vs incorrect: you have drunk the whole bottle (you had drunk the content not
the bottle)
Diplomacy: Look, that’s your friend!(it is not really your friend but he follows with it
because she thinks she is her friendit can be irony if she does not believe it.)
This year I’ve been to Sidney, the capital of AustraliaAh okey.(but you know that is
incorrect)

1.Metalanguage
The tool or the method of representation with which we represent instances of the object
language.
2.Object language:
The system that we are representing with the metalanguage
If we describe a sentence with a tree diagram; the object language is English and the
metalanguage is generative grammar.
This is to avoid circularity by describing language with language.
3.Propositional logic:
It is the metalanguage used to represent propositions.
4.Proposition:
A proposition is the abstract meaning (or representation of meaning), abstracted away from
context, idiolect, and some grammatical features
5.Connectors that propositional logic uses and how to represent them:

Negation: ㄱ He isn’t tall.

Conjunction: Λ He is tall and you are thin
Disjunction: V
Implication: 