REVIEW CHAPTER 1,2,3

PART 1: THEORY
Task 1: T or F

1. Utterance meaning is the meaning of an utterance as a communicative act in a given social setting. F

2. Utterance meaning derives from expression meaning on the basis of the particulars provided by the
context of utterance. T
3. Semantics studies the meanings of linguistic expressions in context. F
4. The process of composition is a top-down process. F
5. The meaning of a sentence is determined by its lexical components, their grammatical meaning, and
the syntactic structure of the sentence. T
6. The meaning of a grammatical form is called grammatical meaning. T
7. Expression meaning is the meaning of an expression in a given context of utterance. F
8. Semantics studies all 3 levels of meaning: expression meaning, utterance meaning, communicative
meaning. F
9. The meaning of a content word is a concept that provides a mental description for a certain kind of
situation. F
10. The descriptive meaning of a content word is a concept for its potential referents. T
11. The proposition is the descriptive meaning of the sentence. T
12. The expressions like “Hi”, “Please” or “Mr Murple” (proper name as term of address) have expressive
meaning. F
13. The expression “The earth” has constant reference. T
14. The noun “idiot” in the expression “You idiot!” has expressive meaning. T
15. Social meaning and expressive meaning are not parts of expression meanings. F
16. The use of expressions with social meaning is governed by subjective choice. F
17. A referent is an object or an entity in the real world or in the world of your imagination. T
18. “The building is tall.” in this expression, “the building” has constant referent because its referent
depends on who is the speaker and who is the addressee in a CoU. F
19. The connotation of a word is the primary meaning. F
20. Positive connotations, together with social taboos, are responsible for what is called euphemisms. F
21. A metonymy is an implicit or indirect comparison in which no function word is used.F
22. Differentiation is defined as the meaning shift which results in a special case of what the expression
denotes in its lexical meaning. T
23. Light in light blue and light in light breakfast are polysemous. F
24. The relationship between can (a metal container) and can (able to) is polysemy. F
25. Two lexemes are homonymous if they have two or more interrelated meanings with each other. F
26. The expression “a demon” in the sentence “He’s a demon for work.” is metonymically used. F
27. An expression is used metaphorically if it is used to refer to things that are in crucial aspects similar to
the kind of objects to which the expression refers in its literal meaning. T
28. The expression “The White House” in the sentence “He got a phone call from the White House” is
metaphorically used. F
29. An expression or an utterance is ambiguous if it can be interpreted in more than one way. T
30. All lexemes are single words. F
Task 2: Gap fill
1. According to the principles of compositionality, the meaning of a complex expression is determined by
the lexical meanings of its components, their grammatical meanings and the syntactic structure of the
whole.
2. Lexical semantics is the investigation of expression meanings stored in the mental lexicon.
3. Lexical meanings are the meanings which are stored in our minds.
4. Communicative meaning is the meaning of utterance as a communicative act in a given social setting.
5. Composition is the process by which we calculate the meaning of a sentence.
7. Expression meaning is the meaning of a simple or complex expression taken in isolation
8. The illocutionary act of the utterance “Tidy your room.” is a request.
9. Compositional meaning is the meaning resulted from the process by which we calculate the meaning
of a sentence.
10. Utterance meaning is the meaning of an expression when used in a given context of utterance
resulting from fixing reference.
11. Expression meaning is the meaning of an expression taken in isolation.
12. Utterance meaning is the meaning of an expression when used in a given context of utterance
resulting from fixing reference.
13. Communicative meaning is the meaning of an utterance as a communicative act in a given social
setting
14. The descriptive meaning of a sentence, its proposition, is a concept that provides a mental description
of the kind of situations it potentially refers to.
15. The denotation of a content word is the category, or set of all its potential referents.
16. The meaning of a content word is a concept that provides a mental description of a certain kind of
entity.
17. The use of expressions with expressive meaning is governed by subject choice.
18. Social rules define the correct use of expressions with social meaning.
19. Expressions like “Ouch”, “Oh”, “Wow” has expressive meaning
20. A referent is an object or an entity in the real world or in the world of your imagination.
21. “My brother is a singer.” In this expression, “my brother” has variable reference.
22. Two lexemes are totally homonous if they have unrelated meanings, but share all other constitutive
properties.
23. A lexeme is polysemous if it has two or more interrelated meanings
24. A lexical meaning is vague if it allows for flexible adaptation to the given CoU.
25. An expression is used metaphorically if it is used to refer to things that are in crucial aspects similar to
the kind of objects to which the expression refers in its literal meaning.
26. An expression is used metonymically if it is used to refer to things that belong to the kind of objects to
which the expression refers in its literal meaning
27. Metaphor is “the use of a word or phrase to indicate something different from (though related in
some way to) the literal meaning
28. Metonymy is the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another to which it is related/with
which it is associated.
29. The expression “a heart of stone” in the sentence “She has a heart of stone” is a metaphor. T
30. The expression “an ear for music” in the sentence “She has an ear for music” is a metonymy. T
31. Pragmatics is the study of language use in context.

PART 2: PRACTICE
Task 1: What is the relation between the lexemes?
1. bear (n)/bare (a)  partial homony
2. meat/meet  partial homony
3. to/too/two  partial homony
4. flour/ flower total homony
5. pretty (adv) – pretty (adj)  partial homony
6. last (v) – last (adj)  partial homony
7. long (v)- long (adj)  partial homony
8. spring (season) – spring (metal coin)  total homony
9. monitor (a pupil who assists a teacher)  partial homony
monitor (a device that receives video signals from a computer)  partial homony
10. rose (past form of rise) – rose ( a flower)  partial homony
Task 2: What is the relation between the lexemes? Use constitutive properties to explain the relation.
1. a) The ships are listing badly.
b) We are listing all members of the society.
 total hononymy (= sound form, spelling, GC, GF; >< Lexical meaning)
2. a) The statue is made of lead.
b) The dog is on his lead.
 homography (honymy (>< sound form, = spelling, =GC, =GF; >< Lexical meaning)
3. a) Bus fares have just gone up.
b) Bus fairs are where you buy buses
 total hononymy (= sound form, spelling,>< GC, GF; Lexical meaning)
4. a) What kind of music do you like?
b) He’s really kind.
 partial hononymy (= sound form, spelling, GC, GF; >< Lexical meaning)
5. a) I had to keep very still when I had my portrait painted.
b) I am still waiting for you.
 partial hononymy (= sound form, spelling, GC, GF; >< Lexical meaning)
6. a) I go jogging twice a week to keep fit.
b) It doesn’t fit me.
 partial hononymy (= sound form, spelling, GC, GF; >< Lexical meaning)
7. a) This table is made of wood.
b) She went into the wood.
 Polysemy (= sound form, spelling,>< GC, GF; Lexical meaning: interrelated)
Task 3: Disambiguate the sentences.
Ex: They were waiting at the bank.
Meaning 1: They were waiting at the financial institution .
Meaning 2: They were waiting at the shore of the river.
1. Flying planes can be dangerous.

- Planes that are things are dangerous.

- Controlling planes can be dangerous.

2. We will change the oil in 10 minutes.

- After 10 minutes, we will change the oil.

- It will take 10 minutes to change the oil.

3. Sarah gave a bath to her dog wearing a pink t-shirt.

- Sarah gave a bath to her dog which was wearing a pink T-shirt.

- Sarah who was wearing a pink T-shirt gave a bath to her dog.

4. The professor said on Monday he would give an exam.

- The professor said that he would give an exam on Monday.

- On Monday, the professor said that he would give an exam.

5. Visiting relatives can be boring.

- It can be boring to visit relatives.

- Relatives who are visiting are boring.

6. The young men and women sat together in the park.

- The young men and young women sat together in the park.

- The young men sat with women in the park.

7. She is looking for a match.

- She is looking for a match stick to light a candle.

- She is looking for her other half.

8. We like the ball.

- We like the sphere.

- We like the formal social gathering for dancing.

Task 4: Interpret the meaning of the sentences. State the meaning shift.
1. She has a heart of stone.  She has a pitiless and unfeeling nature.

2. I’ll make him eat his word.  I’ll made him admit what he has said is wrong

3. When he gets going, Jack is a streak of lightning. When Jack gets going, he is very fat.

4. She has an ear for music.  She posses a remarkable talent for music.

5. The man is a demon for work.  The man is an energetic person who works very hard.

6. When I came to visit, my friend offered me a cup.

 When I came to visit, my firend offered me some beverage such as tea or coffee.

6. We need a new blood in this organization.  We need new people in this organisation.

7. The White House agreed with that proposal.  The US president agreed with that proposal.