PRACTICE 1:

A. There are three different types of linguistic units:

1. word meaning
2. sentence meaning
3. utterance meaning (also referred to as “speaker meaning”)
A sentence is a linguistic expression, a well-formed string of words, while an
utterance is a speech event by a particular speaker in a specific context.
The term sentence meaning refers to the semantic content of the sentence: the
meaning which derives from the words themselves, regardless of context. When a
speaker uses a sentence in a specific context, he produces an utterance. The term
utterance meaning refers to the semantic content plus any pragmatic meaning
created by the specific way in which the sentence gets used
TASK:
A. Provide THREE (3) examples of word meaning. Then, compose 3
sentences to produce sentence meaning. From there also, how would
utterance meaning could be achieved?

20 MINUTES

B. Here are several definitions given to sense, reference, and denotation. Study
the several definitions given. Based on the definitions, complete the exercise
below:

Sense: ‘meaning’ without reference to the specific real object in the world (e.g. house
‘dwelling’). It is the linguistic knowledge which allows the act of reference.
The term denotation, that is also frequently used in the sense of an extensional reference,
refers to the constant, abstract, and basic meaning of a linguistic expression.
Any banana is a kind of fruit – denotation; the class of entities to which an expression may
apply is its extension.
I’m looking for a cat – either a particular cat or looking to select from a set of cats. Listeners
would have to infer which was meant in a particular context.
Reference: ‘meaning’ tied to a specific instance, for example, ‘the red house’ and ‘the house
at the end of the block’. It does not have the same meaning in terms of sense, but it could
refer to the same house. It is also the act of using language to identify or pick out individuals.
Provide in the table below the examples of SENSE, DENOTATION, and REFERENCE.
NO SENSE DENOTATION REFERENCE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

20 MINUTES