BM3 Introduction to English Linguistics Part II Session 4: (Lexical) Semantics Phonology

BM3Introduction to English Linguistics

Part II

Session 4: (Lexical) SemanticsPhonology

REBECCA CARROLLREBECCA CARROLL

Contact options:

• A 10 1-103 mail box across the hall (A10)• phone 0441-798 3181• Email: rebecca.carroll@uni-oldenburg.de

All information can be found on my homepage:

www.staff.uni-oldenburg.de/rebecca.carroll

Overview: Where are we?

• Phonetics/ Phonology • Morphology• Syntax• Semantics• Pragmatics• Applied Linguistics

(Historical Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, Textlinguistics, Psycholinguistics, Neurolinguistics, Computational Linguistics, …)

Phonology ctd.

stress

weak forms

connected speech

Literature

Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., Hyams, N. (2006). An Introduction to Language. 8th ed. Wadsworth.

Handke, J. (2001). The Mouton Interactive Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology. CD ROM. DeGruyter.Handke, J. & Intemann, F. (2000). The Interactive Introduction

to Linguistics. CD ROM. Version 2.0. München: Hueber.

See Handapparat for further introductory books

IPA FontIPA Font

• Download fonts to use for transcription in portfolio: Doulos SIL Font:http://www.sil.org/computing/catalog/show_software.asp?id=91

– Download/ install to your fonts folder– Choose font in your text document – Insert symbols (or define a key combination as short

cut)

Connected Speech

• Pronunciation of individual words changes in context

• Depending on the sentence stress, some words are „weakened“ (so-called weak forms)

• Assimilation, elision & linking of sounds (at word boundaries)

Stressed out about stress?

• Stressed = more „effort“ (amplitude, pitch, length)

• perception: relatively greater prominence

• change in stress = change in vowel quality (?) Compare: Canada/ˈkænəˌdɑː/ to /kəˈnɑˌdɑː/ to /ˌkænə

ˈdɑː/

Stressed out about stress?

• primary stress: / ˈ / as in /əˈbaʊt/, /ˈbeɪ.sɪk/, /bəˈnæ.nɑ/

• secondary stress: /ˌ / as in /ˌlɪŋˈɡwɪs.tɪks/, /ˈaɪsˌkɹiːm/ vs. /ˌaɪˈskɹiːm/‿

Weak Forms

• Appear in unstressed (monosyllabic?) words• Often function words and pronouns

• Vowel reduced to more central tongue position:/ə/ and /ɪ/

• Compare list of BE and AE weak forms

Assimilation

• „A phonological process whereby a sound becomes phonetically similar to a neigh-boring sound.[…]“ Finegan (1999), p.586

• e.g. don‘t be silly (BE)/ˌdəʊnt bɪ ˈsɪli/ /ˌdəʊm bɪ ˈsɪli/

• e.g. horseshoe (AE)/ˈhɔɹzˌʃuː/ /ˈhɔɹsˌʃuː/ /ˈhɔɹ‿ˌʃuː/

Other examples {in-} im-perfect; il-legal

Linking

• Absence of a „gap“ between words

Resyllabification• These are old eggs

– /ˈðiːz ɑɹ ˌoʊld ˈegz/ /ˈðiː‿zɑ‿ˌɹoʊl‿ˈdegz/ • Linking R (BE): a postvocalic /r/ that would normally

not be pronounced in non-rhotic varieties is pronounced when it occurs between two vowels: /hɪə‿ɹ‿ən‿ðɛː/

• (intrusive R; BE: law and order /ˈlɔː‿ɹ‿ən‿ˈdɔːdə/)

Elision (Deletion)

• Sometimes sounds are elided in fast speech when they stand in a line of similar/ very different sounds (easier to pronounce)

• Occurs at word & morpheme boundaries• Dental plosives are at risk

• So are weak vowels (schwa dropping)button /ˈbʌtən/ /ˈbʌtn)/

•/n)/ = syllabic /n/• Nasals, laterals can be syllabic

The North Wind & the Sun ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd ən ə ˈsʌn wɚ dɪsˈpjuɾɪŋ ˈwɪtʃ wəz ðə ˈstɹɑːŋgɚ, wɛn ə ˈtɹævlɚ ˌkeɪm əˈlɑːŋ ˈɹæpt ɪn ə ˈwɔɹm ˈkloʊk.ˌðeɪ əˈgɹiːd ðət ðə ˈwʌn hu ˈfɚst səkˈsiːdəd ɪn ˈmeɪkɪŋ ðə ˈtɹævlɚ ˈteɪk ɪz ˈkloʊk ˌɑf ʃʊd bi kənˈsɪdɚd ˈstɹɑːŋgɚ ðən ðɪ ˈʌðɚ.ðɛn ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd ˈbluː əz ˈhɑɹd əz hi ˈkʊd, bət ðə ˈmɔɹ hi ˈbluː ðə ˈmɔɹ ˈkloʊsli dɪd ðə ˈtɹævlɚ ˈfoʊld hɪz ˈkloʊk əˈɹaʊnd ɪm;ˌæn ət ˈlæst ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd ˌgeɪv ˈʌp ði əˈtɛmpt. ˈðɛn ðə ˈsʌn ˈʃaɪnd ˌaʊt ˈwɔɹmli ənd ɪˈmiːdiətli ðə ˈtɹævlɚ ˈtʊk ˌɑf ɪz kloʊk.ən ˈso ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd wəz əˈblaɪdʒ tɪ kənˈfɛs ðət ðə ˈsʌn wəz ðə ˈstɹɑŋgɚ əv ðə ˈtuː.

The North Wind & the Sun The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak.

They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other.

Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak around him;

and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt. Then the Sun shined out warmly, and immediately the traveler took off his cloak.

And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.

• Identify the weak forms• Identify (possible) positions for assimilation

and elision• Identify (possible) linking

The North Wind & the Sun

The North Wind & the Sun ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd ən ə ˈsʌn wɚ dɪsˈpjuɾɪŋ ˈwɪtʃ wəz ðə ˈstɹɑːŋgɚ, wɛn ə ˈtɹævlɚ ˌkeɪm əˈlɑːŋ ˈɹæpt ɪn ə ˈwɔɹm ˈkloʊk.ˌðeɪ əˈgɹiːd ðət ðə ˈwʌn hu ˈfɚst səkˈsiːdəd ɪn ˈmeɪkɪŋ ðə ˈtɹævlɚ ˈteɪk ɪz ˈkloʊk ˌɑf ʃʊd bi kənˈsɪdɚd ˈstɹɑːŋgɚ ðən ðɪ ˈʌðɚ.ˌðɛn ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd ˈbluː əz ˈhɑɹd əz hi ˈkʊd, bət ðə ˈmɔɹ hi ˈbluː ðə ˈmɔɹ ˈkloʊsli dɪd ðə ˈtɹævlɚ ˈfoʊld hɪz ˈkloʊk əˈɹaʊnd ɪm;ˌæn ət ˈlæst ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd ˌgeɪv ˈʌp ði əˈtɛmpt. ˈðɛn ðə ˈsʌn ˈʃaɪnd ˌaʊt ˈwɔɹmli ənd ɪˈmiːdiətli ðə ˈtɹævlɚ ˈtʊk ˌɑf ɪz kloʊk.ən ˈso ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd wəz əˈblaɪdʒ tɪ kənˈfɛs ðət ðə ˈsʌn wəz ðə ˈstɹɑŋgɚ əv ðə ˈtuː.

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Questions ???Questions ?????

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Lexical Semantics

semantic features

semantic relations

synonymy

Semantic Features

• Semantic Primitives

husbandhusband mother mother girl girl[+ human] [+ human] [+ human]

[+ adult] [+ adult] [- adult]

[+ married] [± married] [- married]

[± …] [± …] [± …]

What are the distinctive semantic features in (a) vs. (b)?

AA (a) bachelor, man, son, paperboy, pope, chief(b) bull, rooster, drake, ram

BB (a) table, stone, pencil, cup, house, ship, car(b) milk, alcohol, rice, soup, mud

C (a) book, temple, mountain, road, tractor(b) idea, love, charity, sincerity, bravery, fear

DD (a) pine, elm, ash, weeping willow, sycamore(b) rose, dandelion, aster, tulip, daisy

What are the distinctive semantic features in (a) vs. (b)?

EE (a) book, letter, encyclopedia, novel, notebook, dictionary(b) typewriter, pencil, pen, crayon, quill, charcoal, chalk

FF (a) walk, run, skip, jump, hop, swim(b) fly, skate, ski, ride, cycle, canoe, hang- glide

GG (a) ask, tell, say, talk, converse(b) shout, whisper, mutter, drawl, holler

Semantic Relations

• Coordination– Conjuncts– Antonyms

• Homonymy (Homophones, Homographs) • Polysemy• Hyponymy

– Hyponyms– Hyperonyms– Co-hyponyms

• Synonymy (hungry ≈ starved; couch ≈ sofa)

Coordination

salt pepper mustard

conjunctsconjuncts

left right

hot cold

poor rich

parent child

antonymsantonyms

Antonyms

• Complementary dead - alive

left – right

• Gradable hot – cold

large – small

• Relational parent – child

employer – employee

Hyponymy

Hyperonym

Hyponym

Hyperonym

Hyponym

Are the following pairscomplementary, gradable, or relational

opposites?

good badexpensive cheapparent offspringbeautiful uglyfalse truelessor lesseepass failhot cold

legal illegallarger

smallerpoor richfast slowasleep awakehusband wiferude polite

Explain the semantic ambiguity by paraphrasing the following sentences:

a. He waited by the bank.

b. Is he really that kind?

c. The proprietor of the fish store was the sole owner.

d. The long drill was boring.

e. When he got the clear title to the land, it was a good deed.

f. It takes a good ruler to make a straight line.

g. He saw that gasoline can explode.

h. You should see her shop.

i. Every man loves a woman.aEvery

can

bankkind

drill

deedruler

shop

that

sole

aEvery