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BM3

Introduction to English LinguisticsPart II

Session 4: (Lexical) Semantics

Phonology

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

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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

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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)

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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 /ˌkænəˈdɑː/

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Stressed out about stress?

• primary stress: / ˈ ˈ ˈ ˈ /as in /əˈ̍̍̍baʊt/, /ˈ̍̍̍beɪ.sɪk/, /bəˈ̍̍̍næ.nɑ/

• secondary stress: ////ˌ̩̩̩ ////as in /ˌ̩̩̩lɪŋˈ̍̍̍ɡwɪs.tɪks/,

/ˈ̍̍̍aɪsˌ̩̩̩kɹiːm/ vs. // vs. // vs. // vs. /ˌ̩̩̩aɪˈ̍̍̍skɹiːm/‿‿‿‿

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

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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/)

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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/ � /ˈbʌtn̩/• /n̩/ = 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.

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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

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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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‿‿‿‿ ‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿

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Questions ???Questions ???

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Lexical Semantics

semantic features

semantic relations

synonymy

Semantic Features

• Semantic Primitives

husbandhusband mothermother girlgirl

[+ human] [+ human] [+ human]

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

[+ married] [± married] [- married]

[± …] [± …] [± …]

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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

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Semantic Relations

• Coordination

– Conjuncts

– Antonyms

• Homonymy (Homophones, Homographs)

• Polysemy

• Hyponymy

– Hyponyms

– Hyperonyms

– Co-hyponyms

• Synonymy (hungry ≈ starved; couch ≈ sofa)

Coordination

salt pepper mustard

conjunctsconjunctsleft right

hot cold

poor rich

parent child

antonymsantonyms

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Antonyms

• Complementary dead - alive

left – right

• Gradable hot – cold

large – small

• Relational parent – child

employer – employee

Hyponymy

Hyperonym

Hyponym

Hyperonym

Hyponym

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Are the following pairs

complementary, gradable, or relationalopposites?

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

bank

kind

drill

deed

ruler

shop

that

sole

aEvery