Introduction to Language and Linguistics 004: The Lexicon, Morphology and Semantics

1 Introduction2 SEMANTICS: Formalizing Meaning

3 The LEXICON: Mapping Form to Meaning4 MORPHOLOGY: Word-Formation

References

[ ADJ-ness]N[nâ

a-VE

RB] AdjMorphemes

Truth and Reference

Concatenation&

Compositionality

ELC 231: Introduction to Language and LinguisticsThe Lexicon, Semantics & Morphology

Dr. Meagan Louie

M. Louie ELC 231: Language and Linguistics 1 / 79



References

1.1 Review: Discreteness & Phonemes

Core Subdomains

Linguistics: The study of Language

Phonetics

Phonology

Morphology

Syntax

Semantics

Pragmatics




References


Core Subdomains: Last Week - Phonology


Phonetics

Phonology

Morphology

Syntax

Semantics

Pragmatics




References


Core Subdomains: This Week - Semantics and Morphology


Phonetics

Phonology

Morphology

Syntax

Semantics

Pragmatics




References


Introducing MEANING into Language

(i) A structured collection of sounds Phonetic Inventory

(ii) A repository of meaning Semantic Ontology

(iii) Rules about how these elements combine (i.e., "GRAMMAR")

sounds into complex sounds

sound and meanings into 〈sound ,meaning〉 pairs

morphemes into words

words into phrases and sentences

simple morpheme meanings into complex meanings

complex meanings with context




References


Introducing MEANING into Language

(i) A structured collection of sounds Phonetic Inventory

(ii) A repository of meaning Semantic Ontology

(iii) Rules about how these elements combine (i.e., "GRAMMAR")

sounds into complex sounds

sound and meanings into 〈sound ,meaning〉 pairs

morphemes into words

words into phrases and sentences

simple morpheme meanings into complex meanings

complex meanings with context




References


Core Subdomains: Semantics & Morphology

• Semantics: The study of meaning in language

1 Meaning as Truth and Reference

2 Semanticity as a Design feature

3 Arbitrariness as a Design feature

4 The Principle of Compositionality




References



• Semantics: The study of meaning in language

1 Meaning as Truth and Reference

2 Semanticity as a Design feature

3 Arbitrariness as a Design feature

4 The Principle of Compositionality




References



• Morphology: The study of word-formation in language

1 The key notion of the morpheme & semanticity

2 Concatenation & compositionality

3 Morpheme Categories

Distributional Categories: roots, stems, prefixes, suffixesLexical Categories: N, V, Adj, P, Det




References



• Morphology: The study of word-formation in language

1 The key notion of the morpheme & semanticity

2 Concatenation & compositionality

3 Morpheme Categories

Distributional Categories: roots, stems, prefixes, suffixesLexical Categories: N, V, Adj, P, Det




References


REVIEW: Hockett’s Design Features & Discreteness

.

The building blocks of language areabstract sound categories called PHONEMES:

/ph/[ph] [ph] [ph]

→ Many different physical manifestations of sounds map onto

one mental representation/category of a sound




References


REVIEW: Hockett’s Design Features & Discreteness

.

The building blocks of language areabstract sound categories called PHONEMES:

/ph/[ph] [ph] [ph]

→ Many different physical manifestations of sounds map onto

one mental representation/category of a soundM. Louie ELC 231: Language and Linguistics 9 / 79



References


Hockett’s Design Features of Language Hockett (1959)

.Q: What properties does LANGUAGE have?i.e., what counts as a LANGUAGE (vs communication system)?

Hockett’s Design Features

1 Discreteness

2 Semanticity

3 Arbitrariness

4 ...

Language as a system is made up ofdiscrete, categorical units; theseunits are perceived categorically, andnot continuously.




References


The key notion of a PHONEME: Distinctive Sounds

Definition: PHONEMEA phoneme is an abstract, unanalyzeable segment of language that canbe used to distinguish/contrast meaning

QUESTION: But what do we mean when wesay it ‘distinguishes/contrasts meaning’?




References


The key notion of a PHONEME: Distinctive Sounds


QUESTION: But what do we mean when wesay it ‘distinguishes/contrasts meaning’?




References

2.1 Truth-Conditions and the Meaning of Sentences2.2 Reference(-Conditions) and the Meaning of Words2.3 SEMANTICITY as a Design Feature of Language

QUESTION: What is Meaning?

.QUESTION: What is meaning (in language)?

What do you KNOW,when you know what something MEANS?




References


Q: What do you KNOW......when you know what something MEANS?

. Language MEANING is related to TRUTH

(1) a. Sparrows are a kind of bird True/False

b. Seriemas are endemic of the Neotropics True/False

Q: Do you know what (1a) means?

What about (1b)?

Q: Do you know whether (1a) is true?

What about (1b)?




References







What about (1b)?


What about (1b)?




References







What about (1b)?


What about (1b)?




References







What about (1b)?


What about (1b)?




References







What about (1b)?


What about (1b)?




References




Know what it means? Know whether it’s true?(1a) X X(1b) × ×

Any hypotheses?What do you know when you know what a sentence means?

What is Meaning? : Hypothesis 1

The meaning of a sentence is its truth-value- i.e., whether it is TRUE or FALSE




References











References











References



.



(2) Seriemas are a kind of bird True/False

Do you know what (2) means?

Do you know whether (2) is true or false?




References



.









References



.









References



.









References



ObservationYou can know what a sentence means,

even if you don’t know whether it is true or false

Know what it means? Know whether it’s true?(1a) X X(1b) × ×(2) X ×

This is NOT what we would predict if the meaning of a sentence isits truth-value (i.e., whether it is TRUE or FALSE)




References



ObservationYou can know what a sentence means,

even if you don’t know whether it is true or false

Know what it means? Know whether it’s true?(1a) X X(1b) × ×(2) X ×

This is NOT what we would predict if the meaning of a sentence isits truth-value (i.e., whether it is TRUE or FALSE)




References



.

(2) Seriemas are a kind of bird

If I told you that one of these is a seriema,in which cases would (2) be true?




References



.






References



.






References




The meaning of a sentence is its truth-conditions - i.e., what theworld would have to look like, in order for it to be true

Know what it means? Know how it could be true?(1a) X X(1b) × ×(2) X X

This makes better predictions than Hypothesis 1




References




The meaning of a sentence is its truth-conditions - i.e., what theworld would have to look like, in order for it to be true

Know what it means? Know how it could be true?(1a) X X(1b) × ×(2) X X

This makes better predictions than Hypothesis 1




References



. That’s sentences. What about the meaning of WORDS?

(1) a. Sparrows are a kind of bird

b. Seriemas are endemic of the Neotropics

Q: Why would you know thetruth-conditions of (1a) but not (1b)?

A: Because you might not know whatthe words seriemas, endemic orneotropics means




References











References











References







A: Because you might not know whatthe words seriemas, endemic orneotropics refer to




References



.

What is Meaning? : Hypothesis A

The meaning of a WORD is its reference - i.e., what it refers to

eg., A word like...

[dAg] “dog” refers to the set of objects that we consider dogs

If you know what “dog” means,then you know how to categorize objects as dog VS non-dog




References



.



eg., A word like...






References



.



eg., A word like...






References



.



eg., A word like...[ôEd] “red” refers to the set of objects that we consider red

If you know what “red” means,then you know how to categorize objects as red VS non-red




References



.



eg., A word like...[ôEd] “red” refers to the set of objects that we consider red

If you know what “red” means,then you know how to categorize objects as red VS non-red




References



.



eg., A word like...

[EndEmIk] “endemic” refers to a relationship between objects andplaces, where that kind of object is found only in that place

If you know what “endemic” means, then you know how tocategorize 〈object, place〉 pairs as endemic VS non-endemic

A 〈bermuda petrels,Bermuda〉B 〈glacier bears, southeast Alaska〉C 〈elephants,Asia〉




References



.



eg., A word like...

[EndEmIk] “endemic” refers to a relationship between objects andplaces, where that kind of object is found only in that place

If you know what “endemic” means, then you know how tocategorize 〈object, place〉 pairs as endemic VS non-endemic

A 〈bermuda petrels,Bermuda〉B 〈glacier bears, southeast Alaska〉C 〈elephants,Asia〉




References



.


Q: What do we mean when we say a phoneme‘distinguishes/contrasts meaning’?

A: The phoneme’s presence/absence changes(i) the reference of a word or(ii) the truth-conditions of a sentence




References



.


Q: What do we mean when we say a phoneme‘distinguishes/contrasts meaning’?

A: The phoneme’s presence/absence changes(i) the reference of a word or(ii) the truth-conditions of a sentence




References


Q: What do you KNOW when you know a language?

.

Definition: PHONEMEA phoneme is the smallest unit of language that can be used todistinguish/contrast meaning

Although a phoneme can DISTINGUISH meaning,it doesn’t HAVE or CONTAIN meaning

Definition: MORPHEME

A morpheme is the smallest unit of language that has/containsmeaning - i.e., it is a systematic 〈form,meaning〉 mapping




References



.








References



.








References


Q: What does it mean to HAVE or CONTAIN meaning?

Kanuri Morphology Problem Set

(3) [gana] “small” [nemgana] “smallness”[kura] “big” [nemkura] “bigness[kurugu] “long” [nemkurugu] “length”[karite] “excellent” [nemkarite] “excellence”[dibi] “bad” [nemdibi] “badness”

(i) If keji means ‘sweet,’how would you translate ‘sweetness’ into Kanuri?

(ii) If nemnala means ‘goodness,how would you translate ‘good’ into Kanuri?




References



Kanuri Morphology Problem Set


(i) If keji means ‘sweet,’how would you translate ‘sweetness’ into Kanuri?

(ii) If nemnala means ‘goodness,how would you translate ‘good’ into Kanuri?




References





1 Discreteness

2 Semanticity

3 Arbitrariness

4 Productivity

5 Prevarication

6 Duality of Patterning

7 Displacement

8 ...M. Louie ELC 231: Language and Linguistics 28 / 79



References





1 Discreteness

2 Semanticity

3 Arbitrariness

4 Productivity

5 Prevarication


7 Displacement




References




Hockett’s Design Feature:SEMANTICITY

There is a fixed/stable/systematicrelationship between a signal(form/sound) and meaning.




References

3.1 The Basic Concept of a MORPHEME3.2 The LEXICON: The Repository of MORPHEMES3.3 ARBITRARINESS as a Design feature


Kanuri


Observation:The addition of nem- systematically modifies meaning

[nem- + ADJ]N = the abstract property of being ADJ

-i.e., there is a systematic relationship between form and meaning




References



Kanuri


Observation:The addition of nem- systematically modifies meaning

[nem- + ADJ]N = the abstract property of being ADJ

-i.e., there is a systematic relationship between form and meaning




References


SEMANTICITY as a Design Feature

.

morphemes like Kanuri nem- have a systematic relationshipbetween form and meaning

- adding nem- results in a systematic shift in meaning

phonemes lack this sort of systematic relationship

(6) /tAp/ “top” /stAp/ “stop”/mal/ “mall” /smal/ “small/tajl/ “tile” /stajl/ “style”

Adding the phoneme /s/ to the beginning of the words on the leftshifts the meaning, but not in a systematic way




References



.









References



.









References



.









References


Lack of SEMANTICITY in PHONEMES

.Adding the phoneme /s/ to the beginning of the words on theleft shifts the meaning, but not in a systematic way

/mAl/ ={ Terminal 21, Central World, Siam Paragon, ... }

/smAl/ =




References


Lack of SEMANTICITY in PHONEMES

.Adding the phoneme /s/ to the beginning of the words on theleft shifts the meaning, but not in a systematic way


/smAl/ =




References



.

Note: This doesn’t mean that the form of a morpheme can’tcorrespond to a single segment, however:

(7) /stAp/ “stopN, sg” /stAps/ “stopsN, pl”/mæp/ “mapN, sg” /mæps/ “mapsN, pl”/sAk/ “sockN, sg” /sAks/ “socksN, pl”

Because adding /-s/ to the end of the word results in a systematicshift in meaning, we must be adding a morpheme as opposed to aphoneme




References



.







References



.







References


The SEMANTICITY of MORPHEMES

./kæt/ VS /kæts/




References


The SEMANTICITY of MORPHEMES

./kæt/ VS /kæts/

→ ‘cat’ refers to the set of objects that qualify as atomic cats,‘cats’ refers to the set of objects that have atomic cats as parts




References


The LEXICON: The Repository of MORPHEMES



[s] /s/ 〈/-s/, plural〉phone phoneme morpheme

The Lexicon is our mental dictionary of 〈form,meaning〉 mappings

Q: What is the relationship between the sound/form and meaningpart of 〈form,meaning〉 mappings?




References











References











References











References





1 Discreteness

2 Semanticity

3 Arbitrariness

4 Productivity

5 Prevarication


7 Displacement




References





1 Discreteness

2 Semanticity

3 Arbitrariness

4 Productivity

5 Prevarication


7 Displacement




References




Ferdinand de Saussure,

Photo by F. Julien Genève

ARBITRARINESS“The connection between the signifierand the signified is arbitrary”

- De Saussure (1916)

There is no pre-determined or natural linkbetween certain forms/sounds and certainmeanings - a meaning can be systematicallyrepresented by any combination of sounds.




References



.ARBITRARINESS allows different languages to use differentforms/signs/sounds to refer to the same concept, eg.,

English: [dAg] dog

French: [SiE] chien

Cree: [atim] à´m




References




English: [dAg] dog

French: [SiE] chien

Cree: [atim] à´m




References




English: [dAg] dog

French: [SiE] chien

Cree: [atim] à´m




References




English: [dAg] dog

French: [SiE] chien

Cree: [atim] à´m




References



.ARBITRARINESS can also explain why the meanings of the words onthe left are not related to the meanings of the words on the right:


If the sound-meaning mapping wasn’t arbitrary...

...we would expect similar sounding words to have similar meanings




References










References










References


Hockett’s Design Features: Arbitrariness Hockett (1959)


/smAl/ = { A, B, C, D, ... }




References


Bee Waggle Dance and ICONICITY Hockett (1959)

1 θ ∼ angle between current sun position and food source

2 speed ∼ amount of food source

3 Length of wiggle ∼ distance from hive to food source




References

4.1 Morpheme Concatenation4.2 Distributional Categories4.3 Lexical Categories

ARBITRARINESS as a Design Feature

. Q: But is the relationship between sound and meaningalways arbitrary?


In these cases, adding /-s/ to the end of the word results in anon-arbitrary shift in meaning




References









References









References


Non-Arbitrary 〈sound ,meaning〉 Mappings

/kæt/ VS /kæts/

→ ‘cat’ refers to the set of objects that qualify as an atomic cat...




References


Non-Arbitrary 〈sound ,meaning〉 Mappings

/kæt/ VS /kæts/

→ ‘cats’ refers to the set of objectswith atomic cats as its subpartsA simplification, but ...




References





In these cases, adding /nem-/ to the beginning of the word results ina non-arbitrary shift in meaning




References









References









References


Q: When is the 〈sound ,meaning〉 mapping ARBITRARY?

.QUESTION: What’s the difference?

When is the sound-meaning relationship in wordsARBITRARY, and when is it not?

What do YOU think?




References


Q: When is the 〈sound ,meaning〉 mapping ARBITRARY?

.QUESTION: What’s the difference?

When is the sound-meaning relationship in wordsARBITRARY, and when is it not?

What do YOU think?




References


Word-Formation Processes

Q: When is the sound-meaning relationship in wordsARBITRARY, and when is it not?

ARBITRARY NON-ARBITRARY〈/mæp/, map〉〈/mæp-s/, map:PL〉〈/gana/, small〉〈/nem-gana/, the property of being small〉〈/sæd/, not happy〉〈/2n-hæpi/, not happy〉

Do you see a pattern?..




References









References









References





The words with non-arbitrary meaningsare multi-morphemic(i.e., are complex, consisting of multiple morphemes)




References



. The 〈sound ,meaning〉 relationship for

... morphemes is arbitrary

... words depends on whether the word is

(i) mono-morphemic (single morpheme → arbitrary)(ii) multi-morphemic (multiple morphemes → non-arbitrary))

Morphemes combine via a process called concatenation1

and this process is compositional

1This is not the only way they can combine, but it is the simplest.M. Louie ELC 231: Language and Linguistics 52 / 79



References












References












References






(i) mono-morphemic (single morpheme → arbitrary)

(ii) multi-morphemic (multiple morphemes → non-arbitrary))






References












References












References


The Principle of Compositionality

.

Gottlob Frege (1848-1925)

The Principle of Compositionality“...meaning of a complex expression is

a function of the meaning of its parts

and the way those parts are combined.”

The meaning of a complex word or sentenceis based on

(i) the meaning of its parts and

(ii) the way that the parts are combined.




References



.











References


The Principle of Compositionality: Meaning of the Parts

Definition of docks in English:

dock-s [dAks]:

NOUN, PL:

Enclosed areas of water in a portfor the loading, unloading andrepair or ships..

Definition of dox in English:

dox (doxx) [dAks]:

VERB:

Search for and publish private oridentifying information about (aparticular individual) on theInternet, typically with maliciousintent:

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/


http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/



References



.











References



.











References



.

The Principle of CompositionalityThe meaning of a complex word or sentenceis based on



toy dog

dogtoy

dog toy

toydog




References



.The Principle of Compositionality

The meaning of a complex word or sentence is based on



unlockable

lockable

-ablelock

un-

unlockable

-ableunlock

lockun-




References


Morpheme Concatenation and MINIMAL PAIRS

Definition: PHONOLOGICAL MINIMAL PAIRA phonological minimal pair is a pair of words or morphemes that

i) differ minimally by one phoneme, andii) have different meanings

eg., /mAl/ “mall” and /smAl/ “small”

Definition: MORPHOLOGICAL MINIMAL PAIRA morphological minimal pair is a pair of words that

i) differ minimally by one morpheme, andii) have different meanings

eg., /smAl/ “small” and /smAl-@ô/ “smaller”




References



Definition: PHONOLOGICAL MINIMAL PAIRA phonological minimal pair is a pair of words or morphemes that

i) differ minimally by one phoneme, andii) have different meanings

eg., /mAl/ “mall” and /smAl/ “small”







References



. Morphological Analysis

Just like finding phonological minimal pairs is a good way tostart doing a phonological analysis...... finding morphological minimal pairs is a good way to startdoing morphological analysis:







References


TurkishFind some morphological minimal pairs

el hand ev houseeller hands eve to the houseelim my hand evlerde in the housesellerim my hands evden from the houseelimde in my hand evimiz our houseellerimde in my hands evde in the houseelimden from my hand evlerimiz our housesellerimden from my hands evleriniz your (pl) houseselin your(sg) hand evim my houseellerin your(sg) hands evler housesellerimiz our hands eline to your(sg) handellerinize to your(pl) hands




References


TurkishWhat is the form of the morphemes that mean “hand” and “house”?





References


TurkishWhat is the form of the morphemes that mean PL and “my1.SG.POSS”?





References


TurkishWhat is the form of the morphemes that mean “your2.SG.POSS”?





References


TurkishAre there morphemes that mean “our1.PL.POSS” “your2.PL.POSS”?





References


TurkishWhat’s the form of the morphemes meaning “to’,’ “in,” and “from,”?





References


TurkishWhat is the morpheme order/template in Turkish?





References


TurkishHow would you say “to our houses” ’?





References


TurkishHow would you say “in my house” ’?





References


Types of Morphemes: Distributional Categories

ROOT: A morpheme that makes up the core lexical content of theword, eg., el “hand” in el-ler-im-den “from my hands”

BASE/STEM: What an affix attaches to (this may be the root; ormay be a root already modified with affixes), eg., In ellerimden,

The base that -den “from” attaches to is el-ler-im “my hands”

The base that -im “in” attaches to is el-ler “hands”

The base that -ler “from” attaches to is el “hand”




References











References











References











References











References











References



AFFIX: Morphemes that attach to a morphological base/stem

(i) PREFIX: A morpheme that attaches to the front/left of a stemeg., English un- in unbelievable, untrue, unhappy

(ii) SUFFIX: A morpheme that attaches to the back/right of a stemeg., English -er in taller, smaller, smellier

(iii) CIRCUMFIX: A morpheme that attaches around a stem (i.e., thereare phonological components both preceding and following the stem)

eg., German participial ge- -t in gemacht, gelernt, gelacht

(iv) INFIX: A morpheme that attaches inside of a stem




References












References












References












References












References



INFIX: A morpheme that attaches inside of a stem;the location is usually phonologically determined, eg.,

Tagalog -um- and -in- infixationsulat “to write” and sumulat “wrote,”sinulat “was written,”Paral “to teach” and Pumral “taught,”Pinral “was taught,”Pibig “to love” and Pumibig “loved,”Pinibig “was loved,”

English Expletive infixationabso-fucking-lutely, fan-fucking-tastic, parlia-fucking-mentary




References









References









References


Restrictions on Morpheme Concatenation

. Q: Can affixes attach to any kind of stem?

Observation: Not all words can take the past tense /-ed/I II III IV Vcat, dog,... smile, walk,... red, fat,... the, a,... under, in,...*cat-ed, smile-d, *red-ed, *the-ed, *under-ed,*dog-ed walk-d, *fat-ed *a-ed *in-ed,*ipod-ed, realiz-ed, *small-ed, *this-ed, *through-ed,*teacup-ed, boil-ed, *spicy-ed, *that-ed, *beside-ed,




References




Observation: Only some words can take plural morphologyI II III IV Vcat, dog,... realize, alienate,... red, fat,... the, a,... under, on,...cat-s, dog-s *realize-s, *red-s, *fat-s ?the-s, ?a-s ?under-s,ipods *alienate-s, *small-s, ?this-s, ?through-s,teacups *banish-s, *spicy-s, ?that-s, ?beside-s,




References




(11) a. /naa-rak/ นารก

b. /naa-juu/ นาอย

c. /naa-mOON/ นามอง

d. /naa-khit/ นาคด

(12) a. */naa-hiw/ นาหว

b. */naa-rOOn/ นารอน

c. */naa-phet/ นาเผด

d. */naa-lek/ นาเลก

(13) a. */naa-phaasaa/ นาภาษา

b. */naa-mEEw/ นาแมว

c. */naa-naNs00/ นาหนงสอ

d. */naa->tChaa/ นาชา

What determines when themorpheme 〈/naa/, -worthya 〉can combine with anothermorpheme?

aHahahaha, as if I actually know what this means.




References




(11) a. /naa-rak/ นารก

b. /naa-juu/ นาอย

c. /naa-mOON/ นามอง

d. /naa-khit/ นาคด

(12) a. */naa-hiw/ นาหว

b. */naa-rOOn/ นารอน

c. */naa-phet/ นาเผด

d. */naa-lek/ นาเลก

(13) a. */naa-phaasaa/ นาภาษา

b. */naa-mEEw/ นาแมว

c. */naa-naNs00/ นาหนงสอ

d. */naa->tChaa/ นาชา

What determines when themorpheme 〈/naa/, -worthya 〉can combine with anothermorpheme?

aHahahaha, as if I actually know what this means.




References


Morphemes consist of 〈form, meaning, category〉

Observation: Affixes have selectional restrictions- they can only attach to certain Lexical Categories,

eg., N, V, Adj, Adv, Prep, ...

. (More on lexical categories next week)




References


Next Time: Introduction to Semantics and Morphology

1 Homework: Morphology Problem SetStart working on the problems now, in groupsDue next week - hand in one per group(Put everyone’s names and student numbers on the assignment)

2 Instagram Homework:Find and post a Morphological Minimal Pair 2

2But it’s like Scattegories - if someone else has already posted that minimal pair,you need to find a different one for it to count!




References

References I

De Saussure, Ferdinand. 1916. Nature of the linguistic sign. Course in generallinguistics .

Hockett, Charles F. 1959. Animal "languages" and human language. HumanBiology 31(1). 32–39.


Education

Introduction to Language and Linguistics 004: The Lexicon, Morphology and Semantics