Giáo trình ngữ nghĩa ngữ dụng học tiếng anh

Tiếng Anh và mức độ quan trọng đối với cuộc sống của học sinh, sinh viên Việt Nam.Khi nhắc tới tiếng Anh, người ta nghĩ ngay đó là ngôn ngữ toàn cầu: là ngôn ngữ chính thức của hơn 53 quốc gia và vùng lãnh thổ, là ngôn ngữ chính thức của EU và là ngôn ngữ thứ 3 được nhiều người sử dụng nhất chỉ sau tiếng Trung Quốc và Tây Ban Nha (các bạn cần chú ý là Trung quốc có số dân hơn 1 tỷ người). Các sự kiện quốc tế , các tổ chức toàn cầu,… cũng mặc định coi tiếng Anh là ngôn ngữ giao tiếp.

GIÁO TRÌNH

NGỮ NGHĨA – NGỮ DỤNG HỌC TIẾNG ANH

ENGLISH SEMANTICS & PRAGMATICS

COMPILED BY NGUYEN THUY NGA NGUYEN QUOC BAO

Ho Chi Minh City, 2014 (Revised)

CONTENTS

PART 1: SEMANTICS

a Linguistic / literal meaning

 Semantic / Participant roles

b Semantic meaning & pragmatic meaning

c Non-literal meaning / Figures of speech

VII MEANING RELATION 37

o Ways to paraphrase a sentence

4 Direct & indirect speech act

5 Types of speech act

III THE COOPERATIVE MAXIMS 57

PART 1: SEMANTICS

I DEFINITION

Semantics is the study of meaning in language.(Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 1)

Semantics is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms and entities in the

world; that is, how words literally connect to things Semantic analysis also attempts to

establish the relationship between verbal descriptions and states of affairs in the world as accurate (true) or not, regardless of who produces that description (Yule, 1996:4)

II SENTENCES, UTTERANCES, AND PROPOSITIONS

1 A sentence (câu) is a string of words put together by the grammatical rules of a

language (Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 16)

Ex:- A house was struck by lightning last night

- Money doesn‟t make happiness

2 An utterance (phát ngôn) is a piece of language (a sequence of sentences, a single phrase, or a single word) used by a particular speaker on a particular occasion (Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 15)

In written language, an utterance is put between quotation marks

Ex:- “Hello”

- “Not much”

- “Utterances may consist of a single word, a single phrase, or a single sentence They may also consist of a sequence of sentences.”

3 A proposition (mệnh đề) is that part of the meaning of the utterance of a

declarative sentence which describes some state of affairs (Hurford & Heasley,

1983: 19)

Ex:- Paul turned on the TV

- I met him at the cinema last night

Rule: The notion of truth can be used to decide whether two sentences express the

same proposition or different propositions When one sentence is true and the other is

also true, they express the same proposition If one sentence is true while the other may be false, they express different propositions

True propositions correspond to reality False propositions do not correspond to reality

Ex: (1) Harry took out the garbage

Harry took the garbage out

The garbage was taken out by Harry (3 sentences; same proposition) (2) John gave Mary a book

Mary was given a book by John (2 sentences; same proposition) (3) Isobel loves Tony

Tony loves Isobel (2 sentences; 2 different propositions) (It is not necessary that Tony loves Isobel)

(4) “Dr Findlay caused Janet to die.”

“Dr Findlay killed Janet.” (2 utterances; 2 different propositions) (In the case Dr Findlay caused Janet to die, but not intentionally)

Exercise 1: Answer the following sentences, choosing Yes or No

1 Does it make sense to talk of the time and place of a sentence? Yes / No

2 Does it make sense to talk of the time and place of an utterance? Yes / No

5 Does it make sense to ask what language a sentence belongs to? Yes / No

6 Does it make sense to ask what language an utterance belongs to? Yes / No

Exercise 2:

1 Fill in the chart with „+‟ or „-„ as appropriate

Can be loud or quiet

2 Can the same proposition be expressed by different sentences? Yes / No

3 Can the same proposition be realized by different utterances? Yes / No

Exercise 3: Answer the following:

1 Are the following groups of words a sentence or an utterance?

4 Is an utterance tied to a particular time and place? Yes / No

5 Is a sentence tied to a particular time and place? Yes / No

III SEMANTIC PROPERTIES/ FEATURES

1 DEFINITION

Semantic features or properties are ‘the smallest units of meaning in a word.’ (Richards,

Platt & Weber, 1987: 254)

Example: (+: plus; - : minus)

Father + human Each factor

Semantic Property / Feature

Bachelor + human Teacher + human

by teaching + unmarried

2 CHARACTERISTICS

a Primitive elements: basic primitive concepts in linguistics They are left undefined Ex: human, male, animal, color etc

b The same semantic feature may be found in the meaning of different words

Ex: Father, mother, son, daughter, teacher baby … all share the same semantic feature [+ human]

Mother, daughter, hen, bitch, swine … all share the same semantic feature [+female]

c The same semantic feature may be found in words of different parts of speech

Ex: [+female] is part of the noun mother, the adjective pregnant, the verb feed

[+educational] is a semantic feature of the noun teacher, the adjective educated, the verb teach

IV LEXICAL / SEMANTIC FIELD

A semantic field or a lexical field is the organization of related words and expressions into

a system which show their relationship to one another (Richards Platt & Weber 1987:53)

In other words, it is a group of words sharing the same Semantic property

Ex 1:

Human (B) Hypernym / Super-ordinate

Bachelor Father Mother Baby Uncle Sister

(A) Hyponyms

Hyponym is a word „whose referent is totally included in the referent of another term

(hypo- means below) (Finegan 1994:165)

Hypernym is a word whose referent covers all the referents of its hyponyms (hyper- means

above)

Hyponymy is a one-way relation from hyponyms and hypernym so that

A (hyponym) is a kind of B (hypernym) We can say:

A bachelor is a kind of human Not: A human is a kind of bachelor

A boy is a kind of human Not: A human is a kind of boy

Ex 2: Male (Hypernym)

Boy Brother Uncle Ram Stallion Ox Bull

(Hyponyms)

Hyponymy

Ways of organizing related words into different lexical / semantic fields

1 Items related by topics

a Fruit: apples, oranges, grappes, bananas etc

b Clothing: shirts, pants, pajamas, hats etc

c Color: green, red, blue, purple, pink etc

2 Items which are similar in meaning

a Ways of cooking: stew, boil, fry, steam, roast etc

b Ways of walking: limp, tiptoe, stalk etc

c Ways of looking: stare, peer, glance, squint etc

3 Items grouped as an activity or a process

a Doing housework: cleaning the room, doing washing, ironing clothes, preparing the meal etc

b Doing research: making hypotheses, collecting data, analyzing data, getting results, coming to a conclusion

Exercise 4

For each group of words given below, state what semantic property or properties are shared

by the words in group (i) and those in group (ii), and what semantic property or properties distinguish between the classes of (i) and (ii)

Ex: i/ widow, mother, sister, aunt, seamstress

ii/ widower, father, brother, uncle, tailor

 the shared semantic property is human

 the different properties are: (i) => female; (ii) => male

1 i bachelor, man, son, paperboy, pope, uncle

ii bull, rooster, drake, ram, boar

2 i bitch, hen, doe, mare, ewe, vixen

ii actress, maiden, widow, woman, girl

3 i doctor, dean, professor, bachelor, parent

ii teenager, child, boy, baby, infant

4 i table, stone, pencil, cup, house, ship, car

ii milk, alcohol, rice, soup, mud

5 i book, temple, mountain, road, tractor

ii idea, love, charity, sincerity, bravery, fear

6 i pine, elm, ash, wiping, willow, sycamore

ii rose, dandelion, carnation, tulip, daisy

7 i book, letter, encyclopedia, novel, notebook, dictionary

ii typewriter, pencil, ballpoint, crayon, quill, charcoal, chalk

8 i walk, run, skip, jump, hope, swim

ii fly, skate, ski, ride, cycle, canoe, hang-glide

Exercise 5: Put the following words into different lexical fields Give each group a

hypernym

Cup – hammer – glass – nails – red – jug – wineglass – blue – purple – boxing – scissors – football – knife – plastic cup – yellow – badminton – pink – file – weightlifting – green – run – motor-racing – crawl – walk – black – swim – vermilion – karate

Exercise 6: Give a hypernym to each of the following strings of words Cross out the

item(s) that does / do not belong to the same lexical field as the others

1 acquire, buy, collect, win, sell, steal, rob

2 whisper, talk, narrate, report, tell, instruct, brief

3 road, path, way, street, method, freeway, avenue

4 easy-going, sociable, well-mannered, friendly, sad, elegant, courteous, strong

5 smell, aroma, bouquet, perfume, fragrance, scent, odor, reek

6 toast, boil, fry, fresh, grill, medium, bake, roast, steam

7 cow, dog, cat, tiger, lion, ape, human, bird, whale, chicken

8 sing, talk, dance, speak, shout, whisper, mutter, babble

9 at, of, in, on, under, below, near

10 square, circular, triangular, rectangular, spherical, hexagonal, polygonal

MULTIPLE CHOICE TESTS

TEST 1

1 Which of the following is correct about linguistics?

a Linguistics is the study of language meaning b Linguistics is the study of English

c Linguistics is the study of all dialects d Linguistics is the study of language

2 Which of the following does not belong to linguistics?

a language skills b phonology c semantics d pragmatics

3 Which of the following is correct about semantics?

a Semantics is the study of language use b Semantics is the study of language

c Semantics is the study of language meaning d Semantics is an independent subject

4 Which of the following is correct about pragmatics?

a Pragmatics is the study of language b Pragmatics is the study of language use

c pragmatics is an independent subject d Pragmatics is the study of language meaning

5 Which of the following statements is true?

a The objective of semantics is the literal meaning of language

b The objective of linguistics is the meaning of language

c The objective of semantics is the speaker‟s meaning

d The objective of semantics is the non-literal meaning of language

6 Which of the following statements is not true?

a Pragmatics studies the relationship between language and objects

b Pragmatics studies the relationship between language and the user

c Pragmatics studies the speaker‟s meaning

d Pragmatics studies how and what for the speaker uses the language

7 Which of the following statements is true about sentence?

a A sentence is a group of words grammatically linked to convey a complete meaning

b A sentence is a group of words containing a finite verb

c A sentence is a group of words containing a subject and a verb

d A sentence is a group of words consisting of one clause

8 Which of the following statements is not true about utterance?

a The meaning of an utterance is the sum of meanings of the constituent words

b An utterance is context bound / dependent

c The meaning of an utterance depends on the situation in which it is uttered

d An utterance is a sentence said in a particular situation

9 Which of the following statements is not true?

a It makes sense to talk of the time and place of an utterance

b It makes sense to talk of the time and place of a sentence

c It doesn‟t make sense to talk of a loud sentence

d It makes sense to talk of a true sentence or utterance

10 Which of the following statements is not true?

a The pragmatic meaning is the linguistic meaning

b The meaning of an utterance is context-bound

c The semantic meaning is out of context

d The meaning of a sentence is context-free

11 The following pair: Dr Findlay caused Janet to die

Dr Findlay killed Janet consists of:

a 2 utterances; 2 propositions b 2 sentences; 1 proposition

c 2 sentences; 2 propositions d 2 utterances; 1 proposition

12 The following pair “Paul opened the door”

“The door was opened by Paul” consists of:

a 2 utterances; 1 proposition b 2 sentences; 1 proposition

c 2 utterances; 2 propositions d 2 sentences; 2 propositions

13 The following pair “Paul loves Mary”

“Mary loves Paul” consists of:

a 2 utterances; 2 propositions b 2 sentences; 1 proposition

c 2 sentences; 2 propositions d 2 utterances; 1 proposition

14 The following pair They loaded hay onto the truck

They loaded the truck with hay consists of:

a 2 utterances; 1 proposition b 2 sentences; 1 proposition

c 2 sentences; 2 propositions d 2 utterances; 2 propositions

15 Which of the following statements is not true?

a The pragmatic meaning can be defined by the sum of semantic features

b The semantic meaning of a word can be analyzed into semantic components

c The same semantic property can be found in the meaning of different words

d Semantic features are the smallest units of meaning in a word

16 Which of the following statements is not true?

a A lexical field is a group of words sharing the same part of speech

b A semantic field is a family of words that share the same semantic feature

c There are different ways to organize semantically related words into lexical fields

d A lexical field is a group of semantically related words

17 Which of the following semantic features does not belong to “cat”?

a [+domestic] b [+animal] c [+male] d [+having a tail]

18 Which of the following semantic properties belongs to “dog”?

a [+loyal] b [+intellect] c [+mature] d [+female]

19 The relationship between „bachelor‟ and „male‟ is:

20 The relationship between „cock‟ and „male‟ is:

a hyponymy b synonymy c polysemy d antonymy

V REFERENCE & SENSE

1 Definitions

 Reference is the relationship between language and the world In other words, that is

the relationship between words and the things, actions, events, and qualities they stand for (Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 25)

Ex: My son refers to a person; a dog refers to an animal (the speaker

establishes a relationship between an expression and an object)

Referent is the thing the speaker is talking about, the object referred to

Ex: This page (the page the speaker is reading; Ex: page 15)

The cassette player (the object on the table)

 Sense is the relationship between semantically related expressions in the language to

express the meaning

Ex: The word „bachelor‟ and „unmarried man‟ have the same sense;

“to buy” and “to purchase” have the same sense

To express the content / meaning of a word to a learner, we may say the word and show him

an object to make him understand what the word means In this case we establish a relation between a word and an object (between language and the world): reference On the other hand, we can also give him a synonym or phrase to express the meaning in the form of a definition We are establishing a relationship between expressions of the same meaning in the language to express the sense

Example: The word „desk‟

Reference

Sense an object with a surface and four legs used for writing

2 Types of reference

1) Variable Reference: the same expression may be used to refer to different objects In

other words, the referent of an expression varies with the speaker For example:

“My mother” (referring to the mother of the speaker) may refer to different ladies depending on different speakers

“Here” in the sentence “I am here” (referring to the place where the speaker is standing) can also refer to different places depending on different speakers

Some clues for Variable Reference

 Possessive adjectives / possessive case: my sister, your brother, the government‟s decision… Exception: John‟s hat (not a variable reference because it refers to the hat

of John only regardless the speaker)

 Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns: this, that, these, those … (this page, that book, that car…)

 Personal pronouns: I, You, He, Me, Him…

 Adverbs of place/ time: here, there, then, today, yesterday, now, at the station,

 Articles: the boy in the corner; I want to buy a car

2) Same Reference / Co-reference: different expressions refer to the same object

Examples:

 Uncle Hồ – Hồ Chí Minh – Nguyễn Aí Quốc - Nguyễn Sinh Cung – Nguyễn Tất Thành: all refer to the same person

 HCM City and Saigòn: both refer to the same city

 My father is a teacher: both underlined groups of words refer to the same person

 We chose John leader: John and leader refer to the same person

 The Morning Star and The Evening Star: both refer to the same star

Desk

3) Constant Reference: one expression always refers to the same object, (regardless the

speaker)

 Proper names, especially geographical names: John Smith, David, Vietnam, Cambodia …

 Unique things: the sun, the moon, the earth, the east, the west, Halley‟s Comet…

4) No reference: an expression which is meaningful but does not refer to anything

 Function words: and, but, if …

 Imaginary characters: Batman, Dragon, Superman, Snow White, Tấm Cám …

 The objects that do not exist now

Ex: The king of France is bald (France does not have any king nowadays)

The Queen of Vietnam nowadays is a Cambodian (no VN queen now)

Exercise 7: Answer the following questions

1 Does the moon normally have constant reference? Yes / No

2 Does The People’s Republic of China normally have constant reference? Yes / No

3 Does Angola normally have constant reference? Yes / No

4 Does Haley’s Comet normally constant reference? Yes / No

5 If we are talking about a situation in which John is standing alone in the

Corner, can John have the same referent as the person in the corner? Yes / No

Exercise 8

What is intended by the word mean, meaning, meant … in the following examples: reference (R) or sense (S)?

1 When Helen mentioned “the fruit cake”, she meant that rock-hard object in

2 When Albert talks about “his former friend” he means me R / S

5 Look up the meaning of apoplexy in your dictionary R / S

6 If you look out of the window now, you‟ll see who I mean R / S

7 „‟I‟m sorry to have disturbed you – when I said „Will you move your chair?‟

I didn‟t mean you, I meant Patrick here.” R / S

8 If you look up adieu, you‟ll find it means good bye R / S

Exercise 9

1 Give an example of an expression that could have variable reference

2 Give an example of an expression that always has constant reference

3 Give an example of different expressions that have the same reference

4 Give an example of an expression that has no reference

Exercise 10 Which of the following is a correct description of „reference‟?

(a) a relationship between expressions and other expressions which have the same meaning

(b) the set of all objects which can potentially be referred to by an expression

(c) a relationship between a particular object in the world and an expression used in an utterance to pick that object out

Exercise 11: Which of the following is a correct statement about „sense‟?

(a) All words in a language may be used to refer, but only some words have sense

(b) If two expressions have the same referent, they always have the same sense

(c) The sense of an expression is its relationship to semantically equivalent or semantically related expression in the same language

Exercise 12: Answer the following questions by choosing Yes or No

1 Imagine that you and I are in a room with a man and a woman, and, making no visual signal of any sort, I say to you, “The man stole my wallet” In this situation,

can you identify the referent of the expression the man? Yes / No

2 Can the referent of the pronoun I be uniquely identified when this pronoun is

3 Can the referent of the pronoun you be uniquely identified when this pronoun

3 Referring expression

1 Definition: A referring expression „is any expression used in an utterance to refer to

someone or something particular (Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 35) (On the part of the

speaker)

Ex: + When a speaker says, „My father” he has a particular person in mind

=>his father is a referring expression

+ The name Fred in the utterance “Fred hit me”, where the speaker has a particular

person in mind, is a referring expression

+ Fred in “There is no Fred at this address” is not a referring expression because

in this case the speaker would not have any particular person in mind

2 Some clues of referring expression

 Possessive: my friend, Paul‟s hat …

 Demonstrative: this book, that machine …

 Proper name: Smith, David, Vietnam …

 Personal pronouns (only when being uttered): I, You, He …

 Constant reference (unique thing): the sun, the moon, the earth, the east, the west, Halley‟s comet …

 Past tense: helps to recognize Referring Expression

Ex: I saw a boy yesterday

I want to go fishing on the lake

My sister is a singer

Yesterday, I met a singer

I‟m looking for a car to buy

I bought a car in a showroom on Nguyen Hue Street

3 Not a referring expression

 Something general: family, society, people …

 Representative of social classes or species: the poor, the rich, the elephant, dogs, cats …

 Profession/ Job: a singer, a teacher, a lawyer …

Ex: A singer in “SilBlack is a famous singer” is a RE because it

refers to a particular person

A singer in “My sister is a singer” is not a RE because it is a job in general

Note: Whether an expression is a referring expression or not depends mainly on linguistic

context and on circumstances of the utterance

Exercise 13

Could the following possibly be used as referring expressions?

3 and yes / no 4 the girl sitting there yes / no

Exercise 14 Underline the referring expressions in the following sentences, if any

1 A man was in here looking for you last night

2 The first sign of the monsoon is a cloud on the horizon no bigger than a man‟s hand

3 Forty buses have been withdrawn from service by the Liverpool Corporation

4 This engine has the power of forty buses

5 Yesterday, Nancy married a Norwegian

6 My sister also wants to marry a Norwegian

7 John is looking for a car to buy

8 Dick believes that a man with a limp killed Bo Peep

9 The police officer said that a man with a limp killed Bo Peep

10 Every evening at sunset, a swan flew over my house

11 The man who shot Abraham Lincoln was an unemployed actor

12 If anyone ever marries Nancy, he‟s in for a bad time

13 The poor are the ones who suffer most from the disasters all over the world

14 I saw a boy climb over the fence last night

15 Don‟t come near the frontier You may be hurt by a bullet

16 You can‟t get married with such a boy!

17 My hobby is to go fishing with friends when the sun appears in the East

18 It was thought for many centuries that the world was flat

19 The book you gave me on Teacher‟s Day was worth reading

20 My parents expected me to send them some gift on their wedding anniversary, but I didn‟t because of my forgetfulness

21 The parachute is a device to help people to land safely on the ground

22 While the soldier was moving through the frontier, a bullet stroke him on the head

23 Nowadays, there are many TV programs very useful for children‟s education

24 The teacher let his students come back home early because of the coming storm

MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST 2

1 Which of the following is not a type of reference?

a referring expression b variable reference c constant reference d same reference

2 The type of reference in which the same expression is used to refer to different objects is:

a constant reference b same reference c variable reference d no reference

3 The type of reference in which different expressions are used to refer to the same object is:

a constant reference b variable reference c same reference d no reference

4 The type of reference in which the same expression always refers to the same object is:

a same reference b variable reference c constant reference d no reference

5 When an expression has a sense but does not refer to anything, it is said to have:

a constant reference b variable reference c no reference d same reference

6 Which of the following statements is true?

a All words in a language have sense, but only some words may be used to refer

b If two expressions have the same referent, they always have the same sense

c Sense is the relationship between expressions and objects

d Reference is the set of all objects which can potentially be referred to by an expression

7 An expression used to refer to someone or something particular is a:

a referring expression b variable reference c constant reference d same reference

8 The underlined part in „the boy standing at the bus stop‟ has:

a variable reference b same reference c constant reference d no reference

9 The underlined part in „I saw a boy standing at a bus stop‟ is:

a same reference b referring expression c constant reference d no reference

10 The underlined part in „I survived from the air crash thanks to a parachute‟ is:

a referring expression b not a referring expression

11 The underlined part in „My sweetheart is a teacher‟ is:

a a referring expression b not a referring expression

12 The underlined part in „Silk Black is a famous singer from Tay Nguyen‟ is:

a referring expression b not a referring expression

13 The underlined part in „I‟m looking for a car to buy‟ is:

a not a referring expression b a referring expression

14 The underlined part in „Yesterday, I bought a car in a showroom on NH Street‟ is:

a not a referring expression b a referring expression

15 The underlined part in „A boy was in here looking for you last night‟ is:

a a referring expression b not a referring expression

16 The underlined part in „Paul fell off the horse, wounded by an arrow‟ is:

a not a referring expression b a referring expression

17 The underlined part in „You cannot kill a tiger with an arrow‟ is:

a not a referring expression b a referring expression

VII TYPES OF MEANING

A WORD MEANING

1 Denotative / Descriptive / Referential meaning

The denotative meaning of a word is the central meaning of the word found in a dictionary

It is the meaning that may be described in terms of a set of semantic features that serve to identify the particular concept associated with the word

It is also called descriptive because it describes an object, an event, a state or an affair, and referential meaning as it refers us to something in the world

Ex: A pig: a domestic animal, 4 legs, hairy, usually raised for meat

A father: a male adult, married, having children …

2 Connotative / Social / Affective meaning

The connotative meaning of a word is the implied, additional meaning that the word has

beyond its denotative meaning It shows people‟s emotions and / or attitudes towards what the word refers to This meaning may vary from individual to individual, and community to

community That‟s why connotative meaning is also called social or affective meaning It

is not found in the dictionary

Ex: + The word pig in “He is a pig” may means connotatively:

He is a pig => - Lazy

- Greedy

- Stupid

- Dirty

+ As connotative meaning, the word woman may means positively devotion,

patience, generosity …, and negatively frailty, inconstancy, irrationality …

B SENTENCE MEANING

1 LINGUISTIC / LITERAL MEANING

The linguistic meaning of a sentence depends on:

- The meanings of the constituent words

- The syntactic functions of the units in the sentence (subject, object, )

- The semantic / participant roles of the noun phrases in the sentence

Compare the following sentences:

(1) The lion bit the hunter

(2) The hunter bit the lion

(3) The hunter was bitten by the lion

First, to understand the meaning of the sentences, we must know the meanings of the words

„lion, bite, hunter‟ However, we can use exactly the same words to form different sentences with the same or different meanings

(1) The lion bit the hunter # (2) The hunter bit the lion

The sentences (2) & (3) have different meanings although the words have the same syntactic functions

(1) The lion bit the hunter = (3) The hunter was bitten by the lion

S O S O

The sentences (1) & (3) have the same meaning although the words have different syntactic functions What makes the meaning of the two sentences similar or different? It is what is

called semantic roles, the third factor making up the meaning of a sentence

SEMANTIC or PARTICIPANT ROLES

a Definition

A semantic role is the role performed by a noun phrase in relation to the verb

b Types

o Agent (A): the one that initiates an action (person/ animal + action verb)

Ex: Paul opened the door

o Patient (P): the one that suffers from or is affected by the action

Ex: Paul opens the door

The door opened at the first blow of wind

Paul is boiling water

Water boils at 100OC

o Experiencer (E): the one that experiences a feeling/ sensation/ perception …

(a person / an animal + a non-action verb)

Ex: Paul loves Mary

I recognize that I‟m wrong

The boy wants a candy

The teacher remembers meeting me somewhere

o Stimulus (S): the one that causes a feeling / sensation (emotion verb)

Ex: Paul loves Mary

I‟m afraid of ghost

The book of the teacher makes me very happy

The film interests me a lot

o Recipient (R) (the receiver): the one that receives a physical object

Ex: He gave me a book last night

o Benefactive (B) : the one that benefits from an action

Ex: I do all this for you

I sent him a gift for his son

o Instrument (I): the one that is used to perform an action (implying a user)

Ex: I open the door with a hammer

Paul used a key to open the door

o Cause (C): the one that causes an action to happen (not implying a user)

Ex: The door opened suddenly at the blow of the wind

Paul was hurt with a knife (implying someone using a knife to hurt him)

I

Paul was hurt by a knife (not implying the user of the knife)

C

o Locative (L): the place where an action happens

Ex: I was born in Đà lạt

HCM city is a good place to live

o Temporal (T): the time when an action happens

Ex: Yesterday, I saw you at the supermarket

Back to the 3 previous examples, we see:

(1) The lion bit the hunter # (2) The hunter bit the lion

S/A O/P S/A O/P

(2) The hunter bit the lion # (3) The hunter was bitten by the lion

S/A O/P S/P O/A

The above sentences have different meanings because they have different semantic roles although they may have the same syntactic functions (2) & (3)

(1) The lion bit the hunter = (3) The hunter was bitten by the lion

S/A O/P S/P O/A

The two sentences have the same meaning because they have the same semantic roles although the syntactic functions are different

Exercise 15: Identify the semantic role of the noun phrases in the following sentences

1 The student couldn‟t finish the assignment because the library was closed

2 The couple raced the horses through the meadow yesterday morning

3 The teacher was angered by the rowdy students

4 I recall hearing my brother say that

5 Tom lent me enough money to pay the rent

6 At the reunion he ran into his cousin Karl

7 The farmer went to the field before dawn

8 The building was constructed in a commercial zone

9 A big tree was rooted up by the storm last night

10 I enjoy reading books in my free time

11 The immigrants picked strawberries in the early June

12 He never turned in his budget report on time

13 The unlucky customer had the undercooked meat sent back to the chef

14 Traffic was backed up at the intersection because of the accident

15 I‟m very glad to meet you here after so many years

16 The book you gave me on Teacher‟s Day was worth reading

17 An unfair attitude toward the poor will contribute to the problem of poverty

18 After the yolk is separated from the white, it must be boiled immediately

19 Nutritionists recommended that foods from each of the four basic groups be eaten regularly

20 It was thought for many centuries that the world was flat

21 His ingenuity never ceases to amaze me

22 The hurricane destroyed half of the island

23 Angela offered the job to her former rival

24 In the morning we left San Francisco for Austin

25 Zelda gets angry whenever Scott lies her

26 The remains will be shipped to Cleveland on Wednesday

27 The boy seems to be interested in the film shown at NH cinema last night

28 He hates being disturbed at table

29 As the storm raged, the waves grew higher and higher

30 He enjoys going fishing on the lake at sunset

31 The snow melts at the morning sunshine

32 The chickens are ready for us to eat in 5 minutes

33 Do you like the book I sent you?

34 Acid can dissolve a corpse in 5 minutes

35 The man who loves her must be insane

36 Alan was sent a special gift on her birthday

37 Many TV programs today help students to improve their study a lot

38 The prisoner killed the guard then disappeared into the forest

39 The beer made from rice drinks very well

40 Putting one hand in the pocket, he walked around the front yard

41 Joining the club is a good way of meeting new people

42 She wants to know if anyone has an umbrella to lend her

43 Harold doesn‟t like making speeches in front of the class

44 Trembling with fear, she opened the letter

45 Delayed by the bad weather, the plane arrived in Hanoi one hour late

46 My first job, cleaning the floor, made me exhausted

47 The door ajar made the girl worried

48 We watched the brown river swollen with rain

49 A house surrounded by a large, deep ditch provides us with a safe shelter

50 This bed sleeps comfortably

MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST 3

1 Which of the following statements is not true?

a The denotative meaning of a word is the meaning that the speaker wants to convey

b The denotative meaning of a word can be described in terms of a set of semantic features

c The denotative meaning of a word describes an object, an event, a state or an affair

d The denotative meaning of a word is the central meaning of that word found in a dictionary

2 Which of the following statements is not true?

a The connotative meaning of a word can be described in terms of a set of semantic features

b The connotative meaning of a word shows people‟s emotions and attitudes

c The connotative meaning of a word is the meaning that the speaker wants to convey

d The connotative meaning of a word is the implied meaning that word has beyond its literal meaning

3 Which of the following is not a term used to describe denotative meaning?

a literal meaning b referential meaning c additional meaning d descriptive meaning

4 Which of the following is not a term used to describe connotative meaning?

a descriptive meaning b social meaning c affective meaning d additional meaning

5 Which of the following does not belong to the denotative meaning of „woman‟?

6 Which of the following does not belong to the connotative meaning of „woman‟?

a female b irrational c talkative d devoted

7 Which of the following does not belong to the denotative meaning of „pig‟?

a animal b domestic c hairy d lazy

8 Which of the following does not belong to the connotative meaning of „pig‟?

9 Which of the following statements is true?

a The semantic role of a word is the role performed by that word in relation to the verb

b The semantic role of a word is its grammatical function in the sentence

c The semantic role of a word is its syntactic function in the sentence

10 Which of the following is not a type of semantic role?

11 The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „On the river bank sat little Robert, covered with mud‟ is:

12 The semantic role performed by the underlined NP in „This pill can help you sleep deeply‟ is:

13 The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „Water boils at 1000 C‟ is:

14 The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „The door opened suddenly at the first blow of the wind‟ is:

15 The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „The door opened suddenly at the first blow of wind‟ is:

16 The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „They loaded the truck with hay‟ is:

17 The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „Peter recognized his mistakes‟ is:

18 The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „My brother is afraid of spiders‟ is:

a stimulus b experiencer c patient d agent

19 The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „The snow melts at the morning sunshine‟ is:

20 The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „The snow melts at the morning sunshine‟ is:

2 SEMANTIC MEANING & PRAGMATIC MEANING

a Semantic meaning: the meaning of a sentence out of context or context-free It is

the linguistic meaning of a sentence

b Pragmatic meaning: the meaning of an utterance in a particular situation

Pragmatic meaning is context-dependent or context bound

Ex 1: A: Would you like to go out with me?

B: I have a lot of homework to do

I have a lot of homework to do

⇒semantic meaning: the teacher gave me a lot of assignments to do at home

⇒pragmatic meaning: I‟m sorry I‟m very busy I‟m afraid that I have to

refuse your invitation

Ex 2: “Oh! It’s too noisy”

⇒semantic meaning: there is a lot of noise here

⇒pragmatic meaning: Please, keep silent!

3 Figures of speech

A figure of speech is „a word or phrase which is used for special effect, and which

doesn’t have its usual or literal meaning’ (Richards Platt & Weber 1987: 105)

TYPES OF FIGURES OF SPEECH

 Simile /‟sımılı/: direct / explicit comparison using comparison words „like, as’ or

comparison form

Ex: He eats like a tiger (he eats as much as a tiger does.)

He is as poor as a church mouse (he is very poor)

 Metaphor /‟metǝfǝ/: indirect / implied comparison (no comparison words „like, as‟ Types of metaphor

 Dead metaphor: a metaphor which has lost its metaphoric characteristic and become a fixed expression or idiom

Ex: the eye of a needle; the head quarter; the foot of the mountain; the leg of the table; the mouth of the river; the face of the table; the back of the chair; the childhood of the earth etc

A dead metaphor is used naturally and unconsciously by a native speaker of a

language Ex: đầu giường; chân ghề; mặt trái xoan; mắt bồ câu; trăng lưỡi liềm; etc,

 Live metaphor: a metaphor used consciously, intentionally by a speaker with various figurative meanings

Ex: „He is a pig‟ may be interpreted as he is fat; he is lazy; he is stupid; he is dirty etc depending on the situation in which it is used

Usually there is a metaphor when one

+ puts 2 different species on the same rank

Ex: He is an old fox (a person = an animal) (he is very wicked)

He is a rock in storm (a person = a thing) (he is a strong-minded person)

+ applies a feature of one species for another

Ex: Have you digested the lesson yet?: ‘digest’ is a term usually used

for food, now is used for study: the speaker compares the process of eating and digesting food with that of learning and understanding lessons (Have you carefully understood the lesson yet?)

He apes your betters: „ape’, a term used for animal is here

used for a person: the speaker compares a person who usually imitates others with an ape whose characteristic is to imitate (He imitates your betters.)

He bottled up his feelings: „bottle’ a term usually used for the

process of making different kinds of drink or wine etc is used here for feelings (He hid / concealed his feelings.)

 Irony: Saying the opposite of one‟s thought for emphasis, for fun or mocking

Ex: + He is so kind that he let all the housework for me to do (He is not kind at

all)

+ He is so intelligent that no examiner has agreed to pass him so far

(He is rather stupid.)

 Sarcasm /‟sa:kæzǝm/ : bitter irony; sneeringly ironical remarks to hurt somebody‟s feelings

Ex: + “The more I know about human beings, the more I want to be an animal” (Jungle Boy) (Human beings are worse than animal!)

+ “Oh yes, we know how clever you are!” “Well, Mr Know-it-all, What‟s the answer this time?”

 Synecdoche /sı´nekdǝki/ : substitution of the whole for the part & vice versa

Ex:+ Vietnam won the football match (VN is used to refer to VN football team;

whole for part)

+ I don‟t want you to come under my roof (= my house) (part for whole)

+ This work requires an intelligent brain (= person)

+ The war has robbed 2,000 souls of the village (= people)

 Metonymy /mǝ´tɒnǝmi/: substitution of related words (not whole – part)

Ex: The kettle is boiling (= the water)

The disease has cut off his breath (= his life)

Ways to identify a metonymy:

 Container – Contained :

Ex: - Very thirsty, he gulped down the whole bottle (= liquid in the bottle)

- As the teacher entered the room, the whole class stood up to greet

him (all the students in the class)

 Author – Works

Ex: - Have you read Khái Hưng yet? (= the novels of Khái Hưng)

- This is not a Picasso (= a painting by Picasso)

 Profession – Means

Ex: - I live on my pen (= by writing / I‟m a writer)

- My Tyson lives on his gloves (= by boxing / I‟m a boxer)

 Symbol - Reality / Concrete - Abstract

Ex: - He tries his best to win her heart (= her love)

- He succeeded to the crown (= the royal office)

- He has the tongue of king (= the talent of tasting food)

- She has an ear for music (= the talent for learning, appreciating,

enjoying … music)

 Material – Object made of it

- All our glass is kept in the cupboard (= vessels and objects made of

glass)

- You can get our gold in the upper drawer (= jewelry made of gold)

 Personification: Endowing an inanimate object with human qualities

Ex: - The leaves are dancing in the morning wind (= moving)

- The waves tore the ship into pieces (= destroyed completely)

 Hyperbole /haı´pɜ:bǝli/ (cường điệu): overstatement or exaggeration

Ex: - I‟m so hungry that I can swallow a cow (= extremely hungry)

- I‟ve invited millions of people to my party (= a lot of)

- I haven‟t seen you for ages (= a long time)

 Euphemism /‟ju:fǝmızǝm/ (uyển ngữ, nói tránh): the use of a pleasant, mild , comforting, or indirect expression for one that is taboo, negative, offensive or too direct

Ex: - Could you tell me where the restroom is? (= toilet)

- His father has just passed away (= died)

- Caught by a cold, he went to the fathers (= died)

- She is not beautiful (= ugly)

- The U.S decided to help the developing countries (= poor countries)

- I don’t think you’re right (= you‟re wrong)

- It‟s not bad (= it is fine)

- It wasn’t easy (= it was really difficult)

- Always remember that she is no fool (= she is wise)

Exercise 16: Identify the type of figure of speech used in the following sentences then give

their literal meaning

1 My hands are as cold as ice

2 I‟ll make him eat his words

3 He is the best pen of the day

4 She has a good head of business

5 Their Majesty died a year ago

6 She usually sheds floods of tears whenever she is upset

7 We need a force of a thousand rifles

8 You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes

9 He washed his hand out of the matter

10 He looks as though he hasn‟t had a square meal for months

11 Who brought fire and sword into our country?

12 Why don‟t you recognize the power of the purse?

13 I found the 52 pounds of books you let for me to carry Your kindness really moves

me

14 The man is a demon for work

15 They organized a fleet of 50 sails

16 She is a girl of 20 summers

17 When you take that course, plan to study 30 hours a day

18 The wind howled angrily around the house all night

19 Grey hairs should be respected

20 Spare the rod, spoil the child

21 Don‟t live in such a sea of doubt

22 When the White House called, the ambassador came at once

23 My dormitory room is like a cave

24 Come to the dormitory and see what a cave I live in

25 If you are not happy with the service, go and talk to the City Hall

26 The princess captures the hearts of the nation

27 He has a kind heart

28 The river ate the bank away

29 The captain was in charge of 100 horses

30 You can depend on Paul; he is a rock when trouble comes

31 Life is a dream

32 Research says that these methods are best

33 Little Susie is a picture of loveliness in her new dress

34 There was a storm in Parliament last night

35 He worked and worked until he breathed his last

36 We are tired to death of such movies

37 His words can be trusted

38 The boss gave her a hot look

39 He could not bridle his anger

40 The organization is keeping the brake on pay rises

41 Death is laying his icy hand on the Queen

42 The pen is mightier than the sword

43 A camel is a ship in a desert

44 Your charm and good looks exceed your wit

45 With friends like you, who needs enemies?!

46 You have to pay the earth for such a masterpiece!

47 Luck almost always turns back to those who dare not face difficulty

48 A dead leaf fell in my lap; that was Jack Frost‟s card

49 The ship plowed the sea

50 The captain exploded with rage when the soldiers disobeyed him

MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST 4

1 The figure of speech used in “She has an ear for music” is:

a metonymy b metaphor c synecdoche d personification

2 The figure of speech used in “A disease has cut his breath” is:

a euphemism b metaphor c synecdoche d simile

3 The figure of speech used in “I‟ll make him eat his words” is:

a personification b metonymy c synecdoche d metaphor

4 The figure of speech used in “Hearing the news, the tears stream down her face” is:

a metaphor b euphemism c metonymy d personification

5 The figure of speech used in “He washed his hands out of the matter” is:

a personification b metonymy c synecdoche d metaphor

6 The figure of speech used in “Why don‟t you recognize the power of the purse?” is:

a metonymy b euphemism c personification d synecdoche

7 The figure of speech used in “She has four mouths to feed” is:

a metaphor b metonymy c synecdoche d personification

8 The figure of speech used in “He looks as though he hasn‟t had a square meal for months” is:

a metaphor b euphemism c metonymy d personification

9 The figure of speech used in “He has a kind heart” is:

a synecdoche b metonymy c metaphor d personification

10 The figure of speech used in “Research says that these methods are best” is:

a metaphor b euphemism c metonymy d synecdoche

11 Figuratively, the sentence „Life is a dream‟ may mean:

a Life is fragile b Life is vulnerable c Life is short d Life is not true

12 Figuratively, the sentence „The man is a demon for work‟ may mean:

a The man is evil b the man is energetic and works very hard

c The man is workaholic d the man is lazy

13 Figuratively, the sentence „Spare the rod, spoil the child‟ may mean:

a You shouldn‟t use the rod with children

b You should punish children severely

c If you don‟t punish the child when he does something wrong, you‟ll spoil his character

d You shouldn‟t love children

14 Figuratively, the sentence „When the White House calls, the ambassador comes at once‟ may mean:

a When the President calls, the ambassador comes at once

b When the U.S President calls, the ambassador comes at once

c When the Government calls, the ambassador comes at once

d When the General Officer calls, the ambassador comes at once

15 Figuratively, the sentence „My dormitory room is like a cave‟ may mean:

a my dormitory room is attractive b my dormitory room is small but cozy

c my dormitory room is not modern d my dormitory room is small and uncomfortable

16 Figuratively, the sentence „The captain was in charge of one hundred horses‟ may mean:

a the captain was in charge of 100 cavalries b the captain has to take care of 100 horses

c the captain needs 100 horses d the captain has got 100 horses

17 Figuratively, the sentence „You can depend on Paul; he is a rock when trouble comes‟ may mean:

a Paul has strong nerves b Paul is indifferent c Paul is pitiless d Paul is honest

18 Figuratively, the sentence „He is so hardheaded that he won‟t listen to anyone‟ may mean:

a he is very courageous b he has a very hard head

c he is very intelligent d he is very obstinate

19 Figuratively, the sentence „Right at this minute, I could drink a barrel of water without stopping‟ may mean:

a I‟m very thirsty and I can drink a lot of water b I need a barrel of water

c I stop drinking water d I can bring a barrel of water for a minute without stopping

20 Figuratively, the sentence „It is amazing what a great mind he is‟ may mean:

a I‟m amazed by his intellectual power b he is open-minded

c he has a very big head d he is not intelligent at all

VIII MEANING PROPERTIES / CHARACTERISTICS

1 Anomaly / non-sense

Anomaly is „a violation of semantic rules to create nonsense.‟ (Finegan, 1993: 148)

Ex: + The toothbrush is pregnant

Syntactically, this sentence is correct

Semantically, this sentence is anomalous / meaningless because it contains a contradiction

(Toothbrush includes the semantic property [- animate] while pregnant includes [+

animate]), so the sentence breaks the semantic rules

+ My brother is the only child

The same, syntactically this sentence is correct, but semantically it is anomalous /

meaningless because the word brother requires the semantic feature [+ having at least one sibling] whereas the only child is [+ having no other sibling]

An anomalous sentence conforms to all the grammar rules of the language It is grammatically correct and syntactically perfect, but semantically anomalous because it breaks the rules of semantics Literally it is nonsensical, but in some context, it is understandable, of course figuratively In contrast, a sentence in which the words are joined

randomly has no meaning / no sense For example, Ceasar is and or This type of sentence

is ungrammatical and always meaningless Here are some more examples of anomaly:

+ Colorless green ideas are sleeping furiously

+ The sorrow is chewing my bones

+ John frightened a tree

+ She sliced the ideas

+ Honesty plays golf

+ Christopher is killing phonemes

+ The tiger remained alive for an hour after the hunter killed it

+ My brother is a spinster (unmarried woman)

+ The boy swallowed the chocolate and then chew it

+ Puppies are human

+ Jack‟s courage chewed the bones

The bank (may mean the shore of a river or a financial institution)

He greeted the girl with a smile (the boy was smiling or the girl was smiling)

b Types of ambiguity

 Lexical Ambiguity: The ambiguity is caused by an ambiguous word

Ex: She gave me a ring last night

wedding ring phone call

Don‟t seat on those glasses

drinking glasses eye-glasses

Lexical ambiguity requires:

- the word is of the same part of speech

- the same sentence structure

- the word has different meanings

 Structural Ambiguity: The ambiguity is caused by structure

- different sentence structures

- different meanings

 Grouping Ambiguity: the words in the sentence can be put into different groups Ex: Old men and women left

=> [old men] & [women] left

[old] [men & women] left Ex: An old girl‟s bicycle

=> [old girl‟s] [bicycle]

[old] [girl‟s bicycle]

Ex: He greeted the girl with a smile

=> He greeted the girl with a smile

Ex: I met John going to the cinema

=> I met John going to the cinema

 Functional Ambiguity: a sentence containing 1 word with different functions Ex: I love Laura more than you S: … more than you love Laura

O: … more than I love you Ex: Visiting relatives can be boring S: the relatives who are visiting…

O: to visit relatives … Ex: He gave her dog meat her: determiner / modifier of dog

her: personal pro / indirect object

3 Some common forms of structural ambiguity

a Grouping Ambiguity

 Adj N & N Ex: Old men and women

=> Repeat the Adj (AN & AN): Old men & old women

=> Change their positions (N & A N): Women and old men

 Adj N N Ex: A small arms factory

=> A N PP : A small factory of arms

=> N PP ( Prep + A + N) : A factory of small arms

 Adj N‟s N Ex: A large woman‟s garment

=> A N PP : A large garment for women

=> N PP (Prep + A + N) : A garment for large women

 V N PP Ex: I saw the boy with a telescope

=> PP as nominal modifier : Replace PP by Adj C = I saw a boy who had a telescope

=> PP as verbal modifier : Move PP to the beginning = With a telescope, I saw the boy

 V N -ing P Ex: I met John going to the cinema

=> -ing P as nominal modifier : Replace –ing P by AC = I met John who was going to the cinema

=> -ing P as verbal modifier : Move –ing P to the beginning = Going to the cinema, I met John

 V N N A C Ex: There‟s a café in TB district which I like

(the AC may modify café or district => change the position of AC)

 In TB district, there‟s a café which I like („which I like‟ modifies café)

 In TB district, which I like, there‟s a café ( AC modifies district)

 V Adv V Ex: Those who sold quickly made a profit

(quickly may modify sold or made => change the position of the Adverb)

 Those who quickly sold made a profit (quickly modifies sold)

 Those who sold made a profit quickly (quickly modifies made)

 N Adv V Ex: My brother especially likes going fishing

(especially may modifies brother or likes going fishing => change the position of

 -ing Phrase Ex: Visiting relatives can be boring

+ Visiting: gerund => relatives: DO and visiting relatives is a GP / S

 Replace Gerund by an infinitive: To visit relatives can be boring

+ Visiting: present participle modifying relatives => visiting relatives is a NP/S

 Replace Present participle by an AC: The relatives who are visiting can be boring

 Comparative form (than, as) Ex: I love Mary more than you Subject Object

 Subject: add auxiliary verb => I love Mary more than you do

 Object: repeat verb => I love Mary more than I love you

 Sentence Pattern: one sentence may be of two different patterns

Ex: He found Peter a helper

 Pattern 8: He found Peter a helper => He found a helper for Peter

 S: The chicken is ready to eat food (the chicken eats food)

 O: The chicken is ready for us to eat (we eat the chicken)

(The chicken is ready to be eaten.)

 One word with different parts of speech

Ex: He gave her dog meat Det modifies dog => He gave meat to her dog

Pronoun IO => He gave dog meat to her Ex: The detective looked hard Adj (P4): hard / SC: … looked severe / strict

Adv (P6) hard / M / Aval: … looked carefully

MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST 5

1 Which of the following is correct?

a An anomalous sentence is grammatically correct but breaks the semantic rules

b An anomalous sentence is syntactically incorrect

c An anomalous sentence follows semantic rules

d An anomalous sentence is ungrammatical

2 Which of the following is correct?

a An anomalous sentence may be figuratively meaningful but semantically nonsensical

b An anomalous sentence is literally nonsensical but figuratively meaningful

c An anomalous sentence has more than one meaning

d An anomalous sentence is literally and figuratively nonsensical

3 A sentence that has more than one meaning is:

a ungrammatical b anomalous c ambiguous

4 A sentence that breaks the semantic rules and creates non sense is:

a ungrammatical b anomalous c ambiguous

5 A sentence that is semantically meaningless but may be meaningful figuratively is:

a ungrammatical b anomalous c ambiguous

6 A sentence that contains two contradictory semantic features and creates nonsense is:

a ungrammatical b anomalous c ambiguous

7 Semantically, the sentence „Christopher is killing phonemes‟ is:

a ungrammatical b anomalous c ambiguous

8 Semantically, the sentence „This pen is empty‟ is:

9 Semantically, the sentence „Babies can lift one ton‟ is:

10 Semantically, the sentence „My brother is a spinster‟ is:

11 Figuratively, the sentence „James sliced ideas‟ is:

a metaphoric b ambiguous c anomalous d personified

12 Semantically, the sentence „My brother is a bachelor‟ is:

a anomalous b ambiguous c meaningful d metaphoric

13 Semantically, the sentence „Puppies are human‟ is:

14 Semantically, the sentence „Bachelors are female‟ is:

15 Semantically, the sentence „That robot is shining‟ is:

16 Figuratively, the sentence „The sorrow is chewing my bones‟ is:

a contradictory b ambiguous c anomalous d personified

17 Figuratively, the sentence „Ly Duc is so strong that he can lift two tons‟ contains a:

a personification b hyperbole c metaphor d personification

18 Figuratively, the sentence „Oh, my back is killing me!‟ contains a:

a personification b ambiguous c metaphor d anomalous

19 The type of ambiguity in „Are the chickens ready to eat?‟ is:

a functional b grouping c lexical

20 The type of ambiguity in „Do you want to try on the dress in the window?‟ is:

a grouping b lexical c functional

Exercise 17: Identify the type of ambiguity and give two possible paraphrases to make the meaning clear

1 This pen is empty

2 Are the chickens ready to eat?

3 Do you want to try on that dress in the window?

4 This old car needs new brakes and anti-freezer

5 Don‟t sit on those glasses

6 I understand money matters

7 I know clever people like you

8 The dog looked at the snake longer than the cat

9 The police searched for the car with broken headlights

10 I hate the hunter‟s shooting

11 Visiting relatives can be boring

12 We need nutritious food and drink

13 We feed the pigs in clean clothes

14 I need the criminal lawyer

15 I like ice-cream more than you

16 I found a bat in the attic

17 He gave her dog meat

18 Leave the chairs on the veranda

19 I met a man with a dog that had fleas

20 Oh, that‟s just a crazy lawyer‟s idea

21 The FCC intends to eliminate sex and race bias in TV advertising

22 You should eat more nutritious food

23 He considered the applicant hard

24 I found her a doll

25 They watched the hunter with the binoculars

26 She spied the dog on the corner

27 Joan is easy to please

28 Molly told Angela about herself

29 She gave him a ring last night

30 The car coasted into the garage with the lights on

31 The dog bit several people in the crowd

32 Tristan left directions for Isolde to follow

33 She can‟t bear children

34 It takes a good ruler to make a straight line

35 He saw that petrol can explode

36 Is he really that kind?

37 They are cooking apples

38 This is not a Raphael‟s painting

39 The policeman is talking about Mr Thompson‟s murder

40 My grandfather is a small farmer

41 He is a poor student

42 The guard turned out a drunkard

43 I am getting her socks

44 The man gave the library books

45 It was a little pasty

46 He accepted Wednesday

47 Thorn taught himself during his young manhood

48 The doctor made them well

49 She taught the group singing

50 Our spaniel made a good friend

51 The judges designated the girl winner

52 Mary called her mother

53 My father is a foreign language teacher

54 My friend is an old car enthusiast

55 The rabbit also enjoys our lettuce

56 The members only are allowed to buy beer

57 I gave her an old girl‟s bicycle

58 He promised to call me at 10 o‟clock

59 Paula is a girl hunter

60 She is a baby sitter

61 I found a book on HN station

62 Everyday passengers enjoy a meal like this

63 I considered those errors

64 It was a plot to sell industrial secrets worth millions to the ABC Company

65 He passed the hammer and saw through the window

MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST 6

1 The type of ambiguity in „I understand money matters‟ is:

a grouping b lexical c functional

2 The type of ambiguity in „He gave her dog meat‟ is:

a grouping b lexical c functional d a&c

3 The type of ambiguity in „Tristan left directions for Isolde to follow‟ is:

a lexical b grouping c functional

4 The type of ambiguity in „Is he really that kind?‟ is:

a functional b grouping c lexical

5 The type of ambiguity in „This is not a Raphael‟s painting‟ is:

a lexical b grouping c functional d a&c

6 The type of ambiguity in „The police are talking about Mr Thompson‟s murder‟ is:

a grouping b lexical c functional

7 Which of the following may be one meaning of „They are moving sidewalks‟?

a They are walking on the sidewalks b These sidewalks are moveable

c The streets are under repair d The sidewalks are moving

8 Which of the following may be one meaning of „she is a baby sitter‟?

a she is a sister b she is a baby c this sitter is a baby d she likes babies

9 Which of the following may be one meaning of „the man gave the library books‟?

a the man is a librarian b the man borrowed books from the library

c the man gave someone the books of the library d the man is a bookworm

10 Which of the followings may be one meaning of „Paula is a girl hunter‟?

a Paula is a good hunter b Paula loves girls

c Paula is going hunting with a girl d Paula‟s job is hunting girls

11 Which of the following may be one meaning of „My fiancé is reserved‟?

a I am engaged b my fiancé is married c my fiancé is kept only for me

12 Which of the following may be one meaning of „The doctor made them well‟?

a the doctor is very talented b the doctor made a well for them

c the doctor made the patients healthy d the doctor is very good

13 Which of the following may be one meaning of „I considered those errors‟?

a I made a lot of mistakes b I examined those errors

c I found many errors d I corrected the errors

14 Which of the following may be one meaning of „Dick finally decided on the boat‟?

a Finally, Dick had to decide on the boat b Dick decided on the boat finally

c Dick finally made a decision about the boat d Dick finally decided to buy the boat

15 Which of the following may be one meaning of „He passed the hammer and saw through the window‟?

a He went past the window

b He climbed through the window

c He saw a hammer through the window

d He passed the hammer and the saw through the window

IX MEANING RELATION

1 WORD RELATION: the relation between the meanings of two words

 Synonymy: Two words of the same or almost the same denotative meaning Test: A= B

Ex: broad = wide; movie = film; deep = profound; buy = purchase

However, these words differ in their connotative / social / affective meaning For

example, film is usually British, referring to classic movies or art movies; meanwhile,

movie is American

Partial Synonym: a word that share one of the meanings with another

Ex1: There are different ways / methods to do this

But: To go to BH, there is only one way (not method)

Ex2: You have my deep / profound sympathy

But: This river is very deep (not profound)

Ex3: This cheese is ripe / mature enough for us to eat

But: This fruit is ripe enough (not mature)

The boy is mature enough (not ripe)

Ex4: We can fill this container with soil / earth

But: The rocket fell back to earth (not to soil)

 Antonymy: Two words of opposite meanings

Types of Antonym:

 Gradable Antonym

Two words are „gradable antonyms if they are at opposite ends of a continuous scale of values‟ (Hurford & Heasley 1983:118) In other words, there are intermediate grades / levels between the two extremes For example:

Cold → cool → lukewarm → warm → Hot Hate → dislike → be indifferent → like → be fond of → love

Test: very/ how? + Adj/ Adv much / very much / how much? + Verb

Ex: Old # Young => How old is he? – He is very old

Love # Hate => How much do you love her? – Very much!

 Complementary / Non-gradable / Contradictory / Binary Antonym

Two words are complementary antonyms when they exclude each other In other words, „if one word is applicable, then the other cannot be.‟ (Hurford & Heasley 1983:114) Test: A = not B(and vice versa)

This type of antonym cannot be put into comparative form We cannot say very dead;

very alive (There‟s no degree between them)

Ex: alive # dead => alive = not dead ; dead = not alive

open # close => close = not open ; open = not close fail # pass => fail = not pass ; pass = not fail

 Relational Antonym / Converses:

Two words are relational antonyms when „they describe the same relationship but they are mentioned in the opposite order.‟ (Hurford & Heasley 1983:116)

Test: if A is … of B; then B is … of A

Ex: husband # wife => If A is husband of B; then B is wife of A

teacher # student => If A is the teacher of B; then B is a student of A buy # sell => If A sells a car to B; then B buys the car from A

 Incompatibility

There are other words which are mutually opposite or incompatible, but they cannot

be put into one of the three types above They form a system called system of multiple incompatibility or oppositions These systems may have two or many

members In other words, that is the relation between the hyponyms of the same semantic field For example:

- Season system: Spring – Summer – Autumn – Winter

- Physical state system: Solid – Gas – Liquid

- University student system: Freshman – Sophomore – Junior – Senior

- Primary element system: Earth – Air – Water – Fire

- Flowers: Rose – Tulip – Dandelion – Forget-me- not

 Homophony

Words of the same sound, but different spellings, and different meanings

Ex: you – ewe; meat – meet; flour – flower

our – hour; too – two; meat – meet

 Homography

Words of the same spelling, but different sounds, and different meanings

Ex: a present /‟preznt/ – to present /prı´zent/

the lead /led/ – to lead /li:d/

the wind /wınd/ – to wind /waınd/

 Homonymy

Words of the same sound, same spelling, but different meanings

Ex: bank (n): ngân hàng – bank (n): bờ sông

bear (n): con gấu – bear (v): mang, chịu đựng fine (adj): tốt đẹp – fine (n) tiền phạt

Note: There is no relation between the meanings of homonyms

 Polysemy

One word with different but related meanings (There is some semantic relation

among the meanings)

Ex: fork for eating

for gardening