LING121 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Anishinaabe, Great Spirit, Lightning
3 Jun 2018
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LING121 Language Myths and Realities !
Week 2b: Words and Meaning !
relationship between words and meanings and what words are!
Semantics - meaning communicated through language and is usually taken to be one of the
three main branches of linguistics, along with phonology and grammar!
Semiotics - study of signs, particularly their social origins, uses, and consequences!
-can you call something a word in English when it’s not letters, doesn’t mean anything, from
another language, breaks spelling rules, not in the dictionary, not just one word!
Is a sign a word?
-icon, resembles its referent (the thing in the world that the word or phrase denotes or stands
for) - e.g picture for the pipe!
-Index, associated with its referent - e.g the smoke with the pipe !
-Symbol, has a conventional or arbitrary relation to its referent - e.g just the word ‘pipe’!
Is an emoji a word?
-‘face with tears of joy’!
-what kind of a sign is it, !
-does it have a codified meaning!
-Is it ambiguous, is it clear what the meaning of it is!
-Clear sense of the use between one and another!
-Can it be used in a sentence - usually an expression of a reaction for something - laughing so
much you’re crying !
-Some emojis more wormlike than others!
-reading about can an emoji be a word!
Do all words have a meaning?
-Content words (lexical meaning): house, buy, expensive, reluctantly !
-Function words (grammatical meaning): the, a, it, and, for - relational meaning !
-Lexical words that become grammatical (grammaticalisation): do (‘we do not know’); going
to (future tense, not motion); in spite of
-And what about:!
-Discourse markers: okay, sure, well, right, like!
-Filled pauses: um, er, ah, you know !
-Interjections: uhuh, bugger, oh, phew, wow, ouch, OMG, LOL, ugh
‘Foreign Words’
-English is full of words that originate from foreign languages - !
-English is a mixture of words from many languages: administration (French/Latin administrātiō);
bangle (Hindi bangrī ); beef (French bœuf ); corroboree (Dharug garaabara); hymn (Latin/Greek
ὕμνος); ketchup (Chinese kê-chiap) !
-Some maintain their original form, often filling lexical gaps in English: ad nauseam, al dente,
déjà vu, glasnost, non sequitur, paparazzi, perestroika, sangfroid, schadenfreude, zeitgeist !
-All language have influences from other languages !
Rule-breakers: non-standard items
-YOUSE/YOU The plural form of "you" pronounced as "youse" is heard mainly in satire on the
speech of folks from Brooklyn. It's not standard English, since "you" can be either singular or
plural without any change in spelling or pronunciation. !
-Paul Brians (2013) !
-"Youse" is a word that the self-appointed custodians of English love to hate. And not only
literary types. Apparently, research into small businesses uncovered the fact that many people
would withdraw their custom if they were spoken to by staff with the "youse" habit. It just
"clangs", they said. So, too, does "Hi guys", "yep/nah", "like", "ain't" and "We haven't got
none". !
-Ruth Wajnryb (Sydney Morning Herald, 2.10.2004) !
Rule-breakers: misinformed items
e.g. unjudgmental = non-judg(e)mental !
H.W.Fowler: !
Abortions – words where the elements of a single language have been put together
‘wrongly’ (e.g. climactic = CLIMAX + -IC suffix, probably partly after e.g. SYNTACTIC) - his version
was climacteric
Barbarisms – usually words that have been formed as hybrids of different languages (e.g.
television = TELE- (ancient Greek ‘far away’ + VISION, an English word ) !
Rule-breakers: changing function and meaning
...hopefully in the sense of ‘it is to be hoped (that)’ has never been respectable. When someone
says or writes, ‘Hopefully the plan will be in operation by the end of the year’, we know
immediately that we are dealing with a dimwit at best. Kingsley Amis (1997) !
-podiuming, googling, facebooking, !
- A words change in meaning is called a Semantic shift.
Semantic Shift
nice, adj. and adv.
†1. (1300)!
a. Of a person: foolish, silly, simple; ignorant. Obs.
a1450 (▸c1410) H. LOVELICH Hist. Holy Grail xlii. 73 They seiden he was a fool..and that they sien
neuere so Nise A man !
• †2. (1387)!
a. Of conduct, behaviour, etc.: characterized by or encouraging wantonness or lasciviousness.
Obs. • 3. (1400)
b. Fastidious, fussy, difficult to please, esp. with regard to food or cleanliness; of refined or dainty
tastes. !
• 14. (1747) !
a. That one derives pleasure or satisfaction from; agreeable, pleasant, satisfactory; attractive. !
*Nice moved from negative senses to mundane, positive senses over the centuries.!
It’s not in the dictionary
What is ‘the dictionary’? !
Coverage limited by: !
Document Summary
Week 2b: words and meaning relationship between words and meanings and what words are. Semantics - meaning communicated through language and is usually taken to be one of the three main branches of linguistics, along with phonology and grammar. Semiotics - study of signs, particularly their social origins, uses, and consequences. Can you call something a word in english when it"s not letters, doesn"t mean anything, from another language, breaks spelling rules, not in the dictionary, not just one word. Icon, resembles its referent (the thing in the world that the word or phrase denotes or stands for) - e. g picture for the pipe. Index, associated with its referent - e. g the smoke with the pipe. Symbol, has a conventional or arbitrary relation to its referent - e. g just the word pipe". What kind of a sign is it, Is it ambiguous, is it clear what the meaning of it is. Clear sense of the use between one and another.
