LING 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Polysemy, Causative, Intension
Document Summary
Semantics ==> study of meaning of words or parts of words (also phrases/sentences) Goes back to the greeks, but wider now - not just prepositions, logic. Meanings of words and meaning relationships among words. Meanings of syntactic units - larger than one word. Meaning is conventional --> cannot be changed suddenly! Derived from how ppl use words depending on context. Most words = adopted from latin --> undergone change in meaning! Midriff (1930) = diaphragm / now = belly! In different languages 1 term may cover more shades of meaning. Ex: novia (spanish) = girlfriend, steady girlfriend, fiancee, and bride!! Gaps --> not enough words in a language. Ex: french - don"t have word for sibling Ex: english corner --> two words in spanish! (more specific) - esquina (inside corner) vs rincon (outside corner) Reality is continuous, w/o boundaries --> but words are discrete! Different languages cut the spectrum in different ways! Latin - no word for brown or grey!