Post on 13-Jan-2017
• A furry animal with four legs that goes “miaow”
• A cat• The actual cat• Your idea of a cat
• An animal with a foot but no legs• A snail
Your idea of a snail
• ?????????????????????????????
It has a foot but no legs
This is a picture of a snail
Your idea of “snail” is not this picture
And this picture is NOT the actual snail
SNAIL
• The word “snail”• Your idea of “snail”• A picture of the snail• The actual snail
Signs
• A word is a sign (Form: letters or sound)• Meaning: your idea• A picture is a sign (Form: lines, color etc)• An actual, real thing in the world
How about this question?
What is at the end of a rainbow?
• ??????????????????
What is at the end of a rainbow?
A pot of gold
In children’s stories
There’s a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow
“A rainbow”
• What is at the end of a rainbow?• The letter w
Rainbow is a word
• When you read the word or hear the word …• … you get an idea.• That’s YOUR idea of rainbow• Think about that
A picture of a rainbow
The picture is different from the real rainbow
Are rainbows real?
Isn’t a rainbow an optical illusion?
Rainbow (?????)
• ??????????
Rainbow (the band)
• ??????????
Rainbow (the band)
• No idea?
Rainbow
Terrible British band from the 1970s
This is a picture of the band
But they were real
Unfortunately
The picture and the actual band is not the same thing
Carrot
• ?????
Carrot
• The word carrot• Your idea of carrot• A picture of a carrot• An actual carrot
Water
• The word water• Your idea of water• A picture of water• Actual water
A sign
•WATER
Another sign
Another sign
Another sign
Another sign
Emotions
Emoticons
Emoji
Emoji
A sign
A sign has FORM (the picture)
And MEANING
The meaning is …?
The meaning is …?
Feeling puzzled
Feeling confused
Feeling unsure
Thinking carefully
The picture (the form)
Your idea of its meaning
The actual feeling
I think you’re so great
I think you’re so great
I think you’re so great
I think you’re so great
I think you’re so great
Strange animal
• ?????????????
Strange animal
Strange animal
Strange animal
Strange animal
Strange animal
• Funny beast• Weird biological organisms
Unicorn
• The word unicorn (Form: writing or sound)• Your idea of unicorn (meaning)• A picture of a unicorn (Form: a picture)• An actual unicorn (a real thing in the world)
An actual unicorn?
There are no actual unicorns
And unicorns don’t have wings
Who cares? There are no actual unicorns
That’s just YOUR IDEA of a unicorn
Maybe MY idea has wings
What is the difference between a unicorn and a carrot?
A unicorn is a funny beast
A carrot is a bunny feast
Bunny
Bunny eating a carrot
Bunny enjoying a feast
A carrot is a bunny feast
Other fields influenced by Semantics
Semantics is important in other fields
Computer science
Model of a word: dog
Sound: dog
Grammar: Noun; needs a determiner
Meaning: “an animal with four legs that goes bow wow”
Model of a word
Grammar bit: a noun
Grammar: the word needs another word
Meaning bit
Sound bit
Model of word she
Sound bit
PHON = phonology
Meaning-grammar bit
Grammar bit
Meaning bit
Form-meaning pair
Sound: dog
Grammar: Noun; needs a determiner
Meaning: “an animal with four legs that goes bow wow”
Phonological form-meaning pair
Sound: dog
Grammar: Noun; needs a determiner
Meaning: “an animal with four legs that goes bow wow”
Ferdinand de Saussure
de Saussure (Linguist from Switzerland)
1857 - 1913
Theory of signs
Language: sign system expressing ideas
A sign expressing an idea
Sound: dog
Grammar: Noun; needs a determiner
Meaning: “an animal with four legs that goes bow wow”
Philosophy
Psychology
Cognitive science
Artificial intelligence
Semiotics
We communicate meaning to machines via code
Does Pepper really think and feel?
How is meaning in Pepper’s brain different from meaning in your brain?
Remember, we don’t know what meaning is like in our own brains!
Is our brain like a computer?
Can we create consciousness?
Even though we don’t know what consciousness is?
Linguists don’t worry about what meaning is or where it came from.
Linguists just make MODELS of meaning.
For example, like this
A female individual
NOT a very good model
But philosophers DO ask these questions
• How is it possible…• …for anything…• …to mean anything?
• If X means Y …• …what is the connection …• … between X and Y
Deep philosophical stuff
• Can we really talk about a Language of Thought …
• …if we never think about the nature of meaning?
How do we know thought is in a Language?
• Maybe our brains are not like computers.
Psychology/psycholinguistics
Strongly connected with language-learning
• What is meaning in the mind?• What happens when we communicate?• What happens in our brains when we say a
sentence?• What happens in our brains when we
understand a sentence?• How do children acquire meaning?
Semiotics
Semiotics: the study of signs
Language is just one kind of sign
• What is the relationship between …• … a sign …• … and the thing itself?
Cognitive Science
Knowledge in the human mind
Mind as computer
What are our goals?
• Describe words and sentences in isolation and in context.
• Explain why these meanings are different in different situations.
• Give a clear explanation of complex meanings.
Frames
• Words connect with ideas
Frames
• Take an example:• How about the word “hospital”• 病院• What ideas do you get when you hear or read
that word?
Just a picture?
If you are from Fujiyoshida, maybe this image
Hospital frame
• Other ideas come with the word• You go to hospital when you’re sick• Or you have an accident• You have to be admitted• You probably have to give the hospital workers your
insurance card• The doctor examines you and gives you information• You probably have to pay money when you finish
Breaking the frame
• The doctor gives YOU his medical insurance card!
• You examine a nurse!
Restaurant frame (for a customer)
• Wait to get seated• Waiter shows you to your seat• You look at the menu• You order food and drink• You wait for it to arrive• You eat it• You pay for it
Meaning of Restaurant
Restaurant-frame
Thing x
Breaking the frame
• You go into kitchen and make the food!• The waiter pays you!
Textbook
• Bookshop• Use in school• Related to classes• Usually not interesting
Unicorn frame
• Single horn on head• Looks like a white horse• Not real• Appears in stories
Breaking the frame
• A unicorn comes into class!• A unicorn eats your textbook!
Banana
• Breakfast food• Convenient• Snack food• Thick skin• Can’t eat the skin• Yellow• If it’s black, it’s not good
Personal computer
• On your desk• Or maybe you carry it around• Expensive purchase• Use it for the internet• Communication• Old people usually can’t use it well
Pokemon Go
• People walking around looking at their mobile phones
• Mentioned on the news• Some kind of game, or something
Volcano
• Can be dangerous• Eruptions• Be careful• Maybe tourist attractions
Cinema
• Seeing a movie• In a building• Pay money to enter• Dark• Big screen• Popcorn
Lick
• Action involving tongue• Ice cream• Candy• Dogs do it a lot• Stamps?
Do people still do this?
Do we still send letters?
Thermometer
• Measuring temperature• Of your body• Or a room• In mouth?• Under your arm?
Word Semantics
Words, Objects, Concepts
Referential Semantics
Symbol – thought -- thing
Lexical Semantics
Referential Semantics: Relates words and objects
Lexical SemanticsRelates words and words
How does the word “elephant” relate to real-world elephants?
Plato: words are names for objects
Direct relationship between words and objects?
Onomatopoeia
Applying Theories of Word Meaning
How do words get meaning?
How about the Yamura Mushi?
Semantic Fields
What is in the Semantic Field for insect?
• Fly• Bee• Wasp• Mosquito• Gnat• etc
What is in the Semantic Field for motor vehicle?
• Car• Automobile• Truck• Van• Bus• etc
What is in the Semantic Field for food?
• Bread• Rice• Cheese• Sausage• etc
Roget’s Thesaurus
Componential Analysis
Like this
• Man [+noun] [+concrete] [+animate] [+human] [+male] [+old]
• Woman [+noun] [+concrete] [+animate] [+human] [-male] [+old]
Chemical elements
Meaning elements?
• Man [+concrete] [+animate] [+human] [+male] [+old]
• Woman [+concrete] [+animate] [+human] [-male] [+old]
Meaning elements
• Semantic primitives• Semantic features
What kind of things can be Semantic Primitives?
• Must be binary• What does that mean?• It means on or off• It means yes or no• It means + or -
What is a bad Semantic Feature?
• Number of fingers• Yes or no• What?
What kind of things can be Semantic Primitives?
• Must apply to ALL the world’s cultures
What is a bad Semantic Feature?
• Tatami• Why is it bad?• Because it does not apply to ALL the world’s
cultures
What about a definition for tatami?
Tatami
• [+floor covering]• [+made of straw]• [+native to Japan]• [+rectangular]