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Semantics a coursebook answer keys'

English Linguistics (Trường Đại học Sài Gòn)

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Semantics: a coursebook
(second edition)
James R. Hurford,
Brendan Heasley
Michael B. Smith

ANSWER KEY
FOR UNIT QUESTIONS
AND EXERCISES

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Preface
The purpose of this supplement is to provide suggested answers for most of the study
guide questions and exercises that appear at the end of each unit of Semantics: A
Coursebook, 2nd edition. I have retained the original format of the study guide and
questions from each unit, though there are no "answers" provided for item 1 in each set,
which consists of terms and concepts students should know. In many cases I have also
not given suggested answers for certain questions that require open-ended explanation or
discussions of the issues, since these will vary considerably. All suggested answers are
written in a different font (Tahoma) than the original questions.

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Unit 1 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 1 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

semantics linguistics
sentence (word) meaning language
speaker meaning componentsof language
native speaker (informant) theory of semantics
"knowing" the meaning(s) of a word

2. Try to paraphrase (restate in your own words) each of the following uses of the word mean
as it is used in each sentence below. Do you think each use is more reflective of speaker
meaning or sentence meaning? Briefly explain.

a. I mean to be there tomorrow. mean = 'intend'

b. A stalling car may mean a tune-up. mean = 'require,
signify'
c. "Calligraphy" means beautiful handwriting. mean = 'signify'
d. It wasn't what he said but what he meant. mean = 'intend'
e. What does the German word Hund mean? mean = 'be equivalent to'
f. Those clouds mean rain. mean = 'signify, portend'

Answers may vary. Speaker meaning seems more pronounced in the use of
mean in 2a,d, because it evokes the idea that the speaker intends to do
something. Sentence meaning is clearly found in the use of mean in 2e,
because it evokes the notion of equivalency rather than speaker intent.
Sentence meaning is also most likely evoked in 2b,c,f, because these uses of
mean do not seem to evoke the speaker's intent, but to indicate that
something signifies or represents something else.

3. Look up the words mean and meaning in any handy collegiate dictionary and find out how
many senses of the words are listed there. What sense(s) of mean seem(s) to correspond most
closely to the sense(s) that the text is concerned with?
Answers will vary depending on the dictionary chosen.

4. What is meant by a theory of semantics? Try to explain this briefly in your own words.

A theory of semantics should include a set of assumptions and principles

that allows for the explanation and prediction of meaning phenomena
relative to those assumptions. I t typically has a technical vocabulary and a
formalism for the sake of precision.

5. Which of the following items appear to illustrate sentence meaning and which illustrate
speaker meaning in the way these concepts were introduced in this unit? Be able to explain
your choice.

a. A bachelor is an unmarried man.

Sentence meaning

b. A red light means 'stop'.

Speaker meaning (could also evoke sarcasm)

c. A fine product THEY put out! (THEY is strongly emphasized)

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Speaker meaning

d. The sentences in the following pair appear to be opposite in meaning:

1) The bear killed the man.
Sentence meaning

2) The man killed the bear.

Sentence meaning

e. My feet are killing me.

Speaker meaning

6. Is meaningfulness synonymous with informativeness? Explain in your own words and

supply an illustration.

Not necessarily. Speakers can convey speaker meaning without being

particularly informative, i.e. bringing up new information. The language is
full of expressions whose primary function is to keep the conversation going,
such as "That's right, go on", or to maintain a friendly social atmosphere, as
in "Nice weather we're having, isn't it?" when it is clear that the weather is
nice without having to say so.

7. A semantic theory should account for items like the following, which we will study in the
following units. Can you guess now what aspect of meaning is involved in each example?

a. The President of the United States is the Commander-in-Chief.

This sentence equates two entities with each other.

b. She can't bear children.

The word bear has more than one meaning (it's homonymous).

c. You're sitting in the apple-juice seat.

Context is needed to understand apple-juice seat as the place
at the breakfast table where the apple juice has been
placed.

d. How long did John stay in New York?

This interrogative queries (asks about) the proposition that
John stayed in New York.

e. A tulip is a flower.
I n generic sentences the noun phrases do not refer to
particular entities, but to whole classes of individuals.

f. John's present wife is unmarried.

This sentence is a contradiction (can't possibly be true).

g. The car needs to be washed.

This can be used as an indirect request to wash the car.

h. If John killed Bill is true, then so is Bill is dead.

The truth of the first sentence guarantees the truth of the
second sentence. (Entailment relation between sentences.)

8. In this unit we claimed that semantics "concentrates on the similarities between languages,
rather than on the differences" (p.11). Do you agree with this sort of focus? Does it seem too
narrow? Why or why not?

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One might claim that the differences between languages are also of great
interest, and that more complete theories of semantics ought to address this
issue, as well.

9. Explain in your own words the statement that "No theory...[including] semantic theory...is
complete" (p. 12).

An answer should include the idea that, as we learn more about a particular
area of knowledge such as semantics, we are able to continually refine the
principles that underlie the theory and account for a greater array of
semantic data. But it is unlikely that we will ever be able to learn all there is
to know, therefore raising the possibility that the theory can never be truly
complete.

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Unit 2 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 2 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

sentence declarative sentence

utterance interrogative sentence
proposition imperative sentence

2. Is semantics concerned only with complete sentences? Explain.

No, since many uses of language consist of partial sentences or just individual
words. Example: "Coffee, please" uttered in a café.

3. Indicate the conventions used in the text to distinguish a sentence from an utterance. Give an
illustration of each.

Sentences are written in italics, utterances are enclosed in double quotes.

Example: Mary wrote a letter is a sentence, whereas "Mary wrote a letter" is an
utterance of that sentence on a particular occasion.

4. Indicate whether each of the following sentence pairs expresses the same or different
propositions.

a. Mary read the book/The book was read by Mary. Same

b. Fred took back the book/Fred took the book back. Same
c. The cat chased the rat/The cat was chased by the rat. Different
d. The chef cooked the meal/The chef had the meal cooked. Different
e. Hondas are easy to fix/It's easy to fix Hondas. Same

5. Explain the following from the text (p. 21): "Normally, when a speaker utters a simple
declarative sentence, he commits himself to the truth of the corresponding proposition: i.e. he
asserts the proposition. By uttering a simple interrogative or imperative, a speaker can mention a
particular proposition, without asserting its truth."

Answers will vary, but should follow the presentation in the book fairly closely.
Student should try to answer without looking at the page in question.

6. In each of the following, indicate whether a proposition is asserted or not:

a. John left yesterday. Proposition is asserted.

b. Did John leave yesterday? Proposition is not asserted.
c. Can John leave this afternoon? Proposition is not asserted.
d. John, get out of here. Proposition is not asserted.
e. John! Proposition is not asserted.

Comment: Propositions are only asserted using declarative statements.

7. Decide whether each pair of sentences below has the same or different propositional content.
If they have the same propositional content, identify the proposition that they both share.

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a. Can John have some cake?/John has some cake. Same

Proposition: John possesses some cake.

b. Take out the garbage/You will take out the garbage. Same
Proposition: The addressee will remove the garbage.

c. Can you pass the salt?/The salt shaker is nearly empty. Different

8. Utterances can be loud or quiet, in a particular regional accent, and in a particular language.
Can you think of other characteristics of utterances?

Utterances can be sung, spoken fast or slow, at a high or low pitch, interrupted
by a cough or sneeze, or be affected by false starts, etc.

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Unit 3 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 3 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

sense context
reference dialect
referent proposition

2. Can different expressions have the same referent? Give an example not found in this unit.

Yes. Abraham Lincoln and The 16th President of the United States of America

3. Can the same expression have different referents? Give an example not found in this unit.

Yes. The book, a flower , etc. This is extremely common in the language.

4. Give an example of an expression not found in this unit that has an invariable referent and of
one that has no referent.

Expressions with invariable referent: The planet Saturn, the Grand Canyon
Expressions with no referent: The unicorn, perhaps
5. Explain this sentence from this unit in your own words: "Every expression that has meaning
has sense, but not every expression has reference".

Answers will vary, but should contain the idea that meaning is not tied
exclusively to just the referring function of language, but involves aspects of
knowledge that is more abstract and elusive.

6. Characterize a typical dictionary definition of a word. Does the definition include everything a
typical native speaker knows about the word's meaning? Is it possible to write such an entry
which is complete?

A typical dictionary entry for a word is a set of expressions that have similar
senses to that of the word in question. I t rarely includes everything a speaker
knows about the word's meaning, because it's nearly impossible to know what
the limits on that knowledge are (it likely varies from one speaker to another).
A complete entry is also rarely possible, partially because entries tend to be
circular: an entry that attempts to define a word often contains one or more
words whose own entries contain the original word that was to be defined.

Comment of the following examples, making reference to concepts introduced in this unit:

7. the evening star/the morning star

Expressions with the same referent, but different senses.

8. the President of the United States/the Commander-in-Chief/the leader of the Republican Party

Expressions with the same referent, but different senses.

9. Visiting relatives can be boring.

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An ambiguous sentence, because it has different senses.

10. the planet Mars

Expression with invariant reference.

11. Smoking grass can be dangerous.

An ambiguous sentence, because it has different senses.

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Unit 4 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 4 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

referring expression opaque context

indefinite noun phrase equative sentence
definite noun phrase

2. Which of the following could be used as referring expressions? Be able to explain why or why
not.

Correct answers (a,b,f,g,h) are in boldface (but see comment below).

a. my table e. or
b. a unicorn (?) f. Mary
c. no love g. a book
d. travel h. Abraham Lincoln

Comment: Some students may be unsure of how to deal with a unicorn in 2b,
since these entities don't exist in the real world we live in. I n a later unit (6) we
will clarify that the notion of reference will have to be extended to include such
entities as unicorns. For now, it is sufficient to leave the matter open.

For sentences 3-6 below decide whether the italicized noun phrases are referring expressions or
not, and explain why (or why not). If the sentence is ambiguous explain why it is ambiguous.

3. His father married a dancer.

Referring expression; a dancer refers to a particular dancer that his father

married.

4. John wants to marry a dancer.

Either referring or non-referring, depending on whether John has a particular

person in mind.

5. The whale is the largest mammal.

Non-referring. This is a generic sentence. As typically understood, the noun

phrase the whale does not refer here to any particular whale, but to the whole
class of possible whales.

6. The man who shot Kennedy was Lee Harvey Oswald.

Referring expression; it picks out a unique individual.

7. Explain the ambiguity in: I am looking for a pencil.

The ambiguity depends on whether I have a particular pencil in mind, which

depends on how the indefinite article a is interpreted.

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8. Create a set of circumstances under which the sentence Dan believes that...signed the bill is an
opaque context. Use the referring expressions George W. Bush and the President of the United
States in your answer.

The crucial point is that Dan may erroneously believe that George W. Bush is
not the president. Therefore, even though the two referring expressions
currently have the same referent, it may be true that Dan believes that the
President of the United States signed the bill, even though it may be false that
he believes that Bush did the signing.

9. Which of the following are equative sentences? Explain why.

Only items a. and b. are equative, because they assert the identity of the
referents of the two referring expressions. I tem b. is equative, since equative
sentences can be false. I tem f. is not equative, because it does not assert the
identity between Detroit and the largest city in the USA.

a. Fred is the man with the gun.

b. William the Conqueror is the current King of England.
c. Detroit is a nearby city.
d. Mary is a genius.
e. A box of cookies is what I would like.
f. Detroit is not the largest city in the USA.

10. Consider the sentence It’s a tree. Assume that this sentence is uttered by a particular person
on a particular occasion to pick out a particular tree. Briefly explain how each of the following
technical terms introduced so far in this book apply to the utterance of this example sentence:
sentence, utterance, reference, referent.

I t's a tree is a sentence, a string of words put together by the grammatical

rules of English. When someone says "I t's a tree", then he has performed an
utterance of the sentence on a particular occasion. Reference is the relationship
between the expression a tree in the sentence I t's a tree and the entity ( tree)
referred to in the sentence. The referent of tree is the actual tree being
referred to.

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Unit 5 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 5 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

predicator degree of predicate

predicate ellipsis (elliptical)
argument identity relation

2. Indicate the arguments and predicator(s) in each sentence:

Arguments are in italics. Predicators are in boldface .

a. John is a linguist.
b. John loves Mary.
c. Mary loves John. (are arguments ordered? Yes)
d. John gave Mary a ring.
e. Chicago is between Los Angeles and New York.
f. Jane is Mary's mother ( be expresses the identity relation) or
Jane is Mary's mother ( mother is a relational predicate)
g. Jones is the Dean of the College. ( be expresses the identity relation) or
Jones is the Dean of the College ( Dean (of) is a relational predicate)
h. John stood near the bank.
(How should the ambiguity be handled? Bank is homonymous)
i. Ed is a fool.
j. Ed is foolish.

3. Indicate the degree of the predicates used as predicators in each sentence in item 2 above.

2a: a linguist - one place; 2b,c: love - two-place; 2d: give - three-place; 2e:
between - three-place; 2f: is - two-place, or mother - two-place; 2g: is - two-
place, or Dean (of) - two-place; 2h: stand (near) - two-place; 2i: a fool - one-
place; 2j: foolish - one-place.

4. How does the concept of predicate in the semantic sense differ from the concept of
grammatical predicate? Does one seem to be more revealing than the other?

The traditional notion of the grammatical predicate of a sentence refers to

everything in the sentence other than the subject. For example, the
grammatical predicate in the sentence Mary wrote a novel is the phrase wrote a
novel. A semantic predicate is the expression in a sentence that can function as
the predicator of the sentence, and seems to be more relevant to the semantic
analysis of the sentence than the grammatical predicate.

5. In this unit we said that the prepositions from and of in the two-part adjectives different from
and afraid of "are not themselves predicates...[and that they] are relatively meaningless linking
particles". Do you agree with this statement? Consider a sentence such as The letter is from my
uncle before reaching a conclusion.

Answers may vary. The point being made here is that in the system developed
in the text we have to choose the most prominent non-referring expression as
the predicator of the sentence, since we have asserted that there is only one
predicator per sentence. But sometimes a word such as the preposition from
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might serve as the predicator itself, as in The letter is from my uncle. So,
whether prepositions are predicates or not may be a matter of degree and
depend on particular circumstances.

6. What are the functions of the verb be in these sentences (i.e. does it function as an identity
predicate or as a grammatical device for linking a non-verbal predicate to its first argument). Do
all instances of be carry tense? I n 6a-d all uses of be are tensed.

a. Mary is happy. Linking function

b. A tulip is a flower. Linking function
c. George W. Bush is the U.S. President. I dentity predicate
d. God is. I dentity predicate

There is a potential problem with 6d, since there is no explicitly-stated referring

expression with which God is asserted to be identical.

7. Does it make sense to say that the verb be has a meaning of its own, independent of whether it
is used as a linking device or as the identity predicate? Speculate about what it could mean, and
don't be concerned if your answer is quite abstract. Many lexical items in the world's languages
have very abstract meanings.

Answers will vary. Recently, cognitive semanticists have suggested that be is

meaningful in all its uses, but that its meaning is highly abstract, signifying
something like a maximally abstract process that is construed as unchanging
over time (i.e. as a maximally imperfective process). Some students might
suggest this kind of potential meaning for be.

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Unit 6 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 6 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

generic sentence
universe of discourse

2. Which of the following are generic sentences? Explain.

a. Americans like to eat apple pie. Generic

b. Fred likes to buy Uzis. Not generic
c. A bird lays eggs. Generic
d. My pet finch just laid an egg. Not generic

3. Comment on the italicized items below in light of the points made in this chapter:

a. John wants to marry a girl with green eyes.

By themselves, indefinite noun phrases introduced by a can be used as

either referring expressions or as predicating expressions. I n this sentence
the indefinite noun phrase a girl with green eyes is a referring expression,
since it can refer either to a particular girl with green eyes, or any girl with
green eyes that John wants to marry.

b. I am looking for a pencil.

The indefinite noun phrase a pencil can refer to a particular pencil or any
pencil I am looking for. I t is not used here as a predicating expression.

c. The whale is the largest mammal.

Definite noun phrases are typically used to refer. But in a generic sentence
like this one, the whale is not used as a referring expression.

d. The whales at Seaworld entertain visitors.

This is not a generic sentence, so the definite noun phrase the whales
does refer to particular whales here.

4. Language can create unreal worlds. Explain and give an illustration different from those
discussed in this unit.

Answers will vary. We often use language to talk about worlds and situations
that are not real, but fictional or imaginary. Example: we can use the
conjunction if…then to set up a hypothetical situation like the following: I f I
were rich, I would buy Central Park. Another example: we can use such verbs
as believe and imagine to create belief contexts in which what is described is
not real: I imagined that I rode a unicorn.

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5. How was the question of the existence of God resolved with respect to the notion referring
expression? How are we able to resolve the apparent difficulty of dealing with such referring
expressions as yesterday, four hundred, and the distance between Detroit and Chicago, etc.?

Answers may vary. The main point is that, in order to account for the way the
language actually works, we have to adopt a rather broad concept of referring
expression, such that any expression that can be used to refer to any entity in
the real world or some imaginary world can be called a referring expression.
Otherwise, we have no way of dealing with such perfectly acceptable noun
phrases as a unicorn, the elf , God, etc. With respect to such expressions as
yesterday, four hundred, etc. we also found it necessary to broaden our notion
of referring expression, because although they do not refer to physical objects,
the language treats them as though they were. We will return to this issue in
greater detail in Unit 27.

6. How is it that we can understand speech and writings about non-existent, imaginary worlds?

We first set up the appropriate universe of discourse, and then treat the entities
and events in the assumed world in this universe as though it were real.

7. Construct a short example of a conversational exchange different from the ones given in this
unit which illustrates that the participants are working within partially different universes of
discourse.

Answers will vary considerably.

8. Why is it that "no universe of discourse is a totally fictitious world"? What would happen if
this were the case?

I f a universe of discourse were completely fictitious, it would have no

connection at all with the real world we are familiar with. This would result in a
situation in which we would have no basis for grounding any kind of
understanding about such a world.

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Unit 7 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 7 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

deictic words (deictics) context

reported speech definiteness

2. What parts of speech can function as deictics? List them and give an example or two of each,
preferably different from the ones given in this unit.

Answers will vary. Possibilities include: articles, verbs, prepositions, adverbs,

pronouns, tense.

3. Are deictics a useful device in language, or are they a burden to the speaker? Explain and
illustrate.

They are very useful, because they allow maximum flexibility and economy in
providing a relatively small set of expressions that can have numerous different
interpretations, depending in the context of use.

4. Identify all the deictic expressions in the following sentences and be able to explain why they
are decitic: Deictic expressions are in boldface.

a. You noticed me standing there.

b. This book was written by that author over there.
c. Just set your briefcase to the right of mine.
d. Now we have to make plans for next week.
e. Her best friend was standing behind John.
f. All the guests arrived two hours ago.

5. Use an utterance of your own to report the following utterances from a vantage point distant in
time and space. Be sure to change the deictic expressions as needed. Assume the people are
speaking to you. Sample answers are provided, but variations are possible.

a. Fred: "I will do that assignment tomorrow."

Fred said that he would do that assignment the next day.

b. Mary: "I don't see any good books here."

Mary said that she didn't see any good books there.

c. Fred: "Why couldn't you help me last week?"

Fred wondered why I couldn't help him that week.

6. Is is possible to know the truth value of a sentence with a deictic expression independently of
the context in which it is uttered? Give an example and explain.

No. Example: The truth or falsity of I t's raining today depends on the day on
which it is uttered.

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7. When is it appropriate to use the definite article the? When is it appropriate to use the
indefinite article a?

I t is appropriate to use the when the speaker and hearer know what the entity
it introduces refers to in a particular context. I t is appropriate to use a when
the conditions for the are not found.

8. Think of a context in which it would be appropriate to use the following utterances, and one in
which it would be inappropriate:

a. "I have to read an article for class tomorrow."

Appropriate context: The hearer has no particular article in

mind. (The speaker may or may not have one in mind.)
I nappropriate context: The hearer is aware of the particular
article mentioned by the speaker.

b. "Mary wants to check out the book."

Appropriate context: Both the speaker and hearer have a

particular book in mind.
I nappropriate context: Either the speaker or the hearer (or
both) do not know which particular book is meant.

c. "Did you meet her at a university?"

Appropriate context: The hearer has no particular university

in mind. (The speaker may or may not have one in
mind.)
I nappropriate context: The hearer is aware of the particular
university mentioned by the speaker.

9. Is the definite article the the only word that signals definiteness? Explain and illustrate.

No. Others include the demonstratives this and that ; personal and possessive
pronouns, and proper names.

10. Are all definite noun phrases referring expressions? Is every noun phrase with the definite
article semantically definite? Give examples.

Yes, all definite noun phrases are referring expressions. But every noun phrase
with the definite article the is not semantically definite. An example of a noun
phrase with the that is not semantically definite would be the definite noun
phrase found in generic sentences such as The tulip is a flower . I t is important
to note that a definite noun phrase is not the same thing as a definite article
plus noun.

11. Suppose you accidentally drive the family car through a plate glass window late at night and
that your parents know you have been driving the car. You first call your parents, then the police,
to report the accident. Which of the following utterances would you most likely say to each
party?

a. "I just drove a car through a plate glass window." Police

b. "I just drove the car through a plate glass window." Parents
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c. "I just drove a car through the plate glass window."

d. "I just drove the car through the plate glass window."

12. Which utterance in question 11 would you most likely say to the owner of the store whom
you contact after calling the police? Explain.

Utterance 11c. This is because the store owner would not be familiar with the
particular car that was used, but would be familiar with the window that was
damaged.

13. Does the change of articles affect the truth value of the utterances in 11 above? No.

14. Consider the following sentences and try to determine what factor the speaker uses in
choosing the italicized verb in each. Also comment on the difference in meaning in the choice of
different verbs with respect to the speaker's perspective on the scene.

a. I just called to see if you will be coming to see me tomorrow.

Come contains the notion 'toward the speaker'. The speaker

uses come because the person being spoken to will be moving
toward the speaker's location tomorrow.

b. I just called to see if you will be going to see me tomorrow.

Go contains the notion 'away from the speaker'. The speaker

uses go in this case because he is referring to a location where he is
not currently at, but plans to be tomorrow. This is an example of
psychological shifting.

c. She asked me to come to her party, but I didn't go.

The speaker uses come in the first clause because it is characterized

with respect to the viewpoint of the person to whose party the
speaker is invited. I n other words, the person who invited the speaker
was at the location where the party will be held when the invitation
was made. The speaker uses go in the second clause because now the
viewpoint of the speaker is highlighted: the speaker did not move
away from his location to attend the party.

d. Please come in.

The speaker is asking the hearer to move to a location

toward the speaker.

e. Please go in.

The speaker is asking the hearer to move to a location away

from the speaker.

f. Don't bring any food with you.

By using bring the speaker indicates that the hearer is not to

carry any food toward the speaker's location.
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Unit 8 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 8 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

extension fuzzy set

extension of a one-place predicate ostensive definition
prototype denotation

2. Is the difference between reference and sense clear-cut or not? Explain and illustrate.

Not with respect to the two notions being completely separate from each other.
Because sense fixes extension, i.e. because we have to know a predicate's
sense in order to know what it can refer to, there is a relationship between the
two notions.

3. Explain the notion of potential referents in connection with the phrase the book.

The potential referents of the book is the set of all individual books to which the
predicate book can be truthfully applied.

4. What term introduced in this unit describes the set of potential referents of a referring
expression such as the noun phrase the book in #3 above?

Extension of the predicate.

5. Distinguish between referent and extension.

The referent of a referring expression is an individual entity referred to by that

expression that is dependent on a particular occasion of use. The extension of a
referring expression is the set of individual entities to which the referring
expression could potentially refer. The extension is independent of any occasion
of use.

6. Make sure you understand the chart on page [supply correct page number] in which the
differences and similarities between sense, extension, and reference are described. In what way
are sense and extension alike, and unlike reference? In what way are extension and reference
alike, and unlike sense?

Sense and extension are alike (and unlike reference) in that they are
independent of any occasion of use.
Extension and reference are alike (and unlike sense) in that they share the
property of connecting linguistic expressions to the world.

7. In this unit we said that "A speaker's knowledge of the sense of a predicate provides...an idea
of its extension". In other words, we noted that sense fixes (determines) extension. Explain as
best you can in your own words.

Answers may vary, but should contain the idea that we have to know
something about the stable, context-free meaning of a predicate (sense) in

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order to know what entities in the world (or possibly some imaginary world)
can be referred to by that predicate.

8. Do you think it would be possible for the extension of a predicate to fix (determine) the sense
of that predicate? Why or why not?

No, because as we have defined sense and extension we would have no way to
figure out for sure the full context-free meaning of a predicate (its sense) just
by knowing one or more of the entities that the predicate can refer to. Knowing
that an entity is a referent of a predicate gives little insight into what the other
members of the extension might be, which would be necessary in order to fully
determine the predicate's sense.

9. Describe briefly the extension of car.

The set of all entities to which the predicate car can be truthfully applied.

10. What is meant by the statement that "extensions are relative to all times, past, present and
future"? How can we restrict the extension of a predicate?

The extensions of most common predicates don't generally change much over
time. For example, the extension of tree is probably much the same as it was
1000 years ago, since the concept has not appreciably changed in that time,
nor has the number and type of entities to which the predicate can be applied.
An exception might be if the sense of a predicate changed in some way so as to
alter the kinds of entities in the predicate's extension. An example might be the
sense of building, which has arguably broadened to include additional kinds of
structures over the years.

One way to restrict the extension of a predicate is to restrict the tense of the
verb in the sentence in which the predicate is used. Another is by using
modifiers, such as adjectives, to narrow down the range of noun predicates, as
in old book, which restricts the extension of book to the subset of books that
are old.

11. In this unit we noted that extension and meaning cannot be equated (cf. featherless biped
and rational animal). Why not?

Extension and meaning are not the same thing, because more than one
expression can have the same set of potential referents (extension) and yet
differ in meaning. Featherless biped and rational animal both have the same
extension (i.e. the set of human beings), and yet they don't mean the same
thing, because they have different senses that pick out different aspects of
what it means to be a human.

12. What is the basic flaw in the idea of extensions? What are fuzzy sets and how is this notion
supposed to resolve the problem? Give your own example.

The basic flaw in the idea of extensions is that the boundaries of the sets
characterized by the extensions of most predicates is often fuzzy and
indeterminant. Speakers often aren't sure whether an entity is in the extension
of a predicate, or not, because there are gradations in set membership. Fuzzy
sets are sets whose boundaries are flexible, i.e. not rigidly defined with respect
to whether an entity is in the set or not. An example is the difference between
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a table and a desk: speakers may not be sure whether a particular entity
belongs to the extension of table or desk if the entity has characteristics that
are indeterminant between the two things.

13. What does the notion of natural kind play with respect to the notion of extension? What
originally motivated the notion of an extension?

Natural kinds are entities occurring in the real world, such as particular kinds of
animals and plants, etc. whose extensions have relatively clear-cut boundaries.
The notion of an extension was originally motivated to explain speakers' ability
to refer to objects in the world, among other things. A fuller account of this is
given in the unit.

14. Briefly describe prototypical examples of the following entities, along with one or two non-
prototypical examples that could also be referred to by each predicate. Explain why the non-
prototypical examples diverge from the prototype.

a. bird d. dog
b. book e. flower
c. furniture f. chair

Answers will vary considerably, and so we have not provided any here.

15. What does the concept prototype have to do with meaning? How is it related to the learning
of the meanings of certain expressions?

A prototype is a typical, most central example of a predicate. Often the

meanings of expressions will be learned by ostensive definition involving a
prototype. A learner will be shown a typical example of a predicate ostensively
(by pointing), and this will enable the learner to gradually extend her
knowledge of the extension of the predicate.

16. In this unit we gave several examples in which cultural differences can lead to different
prototypes. Think of some more examples not mentioned in the book.

Possible examples: building, shoe, car, bus, dog, etc., all of which might have
different prototypes in different cultures.

17. Give some examples not in the book which would likely be learned via ostensive definition
and some which are not likely learned that way.

Answers will vary. Typically, predicates learned ostensively tend to be those

referring to concrete entites in the real world, such as dog, cat , mountain, etc.
Less likely to be learned in this way are such abstractions as love, hate, beauty,
etc.

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Unit 9 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 9 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

sense synthetic sentences

analytic sentences contradiction
set of sufficient conditions necessary condition
sense properties of sentences stereotype (feature)

2. Assume that John is the same person in each of the following sentences. Now, if the sentence
John is a bachelor is true, then is it true or false that

a. John is male. c. John is human.

b. John is unmarried. d. John is adult.

All of (2a-d) are true, according to the intuitions of a typical native speaker,
though 2d might be open to debate, depending on how adult is defined.

We can say that the sentence John is a bachelor entails (a-d), because the truth of (a-d)
necessarily follows from the proposition contained in the sentence John is a bachelor. The
notion of entailment will be explored in greater detail in Unit 10.

For questions 3-7 indicate whether each sentence is analytic, synthetic, or a contradiction. If
you are not sure about a sentence, try to explain why it is not a clear-cut case.

3. a. All bachelors are unmarried. Analytic

b. All bachelors are happy. Synthetic
c. All bachelors are married. Contradiction

I dentification of the items in 3 seems reasonably clear-cut.

4. a. All misers are stingy. Analytic (?)

b. All misers are rich. Synthetic (?)
c. All misers waste money. Contradiction (?)
d. All misers are miserable. Synthetic (?)

The items in 4 are more problematic. The suggested answers are based on
most native speakers' intuitions about the meaning of miser , but are open to
debate.

5. a. All carnivores eat meat. Analytic (?)

b. All mammals produce live young. Analytic (?)

The items in 5 are also problematic. Pandas are classed by zoologists as

carnivores, but they only eat bamboo. Yet most animals classed as carnivores
do eat meat. Nearly all mammals do produce live young, and yet the platypus
lays eggs. I nterpreting these sentences as analytic seems to be based on naïve
speaker knowledge rather than expert knowledge.

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6. a. My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor. Contradiction

b. This stool has a broken back. Unclear

Labeling 6b depends on how stool is defined.

7. a. Kings are monarchs. Analytic

b. Kings are male. Analytic
c. Kings are fathers. Synthetic
d. George Washington was the first president. Synthetic
e. Witches are wicked. Synthetic
f. My brother is an only child. Contradiction
g. Puppies are human. Contradiction

Comment: 7d is synthetic because there are nations whose first president was
not George Washington. 7e is synthetic because there are some good witches,
such as Glenda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz.

8. Explain why synthetic sentences are potentially informative whereas analytic sentences and
contradictions are not.

Synthetic sentences are potentially informative because they contain

information that could be either true or false, depending on the circumstances.
I f we are told that a particular king is also a father, for example, that is
informative, because there is nothing in the sense of king that makes specific
reference to this sort of information, which must be supplied by a particular
context. On the other hand, knowing that a king is a monarch is uninformative,
because the sense of king already contains the monarch notion within it. A
similar explanation could be given for contradictions.

9. Give some necessary conditions for the following lexical items:

a. table c. sister
b. car d. teacher

Answers will vary widely.

10. Is it possible to list a set of necessary and sufficient conditions to fully and adequately
characterize the lexical item mother? Try to come up with a couple such sets of conditions and
then explain why they are insufficient. (Hint: think of all the current terms which contain the
word mother, including birth mother, surrogate mother, stepmother, biological mother, adoptive
mother, natural mother, foster mother, unwed mother, genetic mother, etc.)

No. As with Wittgenstein's game example discussed in this unit, the concept of
mother is too complex, as shown by the many examples given above.
11. What is the difference between prototype and stereotype (or semantic feature) as set forth in
this unit?

A prototype is an actual entity in the extension of a predicate that is the most

central member. A stereotype is an abstract specification or list of typical
features of the prototype.

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Unit 10 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 10 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

synonymy/synonym intension
paraphrase symmetrical hyponymy
hyponymy/hyponym entailment
superordinate term transitive relation
Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion co-hyponyms
sense relations

2. Do you think it is easier to learn words as unique items, or as part of a system involving
various kinds of sense relationships? That is, is it easier to learn words when we can relate them
in systematic ways or when we learn them separately? Briefly explain.

I t is probably easier to learn words as part of a system of interlocking sense

relationships, because many, if not most, words share aspects of meaning with
each other which recur again and again. These shared aspects of meaning
make the acquisition process more efficient. For example, animal, dog, and cat ,
though clearly different in meaning, share some components of meaning: they
refer to living non-human entities, and we know that dogs and cats are
subtypes of animal that are commonly used as pets, etc.

3. What is meant by synonymy? Why is it difficult to define this term? Do most synonyms have
identical or just similar meanings (or senses)? Do you think true synonymy exists? Try to
support your answer with appropriate examples.

Synonymy is a meaning relation between words in which the words share the
same or nearly the same meaning. I t is difficult to define precisely, in part
because true cases are rare if they exist at all. True synonymy likely does not
exist, although some cases are close: sofa, couch, and davenport seem very
similar in meaning to most people.

4. Identify in the following sentences the pair of words in caps which appear to share the same
(or nearly the same) sense. In some (or all) cases it may be difficult to decide, so be ready to
explain the difficulty. Same (or nearly the same): 4a and 4b. 4e is unclear. The other
cases seem clearly different in meaning.

a. Fred always sleeps on the SOFA/COUCH.

b. The neighbors have a BIG/LARGE family.
c. The winning horse TROTTED/RAN to the finish line.
d. This table is very SMOOTH/FLAT.
e. That is a very HIGH/TALL building.
f. That is a very FLAT/SLIPPERY road.

5. Synonyms usually share some but not all senses. This becomes evident in certain of their uses.
For each apparent synonym pair below supply sentences in which the two words can be used
interchangably without altering the sense of the sentence, and then give another sentence using
one of the words in a different sense (where no interchange is possible with the same meaning).

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a. small/little e. cheap/inexpensive
b. hard/difficult f. bright/well-lit
c. long/extended g. sad/dejected
d. lady/woman h. rob/steal

5a. Jane built a small/ little house; Jane will arrive in a little/ ?small while.
5b. That's a hard/ difficult project; This floor has a hard/ ?difficult surface.
5c. I took a long/ extended trip; She had a long/ ?extended face.
5d. She's a pretty lady/ woman; The First Lady/ ?Woman stayed there.
5e. The book is cheap/ inexpensive; That's a cheap/ ?inexpensive joke.
5f. The room was bright/ well-lit; He's a bright/ ?well-lit student.
5g. John looked sad/ dejected; Today was a sad/ ?dejected day.
5h. They robbed/ stole from the rich; They robbed/ ?stole the bank.

i. Do the same for the synonym pairs you identified in 4 above.

6. A special kind of synonymy falls under the heading of euphemism, whereby a culturally or
socially disagreeable word is replaced by a more agreeable one with essentially (though not
exactly) the same meaning. For each term below try to find several euphemisms which are less
harsh, offensive, or explicit. For item (h) try to think of several additional examples. One
example is given per item.

a. war (conflict) f. toilet (powder room)

b. crazy (disturbed) g. poor (disadvantaged)
c. damn (darn) h. crippled (handicapped)
d. fired from a job (laid off) i. stupid (slow)
e. blind (visually impaired) h. ___________

7. Sometimes synonyms can have either positive or negative connotations, as shown by the first
set below. Try to complete the other examples. A thesaurus may be helpful. Answers will vary
widely. Suggestions are given below.

NEUTRAL TERM POSITIVE NEGATIVE

careful scrupulous keep a sharp eye on

save money be frugal be miserly
reserved shy reclusive
levelheaded careful dull
curious inquisitive nosy
slow deliberate lagging
laugh chuckle snicker
talk converse gossip
old mature decrepit
young inexperienced immature

8. What is a paraphrase? How are the notions of synonymy and paraphrase distinguished in
semantics?

Paraphrases are sentences that have the same set of entailments: they
mutually entail each other. Synonymy evokes the notion of sameness of
meaning applied to individual predicates, while paraphrase evokes the same
notion applied to entire sentences (or the propositions expressed by those
sentences).
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9. Supply as many paraphrases as you can for each of the following sentences. Remember that
each paraphrase must have the same set of entailments as the original sentence. Answers will
vary considerably. One possible paraphrase is given per item.

a. I gave the book to my friend. I gave my friend the book.

b. Your child took out the garbage. Your child took the garbage out.
c. It is likely that Fred will win the race. Fred will likely win the race.
d. John is easy to please. I t's easy to please John.
e. The sales clerk received the money from me.
I received the money from the sales clerk.
f. Some students have a job. Not all students have a job.

10. What is meant by hyponymy? When predicates are organized according to their hyponymic
relationships with each other the resulting tree diagram is sometimes called a taxonomy.

Hyponymy is a meaning relation between predicates involving meaning

inclusion, where the meaning of one predicate is included in that of another.
Example: rose is a hyponym of flower , because the meaning of flower is
contained in the meaning of rose.

11. Organize each of the following groups of words into a taxonomy in which the superordinate
terms and their hyponyms are properly arranged with respect to each other. Be sure to identify
which terms are superordinate and which are hyponyms (and which are co-hyponyms). Identify
any problems you might have in organizing the data, and supply additional data if you can think
of them. It may be helpful to sketch a tree diagram. Are you aware of any other disciplines in
which such taxonomies are used?

a. hammer, screwdriver, wrench, awl, tool, pliers

b. capenter, electrician, craftsman, plumber
c. mammal, human, animal, amphibian, reptile, frog, snake
d. shatter, crack, break, smash, fracture
e. man, woman, husband, bachelor, wife, human, widow

11a: Superordinate: tool; the other terms are hyponyms of tool

11b: Superordinate: craftsman ; the other terms are its hyponyms
11c: Superordinate: animal; mammal, amphibian, and reptile are
hyponyms of animal; human is a hyponym of mammal, frog is a hyponym of
amphibian, and snake is a hyponym of reptile
11d: Superordinate: break; the other terms are hyponyms of break
11e: Superordinate: human; man and woman are hyponyms of human;
husband and bachelor are hyponyms of man; wife and widow
are hyponyms of woman

12. Explain what it means to say that hyponymy involves entailment.

Both are one-way meaning relations in which the meaning of one is included in
that of the other. But hyponymy is a one-way relation between individual
predicates, whereas entailment is a one-way relation between sentences (or
more precisely, between the propositions expressed by the sentences).

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13. For each sentence below give another sentence which the first one entails, and then give one
which the first does NOT entail. Answers will vary considerably. One example is given for
each.

a. John is a bachelor. Entails John is unmarried. Does not entail John is sad.
b. John is a widower. Entails John is a man. Does not entail John is rich.
c. Mary is divorced. Entails Mary was married. Does not entail Mary is old.
d. This is a tulip. Entails This is a flower . Does not entail This is pretty.

14. Hyponymy and synonymy refer to relations between pairs of words., while entailment and
paraphrase refer to relations between pairs of sentences. Supply the correct terms in the blanks.

Hyponymy is to entailment as synonymy is to paraphrase.

15. What does the Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion have to say about the entailment relationship
between the following two sentences?

a. Mary bought a house.

b. Mary bought a building.

Sentence a entails sentence b, because the house is a hyponym of building.

16. Why does the Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion NOT work for the following pairs of sentences?
How must it be amended to work here?

a. Mary did not buy a house.

b. Mary did not buy a building.

Sentence a does not entail sentence b, even though house is a hyponym of

building. I f the sentences contain a negative, such as not , then the entailment
relation is reversed: here sentence b entails sentence a.

c. Mary bought all the houses in town.

d. Mary bought all the buildings in town.

Parallel to the relation between 16a and 16b: here sentence c does not entail
sentence d, even though house is a hyponym of building. I f the sentences
contain the universal quantifier all, then the entailment relation is once again
reversed: here sentence d entails sentence c.

17. Consider the following pair of sentences. Is there any entailment relation existing between
them? Explain why or why not.

a. Mary bought a big house.

b. Mary bought a big building.

No entailment relation exists between either sentence in 17, even though house
is a hyponym of building. This is likely due to the presence of the gradable
adjective big modifying house and building in each sentence. Somehow this
upsets the relation between hyponymy and entailment described in the Basic
Rule of Sense I nclusion.

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Unit 11 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 11 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

types of antonymy
binary antonymy (complimentarity)
converses/converseness (relational opposites)
systems of multiple incompatibility
gradable antonyms
contradictoriness (said of sentences)
ambiguity (structural and lexical)
homonymy
polysemy
referential versatility & vagueness vs. ambiguity

2. Be sure you understand why oppositeness of meaning is not as simple as it sounds. Try to
restate the issue in your own words. What seems to be necessary in order for two words to be
classed as antonyms of any type?

Answers will vary, but should make the point that there must be some kind of
semantic incompatibility between the two words.

3. A test for binary antonyms is that the negative of one term must be equivalent to (or entail) the
other: thus, dead and alive are binary antonyms because if something is not dead then it must be
alive. Use this test to determine which of the following pairs of predicates are binary antonyms.
If some (or all) are uncertain, identify and explain them.

a. wood/metal e. happy/sad
b. big/small f. give/receive
c. awake/asleep g. present/absent
d. honest/dishonest h. in/out

The binary antonyms are items 3c, d, g, and h.

4. Binary antonyms can be thought of as incompatible terms which are members of two-term sets
(the "miniature semantic systems" we described in the text). This notion can be extended to other
groups of words which are not so much opposites as they are incompatible members of a larger
(multiple-term) semantic system (or semantic field), such as the days of the week, the seasons of
the year, etc. Note that the members of such larger sets are co-hyponyms and that the term which
refers to the field itself is a superordinate term. Think of a few additional such systems of
multiple incompatibility (with varying numbers of members) that were not mentioned in this
unit.

Possible answers include: months of the year, compass directions, colors,

flowers, etc.

5. Identify the type of antonymy or incompatibility (binary, gradable, converses, or multiple

incompatibles) for each pair of words below:

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a. high/low (gradable) f. legal/illegal (binary)

b. punch/slap (incompatibles) g. lessor/lessee (converses)
c. husband/wife (converses) h. expensive/cheap (gradable)
d. higher/lower (converses) i. table/chair (incompatibles)
e. pregnant/not pregnant (binary) j. parent/offspring (converses)

6. Explain the difference between a contradiction (a sense property of a sentence) and

contradictoriness (a sense relation between sentences).

A contradiction is a sentence that is necessarily false. Contradictoriness is a

relationship between sentences such that it is impossible for both to be true at
the same time and with respect to the same circumstances.

7. Which of the following pairs of sentences are contradictories? 7b, c, d are contradictories.

a. Max baked the cake/The cake was baked by Max.

b. Max is Sam's father/Max is Sam's child.
c. This class begins at 9:45 AM/This class begins at 8:45 PM.
d. Jane died/Jane is still alive.

8. We said in this unit that "a sentence contradicts another sentence if it entails the negation of
the other sentence". Show that this is true for the contradictories you found in item 7 above.

7b: Max is Sam's father entails Max is not Sam's child.

7c: This class begins at 9:45 AM entails This class doesn't begin at 8:45 PM.
7d: Jane died entails Jane is not still alive.

9. Give an example different from the ones in the text in which two sentences which are identical
except for a pair of antonyms or incompatibles DO contradict each other, and an example in
which they do NOT contradict each other.

a. Jane is pregnant. Jane is not pregnant.

b. Jane has a married friend. Jane has an unmarried friend.

10. Disambiguate the following ambiguous sentences by supplying paraphrases which are not
themselves paraphrases of each other.

a. Climbing plants can look strange.

i. Plants that climb (grow) up walls can look strange.
ii. People who climb plants can look strange.
b. Jane waited by the bank.
i. Jane waited by the financial institution.
ii. Jane waited at the side of the river.
c. They are moving sidewalks.
i. People are moving sidewalks from one place to another.
ii. Those sidewalks are motorized so they can move.
d. The English history teacher knows a lot.
i. The teacher who teaches English history knows a lot.
ii. The history teacher from England knows a lot.
e. The minister married my sister.
i. The minister got married to my sister.
ii. The minister performed my sister's wedding ceremony.
f. She's selling synthetic buffalo hides.
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i. She's selling hides made from synthetic buffalo.

ii. She's selling buffalo hides that are synthetic.
g. The long drill was boring.
i. The long exercise was boring.
ii. The long drilling tool was boring into wood or metal.
h. The boy saw the man with a telescope.
i. The boy saw the man who had a telescope.
ii. The boy with a telescope saw the man.
i. He gave me a punch.
i. He gave me something to drink.
ii. He hit me.
j. The grass was very expensive.
i. The lawn was very expensive.
ii. The marijuana was very expensive.

11. Identify which sentences in exercise 10 above are examples of structural ambiguity and
which are examples of lexical ambiguity.

Structural ambiguity: 10a, c, d, f, g, h

Lexical ambiguity: 10b, e, i, j

12. For each polysemous word below identify several common senses and try to show how they
are related to each other. Try to find some other examples for item (j).

a. iron f. around
b. conductor g. flight (fly)
c. eye h. go
d. face i. hand
e. foot j. __________

Amswers will vary considerably.

13. Go back to the various senses of the word run that were mentioned earlier in this unit. Try to
see if you can come up with a few more uses that are different from the ones given previously,
and then try to figure out how the various senses of the word are related to each other. (Hint:
You might want to start by identifying the sense that seems most concrete, basic, or prototypical,
based on native speaker intuitions, and then work from there to figure out how the other senses
could have developed from that basic sense. But don’t be surprised if the common thread linking
the senses of run is fairly abstract and that not every sense of run shares exactly the same set of
abstract characteristics. It’s usually sufficient for the polysemous senses of a word to be related
to each other as long as they share at least some characteristics in common.)

Answers will vary. This is a very open-ended exercise.

14. Explain why it is difficult to draw a clear line between homonymy and polysemy. Give an
example to illustrate this difficulty. Why is this an important question for lexicographers
(dictionary makers)?

The ultimate decision as to whether a word exhibits homonymy or polysemy

rests with the intuitions of native speakers of a language. This is difficult
because speakers are often just not sure whether the different senses of a
word are related to each other or not. There is often a continuum between
clear cases of homonymy, such as the different senses of bank, and clear cases
of polysemy, such as the different senses of the word run . An intermediate case
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that is sometimes cited is the word ear as it is used in ear of corn vs. the ear on
an animal or person . Some see a relationship between the general shape of an
ear of corn and the shape of an ear of an animal that is close enough to evoke
polysemy, but others might disagree.

This is an important question for lexicographers because dictionaries typically

represent homonymy by listing the different senses of a word as completely
different lexical entries, whereas polysemy is typically represented by listing
each related sense as subsenses under one main entry.

15. Now try your hand at figuring out how the various polysemous senses of the English
preposition over are related to each other. As we did for the word run, here are some examples to
get you started, but you will need to come up with additional examples of your own to get a full
picture of the complexity of the related senses of this word.

a. The lamp is over the table.

b. Mary put the painting over the couch.
c. Frank walked over the log.
d. Jan put a table cloth over the table.
e. The airplane flew over the city.
f. They over the river from us.
g. The movie is now over.
h. The baby put her hands over her face.
i. There were soldiers stationed all over the field.
j. The spider walked all over the wall.

Answers may vary considerably. This exercise is based on the results of a study
on the polysemy of over that was originally done by Claudia Brugmann for her
MA thesis at the University of Californa, Berkeley in 1981. More recent
treatments that summarize this work may be found in Linguistic Categorization ,
3rd edition, by John Taylor, Oxford University Press, 2003, pp.112-122; and in
Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind,
by George Lakoff, The University of Chicago Press, 1987, Case Study 2, pp.
416-461. These sources may be consulted in order to compare the class's
analysis with that of earlier attempts, but we hope the class will attempt to
analyze the data on it own first.

16. In this unit we discussed the relationship between ambiguous sentences and ambiguous
words. Give an example (other than ones in the book) of a sentence containing one or more
ambiguous words

a. that is unambiguous I can't bear this TV program!

b. that is ambiguous Mary can't bear children.

17. Give an example of a sentence (other than in the book) of a sentence containing NO
ambiguous words

a. that is unambiguous John sat at the table and ate dinner.

b. that is ambiguous That French history teacher is unhappy.

18. A test for referential vagueness vs. referential ambiguity is that it is possible to negate one of
the senses of an ambiguous lexical item while asserting another sense at the same time and in the
same context of discourse. This is not possible with vagueness, as is shown in the following

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examples, in which punch is ambiguous but bird is vague. The star (*) notation indicates that
sentence (b) below is unacceptable.

a. I punched the paper but I didn't punch the paper.

b. *There is a bird (i.e. a robin) on the lawn,
but there isn't a bird (i.e. a penguin) on the lawn.

What different senses of punch are possible in (a)? Show how this test can be used to
demonstrate that pig is also ambiguous.

Apparently, punch could mean either 'put a small hole in the paper' or 'hit the
paper'. As long as punch means something different in each use in 18a, there is
no contradiction, which implies that the word is ambiguous.

Pig is ambiguous because in a sentence like John is a pig, but he isn't a pig, the
word could mean either 'a slob' in one occurrence and 'a policeman' in the
other without contradiction.

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Unit 12 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 12 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

logic
connectives
logical notation

2. What aspect of rational behavior does logic (in our narrow semantic sense) refer to?

The rules for calculation that one might use to get from goals and assumptions
to action.

3. Describe some of the ways in which logical connectives such as and, or, and not differ from
other word types (such as names and predicates).

These words do not refer; they cannot be predicators, so they are not
predicates; they have structural meaning in that they are used to connect one
proposition with another.

4. What is the purpose of developing a logical notation for semantics? Why not just use ordinary
English? You should mention at least three different general points made in this unit which
address this question.

A logical notation allows for greater precision and simplicity than the use of
everyday language; it omits ambiguity; it is systematic, leaving out everything
but the main propositional content of the sentence.

5. Here is an example similar to one in the text in which a difficulty arises when we attempt to
state the rules for logical calculation (such as entailment of truth) in terms of ordinary language
sentences:

a. A piece of furniture is in the living room.

b. A table is a piece of furniture.
c. A table is in the living room.
d. A piece of furniture can be used to furnish a house.
e. A table is a piece of furniture.
f. A table can be used to furnish a house.

Does the truth of sentence (c) follow necessarily from the truth of sentences (a) and (b)? Does
the truth of sentence (f) follow ncessarily from the truth of sentences (d) and (e)? Explain why or
why not in each case.

The truth of 5c does not follow from the truth of sentences 5a and 5b, because
5a is not a generic sentence. The truth of 5f does follow from the truth of 5d
and 5e, because 5d is a generic sentence. Generic sentences have different
logical forms from non-generic sentences, even though they look the same as
non-generic sentences.

6. What two components must a system of logic, like a system of arithmetic, have to have?

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a. A notational system that defines the set of all possible formulae in the
system.
b. A set of rules for how to calculate with the logical formulae.

7. Which of the following arguments (i.e. logical calculations) reach logically valid conclusions,
and which do not? Which argument utilizes the logical rule of modus ponens?

Argument 7b reaches a logically valid conclusion via modus ponens. Argument 7e

also reaches a valid conclusion via modus tollens.

a. If Fred got an A in the course, then he must have done all the work. Fred did get
an A in the course, so therefore he didn't do all the work.
b. If Fred got an A in the course, then he must have done all the work. Fred did get
an A in the course, so therefore he must have done all the work.
c. If Fred got an A in the course, then he must have done all the work. Fred did do
all the work in the course, so therefore he did get an A.
d. If Fred got an A in the course, then he must have done all the work. Fred didn't
get an A in the course, so therefore he must not have done all the work.
e. If Fred got an A in the course, then he must have done all the work. Fred didn't
do all the work, so therefore he must not have gotten an A.

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Unit 13 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 13 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

logical formula
simple proposition

2. Translate the following sentences into the simple logical notation developed in this unit:

a. Bonnie cried. b CRY

b. Fred is walking. f WALK
c. Tom paid Mary. t PAY m
d. I sent Jack to Barney. i SEND j b
e. Mary hates Fred. m HATE f

3. What is the reason for eliminating such linguistic elements as some instances of the verb be,
articles (a, the), tense markers, and certain prepositions from logical notation?

They do not contribute to the truth value of the propositions in each sentences.

4. We have claimed (along with many other semanticists) that the preposition of which co-occurs
with certain adjectives and nouns in sentences like the following do not contribute to the senses
of the sentences, but are merely required by the grammar:

a. Tipper is envious of Hillary.

b. Teddy is the uncle of Franklin.

We justified this by observing that the preposition of in these sentences could not be replaced by
any other preposition that would give the sentence a different sense. This contrasts with sentence
pairs like the following, where changing the prepositions does seem to change the sense:

c. Jane is looking for Billy. e. Fred is waiting for Tom.

d. Jane is looking at Billy. f. Fred is waiting with Tom.

While this simplifies the translation of sentences into logical notation (and does not conflict with
the reason you should have given in question 3 above about why these prepositions can be
omitted), does it seem right to claim that prepositions like these do not contribute at all to the
senses of the sentences in which they occur? Is it really a matter of a strict distinction between
sense vs. no sense, or is the situation in fact more complex than was indicated in the text? Try to
explain your thoughts about this in a short essay.

Answers will vary. I t seems relatively clear that these prepositions do contribute
some kind of meaning in sentences 4c-f. Apparently, the situation is more
complex than was indicated in the text, with a continuum between uses of
prepositions that contribute little or no sense of their own to the truth value of
the sentence in which they occur, and uses where they do make a significant
contribution.

5. Translate each sentence (a-f) in question 4 above into the logical notation presented in this
unit.

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4a: t ENVI OUS h

4b: t UNCLE f
4c: j LOOK-FOR b
4d: j LOOK-AT b
4e: f WAI T-FOR t
4f: f WAI T-WI TH t

6. Now translate the following English sentences into well-formed logical notation (formulae)
for simple propositions. You can use abbreviations such as gwb for multi-word referring
expressions like George W. Bush.

a. George W. Bush is the President of the United States. gw b = pusa

b. Bill Clinton is a jogger. bc JOGGER
c. Max is taller than Fred. m TALLER f
d. Wilma loves Max. w LOVE m
e. I'm waiting for Fred. i WAI T-FOR f
f. Fred will send Mike to Mary.. f SEND m m

7. Identify which of the following are well-formed formulae for simple propositions, and which
are not well-formed (according to the definition of a simple proposition given in this unit). In
each case explain why or why not the propositions are well-formed. For the well-formed
propositions give an English sentence which the proposition could represent.

a. m LOVE j f. m AUNT k
b. f m g. j BROTHER m SISTER
c. m HATE DETEST b h. m GENIUS
d. m HATE b and s i. f or l SEE b
e. f SEND m c j. f SEE b

Well-formed: 7a, e, f, h, j; Not well-formed: 7b, c, d, g, i

All of the well-formed formulae have at least one, but not more than one,
predicator per formula. The not well-formed formulae either have no predicator
at all (7b), they have more than one predicator (7c,g), or they contain a word
that is neither a predicator nor an argument (7d,i).

7a: Max loved Jane.

7e: Frank sent Mary to Connie.
7f: Madge is an aunt of Kitty.
7h: Mark is a genius.
7j: Fred will see Bill.

8. Give one formula in logical notation which could be used to represent the situation described
by ALL of the following sentences: j SEE b

a. What happened was that Jane saw Bill.

b. It was Bill who(m) Jane saw.
c. Jane saw Bill.
d. Bill was seen by Jane.
e. What Jane did was see Bill.

9. How do logicians use the term semantics? Is their use of the term broader or narrower than
that used in the rest of this textbook?

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Logicians use the term semantics in its truth conditional sense. We noted in the
text that a logical system has a set of principles that relates its symbols to the
situations they describe that are outside the logical system, i.e. to referents and
extensions. This use of the term is narrower than its use elsewhere in the book.
10. Consult the situation (picture) on page [supply correct page number] in this unit with the
individuals Al, Ed, and Mo, and determine whether the following formulae are true (T) or false
(F) of the situation. Let c represent the name cat.

T a. al LEFT mo T e. c STAND
T b. ed BETWEEN al mo T f. c SLEEP
F c. c BEHIND mo F g. c RUN
T d. ed FRONT c T h. ed BALD

11. We noted at the end of this unit that, with the introduction of logical notation, we now have a
way of systematically representing sentences, utterances, and propositions. Go back to the
examples in question 2 above and represent each item systematically in this way.

Sentence Utterance Proposition

a. Bonnie cried. "Bonnie cried." b CRY

b. Fred is walking. "Fred is walking." f WALK
c. Tom paid Mary. "Tom paid Mary." t PAY m
d. I sent Jack to Barney. "I sent Jack to Barney." i SEND j b
e. Mary hates Fred. "Mary hates Fred." m HATE f

12. Be sure you know how to interpret a simple logical formula in relation to the world which is
its assumed universe of discourse. In this respect indicate how to interpret these simple logical
formulae:

a. f CAT: The formula is true of a situation where the referent of f (e.g. Fritz)
is a member of the extension of CAT
b. b CAR: The formula is true of a situation where the referent of b (e.g.
Buick) is a member of the extension of CAR

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Unit 14 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 14 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

logical conjunction (with &)

logical disjunction (with V)
rules of inference
commutativity of conjunction
commutativity of disjunction
compositionality of meaning
truth tables

2. Translate the following into logical notation using either & or V (or both as required):

a. Fred arrived and Mary left.

f ARRI VE & m LEAVE

b. Either Fred is a Republican or Mary is a Democrat.

f REPUBLI CAN V m DEMOCRAT

c. Max and Erma are happy.

( m HAPPY) & ( e HAPPY)

d. Bill visited Jim and Mary.

( b VI SI T j) & ( b VI SI T m)

e. Max saw Mary or Fred.

( m SEE m) V ( m SEE f)

f. Jim briefed Jane and he saw Mary or he met Fred.

(disambiguate by means of different bracketing)

( j BRI EF j) & ( j SEE m V j MEET f)

( j BRI EF j & j SEE m) V ( j MEET f)

g. Either Mary briefed Fred and she saw Jane or she saw David.
(is this ambiguous?) Not ambiguous

( m BRI EF f & m SEE j) V ( m SEE d)

h. Mary briefed Fred and either she saw Jane or she saw David.
(is this ambiguous?) Not ambiguous

m BRI EF f & ( m SEE j V m SEE d)

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3. What can be connected with the logical connectives & and V? What can NOT be connected
with these connectives in our logical system?

Only complete propositions can be connected by these connectives. They

cannot be used to connect individual predicates or names (arguments)

4. Do all English sentences with and involve the logical conjunction of propositions (expressed
by &)? If not, give one or two examples different from those given in the text.

No. Example: Adam and Eve are a happy couple is acceptable. But we cannot
say * Adam is a happy couple and Eve is a happy couple.

5. What are rules of inference? What does such a rule state in general?

Rules of inference define how propositions go together to make up valid

arguments. They are sets of rules of calculation, or logical reasoning, involving
propositions that relate premisses that are assumed to be true with conclusions
that can be drawn from these premisses. They express various kinds of sense
relations holding between propositions.

6. Give an example in which a rule of inference involving & is valid but the corresponding rule
with V is invalid.

Valid: p & q I nvalid: p V q

p p

7. Below are some examples in which a conclusion has been drawn from premisses involving
either logical conjunction or disjunction. Identify which conclusions follow logically from the
given premisses and which do not. Explain why in either case. Then translate the logically valid
inferences into logical notation, letting the variables p and q stand for each proposition (e.g. let p
= Bill signed a bill, etc.).

a. Premiss: George signed a bill and Hillary gave a speech.

Conclusion: Hillary gave a speech.

Logically valid conclusion: p & q

q

b. Premiss: Max baked a pie or Mary baked a cake.

Conclusion: Max baked a pie.

Not valid

c. Premiss: George signed a bill or Hillary gave a speech.

Conclusion: Hillary gave a speech or Bill signed a bill

Logically valid: p V q
qVp

d. Premiss: Al made a trip.

Conclusion: Al made a trip or Tipper attended a hearing.

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Logically valid: p___

pVq

e. Premiss: Socks chased a mouse and Millie was envious.

Conclusion: Millie was envious and Socks chased a mouse.

Logically valid: p & q

q&p

8. Suppose it is true that Tipper laughed but Al yawned is false. Is the sentence Tipper laughed
and Al yawned TRUE or FALSE?

The sentence is FALSE.

9. Suppose that the sentences Tipper laughed and Al yawned are both true. Then is the sentence
Tipper laughed but Al yawned TRUE or FALSE?

The sentence is TRUE.

10. Based solely on their truth table values, do and and but have the same or different meanings?
What aspects of meaning do these two words seem to share, and how do they appear to differ?
Do their truth table "meanings" fully characterize their complete senses? Briefly explain.

And and but have the same truth tables, so in their logical sense, they have the
same meanings. But they differ in that but evokes a notion of contrast that is
not found with and. This difference is not reflected in the truth tables, so the
truth table "meanings" do not fully characterize their complete senses.

11. Calculate the truth values of the following complex propositions by referring to the world
with the individuals Roger, John, Eve, and Sandy shown on page [supply correct page number]
in this unit. Pay special attention to the bracketing.

a. (e STAND) & ((s PULL j) V (j BEHIND e)) FALSE

b. (s STAND) V ((s PULL j) & (j BEHIND e)) TRUE

c. ((e SIT) & (j BETWEEN r s)) & (s PULL j) TRUE

d. ((e STAND) V (s PULL j)) V (r BETWEEN s j) TRUE

12. Explain the idea of compositionality of meaning. Are the truth tables for & and V
developed in this unit examples of this notion? Explain briefly.

This means that the meaning of a composite expression is a function of the

meaning of its parts. The truth tables for & and V exemplify compositionality,
because they show explicitly how the truth value (an aspect of meaning) of a
composite expression is built up from the truth values of the constituent
propositions that comprise the composite expression.

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Unit 15 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 15 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

implication (→)
conditional sentence
negative operator (~)
More rules of inference
de Morgan's Laws
~(p V q) = ~p & ~q
~(p & q) = ~p V ~q
Double negation
p = ~~p
Modus Ponens
Modus Tollens
biconditional (≡)
propositional calculus (or propositional logic)

2. Write logical formulae for the following, using brackets where necessary. You only need to
give one formula to describe the given situation (though in some cases more than one may be
possible).

a. Hillary didn't leave and Bill slep ~ h LEAVE & b SLEEP

b. Pontiac is not between Auburn Hills and Rochester. ~ p BETWEEN ah r
c. Tipper didn't leave and Al didn't arrive. ~ t LEAVE & ~ a ARRI VE
d. It is not the case that Tipper left and Al didn't arrive. ~(t LEAVE & ~a ARRIVE)
e. Hillary will win if Bill signs the bill. b SI GN b → h WI N
f. If Bill signs the bill, Hillary will win. B SI GN b → h WI N

3. Write two different logical formulae for each of the following (where each fomula is related to
the other via one of de Morgan's Laws):

a. Bill is neither overweight nor lazy.

~ ( b OVERWEI GHT V b LAZY)

~ b OVERWEI GHT & ~ b LAZY

b. Hillary is not both busy and lazy.

~ ( h BUSY & h LAZY)

( ~ h BUSY) V ( ~ h LAZY)

4. Give two English sentences that corrrespond to the following logical formulae:

a. (~al SLEPT) V (~b WORKED)

Either Al didn't sleep or Bill didn't work.

I t is not the case that Al slept and Bill worked.

b. (~h STUDY) & (~t READ)

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Hillary didn't study and Tipper didn't read.

I t is not the case that Hillary studied or that Tipper read.

5. Unpack the two meanings of the following ambiguous sentences into two logical formulae.

a. If Hillary is happy then Bill is content or Tipper is sad.

1) ( h HAPPY → b CONTENT) V ( t SAD)

2) h HAPPY → ( b CONTENT V t SAD)

b. Chelsea will feed Socks and Tipper will nap if Hillary goes to Little Rock.

1) h GO lr → ( c FEED s & t NAP)

2) ( c FEED s) & ( h GO lr → t NAP)

6. How could we rearrange the parts of the sentences in 5 above to make them convey ONLY
one or the other meanings expressed by each formula you wrote for each sentence?

5a1: Either Tipper is sad, or if Hillary is happy, then Bill is content.

5a2: I f Hillary is happy, then either Bill is content or Tipper is sad.
5b1: I f Hillary goes to Little Rock, then Chelsea will both feed Socks and
Tipper will nap.
5b2: Chelsea will feed Socks and (then) if Hillary goes to Little Rock,
then Tipper will nap.

7. Is the English if...then construction generally understood by English speakers as a logical

truth-functional connective? Why or why not?

No. The truth functional meaning of ” →" is not the same as English if…then,
since in English there is the sense that there has to be some kind of
relationship between the connected propositions that is not captured in the
truth table for the connective. See the discussion in the unit for additional
information.

8. Consider the following premisses and conclusion. Decide in each case whether the conclusion
follows from the given premisses by means of a valid rule of inference, show the application of
the rule in the manner described in the text (i.e. by letting a variable such as p or q stand for each
proposition) and name the rule involved.

a. If Mary bought a house, then she had to make payments. Mary didn't have to
make payments, so therefore she didn't buy a house.

Valid by modus tollens. Premisses: p → q, ~ q Conclusion: ~ p

b. If Tipper bought the record, then she wanted to hear it. Tipper wanted to hear
the record, so therefore she bought it.

I nvalid.

c. If Bill signed the bill, then he caused a controversy. He signed the bill, so
therefore he caused a controversy.

Valid by modus ponens. Premisses: p → q, p Conclusion: q

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d. Hillary fed Socks. Therefore, it is not the case that Hillary did not feed Socks.

Valid by double negation. Premiss: p Conclusion: ~ ~ p

e. Either Bill didn't sign the bill or Hillary didn't write the law. Therefore, it is not
the case that Bill signed the bill and Hillary wrote the law.

Valid by de Morgan's Law.

Premiss: ~ p V ~ q Conclusion: ~ ( p & q)

f. Either Bill didn't sign the bill or Hillary didn't write the law. Therefore, it is not
the case that Bill signed the bill or that Hillary wrote the law.

I nvalid.

9. The biconditional connective is equivalent to the conjunction of two conditionals. Express the
meaning of the following sentences in logical formulae in two ways: one with the biconditional
connective and the (logically) equivalent conjunction of two conditionals.

a. George is the president if and only if Laura is the first lady.

g PRESI DENT ≡ l FI RST LADY

( g PRESI DENT → l FI RST LADY) & ( l FI RST LADY → g PRESI DENT)

b. Mary is Jane's mother if and only if Jane is Mary's daughter.

m MOTHER j ≡ j DAUGHTER m
( m MOTHER j → j DAUGHTER m) & ( j DAUGHTER m → m MOTHER j)

10. Which of the following are correct rules of inference? Name the correct ones and explain
why the incorrect ones are incorrect. Understand the variables p and q to stand for propositions.

a. Premisses: p → q, ~q
Conclusion: ~p

Valid via modus tollens.

b. Premiss: p&q
Conclusion: q

Valid via definition of conjunction.

c. Premiss: pVq
Conclusion: p

I nvalid, because we cannot guarantee the truth of a particular

disjunct if we know only that one or the other must be true.

d. Premiss: q
Conclusion: pVq

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Valid, because any disjunction containing at least one true

disjunct is true.

e. Premiss: ~(p & q)

Conclusion: ~p V ~q

Valid via de Morgan's Law.

f. Premiss: ~p & ~q
Conclusion: ~q & ~p

Valid, because conjunction is commutative.

g. Premiss: p
Conclusion: p&q

I nvalid, because we cannot guarantee the truth of a

conjunction of two propositions if we know only that one is
true.

h. Premiss: p → q, q
Conclusion: p

I nvalid. This is known in logic as the fallacy of affirming the

consequent: q could be true even if p is false (i.e. q is not
dependent on p).

11. What is a propositional logic? What does this branch of logic deal with?

Propositional logic deals with the ways in which propositions can be connected
to each other and negated, and the effect such operations have on truth
values.

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Unit 16 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 16 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

dictionary vs. encyclopedia

types of dictionary
a linguistic semanticists's dictionary
an ordinary dictionary-writer's dictionary
semantic primes
technical (theoretical) predicates

2. What kind of information about words is found in a typical (i.e. collegiate) dictionary?

The word's pronunciation, its grammatical category (part of speech),

statements meant to characterize its meaning, and usually information about
the word's history (etymology).

3. What does it mean to say that all dictionary definitions are interconnected? How is this
related to the various kinds of sense relations we studied in units 10 and 11? Is this sort of
interconnectedness desirable? Why or why not?

Most words in the dictionary are related to each other in some way due to the
fact that they share components of meaning with other words. The sense
relations we studied in units 10 and 11 (synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, etc.)
represent some of the most important kinds of these interrelated aspects of
meaning. I nterconnectedness of meaning is helpful in organizing the extremely
complex lexical information in structured ways.

4. Why is a certain degree of circularity necessary in dictionary entries? How do dictionaries

occasionally try to avoid such circularity?

Because definitions are characterized in terms of paraphrases containing other

words in the language. Circularity is prevalent, because a meaning paraphrase
of one word might contain one or more words whose own meaning
paraphrases could contain the word originally being defined. Semantic primes,
undefined technical terms (sometimes from another language) are sometimes
used to avoid circularity. These are sometimes called technical predicates.

5. How do the goals, style of approach, etc. of a semanticist dictionary-writer differ from those of
an ordinary dictionary-writer? How are they the same?

See the unit for details. I n brief, a linguistic semanticist's dictionary differs from
an ordinary dictionary as follows: it's less complete; interconnections are
explicitly based on interrelations between the senses of predicates; it might
leave some terms undefined (semantic primes); it uses a logical framework and
notations where applicable; it focuses on sense relations in the everyday
language; it tries to be more precise than an ordinary dictionary. Ordinary
dictionaries are more likely to try to define everything; interconnections are not
explicitly based on sense relations; they don't use logic; they have a bias
toward educated usage; they are less precise.

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6. What is the main interest of the semanticist dictionary-writer?

To characterize the sense relations between predicates.

7. What are technical predicates (such as *sibling) and what is the advantage in proposing
them? Try to think of some additional examples not mentioned in the text which meet the criteria
proposed in this unit for such predicates.

Technical terms typically not occurring in the everyday language that are used
in order to capture natural classes of predicates. Additional examples will vary.

8. For each of the following sets of predicates indicate the one which does NOT belong to the
same natural class as the others and WHY it does not belong. Then indicate the common
conceptual element(s) the others share. Note that in some cases this element of meaning may be
quite abstract. The predicate that does not belong is marked in boldface, followed by the
reason why. I t is conceivable that other answers are possible.

a. pine, elm, ash, oak, dandelion, sycamore, fir

Dandelions are flowers; the other items are trees.
b. table, stone, book, glass, ship, soup, tree
Soups are liquids; the other items are solids.
Another possibility: trees are living entities; the others are not alive.

c. computer, paper, idea, lamp, car, highway, tractor

I deas are abstract; the other items are concrete.
d. walk, skip, run, jump, ride, swim, hop
Swimming is done in water; the other activities are done on land.
Another possibility: riding requires a vehicle; the others do not.

e. ask, tell, whisper, say, speak, talk, converse

Whispering is done in a lower than usual voice; the others are usually
done at a normal volume.

f. alive, tall, asleep, dead, married, pregnant

Tall is a gradable adjective; the others are binary.
9. In what ways do ordinary dictionaries lack the sort of precision required by a linguistic
semanticist? Give an example of how this lack of precision can lead to difficulties, especially for
someone who does not know the actual meanings of the words being looked up. How can such
lack of precision be remedied (or can it)?

Answers will vary. They should be modeled on the discussion of man in this
unit.

10. Why do you think most ordinary dictionaries usually leave out reference to the kinds of sense
relations we studied in units 10 and 11? Why are they included in the linguistic semanticists's
dictionary?

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The kinds of sense relations we have studied are typically omitted from
ordinary dictionaries, because they are so obvious to the native speakers who
usually use the dictionaries. They are included in the linguistic semanticist's
dictionary for the sake of completeness.

11. Do you think it is reasonable (or even possible) for the linguistic semanticist to try to omit
encyclopedic information from his dictionary? Why or why not? How does this issue relate to
the distinction between analytic and synthetic sentences?

Because the linguistic semanticist is primarily interested in accounting for word

meanings, non-linguistic facts about the world (encyclopedic information) are
thought to be less important. This relates to the analytic/ synthetic distinction in
that analytic information is closely tied to the literal core sense of a word, and
is thus more likely to be included in a linguist's dictionary, whereas synthetic
information is more closely tied to the context in which the word is used, and is
less likely to be included in the linguist's dictionary.

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Unit 17 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 17 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

meaning postulate
selectional restrictions
contradiction
anomaly

2. What are meaning postulates and why are they an important part of the linguistic
semanticist's dictionary? Give an example. What specific kinds of truths are they designed to
account for? What role (if any) does context play in their use?

Meaning postulates are formulae written in logical notation that explicitly

express aspects of a predicate's sense. They are an important part of the
semanticist's dictionary, because they enable the semanticist to explicitly show
how a predicate is related to other predicates via the sense relations they all
share. They also enable the semanticist to represent information about sense
relations economically: from a small number of meaning postulates we can
typically deduce all the important sense relations between predicates. Meaning
postulates are designed to deal only with aspects of meaning involving
necessary truths, i.e. truths that hold in all contexts, so context plays no role in
their use.

3. Why do you think that we avoided including metaphor and figurative language in our
discussion of dictionaries?

We have avoided figurative language up to this point because it is often

context-sensitive and thus goes beyond the strictly literal meanings of
predicates. I t is also not always completely rule-governed and predictable. We
will return to figurative language in Unit 27.

4. What does it mean to say that anomaly (not specifially a logical term) can be treated as a
special case of logical contradiction (i.e. anomaly can be reduced to a case of logical
contradiction)? Try to give an example other than one found in this unit.

We are able to deduce, via logical reasoning, a logical contradiction from

anomaly. Examples are discussed later in question 9.

5. Based on your intuitive knowledge of the meanings of the following predicates, write a
meaning postulate for each (using the notation introduced in the text) which explicitly sets forth
some part of the sense of the predicate. The first is done for you (note that predicates are written
in CAPS). Note that in some cases two-place predicates are involved, and that the notation →
represents the entailment relation.

Answers will vary; suggested answers are given.

a. WALK: x WALK → x USE LEGS

b. SWIM: x SWI M → x I N WATER
c. CHILD: c CHI LD → ~ x ADULT

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d. DEAD: x DEAD → ~ x ALI VE

e. TRUE: x TRUE → ~ x FALSE
f. FOOD: x FOOD → x EDI BLE
g. UNCLE: x UNCLE → ~ x AUNT
h. GUEST: x GUEST → ~ x FAMI LY MEMBER
i. NEAR: x NEAR → ~ x FAR

6. What hyponymy relation (not directly stated) may be deduced from these partial dictionary
entries? Write it down in meaning postulate notation. For item (d) think of your own example.
Why does a linguist's dictionary omit explicit reference to all such deductively possible
information?

a. WATER: x WATER → x LIQUID

LIQUID: x LIQUID → ~x SOLID
x WATER → ~ x SOLI D

b. GLASS: x GLASS → x BRITTLE

BRITTLE: x BRITTLE → x BREAKABLE
x GLASS → x BREAKABLE

c. WOMAN: x WOMAN → x HUMAN

HUMAN: x HUMAN → x MORTAL
x WOMAN → x MORTAL

d. CAR: x CAR → x WHEELS

WHEEL: x WHEEL → x ROLL
x CAR → x ROLL

The linguist's dictionary omits explicit reference to all such information for the
sake of economy: whatever can be logically deduced from a small number of
meaning postulates is typically left out of the dictionary.

7. Examine each anomalous sentence below, in which one word has been italicized (the anomaly
is designated by the * notation). Using the meaning postulate notation, formulate a partial
dictionary entry for the italicized predicates based on the anomaly. Each partial entry you
formulate is a selectional restriction for that predicate that has been violated in the sentence. In
all cases assume that only the literal meanings of the predicates are involved (i.e. ignore
figurative and/or metaphorical interpretations). Sample answers are given; others are
possible.

a. *The idea slept soundly. x SLEEP → x ALI VE

b. *I just killed the desk. x KI LL y → y ALI VE

c. *This table is understandable. x UNDERSTANDABLE → x I DEA

d. *Your conclusion is orange. x ORANGE → x CONCRETE

e. *My child is a reptile. x CHI LD → x HUMAN

f. *The burning fire was wet. x FI RE → ~ x WET

g. *The window dripped to the floor. x DRI P → ~ x SOLI D

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h. *The car hopped to a stop. x HOP → x ALI VE

i. *My fish danced a tango. x DANCE → x HAS LEGS

j. *Fred touched the dream. x TOUCH y → y CONCRETE

k. *Joan bathed in the hydrogen. x BATHE-I N y → y LI QUI D

8. How are the notions of the hyponymy relation and selectional restrictions related?

Selectional restrictions stated in terms of meaning postulates often involve

hyponymy: in the meaning postulate x MAN → x HUMAN man is a hyponym
of human.

9. Show how the following anomalous sentences can be reduced to cases of basic logical
contradiction, following the procedure outlined in this unit. Indicate what meaning postulates
you have to invoke to make the deductions follow through.

a. The reptile speaks. (anomaly)

The necessary meaning postulates are:

SPEAK: x SPEAK → x HUMAN

REPTI LE: x REPTI LE → ~ x HUMAN

The reptile speaks evokes that the reptile is human, since according to the
first meaning postulate, if something speaks it is human. But this contradicts
the second meaning postulate, thus leading to a logical contradiction.

b. The glass walked. (anomaly)

The necessary meaning postulates are:

WALK: x WALK → x HAS LEGS

GLASS: x GLASS → ~ x HAS LEGS

The glass walked evokes that the glass has legs, since according to the
first meaning postulate, if something walks it has legs. But this
contradicts the second meaning postulate, thus leading to a logical
contradiction.

10. What kinds of phenomena cannot be handled easily by meaning postulates? Why?

The time at which a predicate applies to an individual; and gradable antonymy,

which depends upon the context. See the discussion at the end of the unit for
fuller discussion.

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Unit 18 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 18 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

sense properties of two-place predicates

symmetric vs. asymmetric predicates
reflexive vs. irreflexive predicates
transitive vs. intransitive predicates
equivalence relation

2. What does it mean to say that the sense properties introduced in this unit (listed above) make
no mention of other predicates?

These sense properties are internal to the predicates themselves.

3. What sense property of a sentence does the definition of reflexivity rest upon?

Reflexivity evokes the notion of analyticity: e.g. resemble is reflexive because

Mary resembles Mary (i.e. herself) is analytic.
4. Classify the following predicates for each of the following types of formal properties:
symmetric, asymmetric, reflexive, irreflexive, transitive, or intransitive. If none of the
properties holds, state that as well. Give an example of each predicate as the predicator in a
sentence to illustrate its adherence (or nonadherence) to the properties.

a. offspring of asymmetric, irreflexive, intransitive

b. a friend of symmetric, reflexive, intransitive
c. near symmetric, irreflexive, transitive
d. younger than asymmetric, irreflexive, transitive
e. looks like symmetric, reflexive, transitive
f. hate asymmetric, irreflexive, intransitive
g. jealous of asymmetric, irreflexive, intransitive
h. depends on asymmetric, reflexive, intransitive
i. be the same age as symmetric, reflexive, transitive
j. live with symmetric, reflexive, transitive
k. on asymmetric, irreflexive, intransitive

The values for 4k depend on how we typically understand the on relation.

Examples using each predicate in a sentence will vary.

5. Which of the predicates in question 4 above express the equivalence relation? For those which
do NOT express equivalence relations, explain why not (i.e. identify which requisite sense
property the predicate lacks).

The equivalence relation is expressed by looks like, be the same age as, and
live with, since they are all symmetric, reflexive, and transitive. Those
predicates not having all three of these properties do not express the
equivalence relation.

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6. Be sure you understand the relationships between the six terms summarized in the chart at the
end of this unit.

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Unit 19 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 19 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

derivation causative form

morphology resultative form
morphological process suppletion
zero derivation productivity
inchoative form

2. Invent single new English words that are synonymous with the following expressions by
making use of your knowledge of English derivational morphology (word formation processes).
In each case derive the new word directly from the word given in italics (since there are often
existing words with the indicated meanings which are not directly derived from the words
given). There may be more than one possible suitable derivation. Suggested answers are
given; many others are possible.

a. instrument for making things narrow narrower

b. the result of being terrified terrification
(cf. signify/signification)
c. the property of being easy to fool foolability
d. to make something green greenen
e. the result of making something green greenification
f. the process of making something green greenization
g. having to do with hamsters (adjective) hamsterish
h. the property of being electric electricness

3. What are the three steps involved in the derivation of new words? Show how these steps are
involved in the derivation of the new words you coined in the preceding exercise.

a. change in the phonological shape of the root.

b. change in grammatical category
c. change in meaning

Sample illustration of how the steps are involved in coining the word narrower :
a. The suffix -er is added to the root narrow
b. This suffix changes the adjective narrow into the noun narrower
c. This suffix adds a notion something like "entity that causes something to
become ADJ" to the meaning of narrow

4. Try to identify the component morphemes in the following English words and then describe
the steps (rules) involved in their derivation.

Division into morphemes is indicated by dashes. Note that some derivations involve
changes in the phonological shape of the words that might need to be mentioned.
Spelling changes can be noted but downplayed, since it is the pronunciations of the
derived words that are most important.

a. leather-y i. jitter-y
b. privat-ize j. im-plausibil-ity

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c. water-tight k. in-conceiv-able
d. tabul-at-ion l. flat-ten
e. red-den m. un-happi-er
f. intens-ity n. deemphasize (< de-emphasis-ize)
g. be-friend-ed o. en-dear-ment
h. wash-able p. girl-friend

5. We noted in this unit that some sorts of derivation can be invisible. Explain this with respect
to the sort of derivation process involved with the italicized words in the following sentences.

a. I have to book a flight tomorrow. Zero derivation of a verb from a noun

b. The batter got a hit. Zero derivation of a noun from a verb
c. The committee tabled the issue until tomorrow.
Zero derivation of a verb from a noun
d. The pages of the old book had yellowed with age.
Zero derivation of a verb from an adjective

6. Describe the kind of semantic differences found between the derived words (or expressions)
and their sources below. If the particular sort of semantic change which results from the given
derivation process has a name, then give that, as well. In most cases additional information is
given in order to make clear the intended syntactic category (part of speech) of both the source
and derived words in this exercise.

SOURCE WORD DERIVED WORD

a. cold colder (than)

Source word is a gradable one-place adjective;

Derived word is a comparative two-place adjective (converse)

b. red (Adj) redden (intransitive V)

Source word is a one-place adjective;

Derived word is a one-place inchoative verb

c. cool (Adj) cool (intransitive V)

Source word is a one-place gradable adjective;

Derived word is a one-place inchoative verb

d. melt (intransitive V) melt (transitive V)

Source word is a one-place inchoative verb;

Derived word is a two-place causative verb

e. freeze (transitive V) frozen

Source word is a two-place causative verb;

Derived word is a one-place resultative adjective (participle)

f. crush (transitive V) crushed

Source word is a two-place causative verb;

Derived word is a one-place resultative adjective (participle)

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g. fly (intransitive V) fly (transitive V)

Source word is a one-place inchoative verb;

Derived word is a two-place causative verb

7. Now make up separate sentences for both the source and derived words in question 6 in which
each word is used in its intended sense.

Answers will vary. One example is given here:

6d: The ice melted (inchoative); I melted the ice (causative).

8. Starting with each of the following forms denoting states, supply the English derived forms
which express the other indicated semantic notions, according to the pattern described earlier in
this unit. If there is a gap (i.e. no form in English corresponding to one of the notions), then
leave it blank, but be ready to say how the notion is otherwise expressed in English. The first is
done for you, repeated from an example given in this unit.

STATE PROCESS ACTION RESULTANT STATE

a. noble ------------- ennoble ennobled

b. sad sadden sadden saddened
c. tired tire tire tired
d. long lengthen lengthen lengthened
e. moist moisten moisten moistened
f. deep deepen deepen deepened

9. Explain the notion of productivity as it pertains to derivational morphology.

Derivational morphemes that combine with a large number of base forms to

produce new lexical items are more productive than those that combine with
only a small number of forms.

10. We noted that the following suffixes and prefixes are relatively unproductive in comparison
to other derivational morphemes in English. Demonstrate this by writing next to the given
English words that CAN be formed with each morpheme a few which CANNOT be formed with
the morpheme (where the morpheme is intended to be attached to the same part of speech and to
contribute the same kind of meaning as in the sample words).

CANNOT BE FORMED

a. -ess: sculptress/actress cookess, washess, singess

b. -y: honesty/modesty richy, sady, youngy
c. -ine: elephantine/crystalline dogine, catine, woodine
d. -ery: bakery/bindery mowery, sculptery, singery
e. dis-: dishonest/disloyal disgood, disbad, disflat
f. -en: redden/thicken greenen, thinnen, dryen
g. a-: atypical/asymmetric alikely, ausual, ahappy

11. Formulate partial dictionary entries for the following words, showing their relationships with
the words from which they were derived (use the format and terminology given in this unit). Do
not formulate these as meaning postulates here.

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a. shattered RESULTATI VE of SHATTER

b. break (transitive) CAUSATI VE of BREAK (intransitive)
c. longer COMPARATI VE of LONG
d. replay I TERATI VE of PLAY
e. soften (intransitive) I NCHOATI VE of SOFT
f. freeze (transitive) CAUSATI VE of FREEZE (intransitive)

12. Reformulate the dictionary entries you wrote in question 11 for the following verbs as
meaning postulates.

a. break (transitive) BREAK2 : x BREAK2 y → x CAUSE ( y BREAK1 )

b. freeze (transitive) FREEZE2 : x FREEZE2 y → x CAUSE ( y FREEZE1 )

13. Give the suppletive forms indicated in each case below. Find another example (not in the
textbook) for item (f).

a. The comparative form of good: better

b. The plural form of child: children
c. The first person singular of be: am
d. The superlative form of bad: worst
e. The past tense form of go: went
f. _____________________ ______

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Unit 20 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 20 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:
some participant (semantic) roles
agent
affected (patient)
instrument
location
beneficiary
experiencer
theme
role frame of a verb
grammatical positions in the sentence
subject position
object position
complement position

2. What are participant (semantic) roles? Is there any current fixed number of such roles
accepted by linguists?

Participant roles are the roles played by the entities identified by the referring
expressions in a sentence. They characterize the different ways in which these
entities participate in the situation described the sentential predicator. There is
no fixed number of roles accepted by all linguistis, although there are some,
such as Agent, Affected (patient), I nstrument, etc. that are commonly accepted
by most linguists.

3. Translate each of the following sentences into an augmented logical formula, indicating which
entities play the roles of agent, affected, and instrument.

a. The worker moved the beam with a crane.

AGENT AFFECTED I NSTRUMENT

w MOVE b c

b. The crane moved the beam.

I NSTRUMENT AFFECTED

c MOVE b

c. The beam moved.

AFFECTED

b MOVE

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d. The arsonist burned the house with fire.

AGENT AFFECTED I NSTRUMENT

a BURN h f

e. The fire burned the house.

I NSTRUMENT AFFECTED

f BURN h

f. The house burned.

AFFECTED

h BURN

4. In each of the following sentences identify the participant role and the grammatical position
(i.e. either subject, object, or complement) of each referring expression. Possible semantic roles
include agent, affected, instrument, location, beneficiary, experiencer, and theme.

a. Mary roasted the duck.

AGENT AFFECTED
subject object

b. Jane smelled the burning dinner.

EXPERI ENCER THEME
subject object

c. The duck was roasted by Mary.

AFFECTED AGENT
subject complement

d. The bomb destroyed the building.

I NSTRUMENT AFFECTED
subject object

e. Jane kicked the tire with her foot.

AGENT AFFECTED I NSTRUMENT
subject object complement

f. Fred saw a comedy show in that club.

EXPERI ENCER THEME LOCATI ON
subject object complement

g. I saw Mortimer in Detroit.

EXPERI ENCER THEME LOCATI ON
subject object complement

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h. Jane gave Mary the book.

AGENT BENEFI CI ARY AFFECTED
subject object complement

i. Mary was given the book by Jane.

BENEFI CI ARY AFFECTED AGENT
subject object complement

j. Jerry did the favor for me.

AGENT AFFECTED BENEFI CI ARY
subject object complement

k. Detroit is a big city.

LOCATI ON THEME
subject

l. Jane gave the book to Mary.

AGENT AFFECTED BENEFI CI ARY
subject object complement

Comment: the grammatical position of a big city in 4k is problematic, because

even though it immediately follows the main verb, this position is not
traditionally identified as an object position after the verb to be. I t is also not a
complement in the way we defined it in this unit, because complements were
defined as not occurring immediately after the main verb. We choose not to
associate this noun phrase with any grammatical position.

5. What problem arises when we try to assign semantic roles such as Agent and Affected
(Patient) to the participants in a sentence like Mortimer saw Millie (as opposed to sentences such
as Mortimer chased Millie or Fred broke the glass)? How was this problem dealt with?

Mortimer 's role in the situation is not that of a typical Agent, since he is not
deliberately carrying out the action of seeing Millie. And Millie is not a typical
Affected entity, because she is not obviously affected or changed by being
seen. We dealt with this problem by introducing the new roles Experiencer and
Theme to represent noun phrases like Mortimer and Millie, respectively, in this
example.

6. In a sentence such as Mortimer kicked the bully, is it possible that the bully might have more
than one semantic role? If so, which ones? Explain briefly, and justify your choices. Can you
give another example where a given participant could conceivably have more than one role
assigned to it?

Yes. The bully is clearly affected by Mortimer 's action, so he seems to be an

Affected entity, but it is conceivable that he is also a Beneficiary, because the
action is being carried out to his detriment. Another example like this: John
punched the boxer .

7. Formulate a role frame for each of the following verbs which would be part of the dictionary
entry for the verb. To do this think of several sentences involving the verb in which you try to
leave out various arguments (in much the same way as done in this unit). Which role seems to
always be present if it is permitted at all?

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a. set SET: (AGENT) AFFECTED LOCATI ON (I NSTRUMENT)

b. snow SNOW: (LOCATI ON)
c. donate DONATE: (AGENT) AFFECTED (BENEFI CI ARY)
d. melt MELT: (AGENT) AFFECTED (I NSTRUMENT) (LOCATI ON)

The Affected role is required, if permitted at all.

8. How does the role frame approach to dictionary entries compare and contrast with the logical,
meaning postulate approach? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?

We mentioned in the unit that the two approaches are not incompatible, but
have different emphases.

Role frame approach:

a. states semantic relationships between referring expressions
b. pays more attention to such roles as Location, Beneficiary
c. focus is on the verb, neglects the fact that other grammatical categories
can function as predicators in a sentence
d. more economical

Meaning postulate approach:

a. emphasizes logical entailment relations between sentences
b. neglects such roles as Location, Benficiary
c. recognizes that not only verbs, but other grammatical categories can
function as predicators

9. We claimed that a problem with the role frame approach is that it is difficult to propose a
suitable semantic role for the italicized referring expressions in subject position in sentences like
the following:

a. This book is for Louise.

b. The car is red.
c. The movie is interesting.

What exactly is the difficulty, given how we have defined the roles presented in this unit? We
suggested that we might be able to extend the Theme role somehow to deal with this problem,
but we didn’t provide any details as to how this might be done. Another possibility, not
mentioned previously, would be to propose a different role in addition to those described in this
unit which could account for these examples. See if you can sketch out a way of elaborating the
theory of participant roles to deal with these issues.

Answers will vary. See the discussion in this unit for details.

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Unit 21 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 21 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

speech acts performative utterance

act of referring constative utterance
act of assertion performative verb
descriptive fallacy

2. Explain what it means to say that actions and words are not entirely distinct. Give an example.

To some extent, speech itself is action, and we can use language to do things.
For example, when someone asks you to wash the car, she is using words to
perform an action of requesting you to wash the car.

3. What does it mean to say that actions can be performed with words (i.e. with an utterance)?
What are such acts called?

When a speaker uses an utterance in the appropriate context, that utterance

can be used to perform some kind of verbal action we call a speech act.

4. For each of the following utterances state one or two purposes that the speaker may have had
in mind when uttering them. Explain how such utterances exemplify the descriptive fallacy.

a. "The car is dirty."

An assertion that the car is dirty; or a request to wash the car.

b. "Is it right to allow skateboarding on our sidewalks?"

An assertion that skateboarding should not be allowed; or warning
about allowing skateboarding; or a complaint about skateboarding.
c. "Look at the mess you just made!"
An accusation that you made the mess; or an order to clean up the
mess; or a complaint that you made the mess.

d. "Some of the pages have been torn out."

An apology that the pages were torn out; or a complaint that they
were torn out; or an accusation that they were torn out.

These utterances exemplify the descriptive fallacy in that they do more than
just describe some state of affairs: they actually perform speech acts of various
kinds.

5. Try to identify the kind(s) of acts mentioned in your answer to question 4 above (such as
warning, requesting, ordering, complaining, apologizing, etc.).

Some speech acts were already mentioned. Others are possible and may vary.

6. Identify whether the following utterances are perfomative or constative. If an utterance is

perfomative, describe the act being performed, as well as the act being described.

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a. "I order you to pay the bill."

Performative: the act of ordering the hearer to pay the bill
b. "I pronounce you man and wife."
Performative: the act of performing a marriage.
c. "I promise to drop by tomorrow."
Performative: the act of promising to drop by tomorrow.
d. "The minister pronounced them man and wife."
Constative; performatives cannot be made in the past tense.
e. "I promised to drop by tomorrow."
Constative; performatives cannot be made in the past tense
f. "I sweep the floor every Tuesday."
Constative; saying that I sweep the floor does not constitute actually
performing the act of sweeping the floor.
g. "I believe you were wrong."
Constative; stating a belief does not constitute actually performing
that belief.

7. Identify which of the following is a perfomative verb and use it in a sentence as a

performative. Use the hereby test to help you make your decision. Think of three additional
performative verbs not listed here, and use them also performatively in a sentence.

Performative verbs are in boldface.

a. declare e. write
b. warn f. approve ('to OK something’)
c. think g. remind
d. promise h. consider

7a. I hereby declare this meeting adjourned.

7b. I hereby warn you not to cross that line.
7d. We hereby promise to return tomorrow.
7f. I hereby approve this motion to adjourn.
7g. We hereby remind you that you have to clean your room.

Others performatives include: vow, announce, dismiss, etc.

8. Performative verbs follow certain conventions. What are they? Are there exceptions? Give an
example or two of each.

They are in the present tense and typically have first person subjects. There are
exceptions, including certain passives in which the speaker is understood, but
not overtly expressed: "Passengers are (hereby) asked to put their seats in the
upright position for landing."

9. Identify which of the following utterances are performative. Also identify the utterances which
are exceptions to the conventions you mentioned in the answer to the previous question. Explain
why they are exceptions. Performative utterances are in boldface.

a. "Students are asked to keep noise to a minimum."

b. "You are hereby allowed to enter the vault."
c. "You must enter quietly."
d. "We apologize for our mistake."
e. "I admit that I made a mistake."

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f. "The text was written by two authors."

g. "Wearing hats inside is forbidden."

Exceptions to the typical conventions for performatives are items 9a,b,g,

because they do not have first person subjects.

10. Why do we talk about utterances being perfomative (rather than sentences or propositions)?

Utterances are performative because they are context bound and evoke
speaker meaning at the moment of speaking. Sentences and the propositions
expressed by sentences are independent of the context.

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Unit 22 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 22 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

declarative sentence perlocutionary act (perlocution)

interrogative sentence illocutionary act (illocution)
imperative sentence phonic act
propositional act

2. What basic kinds of acts are typically performed by the utterance of declarative, interrogative,
and imperative sentences, respectively?

Declarative: act of assertion; interrogative: act of asking; imperative: act of

ordering

3. For each of the following situations, identify both the sentence type of the utterance and the
act carried out by the utterance (from among asserting, asking, or ordering). One or two
potential acts is/ are given per utterance; others are possible.

a. Father to his son: "The car is dirty."

Declarative; act of asking the son to wash the car

b. Irate citizen to the city council: "Is it right to allow skateboarding on our
sidewalks?"
I nterrogative; act of asserting that skateboarding on the streets bad

c. Mother to small child: "Look at the mess you just made!"

I mperative; act of asserting that the act was wrong (or ordering that
the mess be cleaned up)

d. Student to a friend on a windy day: "Some of my papers have blown away."

Declarative; act of asking the hearer to pick up the papers

e. Photographer to a client: "Stand right there and say cheese!"

I mperative; act of ordering the hearer to stand there

f. Student to a teacher: "What is the correct answer to question 2?"

I nterrogative; act of asking the teacher for an answer

g. Student to a teacher: "I had trouble with question 2."

Declarative; act of asking the teacher for help

h. Teacher to a student: "Question 2 has not yet been answered."

Declarative; act of ordering the student to answer

4. What basic principle is exemplified by data like that in question 3 above?

I t is not possible to always match sentence types with the speech acts they
perform.

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5. Make sure you understand the difference between perlocutionary and illocutionary acts.

Perlocutionary act: the act carried out by a speaker's utterance of causing a

certain effect on the hearer and others. I t is generally not always intended by
the speaker, nor is it under the speaker's control.

I llocutionary act: the act carried out by a speaker's utterance viewed in terms
of the utterance's significance within a conventional system of social
interaction. I t is generally intended by the speaker and under the speaker's
control.

6. Identify some of the possible perlocutionary effects of each utterance given in question 3
above. Must such effects necessarily follow with the utterance of the sentences involved, or are
they accidental? Then do the same for the following additional utterances.

Answers will vary; one possible perlocutionary effect is given per item.
Perlocutionary effects do not necessarily follow when the utterance is made.

3a: The son washes the car.

3b: The city council bans skateboarding on sidewalks.
3c: The small child cleans up the mess.
3d: The friend helps the student gather up the papers.
3e. The client says "Cheese!"
3f: The teacher answers the student.
3g: The teacher answers the student.
3h: The student refuses to answer the question.

a. Policeman to a loiterer: "I'm afraid you'll have to move on."

The loiterer refuses to move on.
b. Parent to a child: "It's time for bed now."
The child throws a tantrum.
c. Teacher to a student: "You're going to flunk math."
The student gets upset.
d. Doctor to a patient: "You have only 3 minutes to live."
The patient faints.
e. Auto mechanic to car owner: "I'll have to replace the engine."
The car owner gasps.
f. Auto mechanic to car owner: "There's nothing wrong with your car, so there'll
be no charge."
The car owner is astounded and thanks the mechanic for his help.
g. Sales clerk to customer: "This coat costs $900."
The customer refuses to buy the coat.
h. Official to contest winner: "You just won $5,000,000!"
The winner faints.

7. Identify the illocutionary act performed by uttering each of the following (you may want to
consult the list given in this unit): One suggested answer is given; others are possible

a. "Could you pass the salt?" (Would "Yes" be an appropriate answer?) asking
b. "I'm afraid the cake didn't turn out too well." apologizing
c. "What a despicable movie!" deploring
d. "I've had enough to drink for now." declining
e. "But there are too many books to read in this class!" protesting
f. "You have written a beautiful critique of the problem." praising

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g. "I don't see any way out of this trap, Darth Vader." surrendering
h. "Hi, how are things going?" greeting

8. Now go back to question 6 and state the illocution of each utterance there, then go back to
question 7 and suggest a few possible perlocutions for each utterance there. One or two
possible answers are given per utterance.

I llocutions for question 6:

6a: ordering
6b: ordering, suggesting
6c: asserting
6d: asserting
6e: asserting
6f: asserting
6g: asserting
6h: asserting

Perlocutions for question 7:

7a: The hearer passes the salt.
7b: The hearer assures the speaker the cake is all right.
7c: The hearer agrees with the speaker.
7d: The hearer does not offer the speaker any more to drink.
7e: The hearer (probably the teacher) explains why so many books were
assigned.
7f: The hearer is pleased with the praise.
7g: Darth Vader takes the speaker prisoner.
7h: The hearer says that things are going well.

9. Which of the following pairs of illocutions seem to be appropriate sequences? For those which
are appropriate, make up a pair of utterances which exemplify them.

Appropriate illocutionary sequences are given in boldface, followed by a pair of

examples.

a. offering - declining
A: "Would you like a drink?"
B: "No, thanks."

b. praising - thanking
A: "You have written a beautiful paper."
B: "Thanks very much."

c. congratulation - toasting
A: "Congratulations on getting the promotion."
B: "Let's drink a toast to celebrate."

d. congratulation - declining
e. accosting - condoling
f. accusing - admitting
A: "Did you break the vase?"
B: "Yes, I 'm afraid I did."

g. leavetaking - mocking
h. deploring - agreeing

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A: "I can't believe that they haven't mowed their lawn in years!"
B: "I agree that they ought to get it mowed right away."

10. Classify the following acts as either illocutionary (I) or perlocutionary (P).

a. persuading someone (P) f. irritating someone (P)

b. bothering someone (P) g. pleasing someone (P)
c. apologizing to someone (I ) h. protesting to someone (I )
d. upsetting someone (P) i. helping someone (P)
e. accosting someone (I ) j. impressing someone (P)

11. Why do linguistic semanticists concentrate on illocutionary acts rather than perlocutionary
acts?

We concentrate on illocutionary acts because they are under speaker control

and are generally always very clear-cut. Perlocutionary acts are not fully under
speaker control and are not aways predictable.

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Unit 23 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 23 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

felicity conditions
sincerity conditions

2. List the felicity conditions for the following speech acts:

Suggested felicity conditions are given. Others might be possible.

a. promising
The speaker must intend to carry out the thing promised.
The thing promised must be something that the hearer wants to
happen.
The speaker is able to perform the action.
The action has not yet been done.
I t is not obvious that the speaker will do the intended action under
normal circumstances.

b. admitting
The speaker did something.
The speaker takes responsibilty for what he did.
The hearer is not aware that the speaker did the thing.

c. declining
The hearer offers something to the speaker.
The speaker does not accept the thing that is offered.

d. offering
The speaker has something to give to the hearer, or is able to do
something for the hearer.
The speaker lets the hearer know that the hearer can have this entity
or benefit from this action.
The hearer does not have this entity, or has not yet received the
benefit of the action from the speaker.

3. Name the illocutionary acts involved in each of the following situations and label them as
being either felicitous or infelicitous (assuming normal everyday criteria). Make sure you
indicate why the act in question is either felicitous or infelicitous (i.e. say how it either agrees
with or contradicts the felicity conditions for the act). Also state the sentence type involved.

a. Waiter to customer: "I don't like this food!"

I llocutionary act: complaint. Sentence type: declarative.
I nfelicitous, because it is more likely that the customer, not the waiter,
would complain about the food.

b. Contest official to winner: "I'm sorry I gave you the prize money."
I llocutionary act: apology. Sentence type: declarative.

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I nfelicitous, because it is inappropriate for the official giving the

money to apologize for giving it.

c. Customer to waiter: "I've had enough, thanks."

I llocutionary act: declining. Sentence type: Declarative.
Felicitous, because customers are expected to decline additional food
when they are finished.

d. Victor to the loser: "I give up!"

I llocutionary act: surrendering. Sentence type: declarative.
I nfelicitous, because the loser, not the victor, is supposed to
surrender.

e. Prospective picnicker to his friends: "I promise to bring only stale food to the picnic."
I llocutionary act: promising. Sentence type: declarative.
I nfelicitous, because it is inappropriate to promise to do something the
hearer doesn't want done.

f. One zoo worker to another: "Can I carry that elephant for you?"
I llocutionary act: offering. Sentence type: I nterrogative.
I nfelicitous, because people typically don't offer to do something they
are unable to do.

g. A non-chessplayer to another: "I bet I can beat you at chess."

I llocutionary act: betting/ challenging. Sentence type: declarative.
I nfelicitous, because non-experts don't typically claim to be able to
prevail in an activity over an expert in that activity.

h. Father to child: "You can stay up another hour."

I llocutionary act: permitting. Sentence type: declarative.
Felicitous, because the father has the authority to allow the child to
stay up later.

4. What are some similarities and differences between truth conditions and felicity conditions?
What does it mean to say that felicity conditions are of wider application than truth conditions?

Both truth conditions and felicity conditions have to be satisfied in order for the
utterance to be appropriate in some way. For truth conditions this
appropriateness takes the form of the utterance being true in a particular
context. For felicity conditions the appropriateness takes the form of the
utterance being acceptable, or felicitous, in the given context. Truth conditions
are typically only applied to declarative statements, whereas felicity conditions
can be applied to a wider range of sentence types, including interrogatives and
imperatives.

5. Why are sincerity conditions classified as a subtype of felicity conditions (and not the other
way around)? What is the difference between the two types of conditions?

Because sincerity conditions can be violated and the illocutionary act can still go
through, even though it will not be performed "sincerely". But if a felicity
condition is violated, the act will not go through: it will misfire.

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6. Identify whether each of the following conditions given for a particular speech act is a felicity
condition or a sincerity condition, and be able to explain why. If it is difficult to choose, try to
explain why.

Our suggestions are given below, even though the choices might be argued to go
the other way.

a. apologizing: the thing apologized for must have been unavoidable

Sincerity condition; we can apologize for something even if it was
avoidable and the apology would seem to still go through.
b. apologizing: the speaker must be responsible for the thing apologized for
Felicity condition; if the speaker is not responsible for the thing
apologized for, it is hard to see how the apology is possible.
c. accusing: the speaker must think that the person accused actually did the deed
Sincerity condition; the speaker can make a false accusation.
d. accusing: the speaker is aware that something bad, illegal, etc. has occurred
Felicity condition; typically speakers don't accuse people of doing
things that the speaker is not aware of.
e. offering: the hearer must not already have the thing that is offered
Felicity condition; if the hearer already has what is being offered, it is
odd to offer it to him again.
f. offering: the speaker wants to give the thing offered to the hearer
Sincerity condition; the speaker can offer the hearer something
insincerely and the offer will still go through.
g. congratulating: the hearer has either accomplished something good, or
something good has happened to her
Felicity condition; it is odd to congratulate someone for something
that either the hearer didn't do or that didn't happen to her.
h. congratulating: the speaker thinks the event accomplished by the hearer is very
good or noteworthy
Sincerity condition; it is possible to congratulate someone insincerely
even if the speaker thinks the event accomplished is not good.
i. thanking: the hearer(s) must have done something on behalf of the speaker
Felicity condition; it is odd to thank a person for doing something if
that person has not done anything on behalf of the speaker.
j. thanking: the speaker approves of what the hearer(s) did for her
Sincerity condition; it is possible for the speaker to offer thanks even
if he is not happy about what was done to or for him.

7. Give a few sincerity conditions for the speech acts you provided felicity conditions for in
question 2 above. One sincerity condition is given per speech act; others are possible.

promising: the speaker thinks the act is worth carrying out

admitting: the speaker is sorry he carried out the act
declining: the speaker does not want the thing offered
offering: the speaker wants to give the thing offered

8. What sincerity condition(s) are likely present in the following utterances? Identify the type of
illocutionary act, as well.

a. "I'm sorry to barge in like this."

I llocutionary act: apology.
Sincerity condition(s): the speaker thinks the action is wrong; the
speaker thinks the action is unavoidable.

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b. "Pass the grapes, please."

I llocutionary act: asking
Sincerity condition(s): the speaker wants the hearer to do the act.

c. "There are too many ants at this picnic!"

I llocutionary act: complaint.
Sincerity condition(s): the speaker doesn't like ants or has negative
feelings about ants.

9. Does the lack of sincerity necessarily prevent the speech acts in question 8 from being carried
out? Suppose, for example, that (b) were uttered to someone even if the speaker doesn't want the
grapes, or that (c) were uttered by someone who loves ants.

No. I f an illocutionary act is performed insincerely it will still typically go

through. I n 8b, for example, even if the speaker doesn't want the hearer to
perform the act, the act of asking still goes through, but it is performed
insincerely.

10. At the end of this unit we discussed how sentence meaning and utterance meaning are linked,
despite their differences. What is this link?

The link between sentence meaning and utterance meaning lies in the fact that
languages have the capacity to describe essentially anything, including acts
which make use of language itself (speech acts). We have seen that most
illocutionary acts have linguistic predicates to describe them.

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Unit 24 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 24 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

direct illocution
indirect illocution
2 types of illocutionary act:
directive act
commissive act

2. Give an example of an utterance (not in the book) that carries out several illocutionary acts
simultaneously, and identify them. How can one utterance have more than one illocution at the
same time?

"There's a Doberman in the kitchen." This can be an assertion about the

location of the Doberman, a warning that there's a ferocious dog in the kitchen,
a complaint that there is such a dog in the kitchen, etc. One utterance can have
more than one illocution associated with it because it can be used in different
contexts, each of which carries with it different background assumptions.

3. Briefly describe the difference between direct and indirect illocutions.

The direct illocution of an utterance is the one that is directly associated with
the literal meaning of the sentence type of the utterance. I ndirect illocutions of
an utterance are those acts that are invoked according to the context in which
the utterance is made by means of the act's felicity conditions.

4. Give the direct and indirect illocutions of the following utterances. Speaker is abbreviated
as "S" and Hearer is abbreviated as "H".

a. "Can you hand me the butter?"

Direct illocution: S asks H if H has the ability to give S the butter.
I ndirect illocution: S requests the H to hand over the butter.

b. "The car is dirty."

Direct illocution: S asserts that the car is dirty.
I ndirect illocution: S asks H to wash the car, or warns H or complains
to H about the car.

c. "When do you plan to dust your room?"

Direct illocution: S asks H at what time she plans to clean her room.
I ndirect illocution: S asks (requests) H to clear her room.

d. "Maybe we could go to the movies."

Direct illocution: S asserts it is possible for S and H to attend the
movies.
I ndirect illocution: S suggests that S and H go to the movies, or S
asks H to go to the movies.

e. "This place is really dusty."

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Direct illocution: S asserts that the place is dusty.

I ndirect illocution: S asks H to dust the place.

f. "I'd like the salt."

Direct illocution: S asserts she wants the salt.
I ndirect illocution: S asks H to give her the salt.

g. "The sugar is over there."

Direct illocution: S asserts that the sugar is over there.
I ndirect illocution: S asks the H to give him the sugar.

h. "Let me be the first to say that I'm glad you're back."

Direct illocution: S orders H to let S say that he is glad H is back.
I ndirect illocution: S welcomes H back

i. "Don't you think we ought to leave?"

Direct illocution: S asks H whether H thinks they should leave.
I ndirect illocution: S asks the H to leave.

j. "Why can't you take out the garbage?"

Direct illocution: S asks H why she is not able to take out the garbage.

I ndirect illocution: S requests the H to take out the garbage.

k. "I could clobber you for that."

Direct illocution: S asserts that he would be able to clobber H.
I ndirect illocution: S threatens to clobber H.

l. "You took the last cookie!"

Direct illocution: S asserts that H took the last cookie.
I ndirect illocution: S blames/ accuses H for taking the cookie.

m. "I wish you would wash the car."

Direct illocution: S asserts that he wishes H would wash the car.
I ndirect illocution: S orders H to wash the car.

n. "Is it right to condone murder?"

Direct illocution: S asks whether it is right to condone murder.
I ndirect illocution: S asserts that it isn't right to condone murder.

o. "Why don't you take out the garbage?"

Direct illocution: S asks why H does not take out the garbage.
I ndirect illocution: S requests the H to take out the garbage.

5. Suggest unhelpful, pedantic (but literally correct) replies to each of the utterances in question
4 above, alongside more natural helpful ones. The possibility of both types of reply gives
evidence that both direct and indirect illocutions are involved.

Only suggested pedantic replies are given. I n some cases, the possibility of such
replies is very remote, and so the suggested replies may sound odd.

4a: "Yes, I can (pass the butter)."

4b: "Yes, it is (dirty)."
4c: "I plan to dust my room next week."

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4d: "Yes, maybe we could (go to the movies)."

4e: "Yes, this place certainly is dusty."
4f: "Yes, I see that you do (want the salt)."
4g: "Yes, I see that the sugar is over there."
4h: "Yes, I am back'"
4i: "No, I don't think we ought to leave."
4j: "I 'm not strong enough (to take out the garbage)."
4k: "I think you probably could (clobber me)."
4l: "Yes, I did (take the last cookie)."
4m: "I do, too (wish that I would wash the car)."
4n: "I don't know, is it?"
4o: "I don't know (why I don't take out the garbage)."

6. How are we able to relate the indirect illocutions of utterances to their direct illocutions--i.e.
how are we able to figure out an utterance's indirect illocution(s) from its direct illocution? What
previously-studied notion plays a crucial role in this relationship? Be sure you fully understand
this (the main point of the unit).

By means of the felicity conditions on the illocutionary act involved. See Unit 24
for details.

7. Give one or two additional utterances that have the same indirect illocutions as each of the
utterances in question 4 above.

Answers will vary. Here are several samples:

4a: "Could you hand me the butter?"
"Would you hand me the butter?"
"The butter is near you."
4b: "Could you wash the car?"
"Would you wash the car?"
4c: "Could you dust your room?"
"Would you dust your room?"
"Your room is very dirty."

8. Briefly describe the difference between directive and commissive acts. What (if anything) do
they have in common? Give several examples of each type (from the book if you like), and
explain briefly why they belong to each type.

Directive acts involve the speaker getting the hearer to do something.

Commissive acts involve the speaker committing herself to doing some act.
What they have in common is that both kinds of acts involve someone getting
someone to do something.

9. Why are such speech acts as apologizing, thanking, congratulating, insulting, etc. not
examples of either directive or commissive acts? Can you think of additional types of speech acts
which also do not fall into either of these two categories?

Such acts do not involve getting someone to do something. Other examples not
in either group: mocking, accusing, admitting, complaining, protesting,
toasting, etc.

10. Classify the following acts as either directive, commissive, or neither, and be ready to
explain your choice. Directives are marked "D", commissives "C", and neither "N".

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a. pledging (C) g. giving permission (D)

b. accosting (N) h. surrendering (C)
c. accusing (N) i. declining (C)
d. imploring (D) j. praising (N)
e. complaining (N) k. protesting (N)
f. inviting (D) l. recommending (D)

11. Classify the following utterances as belonging to one of the following categories: direct or
indirect directives, direct or indirect commissives. For the indirect acts explain which felicity
conditions are invoked.

The felicity conditions invoked are not given here.

a. "Put on this sweater." direct directive

b. "It would be a good idea for you to stay here." indirect directive
c. "I'll volunteer to feed the tiger." direct commissive
d. "Could I get you a drink?" indirect commissive
e. "Send back that package." direct directive
f. "I don't think I'll be able to go with you." indirect commissive
g. "Why don't you put on this sweater." indirect directive
h. "Could you give me the answer?" indirect directive
i. "I accept your challenge." direct commissive

12. Comment on the importance of directive and commissive acts in our everyday lives. Would
it be possible for us to get along without them?

A good deal of our everyday lives involves either trying to get others to do
things or committing ourselves to doing things for others. Without such speech
acts it is difficult to imagine how communication could be carried out.

13. Imagine you are the first person mentioned in each situation below, and compose (a) an
assertion of the hearer's ability to carry out the desired action and (b) an enquiry about the
hearer's ability to carry out the action. In each case you will have constructed an utterance with
the illocutionary force of an indirect directive.

a. Professor asking the departmental secretary to take his calls.

You can take my calls./ Can you take my calls?

b. Parent who wants her child to wash the car.

You can wash the car./ Can you wash the car?

c. Person who wants help in lifting a heavy object.

You can help me lift this heavy object./ Can you help me lift this heavy
object?

14. We noted that only some commissive illocutions can be conveyed indirectly by asserting or
questioning the speaker's ability to perform the action. Thus it is possible to make an indirect
offer by saying "Can I get/offer you a cup of coffee?", but this utterance cannot be interpreted as
an indirect promise, and you also can't say "*Can I promise you a cup of coffee?" (at least not
with the force of an indirect promise). We suggested this is because a promise, in being more
solemn and binding than an offer, requires a more direct means of expression (while

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volunteering is somewhere in between). Consider now the commissive illocutionary acts you
identified in question 10 above, as well as vow, undertake, and guarantee, and decide whether
each follows the pattern of promise, offer, or volunteer with respect to being able to be conveyed
indirectly. Does our explanation above for promise account for these commissive acts, too?

The commissive acts from question 10 are: pledging, surrendering, declining.

Attempts to convey commissive acts indirectly:
a. ??Can I pledge to give the money?
b. Can I surrender to Darth Vader now?
c. Can I decline your offer?
d. ??Can I vow to help you?
e. ?Can I undertake this new responsibility?
f. ?Can I guarantee that I 'll do that?

Behaves like promise (can't be conveyed indirectly): pledge, vow

Behaves like offer (can be conveyed indirectly): surrender, decline
Behaves like volunteer (somewhere in between): undertake, guarantee
The explanation for promise seems to account to some extent for the behavior
of these commissive acts, though opinions may vary about how we have
apportioned them into the three types. This question should prompt a good
deal of class discussion.

15. The meaning of an individual predicate plays a role in whether it can be used to acceptably
convey an indirect illocution. Assume the judgments indicated for each of the following pairs of
utterances involving commissives, where the question mark is meant to indicate that the
utterance is probably less likely in most situations. Can you think of a reason why this could be
so, given the meanings of the verbs and the context in which the utterances might occur?

a. "I accept your offer."

b. ?"Can I accept your offer?"

Offers are typically either accepted or rejected directly. 15b is less direct in a
context where we might expect the person to be eager to accept the offer,
assuming the offer is something the person wants, and so it sounds less
acceptable than 15a.

c. ?"I decline your offer."

d. "Can I decline your offer?"

This is the inverse of 15a,b. Here 15b might be more acceptable if the person
declining the offer wants to avoid hurting the feelings of the person making the
offer, or if the person declining is not sure he wants to decline the offer.

16. In order for a speaker to felicitously utter a request the following felicity conditions must
hold:

a. the speaker believes that the task has not yet been done.
b. the speaker believes that the hearer is able to do the task.
c. the speaker believes the hearer is willing to do the task.
d. the speaker wants the task to be done.

Formulate four indirect requests, each of which invokes a different felicity condition (i.e. each of
which asserts or questions each of the given felicity conditions for a request).

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16a: The car hasn't been washed; Has the car been washed?
16b: You can wash the car, can't you? Can you wash the car?
16c: You want to wash the car, don't you? Do you want to wash the car?
16d: I want you to wash the car. ?Do I want you to wash the car?

Comment: Note that questioning felicity condition d. sounds odd.

17. The following are indirect questions. Use them to formulate the three felicity conditions for
questions (keeping in mind that indirect speech acts invoke or mention the felicity conditions for
the act).

a. "I don't know the answer to that."

b. "I'd like to know the answer to that."
c. "Do you know the answer to that?"

Felicity conditions for a question:

a. The speaker doesn't know the truth about the state of affairs.
b. The speaker wants to know the truth about the state of affairs.
c. The speaker thinks the hearer knows the truth about the state of affairs.

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Unit 25 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 25 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

sentence meaning
utterance meaning
propositional content of a directive illocution
propositional content of a commissive illocution
primary illocution indicators

2. Express the propositional content of each of the following directives with a declarative
sentence (that asserts this content). Do the declarative sentences you give also have the same
directive illocution as the original? Comment on the relative politeness of each type of utterance.

a. "Put on this sweater." You will put on this sweater.

b. "Stay over there." You will stay over there.
c. "I'd like you to do something for me." You will do something for me.
d. "You have to stay here." You will have to stay here.

These declaratives also have the same directive illocution as the originals. They
do not sound appreciably more or less polite than the originals.

3. Give interrogative sentences corresponding to each sentence in question 2 above (i.e.

sentences that question the propositional content of the illocution). Does the utterance of each of
these sentences carry out the same directive illocutionary act as uttering the corrsponding
declarative sentence? Comment on politeness.

2a: Will you put on this sweater?

2b: Will you stay over there?
2c: Will you do something for me?
2d: ?Will you have to stay here?

Except for item 2d, these interrogatives also carry out the same illocutionary
act as the corresponding declaratives. They sound somewhat more polite.

4. In each of the following cases give an assertion of the propositional content of the commissive
illocution concerned with a sentence of the form I will.... Then turn each assertion into a question
(that questions the propositional content of the illocution). Comment on whether the assertions
and questions you formulated are equally suitable as commissive speech acts of the intended
type.

a. Student promising to finish his homework.

I will finish my homrwork. Will I finish my homework?

b. Host offering to get her guests something to drink.

I will get you something to drink. Will I get you something to drink?

c. General accepting the surrender of his army.

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I will accept the surrender of my army. Will I accept the surrender of

my army?

d. Engineer undertaking a new project.

I will undertake a new project. Will I undertake a new project?

The assertions of the propositional content of the commissives are equally

suitable as commissive speech acts, but the questions are not.

5. What is perhaps the main reason for speakers preferring to communicate their messages by
means of indirect rather than direct illocutions?

I ndirect illocutions are more polite than direct illocutions.

6. Consider an utterance like "Can you take out the garbage?" and answer the following
questions:

a. Identify the direct illocution of the utterance.

Questions the hearer's ability to take out the garbage.

b. Identify the indirect illocution of the utterance.

A request for the hearer to take out the garbage.

c. Identify the referring expressions and predicator (if any).

Referring expressions: you, the garbage

Predicator: take out

d. Does the utterance carry out any acts of reference or predication? Yes

7. For each of the following utterances identify the most likely illocutionary act involved and
indicate whether the speaker or hearer is explicitly mentioned (and identify them if they are).
Answers may vary. Speaker = "S" and Hearer = "H".

a. "Here's the book." Offering S, H are not mentioned

b. "Here's the book you ordered." Offering S is not mentioned
c. "I appreciate the help." Thanking H is not mentioned
d. "Scram!" Ordering S, H are not mentioned
e. "We'd like another helping." Requesting H is not mentioned

8. For each of the following utterances identify the most likely illocutionary act involved and
indicate whether they contain any referring expressions or predicates. Can you think of any more
similar utterances not already listed here or in the text?

a. "So long." leavetaking

b. "Over here!" calling or getting attention
c. "What's up?" greeting or questioning
d. "No." declining or refusing
e. "Ouch!" complaining
f. "Great!" approving or congratulating

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These utterances do not contain any referring expressions or predicates. Similar

utterances will vary.

9. Is it necessary for the speaker and hearer to be referred to explicitly in order for an
illocutionary act to be carried out? Explain briefly and give one or two examples not already
given here.

No. Additional examples like those in question 8 will vary.

10. What do expressions such as bravo, hello, goodbye, hey! (and the additional ones given in
question 8 above) have in common? How are they classified in this unit? Are they similar to any
non-linguistic behavior? Explain briefly.

They are expressions that seem to have purely non-propositional meaning that
are parallel to non-verbal gestures. We have called them primary illocution
indicators.

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Unit 26 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 26 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

inference
entailment (logical)
implicature (conversational)
cancellation of implicatures
co-operative principle (be as helpful as possible)
maxim of relevance
maxim of informativeness
maxim of clarity (includes brevity, avoidance of ambiguity/obscurity)

2. What do the notions entailment and implicature have in common? How do they differ? What
does it mean to say that implicatures are non-truth-conditional inferences?

Both are types of inference (conclusions) that can be drawn from what is said
in a conversational exchange. They differ in that entailment is a matter of truth-
conditional sentence meaning, whereas implicature is a matter of utterance
meaning. Because implicatures evoke this kind of meaning, they don't make
reference to truth conditions.

3. An implicature can result through the flouting of one of the maxims by the speaker (B), in
which the hearer (A) can infer something not explicitly said if the speaker (B) disregards one of
the maxims (whether intentionally or not), though the hearer (A) assumes that the speaker is not
doing so. Give an implicature of B's utterance in each of the following situations, and then
identify the maxim(s) (i.e. relevance, informativeness, or clarity) that has/have been flouted (and
thus which led the hearer to this implicature). Note that none of the implicatures from B's
utterances are actually entailed by the sentences uttered by B. Answers may vary.

a. A: Professor, will you write a letter of recommendation for me?

B: Certainly. I will say that you were always neatly dressed, punctual, and are
unfailingly polite.

I mplicature of B's utterance: A is not a very promising job candidate.

Maxim(s) flouted: relevance

b. A: How are you today?

B: Oh, Lansing is the capital of Michigan.

I mplicature of B's utterance: B is having a bad day.

Maxim(s) flouted: relevance

c. A: I'm not feeling very well today.

B: There's a hospital across the street.

I mplicature of B's utterance: B can get help across the street.

Maxim(s) flouted: relevance, informativeness

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d. A: What did you think of that new movie?

B: Well, the costumes were authentic.

I mplicature of B's utterance: B didn't like the movie.

Maxim(s) flouted: relevance

e. A: How did you get that car into the dining room?
B: It was easy. I made a left turn when I came out of the kitchen.

I mplicature of B's utterance: B is making a joke or being sarcastic.

Maxim(s) flouted: relevance

f. A: What color did you paint your living room?

B: I painted the walls off-white to match the black sofa. The trimming will be
gray except by the door, which will be salmon to match the Picasso print I
bought two years ago.

I mplicature of B's utterance: B is obsessed with color details.

Maxim(s) flouted: clarity

g. A: How's the weather?

B: It's 86.7 degrees Fahrenheit. The air is humid, muggy, and the pavement is so
hot I can feel it through my shoes.

I mplicature of B's utterance: I t is extremely hot today.

Maxim(s) flouted: clarity

h. A: What's your recipe for a birthday cake?

B: It should have icing. Use unbleached flour and sugar in the cake and bake it
for an hour. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and beat in three fresh eggs.

I mplicature of B's utterance: B is disorganized, or B doesn't want to

share the correct recipe.
Maxim(s) flouted: clarity

i. A: How do you like my new suit?

B: Well, your shoes look nice.

I mplicature of B's utterance: B doesn't like A's new suit.

Maxim(s) flouted: relevance

j. A: Have you done you homework and taken out the garbage?
B: I've taken out the garbage.

I mplicature of B's utterance: B probably did not do the work.

Maxim(s) flouted: informativeness

k. A: I may win the lottery for $83 million.

B: There may be people on Mars, too.

I mplicature of B's utterance: A won't win the lottery.

Maxim(s) flouted: relevance

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4. For each of the following fill in an appropriate utterance for B which implicates (but does not
entail) the indicated implicature. There may be several appropriate possibilities.

Answers will vary considerably.

a. A: Let's see if this store has what we are looking for.

B: I hope you brought a lot of money with you.
Implicature: The store sells expensive merchandise.

b. A: Why don't we have lunch in this restaurant?

B: Well, if we do I 'll have to work out afterwards.
Implicature: The food there is too fattening.

c. A: Are the Browns at home?

B: There's a car in the driveway.
Implicature: The Browns are usually home when their car is in the driveway.

d. A: Should we turn right or left?

B: Maybe we should stop and get directions at that service station.
Implicature: B isn't sure which way to turn.

e. A: How is your physics course going?

B: I have to see a tutor nearly every week.
Implicature: B is having trouble in the course.

5. Think about the meaning relationship between the following pair of sentences:

a. Most birds are on the lawn b. Many birds are on the lawn.

Does (a) entail or merely implicate (b)? Remember that entailments cannot be cancelled without
contradiction (because asserting a sentence and denying its entailment results in a contradiction),
as in the following contradiction:

c. Jack managed to open the door, but he didn't open the door.

Sentence (c) is a contradiction because the fact that Jack managed to open the door entails that he
in fact did open the door, but then the second clause denies that this is true. Implicatures, on the
other hand, can be cancelled without contradiction, as in the following sentence, where the
original implicature of the sentence I tried to buy food--i.e. that I couldn't buy food--is cancelled
by my saying that in fact I succeeded in doing so:

d. I tried to buy food, and in fact I succeeded.

Therefore, if sentence (a) above entails sentence (b), then the following sentence (e) should be a
contradiction, while if (a) only implicates (b) then the second part of (e) below (which negates
the proposition in (b)) should merely cancel (b) without a contradiction:

e. Most birds are on the lawn, but in fact there are not many birds on the lawn.

There may be a difference of opinion about these sentences. See if you can figure out what it is
about the meanings of most and many which appears to contribute to your answer.

As indicated, this is an open-ended question that does not necessarily have a

clear-cut answer for most speakers. We feel that sentence (a) merely implicates

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sentence (b), because even though most seems to make reference to a

relatively large number of entities, this is only an implicature and need not be
the case. We feel that in order to have many of something you need to have
more than five or six things. So it is possible that if there are six birds total
around the yard and four are on the lawn, then it is not a contradiction to say
that most of the birds are on the lawn even if there are not that many there.

6. Consider the following exchange:

A: I may win the lottery for $83 million.

B: There may be people on Mars, too,
A: What are you, some kind of astronomer?

B originally triggered an implicature in her response to A's original statement, which you
provided earlier in question (3k) above. What effect does A's retort then have on the
implicature originally triggered by B?

A's retort to B's response has the effect of questioning B's authority about Mars
which led to the earlier implicature that A wouldn't win the lottery. The result is
that A is attempting to cancel that implicature and thus reassert that she thinks
she will win.

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Unit 27 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 27 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

literal vs. non-literal language

idiom (idiomatic or "fixed" expression)
compositional vs. non-compositional expressions
metaphor
isolated metaphor
structural metaphor
orientational metaphor
ontological metaphor
entity and substance metaphors
container metaphors
personification
metonymy (and its various subtypes)

2. Idioms as isolated metaphors. This exercise is a variation on an earlier one in this unit. Each
of the following sentences contains an italicized idiomatic expression that would make it
anomalous if it were interpreted literally (i.e. compositionally). Briefly explain this anomaly for
each sentence, and then describe what kind of intended non-literal meaning the sentence
typically conveys. Finally, if possible, try to suggest what kind of isolated metaphor each
sentence might be an example of. If it's not possible to formulate an appropriate metaphor in
simple terms, try at least to explain to what extent the expression might be partially analyzable
(i.e. compositional). The first item, repeated from an earlier practice, is done for you.

Answers will vary considerably. Consequently, we have only provided a few

additional ones.

a. Frank is a snake in the grass.

Anomaly: Frank is being equated with being a particular kind of animal (a

snake), which is literally untrue.
Non-literal meaning: Something about Frank’s behavior is untrustworthy.
Metaphor: PEOPLE ARE ANIMALS (Note that this is not completely
isolated, since we do have such expressions as Frank is a tiger,
Mary is a lamb, etc.) In this case, Frank's apparent identification as
a snake is meant to associate him with the popular idea that snakes
are sneaky and underhanded.

b. Jack pulled my leg when he told me that story.

Anomaly: The claim is made that Jack actually pulled one of my legs
when he told me the story, which is likely literally untrue.
Non-literal meaning: Jack told things which were not completely true.
No clear metaphor seems relevant here. The source could have
something to do with the ridiculousness of actually pulling
someone's leg being associated with the ridiculousness or
unbelievability of the story.

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c. Jim painted the town red when he returned from college.

Anomaly: The claim is made that Jim actually painted the town red
color, which is literally untrue.
Non-literal meaning: Jim behaved in a wild manner when he returned
from college.
No clear metaphor seems relevant here. The idea of painting a whole
town red is clearly beyond the realm of normal behavior, and this
extreme behavior seems to be associated with Jim's acting wild.

d. The old horse finally kicked the bucket.

e. When we tried to solve that math problem we discovered that we were up the
creek (without a paddle).
f. The suggestion made by Mary makes me think that she has a bee in her bonnet.
g. Jerry sold me down the river.
h. If you can figure out how to do that, I'll eat my hat.
i. Fred always tried to throw his weight around.
j. Don't say a word! Bite your tongue!
k. I gave them a piece of my mind.
l. Mary and John seem to have hit it off with each other.
m. Eat your heart out: I just won the lottery!
n. Jack is a pig.
o. Mary let the cat out of the bag when she told me about Jane's marriage to Jake.
p. Jim took the bull by the horns when he decided to deal with the problem.
q. Mary spilled the beans when I asked her about the secret..

3. Each of the following sets of sentences exemplifies a particular structural metaphor in English.
Identify the particular words or phrases in each sentence that evoke the metaphor and then
identify the metaphor itself. Then see if you can provide one or two (or possibly more) examples
of the metaphor in English.

Words or phrases evoking the metaphor are indicated in boldface. The data are
taken primarily from Lakoff and Johnson's Metaphors We Live By (1980: 46-51).

A. a. What is the foundation for your theory?

b. I think your theory needs more support.
c. If that's all your theory consists of, it'll fall apart.
d. His idea collapsed because it didn't have enough support.
e. Every theory or idea needs a firm foundation.
f. They told us something about the framew ork of their theory.

Metaphor: THEORI ES ARE BUI LDI NGS

B. a. His comments left a bad taste in my mouth.

b. Her suggestion was nothing but a half-baked idea.
c. There was a lot to digest in the professor's new theory.
d. The class stewed over what the lecturer said for a while.
e. You can really sink your teeth into that writer's ideas.
f. I just can't sw allow his new idea.

Metaphor: IDEAS ARE FOOD

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C. a. She was crazy about him.

b. He nearly drove her out of her mind.
c. Jack went mad over Mary when he first saw her.
d. She's just wild about Fred.
e. Fred nearly drove Mary insane.
f. Mary just raves about John all day long.

Metaphor: LOVE I S MADNESS

D. a. The odds are against me, but I'll take my chances with this project.
b. If I play my cards right I may be able to succeed in life.
c. Jack is a real loser. He's never around when the chips are down.
d. My ace in the hole is that I know something they don't know.
e. It's a toss up whether John is bluffing or not.
f. I think she's playing it close to the vest .

Metaphor: LI FE I S A GAMBLI NG GAME

4. Now try to do the opposite of what you did in exercise 3. For each structural metaphor given
below supply as many sentences as you can which evoke the metaphor.

We have supplied three sentences per metaphor. More are certainly possible. Data
are adapted from Metaphors We Live By .

a. THE MIND IS A MACHINE

John had a breakdown last year.

My brain just isn't operating well today.
I can see the wheels turning when he talks.

b. LOVE IS A PHYSICAL FORCE

We could feel the electricity between us.

They gravitated toward each other.
Her life revolves around him.

c. LOVE IS A (MEDICAL) PATIENT

They are in a sick relationship.

They have a healthy marriage.
Their marriage is on the mend.

d. LOVE IS WAR

He is known for his many conquests.

Mary fought to get him, but Jane won out.
John overpowered Mary.

e. LIFE IS A CONTAINER

I have had a full life.

Life is empty for us.
There's not much left in life for them.

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5. We have already seen that an important abstract concept, such as IDEA, can be structured by
means of multiple metaphors, each of which gives a slightly different perspective on how the
concept can be understood. This range of metaphors allows us to better understand the concept.
The metaphors already illustrated structure the domain of IDEAS in terms of the more concrete
source domains MONEY, PEOPLE, and PLANTS. Try to find one or two additional metaphors
for structuring the abstract IDEA domain using other source domains and give several English
examples for each.

Lakoff and Johnson suggest the following additional possibilities:

I DEAS ARE PRODUCTS: turn out new ideas, generate new ideas, refine ideas
I DEAS ARE CUTTI NG I NSTRUMENTS: incisive ideas, cut to the heart of an idea,
make a cutting remark, etc.

6. We have seen that orientational metaphors are externally systematic. LJ note that they are also
"internally systematic" in that each metaphor "defines a coherent system rather than a number of
isolated and random cases". In other words, all expressions involving UP evoke the same kind of
experience. For example, I'm feeling up is another example of the HAPPY IS UP metaphor, but
the metaphor would be incoherent if saying My spirits rose meant "I became sadder". In an
earlier practice you categorized several isolated sentences according to the particular kind of UP
orientational metaphor they reflected. See if you can come up with some additional examples
that are internally systematic with the examples already given for some of the UP metaphors
mentioned earlier.

a. HEALTH IS UP

I 'm in top shape.

I n terms of my health, things are looking up.

b. HAVING CONTROL/FORCE IS UP

We have control over them.

John is in a superior position relative to his coworkers.
I 'm at the height of my power.

c. MORE IS UP

His income rose this year.

She's a person of high intelligence.

d. HAPPY IS UP

We're in high spirits.

Doing that always gives me a lift.

e. GOOD IS UP

Things are looking up these days.

We hit a peak this year.

f. VIRTUE IS UP

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John is very high-minded.

Mrs. Jones is a very upright person.
Jack is an upstanding citizen.

g. HIGH STATUS IS UP

I think Fred will rise to the top of his profession.

He's climbing the ladder of success.
She has a lot of upward mobility.

7. The opposite of UP is DOWN. For each of the UP metaphors in exercise 6 find one or two
examples of the corresponding DOWN metaphor (if it exists) and name the metaphor. Here's an
example: John came down with the flu (SICKNESS IS DOWN). (Note how odd it sounds to say
that someone came up with the flu.)

a. SI CKNESS I S DOWN

John is sinking fast.

He fell ill.

b. BEI NG SUBJECT TO CONTROL I S DOWN

He is under our control.

He fell from power.

c. LESS I S DOWN

His scholarly productivity went down a lot last year.

The number of cars he sold is lower this year.

d. SAD I S DOWN

He's depressed.
I 'm feeling really low these days.

e. BAD I S DOWN

Things are going downhill around here.

Things are at an all-time low.

f. DEPRAVI TY I S DOWN

That was a low trick to play on me.

She was very underhanded with him.
I t's beneath you to say things like that.

g. LOW STATUS I S DOWN

John is at the bottom of the totem-pole in his organization.

He fell from grace with his boss.

8. We did not discuss the specific physical or experiential reasons why the language would have
so many orientational metaphors in which UP is associated with positive notions such as being

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healthy, being good, having more of something, having higher status, etc. Can you explain why
these positive notions are associated with UP instead of some other orientation (such as
DOWN)?

The following are suggestions from Lakoff and Johnson for some of these
metaphors based on UP (1980: 14ff.). Students may have additional ideas.

HEALTH I S UP/ SI CKNESS I S DOWN: healthy people are generally upright,

illness forces people to lie down.

HAVI NG CONTROL I S UP/ BEI NG SUBJECT TO CONTROL I S DOWN: physical

size correlates with physical strength and the more powerful person in a fight is
on top, someone who is bested in a fight is under the dominant person.

MORE I S UP, LESS I S DOWN: adding more entities to a pile makes the stack go
up in height, taking things away makes the stack go down in height.

HAPPY I S UP: upright posture is associated with positive emotional states,

drooping posture with sadness.

HI GH STATUS I S UP, LOW STATUS I S DOWN: because high status is

associated with power in our society and power is up.

GOOD I S UP, BAD I S DOWN: most things associated with well-being

(happiness, health, control, etc.) are up, and so then is good in general.

9. Although most of the orientational metaphors involving UP are coherent with each other in
evoking meanings that are positive in some way, there are occasional expressions involving UP
which appear not to be coherent with metaphors such as those listed in exercise 6. An example is
the expression The answer to that question is up in the air, in which the UP orientation might be
argued to be negative in some way. Can you propose the different metaphor that underlies this
expression and suggest what experiential basis it has?

Lakoff and Johnson suggest that the experiential basis for this expression is
different from that for the other UP metaphors and evokes the metaphor
UNKNOWN I S UP: things that are not within easy reach or low enough to see
clearly are more likely to be unknown, as opposed to things that are lower and
easier to see and reach. They make the point that even though this UP
metaphor is not coherent with the others, it is still principled and not arbitrary,
since it is based on experience.

10. Try to identify in what particular way the additional ontological metaphors in each sentence
below treat an abstract concept as though it were a physical object. Choose from among the
following options: referring, quantifying, identifying aspects, identifying causes, setting goals
and/or motivating actions.

Answers may vary. The suggestions here are adapted from Lakoff and Johnson
(1980: 25ff.).

a. I could see the intensity with which she worked.

Referring or possibly identifying aspects ( see the intensity )

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b. They did that out of compassion for the poor.

I dentifying causes ( out of compassion )

c. There is too much hatred in the world.

Quantifying ( too much hatred)

d. I'm looking forward to finding a solution to this problem.

Setting goals and motivating actions ( finding a solution )

e. The brutality of aggression is a major factor in many conflicts.

I dentifying aspects ( brutality of aggression)

f. They are working toward peace in the world.

Referring or setting goals ( working toward peace)

11. In an earlier practice you matched an example sentence with the kind of metonymy it
represented. For each kind of metonymy below give at least three additional sentences that
represent it. For item (h) see if you can find another kind of metonymy and give some examples.

Most suggested answers are taken or adapted from Lakoff and Johnson (1980:
38ff.).

a. THE PLACE FOR THE EVENT

Don't forget the Alamo

Do you remember anything about Teapot Dome?
Pearl Harbor was a traumatic event.

b. THE PART FOR THE WHOLE

John just bought himself some new wheels.

Frank has a new four-on-the-floor.
They don't hire longhairs around here.

c. OBJECT USED FOR USER

The gun he hired botched the job.

The cornet in the second row plays really well.
The fried steak in the nearest booth wants a refill.

d. THE PLACE FOR THE INSTITUTION

The Kremlin hasn't had any comment about the problem.

London is staying out of the dispute with Uruguay.
Wall Street rallied yesterday with the good economic forecast.

e. PRODUCER FOR PRODUCT

We avoided buying that new Ford.

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The latest Stephen King is on the top shelf.

That expensive Matisse was recently stolen.

f. CONTROLLER FOR CONTROLLED

George Bush attacked Saddam.

Napoleon lost at Waterloo.
That BMW almost hit me last night.

g. INSTITUTION FOR PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE

The university announced several new programs.

The Senate tried to cut off funding for that program.
ExxonMobil has been raising prices constantly.

h. ________________________________________

12. What kind of metonymy is reflected in the following sets of sentences?

A. a. I have to fill the car with gas. (Hint: what is literally being filled here?)
b. I need to use the bathroom.
c. China won the championship.

Metonymy: WHOLE FOR THE PART

Here a larger whole entity (car, person, country) is mentioned,

although the entity actually engaged in the activity is only a part of
the larger whole (i.e. the gas tank, a person 's bladder, the team
within China).

B. a. The pot is boiling. (Hint: what is literally boiling here?)

b. Room 44 needs more towels.
c. The bus in front of us decided to turn left.

Metonymy: CONTAI NER FOR CONTAI NED

Here one entity functions as a kind of container for another. I t is the

entity that is contained within the container that is actually involved in
the situation. Note that a case could be made that the WHOLE FOR
THE PART examples could conceivably also be analyzed as
CONTAI NER FOR CONTAI NED, since in a sense the gas tank is
contained within the car, the bladder is contained within the person,
etc. But what differentiates the two kinds of metonymy is that in the
CONTAI NER FOR CONTAI NED examples there is no requirement that
the contained entity be an actual part of the container, in contrast to
the WHOLE FOR THE PART examples. There is likely a continuum
between the two kinds of metonymy, such that it will not always be
possible to clearly distinguish a WHOLE FOR THE PART example from
a CONTAI NER FOR THE CONTAI NED example.

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