Lhoriebeth DC.

Mangoba

BSED 2- BLOCK C

Module 4: Semantic- The meaning of meanings

Consider this sentence, then choose the statements that are true about this sentence.

Every year, in July, there are concerts, plays and other shows organized by the city council at
different outdoor venues around town.

a. The words city and town are an example of polysemy.

*b. The word concerts is a hyponym of the word shows.

*c. The phrase organized by the city council means that the city council organizes the shows.

d. The phrase organized by the city council means that the shows take place near the city council.

e. The word year is deictic.

f. The word July is deictic.

A. Are the following statements true or false?

True 1. Converted words are homographs of the words from which they are formed.

False 2. The words ad and add are homophones.

False 3. Two words that are homonyms form a minimal pair.

False 4. An idiom is an example of high meaning compositionality.

False 5. The word sad is a hyponym of the word sadness.

False 6. The word commitment is a hyponym of the word commit.

False 7. The word murder is a meronym of the word die.

False 8. Deictic words have no meaning.

True 9. The Japanese history professors arrived early is structurally ambiguous.

True 10. Homophones cannot be minimal pairs.

True 11. The sentence Dare to be fair is lexically ambiguous.

True 12. Jenny is Mark’s tove entails Mark is Jenny’s moomin. We can thus conclude that tove and
moomin are reciprocal antonyms.

True 13. That is not a snarky sheep entails That is a neebly sheep. We can thus conclude that
snarky and neebly are complementary antonyms.

False 14. The band was banned from playing contains homonyms.

False 15. The sentence The dish ran away with the spoon contains a superordinate and its hyponym.

False 16. My brother is smarter than me shows that smart is a complementary antonym.

True 17. The housebreaker was caught entails The burglar was captured.

True 18. The butcher slaughtered the cows entails The cows are dead.

False 19. James told me a story entails I was listening to James’s story.

False 20. I gave Sally a ring is structurally and lexically ambiguous.

True 21. Jenny is destitute entails Jenny is extremely poor.

False 22. James is intelligent and James is not stupid entail each other.

False 23. Orphan and often are homonyms.

False 24. The sentences below contain homonyms: She entrances me. The building has several
entrances.

False 25. The sentences below contain a polyseme: Don’t seal that letter. I love the old seal at the
zoo.

True 26. The sentence below contains a hyponym: Among all the groddies in the world, my
favourite is the blooie.

True 27. The sentences below contain a meronym: Mary had a little lamb. Its fleece was white as
snow.

True 28. Given that cantoupe and lartoupe are relational antonyms, Sasha is Lorenzo’s cantoupe
entails that Lorenzo is Sasha’s lartoupe.

True 29. Given that sadertort and mangleford are complementary antonyms, My aunt is not
mangleford and My aunt is sadertort entail each other.

True 30. Given that crandle and sackle are synonyms, The private eye crandled his favourite client
and The private eye sackled his favourite client entail each other.

B. Consider the following sentences. Now choose the best label for the relationship between the
underlined words in each sentence, from among these

Options:
a. Homograph e. homonymy

b. synonymy f. meronymy

c. homophony g. polysemy

d. antonymy h. hyponymy

C 1.The boy got quickly bored of his new board game.

A 2.They must wear bowties and bow deeply to the audience.

H 3.Any fruit a day keeps the doctor away, not just an apple a day.

B 4.Candles give a dim light, too faint to read small print by.

E 5.The children played quietly with colored pens in their playpens.

C 6.He knows he has a cold when his nose itches.

C. Each of the following statements is ambiguous. Paraphrase each of the meanings of each
statement by means of one sentence only. Each of your paraphrases must clearly show the
alternative meanings of each statement. Explain what is it that make each sentence ambiguous.

1. I wrote to my friend from Japan.

Ans. From Japan, I wrote to my friend.

Reason: Because of Structural Ambiguity

2. I didn’t go out because I wanted to see you.

Ans. I went out, but not with the purpose of seeing you.

Reason: Because of Alternative Intonation

3. She hit the man with the wheelbarrow.

Ans. She hit the man who was holding a wheelbarrow

Reason: Because of Structural Ambiguity

4. The puppy was found by the child.

Ans. The puppy was found near the child.

Reason: Because of Semantic ambiguity of ‘by’.

D. Choose the statements that are true about this sentence: Every weekend, in the summer,
there are concerts, plays and other shows organised by the city council at different outdoor
venues around town.

1. The words city and town are an example of polysemy.

*2. The word concerts is a hyponym of the word shows.

*3. The phrase organised by the city council means that the city council organises the shows.

4. The phrase organised by the city council means that the shows take place near the city council.

5. The word outdoor is deictic.

6. The word weekend is deictic.

E. Explain the language play involved in this dialogue:

Mel: How long will dinner be?

Bev: About 25 cm, we’re having sausage.

Ans. The language play relies on the ambiguity of the word long to designate measured of both time
and space. Whether the word long is a polyseme or homonym. And whether metaphor is involved in
its uses can be discussed with the aid of dictionaries. Other words are regularly used to refer to
measures of time and/or space in different languages, e.g. words for before, first/ last.

Design a teaching-learning material for morphology using the text below.

Food for thought

“There’s glory for you!”

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘glory’,” Alice said.

Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. “Of course, you don’t – till I tell

you. I meant ‘there’s a nice knock-down argument for you!’”

“But ‘glory’ doesn’t mean a nice knock-down argument,” Alice objected.

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it

means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.”

 “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

Lewis Carroll, Through the looking glass (1923/1961)

Answer.
Morphology Chart

Suffixes
A suffix is added to the end of a word to make a new word.

Consonant Suffixes Vowel Suffixes

-ship -sion Base -ive -ace -ize

-ful -ment Word -al -ence -ite

+ -ine -ish
-ly -tion

-ty -s
Suffix -ist -ible

= -er -ed -able

- ness -less
New Word -ing -ism

-ous -ent

Consonant Suffixes

-ful -ment -ly -s

Base Word Meaning Suffi Meaning Example Meaning Morpheme
x

contemptuou Manifesting, -ly in a Contemptuousl In a scornful 3

s feeling, or certain y way that
expressing deep manner shows The word
hatred or disdain. contemptuously
disapproval: contains one
feeling or free morpheme
showing (contempt) and
contempt two bound
morphemes
(ous and ly).

Argue To give reasons -ment conditio Argument A coherent 2

for or against n of series of
something reasons, The word
statements, or argument
facts intended contains one
to support or free morpheme
establish a (argue) and one
point of view bound
morpheme
(ment).

thing An object or -s plural things -Plural of the 2

entity not word thing.
precisely The word
designated or -State of things contains
capable of being affairs in one free
designated general or morpheme
within a (thing) and one
specified or bound
implied morpheme (s).
sphere.

mean To introduce a -s plural means -Plural of the 2

phrase restating word mean
the point of a The word
preceding -An action or means contains
phrase system by one free
which a result morpheme
is brought (mean) and one
about bound
morpheme (s).
 word A written or -s plural words Plural of the 2
printed word “word”
character or The word
combination of words contains
characters one free
representing a morpheme
spoken word (word) and one
bound
morpheme (s).

there Used for -s plural theres -Plural of the 2

emphasis word there
especially after a The word
demonstrative -used to make theres contains
pronoun or a a request or one free
noun modified express morpheme
by a approval of (there) and one
demonstrative an action in a bound
adjective patronizing morpheme (s).
manner

scorn An expression of -ful full of scornful Full of scorn: 2

contempt or contemptuous
derision The word
scornful
contains one
free morpheme
(scorn) and one
bound
morpheme
(ful).

Vowel Suffixes

-ed -ous -ent

Base Word Meaning Suffix Meaning Example Meaning Morpheme

smile to appear -ed already Smiled Past-tense of 2

pleasant or happened the word
 agreeable smile The word
smiled contains
one free
morpheme
(smile) and one
bound
morpheme
(ed).

contemptuous The state of -ous quality of contemptuous Manifesting, 2

being feeling, or
despised expressing The word
deep hatred contemptuous
or contains one
disapproval: free morpheme
feeling or (contempt) and
showing one bound
contempt morpheme
(ous).

differ To be of -ent Performing different Partly or 2

unlike or or being totally
opposite unlike in The word
opinion nature, different
form, or contains one
quality free morpheme
(differ) and one
bound
morpheme
(ent).

object Something -ed already objected Past tense of 2

mental or happened the word
physical object The word
toward which objected
thought, contains one
feeling, or free morpheme
action is (object) and
directed. one bound
morpheme
(ed).
Reflect on whether you feel that the expected outcomes of this module have been achieved.

In this module, I learned that

Every sentence has another meaning, but it depends to people how they can understand the
sentence. However, I learned that through paraphrasing it helps us to identify the alternative meaning
of every sentence.

From this module, I realize that as an OLSHConian, I have the responsibility to

Understand the lesson and answer those activities given by our instructor, because it will help
me to handle every challenge to my profession in the future.

In this module, I need to understand more the concept/s on

identifying the Homograph, synonymy, homophony, antonymy, homonymy, meronymy,
polysemy, hyponymy to its relation to every word. Actually, I spend my whole day to understand that
concept, but still not good enough that’s why it is the concept that I need to understand more.

The excerpt below is from a Monty Python sketch, which became known as ‘The Parrot
Sketch’. The buyer of a parrot returns to the pet shop where he bought it, to complain that the
parrot that he was sold was dead:
“This parrot is no more. It has ceased to be. It’s expired and gone to meet its maker. This is a late
parrot. It’s a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. If you hadn’t nailed it to the perch, it would be
pushing up the daisies. It’s rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-parrot.”

The excerpt contains several examples of euphemism, for the concept of ‘dead’. Find out the
origins of each of the euphemisms and consider their appropriateness to replace this concept.

Ans. Practically every sentence in the excerpt contains a euphemism, all roughly signifying an ‘end’,
or what (presumably) happens after something ends. Each euphemism draws on different associations
with the concept of end/being dead: for example. ‘meet’ its marker’ draws on a religious analogy, and
‘ring down the curtain’ draws on historical stage-managing practices in theatre. Consider also the
appropriateness of each euphemism to different social settings.