English semantics guide

GIÁO
TRÌNH
NGỮ
NGHĨA
HỌC
TIẾNG
ANH
ENGLISH
SEMANTICS
FOR INTERNAL USE
I. INTRODUCTION
A. SEMANTICS / PRAGMATICS
Semantics and pragmatics are branches of linguistics which deal with

meaning.
Semantics is the study of meaning in language (i.e. what language
means) while pragmatics is concerned with meaning in context (i.e. what
people mean by the language they use). Semantics and pragmatics are
closely related.
In other words, semantics is concerned with the way language is
structured, whereas pragmatics is concerned with the way language is
used to communicate.
B. SEMANTIC MEANING / PRAGMATIC MEANING
Semantic meaning: the meaning of a sentence out of context / context-

free. It is the linguistic meaning of a sentence.
Pragmatic meaning: the meaning of an utterance in a particular
situation. Pragmatic meaning is context-dependent.
(1) A: “Would you like a piece of cake?”
B: “I’m on a diet.”
The semantic meaning of “I’m on a die” in (1) is “I want to lose weight
by eating the food which is not rich in fat, sugar, etc.”
The pragmatic meaning of “I’m on a diet” in (1) is “I don’t want a piece
of cake” or “I’m afraid that I have to refuse your invitation.”
(2) Tom: “Do you like the wine I picked out?”
Gina: “It’s Italian, isn’t it?”
The semantic meaning of “It’s Italian, isn’t it?” in (2) is “Is it right that
the wine is made in Italy?”
The pragmatic meaning of “It’s Italian, isn’t it?” in (2) is “I don’t like
the wine you picked out.”
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II. ASPECTS OF MEANING
A. SEMANTIC FEATURES
1. Definition:
Semantic features1 are the smallest units of meaning in a word.

(Richards, Platt & Weber, 1987: 254)
We identify the meaning of a word by its semantic features. For example,
father may have the following semantic features: [+human], [+male],
[+mature], [+parental] and [+paternal]. And hen may be described as a
set of the following semantic features: [+animate], [+bird], [+fowl],
[+fully grown] and [+female].
2. Characteristics:
a. Primitive elements: basic primitive concepts in linguistics. They are left

undefined.
Ex.
human, male, animal, color etc.
b. The same semantic feature may be found in the meaning of different words.
Ex.
Father, mother, son, daughter, teacher, baby … all share the same
semantic feature [+ human].
Mother, daughter, hen, bitch, swine … all share the same semantic
feature [+female].
c. The same semantic feature may be found in words of different parts of
speech.
Ex.
[+female] is part of the noun mother, the adjective pregnant, the verb
breast-feed.
[+educational] is a semantic feature of the noun teacher, the adjective
educated, the verb teach.
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Also referred to as semantic properties or semantic components.
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B. COMPONENTIAL ANALYSIS
In Semantics, componential analysis is "an approach to the study of

meaning which analyses a word into a set of meaning components or
semantic features. (Richards et al, 1987: 53)
For example, the meaning of boy may be shown as [+human], [+male]
and [adult] while that of man may be a combination of [+human],
[+male] and [+adult]. Thus, man is different from boy basically in one
primitive semantic feature: [adult].
Generally speaking, componential analysis is applied to a group of
related words which may differ from one another only by one or two
semantic features.
C. SEMANTIC FIELDS
1. Definition
A semantic field2 is “the organization of related words and expressions

into a system which shows their relationship to one another.” (Richards et
al, 1987: 53)
A semantic field can also be defined as “a set of words with identifiable
semantic affinities.” (Finegan, 1994: 164)
Ex.
The semantic field of kinship terms: father, mother, brother, sister,
uncle, aunt, etc.
The semantic field of adjectives describing human emotional states:
angry, sad, happy, exuberant, depressed, afraid, etc.
The semantic field of drinking vessels: cup, mug, tumbler, wine glass,
beer glass, etc.
2. Ways of organizing related words into different semantic fields
a. Items related by topics

• Fruit: apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, etc.
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A semantic field is also referred to as a lexical field or a lexical set.
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• Clothing: shirts, pants, shorts, hats, etc.
• Color: green, red, blue, purple, pink, etc.
b. Items which are similar in meaning
• Ways of cooking: stew, boil, fry, steam, roast, etc.
• Ways of walking: limp, tiptoe, stalk, etc.
• Ways of looking: stare, peer, glance, squint, etc.
c. Items grouped as an activity or a process
• Do the housework: clean the room, do the washing, iron clothes, prepare
the meal, etc.
• Do research: make hypotheses, collect data, analyze data, get results,
come to a conclusion, etc.
D. REFERENCE / REFERENT / SENSE
1. Definition
a. Reference is the relationship between language and the world. In other

words, that is the relationship between words and the things, actions,
events, and qualities they stand for. (Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 25)
Ex.
My son: refers to a person; a dog: refers to an animal. (the speaker
establishes a relation between an expression and an object).
b. Referent is the object or entity in the real world or in the world of your
imagination that is talked about.
Ex.
This page (the page I am reading itself, page 6)
The cassette player (the object on the table)
c. Sense is the relationship between words in the language to express the
meaning.
Ex.
The word ‘bachelor’ and ‘unmarried man’ have the same sense
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To express the content / meaning of a word to a learner, we may say the
word and show him an object to make him understand what the word
means. In this case we establish a relation between a word and an object
(between language and the world: reference). On the other hand, we can
also combine words together to express the meaning in the form of a
definition. We are establishing the relationship between words in the
language to express the sense.
Ex.
The word ‘desk’
2. Types of reference
a. Variable Reference: same expression may refer to different objects.

Ex.
“My mother” (referring to the mother of the speaker) may refer to many
different ladies depending on different speakers.
“Here” in the sentence “I am here” (referring to the place where the
speaker is standing) also can refer to different places depending on
different speakers.
b. Co-reference: different expressions refer to the same object.

Ex.
In a conversation about Britain in 1982, the Prime Minister and the
leader of the Conservative Party share the same referent: Lady Thatcher.
Both Paris and the capital of France refer to the same city.
The Morning Star and The Evening Star. Both refer to the same star.
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c. Constant Reference: one expression always refers to the same object,
(no matter who the speaker is).
• Proper names, especially geographical names: John, Smith, David,
Vietnam, Laos, etc.
• Unique things: the sun, the moon, the earth, the east, the west, Halley’s
Comet, etc.
d. No reference: an expression which is meaningful but does not refer to

anything.
• Function words: and, but, if, almost …
• The objects that do not exist now.
Ex.
The king of France is bald. (France does not have a king nowadays.)
The Queen of Vietnam nowadays is a Cambodian. (There is no
Vietnamese queen now.)
EXERCISE 1:
For each group of words given below, state what semantic features
are shared by the (a) words and the (b) words, and what semantic
features distinguish between the classes of (a) words and (b) words.
The first one is done as an example.
1. (a) lobster, shrimp, crab, oyster, mussel
(b) trout, sole, herring, salmon, mackerel
The (a) and (b) words are [+edible water animal].
The (a) words are [+shellfish].
The (b) words are [+fish].
2. (a) widow, mother, sister, aunt, seamstress
(b) widower, father, brother, uncle, tailor
The (a) and (b) words are ___________________________
The (a) words are ___________________________
The (b) words are ___________________________
3. (a) bachelor, son, paperboy, pope, chief
(b) bull, rooster, drake, ram, stallion
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The (a) words are ___________________________
The (b) words are ___________________________
4. (a) table, pencil, cup, house, ship, car
(b) milk, tea, wine, beer, water, soft drink
The (a) words are ___________________________
The (b) words are ___________________________
5. (a) book, temple, mountain, road, tractor
(b) idea, love, charity, sincerity, bravery, fear
The (a) words are ___________________________
The (b) words are ___________________________
6. (a) rose, lily, tulip, daisy, sunflower, violet
(b) ash, oak, sycamore, willow, beech
(c) pine, cedar, jew, spruce, cypress
The (a) (b) and (c) words are ___________________________
The (a) words are ___________________________
The (b) words are ___________________________
The (c) words are ___________________________
7. (a) book, letter, encyclopedia, novel, notebook, dictionary
(b) typewriter, pencil, ballpoint, crayon, quill, charcoal, chalk
The (a) words are ___________________________
The (b) words are ___________________________
8. (a) walk, run, skip, jump, hop, swim
(b) fly, skate, ski, ride, cycle, canoe, hang-glide
The (a) words are ___________________________
The (b) words are ___________________________
9. (a) ask, tell, say, talk, converse
(b) shout, whisper, mutter, drawl, holler
The (a) words are ___________________________
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The (b) words are ___________________________
10. (a) alive, asleep, awake, dead, half-dead, pregnant
(b) depressed, bored, excited, upset, amazed, surprised
The (a) words are ___________________________
The (b) words are ___________________________
EXERCISE 2
Identify the semantic features in each of the following words.
1. Child: _____________________________________________
2. Aunt: _____________________________________________
3. Hen: _____________________________________________
4. Oak (-tree): _____________________________________________
5. Flower: _____________________________________________
6. Palm: _____________________________________________
7. Bachelor: _____________________________________________
8. Actress: _____________________________________________
9. Fly: _____________________________________________
10. Police-officer: _____________________________________________
11. Beauty: _____________________________________________
12. Home: _____________________________________________
13. Chalk: _____________________________________________
14. Chick: _____________________________________________
15. Tiptoe: _____________________________________________
16. Pine (-tree): _____________________________________________
17. Computer: _____________________________________________
18. Honesty: _____________________________________________
19. Maid: _____________________________________________
20. Spinster: _____________________________________________
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EXERCISE 3
Answer the following questions.
1. Does the moon normally have constant reference? Yes / No
2. Does The People’s Republic of China normally have constant reference?
Yes / No
3. Does Angola normally have constant reference? Yes / No
4. Does Haley’s Comet normally constant reference? Yes / No
5. If we are talking about a situation in which John is standing alone in the
corner, can John have the same referent as the person in the corner? Yes /
No
EXERCISE 4
Choose the correct answer.
1. Which of the following is a correct description of ‘reference’?
(a) a relationship between expressions and other expressions which have
the same meaning.
(b) the set of all objects which can potentially be referred to by an
expression.
(c) a relationship between a particular object in the world and an
expression used in an utterance to pick that object out.
2. Which of the following is a correct statement about ‘sense’?
(a) All words in a language may be used to refer, but only some words
have sense.
(b) If two expressions have the same referent, they always have the same
sense.
(c) The sense of an expression is its relationship to semantically
equivalent or semantically related expression in the same language.
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EXERCISE 5
Give an example of
1. an expression that could have variable reference.
2. an expression that always has constant reference.
3. different expressions that having one referent.
4. an expression that has no reference.
EXERCISE 6
What is intended by the word mean, meaning, meant … in the
following examples, reference (R) or sense (S)?
1. When Helen mentioned “the fruit cake”, she meant that rock-hard object
in the middle of the table. R / S
2. When Albert talks about "his former friend", he means me. R / S
3. Daddy, what does unique mean? R / S
4. Purchase has the same meaning as buy. R / S
5. Look up the meaning of democracy in your dictionary. R / S
6. If you look out of the window now, you’ll see who I mean. R / S
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III. TYPES OF MEANING
A. PRIMARY MEANING / SECONDARY MEANING
1. The primary meaning of a word (or, to be more precise, a lexical item)

is the first meaning or usage that the word will suggest to most people
when it is said in isolation.
The primary meaning of the English noun wing, for instance, is ‘either of
the pair of feathered limbs that a bird uses to fly.’
2. Secondary meanings of a word are the meanings besides its primary
meaning. They are said to be not central but peripheral.
In addition, secondary meanings of a word are context-bound whereas its
primary meaning is not.
In He usually plays on the wing, for example, wing means ‘side part of
the playing area in football, hockey, etc.’ Such a secondary meaning is
derived from the context denoted by the verb plays.
B. DENOTATIVE MEANING / CONNOTATIVE MEANING
1. Denotative meaning
The denotative meaning3 of a word is the central meaning of the word
found in a dictionary. It is the meaning that may be described in terms of
a set of semantic features that serve to identify the particular concept
associated with the word. It is also called descriptive because it describes
an object, an event, a state or an affair, and referential meaning as it
refers us to something in the world.
Ex.
A pig: a domestic animal, four legs, hairy, usually raised for meat
A father: a male adult, married, having children …
2. Connotative meaning
The connotative meaning4 of a word is the implied, additional meaning
that the word has beyond its denotative meaning. It shows people’s
3
Also referred to as denotation, descriptive or referential meaning.
4
Also referred to as connotation, social or affective meaning.
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emotions and / or attitudes towards what the word refers to. This
meaning may vary from individual to individual, and community to
community. That’s why connotative meaning is also called social or
affective meaning.
Ex.
- Child is denotatively described as [+human], [mature] and [±male].
Under a certain circumstance, child may positively be connoted as
[+affectionate] or [+innocent].
Under another circumstance, child may negatively be connoted as
[+noisy] or [+irritating].
- Woman is denotatively described as [+human], [+mature] and [+female].
Under a certain circumstance, woman may positively be connoted as
[+devoted] or [+patient].
Under another circumstance, woman may negatively be connoted as
[+wicked] or [+talkative].
- The word pig in “He is a pig” may means connotatively:
He is a pig  lazy - greedy - stupid – dirty
The denotation of a word can easily be found in a dictionary while its
connotation(s) may probably depend on such factors as (1) the culture in
which the word is used; (2) the language user’s family and/or educational
background; (3) the language user’s social and/or political class; (4) the
language user’s speech community and/or ethnic group; etc. In brief,
these factors are by virtue of personal and cultural associations.
C. LITERAL MEANING / FIGURATIVE MEANING
1. Literal meaning: The basic or usual meaning of a word. (Crowther (ed.),

1992: 527)
Some literal meanings are identified via context in the noun wing:
- Part that projects from the side of an aircraft and supports it in the air: the
two wings of an airplane;
- Part of a building that projects from the main part: the east/west wing of
a house;
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- Projecting part of the body of a motor vehicle above the wheel: The left
wing of his car was damaged in the collision;
- Part of a political party that holds certain views or has a particular
function: the radical wing of the Labour Party.
2. The figurative meaning of a word is one which is different from its
usual (literal) meaning and which create vivid mental images to readers
or listeners.
Below are some figurative meanings of the noun wing:
- We hope college life will help him to spread his wings a bit. (= extend his
activities and interests)
- Having a new baby to look after has clipped her wings a bit. (= has
prevented her from achieving her ambition)
- She immediately took the new arrivals under her wing. (= looked after
the new arrivals)
- He retires as chairman next year; his successor is waiting in the wings.
(= is ready to replace him)
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IV. FIGURES OF SPEECH
A. DEFINITION
A figure of speech is ‘a word or phrase which is used for special effect,

and which doesn’t have its usual or literal meaning’. (Richards. Platt &
Weber. 1987: 105)
B. TYPES OF FIGURES OF SPEECH
1. Simile
Direct / explicit comparison using comparison words (like, as) or
comparison form.
Ex.
He eats like a tiger. (= He eats as much as a tiger does.)
He is as poor as a church mouse. (= He is very poor.)
2. Metaphor
Indirect / implicit comparison (no comparison words)
• Dead metaphor: a metaphor which has lost its metaphoric characteristic
and become a fixed expression or idiom.
Ex.
the eye of a needle; the head quarter; the foot of the mountain; the leg of
the table; the mouth of the river; the face of the table; the back of the
chair; the childhood of the earth etc.
A dead metaphor is used naturally and unconsciously by a native speaker
of a language.
• Live metaphor: a metaphor used consciously, intentionally by a speaker
with various figurative meanings.
Ex.
He is a pig may be interpreted as he is fat, he is lazy, he is stupid, he is
dirty etc. depending on the situation in which it is used.
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3. Personification
Endowing an inanimate object with human qualities.
Ex.
The leaves are dancing in the morning wind. (= moving)
The waves tore the ship into pieces. (= destroyed completely)
4. Synecdoche
Substitution of the whole for the part and vice versa.
Ex.
Vietnam won the football match. (= the Vietnam football team)
I don’t want you to come under my roof. (= my house)
This work requires an intelligent brain. (= person)
The war has robbed 2,000 souls of the village. (= people)
5. Metonymy
The substitution of the name of one thing for that of another to which it
is related/with which it is associated.
Ex.
The kettle (= the water) is boiling.
The disease has cut off his breath (= his life).
Ways to identify a metonymy:

• A sign substitutes for the person or the object it signifies or symbolizes.
He succeeded to the crown (= the royal office).
She is a fighter against red tape (= bureaucracy, office routine).
Can you protect your children from the cradle to the grave (= from
childhood to death)?
• An instrument substitutes for an agent.
The pen (= the writer) has more influence than the sword (= the soldier).
Who brought fire and sword (= a destructive war) into our country?
We need a force of a thousand rifles (= soldiers).
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• A container substitutes for the thing contained.
The kettle (= the water in the kettle) is boiling.
Why don’t you recognize the power of the purse? (= the money kept in
the purse)
• The concrete, like an organ of the human body, substitutes for the
abstract such as love, hatred, sincerity, a mental ability, a natural talent,
etc.
She has an ear for music. (= She possesses a remarkable talent for
learning, imitating, appreciating, etc. music.)
She has a good head of business. (= She is gifted in/is clever at dealing
with business.)
• The abstract substitutes for the concrete:
His Majesty (= the king) died a year ago.
The authorities (= the group of people who have the power to give orders
or take action) put an end to the riot.
• The material substitutes for the thing made.
All our glass (= vessels and articles made of glass) is kept in the
cupboard.
He was buried under this stone. (= this tomb made of stone, this
tombstone)
• An author/a producer/a place where goods are made substitutes for his
work(s)/its product(s).
I have never read Keat (= Keat’s poems).
Have you ever read Homer (= the works of Homer)?
I love old china (= crockery made in China).
6. Hyperbole
Overstatement or exaggeration.
Ex.
I’m so hungry that I can swallow a cow. (= extremely hungry)
I haven’t seen you for ages. (= a long time)
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7. Litotes5
The use of deliberately gentler, milder or weaker statements to express
something in a controlled way.
Ex.
I don’t think I would agree with you. (= I disagree with you.)
I am afraid that no passenger is allowed to smoke in here. (= You are not
allowed to smoke in here.)
8. Irony
Saying the opposite of one’s thought for emphasis, for fun or mocking.
Ex.
What a lovely day! Everything I had went wrong.
He is lucky to have such an ugly and awkward wife.
9. Euphemism
The use of pleasant, mild, comforting, or indirect expression for one that
is taboo, negative, offensive or too direct.
Ex.
Could you tell me where the restroom is? (= toilet)
His father has just passed away. (= died)
10. Onomatopoeia
The imitation of natural sounds by means of words or groups of words.
Ex.
She is always squeaking and squawking.
We could hear the enemy guns booming (away) in the distance.
He felt a tap on his shoulder.
Rain was dripping down from the trees. Its steady drip kept me awake all
night long.
5
Also called meiosis.
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EXERCISE 7
Identify the type of figure of speech used in the following sentences
then give their literal meaning.
1. When he gets going, Jack is a streak of lightning.
2. I found the fifty-two pounds of books you left for me to carry. Your
kindness really moved me.
3. The man is a demon for work.
4. When you take that course, plan to study thirty hours a day.
5. The wind howled angrily around the house all night.
6. When the White House called, the ambassador went at once.
7. My dormitory room is like a cave.
8. Come to the dormitory and see what a cave I live in.
9. Dick was fairly pleased when he won the brand-new car in the contest.
10. If you are not happy with the service, go and talk to the City Hall.
11. Man does not live by bread alone.
12. We now live under the same roof.
13. Albert was as sharp as a tack this morning. He answered every question
as soon as it was asked.
14. The river ate the bank away.
15. Keep overeating like that and pretty soon you’ll weigh a thousand
pounds.
16. After she heard the good news, she grinned like a mule eating briars.
17. The captain was in charge of one hundred horses.
18. Joe cried a little when he lost the thousand dollars.
19. You can depend on Gina; she is a rock when trouble comes.
20. Life is a dream.
21. He’s so hardheaded that he won’t listen to anyone.
22. Research says that these methods are best.
23. Right at this minute, I could drink a barrel of water without stopping.
24. It is amazing what a great mind he is.
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25. Alice came in gently, like a May breeze.
26. Susie is a picture of loveliness in her new dress.
27. A thousand thanks are for your kindness.
28. I walked past the big sad mouth which didn’t know what to say then.
29. We are tired to death of such movies.
30. Give every man thine ears, bid a few thy voice.
31. There was a storm in Parliament last night.
32. I’m afraid he has misrepresented the facts.
33. He worked and worked until he breathed his last.
34. We’ll just have to go our separate ways.
35. They were vital, unforgettable matches that gave us a new window on
the game.
36. I’ve told you a thousand times not to touch that again.
37. He is as mute as a fish.
38. We stopped to drink in the beautiful scenery.
39. His words can be trusted.
40. The police team has cemented close ties with the hospital staff.
41. The boss gave her a hot look.
42. He could not bridle his anger.
43. He attacked every weak point in my argument.
44. In 1940, after the fall of France, England had no defense left but her
ancient valor.
45. The fire snaps and crackles like a whip; its sharp acrid smoke stings the
eyes. It is the fire that drives a thorn of memory in my heart.
46. The organization is keeping the brake on pay rises.
47. Her father is a captain of industry.
48. I am the captain of my soul.
49. To fall out of a tree in one’s early childhood is not a particularly
reassuring experience.
50. No man is an island: entire of itself; every man is a piece of the
continent.
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V. SEMANTIC RELATIONS BETWEEN WORDS
A. HYPONYMY
A relation in which the referent of a word is totally included in the

referent of another word. In other words, hyponymy is the relationship
between each of the hyponyms (the “lower” word) and its superordinate
(the “higher” word).
cook
grill toast boil fry roast bake smoke ...
stir-fry sauté deep-fry
A hyponym6 is a word "whose referent is totally included in the referent

of another word (the prefix hypo- in hyponym means ‘below’)."
(Finegan, 1994: 165)
Accordingly, a superordinate 7 is a word whose referent covers all the
referents of its hyponyms. (The prefix hyper- in hyper(o)nym means
‘over.’)
plant
tree bush flowering plant moss grass ...
Hyponyms often exist at more than one level, resulting in multiple layers
of hyponymic relationships.
6
Hyponyms are also referred to as subordinates or specific lexical terms.
7
Superordinates are also referred to as hyper(o)nyms or generic lexical items.
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color
blue red yellow green black ...
turquoise aquamarine royal blue
B. SYNONYMY
A relation in which various words have different (written and sound)

forms but have the same or nearly the same meaning.
TYPES OF SYNONYM
1. True Synonyms:
Two words of the same or almost the same denotative / referential
meaning. There are few true synonyms in the lexicon of a language.
Ex.
broad = wide; movie = film; deep = profound; buy = purchase
However, these words differ in their connotative meaning. For example,
film is usually British, referring to classic movies or art movies;
meanwhile, movie is American.
2. Partial Synonyms:
A word that shares one of the meanings with another.

Ex.
There are different ways / methods to do this.
But: To go to Bien Hoa, there is only one way (not method)
You have my deep / profound sympathy.
But: This river is very deep.
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This cheese is ripe / mature enough for us to eat.
But: This fruit is ripe enough. (not mature)
The boy is mature enough. (not ripe)
We can fill this container with soil / earth.
But: The rocket fell back to earth (not soil)
C. ANTONYMY
A relation in which two words have different (written and sound) forms
and are opposite in meaning.
TYPES OF ANTONYM
1. Binary Antonyms8:
Two words are complementary antonyms when they exclude each other.
In other words, ‘if one word is applicable, then the other cannot be.’
(Hurford & Heasley. 1983:114)
Test: A = not B (and vice versa)
Ex.
alive # dead  alive = not dead
open # close  close = not open
fail # pass  fail = not pass
2. Gradable Antonyms:
Two words are ‘gradable antonyms if they are at opposite ends of a

continuous scale of values (Hurford & Heasley. 1983:118).
In other words, there are intermediate grades / levels between the two
extremes. For example,
Hot  warm  lukewarm  cool  cold.
Love  be fond of  like  be indifferent  dislike  hate
Test: very/ how? + Adj/ Adv
much / very much / how much+ Verb
8
Also called complementary or non-gradable antonyms.
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Ex.
Old # Young  How old is he? – He is very old
Love # Hate  How much do you love her? – Very much!
3. Relational Antonyms9:
Two words are relational antonyms when they describe the same
relationship but they are mentioned in the opposite order. (Hurford &
Heasley. 1983:116)
Test: if A is … of B; then B is … of A
Ex.
husband # wife  If A is husband of B; then B is wife of A.
buy # sell  If A sells a car to B; then B buys the car from A.
Relational antonyms belong to various word classes:

- Verbs: buy-sell, give-receive, lend-borrow, import- export, own-belong
to, etc.
- Nouns: employer-employee, grandparent-grandchild, father/mother-
son/daughter, fiancé-fiancée, parent-child/offspring, professor-student,
teacher-pupil, doctor-patient, debtor-creditor, landlord/landlady-tenant,
husband-wife, uncle/aunt-nephew/niece, etc.
- Comparative adjectives: thinner-fatter, cheaper-more expensive, greater
than-less than, etc.
- Comparative adverbs: more efficiently-less efficiently, faster-more
slowly, etc.
- Prepositions: above-below, in front of-behind, over-under, before-after,
north of-south of, west of-east of, etc.
4. Multiple Incompatibility:
There are other words which are mutually opposite or incompatible, but
they cannot be put into one of the three types above. They form a system
called system of multiple incompatibility or oppositions. These systems
may have three or more members.
9
Also referred to as converses
23
Ex.
Season system: Spring – Summer – Autumn – Winter.
Physical state system: Solid – Gas – Liquid.
University student system: Freshman – Sophomore – Junior – Senior.
Primary element system: Earth – Air – Water – Fire.
D. HOMOPHONY
A relation in which various words have the same sound form10 but have
different meanings and written forms11.
Homophones are words with the same sound, different spellings, and
different meanings.
Ex.
you – ewe /ju:/
flour – flower /flaʊə(r)/
our – hour /aʊə(r)/
too – two /tu:/
meat – meet /mi:t/
E. HOMOGRAPHY
A relation in which various words have the same written form but have
different meanings and sound forms.
Homographs are words with the same spelling, different sounds,
different meanings.
Ex.
present (n) /ˈpreznt/ – present (v) /prɪˈzent/
lead (n) /led/ – lead (v) /li:d/
10
Also referred to as pronunciation.
11
Also referred to as spellings.
24
F. HOMONYMY
A relation in which various words have the same (sound and written)
form but have different meanings.
Homonyms are words with the same sound, same spelling, different
meanings.
Ex.
bank (a financial institution) – bank (shore of a river)
bear (a large heavy animal with thick fur) – bear (to give birth to)
Note: There is no relation between the meanings of homonyms.
G. POLYSEMY
A relation in which a single word has two or more slightly different but
closely related meanings.
A polysemous word is a word with different but related meanings. (There
is something common among the meanings)
Ex.
fork for eating, for gardening, or of a road all share the same form of a
fork of a river
DISTINCTION BETWEEN POLYSEMY AND HOMONYMY

- The word’s etymology, or historical origin:
bank1 meaning financial institution is an early borrowing from French
while bank2 meaning shore of a river has a Scandinavian origin.
- The word’s antonyms and synonyms:
Since the two senses of plain, which are (1) clear or easy and (2)
undecorated, share a synonym in simple and an antonym in complex., it
is a polysemous word.
No such shared synonym or antonym can be identified for the two
meanings of sound, which is, by chance, the form of two different words,
sound1 (something that you can hear) sound2 (in good condition).
- The commonality between the different meanings of what appears to be
the same word.
25
The two meanings of plain can be characterized as devoid of complexity,
which suggests that they are related, but no such description exists for
bank1 and bank2.
- Homonyms like bank1 and bank2, port1 and port2, sound1 and sound2, etc.
are treated in distinct dictionary entries, whereas two or more closely
related meanings of the polysemous word foot, chip, or plain are linked
together within a single dictionary entry.
EXERCISE 8
The following sentences contain pairs of partial synonyms. Decide in
which sentences the words in italics can be used interchangeably.
1. There are strong/powerful arguments for and against capital punishment.
2. He loves strong/powerful coffee.
3. This cheese is ripe/mature enough for us to eat.
4. We cannot eat this fruit because it isn’t ripe/mature yet.
5. My boss is not broad/wide-minded.
6. The Thames is a broad/wide river.
7. We can plant the trees on this good soil/earth.
8. The rocket fell back to soil/earth.
9. I will be on your edge/side.
10. This house is at the edge/side of the forest.
11. If the weather permits/allows, we’ll go boating.
12. Photography is not permitted/allowed in this area.
EXERCISE 9
Are the following pairs of words binary antonyms?
1. chalk – cheese Yes / No
2. dead – alive Yes / No
3. same – different Yes / No
4. married – unmarried Yes / No
26
5. copper – tin Yes / No
6. cheap – expensive Yes / No
EXERCISE 10
Are the following pairs of words relational antonyms?
1. below – above Yes / No
2. grandparent – grandchild Yes / No
3. love – hate Yes / No
4. greater than – less than Yes / No
5. conceal – reveal Yes / No
6. own – belong to Yes / No
EXERCISE 11
Decide whether the following pairs of antonyms are binary,
gradable, or relational.
1. good – bad B/G/R
2. expensive – cheap B/G/R
3. parent – offspring B/G/R
4. beautiful – ugly B/G/R
5. false – true B/G/R
6. pass – fail B/G/R
7. hot – cold B/G/R
8. legal – illegal B/G/R
9. larger – smaller B/G/R
10. poor – rich B/G/R
11. fast - slow B/G/R
12. asleep – awake B/G/R
13. husband – wife B/G/R
14. rude – polite B/G/R
27
15. below – above B/G/R
16. grandparent – grandchild B/G/R
17. none – all B/G/R
18. same – different B/G/R
19. doctor – patient B/G/R
20. before – after B/G/R
EXERCISE 12
Decide whether the following words with their different meanings
are homonymy or polysemy.
1. grass: herbage for grazing animals
marijuana
2. range: a cooking stove
a series of mountains
3. key: an instrument to open a clock
an answer sheet for a test
4. reel: a spool for photographic film
a round device at the butt end of a fishing rod to the line.
5. race: the act of running competitively
people belonging to the same genetic group
6. bark: of a dog
of a tree
7. fork: in a road
an instrument for eating
8. tail: of a coat
of an animal
9. lip: of a jug
of a person
10. punch: a blow with a fist
a kind of alcoholic drink
28
EXERCISE 13
Identify the relation between the words in the following pairs
1. dead – alive
2. love – hate
3. married – unmarried
4. hot – cold
5. buy – sell
6. liquid – gas
7. male – female
8. boy – girl
9. movie – film
10. rose – flower
11. bank (of a river) – bank (for money)
12. meet – meat
13. oak – tree
14. a bear – to bear
15. own – belong to
16. clever – stupid
17. close to – next to
28. flourish – thrive
19. flog – whip
20. casual – informal
29
VI. SENTENCE MEANING
A. PROPOSITIONS / SENTENCES / UTTERANCES
1. Propositions
A proposition is that part of the meaning of the utterance of a declarative
sentence which describes some state of affairs. The state of affairs
typically involves persons or things referred to by expressions in the
sentence. In uttering a declarative sentence a speaker typically asserts a
proposition. (Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 19)
Ex.
The following pair of sentences expresses the same proposition:
Harry took out the garbage.
Harry took the garbage out.
The following pair of sentences expresses different propositions:
George danced with Ethel.
George didn’t dance with Ethel.
2. Sentences
A sentence is a string of words put together by the grammatical rules of
a language. (Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 16)
Ex.
A house was struck by lightning last night.
Money doesn’t make happiness.
3. Utterances
An utterance is a piece of language (a sequence of sentences, a single
phrase, or a single word) used by a particular speaker on a particular
occasion. (Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 15)
Ex.
“Hello.”
“Utterances may consists of a single word, a single phrase, or a single
sentence. They may also consist of a sequence of sentences.”
30
B. TYPES OF SENTENCE
1. Analytic sentences
An analytic sentence is one that is necessarily true, as a result of the
senses of the words in it. (Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 91-92)
Ex.
All elephants are animals. (The truth of this sentence follows from the
senses of elephants and animals.)
Sam’s wife is married. (The truth of this sentence follows from the
senses of wife and married.)
2. Contradictory sentences
A contradictory sentence12 is a sentence that is necessarily false, as a
result of the senses of the words in it. Thus a contradictory sentence is in
a way the opposite of an analytic sentence. (Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 93)
Ex.
This animal is a vegetable. (The sentence must be false because of the
senses of animal and vegetable.)
Sam is older than himself. (The sentence must be false because of the
senses of older than and himself. In fact, Sam can be older (or younger)
than somebody else, but not than himself.)
3. Synthetic sentences
A synthetic sentence is one which is not analytic, but may be either true
or false, depending on the way the world is. (Hurford and Heasley, 1984: 92])
Ex.
John is from Ireland.
There is nothing in the senses of John, Ireland or from which makes the
sentence necessarily true or false.
Sam’s wife is German.
There is nothing in the senses of Sam’s, wife or German which makes
the sentence necessarily true or false.
12
Also referred to as a contradiction.
31
EXERCISE 14
1. Fill in the chart with ‘+’ or ‘-‘ as appropriate.
Utterances Sentences Propositions
Can be loud or quiet
Can be grammatical or not
Can be true or false
In a particular regional accent
In a particular language
2. Can the same proposition be expressed by different sentences? Y/N

3. Can the same sentence be realized by different utterances? Y/N
4. Are the followings a sentence or an utterance?
a. John sang wonderfully last night. S/U
b. “John sang wonderfully last night.” S/U
7. Is an utterance tied to a particular time and place? Y/N
8. Is a sentence tied to a particular time and place? Y/N
EXERCISE 15
Circle the following sentences A for analytic, S for synthetic or C for

contradiction, as appropriate.
1. John’s nine-year-old brother is a boy. A/S/C

2. John’s brother is nine years old. A/S/C
3. Cats are not vegetables. A/S/C
4. No cats like to bathe. A/S/C
5. Cats never live more than 20 years. A/S/C
6. My watch is slow. A/S/C
7. My watch is a device for telling the time. A/S/C
8. That girl is her own mother’s mother. A/S/C
9. That boy is his own father’s son. A/S/C
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10. Alice is Ken’s sister. A/S/C
11. Some typewriters are dusty. A/S/C
12. If it breaks, it breaks. A/S/C
13. He killed Bill, who remained alive for many years after. A/S/C
14. Bachelors cannot form lasting relationships. A/S/C
15. Bachelors are lonely. A/S/C
16. Bachelors are unmarried. A/S/C
17. Bachelors are female. A/S/C
18. My wife is unmarried. A/S/C
19. My sister is older than I am. A/S/C
20. Paris is the capital of Thailand. A/S/C
33
VII. SEMANTIC RELATIONS BETWEEN SENTENCES
A. ENTAILMENT
A relation between two sentences in which “the truth of one implies the
truth of the other because of the meanings of the words involved.”
(Goddard, 1998: 17)
A sentence A entails a sentence B if the truth of B follows necessarily
from the truth of A. (Hurford & Heasley. 1983:107)
Test: A is true  B is true: A entails B
Ex.
I bought some roses.  I bought some flowers.
John ate my biscuits.  Someone ate something.
Paul killed Bill.  Bill died.
B. PARAPHRASE
A relation in which two or more sentences have the same meaning.

A paraphrase of a sentence is a sentence which expresses the same
proposition13 as another sentence. (Hurford & Heasley. 1983:114)
A paraphrase of a sentence is another sentence that has virtually the same
meaning. (Peccei, 1999:3)
Sentences are paraphrases if they have the same meaning (except
possibly for minor differences in emphasis). (Fromkin & Rodman, 1993:
132)
Ex.
Paul borrowed a car from Sue.  Sue lent a car to Paul.
The needle is too short.  The needle is not long enough.
I’ll look for that book right now.  I’ll seek for that book at once.
Some countries have no coastline.  Not all countries have a coast line.
13
A proposition is that part of the meaning of the utterance of a declarative sentences which
describes some state of affairs.
34
TYPES OF PARAPHRASE
1. Lexical Paraphrase: Paraphrases that contains synonyms (same

structure, different words but synonyms)
Ex.
I’m very happy to see you.  I’m very glad to see you.
The house was concealed by the trees.  The house was hidden by the
trees.
2. Structural Paraphrase: Two sentences of different structure but same

meaning. The difference in structure is not enough to change the meaning.
Ex.
The lion bit the hunter.  The hunter was bitten by the lion.
Paul opened the door with a key.  Paul used a key to open the door.
C. CONTRADICTORINESS
Two sentences are contradictory if it is impossible for them both to be

true at the same time and of the same circumstances. (Hurford &
Heasley. 1983:119) In other words, they contradict / exclude each other.
Ex.
I am a bachelor. I am a father.
This ant is alive.  This ant is dead.
John killed Bill.  Bill is still alive.
Mary is my sister.  I am the only child in the family.
EXERCISE 16
What sense relation can be found between the two sentences in each
of the following pairs:
1. (a) Tom is married to Mary.
(b) Mary is married to Tom.
2. (b) Jim is fatter than Bob.
(a) Jim is fatter than Ed and Ed is fatter than Bob.
35
3. (a) John is the father of Neil.
(b) Neil is the father of John.
4. (a) Some of the students came to my party.
(b) Not all of the students came to my party.
5. (a) Dick is a bachelor.
(b) Dick is a man.
6. (a) The fly was over the wall.
(b) The wall was under the fly.
7. (a) Tom is a student.
(b) A student goes to college.
8. (a) Jane is a spinster.
(b) Jane is married.
9. (a) Kevin boiled an egg.
(b) Kevin cooked an egg.
10. (a) The beetle is alive.
(b) The beetle is dead.
11. (a) Although he is very poor, he lives happily.
(b) Poor as he is, he lives happily.
12. (a) Gina plays tennis.
(b) Gina plays sports.
13. (a) I have a personal computer.
(b) Personal computers are now much cheaper than they were.
14. (a) Since it rains heavily, I stay at home.
(b) It rains heavily, so I stay at home.
15. (a) Mary is my sister.
(b) I am the only child in the family.
16. (a) No one has led a perfect life.
(b) Some people have led a perfect life.
17. (a) The house was concealed by the trees.
(b) The house was hidden by the trees.
18. (a) John murdered Bill.
(b) John hated Bill.
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VIII. SEMANTIC ANOMALY AND AMBIGUITY
A. ANOMALY
A violation of semantic rules to create nonsense. (Finegan, 1993: 148)

Ex.
That bachelor is pregnant is semantically anomalous because bachelor is
[+male] whereas pregnant is [+female].
My brother is the only child in the family is an English sentence that is
grammatically correct and syntactically perfect; however, it is
semantically anomalous because it represents a contradiction. The
meaning of brother includes the semantic feature [+having at least one
sibling] whereas the only child in the family is [+having no other sibling].
B. AMBIGUITY
A word, a phrase, or a sentence is ambiguous when it has more than one

meaning.
Ex.
A ring (a phone call or a piece of jewelry)
At the bank (the shore of a river or a financial institution)
He greeted the girl with a smile. (the boy was smiling or the girl was
smiling)
TYPES OF AMBIGUITY
1. Lexical Ambiguity
Any ambiguity resulting from the ambiguity of a word is lexical
ambiguity.
Ex
They were waiting at the bank can be interpreted in two different ways
because the two nouns bank — bank1, which means financial institution
and bank2, which means shore of the river — are two homonyms.
37
That robot is bright can be interpreted in two different ways because the
adjective bright is a polysemous word which has two slightly different
but closely related meanings: shining and intelligent.
Thus, both polysemy and homonymy contribute to lexical ambiguity.
2. Structural Ambiguity
A sentence is considered as structurally ambiguous when its structure
permits more than one interpretation.
Ex.
We watched the woman with binoculars.
= We watched the woman by using binoculars or
= We watched the woman who was carrying binoculars.
Visiting relatives can be boring.
= To visit relatives can be boring or
= Relatives who are visiting can be boring.
I loves Mary more than you.
= I loves Mary more than you love her or
= I loves Mary more than I love you.
EXERCISE 17
Explain the anomaly of each of the following sentences.
1. Christopher is killing phonemes.
2. My brother is a spinster.
3. The boy swallowed the chocolate and then chewed it.
4. Babies can lift one ton.
5. Puppies are human.
6. My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor.
7. The bigger key and John opened the door.
8. James sliced the ideas.
9. Jack’s courage chewed the bones.
10. The tiger remained alive for an hour after the hunter killed it.
38
EXERCISE 18
Explain the lexical ambiguity in each of the following sentences by
providing two sentences that paraphrase its two different
meanings.
1. They were waiting at the bank.
2. The long drill is boring.
3. When he got the clear title to the land, it was a good deed.
4. The proprietor of the fish store was the sole owner.
5. We like the ball.
6. They passed the port at night.
7. The captain corrected the list.
8. He was knocked over by the punch.
9. The camel swallowed the chocolate and then ate it.
10. Don’t sit on those glasses.
EXERCISE 19
Explain the structural ambiguity in each of the following sentences:
1. The drunkard visitor rolled up the carpet.
2. Is he really that kind?
3. My fiancée is reserved.
4. I saw her slip.
5. I saw her duck.
6. They are cooking bananas.
7. They are moving sidewalks.
8. John loves Richard more than Martha.
9. Old men and women will be served first.
10. The thing that bothered Bill was crouching under the table.
39
IX. UTTERANCE MEANINGS
A. DEFINITION
An utterance is a piece of language (a sequence of sentences, a single

phrase, or a single word) used by a particular speaker on a particular
occasion. (Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 15)
Ex.
“Hello.”
“Utterances may consists of a single word, a single phrase, or a single
sentence. They may also consist of a sequence of sentences.”
B. CONTEXT
Context, simply speaking, is the surroundings where an utterance is.

The concept “context” was first put forward in 1923 by Bronislaw
Malinowski, an English Professor of Anthropology. He distinguished
between context of culture and context of situation.
The context of situation consists of three components: scene, manner,
and communicator. These elements interact with each other and limit the
choice of forms.
The context of culture refers to the social and cultural background which
language forms can depend on. Language is the carrier of culture, as well
as a part of culture.
Context plays an important role in the process of utterance interpretation.
C. TYPES OF UTTERANCE
According to Austin, utterances can be divided into two categories:
constatives and performatives.
1. Constatives
Constative utterances describe states of affairs which are either true or
false. They are utterances which describe the world and in so doing
ascertain or state something. Constatives mostly (though not necessarily)
have the form of declarative sentences, they refer to the act of saying
something, and, as mentioned above, they are truth-evaluable or at least
40
purport to describe reality (cf. Petrey 1990:4).
Ex.
“John promised to repay me tomorrow.” (The utterance describes a
promise but is not itself a promise.)
“The cat is on the mat.”
2. Performatives
Performative utterances often take the form of declarative sentences with
which the speaker performs the action denoted by some performative
verb (e.g. promise, declare etc.). In so doing, the speaker does not
describe the world but changes it.
Performatives do not have truth conditions but felicity conditions, which
distinguishes performatives from constatives.
Ex.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.” (when uttered by the
authorized officiator during a marriage ceremony)
“You're fired!” (when exclaimed by an employer terminating a person's
employment).
a. Explicit Performatives
Explicit performatives are those that contain a performative verb14 like
promise, warn, announce, etc.
Ex.
“I promise to give you a helpful hand when you are in need.”
“I warn you that you will fail.”
b. Implicit Performatives
Implicit performatives are those that do not contain a performative verb.
14
A performative verb is a verb where saying it or writing it performs the action itself. If you say 'I
resign', then saying it performs the act of resignation. Characteristics of performative verbs are: (1)
Performative verbs are verbs that describe actions carried out by speakers; (2) they are used in 1st
person singular, simple present, indicative, active; (3) they can be combined with hereby (cf.
Bublitz 2009:75f).
41
Ex.
“If you need me at any time, just call.”
“If you do not try your best, you’ll fail in the exam.”
EXERCISE 20
Are the following utterances performative (P) or constative (C)?

1. “I name this ship Hibernia.” P/C
2. “Listeners were reminded that BBC wireless licenses expire
on April 9th.” P/C
3. “The management hereby warn customers
that mistakes in change cannot be rectified
once the customer has left the counter.” P/C
4. “I think I was wrong.” P/C
5. “I hereby inform you that you are sacked.” P/C
6. “All passengers on flight number forty-seven are requested
to proceed to gate ten.” P/C
7. “I warn you not to come any closer.” P/C
8. “I try to get this box open with a screwdriver.” P/C
9. “I pronounce you man and wife.” P/C
10. “I sentence you to be hanged by the neck.” P/C
11. “You are hereby forbidden to leave this room.” P/C
12. “I give you supper every night.” P/C
13. “My wife and I thank you for the compliments
you have paid us.” P/C
14. “I admit I was hasty.” P/C
15. “I believe in the dictatorship of the Proletariat.” P/C
16. “I have warned you not to invest in that company.” P/C
17. “We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the persons
and organizations that supported this project.” P/C
18. “I promised to take them to the zoo.” P/C
19. “I would like to inform you that our call center will
shortly be publishing some information.” P/C
20. “We were informed that the patient had not been
examined yet.” P/C
42
X. PRESUPPOSITION
A. DEFINITION
A presupposition is “what a speaker or writer assumes that the receiver
of the message already knows.” (Richards, Platt & Weber, 1987: 228)
A presupposition is “anything the speaker assumes to be true before
making the utterance.” (Pecci, 1999: 19)
B. TYPES OF PRESUPPOSITION
1. Existential presupposition:
Existential assumes the existence of the entities named.
Ex.
“Mary’s dog is cute.” >> (presupposes) Mary has a dog (the dog exists).
“Your car is nice.” >> You have a car.
2. Factive presupposition
Factive presupposition assumes something to be a fact (usually with the
verbs as know, realize, regret, be aware of, be glad …)
Ex.
“We regret telling him the news.” >> We told him the news.
“She didn’t realized he was ill.” >> He was ill.
“I wasn’t aware that she was married.” >> She was married.
“It is odd that he left early.” >> He left early.
“I’m glad that it’s over.” >> It’s over.
3. Lexical presupposition
Lexical presupposition: the use of some words conventionally assumes
the understood meaning.
Ex.
“He stopped smoking.” >> He used to smoke.
“They started complaining.” >> They weren’t complaining before.
“You’re late again.” >> You were late before.
43
4. Structural presupposition
Structural presupposition: the use of some structures assume something
to be true.
Ex.
“When did he leave?” >> He left.
“Where did you buy the bike?” >> You bought the bike.
“When did she get married?” >> She got married.
5. Non-factive presupposition
Non-factive presupposition: one that is assumed not to be true (the verbs
like: dream, imagine, pretend…)
Ex.
“I dreamed that I was rich.” >> I was not rich.
“We imagined we were in Hawaii.” >> We were not in Hawaii.
“He pretends to be ill.” >> He is not ill.
6. Counter-factual presupposition
Counter-factual presupposition: what is presupposed is not only not true,
but is the opposite of what is true (contrary to facts)
Ex.
“If you were my friend, you would have helped me.” >> You are not my
friend.
EXERCISE 21
Identify possible presuppositions in each of the following utterances.
1. “I am sorry I cannot find your book right now.”

The utterance presupposes that _________________________________
2. “On the occasion of my friend's birthday, I intend to buy her a new
vase.”
3. “The exam is not so difficult.”
44
4. “She is not happy about the chemistry course she's taking.”
5. “We haven’t heard anything from Barbara.”
6. “They were rich.”
7. “Can you stop playing with your cat?”
8. “She was not aware that her son had an accident.”
9. “The explosion was so loud that it could be heard from miles away.”
10. “I wish I had not booked the tickets.”
11. “Tom might find the chocolate cake in the kitchen.”
12. “You will be amazed when you see the view.”
13. “I am so sorry, I am in a hurry and I can’t answer your question right
now.”
14. “She was not aware that it would hurt her so much.”
15. “She keeps complaining like an old woman.”
16. “Could you drive me to the airport?”
17. “It took us two days to come back from Hanoi by train.”
18. “It is going to rain for a long time.”
19. “I am going to have a final examination in Semantics.”
45
20. “We are going to be teachers of English.”
21. “I think I will pass the exam.”
22. “I hope to have a good result for this exam.”
23. “But before your encouragement, we would have given up.”
24. “I got an excellent mark for my essay last time.”
25. “I missed my class on Monday because I overslept.”
26. “My sister is going to graduate from university.”
27. “I’ve got a good mark for the exam in American Literature.”
28. “I am going to have a new grammar book.”
29. “When did you give up teaching?”
30. “When did you stop beating your wife?”
31. “Fred continued/didn’t continue speaking.”
32. “I cleaned/didn’t clean the room.”
33. “He killed/didn’t kill the bird.”
34. “What was John worried about?”
35. “Bill drank another glass of beer?”
46
36. “Could you lend me the novel when you finish it?”
37. “I can’t guess when the rain stops?”
38. “Please take me to the circus again.”
39. “He pretended to be pleased with the gift.”
40. “If only you had taken his offer.”
41. “You shouldn’t have seen that film.”
42. “My former sweet heart has just left for America.”
43. “I regret saying ‘no’ to your request.”
44. “Who broke the vase?”
45. “I’m going to apply for a job.”
46. “They are happy with the results of the final exam.”
47. “How fast was the car going when it ran the red light?”
48. “I imagined that you were ill.”
49. “Suppose you were a teacher.”
50. “They act as if they were my parents.”
47
XI. IMPLICATURE
A. DEFINITION
Implicature is used by Grice (1975) to account for what a speaker can
imply, suggest, or mean, as from what the speaker literally says.
Implicature is an additional conveyed meaning.
Ex.
- Students: “Sir, how are our final exams?”
- Teacher: “Few of you passed.”
Implicature: Not many / not most of you passed. (many of you failed)
B. THE COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE

Grice proposed a way of analyzing conversational implicature based on
the co-operative principle and its four basic maxims of Quality,
Quantity, Relevance, and Manner.
The co-operative principle:
Make your contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it
occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in
which you are engaged.
1. The Maxim of Quality

Try to make your contribution one that is true, specifically:
(i) do not say what you believe to be false
(ii) do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence
2. The Maxim of Quantity

(i) make your contribution as informative as required for current
purposes of the exchange
(ii) do not make your contribution more informative than is required
3. The Maxim of Relevance

Make your contribution relevant
4. The Maxim of Manner

Be perspicuous, and specifically:
48
(i) avoid obscurity
(ii) avoid ambiguity
(iii) be brief
(iv) be orderly
C. TYPES OF IMPLICATURE
1. Conversational Implicature
An implicature based on the assumption that the participants respect the
cooperative principles. The speaker deliberately flouts a conversational
maxim to convey an additional meaning not expressed literally.
Ex 1:
A: “I hope you brought the bread and the cheese.”
B: “I brought the cheese.”
Implicature: B did not bring the bread. (B deliberately flouts the maxim
of quantity.)
A: “Is the boss in?”
B: “The light in his office is still on.”
Implicature: The boss is still in the office. (B deliberately flouts the
maxim of relevance.)
2. Scalar Implicature
An implicature based on scales. When any form in a scale is asserted, the
negative of all forms higher on the scale is implicated.
- Quantity scale: No one – Few – A few – Some – Many – Most – All
- Frequency scale: Never – Rarely – Seldom – Sometimes – Often –
Usually – Always.
- Possibility scale: Possible – probable – Almost certain – Certain.
Ex.
“Some students visited me yesterday.”
Implicature: Not many / Not all … visited me yesterday
“I seldom go swimming at this swimming pool.”
Implicature: I do not often / always go swimming at this swimming pool.
49
3. Conventional Implicature
An implicature based on the convention associated with specific words.
Conventional implicature is independent of the cooperative principle and
its maxims.
Ex.
“I tried my best to get the ticket.”
Implicature: I didn’t get the ticket. (tried conventionally implicates
failure)
“The teacher hasn’t come yet.”
Implicature: The teacher is expected to come later. (yet implicates to be
true later)
“Even the President came to the party.”
Implicature: That the President came to the party is out of expectation.
(even implicates contrary to expectation)
D. DISTINCTION BETWEEN PRESUPPOSITIONS AND

CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURES
A presupposition is "anything the speaker assumes to be true before
making the utterance" [Peccei, 1999: 19] while a conversational
implicature is an inference or an additional unstated meaning drawn
from any conversation.
Ex.
(1) A: “What happened to my calculator?”
B: “Someone used it this morning.”
A’s utterance presupposes that A has a calculator and that the calculator
worked well before.
B’s utterance may implicate that it is not B who broke the calculator.
(2) A: “Will your brother go to the conference this afternoon?”
B: “He’s gone to Ha Noi.”
A’s utterance presupposes that B has a brother and that there will be a
conference this afternoon.
B’s utterance may implicate that B’s brother will not go to the
conference.
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EXERCISE 22
Choose the one that is the best implicature for the following
situations.
1. - “Did you hear that Jeff has passed his oral exam?”
- “Finally.”
A. Jeff agreed to take the oral exam again.
B. Jeff passed the oral exam and went on a vacation.
C. It took Jeff a long time to pass his oral exam.
D. Jeff didn’t take the oral exam.
2. - “How do you like the new librarian at the information desk?”
- “You mean Ron? He’s been here as long as I have!”
A. He has been waiting for Ron for a long time.
B. Ron is not a new librarian.
C. Ron did a lot of work for the man.
D. He needs to collect some information from Ron.
3. - “Mary is going to give me a ride to the party.”
- “How could she? She doesn’t have her license yet.”
A. Mary is going to the airport.
B. Mary is not going to the party.
C. Mary is not very kind.
D. Mary should not be driving.
4. - “Would you like me to call a night escort?”
- “If possible.”
A. She doesn’t need an escort.
B. She will call a night escort by herself.
C. She would like the man to get a night escort for her.
D. She’s afraid the man won’t help her.
5. - “Do you accept credit card?”
- “Only if the charge is more than $15.”
A. The fee for charging is more than $15.
B. He cannot use a credit card if he spends less than $15.
C. The store does not accept credit cards.
D. She cannot accept cash.
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6. - “I hope I can still register for the speech class.”
- “I heard there was a long waiting list.”
A. The woman has to wait in line to register.
B. It may be too late for the woman to get into the speech class.
C. The woman needs to take another class before registering for this
class.
D. The woman should go by herself to sign up for the class.
7. - “Dr. John, is it possible for the exam to be an open book exam?”
- “Well it would be OK with me, but we have to follow the department
regulations.”
A. Students can bring their books to the exam.
B. Dr. John will be the next department chair.
C. Dr. John will probably not give an open book exam.
D. It’s up to the students.
8. - “Could you take my phone calls for me while I am away?”
- “Sure, when will you be back?”
A. He does not know how to take care of the phone.
B. He’s going to leave too.
C. He will answer the telephone for the woman.
D. He is coming back soon.
9. - “Shall we sit here and talk?”
- “There is no better place than here.”
A. It’s not a good place or time to talk.
B. I’m thinking about making this place better.
C. This is a good place for a conversation.
D. You’d better leave this place now.
10. - “Maria, why did you get up so early today?”
- “I thought someone was coming over.”
A. She was expecting someone to visit.
B. She didn’t like to get up early.
C. She got up early and went out.
D. Someone called her early in the morning.
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11. - “Do you carry containers for a microwave oven?”
- “Umm … check the grocery store next to the gas station to see if they
have any.”
A. This grocery store does not accept checks.
B. Check your shopping list while you are shopping.
C. This store doesn’t have what he wants.
D. Check to see if the grocery store is next to the gas station.
12. - “Bob, you’d better get down to the museum tomorrow if you want to
see the exhibit.”
- “Yeah, I don’t want to miss it again.”
A. I will sit down and rest.
B. I will pay the money.
C. I will take the boat tour.
D. I will visit the exhibit.
13. - “Usually Jim washes his car himself.”
- “Yeah, but this time he took his car to the carwash.”
A. Jim washed his friend’s car.
B. Jim’s was not very well cleaned.
C. Jim didn’t wash his car this time.
D. Jim once had a job washing cars.
14. - “I was hoping to take this class last fall.”
- “Me too, but we’re lucky to get in now.”
A. The school offers more classes now.
B. This is a small section.
C. It’s difficult to get into this class.
D. Last fall the class was better.
15. - “Do you usually drink so much water?”
- “Only after this much exercise.”
A. He drinks a lot of water during the day.
B. He doesn’t usually drink so much water.
C. He has never been so thirsty.
D. He likes soft drinks more than water.
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16. - “Hi, how’s it going?”
- “OK, but I can’t stand all the homework.”
A. He is tired of standing up all day.
B. He is finishing his homework.
C. He has a lot of school work.
D. He has been working at home.
17. - “Mr. Blake misread the bus schedule.”
- “So he was not able to get there in time.”
A. He used the wrong bus schedule.
B. He’s going to get a bus schedule.
C. He likes to ride a bus.
D. He missed the bus.
18. - “John has his hair cut every two weeks.”
- “But Peter has his hair cut every month.”
A. John has his hair cut every month.
B. John has his hair cut twice as often as Peter does.
C. John had a haircut two weeks ago.
D. This month Peter hasn’t had his hair cut.
19. - “Pat, are your parents still supporting you?”
- “I’m on my own now.”
A. She is financially independent now.
B. She needs a financial advisor.
C. She applied for a job last year.
D. She’s happy with her financial plan.
20. - “How often do the buses run?”
- “Every half hour on weekdays, but I’m not sure about weekend.”
A. The woman should check the bus schedule.
B. The buses stop running on Fridays.
C. The bus doesn’t stop at the corner.
D. The schedule on the corner is out-of-date.
54
EXERCISE 23
Give a possible implicature of B’s utterance in each of the following
situations.
1. A: “Did you buy salt?”
B: “I tried to.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
2. A: “Do any of John’s daughters speak a foreign language?”
B: “Mary speaks French.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
3. A: “Did many students visit you last weekend?”
B: “Some of the students came.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
4. A: “You and Jim must come to my house some evening.”
B: “Yes, we’d like to.”
A: “ Of course, you two don’t drink, do you?”
B: “Well, we don’t not drink.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
5. A: “Do you love me?”
B: “I’m quite fond of you.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
6. A: “Was there a fiddler at the bar last night?”
B: “There was a man scraping a bow across a violin.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
7. A: “Do you like my new carpet?”
B: “The wallpaper’s much better.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
8. A: “Do you go to the swimming pool every day?”
B: “ Rarely.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
9. A: “How are Mr. John’s daughters?”
B: “ The youngest is OK.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
10. A: “My car’s broken down.”
B: “There is a garage round the corner.”
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Implicature: ________________________________________________
11. A: “What subjects is Jack taking?”
B: “He’s not taking Linguistics.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
12. A: “Have you brushed your teeth and tidied your room?”
B: “I’ve brushed my teeth.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
13. A: “Who was that man you were talking to?”
B: “That was my mother’s husband.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
14. A: “Has Betty gone to bed?”
B: “Her desk lamp is still on.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
15. A: “Let’s try the new Arab restaurant round the corner.”
B: “I’m a vegetarian.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
16. A: “Meet me at Piccadilly Circus at midnight”
B: “I’ll bring a bodyguard in that case.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
17. A: “Do you use your local swimming pool very much?”
B: “The salt water hurts my eyes.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
18. A: “How much do I owe you now?”
B: “I’ll have to get my calculator.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
19. A: “Coffee?”
B: “It would keep me awake all night.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
20. A: “Have you finished the student’s evaluation form and reading list?”
B: “I’ve done the reading list.”
Implicature: ________________________________________________
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EXERCISE 24
In each of the following decide whether each of the inferences in
brackets is a presupposition or an implicature.
1. A: “John lives in New York.”
B: “His girlfriend lives in Boston.” (John has a girlfriend.)
2. A: “What?”
B: “Why are you laughing at me?” (You are laughing at me.)
3. A: “Why is she eating those?”
B: “Her father didn’t give her any supper.” (She is hungry.)
4. A: “Is John engaged?”
B: “He’s bought a ring.” (John is engaged.)
5. A: “You look pleased.”
B: “I managed to pass the exam.” (I tried hard to pass the exam.)
6. A: “Did you finish that report?”
B: “I started it.” (I didn’t finish it.)
7. A: “I didn’t take it.”
B: “Why do you always lie?” (You always lie.)
8. A: “What’s with Jean?”
B: “She discovered that her central heating is broken.” (Her central
heating is broken.)
9. A: “How do you like your bath?”
B: “Warm.” (I don’t like it hot.)
10. A: “What do you think of this necklace and bracelet?”
B: “The bracelet is beautiful.” (The necklace is not beautiful.)
11. A: “Has the kitchen been painted?”
B: “Tom’s away.” (No.)
12. A: “How come Mary’s all dressed up?
B: “We’re going to the D-E-N-T-I-S-T.” (Mary hates the dentist.)
14. A: “Has Betty gone to bed?”
B: “Her desk lamp is still on.” (Betty hasn’t gone to bed.)
15. A: “How much do I owe you now?”
B: “I’ll have to get my calculator.” (B has lent A some money.)
57
XII. SPEECH ACTS
A. DEFINITION
Speech acts are actions performed via utterances. In English, speech acts
are commonly given more specific labels, such as apology, complaint,
compliment, invitation, promise, or request… (Yule, 1996: 47).
People do not only produce utterances containing grammatical structures
and words, but they perform actions through those utterances.
For example, when a boss tells an unwanted guest, “The door is right
behind you!” he does not want to make a statement about the location of
the door, but he uses the utterance to perform the act of putting the guest
out of his room.
B. DIMENSIONS OF A SPEECH ACT

The action performed through an utterance (speech act) consists of 3
related acts:
1. Locutionary act:
The act of making an utterance, of producing a meaningful linguistic
expression.
2. Illocutionary act:
The intention / purpose of the speaker when making an utterance (also
known as the illocutionary force of the utterance)
3. Perlocutionary act:
The effect of the utterance on the hearer (also known as the
perlocutionary effect) (Yule, 1996: 48-49).
Ex.
“Oh, it’s very cold in here!”
• Locutionary act: the act of making the utterance “Oh, it’s very cold in
here”
• Illocutionary act: the speaker wants someone to close the door and
windows.
• Perlocutionary act: someone goes to close the windows and door.
58
Of these three acts, the most discussed is illocutionary act. The term
‘speech act’ is generally interpreted quite narrowly to mean only the
illocutionary force of the utterance. The illocutionary force of an
utterance is what it ‘counts as’. The same locutionary act may count as a
statement, a complaint, a request, etc. depending on the situation in
which the utterance is made.
C. TYPES OF SPEECH ACTS

1. Declaratives
The speech acts that change the world via their utterance (blessing,
announcing, arresting, naming, marrying, firing, dismissing,…)
Ex.
Priest: “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Referee: “You’re out!”
Jury Foreman: “We find the defendant guilty.”
2. Representatives
The speech acts that state what the speaker believes to be the case or not
(statement, assertion, conclusion, description, claim, report,
hypothesis…)
Ex.
“Chomsky didn’t write about peanuts.”
“It was a warm sunny day.”
“The robber might have escaped by the window.”
3. Expressives
The speech acts that state what the speaker feels (statements of pleasure,
pain, likes, dislikes, joy, sorrow, greetings, apologies, congratulations,
condolences, thanks, wish, complaint, compliment, leave taking, saying
goodbye, admiration, irony, mocking, …)
Ex.
“I’m really sorry!”
“Congratulations!”
59
“Thank you very much indeed.”
4. Directives
The speech acts that speakers use to get someone else to do something
(orders, commands, requests, suggestions, asking, advice, giving
permission, giving way, warning, offer, complaint, threat, urge,
challenge, invitation,…)
Ex.
“Give me a cup of coffee. Make it black.”
“Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“You should study much harder.”
5. Rogatives
A special kind of directives which deals with requests for information
and which is typically in form of a question.
Ex.
A: “Where are you from?”
B: “I’m from Canada.”
A: “How long have you been here?”
B: “For ten years.”
A: “Is your wife a teacher?”
B: “No, she’s a nurse.”
A’s utterances are rogatives.
6. Commissives
The speech acts that speakers use to commit themselves to some future
action (promises, vow, threats, refusals, acceptation, offers, …)
Ex.
“I’ll be back.”
“I won’t do it again.”
“I want to, but I have to finish this report right now.”
60
D. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LINGUISTIC STRUCTURES AND
SPEECH ACTS
Peccei (1999: 54) gives the following linguistic expressions typically

related to various types of speech acts.
Speech Act Category Typical Expression
Declaratives Declarative structure with speaker as subject and

a performative verb in simple present tense
Representatives Declarative structure
Expressives Declarative with words referring to feelings
Directives Imperative structure
Rogatives Interrogative sentence
Commissives Declarative structure with speaker as subject and

future time expressed
E. DIRECT SPEECH ACTS / INDIRECT SPEECH ACTS
1. Direct Speech Act:

When there is a direct relationship between a structure and a function,
we have a direct speech act.
Ex.
“Keep silent!” (imperative structure; directive)
“Do you drink tea?” (interrogative structure; rogative)
2. Indirect Speech Act:

When there is no direct relationship between a structure and a function,
we have an indirect speech act.
Ex.
“It is getting noisy!” (declarative structure; directive)
“Would you like some tea?” (interrogative structure; directive)
61
EXERCISE 25
Identify the speech act performed in the utterance printed in italics.
1. A: “Let’s go to our place for a beer.”
B: “All right.”
2. A: “Why did you divorce her?”
B: “I don’t know how to answer this question.”
3. A: “Mind your head!”
B: “Thanks for your timely warning.”
4. A: “How nice to see you!”
B: “Yes, it’s been quite a while.”
5. A: “To make a long story short, Ed’s girlfriend falls in love with Ed’s
younger brother.”
B: “Who will believe this story?”
6. Student [taking an exam]: “I’ve just asked my neighbor for a correction
pen.”
Teacher: “Is it right to cheat in any exam?”
7. A: “Would you like a cup of coffee?”
B: “Yes, please.”
8. A: “I was so sorry to hear about your loss.”
B: “Thank you for your great sympathy.”
9. Wife: “Dinner is almost ready. Can you set the table, dear?”
Husband [complaining about his tiredness]: “I’m dead tired now!”
10. A: “I’m awfully sorry I wasn’t at the meeting this morning.”
B: “You don’t need to apologize.”
11. Professor: “If you don’t try your best, you’ll fail in the exam.”
Student 1: “Oh, my goodness!”
Student 2: “There is no doubt about that.”
Student 3: “I’m sure to take the make-up exam.”
12. A: “Can I talk to you for a while?”
B: “Certainly. Why don’t you take a seat?”
13. Tom: “I told Jane that she was a talented liar.”
Jack: “How dare you speak to her like that?”
14. Manager: “You look lovely today in your new dress.”
62
Secretary: “Thank you for your nice compliment.”
15. Gordon’s friend: “My car breaks down again.”
Gordon: “I’d sell it if I were you.”
16. Desk clerk: “I beg your pardon. I’ll be right back.”
Client: “No problem.”
17. Mrs. Brown: “I beg you to reconsider your decision.”
Mr. Brown: “I have nothing to reconsider.”
18. Paul: “Why don’t you marry her?”
Morris: “Do you think I’m an idiot?”
19. Student: “May I hand in my final paper the day after tomorrow?”
Professor: “I’m afraid that I cannot give you any more time.”
20. Teacher: “Who is the head of Group 2?”
Doris: “We select Alfred as the head of our group.”
21. Carol: “I’ll pay you back in two days.”
Laura: “Can I trust your words?”
22. A drunken relative: “Just bring me another bottle of red wine.”
The host: “If you keep on misbehaving, we are going to turn you in.”
23. A: “I can’t live without your love.”
B: “I would appreciate it if you went away.”
24. Shop assistant: “Can I help you?”
Customer: “Yes, I’m looking for some cheap shoes.”
25. A: “Have a cigarette!”
B: “No, thanks. I’ve stopped smoking.”
26. John’s mother [talking on the phone]: “John had thirteen friends to tea on
his birthday yesterday.”
John’s grandmother: “Goodness! I didn’t think a three-year-old like him
had as many as thirteen friends.”
27. A: “I can’t keep awake.”
B: “Drink a cup of coffee.”
28. A: “I’ve got a sore throat.”
B: “That doesn’t sound very serious.”
29. A: “I’ve got to go now.”
B: “OK. See you later.”
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A: “See you.”
30. Mother: “Someone said you got fired.”
Daughter: “Yes, but I’ve already applied for another job.”
EXERCISE 26
For each of the following utterances, provide two situations so that

one utterance performs two different acts. Interpret the utterances
and identify the acts performed in the light of the situations you
provide.
1. “Do you feel better today?”

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
2. “I beg your pardon.”
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
3. “It’s going to rain.”
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
4. “It’s snowing.”
__________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
5. “I said I didn’t.”
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
6. “There’s a bend ahead.”
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
7. “Keep off the grass.”
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
8. “I’m very upset that so many of you are talking.”
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
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9. “Be aware of dogs.”
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
10. “What else do you want?”
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
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XIII. FELICITY CONDITIONS
A. INTRODUCTION
In J.L. Austin's formulation of Speech Act theory, a performative
utterance is neither true nor false, but can instead be deemed "felicitous"
or "infelicitous" according to a set of conditions whose interpretation
differs depending on whether the utterance in question is a declaration
("I sentence you to death"), a request ("I ask that you stop doing that") or
a warning ("I warn you not to jump off the roof").
Felicity conditions are the ones “which must be fulfilled for a speech act
to be satisfactorily performed or realized.” (Richards et al, 1987: 104)
B. AUSTIN’S FELICITY CONDITIONS

According to Austin (1976), the following conditions must be met for a
speech act to be felicitous or successful:
A. (i) There must be a conventional procedure having a conventional

effect.
(ii) The circumstances and persons must be appropriate, as specified
in the procedure.
B. The procedure must be executed (i) correctly and (ii) completely.15
C. Often, (i) the persons must have the requisite thoughts, feelings and
intentions, as specified in the procedure, and (ii) if consequent
conduct is specified, then the relevant parties must do so.16
15
The conditions under A and B are essential to the first group of infelicities. Austin calls
violations of these rules “misfires.” A misfire makes the act invalid, so that it does not take effect.
For example, if a husband says to his wife ‘I divorce you’, this is an infelicitous speech act because
one cannot get divorced by oneself, so the utterance does not have a conventional effect. Another
example occurs if speaker A says: ‘I bet you sixpence’ but speaker B doesn’t say ‘I take you on.’
16
The conditions listed under C – when violated – make the professed act an abuse of the
procedure. Austin states that such performances are not void but unhappy. For example, when the
speaker says “I congratulate you”, although the speaker does not have the requisite feelings.
67
C. SEARL’S FELICITY CONDITIONS
Later Searle (1979) classified those felicity conditions into four kinds,
which are:
1. Propositional Content Conditions: The utterance must have exact

content.
2. Preparatory Conditions: The person performing the speech act has to

have quality to do so.
3. Sincerity Conditions: The speech act must be performed in a sincere

manner.
4. Essential Conditions: The speech act has to be executed in the correct

manner.
Felicity Conditions Promising Warning

Propositional The speaker’s utterance The speaker expresses a
Content Condition expresses a future future action in his
action utterance
Preparatory The hearer wants the The warned act should
Condition speaker to do the not have beneficial
promised act effects on the addressee
Sincerity The speaker tends to do The speaker must not
Condition the promised act want the warned act to
happen
Essential The speaker undertakes The speaker undertakes
Condition to do the promised act to inform a bad event
Felicity conditions on the acts of promising and warning
Felicity Conditions Questioning Apologizing

Propositional The speaker’s utterance The speaker’s utterance
Content Condition requires the hearer’s contains polite
answers expressions
Preparatory The speaker does not The apologized act
Condition know the answer should be morally wrong
Sincerity The speaker tends to The speaker must not
Condition know the answer want the apologized
act to happen again
Essential The speaker undertakes The speaker undertakes
Condition to elicit information to inform a bad event
from the hearer
Felicity conditions on the acts of questioning and apologizing
68
XIV. DEIXIS
A. DEFINITION
“Deixis is a technical term (from Greek) for one of the most basic things
we do with utterances. It means “pointing” via language. Any linguistic
form used to accomplish this “pointing” is called a deictic expression.
When you notice a strange object and ask, “What’s that?”, you are using
a deictic expression (“that”) to indicate something in the immediate
context. Deictic expressions are also sometimes called indexicals."
(Yule, 1996: 9)
B. CLASSIFICATION
1. Personal deixis "can mark a number of overlapping distinction: person,
gender, number, and social relations." (Finegan, 1994: 178)
Pronouns and their alternative forms are usually markers of personal
deixis.
(1) “In this family, we rarely smoke or drink.”
(2) “Did you get the carton of milk I asked you to?”
2. Spatial deixis is "the marking in language of the orientation or position

in space of the referent of a linguistic expression." (Finegan, 1994: 179)
Common markers of spatial deixis in English are demonstratives (this
vs. that) and such adverbs of place as here, there and the like.
(3) “I’m over here.”
(4) “Would you like this one or that one?”
3. Temporal deixis is "the orientation or position of the reference of
actions and events in time." (Finegan, 1994: 180)
In English, temporal deixis can be marked either by such words and
phrases as before, last time, now, then, tomorrow, and the like.
(5) “I walked to school every day.”
(6) “Tomorrow is a holiday.”
69
XV. POLITENESS THEORY
A. INTRODUCTION
Etymologically, the term ‘polite’ is derived from the word ‘politus’
which is a past participle of the Latin verb ‘polire’. ‘Politus’ means
‘polished’ or ‘smoothed’. Consequently, the term ‘politeness’ came to
refer to correct social behavior, courtly manners, the right etiquettes and
consideration for others during the social interaction (Felix-Brasdefer,
2007).
In pragmatics ‘politeness’ refers to “linguistic expression of courtesy and
social position.” It is an appropriate usage of language in such a way that
embarrassing or offending anyone is avoided (Trask, 2007). It is used to
signify the strategies we use to advance our goals without threatening the
self-respect of others.
B. POLITENESS PRINCIPLE
The politeness principle is a series of maxims, which Geoff Leech has
proposed as a way of explaining how politeness operates in
conversational exchanges. Leech defines politeness as forms of behavior
that establish and maintain comity. That is the ability of participants in a
social interaction to engage in interaction in an atmosphere of relative
harmony. In stating his maxims, Leech uses his own terms for two kinds
of illocutionary acts. He calls representatives “assertives”, and calls
directives “impositives”.
LEECH'S MAXIMS17
1. Tact Maxim – (in directives [impositives] and commissives): minimize
cost to other; [maximize benefit to other]
17
- Each maxim is accompanied by a sub-maxim (between square brackets), which is of less
importance. These support the idea that negative politeness (avoidance of discord) is more
important than positive politeness (seeking concord).
- Not all of the maxims are equally important. For instance, tact influences what we say more
powerfully than does generosity, while approbation is more important than modesty.
- Note also that speakers may adhere to more than one maxim of politeness at the same time.
Often one maxim is on the forefront of the utterance, with a second maxim being invoked by
implication.
- If politeness is not communicated, we can assume that the politeness attitude is absent.
70
2. Generosity Maxim – (in directives and commissives): minimize benefit
to self; [maximize cost to self]
3. Approbation Maxim – (in expressives and representatives [assertives]):
minimize dispraise of other; [maximize praise of other]
4. Modesty Maxim – (in expressives and representatives): minimize praise
of self; [maximize dispraise of self]
5. Agreement Maxim – (in representatives): minimize disagreement
between self and other; [maximize agreement between self and other]
6. Sympathy Maxim – (in representatives): minimize antipathy between
self and other; [maximize sympathy between self and other]
C. FACE
Perhaps the most thorough treatment of the concept of politeness is that
of Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson, which was first published in
1978 and then reissued, with a long introduction, in 1987.
In their theory, communication is seen as potentially dangerous and
antagonistic. A strength of their approach over that of Geoff Leech is
that they explain politeness by deriving it from more fundamental
notions of what it is to be a human being. The basic notion of their
model is “face”. This is defined as “the public self-image that every
member (of society) wants to claim for himself”. In their framework,
face consists of two related aspects:
1. Negative face, or the rights to territories, freedom of action and freedom
from imposition - wanting your actions not to be constrained or inhibited
by others.
2. Positive face, the positive consistent self-image that people have and
their desire to be appreciated and approved of by at least some other
people.
The rational actions people take to preserve both kinds of face, for
themselves and the people they interact with, add up to politeness.
Brown and Levinson also argue that in human communication, either
spoken or written, people tend to maintain one another's face
continuously.
In everyday conversation, we adapt our conversation to different
situations. Among friends we take liberties or say things that would
71
seem discourteous among strangers. And we avoid over-formality with
friends. In both situations we try to avoid making the hearer embarrassed
or uncomfortable.
Face-threatening acts (FTAs) are acts that infringe on the hearers' need
to maintain his/her self-esteem, and be respected. Politeness strategies
are developed for the main purpose of dealing with these FTAs. Suppose
I see a crate of beer in my neighbor's house. Being thirsty, I might say:
- “I want some beer.”
- “Is it OK for me to have a beer?”
- “I hope it's not too forward, but would it be possible for me to
have a beer?”
- “It's so hot. It makes you really thirsty.”
D. POLITENESS STRATEGIES
Brown and Levinson sum up human politeness behaviour in four
strategies: bald on record, negative politeness, positive politeness, and
off-record-indirect strategy.
1. The bald on-record strategy does nothing to minimize threats to the
hearer's “face”.
Ex.
- An emergency: “Help!”
- Task oriented: “Give me those!”
- Request: “Put your jacket away.”
- Alerting: “Turn your lights on”! (while driving)
2. The positive politeness strategy shows you recognize that your hearer
has a desire to be respected. It also confirms that the relationship is
friendly and expresses group reciprocity.
Ex.
- Attend to the hearer: “You must be hungry, it's a long time since
breakfast. How about some lunch?”
- Avoid disagreement: A: “What is she, small?” B: “Yes, yes, she's
small, smallish, um, not really small but certainly not very big.”
- Assume agreement: “So when are you coming to see us?”
72
- Hedge opinion: “You really should sort of try harder.”
3. The negative politeness strategy also recognizes the hearer's face. But it
also recognizes that you are in some way imposing on them. Some other
examples would be to say, “I don't want to bother you but...” or “I was
wondering if...”
Ex.
- Be indirect: “I'm looking for a pen.”
- Request forgiveness: “You must forgive me but....”
- Minimize imposition: “I just want to ask you if I could use your
computer?”
- Pluralize the person responsible: “We forgot to tell you that you
needed to buy your plane ticket by yesterday.”
4. Off-record indirect strategies take some of the pressure off of you. You
are trying to avoid the direct FTA of asking for a beer. Instead you would
rather it be offered to you once your hearer sees that you want one.
Ex.
- Give hints: “It's a bit cold in here.”
- Be vague: “Perhaps someone should have been more responsible.”
- Be sarcastic, or joking: “Yeah, he's a real Einstein (rocket scientist,
Stephen Hawking, genius and so on)!”
These strategies are not universal - they are used more or less frequently
in other cultures. For example, in some eastern societies the off-record-
indirect strategy will place on your hearer a social obligation to give you
anything you admire. So speakers learn not to express admiration for
expensive and valuable things in homes that they visit.
73
CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION 01
A. Semantics / Pragmatics 01
B. Sematic Meaning / Pragmatic Meaning 02
II. ASPECTS OF MEANING 02

A. Semantic features 02
1. Definition 02
2. Characteristics 02
B. Componential Analysis 03
C. Semantic Fields 03
1. Definition 03
2. Ways of Organizing Related Words into Different Semantic Fields 03
D. Reference / Referent / Sense 04
1. Definition 04
2. Types of References 05
Exercises 06
III. TYPES OF MEANING 11

A. Primary Meaning / Secondary Meaning 11
1. Primary Meaning 11
2. Secondary Meaning 11
B. Denotative Meaning / Connotative Meaning 11
1. Denotative Meaning 11
2. Connotative Meaning 11
C. Literal Meaning / Figurative Meaning 12
1. Literal Meaning 12
2. Figurative Meaning 13
IV. FIGURES OF SPEECH 14

A. Definition 14
B. Types of Figures of Speech 14
1. Simile 14
2. Metaphor 14
3. Personification 15
4. Synecdoche 15
5. Metonymy 15
6. Hyperbole 16
7. Litotes 17
8. Irony 17
9. Euphemism 17
10. Onomatopoeia 17
Exercises 18
74
V. SEMANTIC RELATIONS BETWEEN WORDS 20
A. Hyponymy 20
B. Synonymy 21
1. True Synonyms 21
2. Partial Synonyms 21
C. Antonymy 22
1. Binary Antonyms 22
2. Gradable Antonyms 22
3. Relational Antonyms 23
4. Multiple Incompatibility 23
D. Homophony 24
E. Homography 24
F. Homonymy 25
G. Polysemy 25
Exercises 26
VI. SENTENCE MEANING 30

A. Proposition / Sentences / Utterances 30
1. Propositions 30
2. Sentences 30
3. Utterances 30
B. Types of Sentence 31
1. Analytic Sentences 31
2. Contradictory Sentences 31
3. Synthetic Sentences 31
Exercises 32
VII. SEMANTIC RELATIONS BETWEEN SENTENCES 34

A. Entailment 34
B. Paraphrase 34
1. Lexical Paraphrase 35
2. Structural Paraphrase 35
C. Contradictoriness 35
Exercises 35
VIII. SEMANTIC ANOMALY AND AMBIGUITY 37

A. Anomaly 37
B. Ambiguity 37
1. Lexical Ambiguity 37
2. Structural Ambiguity 38
Exercises 38
IX. UTTERANCE MEANING 40

A. Definition 40
B. Context 40
C. Types of Utterance 40
1. Constatives 40
2. Performatives 41
Exercises 42
75
X. PRESUPPOSITION 43
A. Definition 43
B. Types of Presupposition 43
1. Existential Presupposition 43
2. Factive Presupposition 43
3. Lexical Presupposition 43
4. Structural Presupposition 44
5. Non-factive Presupposition 44
6. Counter-factual Presupposition 44
Exercises 44
XI. IMPLICATURE 48
A. Definition 48
B. The Cooperative Principle 48
1. The Maxim of Quality 48
2. The Maxim of Quantity 48
3. The Maxim of Relevance 48
4. The Maxim of Manner 48
C. Types of Implicature 49
1. Conversional Implicature 49
2. Scalar Implicature 49
3. Conventional Implicature 50
D. Distinction between Presuppositions and Conversational Implicatures 51
Exercises 51
XII. SPEECH ACTS 58

A. Definition 58
B. Dimensions of a Speech Act 58
1. Locutionary Act 58
2. Illocutionary Act 58
3. Perlocutionary Act 58
C. Types of Speech Acts 59
1. Declaratives 59
2. Representatives 59
3. Expressives 59
4. Directives 60
5. Rogatives 60
6. Commissives 60
D. Relationships between Linguistic Structures and Speech Acts 61
E. Direct Speech Acts / Indirect Speech Acts 61
1. Direct Speech Acts 61
2. Indirect Speech Acts 61
Exercises 62
XIII. FELICITY CONDITIONS 67

A. Introduction 67
B. Austin’s Felicity Conditions 67
C. Searle’s Felicity Conditions 68
1. Propositional Context Conditions 68
2. Preparatory Conditions 68
76
3. Sincerity Conditions 68
4. Essential Conditions 68
XIV. DEIXIS 69
A. Definition 69
B. Classification 69
1. Personal Deixis 69
2. Spatial Deixis 69
3. Temporal Deixis 69
XV. POLITENESS THEORY 70

A. Introduction 70
B. Politeness Principle 70
1. Tact Maxim 70
2. Generosity Maxim 71
3. Approbation Maxim 71
4. Modesty Maxim 71
5. Agreement Maxim 71
6. Sympathy Maxim 71
C. Face 71
1. Negative Face 71
2. Positive Face 71
D. Politeness Strategies 72
1. The Bald On-Record Strategy 72
2. The Positive Politeness Strategy 72
3. The negative Politeness Strategy 73
4. Off-Record Indirect Strategies 73
CONTENTS 74
77

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GIÁO

Semantics and pragmatics are branches of linguistics which deal with

B. SEMANTIC MEANING / PRAGMATIC MEANING

Semantic meaning: the meaning of a sentence out of context / context-

Semantic features1 are the smallest units of meaning in a word.

a. Primitive elements: basic primitive concepts in linguistics. They are left

In Semantics, componential analysis is "an approach to the study of

A semantic field2 is “the organization of related words and expressions

2. Ways of organizing related words into different semantic fields

a. Items related by topics

D. REFERENCE / REFERENT / SENSE

a. Reference is the relationship between language and the world. In other

a. Variable Reference: same expression may refer to different objects.

b. Co-reference: different expressions refer to the same object.

d. No reference: an expression which is meaningful but does not refer to

A. PRIMARY MEANING / SECONDARY MEANING

1. The primary meaning of a word (or, to be more precise, a lexical item)

B. DENOTATIVE MEANING / CONNOTATIVE MEANING

C. LITERAL MEANING / FIGURATIVE MEANING

1. Literal meaning: The basic or usual meaning of a word. (Crowther (ed.),

A figure of speech is ‘a word or phrase which is used for special effect,

B. TYPES OF FIGURES OF SPEECH

Ways to identify a metonymy:

A relation in which the referent of a word is totally included in the

grill toast boil fry roast bake smoke ...

stir-fry sauté deep-fry

A hyponym6 is a word "whose referent is totally included in the referent

tree bush flowering plant moss grass ...

blue red yellow green black ...

turquoise aquamarine royal blue

A relation in which various words have different (written and sound)

A word that shares one of the meanings with another.

Two words are ‘gradable antonyms if they are at opposite ends of a

Relational antonyms belong to various word classes:

lead (n) /led/ – lead (v) /li:d/

DISTINCTION BETWEEN POLYSEMY AND HOMONYMY

A. PROPOSITIONS / SENTENCES / UTTERANCES

Utterances Sentences Propositions

Can be loud or quiet

Can be grammatical or not

Can be true or false

In a particular regional accent

2. Can the same proposition be expressed by different sentences? Y/N

Circle the following sentences A for analytic, S for synthetic or C for

1. John’s nine-year-old brother is a boy. A/S/C

A relation in which two or more sentences have the same meaning.

1. Lexical Paraphrase: Paraphrases that contains synonyms (same

2. Structural Paraphrase: Two sentences of different structure but same

Two sentences are contradictory if it is impossible for them both to be

A violation of semantic rules to create nonsense. (Finegan, 1993: 148)

A word, a phrase, or a sentence is ambiguous when it has more than one

An utterance is a piece of language (a sequence of sentences, a single

Context, simply speaking, is the surroundings where an utterance is.

Are the following utterances performative (P) or constative (C)?

Identify possible presuppositions in each of the following utterances.

1. “I am sorry I cannot find your book right now.”

B. THE COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE

1. The Maxim of Quality

2. The Maxim of Quantity

3. The Maxim of Relevance

4. The Maxim of Manner

D. DISTINCTION BETWEEN PRESUPPOSITIONS AND