Course: Semantics

Section 1: Introduction -
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES Semantics

Exercise 1: Which of the following are concerned with semantics?

1. a branch of linguistics which deals with meaning
2. the study of sentence structures and their structural relationships to one another
3. the study of meaning in language
4. the study of internal structure of words and of the rules by which words are formed
5. the study of texts above the level of sentences
6. the study of meaning in context (ngữ dụng học)
7. a technical term used to refer to the study of meaning, which is part of linguistics
Exercise 2: Fill in the blanks with appropriate words/ phrases:
1. Pragmatic is concerned with meaning in context (what people mean by the language they use).
2. Sematic and Pragmatic are closely related.
3. Meaning involves both Sematic meaning and Pragmatic meaning
4. Semantic meaning is context-free
5. Pragmatic meaning is context-dependent
6. In the example “Would you like a piece of cake?” – “I’m on a diet.”, the meaning ‘I want to
lose weight by eating the food which is not rich in fat, sugar, etc.’ is the Sematic meaning. The
meaning ‘I am afraid that I have to refuse your invitation’ is the Pragmatic meaning.
7. In the example “Do you like the wine I picked out?” – “It’s Italian, isn’t it?”, the meaning ‘I
don’t like the wine you picked out’ is the Pragmatic meaning. The meaning ‘Is it right that the
wine is made in Italy?’ is the Sematic meaning.
8. Three main aspects of meaning in semantics are Word meaning, Sentence meaning, Utterance
meaning
9. Meaning defined by semantic features is considered as Word meaning level.
10. Meaning as part of the specific statement is considered as Sentence meaning level.
11. Meaning within the particular context of the conversation is considered as Utterance meaning
level.
12. [+human], [+used to be married], [+married] are semantic features (nét nghĩa của từ) of
words.

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Course: Semantics

Exercise 3: True or False Questions:

1. Pragmatic meaning is context-free whereas semantic pragmatic meaning is context-
dependent. F
2. Semantics and pragmatics both deal with meaning. T
3. Only part of semantic features is informative at the sentence meaning level. T
4. Meaning covers only one three aspect of language. F (Word meaning, Sentence meaning,
Utterance meaning)
5. In the example “How is the pastor?” – “He is remarried.”, the meaning ‘pastors are allowed
by the rule to get married and the pastor was once married’ is the semantic meaning. F