REVIEW

Task 1: What is the relation between the lexemes?

1. bear/bare: same sound, different spelling, different meaning, different parts of speech
➔ homophony
2. meat/meet: same sound, different spelling, different meaning, different parts of speech
➔ partial homophony
3. to/too/two: same sound, different spelling, different meaning, different parts of speech
➔ partial homophony
4. flour/ flower: same sound, different spelling, different meaning, same parts of speech
➔ total homophony
5. pretty (adv) – pretty (adj): same sound, same spelling, different meaning, different parts of
speech
➔ partial homonymy
6. last (v) – last (adj): same sound, same spelling, different meaning, different parts of speech
➔ partial homonymy
7. body (the whole physical structure of a human or an animal)
body (a group of people who work or act together)

➔ same sound, same spelling, same meaning (cơ thể người và một nhóm người: về mặt

nghĩa nó có sự liên quan nên -> same meaning), same parts of speech
➔ polysemy

8. spring (season) – spring (metal coin): same sound, same spelling, different meaning, same
parts of speech
➔ total homonymy
9. monitor (a student in a school who performs special duties, such as helping the teacher)
monitor (a piece of equipment used to check or record something)
➔ same sound, same spelling, same meaning (monitor (1) là check activities thì monitor (2)
cũng là thiết bị check or record nên về mặt nghĩa nó có liên quan nhau -> same), same
parts of speech
➔ Polysemy
10. rose (past form of rise) – rose (a flower)
➔ same sound, same spelling, different meaning, different parts of speech
 ➔ partial homonymy
Task 2: What is the relation between the lexemes? Use constitutive properties to explain
the relation.
Grammatical categories: parts of speech (N, V, A, Adv)
Grammatical forms (spelling)
1. a) The ships are listing badly.
b) We are listing all members of the society.

+ The two lexemes have same spelling (written form) and same sound form.

+ They have related lexical meanings.

+ They have same grammatical categories.

listing (list info about sth): verb

listing (rò rỉ nước): verb

+ They have same grammatical forms.

→ Total homonymy
2. a) The statue is made of lead.

b) The dog is on his lead.

+ The two lexemes have same spelling (written form), but different sound form.

+ They have unrelated lexical meanings.

+ They have same grammatical categories.

Lead /led/ (a chemical element: chì): noun

lead /li:d/ (the first position): noun

+ They have same grammatical forms.

→ homography

3. a) Bus fares have just gone up.

b) Bus fairs are where you buy buses.
+ The two lexemes have different spelling (written form), same sound form.
 + They have unrelated lexical meanings.

+ They have same grammatical categories.

Fares /feər/ ( ticket price for bus or vehicle): noun

Fairs /feər/ ( a public event: hội chợ): noun

+ They have same grammatical forms.

→ total homophony

4. a) What kind of music do you like?

b) He’s really kind.
+ The two lexemes have same spelling (written form), but same sound form.

+ They have unrelated lexical meanings.

+ They have different grammatical categories.

kind /kaɪnd/ (types of sth): noun

kind /kaɪnd/ (about characteristics as helpful): adj

+ They have different grammatical forms.

→ Partial homonymy

5. a) He was eating a burger and chips.

b) The raw fish are smoked slowly over wood chips.
+ The two lexemes have same spelling (written form), but same sound form.

+ They have interrelated lexical meanings.

+ They have same grammatical categories.

chips /tʃɪps/ (fried potato): noun (a piece of potato)

chips /tʃɪps/ (dăm gỗ): noun ( a piece of wood)

+ They have same grammatical forms.

→ Polysemy
Task 3: Disambiguate the sentences.
Ex: They were waiting at the bank.
Meaning 1: They were waiting at the financial institution.
Meaning 2: They were waiting at the shore of the river.
1. Flying planes can be dangerous.
M1: Planes can be dangerous which are flying
M2: Planes can be dangerous if it takes off
M2: It can be dangerous for a person to fly a plane.
2. We will change the oil in 10 minutes.

M1: We will begin changing your oil 10 minutes from now

M2: It will take us 10 minutes to change your oil
3. Sarah gave a bath to her dog wearing a pink t-shirt.

M1: Sarah gave a bath to her dog which was wearing her pink T-shirt.
M2: Sarah gave a bath to her dog when she was wearing a pink T-shirt.
4. The professor said on Monday he would give an exam.

M1: It was on Monday when the professor said he would have an exam.
M2: The professor said on Monday he would give an exam for our class
5. The young men and women sat together in the park.

M1: The men and women who sat in the same park were young.
M2: The young men and women who sat next to each other in the park
6. John and Mary are married.

M1: John and Mary are married each other.

M2: John and Mary are married with somebody. (John and Mary are married, each to a
different spouse)
Task 4: Interpret the meaning of the sentences. State the meaning shift.
1. She has a heart of stone.
→ A heart of stone: cold, unfeeling nature
→ Metaphor
2. I’ll make him eat his word.
→ Eat his word: make him regret what he said (I’ll make him admit that he said is
wrong)
 → Metaphor
3. When he gets going, Jack is a streak of lightning.
→ A streak of lightning: walk quickly/ go as fast as the wind
→ Metaphor
4. She has an ear for music.
→ An ear for music: to have an aptutude for music/ she has a talent for music
→ Metonymy
5. The man is a demon for work
→ A demon for work: work very hard/ workaholic/ the man is hard- working
→ Metaphor
6. When I came to visit, my friend offered me a cup.
→ Offered me a cup: give me a cup of drink/ when I came to visit, my friend offered
mẹ a cup of tea
→ Metonymy
7. We need a new blood in this organization.
→ A new blood: need a new breath of air, new ideas, new changes
→ Metaphor
8. The White House agreed with that proposal.
→ The White House = The US President
→ Meaning shift: metonymy
Task 5: T or F?
1. Utterance meaning is the meaning of an utterance as a communicative act in a given social
setting.
➔ F: Communicative meaning
2. Utterance meaning derives from expression meaning on the basis of the particulars
provided by the context of utterance.
➔ T
3. Semantics studies the meanings of linguistic expressions in context
➔ F: isolation
4. The process of composition is a top-down process.
➔ F: The converse of a bottom-up process is a top-down process.
5. The meaning of a sentence is determined by its lexical components, their grammatical
meaning, and the syntactic structure of the sentence.
➔ T
6. The meaning of a grammatical form is called grammatical meaning.
➔ T
7. Expression meaning is the meaning of an expression in a given context of utterance.
➔ F: Utterance meaning/ taken in isolation
8. Semantics studies all 3 levels of meaning: expression meaning, utterance meaning,
communicative meaning
➔ F: just study expression meaning
9. The meaning of a content word is a concept that provides a mental description for a
certain kind of situation.
➔ F: entity
10. The descriptive meaning of a content word is a concept for its potential referents.
➔ T
11. The proposition is the descriptive meaning of the sentence.
➔ T
12. The expressions like “Hi”, “Please” or “Mr Murple” (proper name as term of address) have
expressive meaning.
➔ F: social meaning
13. The expression “The earth” has constant reference.
➔ T
14. The noun “idiot” in the expression “You idiot!” has expressive meaning.
➔ T
15. Social meaning and expressive meaning are not parts of expression meanings.
➔ are parts
16. The use of expressions with social meaning is governed by subjective choice.
➔ F: rules of social interaction
17. A referent is an object or an entity in the real world or in the world of your imagination.
➔ T
18. “The building is tall.” in this expression, “the building” has constant referent because its
referent depends on who is the speaker and who is the addressee in a CoU.
➔ F: variable reference
19. The connotation of a word is the primary meaning.
➔ F: secondary
20. Positive connotations, together with social taboos, are responsible for what is called
euphemisms.
➔ F: negative
21. A metonymy is an implicit or indirect comparison in which no function word is used.
➔ F: metaphor
22. Differentiation is defined as the meaning shift which results in a special case of what the
expression denotes in its lexical meaning.
➔ T
23. Heavy in heavy meal and heavy in heavy rain are polysemous.
➔ T
24. The relationship between can (a metal container) and can (able to) is polysemy
➔ F: total homophony
25. Two lexemes are homonymous if they have two or more interrelated meanings with each
other.
➔ F: polysemous
26. The expression “a demon” in the sentence “He’s a demon for work.” is metonymically used.
➔ The man is an energetic person who works very hard.
➔ Meaning shift: metaphor (metaphorically)
➔ False
27. An expression is used metaphorically if it is used to refer to things that are in crucial
aspects similar to the kind of objects to which the expression refers in its literal meaning.
➔ T
28. The expression “Washington” in the sentence “He got a phone call from Washington.” is
metaphorically used.
➔ F: metonymically (Washington- the White House)
29. An expression or an utterance is ambiguous if it can be interpreted in more than one way.
 ➔ T
30. All lexemes are single words.
➔ F (bỏ All)
Task 6: Gap fill
1. According to the the principle of compositionality, the meaning of a complex expression is
determined by the lexical meanings of its components, their grammatical meanings and the
syntactic structure of the whole.
2. Lexical semantics is the investigation of expression meanings stored in the mental
lexicon.
3. Lexical meanings are the meanings which are stored in our minds.
4. Communicative meaning is the meaning of utterance as a communicative act in a given
social setting.
5. Composition is the process by which we calculate the meaning of a sentence.
7. Expression meaning is the meaning of a simple or complex expression taken in isolation
8. The illocutionary/communicative/ speech act of the utterance “Tidy your room.” is a
request.
9. Compositional meaning is the meaning resulted from the process by which we calculate
the meaning of a sentence.
10. Utterance meaning is the meaning of an expression when used in a given context of
utterance resulting from fixing reference.
11. Expression meaning is the meaning of an expression taken in isolation.
12. Utterance meaning is the meaning of an expression when used in a given context resulting
from fixing reference.
13. Communicative meaning is the meaning of an utterance as a communicative act in a given
social setting
14. The descriptive meaning of a sentence, its proposition, is a concept that provides a mental
description of the kind of situations it potentially refers to.
15. The denotation of a content word is the category, or set of all its potential referents.
16. The meaning of a content word is a concept that provides a mental description of a certain
kind of entity.
17. The use of expressions with expressive meaning is governed by subjective choice.
18. Social rules define the correct use of expressions with social meaning.
19. Expressions like “Oops”, “Pheww”, “Wow” has expressive meaning (interjection)
20. A referent is an object or an entity in the real world or in the world of your imagination.
21. “My brother is a singer.” In this expression, “my brother” has variable reference.
22. Two lexemes are totally homonymous if they have unrelated meanings, but share all other
constitutive properties.
23. A lexeme is polysemous if it has two or more interrelated meanings
24. A lexical meaning is vague if it allows for flexible adaptation to the given CoU.
25. An expression is used metaphorically if it is used to refer to things that are in crucial
aspects similar to the kind of objects to which the expression refers in its literal meaning.
26. An expression is used metonymically if it is used to refer to things that belong to the kind
of objects to which the expression refers in its literal meaning
27. Metaphor is the use of a word or phrase to indicate something different from (though
related in some way to) the literal meaning
28. Metonymy is the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another to which it is
related/with which it is associated.
29. The expression “a heart of stone” in the sentence “She has a heart of stone” is a metaphor.
-> T
30. The expression “an ear for music” in the sentence “She has an ear for music” is a
metonymy. -> T
31. Pragmatics is the study of language use in context.