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22 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is Semantics?
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The study of meaning
What does a word or sentence mean? |
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What is the flow of language?
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Sound <--> Phonology <--> Syntax <--> Semantics <--> Thought
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What does meaning require?
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Both sense and reference
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Reference
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- Words refer to things in the world
- How words connect to the world |
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What do words do?
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Denote
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What do speakers do?
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Refer
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What do words such as proper nouns do?
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Point to or refer to things
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Denotational Theory of Meaning
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The meaning of a word is simply those things that exist in the world
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When we talk of things such as cats, what are we actually talking about?
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Sets of things
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Natural kind
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Things that are natural and not man-made
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Sense
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- How words connect or relate to other concepts
- The concept of a word is understood by the concepts that make it up |
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What is a normal font used for?
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Reference - the actual thing in the world
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What is italics used for?
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The word or bit of language
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What is capitals used for?
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Sense - the concept of the thing/thought in our mind
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Semantic Features
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The concepts which make up the meaning of a word
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How can features be defined?
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Binary - either/or
Necessary - must be present Sufficient - A feature which, if an item has the feature (or set of features) then the item must be of a certain category |
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What are the four main problems with semantic features?
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- There is a lot of gradiance between items and some examples are better than others
- Some features are cultural and culture varies highly across time and society - We explain features or concepts in terms of other concepts and so we could end up with a continuous chain or the related concepts could become less relevant and hard to communicate - Features do not capture the full meaning of a word |
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What is a frame?
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A bit of structured knowledge or beliefs you hold about the world.
It includes all the primary roles and processes |
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Where do words or concepts get their meaning from?
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From being part of a frame
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What do frames require and what is another term for this?
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Frames require experience with the way the world operates.
This is encyclopedic knowledge |
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What is the theory behind simulation semantics?
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We perceive actions by activating the same neurons that perform the action
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How do we understand language?
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By activating the relevant portions of the brain that it relates to
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