REVISION FOR MID-TERM TEST

Question 1: Write the semantic terms that best fit the definitions in the sentences below (2
marks)
1/ Neither a physical event nor a physical object. It is, conceived abstractly, a string of words put
together by the grammatical rules of a language.
 Sentence
2/ An object or entity in the real world or in the world of your imagination that is talked about
 Referent
3/ Part of the meaning of the utterance of a declarative sentence which describes some state of affairs.
 Proposition
4/ The general meaning or the concept underlying the word.
 Sense
5/ Which some statement is made about a whole unrestricted class of individuals.
 Generic sentence
6/ A sentence expresses the same proposition as another.
 Paraphrase
8/ When the same linguistic expression refers to different referents
 Variable reference
9/ The USE by a particular speaker, on a particular occasion, of a piece of language.
 Utterance
10/ When two or more words/phrases refer to the same referent
 Co - reference
11/ Any stretch of talk, by one person, before and after which there is silence on the part of that
person
 Utterance
12/ The study of meaning in language
 Semantics
13/ What a speaker means (i.e. intends to convey) when he uses a piece of language
 Speaker meaning
14/ A grammatically complete string of words expressing a complete thought
 Sentence
15/ A relationship between parts of a language and things outside the language (in the world)
  Reference
16/ What a sentence (or word) means, i.e. what it counts as the equivalent of in the language
concerned
 Sentence meaning (Word meaning)
17/ Can be thought of as the IDEAL string of words behind various realizations in utterances and
inscriptions.
 Sentence
18/ The relationship between that word or expression and the thing (book), the action (read), the event
(graduate from university), the quality (sincerity), ... it refers to...
 Reference
19/ Shows the internal relationship between that word or expression and others in the vocabulary of a
language
 Sense
20/ Any expression used in an utterance to refer to something or someone (or a clearly delimited
collection of things or people), i.e. used with a particular referent in mind.
 Referring expression
21/ When one linguistic expression refers to one and the same referent
 Constant reference
22/ A number indicating the number of arguments, it is normally understood to have in simple
sentences.
 Degree of a predicate
23/ Is one which is used to assert the identity of the referents of two referring expressions, i.e. to
assert that two referring expressions have the same referent.
 Equative sentence
24/ The word (sometimes a group of words) which does not belong to any of the referring expressions
and which, of the remainder, makes the most specific contribution to the meaning of the sentence.
 Predicator
25/ Any word (sequence of words) which (in a given single sense) can function as the predicator of a
sentence
 Predicate
26/ Describes the state or process in which the referring expressions are involved
 Predicator
27/ A part of a sentence which could be made into a complete sentence by the addition of a referring
expression, but where the addition of different referring expressions
 Obaque context
28/ The study of meaning in context
 Pragmatics

Question 2: Write True (T) or False (F) for each of the sentences below, according to the
information given . Give explanation for your answer (2 marks)
1. A word’s referent does not change each time the word is applied to a different object or
situation.

False -> A word’s referent changes each time the word is applied to a different object or
situation. Because the word, which carrying a general meaning or concept, is used to point to
specific instances within different contexts

Example: Take the word “apple” for an example

Situation 1: You point to a red apple on the table and say: “This apple is delicious”. In this
case, the referent of the word “apple” is the specific red apple you are talking about
Situation 2: Later, you point to a green apple in a grocery store and say: I want to buy this
apple”. In this case, the referent of the word “apple” has changed to the green apple in the store

2. The referent of an expression is often a thing or a person in the world

True -> Because referent is an object or entity in the real world or in the world of your
imagination that is talked about

3. A word’s sense does not change every time the word takes on a new referent

True -> A word’s sense does not change every time the word takes on a new referent. Because
the word, while it is used to point to specific instances within different contexts, it still carries a
general meaning or concept
Example: Take the word “apple” for an example
Situation 1: You point to a red apple on the table and say: “This apple is delicious”. In this
case, the referent of the word “table” is the specific red table you are talking about
Situation 2: Later, you point to a green apple in a grocery store and say: “I want to buy this
apple”. In this case, the referent of the word “apple” has changed to the green apple in the store

Even though the referent of the word “apple” changes, the sense of this word is the same in
both cases (both refer to one type of fruit)

4. Sentences and propositions are in a particular language

False -> Sentences are in a particular language; while propositions are not. Sentences are
language – specific because they rely on the particular set of rules, words and syntax unique to
each language. While the underlying proposition or meaning can be universal, the sentence
itself is a concrete, structured expression of that meaning in a particular language
 5. The referent of an expression is often a thing or a person in the world; whereas the sense of an
expression is not a thing at all.
True -> The referent of an expression is often a thing or a person in the world because referent
is an object or entity in the real world or in the world of your imagination that is talked about.
The sense of an expression is not a thing because sense is the general meaning or concept of the
language

Example: "the capital of France"

 Referent: The referent of this expression is Paris, the actual city that serves as the capital of
France.
 Sense: The sense of the expression involves the concepts associated with it, such as "the
primary city of France," "the location of the French government," or "a major European cultural
center." These ideas and associations are not physical objects but rather mental constructs that
help us understand what the expression signifies.

6. The relationship between reference and utterance is not so direct as that between sense and
proposition.
7. In One man's trash is another man's treasure, man is a referring expression.
8. A beautiful, young woman entered the gym has 4 predicates.
9. The expressions like Chirstmas Eve 2021, the distance from school to my home, or a national
anthem can be considered referring expressions.
10. A proposition is asserted in “Do you think that Harry Maguire is worth £8 million?”
11. All words have the same degree of reference
12. Every expression that has meaning has sense, but not every expression has reference
13. So – called function words (the, could, in, since, and,…) have referents
14. The referent of an expression can be found in a dictionary
15. The same expressions can have different referents
16. A referring expression isn’t heavily dependent on linguistic context and on circumstances of
utterance
17. Conjunctions (and, but, or) and articles can not serve as predicators in a sentence
Question 3: Identify the degree of the underlined predicates in the following sentences (2 marks)
1. Anne Hathaway is pretty.
2. Jack is quite noisy.
3. Peter hated Miley.
4. Bob showed the penguin to his girlfriend.
5. John is tall
6. John took Pablo to Rio
7. She gave him a shirt
8. Mary loves Peter
 9. Cairo is in Africa
10. I sleep
11. Dina is an engineer
12. Romeo loved Juliet
13. Juan is Argentinian
14. She showed us a nice dress
15. The lamp is over the table

Question 4: Identify the meaning relationship in the following utterances or sentences by using
the semiotic triangle. (2.0 marks)
1. When Helen mentioned ‘the fruit cake’, she meant that rock-hard object in the middle of the
table
2. When Albert said ‘three o’clock’, I thought he meant in the afternoon.
3. A stalling car may mean a tune-up.
4. Daddy, what does ‘unique’ mean?
5. ‘Soporific’ means ‘tending to produce sleep’
6. Those clouds mean rain
7. ‘Calligraphy’ means beautiful handwriting

Question 5: Open-ended (2.0 marks)

Task 1: Provide the appropriate definitions for the following terms and give examples
1. Semantics & Pragmatics
Semantics: the study of meaning in language
Pragmatics: the study of meaning in context
Example: Peter invites Bill to go the pub tonight
Peter: “Coming down to the pub tonight”
Bill: “I’ve got to finish a piece of work”
Semantic meaning: Bill just simply informs Peter that he has a piece of work to finish
Pragmatic meaning: Bill’s reply will normally be taken to indicate that he is not free to go the pub
even though he does not actually say that
2. Speaker meaning / Sentence meaning
Speaker meaning: what a speaker means (i.e. intends to convey) when he uses a piece of language
Sentence meaning: what a sentence (or word) means; i.e. what it counts as the equivalent of in the
language concerned
Example: Lan introduces to Nga about the new restaurant: “There is a new Korean restaurant on Vo
Thi Sau Street”
Sentence meaning: Lan just simply informs Nga of the new restaurant
Speaker meaning: Lan suggests that new Korean restaurant
3. The Semiotic Triangle
The semiotic triangle models the relationship between the linguistic expressions (referring/
predicating expressions), minds/ intentions inside ourselves and the real/ imaginary world (referent),
and it highlights the reference between the expressions and the real world
Example: When she mentioned ‘the fruit cake’, she meant that rock-hard object in the middle of the
table
MINDS/ INTENTIONS
No

LINGUISTIC EXPRESSION REAL WORLD

‘the fruit cake’ the rock-hard object on the table

4. Referent, reference and sense

Referent: an object or entity in the real world or in the world of your imagination that is talked about
Reference: the relationship between the word or expression and the thing (book), the action (read), the
event (graduate from university), the quality (sincerity)… it refers to…
Sense: the general meaning or concept underlying the world
Example: ‘bachelor’
Referent: a man who has not ever been married
Reference: the relationship between the word ‘bachelor’ and a certain unmarried man in the real
world
Sense: an unmarried man
5. Variable reference, constant reference and co-reference
Variable reference: When the same linguistic expressions refer to different referents, it has variable
reference
Ex: ‘The current President of the United States’
In 1996: Bill Clinton
In 2014: Barack Obama
Constant reference: When one linguistic expression refers to one and the same referent, it has constant
reference
Ex: the sun, the moon, the People’s Republic of China
Co – reference: When two or more linguistic expressions refer to the same referent, it has co –
reference
Ex: ‘the Morning Star’ and ‘the Evening Star’ both refer to the planet called Venus
6. Utterance, sentence and proposition
Utterance: any stretch of talk, by a person, before and after which there is silence in the part of that
person
Utterance is the USE by a particular speaker, on a particular occasion, for a particular purpose, of a
piece of language, such as a sequence of sentences, a single phrase, or even a single word
Ex: She shouted : “Ouch”
This expression doesn’t have subject and predicate and it doesn’t express a complete thought, so it
isn’t an sentence, but an utterance
7. Referring expressions
Referring expression: any expression used in an utterance to refer to something or someone (or a
delimited collection of things or people); i.e. used with a particular referent in mind
Ex: Fred hit me: a referring expression. Because the speaker mentioned about the particular person
called Fred that hit him/her
There isn’t any Fred here: NOT a referring expression. Because the speaker doesn’t mention about
any particular person called Fred
8. Predicate, degree of predicates, predicators
Predicator: the word (or a sequence of word) that does not belong to any referring expressions and
which, of the remainder, makes the most specific contribution to the meaning of the sentence.
Intuitively speaking, the predicator describe the state or process in which the referring expressions are
involved
Degree of a predicate: a number indicating the number of arguments, it is normally understood to
have in simple sentences
Predicate: any word (or sequence of words) which can function as the predicator in a sentence
Ex: John is asleep
 Predicator: asleep
 Asleep is one – place predicate
John loves Mary
 Predicator: love
 Love is two – place predicate
Mary showed us a nice dress
 Predicator: show
 Show is three – place predicate
A tall, handsome stranger entered the saloon
 Predicator: enter
 Predicate: tall, handsome, stranger, saloon
9. Equative sentence
Any statement asserts the identity of the referents of two referring expressions, i.e. to assert that two
referring expressions have the same referents
Ex: Cairo is the largest city in Africa
10. Generic sentence
A sentence in which some statement is made about a whole unrestricted class of individuals, opposed
to any particular individual
Ex: Whale is the largest mammal in the world
Task 2: Utterances can be loud or quiet, in a particular regional accent and in a particular language.
Can you think of other characteristics of utterances?
Task 3: Indicate the arguments and predicator(s) in each sentence. (0.4pt)
1. Jimmy is a linguist.
2. Romeo gave Juliet a rose.
3. Leonardo da Vinci was a genius.
4. Hanoi is between Hoa Binh and Ha Nam.
5. Juan is Argentinian
6. Juan arrested Pablo
7. Juan took Pablo to Rio
8. Dina is an engineer
9. Fany gives him the book
10.Cairo is in Africa
11.Edinburgh is between Aberdeen and York

Task 4: What kind of sentence is it? Equative/Generic sentence? Explain your answers.

1. Water is transparent.
2. Moscow is the capital of Russia.
3. The elephant is a mammal.
4. Tony Blair is the Prime Minister
5. That whale over there is a mammal
6. That woman over there is my daughter’s teacher
7. Gentlemen prefer blondes
8. Dr Jekyll is Mr Hyde
9. Cairo is not the largest city in Africa
10. The male of the species guards the eggs

Task 5: Identify the following sentences (Sense (S) or Reference (R)

(1) When Helen mentioned ‘the fruit cake’, she meant that rock- R/S
hard object in the middle of the table
(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 apoplexy in your dictionary R/S
(6) If you look out of the window now, you’ll see who I mean. R/S

Task 6: In each of the following, indicate whether a proposition is asserted or not.

1. Would you mind leaving right now?
2. It’s freezing outside.
 3. Do you want to go to the cinema with me?
4. The house has new windows; however, the roof still leaks.
5. John, get out of here.
Task 5: Which of the following are equative sentences? Explain why.
1. Fred is the man with the gun
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2. William the Conqueror is the current King of England
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3. Detroit is a nearby city
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4. Mary is a genius
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5. A box of cookies is what I would like
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6. Detroit is not the largest city in the USA
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