ABOUT SEMANTICS

2 types of meaning:

Semantics Pragmatics
- linguistic meaning/ context-free meaning - context-dependent
- sentences meaning - speaker’s meaning

Semantics: the study of meaning, and relations between different linguistic expressions
(synonymy, antonymy, etc)

Semantic features:

Definition: - The smallest units of meaning in a word.

- A notational method can be used to express the existence or non-existence of
semantic properties by using plus and minus signs.
Characteristics: - Not specifically mentioned
- Different words share the same semantic feature
- The same feature can occur in words of different parts of speech
Example: [thing], [limestone], [soft], [white or color], [for writing or drawing]
-> chalk

Semantic field = lexical field:

Definition: A set of words with identifiable semantic affinities

Characteristics: - Related to the topics
- Similar in meaning
- Opposite in meaning
Example: waiter, tiger, actor, waiter, host, landlord, sir
-> male

Semantics’ Aspect:

Word meaning: Ex: hen (animate, bird, fowl, fully grown, female)
Sentence meaning: +located -linguistic
Utterance meaning: -located +linguistic
Proposition: -located -linguistic

REFERENCE AND SENSE

Sense: deal with relationships inside the language. (words as containers of meaning)

Denotative (descriptive, referential) meaning: the literal meaning of a word, the ‘dictionary definition’.

Connotative (social, affective) meaning: the emotional suggestions related to that word.

Sense relation: the relationship between predicates.

Referent: an object, an entity in the real world/ in the real world of our imagination

Reference: the relationship between that word or expression and the thing, the action, the event, the
quality, etc. it refers to.

Constant reference: Sở chỉ không đổi (moon, sun, Vietnam, etc.)

Variable reference:
Co-reference: Love city – fog city – Da Lat (has the same referent)
No reference: Function words: so, because, but, etc.
Imaginary character: Santa, Dragan
Objects that not exist now: the king of Vietnam
*signified: meaning concept

*signifier: sounds, words

Green (signifier)  go (signified)

Yellow (signifier)  slow down (signified)

 A referent must be a noun phrase.

 Not all noun phrases are referent.
PREDICATOR: không thuộc reference, là phần make the most specific contribution to the meaning of the
sentence trong phần remainder; can be all part of speech, except: conjunction, articles, and tobe.

Ex: You are beautiful  remainder: are beautiful

Predicator: beautiful

Romeo loved Juliet  remainder: loved juliet

Predicator: loved

In a simple declarative sentence, there are two major roles:

ARGUMENTS: played by the referring expression

Ex: Fany gives him the book

Predicator: give

Argument: Fany, him, the book

PREDICATE: is any word (or sequence of words) which (in a given single sentence) can function as the
predicator of a sentence)

Predicates can be predicators in other sentences.

Predicates include words from various parts of speech, e.g. common nouns, adjectives,
prepositions, and verbs.

Ex: A tall, beautiful woman entered the class.  She is tall/ she is beautiful/ she is a woman

Ex: The red car is mine  pronoun is a referent

Red không phải là predicate vì nó thuộc reference

THE DEGREE OF A PREDICATE: is a number indicating the number of arguments. It is normally

understood to have in simple sentences.

Ex: this movie is amazing

Amazing is a predicate of degree one (one-place predicate)

Asleep is a predicate of degree one (often called a one-place predicate)

Love (verb) is a predicate of degree two (a two-place predicate)

 SENSE RELATIONS
1. HOMONYMY: a relation in which various words have the same (sound and written) form but have
different meanings. (đọc & viết giống, nghĩa khác)

Ex: lap ‘circuit of a course’ vs. lap ‘part of the body when sitting down’

HOMOPHONY: is the case where two words are pronounced identically but they have different written
forms (đọc giống, viết & nghĩa khác)

Ex: no – know; led - lead

HOMOGRAPHY: a word which is spelled the same as another word and might be pronounced the same
or differently, but which has a different. (viết giống, nghĩa & đọc khác)

Ex: bear - bear

Identify the relation between words in each pair.

1. flour/flower  homophony
2. might (meaning great strength or power) / might (expressing possibility)  homonymy
3. sow /səʊ/ (as in sow a field with wheat)/ sow /saʊ/ (meaning a female pig)  homograph
4. pupil (at a school)/ pupil (of an eye)  homonymy
5. wind (as in the wind is blowing hard)/ wind (as in wind one’s watch)  homograph
6. sound (meaning the thing that can be heard)/ sound (meaning healthy or in good condition) 
homonymy
7. bare (meaning without the usual covering or protection)/ bare (meaning uncover or reveal
something)  homonymy

2. POLYSEMY: a relation in which a single word has two or more slightly but closely related meanings.

Ex: “break”

+) Separate into two or more parts as a result of force or strain (but not cutting)

He broke that cup.

+) become unusable by being damaged/ make sth unusable by damaging.

My watch is broken.

 both meanings have the same semantic feature [+can no longer be used]

Decide whether the following words are examples of homonymy (H) or polysemy (P)
(1) bark (of a dog vs of a tree)  H
(2) fork (in a road vs instrument for eating)  P
(3) tail (of a coat vs of an animal)  P
(4) steer (to guide vs young bull)  H
(5) lip (of a jug vs of a person)  P
(6) punch (blow with a fist vs kind of fruity alcoholic drink)  H
3. SYNONYMY: is the relationship between two predicates that have the same sense.

Ex: Can I buy (? purchase) you a cognac?

The serving machines are available in a selection of sizes and can be leased or purchased (? Bought)

 Different in formality hoặc có khi khác dialect (phương ngữ)

- True synonymy: are terms having precisely the same denotation, connotation, and range of
applicability.

- partial synonymy: is a relation in which a polysemous word shares one of its meanings with another
word.

4. ANTONYMY: a relation in which two words have different (written and sound) forms and are opposite
in meaning.

- Binary antonyms are predicates that come in pairs and between them exhaust all the relevant
possibilities. If one predicate is applicable, then the other can not be, and vice versa.

Ex: alive – dead binary antonymy

Male - female non- gradable

- gradable antonymy: two predicates are gradable antonyms if they are at opposite ends of a continuous
scale of values (a scale which typically varies according to the context of use)

Ex: hot – cold

Hot – warm – tepid – cool – cold

Love – like – dislike - hate

- relational antonymy/ converseness: two members of a pair of relational antonyms display symmetry in
their meaning.

If a predicate describes a relationship between two things (or people) and some other predicate
describes the same relationship when the two things (or people) are mentioned in the opposite order,
then the two predicates are CONVERSES of each other.

Ex: trainer – trainee; import – export

Incompatibility: A sense relation exists between words in a semantic field where the choice of one
excludes the other.
 State whether the following pairs of antonyms are binary, gradable, or relational.
good – bad  gradable import – export  relational
pass – fail  binary better than – worse than  relational
deciduous – evergreen  binary easy – difficult  gradable
expensive – cheap  gradable hot – cold  gradable
parent – offspring  relational legal – illegal  binary
beautiful – ugly  gradable asleep – awake  binary
false – true  binary rude – polite  gradable
lessor – lessee  relational husband – wife  relational

5. INCOMPATIBILITY: a sense relation that exists between words in a semantic field where the choice of
one excludes (loại trừ) the other.

Ex: piano and violin; solid and gas; spring and summer.

6. 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)

Ex:

Xét về sense: tree > plant

Reference: plant > tree

Hyponymy is a sense relation between predicates (or sometimes longer phrases) such that the meaning
of one predicate (or phrase) is included in the meaning of the other.

Ex: cow [+animal]

[+bovine]

[+female]
 What is the basic lexical relation between each pair of words listed here?
(a) damp/moist  synonymy
(b) deep/shallow  gradable antonymy
(c) furniture/table  hyponymy
(d) married/single  binary antonymy
(e) move/run  hyponymy
(f) peace/piece  homophony
(g) apple/banana  co-hyponymy

Identify the kind of relation between the predicates in each of the following pairs. If the relation is
antonymy, state the type of antonymy.
1. lion – tiger  co-hyponymy
2. clothes – dress  hyponymy
3. pass – fail  binary antonymy
4. site – sight  homophony
5. head (of a person) – head (of a company)  polysemy

What is the relationship between the words in the following pairs?

1. employer – employee  relational antonymy
2. essential – vital  synonymy
3. briefcase – backpack  co-hyponymy
4. reptile – snake  hyponymy

UTTERANCES, SENTENCES, AND PROPOSITIONS.

UTTERANCES:

- An utterance is any stretch of talk, by one person, before and after which there is silence on the
part of that person.
- An utterance is the use by a particular speaker, on a particular occasion, of a piece of language,
such as a sequence of sentences, a single phrase, or even a single word.
- Any written between double quotation marks represents an utterance.
Ex: “help”

SENTENCES:

- A sentence is 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. A sentence can be thought of as the
ideal string of words behind various realizations in utterances and inscriptions.
- A sentence is a grammatically complete string of words expressing a complete thought.
- Anything italicized represents a sentence or (similarly abstract) part of a sentence, such as a
phrase or a word.
Ex: The postillions have been struck by lightning.
PROPOSITIONS:

- A proposition is part of the meaning of the utterance of a declarative sentence that describes
some state of affairs.
- The state of affairs typically involves persons or things referred to by expressions in the sentence
and the situation or action they are involved in.
- Propositions, unlike sentences, can not be said to belong to any particular language.
- Sentences in different languages can correspond to the same proposition.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UTTERANCES, SENTENCES, AND PROPOSITIONS

In the following utterances, is any proposition asserted by the speaker?

(a) ‘Have you seen my toothbrush?’ Yes / No
(b) ‘Get out of here this minute!’ Yes / No
(c) ‘I’m afraid that I’ll have to ask you to leave’ Yes / No
 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 ✓ ✓

Indicate whether each of the following sentence pairs expresses the same or different propositions.
a) Mary read the book / The book was read by Mary  same
b) Fred took back the book / Fred took the book back  same
c) The cat chased the rat / The cat was chased by the rat  different
d) The chef cooked the meal / The chef had the meal cooked  different
e) Hondas are easy to fix / It’s easy to fix Hondas  same

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

a) John left yesterday  yes
b) Did John leave yesterday?  no
c) Can John leave this afternoon?  no
d) John, get out of here  no
e) John!  no

Decide whether each pair of sentences below has the same or different propositional content.
a. Can John have some cake? / John has some cake  same.
Proposition: John possesses some cake
b. Take out the garbage / You will take out the garbage.  same
Proposition: The addressee will remove the garbage.
c. Can you pass the salt? / The saltshaker is nearly empty.  different

AMBIGUITY: (A sentence that has more than one meaning)

1. Structural: Structural ambiguity occurs when a phrase or a sentence has more than one underlying
structure.

EX: 1- The girl hit the boy with a book.

2- Visiting relatives can be boring.

2. Lexical: The presence of two or more possible meanings within a single word.
EX: 1- The Rabbi married my sister.

2- She is looking for a match.

 SENTENCE MEANING
Có true condition  xác định được true value

TRUTH-BASED APPROACH: An attempt to represent these semantic relations is to look at an approach to

meaning based on the notion of truth.

TRUTH-BASED SENTENCE TYPES: (sense properties)

 Synthetic (may be true or false): knowledge of the world/fact

 Analytic (true): knowledge of sense (sense relations) of words in sentences
 Contradiction (false): knowledge of sense (sense relations) of words in sentences

SENSE OF AN EXPRESSION

 The sense of an expression is its indispensable hard core of meaning.

 Three important sense properties of sentences, the properties of being analytic, of being
synthetic, and of being contradictory.

ANALYTIC (absolute true sentences)

- An analytic sentence is necessarily true, as a result of the senses of the words in it.

Ex: All elephants are animals.

- A synthetic sentence is not analytic but may be either true or false, depending on the way the
world is.

Ex: John is from Ireland.

CONTRADICTIONS

A contradiction is a sentence that is necessarily FALSE, as a result of the sense of the words in it. Thus, a
contradiction is in a way the opposite of an analytical sentence.

Ex: This animal is a vegetable.

 Circle the following sentences A for analytic, S for synthetic, or C for contradiction, as appropriate.
1. That girl is her own mother’s mother.  C
2. The boy’s his own father’s son.  A
3. Alice is Ken’s sister.  S
4. Some typewriters are dusty.  S
5. If it breaks, it breaks.  A
6. John killed Bill, who remained alive for many years after.  C
7. Whitney Houston is dead.  S
8. Tom’s sister has no siblings.  C
9. Leaves turn yellow in the fall.  S
10. All roses are flowers.  A
11. My bachelor friends are all married.  C
12. John is simultaneously a man and not a human being.  C
13. Mussolini was an Italian.  S
14. Every female dog is a bitch.  A

(1) Analyticity is which of the following? Circle your choice.

(a) a sense relation between sentences
(b) a sense property of sentences
(c) a sense relation between predicates
(d) a sense property of predicates
(2) The sentence John is older than himself is:
(a) analytic
(b) synthetic
(c) a contradiction

ENTAILMENT

- A sentence expressing proposition X entails a sentence expressing proposition Y if the truth of Y

follows necessarily from the truth of X.
- “One statement entails another when the second is a logically necessary consequence of the
first.”
Ex: John killed Bill entails Bill died
John ate all the kippers entails Someone ate something.
- “Entailments are inferences that can be drawn solely from our knowledge about the semantic
relationships in a language. This knowledge allows us to communicate much more than what we
actually ‘say’.”

TYPES OF ENTAILMENTS

One-way entailment: The entailments of this type come about because of hyponymic relations between
words.

EX: John saw a bear entails John saw an animal.

Max ate the pizza asymmetrically entails Max did something to the pizza.
Two-way entailments: The entailments between a pair of sentences are mutual since the truth of either
sentence guarantees the truth of the other.

Ex: Paul borrowed a car from Sue symmetrically entails Sue lent a car to Paul.

Are these statements of entailment correct or incorrect?

1. John cooked an egg entails John boiled an egg. F (boiled là hạ danh của cooked)
2. John boiled an egg entails John cooked an egg. T
3. I saw a boy entails I saw a person. T
4. John stole a car entails John took a car. T
5. His speech disturbed me entails His speech deeply disturbed me. F

Identify the entailed sentences of the following statements.

1. Lee kissed Kim passionately.
 Lee kissed Kim.
 Kim was kissed by Lee/ Kim was kissed.
2. Rover chased three squirrels.
 Something chased three squirrels/ Rover did something to three squirrels/ Something happened.

PARAPHRASES: “A sentence which expresses the same proposition as another sentence is a paraphrase
of that sentence.”

Ex: The girl kissed the boy

The boy was kissed by the girl.

Possible ways to paraphrase a sentence:

1/ Change individual words:

 Using synonyms: Cats drink cream  Domestic felines consume the liquid fat of milk.
 Using relational antonyms: I lent that book to Jim  Jim borrowed that book from me.

2/ Change sentence structure

Ex: Cats drink cream  Cream is drunk by cat

3/ Change both individual words and sentence structure

Ex: Cats drink cream  The liquid fat of milk is drunk by domestic felines.
What sense relation holds between the two sentences in each of the following pairs?
1a) Tom is married to Mary. 4a) Gina plays tennis.
1b) Mary is married to Tom. 4b) Someone plays sports.
Paraphrase = two-way entailment  One-way entailment

2a) John is the father of Neil. 5a) Kevin boiled an egg.

2b) Neil is the father of John. 5b) Kevin cooked an egg.
 contradictory  One-way entailment
6a) Jim is fatter than Ed and Ed is fatter than Bob.
3a) Dick is a bachelor. 6b) Jim is fatter than Bob.
3b) Dick is a man.  One-way entailment
 One-way entailment
9a) Jane is a spinster. (ng phụ nữ độc thân)
7a) Some of the students came to my party. 9b) Jane is married.
7b) Not all of the students came to my party.  contradictory
 Paraphrase
10a) The beetle is alive.
8a) The fly was over the wall. 10b) The beetle is dead.
8b) The wall was under the fly.  contradictory
 Paraphrase
 PRAGMATICS

PRESUPPOSITION

- Presupposition is “what a speaker or writer assumes that the receiver of the message already
knows.”
- “Presuppositions are inferences about what is assumed to be true in the utterance rather than
directly asserted to be true.”

TYPES OF PRESUPPOSITION

1/Presupposition triggers

Presuppositions seem to be tied to particular words – or aspects of surface structure in general. We shall
call such presupposition-generating linguistic items presupposition triggers.

2/ Existential presupposition

 Definite descriptions

Ex:

“Mary’s dog is cute.” – Mary has a dog

“They haven’t spoken to each other since their last week’s quarrel.” – The hearer knows who “they” are
– They had a quarrel last week.

“Could you come to our party this weekend?” – We have a party this weekend.

“This is my youngest sister.” – I have more than one sister

“John didn’t see/saw the man with two heads.” – The hearer knows John – There was a man with two
heads.

“The king of Sweden has just left for France.” – Sweden has a king

“The American girl next door is having a party.” – There is an American girl next door.

“They searched everywhere for the missing child.”  There was a missing child.

3. Factive presupposition
“Nobody realized that Kelly was ill.” – Kelly was ill

“I was aware / was not aware that she was married.” – She was married

“It is odd / isn’t odd that he left early.” – he left early.

“I am glad that it’s over.” – it’s over.

“We regretted telling him the truth.” – we told him the truth

4. Non-factive presupposition

“I imagined that Kelly was ill.” – Kelly wasn’t ill.

“I dreamed that I was rich.” – I wasn’t rich.

“We imagined that we were in Hawaii.” – We weren’t in Hawaii.

“He pretends to be ill.” – he isn’t ill.

“She pretended that she had understood what he meant.” – She hadn’t understood what he meant.

5. Lexical presupposition

“You’re late again.” – You have been late at least once.

“The Brazilian team beat the French again.” – The Brazillian team had beaten the French before.

“I’m not going to let him come under my roof anymore.” – I have let him come under my roof.

“I’m going to change my job.” – I have got a job

“Jim wants more popcorn.” – Jim has already had some popcorn

“She managed to pay her debt.” – She had tried to pay her debt.

“Can you stop making that noise?” – You have been making that noise.

“He stopped smoking.” – He used to smoke

“They started complaining.” – They hadn’t complained before.

6. Structural presuppositions

“Where did you buy the bike?” – You bought a bike.

“When did you get your bachelor's degree?” – You got your bachelor's degree.

“How did you know the defendant had bought a knife?”

“Who is going to give me a lift to the airport?” – someone’s going to give me a lift to the airport.

“I was eating popcorn when Mike smashed the television set.” – Mike smashed the television set.

“How fast was the car going when it ran the red light?” – The car was going fast.

7. Counter-factual presupposition (lấy mệnh đề if, mđ phụ)

“If I had enough money, I would buy that house.” – I don’t have enough money.

“If I had had enough money, I would have bought that house.” – I didn’t have enough money.

“I wished I had studied more.” – I didn’t study more.

“You shouldn’t have seen such a film.” – You saw such a film.

“You could have talked to the dean.” – You didn’t talk to the dean.

CHARACTERISTICS:

1. The presupposition of an utterance remains the same under its negation:

Ex: “John stopped/didn’t stop smoking”  John once smoked.

2. The presupposition of an utterance remains the same under its interrogation:

Ex: John stopped smoking.

Did John stop smoking?

Why did John stop smoking?

 John once smoked a cigarette.

3. The presupposition of an utterance may be canceled under its extension:

Ex: “She didn’t feel regret at the over-cooked meat.”  The meat was overcooked.

“She didn’t feel regret at the over-cooked meat because it was in fact well – done.”  The
meat was well-done.

1. ‘I am sorry I cannot find your book right now.’

 I cannot find your book right now.
2. ‘On the occasion of my friend’s birthday, I intend to buy her a new vase.’
 I haven’t bought her a new vase.
3. ‘The exam is not so difficult.’
 The hearer knows which exam this is.
4. ‘She is not happy about the chemistry course she’s taking.’
 She is taking a chemistry course.
5. ‘We haven’t heard anything from Barbara.’
 The hearer knows who Barbara is.
6. ‘They were rich.’
 The hearer knows who they are.
7. ‘Can you stop playing with your cat?’
 You are playing with your cat.
8. ‘She was not aware that her son had an accident.’
 Her son had an accident.
9. ‘The explosion is so loud that it could be heard from miles away.’
 The hearer knows about the explosion.
10. ‘I wished I had not booked the tickets.’
 I booked the tickets.
11. ‘Tom might find the chocolate cake in the kitchen.’
 There is a chocolate cake in the kitchen.
12. ‘You will be amazed when you see the view.’
 You will see the view.
13. ‘She was not aware that it would hurt her so much.’
 It would hurt her so much.
14. ‘Can you drive me to the airport?’
 The hearer knows the airport.
15. ‘It took us 2 days to come back from Hanoi by train.’
 We were in Hanoi.
16. ‘It is going to rain for a long time.’
 It’s raining.
17. ‘I am going to have a final examination in Semantics.’
 I haven’t taken a final examination in Semantics.
18. ‘We are going to be the teachers of English.’
 We haven’t been the teachers of English.
19. ‘I’ll think I’ll pass the exam.’
 I will take the exam.
20. ‘I hope to have a good result for this exam.’
 I haven’t had the result of this exam.
21. ‘But for your encouragement, we would have given up.’
 You encouraged me.
22. ‘I got an excellent mark for my essay last time.’
 I wrote an essay.
23. ‘I missed my class on Monday because I overslept.’
 I overslept.
24. ‘My sister is going to graduate from university.’
 My sister hasn’t graduated from university.
25. ‘I’ve got a good mark for the exam in American literature.’
 I took the exam in American literature.
26. ‘I’m going to have a new grammar book.’
 I haven’t got a new grammar book.
27. ‘When did you give up teaching?’
 You gave up teaching.
28. ‘When did you stop beating your wife?’
 You stopped beating your wife.
29. ‘Fred continued speaking.’
 Fred was speaking.
30. ‘I cleaned the room.’
 The hearer knows the room.
31. ‘He killed the bird.’
 The hearer knows the bird.
32. ‘What was John worried about?’
 John was worried about something.
33. ‘Bill drank another glass of beer.’
 Bill had drunk at least one glass of beer.
34. ‘Could you lend me the novel when you finish it?’
 You will finish the novel.
35. ‘I can’t guess when the rain stops.’
 The rain will stop.
36. ‘Please take me to the circus again.’
 I have been taken to the circus at least once.
37. ‘He pretended to be pleased with the gift.’
 He wasn’t pleased with the gift.
38. ‘If only you had taken his offer.’
 You didn’t take his offer.
39. ‘Mary is on the way home.’
 The hearer knows who Mary is.
40. ‘What made him change his mind?’
 Something made him change his mind.
41. ‘Tom intends to stop his work for a while.’
 Tom hasn’t stopped his work for a while.
42. ‘He imagined that he had a bachelor’s degree.’
 He didn’t have a bachelor’s degree.
43. ‘But for your arrival, you wouldn’t have finished the job.’
 You arrived early.
44. ‘Did you do anything when you saw it?’
 You saw it.
45. ‘You should have finished the report before 10 o’clock.
 You didn’t finish the report before 10 o’clock.
46. ‘I didn’t realize that he was not there.’
 He was not there.
47. ‘Stop bothering me!’
 You are bothering me.
48. ‘The city is going to build another overpass.’
 The city hasn’t built another overpass.
49. ‘What made him worried?’
 Something made him worried.
50. ‘Churchill returned to power.’
 Churchill used to be in power.
51. ‘Tom is a better pianist than Bill.’
 The hearer knows Tom and Bill.
52. ‘The agency continues campaigning for the program.’
 The agency has been campaigning for the program.
 SPEECH ACTS
Action = (physical) force – open door

Words – open door

LOCUTION, ILLOCUTION, PERLOCUTION

On any occasion, the action performed by producing an utterance will consist of three related acts.

 A locutionary act is the saying of something which is meaningful and can be understood. (tạo
ngôn, tạo ra câu có nghĩa với người nghe)
 An illocutionary act is using a sentence to perform a function. (ngôn trung, tạo ra lực, người nói
thực hiện)
 A perlocutionary act is the results or effects that are produced by means of saying something.
(xuyên ngôn, lời nói tác động lên người nghe)

Example: Utterance: ‘Would you like a cup of coffee?’

Illocutionary act: Offering

Perlocutionary act: (e.g.) causing the hearer to think the speaker is more generous than he thought.

The utterances in the following examples actually carry out several illocutionary acts simultaneously.
Give two illocutions in each case.

EX: ‘Can I remind everybody that we meet here again at 6 pm?’

- Asking, reminding, and informing

1. ‘Can you pass the salt?’ – asking, requesting

2. To a car salesman who has just mentioned a price of £950 for a car: ‘O.K. I’ll take it at that price’ –
agreeing, accepting

3. A young man in a crowd addressed by the Prime Minister, shouting loudly: ‘What are you going to do
about the three million unemployed?’ – protesting (phản đối), asking

4. Shopgirl, handing over a packet of razor blades and two bars of soap: ‘That will be 88p, please.’ –
informing, requesting

5. Museum attendant, to visitor: ‘I’m afraid we’re closing now, Sir.’ – apolozing, requesting, informing

Using the locution, illocution, and perlocution analysis, analyze the underlined utterance in each of the
following dialogues.
1) Mrs. Smith’s neighbor: ‘I was so sorry to hear about your loss.’
Mrs. Smith: ‘Thank you. It was a great shock, but I must get used to it.
 Locution: Mrs. Smith’s neighbor uttered the words ‘I was so sorry to hear about your loss’,
which can be semantically paraphrased as ‘You have my great sympathy’, with I referring to
the neighbor.
 Illocution: The neighbor performed the act of condoling.
 Perlocution: Mrs. Smith, who is a recently bereaved widow and who expects the neighbor’s
utterance, gives a prepared reply: ‘Thank you. It was a great shock, but I must get used to it.’
2) A: ‘Would you like a cup of coffee?’
B: ‘Yes, please.’
 Locution: A uttered the words ‘Would you like a cup of coffee’, which can be semantically
paraphrased as ‘Have a cup of coffee, please’, with you referring to B.
 Illocution: A performed the act of offering.
 Perlocution: The utterance may cause B, who is the hearer, to think the speaker, who is A, is
more generous than he/she thought.
3) Son: ‘Can I go out for a while, Mum?’
Mother: ‘You can play outside for half an hour.’
 Locution: The mother uttered the words ‘You can play outside for half an hour’, which can be
semantically paraphrased as ‘You have my permission to go out for a while’, with you referring
to the son.
 Illocution: The mother performed the act of giving permission.
 Perlocution: The utterance may cause the son to race out of the room, picking up his football
on the way.

SPEECH ACTS

Actions performed via utterances are generally called speech acts and, in English, are commonly given
more specific labels, such as apology, complaint, compliment, invitation, promise, or request.

Ex: “I’m very grateful to you for all you have done for me” performs the illocutionary act (speech act) of
thanking.

Speech acts/ illocutions are acts defined by social conventions, acts such as accosting, accusing,
admitting, apologizing, challenging, complaining, condoling (chia buồn), congratulating, declining,
deploring (đáng tiếc), giving permission, giving way, greeting, leavetaking, mocking, naming, offering,
praising, promising, proposing marriage, protesting, recommending, surrendering (đầu hàng),
thanking, toasting (chúc mừng).

What illocutionary acts are performed by the following utterances, assuming normal circumstances?
1. “Would you like some coffee?” – offering
2. “After you” (said to someone wishing to go through the same door as the speaker). – giving way
3. “I’m awfully sorry I wasn’t at the meeting this morning.” - apologizing
4. “You can play outside for half an hour.” – giving permission
5. “Good evening” - greeting
6. “Good night” – leavetaking (sự từ biệt)

DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH ACTS

A different approach to distinguishing types of speech acts can be made on the basis of structure.

‘Speech acts can be classified as direct or indirect. In a direct speech act, there is a direct relationship
between its linguistic structure and the work it is doing. In indirect speech acts, the speech act is
performed indirectly through the performance of another speech act.’ [Peccei, 1999:56]

Sentence types and linguistic acts:

SENTENCE TYPE TYPICAL LINGUISTIC ACT PERFORMED BY UTTERING A SENTENCE OF THIS TYPE

declarative asserting / statement

interrogative asking

imperative ordering

1) You wear a seat belt. (declarative)

2) Do you wear a seat belt? (interrogative)

3) Wear a seat belt! (imperative)

SENTENCE SPEECH ACT DIRECT OR INDIRECT

1. The garbage isn’t out yet. request indirect

2. Could you take out the garbage? request indirect

3. Would you mind taking out the request indirect

garbage?
4. Are you in charge of the garbage? request indirect

5. Please take out the garbage. request direct

 6. I request you to take out the garbage request direct

Có sự tương ứng giữa sentence structure và speech act  direct acts

Nếu không khớp nhau  indirect acts

Note down the sentence type and the main illocutionary act performed in the following utterances
1) Man in pet shop: “Is that parrot expensive?”
Sentence type: interrogative
Act: inquiry (hỏi)
2) Teacher to class: “I don’t want to hear noise at the back of the class.”
Sentence type: declarative
Act: command
3) Man helping a blind man across a road: “Watch the step.’
Sentence type: imperative
Act: warning
4) Man in argument: “Do you take me for a fool?”
Sentence type: interrogative
Act: assertion (khẳng định)

SPEECH ACT CLASSIFICATION

According to the purpose of the utterance (in the sense of what we want the other person to do), the
‘direction of fit between the words we use and what we want the other person to do, and the amount of
belief the speaker has in what they say, Searle described five basic types of speech act:

1/ Declarations (câu tuyên bố)

Declarations are those kinds of speech acts that change the world via their utterance.

a. Priest: I now pronounce you husband and wife.

b. Referee: You’re out.

c. Jury Foreman: We find the defendant guilty.

IN USING A DECLARATION, THE SPEAKER CHANGES THE WORLD VIA WORDS

2/ Representatives

Representatives are those kinds of speech acts that state what the speaker believes to be the case or
not.

a. The earth is flat.

b. Chomsky didn’t write about peanuts.

c. It was a warm sunny day.

IN USING A REPRESENTATIVE, THE SPEAKER MAKES WORDS FIT THE WORLD.

3/ Expressives (câu biểu cảm)

Expressives are those kinds of speech acts that state what the speaker feels.

a. I’m really sorry!

b. Congratulations!

c. Oh, yes, great, mmm, ssahh!

IN USING AN EXPRESSIVE, THE SPEAKER MAKES WORDS FIT THE WORLD (OF FEELING)

4/ Directives

Directives are those kinds of speech acts that speakers use to get someone else to do something.

a. Gimme a cup of coffee. Make it black.

b. Could you lend me a pen?

c. Don’t touch that.

IN USING A DIRECTIVE, THE SPEAKER MAKES THE WORLD FIT THE WORDS (VIA THE HEARER)

5/ Commissives

Commissives are those kinds of speech acts that speakers use to commit themselves to some future
action. They express what the speaker intends.

a. I’ll be back

b. I’m going to get it right next time.

c. We will not do that.

IN USING A COMMISSIVE, THE SPEAKER MAKES WORDS FIT THE WORLD (VIA THE SPEAKER)

6/ Rogative

The rogatives refer to a special kind of directives which deal with requests for information and which is
typically in form of a question.
 Speech-act category Typical expression Example

Declaratives Declarative structure with the speaker as We find the defendant guilty.
subject and a performative verb in the
simple present tense I resign

Representatives Declarative structure Tom’s eating grapes.

Bill was an account.
Expressives Declarative structure with words referring I’m sorry to hear that.
to feelings This beer is disgusting.
Directives Imperative sentence Sit down!
Fasten your seat belts.
Rogatives Interrogative sentence Where did he go?
Is she leaving?
Commissives Declarative structure with the speaker as I’ll call you tonight.
subject and future time expressed. We’re going to turn you in.
Ex: Give a situation in which each of the following utterances occurs, interpret its meaning, and then
classify it according to different types of speech acts.

1) ‘Let’s go to our place for a beer.’ 6) ‘I beg you to reconsider your consideration.’
A: ‘Let’s go to our place.’ A: ‘I beg you to reconsider your consideration.’
B: ‘That’s a good idea.’ B: ‘I have nothing to reconsider.’
Interpretation: B suggests going to his/her place Interpretation: A earnestly asks B to give his
for a beer. decision a second thought.
Speech Act: a directive Speech act: a directive.
2) ‘I don’t know how to answer this question.’
A: ‘Why did you divorce her?’ 7) ‘Do you think I’m an idiot?’
 B: ‘I don’t know how to answer this question.’ A: ‘Why don’t you marry her?
Interpretation: B indirectly conceals the real B: ‘Do you think I’m an idiot?’
reason for the divorce from his ex-wife. Interpretation: B indirectly rejects A’s suggestion.
Speech act: an expressive Speech act: an expressive
3) ‘Mind your head!’
A: ‘Mind your head!’ 8) ‘That doesn’t sound very serious.’
B: ‘Thanks!’ A: ‘I’ve got a sore throat.’
Interpretation: A give warning B: ‘That doesn’t sound very serious.’
Speech act: a directive Interpretation: B directly shows no sympathy
4) ‘How nice to see you!’ towards A’s sore throat.
A: ‘Good morning!’ Speech act: an expressive
B: ‘How nice to see you!’
9) ‘Someone said you got fired.’
Interpretation: B expresses his/her delight when
Mother: ‘Someone said you got fired.’
meeting B.
Daughter: ‘Yes, but I’ve already applied for
Speech act: an expressive.
another job.’
5) ‘Who will believe this story?’
A: ‘I have got an A+’ Interpretation: the mother indirectly asks her
B: ‘Who will believe this story?’ daughter for some information
Interpretation: B expresses his/her sarcasm of A’s Speech act: a rogative
mark.
Speech Act: an expressive. 10) ‘Drink a cup of coffee.’
A: ‘I’m so sleepy.’
B: ‘Drink a cup of coffee.’
Interpretation: B gives a suggestion
Speech Act: a directive

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. ‘It’s going to rain.’ - Situation 2:

- Situation 1: A: ‘Can I meet you?’
Wife: ‘It’s going to rain.’ B: ‘What else do you want?’
Husband: ‘I’ll bring the new raincoat with me.’ Interpretation: B expresses her discomfort
Interpretation: the wife indirectly reminds her towards A.
husband to bring the new raincoat with him. Speech act: an expressive.
Speech Act: a directive
- Situation 2: 4. The city is being polluted badly.
A: ‘I promise to get you to the park tomorrow.’ - Situation 1:
B: ‘It’s going to rain.’ A: ‘
Interpretation: B expresses her disappointment 5. Have you finished the book?
Speech Act: an expressive. - Situation 1:
A: ‘Have you finished the book?’
2. ‘Do you feel better today?’ B: ‘Not yet.’
- Situation 1: Interpretation: A wants to know whether B has
Doctor: ‘Do you feel better today?’ finished the book.
Patient: ‘Yes, I do.’ Speech Act: a rogative
 Interpretation: the doctor directly asks her - Situation 2:
patient for some information A: ‘Have you finished the book?’
Speech Act: a rogative B: ‘It’s just 9 p.m., mom.’
- Situation 2: Interpretation: A expresses her frustration
A: ‘I had a serious stomachache last night.’ Speech act: an expressive
B: ‘Do you feel better now?’
Interpretation: B expresses her worry about A’s
health
Speech Act: an expressive

3. ‘What else do you want?’

- Situation 1:
A: ‘I’d like a cup of coffee.’
B: ‘What else do you want?’
Interpretation: B wants to know if A wants
anything else.
Speech act: a rogative
PERFORMATIVES and CONSTATIVE (vị từ ngôn hành, câu miêu tả)

- A performative is ‘one that actually describes the act that it performs, i.e. it performs some act and
simultaneously describes that act.’

Ex: ‘I promise to repay you tomorrow.’

- A constative asserts something that is neither true nor false.

Ex: ‘John promised to repay me tomorrow.’

Characteristics: Performative utterances contain:

 Performative verbs
 And many have 1st person singuialr subject.
 And are in the present tense.

But some performatives do not have a 1st person singular subject.

PERFORMATIVES OR CONSTATIVE?
Examine the the subjects of the following utterances.
1. “You are hereby forbidden to leave this room” - performative
2. “All passengers on flight number forty-seven are requested to proceed to gate ten.” - performative
3. “I suggest that you see a psychiatrist as soon as possible” - constative
4. “This ship is called Titanic” - performative
5. “We thank you for the compliment you have paid us” - performative
6.” Spitting is hereby forbidden.” - performative.
7. “The management hereby warns customers that mistakes in change can not be rectified once the
customer has left the counter.” - performative
8. “I hereby sing” - performative
9. “They hereby warn her that she will fail” – performative
10. “I hereby promised him that I would be at the station at three o’clock.” - constative
 PERFORMATIVES OR CONSTATIVES?
‘I name this ship Hibernia.’ – performative.
‘I believe in the dictatorship of the Proletariat.’ – constative (only describes belief)
‘I admit I was hasty.’ – performative (act of admission)
‘I think I was wrong.’ – constative (only describes mental state)
‘I hereby inform you that you are sacked.’ – performative (act of informing)
‘I give you supper every night.’ – constative (only describes the state of affairs)
‘I warn you not to come any closer.’ – performative.
‘I try to get this box open with a screwdriver.’ – constative.
‘I pronounce you man and wife.’ – performative.
‘I sentence (tuyên án) you to be hanged by the neck.’ – performative
“I order you to pay the bill.” – performative
“I promise to drop by tomorrow.” – performative.
“I sweep the floor every Tuesday.” – constative.
“I believe you were wrong.” – constative.
“The minister pronounced them man and wife.” – performative.
FELICITY CONDITIONS (điều kiện thỏa mãn): must be fulfilled in the situation in which the act is carried
out if the act is to be said to be carried out properly, or felicitously.

Ex: Indicate the correct felicity conditions by circling your choices.

1. promising:

(a) The speaker must intend to carry out the thing promised.

(b) The speaker must be inferior in status to the hearer.

(c) The thing promised must be something that the hearer wants to happen.

(d) The thing promised must be morally wrong.

2. apologizing:

(a) The speaker must be responsible for the thing apologized for.

(b) The thing apologized for must be (or must have been) unavoidable.

(c) The thing apologized for must be morally wrong.

(d) The hearer must not want the thing apologized for to happen (or to have happened).

3. greeting:

(a) The speaker and the hearer must be of different sex.

(b) The speaker and the hearer must not be in the middle of a conversation.

(c) The speaker must believe the hearer to have recently suffered a loss.

(d) The speaker feels some respect and/or sense of community (however slight) with the hearer

(4) naming:
(a) The thing or person named must not already have a recognized name known to the speaker.

(b) The speaker must be recognized by his community as having authority to name.

(c) The thing or person named must belong to the speaker.

(d) The thing or person named must be held in considerable respect by the community

(5) protesting:

(a) The speaker and the hearer must have recently been in conflict with each other.

(b) The speaker must disapprove of the state of affairs protested at.

(c) The state of affairs protested at must be disapproved of by the community generally.

(d) The hearer must be held to be responsible (by the speaker) for the state of affairs protested at.

THE COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE

- The cooperative principle: Make your conversational 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.

- 4 maxims:

 The maxim of quality (be true)

 The maxim of quantity (be brief)
 The maxim of relevance (be relevant)
 The maxim of manner (be clear)

1/ Maxim of quantity

Mother: “Have you finished your homework and put your books away?”

Son: I’ve finished my homework.

 Hàm ý: I haven’t put my books away. Hỏi 2 ý mà trả lời 1

2/ Maxim of quality

A: John has two PhDs

B: John has two PhDs but I don’t believe he has.

 John có 2 bằng thật mà B không tin  B không tin vào năng lực của John.

3/ Maxim of manner

A: Let’s get the kids something

B: Okay, but I veto I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M-S

 Hàm ý: she doesn’t want the kids to hear the word ice cream or they will require one.
4/ Maxim of relevance

A: Can you tell me the time?

B: Well, the milkman has come.

 Hàm ý: A có thể đoán được thời gian thông quan việc người giao sữa tới.

A: Where’s Bill?

B: There’s a yellow VW outside Sue’s house.

 Hàm ý: nếu Bill đi xe VW thì Bill đang ở bên trong nhà Sue

Ex: Which maxim has not been observed and what conversational implicature might be drawn?

1. A: ‘I really like that dinner.’ 5. A: Are you going to Steve’s barbecue?’

B: ‘I’m a vegetarian.’ - relevance B: ‘A barbecue is an outdoor party.’ - relevance
2. A: ‘Would you like a cocktail? It’s my own 6. Teacher [towards the end of a lecture]: ‘What
invention?’ time is it?’
B: ‘Well, mm uh it’s not that we don’t drink.’ – Student: ‘It is 10:44 and 35.6 seconds.’ –
manner (he wouldn’t like to try) quantity
3. A: ‘How are you?’ 7) Policeman [at the front door]: ‘Is your father or
B: ‘I’m dead.’ – quality (he is very tired) mother at home?’
4. A: ‘We’re going to the movies.’ Small boy [who knows that his father is at
B: ‘I’ve got an exam tomorrow.’ - relevance home]: ‘Either my mother’s gone out shopping or
she hasn’t. - quality
8) Mother: ‘Now tell me the truth. Who put the
ferret in the bathtub?’
Son [who knows who did it]: Someone put it
there.’ - quality

Ex: Decide whether each of the inferences in brackets is a presupposition or an implicature derived from
the underlined utterance.

1. A: ‘My girlfriend lives in New York.’

B: ‘My girlfriend lives in Boston.’ (I have a girlfriend) – presupposition.

2) A: ‘What?’

B: ‘Why are you laughing at me?’ (You are laughing at me) - P

3) A: ‘Why is she eating those?’

B: ‘Her father didn’t give her any supper.’ (She didn’t have any supper.) – I

4) A: ‘Is John engaged?’

B: ‘He’s bought a ring.’ (John is engaged.) - I

5) A: ‘You look pleased.’

 B: ‘I managed to pass the exam.’ (I tried to pass the exam.) - P

6) A: ‘Did you finish the report?’

B: ‘I started it.’ (I didn’t finish it.) – I

7) Paul: ‘I didn’t take it.’

Virginia: ‘Why do you always lie?’ (You always lie.) – P

Ex: Write down one implicature drawn from the second speaker’s response.

1) Mary: ‘Did you manage to fix that leak?’ 8) Gwen: ‘This cheese looks funny. The label said
Jim: ‘I tried to.’ not to store the cheese in the freezer.’
His utterance may implicate that Jim did not fix Alvin: ‘Yeah, I did see the label.’
the leak. Alvin did not freeze the cheese.
2) Steve: ‘What happened to your flowers?’ 9) Paul: ‘I didn’t take it.’
Jane: ‘A dog got into the garden.’ Virginia: ‘Why do you always lie?’
Jane’s utterance may implicate that the dog was It is Paul who took it.
not Jane’s and that her flowers are destroyed. 10) A: ‘Have you seen my sweater?’
3) Jenny: ‘Mike and Annie should be here by now. B: ‘There’s a sweater on the sofa.’
Was their plane late?’ B is not sure whether the sweater on sofa is
Alfred: ‘Possibly.’ Alice’s.
Alfred was not certain that the plane was late. 11) A: ‘What is this examination in
4) A: ‘What’s with your mother?’ Semantics like?’
B: ‘Let’s go to the garden.’ B: ‘It’s so easy this time.’
B cannot talk about his mother’s problem in the The last examination in Semantics was really
very place. difficult.
5) A: ‘The bathroom’s flooded!’ 12) A: ‘Where’s the salad dressing?’
B: ‘Someone must have left the tap on.’ B: ‘We’ve run out of olive oil.’
B did not leave the tap on. There is not any salad dressing left.
6) Tom: ‘It works now.’ 13) A: ‘I hear you’re always late with the rent.
Janet: ‘When did Eric fix it?’ B: ‘Well, sometimes I am.’
It is Eric, not Tom, who fixed it. B is not always late with the rent.
7) A: ‘What are the Nelsons like?’ 14) A: Who used all the printer paper?
B: ‘They were rich.’ B: ‘I used some of it.’
The Nelsons are not rich anymore. B did not use all of the paper.

DEIXIS: the technical term for one of the most basic things we do with utterance.
3 types:

1. person/ Personal (pronouns: I, me, you, …)

2. place/ Spatial: locative expressions: here, there, this

3. time/ Temporal: now, then, yesterday…

THE CONVENTIONAL PRINCIPLE OF POLITENESS

- Face means the public self-image of a person. It refers to the emotional and social sense of self that
everyone else has and expects everyone else to recognize.

- Politeness, in an interaction, can then be defined as the means employed to show awareness of
another person’s face.

- In linguistics: polite = face

- Face threatening acts vs. face saving acts

- Negative face: the need for privacy, independence, autonomy, freedom, and right to make one’s own
decisions.

Ex: I’m sorry to bother you, …

I know you’re busy, but …

- Posititve face needs: refer to our needs to be respected, honoured, included, approved, liked, and
considered competent and trustworthy.

Ex: Let’s do it together.

You and I have the same problem, so …

- Maxims:

 Don’t impose (‘I’m sorry to bother you.’)

 Give options (‘May I ask you to …?’)
 Make your receiver feel good (‘You know much more about car engines than I do’)

The politeness principle and the co-operative principle are often in conflict with each other.

- Principle of politeness:

 The approbation (sự tán thành) maxim:

 minimize dispraise of the other
 maximize praise of the other
 The tact (sự tế nhị) maxim:
 Minimize the cost to the other.
 Maximize the benefit to the other.

NON-LITERAL MEANINGS
The man jogged without moving his body.  jog include moving  không trừ được
The dog is reading a book  chứa nét nghĩa không khớp nhau.

dog -[human]; reading [+human]

ANOMALY: is semantic oddness (as opposed to grammatical oddness) that can be traced to the
meanings of the predicates in the sentence concerned.

Anomaly involves the violation of a selectional restriction.

Ex:

Anomaly is a ‘violation of semantic rules to create nonsense’.

METAPHOR

Metaphors are conceptual (mental) operations reflected in human language that enable speakers to
structure and construe abstract areas of knowledge and experience in more concrete experiential terms.

Ex: My car is a lemon (tệ hại, chua, nhăm mặt)

The source domain (miền nguồn, cụ thể, phương tiện diễn đạt) and the target domain (miền đích, trừu
tượng).

1. Structural metaphors

- structural metaphors are abstract metaphorical systems in which an entire (typically abstract) complex
mental concept is structured in terms of some other (usually more concrete) concept.

- they typically involve multiple individual linguistic expressions that evoke some aspect of the metaphor
(as opposed to more restricted frozen metaphors which usually occur in one expression).

Example:

 Her point of view is indefensible.

 They attacked everything we said.
2. Orientational metaphors

Orientational metaphors give concepts spatial orientation by associating an abstract knowledge area
with some aspect of experiential knowledge grounded in how human beings understand their
orientation in physical space.

Example: up vs. down; front vs. back

METONYMY: is a kind of non-literal language in which one entity is used to refer to another entity that is
associated with it in some way. In other words, metonymic concepts ‘allow us to conceptualize on thing
by means of its relation to something else.’

Example: uống 5 ly  ly để chỉ nước

500$ each head  head để chỉ người

I need 5 hands  hand để chỉ người