WorksheetsIntroduction to Semantics: Unit 1. (Part I)
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 26mins
Entailment is a relationship between sentences so that if a sentence A entails a sentence B, then if we know A we automatically know B."
true
false
Contradiction is a sentence relation where sentences A and B may or may not necessarily be false.
true
false
Which of the following sentences represents an entailment of the sentence "John gave her a tulip?"
John gave her a flower.
John did not give her a flower.
John did not give her a tulip.
Which of the following sentences represents an entailment of the sentence "John killed a wasp?"
John regrets that he killed a wasp.
The wasp is dead.
Which of the following sentences represent an entailment of the sentence "All dogs are brown?"
My dog is brown.
My dog is black.
John's dog is brown.
John's dog is black.
Which of the following sentences represent an entailment of the sentence "This is a dog?"
This is an animal.
This is a living creature.
This is a bird.
Which of the following sentences is contradictory to the sentence "The wasp is dead?"
The wasp is alive.
The was is not alive.
Which of the following sentences are contradictory to the sentence "John is still singing?"
John is no longer singing.
John is not singing.
John is singing.
Which of the following sentences are contradictory to the sentence "My brother is a bachelor?"
My brother is unmarried.
My brother is married.
My brother is not unmarried.
My brother is not a bachelor.
Meanings of the following sentences:
(a) Visiting relatives can be dangerous.
(b) Flying planes can be dangerous.
entail
are ambiguous
contradict
Which word causes a sentence "The woman greeted the man with a smile." sound ambiguous?
(a)
Which word causes a sentence "Sally will visit her aunt in jeans." sound ambiguous?
(a)
(a) semantics studies the meaning of individual words.
It aims to:
(a) represent the meaning of each word in the language;
(b) show how the meanings of words in a language are interrelated.
(a) semantics deals with:
(a) the meaning of syntactic units larger than words (i.e. phrases, clauses and sentences);
(b) the semantic relationships between these constructions.
Match the definitions to the two approaches to meaning.
1. Meaning drives from language being attached to reality.
2. Meaning derives from language being a reflection of our conceptual structures.
1. Referential approach
2. Representational approach
1. Representational approach
2. Referential approach
Which of the following is in the correct order.
1. signified
2. signifier
3. sign
1. signifier
2. signified
3. sign
1. sign
2. signifier
3. signified
1. sign
2. signified
3. signifier
1. signified
2. sign
3. signifier
_____ represents a conventional link between the sign and its signified
_____ is a similarity between a sign and what it represents
_____ represents a sign that is closely associated with its signified (often in a causal relationship)
* divide the answers with commas
(a)
Definitions theory promotes the view that to give the meaning of linguistic expressions we should establish definitions of the meanings of words.
true
false
Match correctly a concept with an image. Draw a line connecting the correct pairs.
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