scholarly journals Essentials of Semantic Syntax

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-20
Author(s):  
Pieter Seuren
Keyword(s):  
Formal Language ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Predicate Logic ◽  
Generative Grammar ◽  
The Body ◽  
Dominant Culture ◽  
Language L ◽  
Clausal Complementation ◽  
Type Grammar ◽  
Grammar Model

Semantic Syntax (SeSyn), originally called Generative Semantics, is an offshoot of Chomskyan generative grammar (ChoGG), rejected by Chomsky and his school in the late 1960s. SeSyn is the theory of algorithmical grammars producing the well-formed sentences of a language L from the corresponding semantic input, the Semantic Analysis (SA), represented as a traditional tree structure diagram in a specific formal language of incremental predicate logic with quantifying and qualifying operators (including the truth functions), and with all lexical items filled in. A SeSyn-type grammar is thus by definition transformational, but not generative. The SA originates in cognition in a manner that is still largely mysterious, but its actual form can be distilled from the Surface Structure (SS) of the sentences of L following the principles set out in SeSyn. In this presentation we provide a more or less technical résumé of the SeSyn theory. A comparison is made with ChoGG-type grammars, which are rejected on account of their intrinsic unsuitability as a cognitive-realist grammar model. The ChoGG model follows the pattern of a 1930s neopositivist Carnap-type grammar for formal logical languages. Such grammars are random sentence generators, whereas, obviously, (nonpathological) humans are not. A ChoGG-type grammar is fundamentally irreconcilable with a mentalist-realist theory of grammar. The body of the paper consists in  a demonstration of the production of an English and a French sentence, the latter containing a classic instance of the cyclic rule of Predicate Raising (PR), essential in the general theory of clausal complementation yet steadfastly repudiated  in ChoGG for reasons that have never been clarified. The processes and categories defined in SeSyn are effortlessly recognised in languages all over the world, whether indigenous or languages of a dominant culture—taking into account language-specific values for the general theoretical parameters involved. This property makes SeSyn particularly relevant for linguistic typology, which now ranks as the most promising branch of linguistics but has so far conspicuously lacked an adequate theoretical basis.

The Semantic Truth Structure on the Language L of Predicate Logic

2022 ◽  
pp. 205-231
Author(s):  
Mircea Reghiş ◽  
Eugene Roventa
Keyword(s):  
Predicate Logic ◽  
Language L

Contested Slurs

2020 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-30
Author(s):  
Renée Jorgensen Bolinger
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Semantic Content ◽  
The Other ◽  
Linguistic Community ◽  
Moral Reasons ◽  
Language L ◽  
Linguistic Practices

Sometimes speakers within a linguistic community use a term that they do not conceptualize as a slur, but which other members of that community do. Sometimes these speakers are ignorant or naïve, but not always. This article explores a puzzle raised when some speakers stubbornly maintain that a contested term t is not derogatory. Because the semantic content of a term depends on the language, to say that their use of t is semantically derogatory despite their claims and intentions, we must individuate languages in a way that counts them as speaking our language L, assigns t a determinately derogatory content in L, and still accommodates the other features of slurs’ linguistic profile. Given the difficulty of doing this, there is some reason to give a non-semantic analysis of the derogatory aspect of slurs. The author suggests that rather than dismissing the stubborn as semantically incompetent, we would do better to appeal to expected uptake as moral reasons for the stubborn to adjust their linguistic practices.

Body and emotion

2002 ◽  
Vol 10 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 341-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ning Yu
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Cultural Models ◽  
Body Part ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Emotional Experiences ◽  
Emotional Symptoms ◽  
Internal Organs ◽  
Internal Body ◽  
External Body

This study presents a semantic analysis of how emotions and emotional experiences are described in Chinese. It focuses on conventionalized expressions in Chinese, namely compounds and idioms, which contain body-part terms. The body-part terms are divided into two classes: those denoting external body parts and those denoting internal body parts or organs. It is found that, with a few exceptions, the expressions involving external body parts are originally metonymic, describing emotions in terms of their externally observable bodily events and processes. However, once conventionalized, these expressions are also used metaphorically regardless of emotional symptoms or gestures. The expressions involving internal organs evoke imaginary bodily images that are primarily metaphorical. It is found that the metaphors, though imaginary in nature, are not really all arbitrary. They seem to have a bodily or psychological basis, although they are inevitably influenced by cultural models.

The ‘swift of foot’ construction and the phrase structure of the adjectival construct in Hebrew

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rivka Halevy
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Phrase Structure ◽  
Generative Grammar ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Clear Distinction ◽  
Semitic Languages ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Functional Aspects ◽  
And Gender

This article sheds new light on the puzzling phrase structure of complex adjectival phrases which are common in Semitic, specifically in Hebrew, and which are equivalent to Indo-European phrases such as ‘swift of foot.’ The article draws a clear distinction between these constructions and adjectival compounds such as ‘swift-footed’, which are prevalent in major Indo-European languages but are absent from Semitic languages. The Hebrew construction under discussion is a genitival construct consisting of an adjective followed by a modifying noun in genitive status. The adjective is the head of the construction, but agrees in number and gender with a noun outside the construction. This construction has invited controversial analyses by different scholars, most recently in the framework of generative grammar. The present study construction is anchored in the framework of Construction Grammar. It nevertheless advances a morphosyntactic and semantic analysis of its inner composition. Functional aspects and the speaker’s perspectival choice in construing such attributive phrases are taken into account as well.

‘Body part’ terms and emotion in Japanese

2002 ◽  
Vol 10 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 107-128 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Appraisal ◽  
Comic Books ◽  
Body Part ◽  
Mental Activity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Popular Songs ◽  
Specific Emotion ◽  
Film Scripts ◽  
Magazine Articles

This paper examines the use and meaning of the body-part terms or quasi-body part terms associated with Japanese emotions. The terms analyzed are kokoro, mune, hara, ki, and mushi. In Japanese kokoro is regarded as the seat of emotions. Mune (roughly, ‘chest’) is the place where Japanese believe kokoro is located. Hara (roughly, ‘belly’) can be used to refer to the seat of ‘thinking’, for example in expression of anger-like feelings which entail a prior cognitive appraisal. The term ki (roughly, ‘breath’) is also used for expressions dealing with emotions, temperament, and behaviour; among these, ki is mostly frequently used for referring to mental activity. Mushi — literally, a ‘worm’ which exists in the hara ‘belly’ — is also used for referring to specific emotion expressions.The tool for semantic analysis employed in this paper is the “Natural Semantic Metalanguage” method developed by Anna Wierzbicka and colleagues. This metalanguage enables us to explicate concepts by means of simple words and grammar (easily translated across languages), and clarifies the similarities and dissimilarities between the components involved in semantically similar terms. The data used for analysis are from various sources; published literature both in Japanese and English, newspaper/magazine articles, film scripts, comic books, advertisements, dictionaries, and popular songs.

scholarly journals LEXICAL AND WORLD-MODELING ACTIVITY OF SOMATISMS AND ANTHROPOMORPHISM OF LANGUAGE CATEGORIZATION IN THE PROVERB

2021 ◽  
pp. 69-75
Author(s):  
Хуа Ван
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Universal Constant ◽  
The Body ◽  
The World ◽  
Semantics And Pragmatics ◽  
World Modeling ◽  
Constant Characteristics ◽  
Russian Linguistic ◽  
Conceptual Meaning ◽  
Selection Of

Введение. Рассматривается лексическая и миромоделирующая активность единиц лексико-семантической группы «Части тела» ‒ соматизмов, находящая отражение в текстах русских народных пословиц. Особенности семантики и прагматики соматизмов, обусловливающие специфику их функционирования в фольклорном тексте, позволяют определять соматическую лексику в качестве маркеров национальной идентичности. Целью исследования является изучение соматизмов, функционирующих в текстах русских народных пословиц, в аспекте реализации ими своего лексического и миромоделирующего потенциала. Материал и методы. В качестве материала исследования привлекаются тексты русских народных пословиц, содержащих лексемы-соматизмы. Принцип отбора эмпирического материала ‒ на основании сплошной выборки наиболее частотно встречающихся соматических единиц из текстов. Методологию исследования составляют методы наблюдения, количественного анализа, лексико-семантического анализа с привлечением элементов дискурсивного и концептуального анализа. Результаты и обсуждение. Соматизмы, значение которых строится на основе смыслов антропоморфности, играют значительную роль в формировании представления о человеке в языковой и концептуальной картине мира. Концептуальный смысл соматизмов проявляется неодинаково в разных лингвокультурах. При наличии универсальных, константных характеристик, свойственных всем этносам, наблюдается присутствие трактовок, обусловленных спецификой той или иной культуры. Это становится очевидным при сопоставлении случаев функционирования соматизмов в текстах русских и китайских пословиц: названные лингвокультуры чрезвычайно различаются в культурном и языковом планах. Выявлено, что наибольшим лексическим и миромоделирующим потенциалом, судя по текстам пословиц, в русской языковой картине мира обладают соматизмы голова, рука, глаза. За каждой соматической лексемой закреплен конкретный концептуальный смысл, важной составляющей частью которого является аксиологический компонент «ценность». Так, соматизм голова интерпретируется как «ценность интеллекта», рука ‒ «ценность жизненной активности», глаза ‒ «ценность личного участия». В меньшем количестве в пословицах присутствуют соматизмы волосы, ноги, рот, язык, нос. В этом перечне в первую очередь очевидны такие интерпретации, как ноги, символизирующие «ценность мобильности», и волосы ‒ маркер антиценности «внешнего» в противовес ценности «внутреннего». Заключение. Изучение соматизмов в аспекте рассмотрения их лексической и миромоделирующей активности, проявляющейся в фольклорных текстах (в данном случае в пословицах), позволяет формировать представление о фрагментах языковой и концептуальной картины мира этноса. Introduction. The article is devoted to the consideration of the lexical and world-modeling activity of units of the lexical-semantic group «Parts of the body» - somatisms, which is reflected in the texts of Russian folk proverbs. The peculiarities of the semantics and pragmatics of somatisms, which determine the specifics of their functioning in a folklore text, make it possible to define somatic vocabulary as markers of national identity. Aim and objectives. The aim of the research is to study the somatisms that function in the texts of Russian folk proverbs, in the aspect of their realization of their lexical and world-modeling potential. Material and methods. As the research material, the texts of Russian folk proverbs containing somatism lexemes are used. The principle of selection of empirical material is based on a continuous sample of the most frequently encountered somatic units from texts. The research methodology consists of methods of observation, quantitative analysis, lexical and semantic analysis, with the involvement of elements of discourse and conceptual analysis. Results and discussion. Somatisms, the meaning of which is based on the meanings of anthropomorphism, play a significant role in the formation of the idea of a person in the linguistic and conceptual picture of the world. The conceptual meaning of somatisms is manifested differently in different linguocultures. In the presence of undoubted universal, constant characteristics inherent in all ethnic groups, there is a presence of interpretations due to the specificity of a particular culture. This becomes obvious when comparing the cases of the functioning of somatisms in the texts of Russian and Chinese proverbs: the named linguocultures are extremely different in cultural and linguistic terms. It was revealed that the greatest lexical and world-modeling potential, judging by the texts of proverbs, in the Russian linguistic picture of the world is possessed by the somatisms head, hand, and eyes. Each somatic lexeme has a specific conceptual meaning, an important component of which is the axiological component “value”. So, somatism, the head is interpreted as «the value of the intellect», the hand is the «value of vital activity», the eyes are the «value of personal participation.» In fewer proverbs, there are somatisms hair, legs, mouth, tongue, nose. In this list, interpretations such as legs, symbolizing the «value of mobility,» and hair, a marker of the anti-value of «external» as opposed to the value of «internal», are primarily evident. Conclusion. The study of somatisms in the aspect of considering their lexical and world-modeling activity, manifested in folklore texts (in this case, in proverbs), makes it possible to form an idea of fragments of the linguistic and conceptual picture of the world of an ethnic group.

scholarly journals Semantic analysis of corporeality in the poetic discourse of Momčilo Nastasijević

Bastina ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 143-155
Author(s):  
Snežana Kadić
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Semantic Content ◽  
The Body ◽  
Human Existence ◽  
Semantic Structure ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Poetic Discourse ◽  
Material Appearance ◽  
Metaphysical Presupposition ◽  
Conceptual Distinction

The paper semantically analyzes the corporeality in the poetic discourse of Momčilo Nastasijević. The verses indicate the semantic structure of the body through its sensuous, affective and ontological segment. The conceptual distinction between the body and corporeality is emphasized, by pointing to the body as a conceptual domain that is conceptualized through the plant world and corporeality as a quality that arises in bodily intercommunication. Corporeality is semantically formed in the fusion of bodily relationship and the dynamics of its meaning finds the words whose semantic content is dynamic, and in most cases these words are lexemes that denote processes in the vegetative world. Corporeality is not limited to the material appearance of the body, but is recognized as a space in which the body exists incorporeal and immaterial. Corporeality arises in the human physical-physiological substance of the body, but at the same time it is in the human being an inseparable form with the soul (feelings). There is an ontological component of meaning of the corporeality based on Christian ethical theses. Corporeality is also a metaphysical presupposition of human existence. It is confirmed in the songs with verses about the insatiability of thirst, i.e., eros, which is not bare libido sexualis, but longing and necessity for another being, i.e., the necessity to know the spiritual and divine principle through another body (another being). The function of desire is also shown in conceptual representations of corporeality. According to the poet's essays, desire is the disharmonization of the human personality, and that connotation predetermines the negative meaning of corporeality. In that sense, the body is a state of death and carries the potential for perversion. Hence, the thought of bodily renunciation and prohibition of bodily desire appears in the verses, which is also the influence of Christian views on Nastasijević's poetics and semantics of corporality.

The Formal Language of Predicate Logic

2022 ◽  
pp. 197-204
Author(s):  
Mircea Reghiş ◽  
Eugene Roventa
Keyword(s):  
Formal Language ◽  
Predicate Logic

scholarly journals Banking Meaning Representations from Treebanks

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alastair Butler ◽  
Kei Yoshimoto
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation System ◽  
Formal Language ◽  
Predicate Logic ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Information State ◽  
Syntactic Information ◽  
The Evaluation System

This paper describes a method to convert existing treebanks with syntactic information into banks of meaning representations. The central component is a system of evaluation for a small formal language with respect to an information state. Inputs to the evaluation system are formal language expressions obtained from the conversion of parsed representations conforming to (Penn Treebank Project) guidelines. Outputs from the evaluation system are Davidsonian (higher-order) predicate logic meaning representations. Having a system of evaluation as the basis for generating meaning representations makes possible accepting input with minimal conversion from existing treebanks and from the tools used to construct treebanks. Results of having built corresponding banks of meaning representations from available treebanks are discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document