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Word Meaning

Word meaning in semantics describes the sense relations between predicates, rather than just defining individual word senses as in a dictionary. The meaning of a word consists of its specific properties plus the properties of its associated concept. Meaning postulates use logical connectives to define words in terms of their relations to other words. A metaphor occurs when a unit of discourse is used to refer to something it does not conventionally refer to, based on an understood similarity or analogy. We use metaphor rather than literal language because it can be more effective for reasons like avoiding hurting feelings or making ideas more understandable. Metaphor interpretation depends heavily on context. Metaphors can aid conceptual thinking by serving as either explanatory or constitutive metaph

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991 views3 pages

Word Meaning

Word meaning in semantics describes the sense relations between predicates, rather than just defining individual word senses as in a dictionary. The meaning of a word consists of its specific properties plus the properties of its associated concept. Meaning postulates use logical connectives to define words in terms of their relations to other words. A metaphor occurs when a unit of discourse is used to refer to something it does not conventionally refer to, based on an understood similarity or analogy. We use metaphor rather than literal language because it can be more effective for reasons like avoiding hurting feelings or making ideas more understandable. Metaphor interpretation depends heavily on context. Metaphors can aid conceptual thinking by serving as either explanatory or constitutive metaph

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susianakaban
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Semantics

Word Meaning
Word meaning in dictionary is different with word meaning in semantics.

Word meaning in dictionary describes the senses of predicates while word meaning in
semantics is describes about the sense relation between predicates.
The meaning of a word consists of word specifics properties plus the properties of the
associated concept
Meaning postulates = propositon
a meaning postulate is the notion that lexical items (words) can be defined in terms of
relations with other lexical items
Example : bachelor = unmarried male
Any of the logical connectives &, V, and ~ can be used in meaning postulates to
express the various sense relations that occur in language

From Literal to Metaphor

Literal meaning means that every person who has the same ideas, characteristics,
structure on a certain word

Literal meaning of a sentence is entirely determined by meaning of its component


words (or morphemes) and the syntactical rules according to which this element are
combined. A sentence may have more than one literal meaning (ambiguity) or its
literal meaning may be defected or uninterpretable (nonsense)

Metaphor as a departure from literal language. Metaphorical is speaker meaning

Metaphors mean what the words literally means

Example: Sally is an extremely unemotional and unresponsive person (literal)


Sally is a block of ice
The semantic interpretation process of metaphor is crucially and sytematically
context-depent.
For example : John is a wolf
This metaphor expresses the assertion that John belongs to extension of the predicate
wolf within a specific thematic dimension of the context;in other words it ascribes a
contextually determined property to John.

How does the metaphor work?


A metaphor occur when a unit of discourse is used to refer to an object, concept,
proess,quality, relationships or world to which it does not conventionally refer or
colligates with a unit with which it does not conventionally colligate and when this
unconventional act of reference or colligation is understood on the basis of similarity
or analogy.
For example :
1. Juliet is the sun
2. The hydrogen atom is a miniature solar system

We use metaphorical rather than literal because :

Metaphor is more effevtive than literal for some reasons :

1. The speaker and listener will be free from the result of the statement

2. Not to hurt ones feeling


3. To make us more civilized citizen
4. Special code/particular code
5. The sentence is intended literally but the point is largely indirect (metaphor in context
p. 224)

Make 5 examples 1. From metaphorical to literal

1. Time is money to save time

2. Life is a journey routes to succes

3. Mind is body to grasp an idea

4. Seperti bergantung pada akar lapuk mengharapkan bantuan pada orang yang tak
punya kuasa

5. Jangan lekas percaya kabar angin jangan percaya kabar yang belum pasti.

If metaphor can create fuzziness in language what is the important of metaphor in any
field of study?

Conceptual metaphors can aid our thinking in two ways : as explanatory


constitutive metaphors. Explanatory metaphors are used to make it easier for
the layman to understand complex scientific, political and social issues.
Constitutive metaphors are an integral part of theorizing about these problem.
In politics the explanotory function of metaphors is often subjected to the goal
of manipulation, which means that metaphors are often primarily selected for
their emotional effects

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