Introduction to Language and Linguistics 006: Syntax & Semantics (the interface)

1 Introduction
2 A Semantic Model for Language
References
Patterns in Interpretation
Interpretational RulesPSRs
{lm} {mmm}
S → NP VP
NP → (D) N’
N’ → (Adj) N
VP → V (NP)
S = TRUE iff NP ∈ VP
NP = x, x∈ N )
N = Adj ∩ N
VP = {x: x, NP ∈ V }
ELC 231: Introduction to Language and Linguistics
Syntax & Semantics: The Syntax-Semantics Interface
Dr. Meagan Louie
M. Louie ELC 231: Language and Linguistics 1 / 98

1 Introduction
References
1.1 REVIEW: Constituency and Phrase Structure Rules
1.2 Concatenation VS Compounding
1.3 REVIEW: Compositionality, Truth, Reference
Core Subdomains
Linguistics: The study of Language
Phonetics
Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
Semantics
Pragmatics

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Core Subdomains: Last Week - Morphology and Syntax
Phonetics
Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
Semantics
Pragmatics

1 Introduction
References
Core Subdomains: This Week - Syntax-Semantics
Phonetics
Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
Semantics
Pragmatics

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References
Core Subdomains: Syntax
• Syntax: The study of phrase- and sentence-formation in language
1 The key notion of Constituency and Structure
2 Phrase Structure Rules (PSRs)
3 Productivity as a Design Feature

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Core Subdomains: Semantics
• Semantics: The study of MEANING in language
1 Review: Meaning as Truth and reference
2 REVIEW: Compositionality
3 A Semantic Interpretation System for Language
(i) The Model/Ontology
(ii) Lexical Entries
(iii) Compositional Rules (i.e., how to semantically interpret PSRs)

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References
Basic Syntactic Theory: Phrase Structure Rules
Q: How are sentences made?
H1: Sentences are made up of constituents
S
VP
NP
N
mailmen
V
bites
NP
N
dog
Adj
dangerous
D
This

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S
VP
NP
N
mailmen
V
bites
NP
N
dog
Adj
dangerous
D
This
Constituents are formed from words with
Phrase-Structure Rules (PSRs)

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References
S
VP
NP
N
mailmen
V
bites
NP
N
dog
Adj
dangerous
D
This
PSRs restrict word order
eg., English PSRs
S → NP VP
NP → (D) (Adj) N
VP → V (NP)

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References
About Phrase Structure Rules (PSRs)
Idea: Each language, X, has a set of PSRs:
Any sentence generated by the PSRs is
grammatical in X
Only the sentences generated by the
PSRs are grammatical in X
{mm}
English PSRs
S → NP (Vaux) VP
NP → (D) (Adj) N
VP → V (NP)
. “The big dog has eaten the raw steak”
. D Adj N Vaux Vptc D Adj N
Q: Can the English PSRs generate a tree structure for this sentence?

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References
grammatical in X
{mm}
English PSRs
S → NP (Vaux) VP
NP → (D) (Adj) N
VP → V (NP)
. “Le gros chien a mangé le steak cru”
. D Adj N Vaux Vptc D N Adj
Q: Can the English PSRs generate a tree structure for this sentence?

1 Introduction
References
grammatical in X
{mmm}
French PSRs
S → NP (Vaux) VP
NP → (D) (Adjsize) N (Adj)
VP → V (NP)
. “Le gros chien a mangé le steak cru”
. D Adj N Vaux Vptc D N Adj
Q: Can these PSRs generate a tree structure for this sentence?

1 Introduction
References
grammatical in X
{mmm}
French PSRs
S → NP (Vaux) VP
NP → (D) (Adjsize) N (Adj)
VP → V (NP)
. /ookina inu-ga sute:ki-o tabemashita/
. Adj Nnom Nacc V
Q: Can the French PSRs generate a tree structure for this sentence?

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grammatical in X
{mm}
Japanese PSRs
S → NP VP
NP → (Adj) N
VP → (NP) V
. /ookina inu-ga sute:ki-o tabemashita/
. Adj Nnom Nacc V
Q: Can these PSRs generate a tree structure for the sentence?

1 Introduction
References
S
VP
NP
N
mailmen
V
bites
NP
N
dog
Adj
dangerous
D
This
PSRs restrict word order
eg., English PSRs
S → NP VP
NP → (D) (Adj) N
VP → V (NP)

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References
H2: Sentences are strings of words with a ﬂat structure
ThisD
dangerousAdj
dogN
bitesV
mailmenN

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ThisD
dangerousAdj
dogN
bitesV
mailmenN
Strings are formed from words with
Sentence-String Rules

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ThisD
dangerousAdj
dogN
bitesV
mailmenN
Strings are formed from words with
Sentence-String Rules
These rules restrict word order
eg., English Sentence-String Rule
S → (D) (Adj) N V (D) (Adj) (N)

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Q: Is there any INDEPENDENT evidence
for CONSTITUENTS?
H1: Hierarchically-Ordered Constituents H2: Linearly-Ordered Words
S
VP
NP
N
mailmen
Adj
slow
V
bites
NP
N
dog
Adj
dangerous
D
This
ThisD
dangerousAdj
dogN
bitesV
slowAdj
mailmenN

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Basic Syntactic Theory: Constituents
Q: Is there independent evidence for constituents?

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Q: How do you form Y/N Questions in English?

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(1) English Y/N Questions 1
a. Cliﬀord will jump over the house
b. Will Cliﬀord will jump over the house?

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H1: A rewrite rule based on linear-order
1 2 3 4 5 ... → 2 1 3 4 5 ... (1)

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a. The big red dog will jump over the house
b. *Big the big red dog will jump over the house?
H1: A rewrite rule based on linear-order
1 2 3 4 5 ... → 2 1 3 4 5 ... (2) ×

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b. Will the big red dog will jump over the house?

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H2: A rewrite rule based on linear-order, sensitive to lexical category
X Y Aux1 Z W ... → Aux1 X Y Z W... (2)

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X Y Aux1 Z W ... → Aux1 X Y Z W... (1)

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a. The dog that Beth might1 buy will2 jump over the house
b. might1 the dog that Beth might buy will2 jump over the house?
X Y Aux1 Z W ... → Aux1 X Y Z W... (3) ×

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Independent Evidence for Constituents
(1) English Y/N Questions 1: H1 , H2
(2) English Y/N Questions 2: H1 ×, H2
(3) English Y/N Questions 3: H1 ×, H2 ×
a. The dog that Beth might buy will jump over the house
b. Will1 the dog that Bethmight buy will jump over the house?

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Observation: The Vaux that moves appears after the ﬁrst NP
(1) English Y/N Questions 1: H1 , H2
a. [Cliﬀord]NP will jump over the house
(2) English Y/N Questions 2: H1 ×, H2
a. [The big red dog]NP will jump over the house
(3) English Y/N Questions 3: H1 ×, H2 ×
a. [The dog that Beth might buy]NP will jump over the house
b. Will1 the dog that Bethmight buy will jump over the house?

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H3: Rewrite rule based on constituents, sensitive to lexical category
[X Y ...]NP Aux1 Z W ... → Aux1 [X Y ...]NP Z W...

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(3) English Y/N Questions 3: H1 ×, H2 ×, H3
a. [The dog that Beth might buy]NP will jump over the house
b. Will1 the dog that Beth might buy will jump over the house?

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(2) English Y/N Questions 2: H1 ×, H2 , H3
a. [The big red dog]NP will jump over the house

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(1) English Y/N Questions 1: H1 , H2 , H3
a. [Cliﬀord]NP will jump over the house

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Data (1) Data (2) Data (3)
H1 × ×
H2 ×
H3

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H1 × ×
H2 ×
H3
Observation: Only the hypothesis that makes reference to a
constituent (H3) can account for all of the Y/N question data
→ Y/N Q-formation provides independent evidence for constituents

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H1 × ×
H2 ×
H3
→ Passive-formation also requires a constituent-sensitive rule

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H1 × ×
H2 ×
H3
→ Using “and” and “or” also provide evidence for constituents

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Q: What strings of words can be conjoined with “and”?

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(4) a. Elizabeth bought a puppy.
b. . [Elizabeth and her mother] bought a puppy.
c. Elizabeth [bought a puppy and read a book]
d. *Elizabeth [bought a and hugged the] puppy

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b. . [Elizabeth and her mother] bought a puppy.
c. Elizabeth [bought a puppy and read a book]
d. *Elizabeth [bought a and hugged the] puppy
Idea: Only matching constituents can be conjoined with “and”

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Q: What strings of words can be conjoined with “or”?
b. . [Elizabeth or her mother] bought a puppy.
c. Elizabeth [bought a puppy or read a book]
d. *Elizabeth [bought a or hugged the] puppy
Idea: Only matching constituents can be conjoined with “or”

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Hypothesis: Only matching constituents can be conjoined

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→ Conjunction (use of “and/or”) is
independent evidence for constituents

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We can also use conjunction as a diagnostic
for whether a string of words is a constituent

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We can also use conjunction as a diagnostic
for whether a string of words is a constituent
i.e., if a string of lexical categories A B C can be conjoined with
“and/or,” that provides evidence that A B C is a constituent

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Constituency Tests: Conjunction Test
Assumption: Only matching constituents can be conjoined

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(6) a. Hermione bought the orange cat
b. Hermione bought the [orange cat and expensive book]
c. Hermione bought the [orange cat or expensive book]

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Our current PSR NP → (D) (Adj) N doesn’t account for this data!

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Our current PSR NP → (D) (Adj) N doesn’t account for this data!
Should we propose a new type of constituent [Adj N]N’?

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Revised PSRs: Evidence for N’
b. Hermione bought the [orange cat and/or expensive book]

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b. Hermione bought the [orange cat and/or expensive book]
NP
N’
N
cat
Adj
orange
D
the
NP
N’
N’
N
book
Adj
expensive
conj
and
N’
N
cat
Adj
orange
D
the

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1 NP → (D) N’
2 N’ → (Adj) N
3 X → X conj X (Conjunction Rule)
NP
N’
N
cat
Adj
orange
D
the
NP
N’
N’
N
book
Adj
expensive
conj
and
N’
N
cat
Adj
orange
D
the

1 Introduction
References
There independent evidence for constituents
→ There are also systematic patterns in meaning/interpretation...
→ These patterns only be described with rules
that make reference to constituents
(i.e., there is semantic, as well as syntactic
evidence for constituents)

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Review: Types of Word-Formation
1 Concatenation
Combining morphemes together to form new words
- eg., un-believe-abil-ity (predictable/compositional meaning)

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1 Concatenation
2 Neologism/Coinage
Combining phonemes together to form new morphemes
- eg., bikini (French coinage) (arbitrary meaning)

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1 Concatenation
2 Neologism/Coinage
Combining phonemes together to form new morphemes
- eg., bikini (French coinage) (arbitrary meaning)
3 Compounding
Combining entire words together to form new words
- eg., binge-watch (non-arbitrary but unpredictable meaning)
4 Blending
Combining parts of words together to form new words
- eg., mansplain (non-arbitrary but unpredictable meaning)
5 etc....

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Patterns in Interpretation: Systematic VS Non-Systematic
Concatenation
Compounding

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Concatenation
Compounding
Q: What’s the diﬀerence?

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The diﬀerence is systematicity
un-believe-abil-ity (predictable/compositional meaning)
binge-watch (non-arbitrary but unpredictable meaning)

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The meaning of a word formed by concatenation is systematic

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A systematic rule can describe how the meaning of the parts
combine to form a new meaning

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A systematic rule can describe how the meaning of the parts
combine to form a new meaning
i.e., even if you’ve never heard the word before, as long as you know
what the PARTS mean, you’ll know what the new word means

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The systematicity of concatenation
[N-ish]Adj Concatenation
(8) clown clownish “Having properties of a clown”
snob snobbish “Having properties of a snob”
freak freakish “Having properties of a freak”
nightmare nightmarish “Having properties of a nightmare”
hawk hawkish “Having properties of a hawk”
wolf wolﬁsh ?

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The systematicity of concatenation
[N-ish]Adj Concatenation
(8) clown clownish “Having properties of a clown”
snob snobbish “Having properties of a snob”
freak freakish “Having properties of a freak”
nightmare nightmarish “Having properties of a nightmare”
hawk hawkish “Having properties of a hawk”
wolf wolﬁsh ?
Systematic Semantic Rule:
[N-ish]Adj means “having properties of a N”

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The meaning of a word formed by compounding is not systematic

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We can’t use a systematic rule to explain how the meaning of the
word is derived from its parts

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We can’t use a systematic rule to explain how the meaning of the
word is derived from its parts
i.e., If you’ve never heard the word before, you might guess wrong
about what it means

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The non-systematicity of compounding
[N+N]N Compounds
(9) street streetcar “A car that runs on tracks on in the streets”
clown clowncar “A car that contains lots of clowns”
soapbox soapbox car “A small car made out of a soapbox”
bait bait car “A car used by police as bait for car thieves”
cable cable car “A car suspended by cables”

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The non-systematicity of compounding
[N+N]N Compounds
(9) street streetcar “A car that runs on tracks on in the streets”
clown clowncar “A car that contains lots of clowns”
soapbox soapbox car “A small car made out of a soapbox”
bait bait car “A car used by police as bait for car thieves”
cable cable car “A car suspended by cables”
NO Systematic Semantic Rule:
[N-car]N means “A car that is located on N”
[N-car]N means “A car that contains a lot of N”
[N-car]N means “A car that is made out of N”
[N-car]N means “A car that is used as N”
...

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Q: Concatenation or compounding?
i.e., systematic or non-systematic meaning change?
/ri:anM
/ เรียน “study” /nakH
ri:anM
/ นักเรียน “student”
/kh
itH
/ คิด “think” /nakH
kh
itM
/ นักคิด “thinker”
/s0:pL
/ สืบ ”investigate” /nakH
s0:pL
/ นักสืบ “detective”
/binM
/ บิน “ﬂy” /nakH
binM
/ นักบิน “pilot”
/rO:NH
/ นักร้อง “sing” /nakH
rO:NH
/ นักร้อง “singer”
→Can you formulate a systematic rule?

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Q: Concatenation or compounding?
i.e., systematic or non-systematic meaning change?
/laajM
/ ลาย “striped” /laajM
taaM
/ ลายตา “be dazzling”
/klajM
/ ไกล ”far” /klaiM
taaM
/ ไกลตา “out of sight”
/naaR
/ หนา “thick” /naaR
taaM
/ หนาตา “dense/crammed”
/loNR
/ หลง ”lost” /loNR
taaM
/ หลงตา “overlooked”
/titH
/ ติด ”stuck” /titL
taaM
/ ติดตา “fresh in one’s memory”
→Can you formulate a systematic rule?

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Concatenation
Compounding

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Concatenation
Compounding
Q: What about when we combine words
syntactically (as opposed to morphologically)?

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Concatenation
Compounding
Q: What about when we combine words
syntactically (as opposed to morphologically)?
Is the meaning fully compositional?

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The Principle of Compositionality
.
Gottlob Frege (1848-1925)
“...meaning of a complex expression is
a function of the meaning of its parts
and the way those parts are combined.”
The meaning of a complex phrase or sentence
is based on
(i) the meaning of its parts and
(ii) the way that the parts are combined
(e.g., which PSRs are used)

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.
Gottlob Frege (1848-1925)
“...meaning of a complex expression is
a function of the meaning of its parts
and the way those parts are combined.”
The meaning of a complex phrase or sentence
is derived from
(i) the meaning of its parts and
(ii) the way that the parts are combined
(e.g., which PSRs are used)

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Semantic Interpretation Rules for PSRs
→ Before we can talk about interpretation rules for phrases...
Q: What are the basic building blocks of MEANING?
i.e., how can we formalize the meaning of words?

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REVIEW: What is Meaning?

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The meaning of a sentence is its truth-conditions -
i.e., what the world would have to look like, in order for it to be true

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The meaning of a sentence is its truth-conditions -
i.e., what the world would have to look like, in order for it to be true
The meaning of a WORD or PHRASE is its reference -
i.e., what it refers to

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Q: What do you KNOW...
...when you know what something MEANS?
The meaning of a SENTENCE is its truth-conditions - i.e., under
what conditions the sentence is true
(10) Seriemas are a kind of bird
If I tell you one of these are a Seriema, and you know what (10)
means, then you know in which case (10) would be true

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The meaning of a WORD is its reference - i.e., what it refers to
eg., A word like...
[dAg] “dog” refers to the set of objects that we consider dogs
If you know what “dog” means,
then you know how to categorize objects as dog VS non-dog

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eg., A word like...
[ôEd] “red” refers to the set of objects that we consider red
If you know what “red” means,
then you know how to categorize objects as red VS non-red

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If you know what “endemic” means, then you know how to
categorize object, place pairs as endemic VS non-endemic
A bermuda petrels, Bermuda
B glacier bears, southeast Alaska
C elephants, Asia

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
2.3 Compositional Rules

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
1 Truth-Values: True (T) and False (F)

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
2 Things that words/phrases can refer to:

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
(i) Objects/Individuals: a, b, c, d
eg., “Bao-Bao”=a, “Taz”= d, ...

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
(ii) Sets of Objects/Individuals: {a, b}, {a, b, c}, {a, c} ...
eg., “animal” = {a, b, c, d}, “dog”= {b, c}, “caniformia”={a,b,c}

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
(ii) Sets of Objects/Individuals: {a, b}, {a, b, c}, {a, c} ...
eg., “animal” = {a, b, c, d}, “dog”= {b, c}, “caniformia”={a,b,c}
(iii) Pairs of Objects/Individuals: a,b , b,a , a,c ...
eg., “is the same species as” = { b,c , c,b }

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Q: What’s the diﬀerence between {} and ?

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
These things, {}, are set brackets

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
A set is deﬁned by its members (the elements inside the brackets)
the order of elements in a set don’t matter
i.e., {a, b, c, d} = {a, c, d, b} = {a, d, c, b} etc.

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
These things, , are angled tuple brackets

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
These things, , are angled tuple brackets
An n-tuple is deﬁned by its members...
...and the order of the members
i.e., a, b = b, a
(A ‘pair’ is the name of an n-tuple where n=2)

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
The diﬀerence between sets and tuples is important
i.e., to describe natural language meaning, we need
something like ordering

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Consider a word like “love”

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
If you know what a word like “love” means,
then you know how to categorize a, b pairs into

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
(i) pairs where a loves b, and

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
(ii) pairs where a doesn’t love b

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
(ii) pairs where a doesn’t love b
It’s important that a,b = b,a !

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Describing unrequited love requires ordered pairs
“Echo and Narcissus” (1903) by John William Waterhouse
e, n , n,n n,e , e,e

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Describing unrequited love requires ordered pairs
Young Lily Evans, James Potter and Severus Snape from “Harry Potter and the The Deathly Hallows” (Part 2)
s,l , l,j , j,l s,j , j,s , l,s

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Basic Semantic Elements: The Ontology
The semantic elements are called the ontology

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
1 Truth-Values: T, F

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
2 Individuals:
a = Harry Potter,
b = Hermione Granger,
c = Ron Weasley,
d = Draco Malfoy,
e = Buckbeak the Hippogriﬀ
f = Luna Lovegood,
...

1 Introduction
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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
2 Individuals:
a = Harry Potter,
b = Hermione Granger,
c = Ron Weasley,
d = Draco Malfoy,
e = Buckbeak the Hippogriﬀ
f = Luna Lovegood,
...
3 Operations: Set-formation {}, pair/tuple-formation

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
The LEXICON: The Repository of MORPHEMES
REVIEW: Deﬁnition of a MORPHEME
A morpheme is the smallest unit of language that has/contains
meaning - i.e., it is a systematic form, meaning, category mapping

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Now that we have established some basic building blocks of meaning
(i.e., an ontology)...

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Now that we have established some basic building blocks of meaning
(i.e., an ontology)...
... we can formalize the meaning of various kinds of lexical
categories as referring to elements in the ontology

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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
The Lexical Entries of Lexical Categories
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Lexical Entries for

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Lexical Entries for
PROPER NOUNS
refer to individuals
eg., Harry = a

1 Introduction
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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Lexical Entries for
PROPER NOUNS
eg., Harry = a
These things, , are
denotation brackets

1 Introduction
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2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Lexical Entries for
PROPER NOUNS
eg., Harry = a
These things, , are
denotation brackets
Harry is basically a shorthand way of
writing “the meaning of Harry”

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Lexical Entries for

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Lexical Entries for
COMMON NOUNS
refer to sets of individuals
eg., girl = {b, f, g}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Lexical Entries for
COMMON NOUNS
eg., girl = {b, f, g}
BASIC ADJECTIVES
eg., tall = {c, i}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Exercise
(1) What set does wizardN refer to?
(2) What set does animalN refer to?
(3) What set does GryﬃndorAdj refer to?
(4) What set does blondAdj refer to?

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Lexical Entries for

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Lexical Entries for
INTRANSITIVE VERBS
(verbs that involve a single individual)
eg., ﬂies = {e, h}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Lexical Entries for
INTRANSITIVE VERBS
(verbs that involve a single individual)
eg., flies = {e, h}
Unless you count flying via broomsticks,
magical motorcycles and airplanes, in
which case
flies = {a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Lexical Entries for

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Lexical Entries for
TRANSITIVE VERBS
(verbs that involve two individuals)
refer to sets of pairs of individuals
eg., loves = { a,q , a,h , a,g ,
b, c , c, b , c, q , g,a , g,q ,
i.e , ...}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Lexical Entries for
TRANSITIVE VERBS
b, c , c, b , c, q , vg,a, g,q ,
i.e , ...}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Lexical Entries for
TRANSITIVE VERBS
b, c , c, b , c, q , g,a , g,q ,
i.e , ...}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Exercise
(1) What set does studiesV refer to?
(2) What set does feedsV refer to?
(3) What set does marriesV refer to?
(4) What set does playsV refer to?

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Evidence for Phrases
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Observation: Particular lexical categories
are systematic in terms of what they refer to

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
What about higher constituents?
N’
N
boy
{a, c, d}
Adj
pureblood
{c, d, f, g}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Q: If pureblood refers to {c, d, f, g} and
boy refers to {a, c, d}...
... what would pureblood boy refer to?
N’
N
boy
{a, c, d}
Adj
pureblood
{c, d, f, g}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
If pureblood refers to {c, d, f, g} and boy
refers to {a, c, d}...
...N’ pureblood boy refers to {c, d}
N’
N
boy
{a, c, d}
Adj
pureblood
{c, d, f, g}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Q: If large refers to {e, i} and animal refers
to {e, h}...
... what would large animal refer to?
N’
N
animal
{e, h}
Adj
large
{e, i}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
If large refers to {e, i} and animal refers to
{e, h}...
... N’ large animal refers to {e}
N’
N
animal
{e, h}
Adj
large
{e, i}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Q: If gryffindor refers to {a, b, c, g} and
girl refers to {b, f, g}...
... what would gryffindor girl refer to?
N’
N
girl
{b, f, g}
Adj
gryffindor
{a, b, c, g}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Observation: Constituents are systematic
in terms of what they refer to
N’, like Adj and N,
refers to sets of individuals
N’
NAdj

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Observation: Constituents are systematic
in terms of what they refer to
N’, like Adj and N,
refers to sets of individuals
N’
NAdj
→ the set with members that belong
to both Adj and N
N = Adj ∩ N

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Composition Rule: N = Adj ∩ N
c, g g, b, f
red-haired girl
c g b, f
The set denoted by red-haired girl
N = Adj ∩ N is a
compositional rule
(call it modification)
This rule describes how
we interpret the PSR
N’ → (Adj) N

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
NP ?
N’ {g}
N {g, b, f}
girl
Adj {c, g}
red-haired
D
The

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
NP ?
N’ {b, g}
N {g, b, f}
girls
Adj {a, b, c, g}
gryﬃndor
D
Those

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
NP ?
N’ {d}
N {d}
slytherin
Adj {d, f}
blond
D
That

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
NP ?
N’ {e}
N {e, h}
animal
Adj {e, i}
large
D
The

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Intuition: The NP the red-haired girl refers
to the same thing as the name Ginny
- i.e., g
NP g
N’ {g}
N {g, b, f}
girl
Adj {c, g}
red-haired
D
The

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Intuition: The NP that blond slytherin
refers to the same thing as the name Draco
- i.e., d
NP d
N’ {d}
N {d}
slytherin
Adj {d, f}
blond
D
That

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Intuition: The NP the large animal refers
to the same thing as the name Buckbeak
- i.e., e
NP e
N’ {e}
N {e, h}
animal
Adj {e, i}
large
D
The

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Q: What’s the systematic
interpretation for NP → D N’ ?

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
(a) When N = {g}, NP = g

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
(b) When N = {d}, NP = d

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
(c) When N = {e}, NP = e

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
The NP refers to an individual

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
The NP refers to an individual
→ The/an individual member of the set
that N’ refers to1
NP = x, x∈ N
1An over-simpliﬁcation, but don’t worry about the details!

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Composition Rule: NP = x, x∈ N
c g b, f
The set denoted by red-haired girl
g
The individual denoted by the red-haired girl
NP = x, x∈ N is a
compositional rule
(call it selection)
NP → D N

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Composition Rules
Semantic Interpretation/Composition Rules

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
1. Modification:
N = Adj ∩ N N’ → (Adj) N
N’ refers to the set with members in both Adj and N

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
1. Modification:
2. Selection:
NP = x, x∈ N NP → D N’
NP refers to an/the individual in N

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
1. Modification:
2. Selection:
NP = x, x∈ N NP → D N’
NP refers to an/the individual in N
3. Predication:
S = T iﬀ, NP ∈ VP S → NP VP
NP is true if and only if the individual NP is in VP

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Compositional Rules: Interpreting PSRs
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Consider sentences like
S
VP
V
ﬂies
NP
Hedwig
S
VP
V
studies
NP
Hermione
Are these sentences true?
ﬂies = {e, h}
studies = {b, f}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
Consider sentences like
S
VP
V
ﬂies
NP
Hermione
S
VP
V
studies
NP
Hedwig
What about these sentences?
ﬂies = {e, h}
studies = {b, f}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
True sentences:
S
VP
V
flies
NP
Hedwig
S
VP
V
studies
NP
Hermione
Observation: h ∈ flies
flies = {e, h}
studies = {b, f}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
True sentences:
S
VP
V
ﬂies
NP
Hedwig
S
VP
V
studies
NP
Hermione
Observation: b ∈ studies
ﬂies = {e, h}
studies = {b, f}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
False sentences
S
VP
V
flies
NP
Hermione
S
VP
V
studies
NP
Hedwig
Observation: b /∈ flies
flies = {e, h}
studies = {b, f}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Ontology
2 Individuals:
a = Harry
b = Hermione
c = Ron
d = Draco
e = Buckbeak
f = Luna
g = Ginny
h = Hedwig
i = Hagrid
q = quidditch
3 Operations: {},
False sentences
S
VP
V
ﬂies
NP
Hermione
S
VP
V
studies
NP
Hedwig
Observation: h /∈ studies
ﬂies = {e, h}
studies = {b, f}

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Composition Rule: S =T iﬀ NP ∈ VP
a, c, d, g
The set denoted by plays quidditch
g
The individual denoted by the red-haired girl
g∈{a, c, d, g}
∴ “The red-haired girl plays quidditch” is T
S =T iﬀ NP ∈ VP
is a
compositional rule
(call it predication)
S → NP VP

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Semantic Composition Rule: S =T iﬀ NP ∈ VP
a, c, d, g
The set denoted by plays quidditch
b
The individual denoted by the curly-haired girl
b/∈{a, c, d, g}
∴ “The curly-haired girl plays quidditch” is F
S =T iﬀ NP ∈ VP
is a
compositional rule
(call it predication)
S → NP VP

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Summary:
PSRs are systematic rules about combining words to form
phrases/sentences

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Summary:
phrases/sentences
Evidence for PSRs includes

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Summary:
phrases/sentences
(1) Sentence transformation rules
(i.e., Y/N question-formation, passives)

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Summary:
phrases/sentences
(2) Systematic interpretations for PSRs
(i.e., semantic compositional rules)

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Summary:
phrases/sentences
(2) Systematic interpretations for PSRs
(i.e., semantic compositional rules)
These interpretation rules can be mathematically formalized in terms
of set membership (∈, /∈) or set intersection (∩)

1 Introduction
References
2.1 The Ontology
2.2 Lexical Entries
Next Time: Semantics and Pragmatics
Meaning as TRUTH VS Meaning as USE
1 Homework: A005 - Semantics and Pragmatics
2 Instagram Homework: Semantic Minimal Pair AND/OR
Find and post an example (or non-example) of a Design Feature
Discreteness
Semanticity
Arbitrariness
Productivity

1 Introduction
References
References I
Heim, Irene & Angelika Kratzer. 1998. Semantics in generative grammar
Blackwell Textbooks in Linguistics. Blackwell Oxford.
Montague, Richard. 1973. The Proper Treatment of Quantiﬁcation in Ordinary
English. Formal Semantics 17–34.
Partee, Barbara, Alice Ter Meulen & Robert Wall. 1990. Mathematical
Methods in Linguistics, vol. 30 Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy. Kluwer
Academic Publishers.

Introduction to Language and Linguistics 006: Syntax & Semantics (the interface)

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Introduction to Language and Linguistics 006: Syntax & Semantics (the interface)