6.Semantics-Sentence-Meaning---(Predication-Analys

Sentencemeaning:PredicationAnalysis楚军外国语学院SemanticsTheSemanticStructureofSentencesHowaboutthishypothesis?--themeaningofasentenceismerelythesumofthemeaningsofthewordsandotherconstituentswhichcomposeit.Without‘predicationanalysis’,wecouldnottellthedifferenceofmeaningbetween:Mywifehasanewdog.Mynewwifehasadog.Mynewdoghasawife.(Allthesewouldhavetoberegardedassynonymouswiththehelpof‘CA’.)Predications,ArgumentsandPredicates•Predication(述谓):Forthefollowingthreesentences:Thechildrenatetheirdinner.Didthechildreneattheirdinner?Eatyourdinner,children!Leavingasidedifferencesoftenseandpronouns,thesesentencesshareacommoncontent‘Childreneatdinner’andthiskindofstructureisconsideredunderthenameof‘predication’.PredicationsconsistofArgumentsandPredicateswhichconsistofFeatures.•Forspatialrelations(threesemanticoppositions):→DIRECTION/←DIRECTION(directionalcontrastbetween‘infrontof’and‘behind’,‘over’and‘under’,etc.)+HORIZONTAL(‘horizontal’)-HORIZONTAL(‘vertical’)+LATERAL(‘side-to-side’)-LATERAL(‘back-to-back’)Predications,ArgumentsandPredicatesAnexample“Amanis/wasinfrontofawoman.”(seethediagramp.128,Leech)•Predicateandargumenthavedifferentrolesinthewholepredication:•Thepredicateisthemajorelementtogovernthearguments,whichareinarelationofdependencydiagram,withtheargumentsbranchingofffromthepredicate.•Thepredicatedeterminesthenumberandnatureofthearguments.Predications,ArgumentsandPredicates•Theaboveexample:therelationalmeaningof‘infrontof’requiresthepresenceoftwoargumentswhichcanbeplacedinaspatialrelationship.•One-placepredicate(monadic)governsoneargument(typicallyrealizedbyanominaloradjectivalcomplementorconveyedbyintransitiveverbs).(see9—11,Leech,p.130)•Two-placepredicate(dyadic)governstwoarguments.(see8,Leech,p.129)•Three-placepredicate(triadic)governthreearguments(typicallyrealizedbytheditransitiveverbs,combinationoftwo-placeandone-place).Predications,ArgumentsandPredicatesPredicationanalysis:--interrelatedwith,andcomplementaryto,componentialanalysis.Predicationanalysisreferstobreakingdownpredicationsintotheirconstituents.Componentialanalysisandpredicationanalysistogetherenableustorepresentthegreaterpartofthemeaningofsentences.PredicationAnalysisPredicationAnalysis•Threegeneraltypesofpredicate:•Two-placeasP2;•One-placeasP1;•No-placeasP0.(meteorologicalutterances:Itisraining.Itwillbewarmtomorrow.)•Thusthreetypesofpredication:(13,p.131,Leech)•Linearformulaecanbeusedtodopredicationanalysis:•Two-placepredications:(a.→P.b)OR(b.←P.a)OR(a.P.b)One-placepredications:(a:P)OR(P:a)(Bracketsareusedtodelimitthewholepredication,asingledotseparatesargumentsfrompredicateinatwo-placepredication,andacolonseparatesargumentfrompredicateinaone-placepredication.Conventionally,a,b,c,etc.areusedasvariablesforarguments,P,Q,R,etc.areusedasvariablesforpredicates.)PredicationAnalysisPredicationAnalysis1)Apredication-componentialformulae:(see7a,p.132,Leech)2)Asimplelineararrangementomitting+,↑,and→forunmarkedordominantterms:(HumanAdultMaleSingular.Direction–Lateral.HumanAdult–MaleSingular)‘Amaninfrontofawoman’(Breed–Singular:Big)‘Alsatiansbelarge’3)Amixedversion:(VehicleSingulara.P.ConcreteSingularb)--partofthemeaningof‘Theredcarhitthewall’.PredicationAnalysis4)Asemi-informalrepresentation:(aman.InFrontOf.awoman)(theredcar.Hit.thewall)(alsatians:BeLarge)(thetrain:Departed)•Nullarguments:referringtoargumentswhichcontainnofeatures.Anullargumentisvoidofcontentinthesensethatithasthemaximumgeneralityofreference.Ithasnosyntacticrealization.•Johniseating.symbolized:‘(John.Eat.Ø)’ormoregenerally‘(a.P.Ø)’‘Johniseating’and‘Johnissleeping’arequitedifferent:theformerisatwo-placepredicate,ofwhichoneargumentisnull,butthelatterisaone-placepredicatecontaininganintransitivev.NullArgumentsInsemantics,asubordinatepredicationmaybepartofamainpredication,i.e.apredicatemaygovernnotonlyarguments,butotherpredicates.E.g.1)‘JohnmadeBillbecome/getangry’or‘JohnmadeBillangry’or‘JohnangeredBill’,etc.2)‘Itispossiblethattheprisonerswereexecutedbeforethepresidentarrived’,or‘Theexecutionoftheprisonersmayhaveprecededthearrivalofthepresident’,etc.SubordinatePredicationsTheabovetwoexamplescanbesymbolized:(1)Dependencydiagram(39,40,pp.142-143,Leech)(2)Inlinearversion:1)(a.P.(Q:(R:b)))2)(P:((a.R.b).Q.(c:S)))(3)Withsemi-informalmethod:1)(John.Cause.(Become:(Angry:Bill)))2)(Possible:((ø.Execute.prisoners).Before.(president:Arrive)))SubordinatePredicationsOnepredicationmaybeincludedinanother.Thereexistsapredicationwhichisdemotedwithinanargumentorwithinapredicate.•Themostexplicitwayforadowngradedpredicationtobeexpressedisbymeansofarelativeclause,anounphraseorevenasinglenounoradjective.E.g.•amanwhowaswearingawig•amanwithawig•amanwearingawig•abewiggedmanDowngradedPredications•butcher:amanwhosellsmeat•cyclist:apersonwhoridesabicycle•illiterate:whocannotread•rich:whohasmuchpropertyAdowngradedpredicationcanbeplacedinanglebrackets.E.g.‘amisogynisticnovelist’or‘amanwhowritesnovelsandwhohateswomen’or‘anovel-writingmisogynist’or‘awoman-hatingmalenovelist’,etc.canbeexpressed(43,44,p.145,43a-c,p.147,Leech)Downg