Semantic Features

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Semantic Features Select ional Restrictions
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• The meaning of a word is composed of
  parts/features, each of which must be specified
  to determine the full meaning accurately.

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bachelor

• human

animate
male
unmarried
The semantic feature allows the linguist to
prepare a chart called a feature matrix, which
does not attempt to present a full definition for
the items that appear on it, but rather to list
those characteristics of the listed items that
are distinctive.
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Feature matrix
Grandmother Father Sister Brother
-
-


MALE
-
-


SAME GENERATION
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Feature matrix
Water Horse Ball Aunt Boy Table
-

-
-
-

MALE
-

-
-

-
HUMAN

-
-
-
-
-
ROUND

-
-



ANIMATE
-
-
-
-


FLAT
-
-
-

-
-
LIQUID
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Selectional restrictions
The semantic system of any language requires
that the features associated with various
elements in a sequence should be compatible with
one another. This requirement is called
selectional restrictions.
The boy injured herself.
anomalous sentence
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How the Semantic Component Operates?

• Determining the meaning of a sentence is not a
  matter of determining the meaning of each word
  then adding those meanings up like a set of
  numbers

a - The elephant killed the lion. b - The lion
killed the elephant.
Two sentences with identical words but have
different meanings.
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How the Semantic Component Operates?

• The fundamental task of the semantic component is
  to

a. Match the sequences of a language with their
proper meanings.
b. Understand the presuppositions of a sequence
as part of its meaning.
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The task of the Semantic Component

• The semantic component will have to have access
  to many kinds of information to determine the
  meaning of a sequence

1. The meaning of each individual word in
the sequence.
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The task of the Semantic Component
2. Knowledge about the grammatical functions
represented by particular word orders in the
sentence.
a - Nada wrote the story for Layla. b - Layla
wrote the story for Nada.
In a Nada is the Subject but in b Nada is the
Object.
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The task of the Semantic Component
3. Real world knowledge.
(such as that Einstein was a great
mathematician)
a- Even Einstein could have solved that
equation. b- Even Billy could have solved
that equation.
X
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The task of the Semantic Component
4. Knowledge of variations in the pattern of
sound in sentences with identical words in
identical orders.
a- The boys came home late yesterday. b- The
boys came home late yesterday.
The word late in b carries a different meaning
from that in a due to the strong stress on it
which is presented in italic form.
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The task of the Semantic Component
5. Knowledge of the speech acts sentences
represent.
- Give me that pen on the table.
You understand the sequence as two things (a) A
sentence with its associated meaning, and (b) an
action called a command.
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Five types of speech acts

• Statement
• - The boys came home late yesterday.
• Question
• - Did the boys come home late yesterday?
• Command
• - Keep quite!
• Exclamation
• - What a wonderful flower!

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The task of the Semantic Component
6. A semantic component must explain the
ability of speakers to understand sequences
of language which ought to mean one thing
but clearly mean another than just that of
the speech act represented.

• You know I would never tell you
• what to do, dear, but you
• shouldnt buy that dress.

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