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Dr. Mustapha Aabi/Semantics/Topic 2 / 2025
Sense and Reference
What words in these three sentences refer to entities in the world? (1) António Guterres is the Secretary General of UN. (2) Recently he has been negotiating with Donald Trump, the American President, over the peace process in the Middle East. And in these? (3) I believe in ghosts.
(4) There are five 'ands' between 'Pig and Whistle'. ('Pig' and 'and' and 'and' and 'Whistle'.)
reference: relationship between linguistic (e.g. word) and external world. e.g. book → By ‘reference’ a speaker indicates which entities (things & people) are being talked about.
sense : system of relationships among linguistic elements themselves (Saussure) e.g. (a) magazine / newspaper / book / pamphlet / leaflet / journal (b) criticize / praise / accuse / assess / blame / reprimand
(5) "The Morning Star is (identical with) the Evening Star." one and the same reference = Venus two senses : 'the star seen in the morning' v. 'the star seen in the evening' (6) Shakespeare: the author of 'Othello'
A ‘sense-only’ view of ‘meaning’ "Meaning, often called sense in contrast to reference, is what one can understand from the words alone, divorced from the context of use, so it does not change depending on who is speaking; a referent is something that one can point to (refer to) with some words, and it almost always depends on who is speaking, when and where… [Hofmann 1993: 12] (7) What would be the referent of the phrase ‘ The coach of the football national teach’ used in Morocco: a. in 2024 …………………………………… a. in 2020 …………………………………… b. in 2018 …………………………………… c. in 2014 …………………………………… (8) Say whether the pair of words between parentheses have the same or different meaning a. I (almost/nearly) fell over b. It is (likely/probable) that Ali will be here tomorrow c. Your gatepost doesn't seem quite (vertical/upright) d. I'll see you on (Monday/Tuesday)
In everyday conversation the words meaning, means, mean, meant, etc. are sometimes used to indicate reference, and sometimes to indicate sense. (9) What is intended by the word mean, meaning , etc. in the following examples, reference or sense. a. When Helen mentioned "the fruit cake", she meant that rock-hard object in the middle of the table. b. When Albert talks about "his former friend" he means me. c. Daddy, what does unique mean? d. Purchase has the same meaning as buy e. Look up the meaning of Armageddon in your dictionary f. If you look out of the window now, you'll see who I mean.
Sense-relationships
SYNONYMY: sameness (identity)/similarity of meaning big - large - great; match - game
ANTONYMY : oppositeness of meaning ugly / beautiful; tall / short; wet / dry; male / female; above / below; red / green;
HYPONYMY: inclusion: one meaning in another tulip, daffodil, chrysanthemum, rhododendron Ä Ã flower
HOMONYMY: many meanings match (3); game (3) {multiple dictionary entries}
POLYSEMY: many meanings head (of body / of firm / of beer); heart (of body / of country / of problem) {single dictionary entry}
HOMOPHONY: same sound but different meaning break - brake; whales - wails - Wales
Predicates
- In the following sentences, delete the referring expression and write down the remainder to the right of the example. a. My dog bit the postman ……..………………………….. b. Mr. Kent is writing the Mayor's speech ……..………………………….. c. Cairo is in Africa ……..………………………….. d. Lebanon is between Syria and Turkey ……..………………………….. e. John's car is red ……..…………………………..
- In the remainder of each case above, it is possible to discern on word (or part of word) which carries more meaning than the others. Write them down. a. ……..………………………….. b. ……..………………………….. c. ……..………………………….. d. ……..………………………….. e. ……..…………………………..
- Underline the predicators in the following sentences a. I am hungry b. Joe is in San Francisco c. The Mayor is a crook d. The man who lives at number 10 Crescent Road is whimsical
- Are the following predicates? a. dusty d. you b. drink e. Fred c. woman f. about
The PREDICATOR of a single declarative sentence is the word (sometimes a group of words) which does not belong to any of the referring expressions and which, of the remainder, makes the most specific contribution to the meaning of the sentence.
A PREDICATE is any word (or sequence of words) which can function as the predicator of a sentence. hungry, in, crook, show, bottle are predicates and, or, but, not are not predicate
- Are the following sentences equative? a. That man is an Einstein b. Mrs. Laura is my lecturer. c. The woman who teaches logic is from Sudan. d. That man who walks fast is my brother.
- Answer the following a. In “The whale is the largest mammal”, does the whale pick out some particular object in the world (a whale)? b. So is “The whale” here a referring expression? c. In “The whale is the largest mammal” does “the largest mammal” refer to some particular mammal? d. So are there any referring expressions in “The whale is the largest mammal”?
Extension & Prototypes
Extension vs. Sense:
- Extension contrasts with sense, since a sense is not a set of anything.
- Extension is like sense in that it is independent of any particular occasion of utterance. Extensions vs. Reference:
- Extension contrasts with referent, since a referent is normally an individual thing, not a set of things.
- Speakers refer to referents on particular occasions, but words which have sense and extension have them ‘timelessly’.
- Extension is like reference and unlike sense, in that it connects a linguistic unit, such as a word or expression, to something non-linguistic (i.e. outside language).
An EQUATIVE SENTENCE is one which is used to assert the identity of the referents of referring expressions.
A GENERIC SENTENCE is a sentence in which some statement is made about a whole unrestricted class of individuals, as opposed to any particular individual.
The extension of one place predicate is the set of all individuals to which that predicate can truthfully be applied. It is a set of things which can potentially be referred to by using an expression whose main element is that predicate.
WORKSHOP
TASK 1:
For each of the following, imagine the sentence being spoken in an average kind of situation. Discuss which elements would be used to refer in your situation.
a. A prisoner escaped from jail. b. He helps himself to my food when he’s hungry. c. She’s feeling bad. d. They help each other whenever possible. e. There are three ‘ins’ below
TASK 2:
Are the expressions in bold referring expressions? (a) We waited for twelve hours at Nairobi Airport. (b) They had no food. (c) Edward opened the cupboard and a pair of shoes fell out. (d) Henry is going to make a cake. (e) Doris passed through the office like a whirlwind. (f) He was run over by a bus in Beverly Hills. (g) What we need is an army of volunteers.
TASK 3: Which of these sentences are equatives? Try the "reversal test" (a) Birds are vermin. (b) My garden is a mess. (c) You are the second person today to tell me that. (d) Saladin was a Persian. (e) Smith's murderer is insane. (f) Prince Charles is the heir to the throne. (g) That is the man I saw go into the bank.
TASK 4: Are the following generic sentences? (a) Gentleman prefer blondes (b) Jasper is twit (c) The male of the species guards the eggs (d) A wasp makes its nest in a hole in a tree (e) A wasp just stung me on the neck.
