Match the definitions with the proper description

propositions the study of meaning in language

speaker meaning what a speaker means (i.e. intends to convey) when he uses a piece of language
semantics a relationship between parts of a language and things outside the language (in the world)
reference private, personal, mental processes
thoughts cannot be said to belong to any particular language

propositions cannot be said to belong to any particular language

speaker meaning what a speaker means (i.e. intends to convey) when he uses a piece of language
semantics the study of meaning in language
reference a relationship between parts of a language and things outside the language (in the world)
thoughts private, personal, mental processes

sentence meaning can have more than one sense

proposition can include both courtesy and hostility, praise and insult, endearment and taunt
expression’s sense an abstraction that can be grasped by the mind of an individual person
same expression corresponds to a complete independent thought
speaker meaning what a sentence (or word) means, i.e. what it counts as the equivalent of the language
concerned

sentence meaning what a sentence (or word) means, i.e. what it counts as the equivalent of the language
concerned
proposition corresponds to a complete independent thought
expression’s sense an abstraction that can be grasped by the mind of an individual person
same expression can have more than one sense
speaker meaning can include both courtesy and hostility, praise and insult, endearment and taunt

expression’s sense expression used in an utterance to refer to sth or sb, that is used with a particular referent in
mind
opaque context same word referring to different things
referring expression its place in a system of semantic relationships with other expressions in the language
proposition typically involve opacity – creating verbs
variable reference an abstraction that can be entertained in the mind of a language user

expression’s sense an abstraction that can be entertained in the mind of a language user
opaque context
referring expression expression used in an utterance to refer to sth or sb, that is used with a particular referent in
mind
proposition its place in a system of semantic relationships with other expressions in the language
variable reference same word referring to different things

Think carefully about each of the following general statements, and try to say whether it is true (T) or false (F).
TRUE FALSE
An utterance is any stretch of talk, by one person, before and after which there is no
F
silence on the part of that person.
An utterance is a piece of language, such as a sequence of sentences, or a single phrase, or
T
a single word.
Before and after an utterance there is a silence. T
Helen rolled up the carpet and Helen rolled the carpet up are the same sentence. F
A sentence is a string of words put together by the grammatical rules of a language. T
A sentence is a grammatically complete string of words expressing a complete thought. T
All utterances are actually tokens of whole sentences. F
Accent and voice quality belong strictly to the utterance, not to the sentence uttered. T
Anything italicized represents an utterance or part of an utterance. F
It makes sense to talk of the time and place of a sentence. F
Utterances are physical events. Events are ephemeral. Utterances die on the wind. T
Accent is a particular way of pronouncing words. T
A proposition is that part of the meaning of the utterance of a declarative sentence which T
describes some state of affairs.
A person can produce multiple utterances at the same time. F
‘The steeples have been struck by lightning’ represents a sentence. F
A sentence is not a physical event, but it is a physical object. F
Utterances of non-sentences, e.g. Short phrases, or single words, are not used by people in F
communication all the time.
Anything written between single quotation marks represents an utterance. T
An utterance is the use by a particular speaker on a particular occasion. T
In uttering an imperative sentence, a speaker typically asserts a proposition. F
Synonymy is a relation between words, and not between predicates F

A speaker can mention a particular proposition, with asserting its truth by uttering a F
simple interrogative or imperative.
Some words refer to nothing in the world. This is called constant reference. F
Expressions in different dialects of one language can have the same sense. T
Acts of reference only actually happen in the course of utterances. T
Both referring and uttering are acts performed by particular speakers on particular T
occasions.
Most utterances contain, or are accompanied by one or more acts of referring. T
Expressions which never refer to different things and they have no sense. F
By means of reference, a speaker indicates which things in the world (not including F
persons) are being talked about.
When a speaker utters a simple interrogative sentence, he commits himself to the truth of F
the corresponding proposition: i.e. he asserts the proposition.
Propositions are public because the same proposition is accessible to different persons T
(different individuals can grasp the same proposition)
Sentences in different languages can correspond to the same proposition, if the two T
sentences are perfect translations of each other.
Any expression that can be used to refer to any entity in the real world or in any imaginary world T
will be called a referring expression.

once a person has mastered stable meanings of words and sentences as defined by the
language system, he can quickly grasp the different conversational and social uses that T
they can be put to.
Proper names (e.g. John), personal pronouns (e.g. he, it), and longer descriptive
T
expressions (the man who shot Abraham Lincoln) can all be used as referring expressions.
indefinite noun phrases can be a referring expression or not, heavily depending on
T
linguistic context and circumstances of use.
opaque context is a part of a sentence which could be made into a complete sentence by
the addition of a referring expression, but where the addition of different referring
expressions will not yield sentences with different meanings when uttered in a given
situation.
English, like most languages, has a number of different dialects. just as the pronunciation
of English varies from one dialect to another, so there are also differences in the basic T
semantic facts from one dialect of English to another.
In an equative sentence, the two referring expressions cannot be reversed due to loss of ac- F
 ceptability.
An analytic sentence is one which is used to assert the identity of the referents of two re-
F
ferring expressions, i.e. to assert that two referring expressions have the same referent.
Opaque context leads to indefinite noun phrases being ambiguous between a referring and
a non-referring interpretation.
the verb be in its various forms (is, was, are, were, am) can be the predicator F
Most nouns are one-place predicates. T
nouns such as father, son, brother, mother, daughter, neighbour are one-place predicates F

Fill in the chart below with ‘+’ or ‘-’ as appropriate. Thus, for example, if it makes sense to think of a proposition
being in a particular regional accent, put a ‘+’ in the appropriate box; if not, put a ‘-’.
Utterances Sentences Propositions
Can be loud or quiet + - -
Can be grammatical or not + + -
Can be true or false + + +
In a particular regional
+ - -
accent
In a particular language + + -

Sense Extension Reference

Involves a set - + -
Independent of particular occasions or
utterance + + -
Connects language to the world - - +

Are the following expressions referring expressions?

YES NO
he in ‘If anyone ever marries Nancy, he’s in for a bad time’ (meaning that whoever
X
marries Nancy is in for a bad time)
it in ‘Every man who owns a donkey beats it’ X
the person who did this in ‘The person who did this must be insane’, spoken by
someone on discovering a brutally mutilated corpse, where the speaker has no idea X
who committed the crime
Smith’s murderer in ‘Smith’s murderer must be insane’, uttered in circumstances like
X
the above, where the corpse is Smith’s
A dancer in ‘His father married a dancer’ X
The whale in ‘The whale is the largest mammal’ X
The man who shot Kennedy in ‘The man who shot Kennedy was Lee Harvey Os-
X
wald’
A pencil in ‘I am looking for a pencil’, uttered in a circumstance that the speaker has
X
its image in mind
An idiot in ‘Ted is an idiot’ X
John in ‘John is my best friend’ X
He in ‘He’s a very polite man’, said by a husband to his wife in a conversation about
X
their bank manager
It in ‘It’s sinking!’ used in a conversation about a battleship which has just been at-
X
tacked
The man who shot Abraham Lincoln in ‘The man who shot Abraham Lincoln was an
X
unemployed actor’
 When a speaker says, ‘A man was in here looking for you last night’ is a man being
X
used to refer to a particular man?
So, in the above example, is a man a referring expression? X
When a speaker says, ‘The first sign of the monsoon is a cloud on the horizon no big-
X
ger than a man’s hand’, is a man being used to refer to a particular man?
Is a man in this example a referring expression? X
Is forty buses, used in ‘Forty buses have been withdrawn from service by the Liver-
X
pool Corporation’, a referring expression?
Is forty buses, used in ‘This engine has the power of forty buses’, a referring expres-
X
sion?
a Norwegian, used in ‘Nancy married a Norwegian’ X
a Norwegian, used in ‘Nancy wants to marry a Norwegian’ X X
a car, used in ‘John is looking for a car’ X X
a man with a limp, used in ‘Dick believes that a man with a limp killed Bo Peep’ X X
a man with a limp, used in ‘A man with a limp killed Bo Beep’ X
a swan, used in ‘Every evening at sunset a swan flew over the house’ X X
Can the proper name Mohammed Ali ever be used as the predicator of a sentence X

Which types are the following sentences?

Equative Generic Analytic Synthetic Contradictory
John is the person in the corner X
Henry the Eighth is the current President of the USA X
Cairo is not the largest city in Africa X
Cairo is a large city X
Dr Jekyll is Mr Hyde X
Ted is an idiot X
Cairo is the largest city in Africa X
The largest city in Africa is Cairo X
Einstein was a genius X
Fred is the man with the gun X
William the Conqueror is the current King of England X
Detroit is a nearby city X
Mary is a genius X
A box of cookies is what I would like X
Detroit is not the largest city in the USA X
Mahmoud is an Egyptian X
Mahmoud is the Egyptian I was telling you about X
Mahmoud is a genius X
My parrot is holidaying in the South of France X
Dr Kunastrokins is an ass X
Tristram Shandy is a funny book X
Our next guest is Dr Kunastrokins X
A dentist is a person who looks after people’s teeth X
Cats are animals X X
Bachelors are unmarried X
Cats never live more than 20 years X
Bachelors cannot form lasting relationships X
Cats are not vegetables X
 Bachelors are lonely X
John’s brother is nine years old X
John’s nine-year-old brother is a boy X
Sam’s wife is married X
Sam’s wife is not German X
My watch is slow X
That girl is her own mother’s mother X
The boy is his own father’s son X
Some typewriters are dusty X
Alice is Ken’s sister X
If it breaks, it breaks X
John killed Bill, who remained alive for many years after X
That man is human X
That man is tall X
That man is a woman X
John is here and John is not here X
Either John is here or John is not here X
If John is here, John is here X
If everyone is here, no one isn’t here X
If someone is here, then no one is here X
That woman over there is my daughter’s teacher X

Indicate the degree of the predicates used as predicators in each sentence

John is a linguist 1
John loves Mary 2
Mary loves John 2
John gave Mary a ring 3
Jane is Mary’s mother* 2
Chicago is between Los Angeles and New York 3
Jones is the Dean of the College* 2
John stood near the bank 2
Ed is a fool 1
Ed is foolish 1
A tulip is a flower 1
Mary is happy 1
George W. Bush is the US President 1
Dr Kunastrokins is an ass 1
Tristram Shandy is a funny book 1
Our next guest is Dr Kunastrokins 1
 Basil saw a rat 2
A dentist is a person who looks after people’s teeth 1
hit 2
die 1
come 2
murder 2
Martha hit the sideboard 2
see 2
Herod gave Salome a nice present 3
different 2
Your marble is under table 2
identical 2
similar 2
sister 2

Write the logical notion for these sentences below

1. Ted is an idiot. t IDIOT
2. Mary loves John. m LOVE j
3. Ed is foolish. e FOOLISH
4. My watch is slow.
5. John is a linguist. j LINGUIST
6. George W. Bush is the US gwb = usp
President.*
7. Margaret is looking at Billy. m LOOK AT b
8. Humphrey envies Maurice. h ENVY m
9. Teddy is the uncle of Franklin. t UNCLE f
10. Walter is beside Harriet. w BESIDE h
11. Freda is shorter than Ellen. f SHORTER e
12. Ireland is to the west of i WEST s
Scotland.
13. Dublin is the capital of Eire. d CAPITAL e
14. Clark Kent is Superman. ck = s
15. Dr Jekyll was Mr Hyde. dj = mh
16. Bachelors are lonely. b LONELY

Explain these ambiguous sentences

He greeted the girl with a smile He was smiling to greet the girl / He greeted the smiling girl.
He turned over the field He (pilot) changed the direction / He (farmer) plough the field over.
At the table, the Queen fell At the table, the Queen (a card) fell / the Queen (a chess) fell.
The chicken is ready to eat The chicken is ready to eat sth / The chicken is ready to be eaten.

Match the definitions with the proper description

predicator any word (or sequence of words) which (in a given single sense) can function as the predicator of a sen-
tence
predicate makes the most specific contribution to the meaning of the sentence
 predicate’s degree a sentence in which some statement is made about a whole unrestricted class of individuals
universe of discourse The particular world, real or imaginary (or part real, part imaginary), that the speaker assumes he is talk-
ing about at the time
generic sentence a number indicating the number of arguments it is normally understood to have in simple sentences

predicator makes the most specific contribution to the meaning of the sentence
predicate any word (or sequence of words) which (in a given single sense) can function as the predicator of a sen-
tence
predicate’s degree a number indicating the number of arguments it is normally understood to have in simple sentences
universe of discourse The particular world, real or imaginary (or part real, part imaginary), that the speaker assumes he is talk-
ing about at the time
generic sentence a sentence in which some statement is made about a whole unrestricted class of individuals

extension of a one- can be thought of as the most typical member of the extension of a predicate
place predicate
sufficient set of condi- indispensable hard core of meaning
tions on the sense of a
predicate
necessary condition on the set of all individuals to which that predicate can truthfully be applied
the sense of a predicate
prototype of a predicate a condition (or criterion) which a thing must meet in order to qualify as being correctly
described by that predicate
sense a set of conditions (or criteria) which, if they are met by a thing, are enough in
themselves to GUARANTEE that the predicate correctly describes that thing
stereotype of a predic- a list of the TYPICAL characteristics or features of things to which the predicate may be applied
ate

extension of a one- the set of all individuals to which that predicate can truthfully be applied
place predicate
sufficient set of condi- a set of conditions (or criteria) which, if they are met by a thing, are enough in
tions on the sense of a themselves to GUARANTEE that the predicate correctly describes that thing
predicate
necessary condition on a condition (or criterion) which a thing must meet in order to qualify as being correctly
the sense of a predicate described by that predicate
prototype of a predicate can be thought of as the most typical member of the extension of a predicate
sense indispensable hard core of meaning

Thing (or set of Abstract

things) specified specification

Pertaining to all examples EXTENSION SENSE

Pertaining to typical examples PROTOTYPE STEREOTYPE

Match the definitions with the proper description

binary antonyms a sentence which expresses the same proposition as another sentence
synonymy predicates which come in pairs and between them exhaust all the relevant possibilities
hyponymy the relationship between two predicates that have the same sense
a paraphrase a sense relation between predicates (or sometimes longer phrases) such that the meaning of one pre-
dicate (or phrase) is included in the meaning of the other
gradable antonyms a predicate describes a relationship between two things (or people) and some other predicate de -
scribes the same relationship when the two things (or people) are mentioned in the opposite order
converses are at opposite ends of a continuous scale of values (a scale which typically varies according to the
context of use).
contradictory of another Is impossible for them both to be true at the same time and of the same circumstances
proposition

binary antonyms predicates which come in pairs and between them exhaust all the relevant possibilities
synonymy the relationship between two predicates that have the same sense
a paraphrase a sentence which expresses the same proposition as another sentence
gradable antonyms are at opposite ends of a continuous scale of values (a scale which typically varies according to the
context of use).
converses a predicate describes a relationship between two things (or people) and some other predicate de -
scribes the same relationship when the two things (or people) are mentioned in the opposite order
contradictory of another Is impossible for them both to be true at the same time and of the same circumstances
proposition

Relation between Relation between

pairs of sentences pairs of words

Not necessarily symmetric ENTAILMENT HYPONYMY

(i.e. can be ‘one-way’)
Symmetric (i.e. ‘both ways’) PARAPHRASE SYNONYMY