Unit 10 : SENSE RELATIONS (1) IDENTITY AND SIMILARITY OF SENSE

Entry Test

1. Do the words mean and meant indicate sense (S) or reference (R) in the utterance?

R (The words mean and meant indicate reference, as they refer to specific individuals, Patrick and the speaker’s initial addressee.)

2. Does the word means indicate sense or reference in the sentence?

S (The word means indicates sense, as it defines the meaning of the word ochlocracy.)

3. Which of the following is correct?

(c) The sense of a predicate is its indispensable hard core of meaning.

4. Are the following sentences analytic (A), synthetic (S), or a contradiction (C)?

(a) John is simultaneously a man and not a human being: C (This sentence is a contradiction because being a man implies being a
human being.)

(b) Mussolini was an Italian: S (This sentence is synthetic because its truth value depends on historical facts.)

(c) Every female dog is a bitch: A (This sentence is analytic because the meaning of “bitch” includes being a female dog.)

Practice

1. Do the capitalized pairs of words have the same (or very nearly the same) sense in the ways they are used here?

(1) The thief tried to CONCEAL/HIDE the evidence: Yes

(2) I’m going to PURCHASE/BUY a new coat: Yes

(3) These tomatoes are LARGE/RIPE: No

(4) This is a very LOOSE/SHORT definition: No

(5) You have my PROFOUND/DEEP sympathy: Yes

(6) It is a very WIDE/BROAD street: Yes

Practice

2. Do the pairs of words in capitals have the same sense?

(1) He comes to see us every FALL/AUTUMN: S (Same)

(2) Nothing is more precious to us than our FREEDOM/LIBERTY: S (Same)

(3) The body was found in the BOOT/TRUNK of the car: S (Same)

(4) We’ve just bought a new HOUSE/APARTMENT: D (Different)

(5) John got a bullet wound in his HEAD/GUTS: D (Different)

(6) A BLOKE/CHAP I know has pickled onions for breakfast: S (Same)

Important Concepts - *Sense*: The essential and indispensable meaning of an expression. - *Synonymy*: The relationship between
two predicates that have the same (partial) sense. - *Cognitive or Conceptual Meaning*: The meaning of a word that is abstracted
away from stylistic, social, or dialectal associations.- *Sense Relations*: The relationships between words or expressions that
determine their meaning, including synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, and entailment.

Practice Exercise

(2) ripe/mature
 (a) After dinner we had a ripe/mature Camembert cheese.
(b) She’s a very mature person (not a ripe person)

(3) broad/wide

(a) The river is very broad/wide at this point.

(b) He speaks with a broad Scottish accent (not a wide accent)

(4) earth/soil

(a) They filled the hole with good soft earth/soil.

(b) The rocket fell back to earth when its motors failed (not back to soil)

(5) side/edge

(a) The house stands at the side/edge of the lake.

(b) Britain and Australia are on opposite sides of the world (not edges)

Important Concepts- _Synonymy_: A relation between predicates that have the same (partial) sense.- _Predicate_: A word or phrase
that expresses a property or relation.- _Sense_: The essential and indispensable meaning of an expression.- _Part of Speech_: A
category of words based on their grammatical function.- _Grammar and Meaning_: Separate though closely related aspects of
language.

Key Points- Synonymy is a relation between predicates, not words.- A word may have multiple senses, each corresponding to a
different predicate.- Synonymy can hold between words of different parts of speech. - Grammar and meaning are separate aspects of
language.

Exercise

(1) John is the parent of James / James is the child of John: P (Paraphrase)
(2) John is the parent of James / James is the parent of John: NP (Not a Paraphrase)
(3) My father owns this car / This car belongs to my father: P (Paraphrase)
(4) The fly was on the wall / The wall was under the fly: NP (Not a Paraphrase)
(5) Some countries have no coastline / Not all countries have a coastline: P (Paraphrase)
(6) Fred sent Mary a new book / Fred sent a new book to Mary: P (Paraphrase)
(7) Jerry took out the garbage / Jerry took the garbage out: P (Paraphrase)

Exercise

(1) Pig: piglet, boar, sow

(2) Tree: oak, ash, sycamore, fir
(3) Virtue: honesty, patience, wisdom, prudence, generosity
(4) Emotion: fear, love, anger, happiness, sadness
(5) Strike (transitive verb): kick, hit, butt, thump
(6) Pleasant: tasty, pretty, soothing

Important Concepts - _Paraphrase_: A sentence that expresses the same proposition as another sentence.- _Hyponymy_: A sense
relation between predicates (or phrases) such that the meaning of one predicate (or phrase) is included in the meaning of the other.-
_Superordinate Term_: A more general or inclusive term that includes the meaning of a more specific term (hyponym).- _Hyponym_:
A more specific term whose meaning is included in the meaning of a more general term (superordinate term).

Exercise

(1) Which of the following descriptions is the more specific?

(a) A man, 5ft 8in tall, with black hair, moustache, no beard, wearing a beige duffle coat, blue jeans, and lace-up shoes
(b) A man in a duffle coat

Answer: (a)

(2) Which of the above descriptions gives more information?

Answer: (a)

(3) Which of the above descriptions describes more men?

Answer: (b)

(4) In general, does giving more information increase or reduce the range of things described?

Answer: It reduces the range of things described.

Important Concepts - _Hyponymy_: A sense relation between predicates (or phrases) such that the meaning of one predicate (or
phrase) is included in the meaning of the other.- _Intension_: Another term for sense, preferred by logicians.- _Extension_: The set of
things to which a predicate (or phrase) applies.- _Sense-Components_: The individual components that make up the sense of a
predicate (or phrase).- _Specificity_: The degree to which a description is detailed and precise.- _Information_: The amount of detail
or precision in a description.

Exercise

(1) John cooked an egg entails John boiled an egg: I (Incorrect)

Justification: Cooking an egg does not necessarily mean boiling it. There are other ways to cook an egg, such as frying or poac hing.

(2) John boiled an egg entails John cooked an egg: C (Correct)

Justification: Boiling an egg is a specific way of cooking it, so if John boiled an egg, it is true that he cooked an egg.

(3) I saw a boy entails I saw a person: C (Correct)

Justification: A boy is a type of person, so if I saw a boy, it is true that I saw a person.

(4) John stole a car entails John took a car: C (Correct)

Justification: Stealing a car is a specific way of taking a car, so if John stole a car, it is true that he took a car.

(5) His speech disturbed me entails His speech deeply disturbed me: I (Incorrect)

Justification: Being disturbed by a speech does not necessarily mean being deeply disturbed. There are different levels of disturbance.

Important Concepts - _Hyponymy_: A sense relation between predicates (or phrases) such that the meaning of one predicate (or
phrase) is included in the meaning of the other. - _Entailment_: A relation between propositions (or sentences) such that the truth of
one proposition (or sentence) necessarily follows from the truth of the other. - _Transitive Relation_: A relation that applies cumulatively,
such that if X is related to Y and Y is related to Z, then X is related to Z.

Exercise

(1) No one has led a perfect life / Someone has led a perfect life: No

Justification: These two sentences have opposite truth values, so they cannot be paraphrases.

(2) We’ve just bought a dog / We’ve just bought something: No

Justification: The first sentence entails the second, but not vice versa, so they are not paraphrases.

(3) The house was concealed by the trees / The house was hidden by the trees: Yes

Justification: These two sentences have the same truth value and entail each other, so they are paraphrases.

(4) I ran to the house / I went to the house: No

Justification: The first sentence entails the second, but not vice versa, so they are not paraphrases.

(5) It is hard to lasso elephants / Elephants are hard to lasso: Yes

Justification: These two sentences have the same truth value and entail each other, so they are paraphrases.

Chart

Relation between pairs of sentences: paraphrase. Relation between pairs of words: synonymy. Not necessarily symmetric (i.e. can be
‘one-way’): entailment, hyponymy. Symmetric (i.e. ‘both ways’): paraphrase, synonymy

Important Concepts - _Paraphrase_: Two sentences that have exactly the same set of entailments. - _Entailment_: A relation between
propositions (or sentences) such that the truth of one proposition (or sentence) necessarily follows from the truth of the other.-
_Hyponymy_: A sense relation between predicates (or phrases) such that the meaning of one predicate (or phrase) is included in the
meaning of the other.- _Synonymy_: A relation between predicates (or phrases) such that they have the same meaning.

Exercise

The relationships between the words in column A and those in column B are:

- tulip and flower: hyponymy (tulip is a hyponym of flower)

- sheep and animal: hyponymy (sheep is a hyponym of animal)

- steal and take: hyponymy (steal is a hyponym of take)

- square and rectangular: hyponymy (square is a hyponym of rectangular)

Exercise

The relationships between the A sentences and the B sentences are:

- Henry was chewing a tulip and Henry was chewing a flower: entailment (the first sentence entails the second)

- Denis got savaged by a sheep and Denis got savaged by an animal: entailment (the first sentence entails the second)

- David stole a pound of beef and David took a pound of beef: entailment (the first sentence entails the second)

- Mary climbed through a square hole in the roof and Mary climbed through a rectangular hole in the roof: entailment (the first sentence
entails the second)

Exercise

The correct rule is:

(c) Given two sentences A and B, identical in every way except that A contains a word X where B contains a different word Y,
and X is a hyponym of Y, then sentence A entails sentence B.

This rule is called the Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion.

Important Concepts - _Hyponymy_: A sense relation between predicates (or phrases) such that the meaning of one predicate (or
phrase) is included in the meaning of the other.- _Entailment_: A relation between propositions (or sentences) such that the truth of
one proposition (or sentence) necessarily follows from the truth of the other.- _Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion_: A rule stating that if
two sentences are identical except for a word X in one sentence and a word Y in the other, and X is a hyponym of Y, then the first
sentence entails the second.

Exercise

(1) The relationship between the A sentences and the B sentences is that the B sentences entail the A sentences.

Justification: The negative sentences work in the opposite way of affirmative sentences. If Henry was not chewing a flower, then it
must be true that he was not chewing a tulip.

(2) The correct completion of the rule is: ‘sentence B entails sentence A’.

Justification: This rule states that given two negative sentences A and B, identical in every way except that A contains a word X
where B contains a different word Y, and X is a hyponym of Y, then sentence B entails sentence A.

Exercise

The relationship between the A sentences and the B sentences is that the B sentences entail the A sentences, but only if the set of
things referred to by the phrase including all actually exists.

Justification: For example, All Denis’s animals have foot-rot entails All Denis’s sheep have foot-rot only if Denis actually has some
sheep, i.e. if some of his animals are in fact sheep.

Important Concepts - _Hyponymy_: A sense relation between predicates (or phrases) such that the meaning of one predicate (or
phrase) is included in the meaning of the other.- _Entailment_: A relation between propositions (or sentences) such that the truth of
one proposition (or sentence) necessarily follows from the truth of the other.- _Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion_: A rule stating that if
two sentences are identical except for a word X in one sentence and a word Y in the other, and X is a hyponym of Y, t hen the first
sentence entails the second.- _Negative Sentences_: Sentences involving the word not or n’t, which work in the opposite way of
affirmative sentences.- _Universal Quantification_: Sentences involving the word all, which require the existence of a set of things
referred to by the phrase including all.

Practice

The entailment relations between the sentences are:

- John saw a big mouse / John saw a big animal: No entailment relation

- A tall pygmy came in / A tall person came in: No entailment relation

- We went in a small bus / We went in a small vehicle: No entailment relation

- That was an expensive sandwich / That was an expensive meal: No entailment relation

Justification: The presence of gradable words like big, small, tall, and expensive upsets the normal relationship between hyponymy
and entailment. The meanings of these adjectives vary depending on the noun they modify.

Important Concepts- _Hyponymy_: A sense relation between predicates (or phrases) such that the meaning of one predicate ( or
phrase) is included in the meaning of the other.- _Entailment_: A relation between propositions (or sentences) such that the truth of
one proposition (or sentence) necessarily follows from the truth of the other.- _Gradable Words_: Words like big, small, tall, and
expensive, whose meanings vary depending on the noun they modify.- _Absolute Scale_: A fixed scale of measurement, which is not
applicable to gradable words.

Summary

Hyponymy and synonymy are sense relations between predicates, with synonymy being a special, symmetric case of hyponymy.
Similarly, entailment and paraphrase are sense relations between sentences, with paraphrase being a special, symmetric case of
entailment. The sense relations between predicates and those between sentences are systematically connected by rules such as the
basic rule of sense inclusion. These sense relations are also systematically connected with sense properties of sentences, su ch as
analyticity and contradiction, highlighting the complex and interconnected nature of linguistic meaning.

Important terms

Synonymy : Synonymy is the relationship between two predicates that have the same (partial) sense. In most dialects of English,
“stubborn” and “obstinate” are synonyms. Synonymy refers to words or phrases with identical meanings.

Paraphrase : A sentence that expresses the same proposition as another sentence is a paraphrase of that sentence. “Bachelors prefer
redhaired girls” is a paraphrase of “Girls with red hair are preferred by unmarried men.” Paraphrase refers to sentences with identical
meanings.

Hyponymy : Hyponymy is a sense relation between predicates (or phrases) such that the meaning of one predicate (or phrase) is
included in the meaning of the other. The meaning of “red” is included in the meaning of “scarlet.” Hyponymy refers to words or phrases
with included meanings.

Entailment ; A proposition X entails a proposition Y if the truth of Y follows necessarily from the truth of X. “John ate all the kippers”
entails “Someone ate something.” Entailment refers to the necessary truth of one proposition following from another.

EXERCISE

1 ) Here are the answers to the questions:

Synonymy refers to the relationship between two words or phrases that have the same meaning. For example, “big” and “large” are
synonyms. Synonyms are words or phrases that can be used interchangeably in a sentence without changing its meaning.

Intension refers to the inherent meaning of a word or phrase, as opposed to its extension, which refers to the set of things to which
the word or phrase applies. For example, the intension of the word “bachelor” includes the properties of being unmarried and male.

A paraphrase is a sentence that expresses the same meaning as another sentence. For example, “The dog bit the man” and “The
man was bitten by the dog” are paraphrases of each other. Paraphrases are useful in clarifying or rephrasing a sentence to make its
meaning clearer.

Symmetrical hyponymy refers to the relationship between two words or phrases that are hyponyms of each other. For ex ample, “car”
and “automobile” are symmetrical hyponyms. This means that they can be used interchangeably in a sentence without changing its
meaning.
Hyponymy refers to the relationship between two words or phrases where the meaning of one is included in the meaning of the other.
For example, “rose” is a hyponym of “flower”. This means that a rose is a type of flower.

A hyponym is a word or phrase whose meaning is included in the meaning of another word or phrase. For example, “dog” is a hyponym
of “animal”. This means that a dog is a type of animal.

Entailment refers to the relationship between two sentences where the truth of one sentence necessarily follows from the trut h of the
other. For example, “John is a bachelor” entails “John is unmarried”. This means that if John is a bachelor, then he must be unmarried.

A superordinate term is a word or phrase that has a broader meaning than another word or phrase. For example, “animal” is a
superordinate term of “dog”. This means that an animal is a broader category that includes dogs.

A transitive relation is a relation between three or more things where if A is related to B, and B is related to C, then A is related to C.
For example, if “dog” is a hyponym of “animal”, and “animal” is a hyponym of “living thing”, then “dog” is a hyponym of “living thing”.

The Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion states that if two sentences are identical except for a word X in one sentence and a word Y in the
other, and X is a hyponym of Y, then the first sentence entails the second. For example, if “dog” is a hyponym of “animal”, then the
sentence “John saw a dog” entails the sentence “John saw an animal”.

Co-hyponyms are words or phrases that are hyponyms of the same superordinate term. For example, “dog” and “cat” are co-hyponyms
of “animal”. This means that they are both types of animals.

A sense relationship is a relationship between two or more words or phrases based on their meanings. For example, synonymy,
hyponymy, and entailment are all sense relationships. Sense relationships are important in understanding how words and phrases
relate to each other in language.

Here are the answers to the exercises:

2Do you think it is easier to learn words as unique items, or as part of a system involving various kinds of sense relationships?

It is easier to learn words as part of a system involving various kinds of sense relationships. This is because learning words in relation
to other words helps to build a network of associations and connections in the mind, making it easier to remember and use the words
correctly.

3What is meant by synonymy? Why is it difficult to define this term? Do most synonyms have identical or just similar meanings (or
senses)? Do you think true synonymy exists?

Synonymy refers to the relationship between two or more words that have the same or nearly the same meaning. It is difficult to define
this term because the boundaries between synonyms can be blurry, and words can have different connotations or nuances. Most
synonyms have similar rather than identical meanings. True synonymy may not exist, as even words with very similar meanings can
have subtle differences in connotation or usage.

4. Identify in the following sentences the pairs of words in upper-case letters which appear to share the same (or nearly the same)
sense.

a. Fred always sleeps on the SOFA/COUCH

b. The neighbours have a BIG/LARGE family

c. The winning horse TROTTED/RAN to the finish line

d. This table is very SMOOTH/FLAT

e. That is a very HIGH/TALL building

f. That is a very FLAT/SLIPPERY road

The pairs of words that appear to share the same (or nearly the same) sense are:

- SOFA/COUCH

- BIG/LARGE

- SMOOTH/FLAT
- HIGH/TALL

5Synonyms usually share some but not all senses. This becomes evident in certain of their uses. For each apparent synonym pair
below supply sentences in which the two words can be used interchangeably without altering the sense of the sentence, and then
give another sentence using one of the words in a different sense (where no interchange is possible with the same meaning).

a. small/little

- Interchangeable: “The small car is easy to park.” / “The little car is easy to park.”

- Different sense: “I little suspected that he would arrive so soon.” (Here, “little” means “not at all” or “hardly”.)

b. hard/difficult

- Interchangeable: “The hard exam was difficult to pass.” / “The difficult exam was hard to pass.”

- Different sense: “The floor is hard.” (Here, “hard” refers to the physical property of the floor.)

c. long/extended

- Interchangeable: “The long meeting lasted for hours.” / “The extended meeting lasted for hours.”

- Different sense: “The company has extended its operations to several countries.” (Here, “extended” means “expanded” or
“increased”.)

d. lady/woman

- Interchangeable: “The lady is very kind.” / “The woman is very kind.”

- Different sense: “The lady of the house is very elegant.” (Here, “lady” refers to the mistress of the house.)

e. cheap/inexpensive

- Interchangeable: “The cheap hotel room was inexpensive.” / “The inexpensive hotel room was cheap.”

- Different sense: “The cheap joke fell flat.” (Here, “cheap” refers to the quality of the joke.)

f. bright/well-lit

- Interchangeable: “The bright room is well-lit.” / “The well-lit room is bright.”

- Different sense: “The bright student is very intelligent.” (Here, “bright” refers to the student’s intelligence.)

g. sad/dejected

- Interchangeable: “The sad news made me dejected.” / “The dejected news made me sad.”

- Different sense: “The dejected look on his face was pitiful.” (Here, “dejected” refers to the person’s appearance.)

h. rob/steal

- Interchangeable: “The thief robbed the bank.” / “The thief stole from the bank.”

- Different sense: “The disease robbed him of his health.” (Here, “rob” means “to deprive someone of something”.)

6. A special kind of synonymy falls under the heading of euphemism, whereby a culturally or socially disagreeable word is replaced
by a more agreeable one with essentially (though not exactly) the same meaning. For each term below try to find several euphemisms
which are less harsh, offensive, or explicit.

a. war

- Euphemisms: conflict, skirmish, military action, police action

b. crazy

- Euphemisms: mentally ill, unstable, disturbed, eccentric

c. damn
- Euphemisms: darn, blasted, confounded, bother

Sometimes synonyms can have either positive or negative connotations. For example, “careful” can be synonymous with “scrupulous”
(positive) or “keep a sharp eye on” (negative). Similarly, “reserved” can be synonymous with “reticent” (positive) or “aloof” (negative).
Other examples include “levelheaded” (sensible, positive; unimaginative, negative), “inquisitive” (curious, positive; nosy, negative),
“lagging” (slow, negative; unhurried, positive), “laugh” (chuckle, positive; guffaw, negative), “talk” (converse, positive; gossip, negative),
“old” (venerable, positive; ancient, negative), and “immature” (youthful, positive; childish, negative).

A paraphrase is a sentence that expresses the same meaning as another sentence. Synonymy refers to the relationship between
words or phrases with the same or similar meanings, while paraphrase refers to the relationship between sentences with the same
meaning.

Here are some paraphrases for each of the given sentences: “I gave the book to my friend” can be paraphrased as “My friend received
the book from me”, “I handed over the book to my friend”, or “The book was given to my friend by me”. “Your child took out the garbage”
can be paraphrased as “The garbage was taken out by your child”, “Your child removed the garbage”, or “The garbage was removed
by your child”. “It is likely that Fred will win the race” can be paraphrased as “Fred is likely to win the race”, “There is a good chance
that Fred will win the race”, or “Fred has a high probability of winning the race”. “John is easy to please” can be paraphrased as “John
is not difficult to please”, “It is easy to please John”, or “John is a pleasure to deal with”. “The sales clerk received the money from me”
can be paraphrased as “I gave the money to the sales clerk”, “The sales clerk was given the money by me”, or “I handed over the
money to the sales clerk”. “Some students have a job” can be paraphrased as “There are students who have a job”, “A number of
students are employed”, or “Several students have jobs”.

Hyponymy refers to the relationship between two words or phrases where the meaning of one is included in the meaning of the other.

Here are the taxonomies for each of the given groups of words: The words “hammer”, “screwdriver”, “wrench”, “awl”, and “pliers” are
all hyponyms of the superordinate term “tool”. The words “carpenter”, “electrician”, and “plumber” are all hyponyms of the superordinate
term “craftsman”. The words “mammal”, “amphibian”, and “reptile” are all hyponyms of the superordinate term “animal”, with “human”
being a hyponym of “mammal”, and “frog” and “snake” being hyponyms of “amphibian” and “reptile”, respectively. The words “shatter”,
“crack”, “smash”, and “fracture” are all hyponyms of the superordinate term “break”. The words “man”, “woman”, “husband”, “bachelor”,
“wife”, and “widow” are all hyponyms of the superordinate term “human”.

12. Explain what it means to say that hyponymy involves entailment.

When we say that hyponymy involves entailment, we mean that if a word X is a hyponym of a word Y, then a sentence containing X
entails a sentence containing Y. For example, if “dog” is a hyponym of “animal”, then the sentence “John has a dog” entails the
sentence “John has an animal”.

13. For each sentence below give another sentence which the first one entails, and then give one which the first does NOT entail.

a. John is a bachelor.

- Entails: John is unmarried.

- Does not entail: John is happy.

b. John is a widower.

- Entails: John’s spouse is deceased.

- Does not entail: John is old.

c. Mary is divorced.

- Entails: Mary was previously married.

- Does not entail: Mary is unhappy.

d. This is a tulip.

- Entails: This is a flower.

- Does not entail: This is red.

14. Hyponymy and synonymy refer to relations between pairs of words, while entailment and paraphrase refer to relations betwe en
pairs of sentences. Supply the correct terms in the blanks.

Hyponymy is to sentences as synonymy is to words.

15. What does the Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion have to say about the entailment relationship between the following two sentences?

a. Mary bought a house

b. Mary bought a building

The Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion states that if X is a hyponym of Y, then a sentence containing X entails a sentence containing Y. In
this case, “house” is a hyponym of “building”, so sentence (a) entails sentence (b)

16. Why does the Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion NOT work for the following pairs of sentences? How must it be amended to work
here?

a. Mary did not buy a house

b. Mary did not buy a building

The Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion does not work for these sentences because it only applies to sentences with affirmative predicates,
not negative ones. To amend the rule, we need to add a provision for negative sentences.

17. Consider the following pair of sentences. Is there any entailment relation existing between them? Explain why or why not.

a. Mary bought a big house

b. Mary bought a big building

Yes, there is an entailment relation between these sentences. Sentence (a) entails sentence (b) because “house” is a hyponym of
“building”, and the adjective “big” applies to both sentences.