Giáo trình ngữ nghĩa ngữ dụng học tiếng anh

GIAÙO TRÌNH

NGÖÕ NGHÓA – NGỮ DỤNG HOÏC TIEÁNG ANH
ENGLISH SEMANTICS & PRAGMATICS

COMPILED BY NGUYEN THUY NGA
NGUYEN QUOC BAO
Ho Chi Minh City, 2014 (Revised)


CONTENTS
PART 1: SEMANTICS
I.

DEFINITION

5

SENTENCES, UTTERANCES & PROPOSITIONS

5

II.

SEMANTIC FEATURES / PROPERTIES

6

III.

SEMANTIC / LEXICAL FIELD

7

IV.

REFERENCE & SENSE

10

1. Definition
2. Types of reference
3. Referring expression
V.

VI.

TYPES OF MEANING

16

1. Word meaning
a. Denotative meaning
b. Connotative meaning
2. Sentence meaning
a. Linguistic / literal meaning
 Semantic / Participant roles
b. Semantic meaning & pragmatic meaning
c. Non-literal meaning / Figures of speech
 Simile
 Metaphor

 Irony
 Sarcasm
 Synecdoche
 Metonymy
 Personification
 Hyperbole
 Euphemism

16

MEANING PROPERTIES / CHARACTERISTICS
1. Anomaly
2. Ambiguity
 Definition
 Types of ambiguity
 Some common forms of structural ambiguity

27
27
28

16

2


VII.

MEANING RELATION
1. Word relation

 Synonym
 Antonym
 Homophone
 Homograph
 Homonym
 Polysemy
 Hyponymy
2. Sentence relation
 Entailment
 Contradiction
 Paraphrase
o Types of Paraphrase
o Ways to paraphrase a sentence

VIII. TYPES OF SENTENCE BASING ON TRUTH VALUE
1. Analytic sentence
2. Synthetic sentence
3. Contradictory sentence

37
37

41

45

PART 2: PRAGMATICS
I.

DEFINITION

50

II.

SPEECH ACT

50

1. Definition
2. Components
3. Speech event / situation
 Setting
 Participants / Characters
 Relation
 Message
 Tone used
4. Direct & indirect speech act
5. Types of speech act
 Declarative
 Representative
 Expressive
 Directive
 Commissive
3


III.

THE COOPERATIVE MAXIMS

57

IV.

IMPLICATURE

59

1. Definition
2. Types of implicature
V.

PRESUPPOSITION

63

1. Definition
2. Types of presupposition

REFERENCES

67

ANSWER KEY

68

4

PART 1: SEMANTICS
I. DEFINITION
Semantics is the study of meaning in language.(Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 1)
Semantics is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms and entities in the
world; that is, how words literally connect to things. Semantic analysis also attempts to
establish the relationship between verbal descriptions and states of affairs in the world as
accurate (true) or not, regardless of who produces that description. (Yule, 1996:4)
II. SENTENCES, UTTERANCES, AND PROPOSITIONS
1. A sentence (câu) is a string of words put together by the grammatical rules of a
language. (Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 16)
Ex:- A house was struck by lightning last night.
- Money doesn‟t make happiness.
2. An utterance (phát ngôn) is a piece of language (a sequence of sentences, a single
phrase, or a single word) used by a particular speaker on a particular occasion.
(Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 15)
In written language, an utterance is put between quotation marks.
Ex:- “Hello”
- “Not much”
- “Utterances may consist of a single word, a single phrase, or a single
sentence. They may also consist of a sequence of sentences.”
3. A proposition (mệnh đề) is that part of the meaning of the utterance of a
declarative sentence which describes some state of affairs. (Hurford & Heasley,
1983: 19)
Ex:- Paul turned on the TV.
- I met him at the cinema last night.
Rule: The notion of truth can be used to decide whether two sentences express the
same proposition or different propositions. When one sentence is true and the other is
also true, they express the same proposition. If one sentence is true while the other
may be false, they express different propositions.

True propositions correspond to reality. False propositions do not correspond to
reality.
Ex: (1) Harry took out the garbage.
Harry took the garbage out.
The garbage was taken out by Harry. (3 sentences; same proposition)
(2) John gave Mary a book.
Mary was given a book by John. (2 sentences; same proposition)
(3) Isobel loves Tony.
Tony loves Isobel. (2 sentences; 2 different propositions) (It is not
necessary that Tony loves Isobel)
(4) “Dr Findlay caused Janet to die.”
“Dr Findlay killed Janet.” (2 utterances; 2 different propositions) (In
the case Dr Findlay caused Janet to die, but not intentionally)
5


Exercise 1: Answer the following sentences, choosing Yes or No.
1. Does it make sense to talk of the time and place of a sentence?
2. Does it make sense to talk of the time and place of an utterance?
3. Can one talk of a loud sentence?
4. Can one talk of a loud utterance?
5. Does it make sense to ask what language a sentence belongs to?
6. Does it make sense to ask what language an utterance belongs to?
Exercise 2:
1. Fill in the chart with „+‟ or „-„ as appropriate.
Utterances
Can be loud or quiet

Sentences

Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No

Propositions

Can be grammatical
or not
Can be true or false
In a particular
regional accent
In a particular
language
2. Can the same proposition be expressed by different sentences?
3. Can the same proposition be realized by different utterances?

Yes / No
Yes / No

Exercise 3: Answer the following:
1. Are the following groups of words a sentence or an utterance?
a. John sang wonderfully last night.
b. “John sang wonderfully last night.”
2. Can a sentence be true or false?
3. Can an utterance be true or false?
4. Is an utterance tied to a particular time and place?
5. Is a sentence tied to a particular time and place?

S/U
S/U
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No

III. SEMANTIC PROPERTIES/ FEATURES
1. DEFINITION
Semantic features or properties are ‘the smallest units of meaning in a word.’ (Richards,
Platt & Weber, 1987: 254)
Example: (+: plus; - : minus)
Father

+ human
+ male
+ mature
+ married
+ having children

Each factor Assassin + human
is
a
+ adult
Semantic
+ killer
Property /
+ kill a VIP
Feature

6


Bachelor + human
+ male
+ adult
+ unmarried

Teacher

+ human
+ adult
+ earn living
by teaching

2. CHARACTERISTICS
a. Primitive elements: basic primitive concepts in linguistics. They are left undefined.
Ex: human, male, animal, color etc.
b. The same semantic feature may be found in the meaning of different words.
Ex: Father, mother, son, daughter, teacher baby … all share the same semantic
feature [+ human].
Mother, daughter, hen, bitch, swine … all share the same semantic feature
[+female].
c. The same semantic feature may be found in words of different parts of speech.
Ex: [+female] is part of the noun mother, the adjective pregnant, the verb breastfeed.
[+educational] is a semantic feature of the noun teacher, the adjective educated,
the verb teach.
IV. LEXICAL / SEMANTIC FIELD
A semantic field or a lexical field is the organization of related words and expressions into
a system which show their relationship to one another. (Richards. Platt & Weber. 1987:53)

In other words, it is a group of words sharing the same Semantic property.
Ex 1:
Human
(B) Hypernym / Super-ordinate

Bachelor

Father

Mother

Baby

Uncle

Sister

Hyponymy

(A) Hyponyms
Hyponym is a word „whose referent is totally included in the referent of another term.
(hypo- means below) (Finegan. 1994:165).
Hypernym is a word whose referent covers all the referents of its hyponyms. (hyper- means
above).
Hyponymy is a one-way relation from hyponyms and hypernym so that
A (hyponym) is a kind of B (hypernym). We can say:
A bachelor is a kind of human.
Not: A human is a kind of bachelor.
A boy is a kind of human.
Not: A human is a kind of boy.

Ex 2:

Boy

Male (Hypernym)

Brother

Uncle

Ram

Stallion

Ox
Bull
(Hyponyms)
7


Ways of organizing related words into different lexical / semantic fields.
1. Items related by topics
a. Fruit: apples, oranges, grappes, bananas etc.
b. Clothing: shirts, pants, pajamas, hats etc.
c. Color: green, red, blue, purple, pink etc.
2. Items which are similar in meaning
a. Ways of cooking: stew, boil, fry, steam, roast etc.
b. Ways of walking: limp, tiptoe, stalk etc.
c. Ways of looking: stare, peer, glance, squint etc.
3. Items grouped as an activity or a process

a. Doing housework: cleaning the room, doing washing, ironing clothes, preparing
the meal etc.
b. Doing research: making hypotheses, collecting data, analyzing data, getting
results, coming to a conclusion.
Exercise 4
For each group of words given below, state what semantic property or properties are shared
by the words in group (i) and those in group (ii), and what semantic property or properties
distinguish between the classes of (i) and (ii).
Ex: i/ widow, mother, sister, aunt, seamstress
ii/ widower, father, brother, uncle, tailor
 the shared semantic property is human.
 the different properties are: (i) => female; (ii) => male.
1. i. bachelor, man, son, paperboy, pope, uncle.
ii. bull, rooster, drake, ram, boar.
2. i. bitch, hen, doe, mare, ewe, vixen.
ii. actress, maiden, widow, woman, girl.
3. i. doctor, dean, professor, bachelor, parent.
ii. teenager, child, boy, baby, infant.
4. i. table, stone, pencil, cup, house, ship, car.
ii. milk, alcohol, rice, soup, mud.
5. i. book, temple, mountain, road, tractor.
ii. idea, love, charity, sincerity, bravery, fear.
6. i. pine, elm, ash, wiping, willow, sycamore.
ii. rose, dandelion, carnation, tulip, daisy.
7. i. book, letter, encyclopedia, novel, notebook, dictionary.
ii. typewriter, pencil, ballpoint, crayon, quill, charcoal, chalk.
8. i. walk, run, skip, jump, hope, swim.
ii. fly, skate, ski, ride, cycle, canoe, hang-glide.
Exercise 5:

Put the following words into different lexical fields. Give each group a
hypernym.
Cup – hammer – glass – nails – red – jug – wineglass – blue – purple – boxing – scissors –
football – knife – plastic cup – yellow – badminton – pink – file – weightlifting – green –
run – motor-racing – crawl – walk – black – swim – vermilion – karate.
8


Exercise 6: Give a hypernym to each of the following strings of words. Cross out the
item(s) that does / do not belong to the same lexical field as the others.
1. acquire, buy, collect, win, sell, steal, rob.
2. whisper, talk, narrate, report, tell, instruct, brief.
3. road, path, way, street, method, freeway, avenue.
4. easy-going, sociable, well-mannered, friendly, sad, elegant, courteous, strong.
5. smell, aroma, bouquet, perfume, fragrance, scent, odor, reek.
6. toast, boil, fry, fresh, grill, medium, bake, roast, steam.
7. cow, dog, cat, tiger, lion, ape, human, bird, whale, chicken.
8. sing, talk, dance, speak, shout, whisper, mutter, babble.
9. at, of, in, on, under, below, near.
10. square, circular, triangular, rectangular, spherical, hexagonal, polygonal.
MULTIPLE CHOICE TESTS
TEST 1
1. Which of the following is correct about linguistics?
a. Linguistics is the study of language meaning
b. Linguistics is the study of English
c. Linguistics is the study of all dialects
d. Linguistics is the study of language
2. Which of the following does not belong to linguistics?
a. language skills
b. phonology

c. semantics
d. pragmatics
3. Which of the following is correct about semantics?
a. Semantics is the study of language use
b. Semantics is the study of language
c. Semantics is the study of language meaning
d. Semantics is an independent subject
4. Which of the following is correct about pragmatics?
a. Pragmatics is the study of language
b. Pragmatics is the study of language use
c. pragmatics is an independent subject
d. Pragmatics is the study of language meaning
5. Which of the following statements is true?
a. The objective of semantics is the literal meaning of language
b. The objective of linguistics is the meaning of language
c. The objective of semantics is the speaker‟s meaning
d. The objective of semantics is the non-literal meaning of language
6. Which of the following statements is not true?
a. Pragmatics studies the relationship between language and objects
b. Pragmatics studies the relationship between language and the user
c. Pragmatics studies the speaker‟s meaning
d. Pragmatics studies how and what for the speaker uses the language
7. Which of the following statements is true about sentence?
a. A sentence is a group of words grammatically linked to convey a complete meaning
b. A sentence is a group of words containing a finite verb
c. A sentence is a group of words containing a subject and a verb
d. A sentence is a group of words consisting of one clause
8. Which of the following statements is not true about utterance?
a. The meaning of an utterance is the sum of meanings of the constituent words
b. An utterance is context bound / dependent

c. The meaning of an utterance depends on the situation in which it is uttered
d. An utterance is a sentence said in a particular situation
9. Which of the following statements is not true?
a. It makes sense to talk of the time and place of an utterance.
9


b. It makes sense to talk of the time and place of a sentence.
c. It doesn‟t make sense to talk of a loud sentence
d. It makes sense to talk of a true sentence or utterance.
10. Which of the following statements is not true?
a. The pragmatic meaning is the linguistic meaning
b. The meaning of an utterance is context-bound
c. The semantic meaning is out of context
d. The meaning of a sentence is context-free
11. The following pair: Dr. Findlay caused Janet to die
Dr. Findlay killed Janet
consists of:
a. 2 utterances; 2 propositions
b. 2 sentences; 1 proposition
c. 2 sentences; 2 propositions
d. 2 utterances; 1 proposition
12. The following pair
“Paul opened the door”
“The door was opened by Paul”
consists of:
a. 2 utterances; 1 proposition
b. 2 sentences; 1 proposition
c. 2 utterances; 2 propositions
d. 2 sentences; 2 propositions

13. The following pair
“Paul loves Mary”
“Mary loves Paul”
consists of:
a. 2 utterances; 2 propositions
b. 2 sentences; 1 proposition
c. 2 sentences; 2 propositions
d. 2 utterances; 1 proposition
14. The following pair
They loaded hay onto the truck
They loaded the truck with hay
consists of:
a. 2 utterances; 1 proposition
b. 2 sentences; 1 proposition
c. 2 sentences; 2 propositions
d. 2 utterances; 2 propositions
15. Which of the following statements is not true?
a. The pragmatic meaning can be defined by the sum of semantic features.
b. The semantic meaning of a word can be analyzed into semantic components.
c. The same semantic property can be found in the meaning of different words.
d. Semantic features are the smallest units of meaning in a word.
16. Which of the following statements is not true?
a. A lexical field is a group of words sharing the same part of speech.
b. A semantic field is a family of words that share the same semantic feature.
c. There are different ways to organize semantically related words into lexical fields.
d. A lexical field is a group of semantically related words.
17. Which of the following semantic features does not belong to “cat”?
a. [+domestic]
b. [+animal]
c. [+male]

d. [+having a tail]
18. Which of the following semantic properties belongs to “dog”?
a. [+loyal]
b. [+intellect]
c. [+mature]
d. [+female]
19. The relationship between „bachelor‟ and „male‟ is:
a. antonymy
b. synonymy
c. polysemy
d. hyponymy
20. The relationship between „cock‟ and „male‟ is:
a. hyponymy
b. synonymy
c. polysemy
d. antonymy

V. REFERENCE & SENSE
1. Definitions
 Reference is the relationship between language and the world. In other words, that is
the relationship between words and the things, actions, events, and qualities they
stand for. (Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 25)
Ex: My son refers to a person; a dog refers to an animal. (the speaker
establishes a relationship between an expression and an object).
10


Referent is the thing the speaker is talking about, the object referred to.
Ex: This page (the page the speaker is reading; Ex: page 15)
The cassette player (the object on the table)

 Sense is the relationship between semantically related expressions in the language to
express the meaning.
Ex: The word „bachelor‟ and „unmarried man‟ have the same sense;
“to buy” and “to purchase” have the same sense.
To express the content / meaning of a word to a learner, we may say the word and show him
an object to make him understand what the word means. In this case we establish a relation
between a word and an object (between language and the world): reference. On the other
hand, we can also give him a synonym or phrase to express the meaning in the form of a
definition. We are establishing a relationship between expressions of the same meaning in
the language to express the sense.
Example: The word „desk‟
Refe

rence

Desk

Sens

e

an object with a surface and four legs used for writing

2. Types of reference.
1) Variable Reference: the same expression may be used to refer to different objects. In
other words, the referent of an expression varies with the speaker. For example:
“My mother” (referring to the mother of the speaker) may refer to different ladies
depending on different speakers.
“Here” in the sentence “I am here” (referring to the place where the speaker is standing)
can also refer to different places depending on different speakers.

Some clues for Variable Reference
 Possessive adjectives / possessive case: my sister, your brother, the government‟s
decision… Exception: John‟s hat (not a variable reference because it refers to the hat
of John only regardless the speaker).
 Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns: this, that, these, those … (this page, that
book, that car…)
 Personal pronouns: I, You, He, Me, Him…
 Adverbs of place/ time: here, there, then, today, yesterday, now, at the station,
 Articles: the boy in the corner; I want to buy a car.
2) Same Reference / Co-reference: different expressions refer to the same object.
Examples:
 Uncle Hồ – Hồ Chí Minh – Nguyễn Aí Quốc - Nguyễn Sinh Cung – Nguyễn Tất
Thành: all refer to the same person.
 HCM City and Saigòn: both refer to the same city.
 My father is a teacher: both underlined groups of words refer to the same person.
 We chose John leader: John and leader refer to the same person.
 The Morning Star and The Evening Star: both refer to the same star.
11


3) Constant Reference: one expression always refers to the same object, (regardless the
speaker).
 Proper names, especially geographical names: John Smith, David, Vietnam,
Cambodia …
 Unique things: the sun, the moon, the earth, the east, the west, Halley‟s Comet…
4) No reference: an expression which is meaningful but does not refer to anything.
 Function words: and, but, if …
 Imaginary characters: Batman, Dragon, Superman, Snow White, Tấm Cám …
 The objects that do not exist now.
Ex: The king of France is bald (France does not have any king nowadays)

The Queen of Vietnam nowadays is a Cambodian. (no VN queen now)
Exercise 7: Answer the following questions.
1. Does the moon normally have constant reference?
Yes / No
2. Does The People’s Republic of China normally have constant reference? Yes / No
3. Does Angola normally have constant reference?
Yes / No
4. Does Haley’s Comet normally constant reference?
Yes / No
5. If we are talking about a situation in which John is standing alone in the
Corner, can John have the same referent as the person in the corner?
Yes / No
Exercise 8
What is intended by the word mean, meaning, meant … in the following examples:
reference (R) or sense (S)?
1. When Helen mentioned “the fruit cake”, she meant that rock-hard object in
the middle of the table.
R/S
2. When Albert talks about “his former friend” he means me.
R/S
3. Daddy, what does unique mean?
R/S
4. Purchase has the same meaning as buy.
R/S
5. Look up the meaning of apoplexy in your dictionary.
R/S
6. If you look out of the window now, you‟ll see who I mean.
R/S
7. „‟I‟m sorry to have disturbed you – when I said „Will you move your chair?‟
I didn‟t mean you, I meant Patrick here.”

R/S
8. If you look up adieu, you‟ll find it means good bye.
R/S
Exercise 9
1. Give an example of an expression that could have variable reference.
2. Give an example of an expression that always has constant reference.
3. Give an example of different expressions that have the same reference.
4. Give an example of an expression that has no reference.
Exercise 10. Which of the following is a correct description of „reference‟?
(a) a relationship between expressions and other expressions which have the same
meaning.
(b) the set of all objects which can potentially be referred to by an expression.
12


(c) a relationship between a particular object in the world and an expression used in an
utterance to pick that object out.
Exercise 11: Which of the following is a correct statement about „sense‟?
(a) All words in a language may be used to refer, but only some words have sense.
(b) If two expressions have the same referent, they always have the same sense.
(c) The sense of an expression is its relationship to semantically equivalent or
semantically related expression in the same language.
Exercise 12: Answer the following questions by choosing Yes or No
1. Imagine that you and I are in a room with a man and a woman, and, making no
visual signal of any sort, I say to you, “The man stole my wallet”. In this situation,
can you identify the referent of the expression the man?
Yes / No
2. Can the referent of the pronoun I be uniquely identified when this pronoun is
uttered?
Yes / No

3. Can the referent of the pronoun you be uniquely identified when this pronoun
is uttered?
Yes / No
3. Referring expression
1. Definition: A referring expression „is any expression used in an utterance to refer to
someone or something particular. (Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 35) (On the part of the
speaker)
Ex: + When a speaker says, „My father” he has a particular person in mind.
=>his father is a referring expression.
+ The name Fred in the utterance “Fred hit me”, where the speaker has a particular
person in mind, is a referring expression.
+ Fred in “There is no Fred at this address” is not a referring expression because
in this case the speaker would not have any particular person in mind.
2. Some clues of referring expression
 Possessive: my friend, Paul‟s hat …
 Demonstrative: this book, that machine …
 Proper name: Smith, David, Vietnam …
 Personal pronouns (only when being uttered): I, You, He …
 Constant reference (unique thing): the sun, the moon, the earth, the east, the west,
Halley‟s comet …
 Past tense: helps to recognize Referring Expression
Ex: I saw a boy yesterday
I want to go fishing on the lake
My sister is a singer
Yesterday, I met a singer
I‟m looking for a car to buy
I bought a car in a showroom on Nguyen Hue Street.
3. Not a referring expression
 Something general: family, society, people …
13

 Representative of social classes or species: the poor, the rich, the elephant, dogs, cats …
 Profession/ Job: a singer, a teacher, a lawyer …
Ex: A singer in “SilBlack is a famous singer” is a RE because it
refers to a particular person.
A singer in “My sister is a singer” is not a RE because it is a job in general.
Note: Whether an expression is a referring expression or not depends mainly on linguistic
context and on circumstances of the utterance.
Exercise 13
Could the following possibly be used as referring expressions?
1. John
yes / no
2. my uncle
3. and
yes / no
4. the girl sitting there
5. a man
yes / no
6. my parents
7. send
yes / no
8. under

yes / no
yes / no
yes / no
yes / no

Exercise 14. Underline the referring expressions in the following sentences, if any.

1. A man was in here looking for you last night.
2. The first sign of the monsoon is a cloud on the horizon no bigger than a man‟s hand.
3. Forty buses have been withdrawn from service by the Liverpool Corporation.
4. This engine has the power of forty buses.
5. Yesterday, Nancy married a Norwegian.
6. My sister also wants to marry a Norwegian.
7. John is looking for a car to buy.
8. Dick believes that a man with a limp killed Bo Peep.
9. The police officer said that a man with a limp killed Bo Peep.
10. Every evening at sunset, a swan flew over my house.
11. The man who shot Abraham Lincoln was an unemployed actor.
12. If anyone ever marries Nancy, he‟s in for a bad time.
13. The poor are the ones who suffer most from the disasters all over the world.
14. I saw a boy climb over the fence last night.
15. Don‟t come near the frontier. You may be hurt by a bullet.
16. You can‟t get married with such a boy!
17. My hobby is to go fishing with friends when the sun appears in the East.
18. It was thought for many centuries that the world was flat.
19. The book you gave me on Teacher‟s Day was worth reading.
14


20. My parents expected me to send them some gift on their wedding anniversary, but I
didn‟t because of my forgetfulness.
21. The parachute is a device to help people to land safely on the ground.
22. While the soldier was moving through the frontier, a bullet stroke him on the head.
23. Nowadays, there are many TV programs very useful for children‟s education.
24. The teacher let his students come back home early because of the coming storm.
MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST 2
1. Which of the following is not a type of reference?

a. referring expression b. variable reference c. constant reference
d. same reference
2. The type of reference in which the same expression is used to refer to different objects is:
a. constant reference
b. same reference
c. variable reference
d. no reference
3. The type of reference in which different expressions are used to refer to the same object is:
a. constant reference
b. variable reference
c. same reference
d. no reference
4. The type of reference in which the same expression always refers to the same object is:
a. same reference
b. variable reference c. constant reference
d. no reference
5. When an expression has a sense but does not refer to anything, it is said to have:
a. constant reference
b. variable reference
c. no reference d. same reference
6. Which of the following statements is true?
a. All words in a language have sense, but only some words may be used to refer.
b. If two expressions have the same referent, they always have the same sense.
c. Sense is the relationship between expressions and objects.
d. Reference is the set of all objects which can potentially be referred to by an expression.
7. An expression used to refer to someone or something particular is a:
a. referring expression b. variable reference c. constant reference
d. same reference
8. The underlined part in „the boy standing at the bus stop‟ has:
a. variable reference b. same reference

c. constant reference
d. no reference
9. The underlined part in „I saw a boy standing at a bus stop‟ is:
a. same reference
b. referring expression
c. constant reference d. no reference
10. The underlined part in „I survived from the air crash thanks to a parachute‟ is:
a. referring expression
b. not a referring expression
11. The underlined part in „My sweetheart is a teacher‟ is:
a. a referring expression
b. not a referring expression
12. The underlined part in „Silk Black is a famous singer from Tay Nguyen‟ is:
a. referring expression
b. not a referring expression
13. The underlined part in „I‟m looking for a car to buy‟ is:
a. not a referring expression
b. a referring expression
14. The underlined part in „Yesterday, I bought a car in a showroom on NH Street‟ is:
a. not a referring expression
b. a referring expression
15. The underlined part in „A boy was in here looking for you last night‟ is:
a. a referring expression
b. not a referring expression
16. The underlined part in „Paul fell off the horse, wounded by an arrow‟ is:
a. not a referring expression
b. a referring expression
17. The underlined part in „You cannot kill a tiger with an arrow‟ is:
a. not a referring expression
b. a referring expression

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VII. TYPES OF MEANING
A. WORD MEANING
1. Denotative / Descriptive / Referential meaning
The denotative meaning of a word is the central meaning of the word found in a dictionary.
It is the meaning that may be described in terms of a set of semantic features that serve to
identify the particular concept associated with the word.
It is also called descriptive because it describes an object, an event, a state or an affair, and
referential meaning as it refers us to something in the world.
Ex: A pig: a domestic animal, 4 legs, hairy, usually raised for meat
A father: a male adult, married, having children …
2. Connotative / Social / Affective meaning
The connotative meaning of a word is the implied, additional meaning that the word has
beyond its denotative meaning. It shows people‟s emotions and / or attitudes towards what
the word refers to. This meaning may vary from individual to individual, and community to
community. That‟s why connotative meaning is also called social or affective meaning. It
is not found in the dictionary
Ex: + The word pig in “He is a pig” may means connotatively:
He is a pig =>
- Lazy
- Greedy
- Stupid
- Dirty
+ As connotative meaning, the word woman may means positively devotion,
patience, generosity …, and negatively frailty, inconstancy, irrationality …
B. SENTENCE MEANING
1. LINGUISTIC / LITERAL MEANING
The linguistic meaning of a sentence depends on:

- The meanings of the constituent words
- The syntactic functions of the units in the sentence (subject, object,...)
- The semantic / participant roles of the noun phrases in the sentence.
Compare the following sentences:
(1) The lion bit the hunter.
(2) The hunter bit the lion.
(3) The hunter was bitten by the lion
First, to understand the meaning of the sentences, we must know the meanings of the words
„lion, bite, hunter‟. However, we can use exactly the same words to form different
sentences with the same or different meanings.
(1) The lion bit the hunter # (2) The hunter bit the lion
S
O
S
O
The two sentences (1) & (2) have different meanings because the words have different
syntactic functions.
(2) The hunter bit the lion # (3) The hunter was bitten by the lion.
S
O
S
O
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The sentences (2) & (3) have different meanings although the words have the same syntactic
functions.
(1) The lion bit the hunter = (3) The hunter was bitten by the lion.
S
O

S
O
The sentences (1) & (3) have the same meaning although the words have different syntactic
functions. What makes the meaning of the two sentences similar or different? It is what is
called semantic roles, the third factor making up the meaning of a sentence.
SEMANTIC or PARTICIPANT ROLES
a. Definition
A semantic role is the role performed by a noun phrase in relation to the verb.
b. Types
o Agent (A): the one that initiates an action (person/ animal + action verb)
Ex: Paul opened the door
o Patient (P): the one that suffers from or is affected by the action
Ex: Paul opens the door
The door opened at the first blow of wind
Paul is boiling water
Water boils at 100OC
o Experiencer (E): the one that experiences a feeling/ sensation/ perception …
(a person / an animal + a non-action verb)
Ex: Paul loves Mary
I recognize that I‟m wrong
The boy wants a candy
The teacher remembers meeting me somewhere
o Stimulus (S): the one that causes a feeling / sensation (emotion verb)
Ex: Paul loves Mary
I‟m afraid of ghost
The book of the teacher makes me very happy
The film interests me a lot
o Recipient (R) (the receiver): the one that receives a physical object
Ex: He gave me a book last night
o Benefactive (B) : the one that benefits from an action

Ex: I do all this for you
I sent him a gift for his son
o Instrument (I): the one that is used to perform an action (implying a user)
Ex: I open the door with a hammer
Paul used a key to open the door
o Cause (C): the one that causes an action to happen (not implying a user)
Ex: The door opened suddenly at the blow of the wind
Paul was hurt with a knife (implying someone using a knife to hurt him)
I
Paul was hurt by a knife (not implying the user of the knife)
C
o Locative (L): the place where an action happens
Ex: I was born in Đà lạt
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HCM city is a good place to live
o Temporal (T): the time when an action happens
Ex: Yesterday, I saw you at the supermarket
Back to the 3 previous examples, we see:
(1) The lion bit the hunter # (2) The hunter bit the lion
S/A
O/P
S/A
O/P
(2) The hunter bit the lion # (3) The hunter was bitten by the lion.
S/A
O/P
S/P
O/A

The above sentences have different meanings because they have different semantic roles
although they may have the same syntactic functions (2) & (3).
(1) The lion bit the hunter = (3) The hunter was bitten by the lion.
S/A
O/P
S/P
O/A
The two sentences have the same meaning because they have the same semantic roles
although the syntactic functions are different.
Exercise 15: Identify the semantic role of the noun phrases in the following sentences
1. The student couldn‟t finish the assignment because the library was closed.
2. The couple raced the horses through the meadow yesterday morning.
3. The teacher was angered by the rowdy students.
4. I recall hearing my brother say that.
5. Tom lent me enough money to pay the rent.
6. At the reunion he ran into his cousin Karl.
7. The farmer went to the field before dawn.
8. The building was constructed in a commercial zone.
9. A big tree was rooted up by the storm last night.
10. I enjoy reading books in my free time.
11. The immigrants picked strawberries in the early June.
12. He never turned in his budget report on time.
13. The unlucky customer had the undercooked meat sent back to the chef.
14. Traffic was backed up at the intersection because of the accident.
15. I‟m very glad to meet you here after so many years.
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16. The book you gave me on Teacher‟s Day was worth reading.
17. An unfair attitude toward the poor will contribute to the problem of poverty.

18. After the yolk is separated from the white, it must be boiled immediately.
19. Nutritionists recommended that foods from each of the four basic groups be eaten
regularly.
20. It was thought for many centuries that the world was flat.
21. His ingenuity never ceases to amaze me.
22. The hurricane destroyed half of the island.
23. Angela offered the job to her former rival.
24. In the morning we left San Francisco for Austin.
25. Zelda gets angry whenever Scott lies her.
26. The remains will be shipped to Cleveland on Wednesday.
27. The boy seems to be interested in the film shown at NH cinema last night.
28. He hates being disturbed at table.
29. As the storm raged, the waves grew higher and higher.
30. He enjoys going fishing on the lake at sunset.
31. The snow melts at the morning sunshine.
32. The chickens are ready for us to eat in 5 minutes.
33. Do you like the book I sent you?
34. Acid can dissolve a corpse in 5 minutes.
35. The man who loves her must be insane.
36. Alan was sent a special gift on her birthday.
37. Many TV programs today help students to improve their study a lot.
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38. The prisoner killed the guard then disappeared into the forest.
39. The beer made from rice drinks very well.
40. Putting one hand in the pocket, he walked around the front yard.
41. Joining the club is a good way of meeting new people.
42. She wants to know if anyone has an umbrella to lend her.
43. Harold doesn‟t like making speeches in front of the class.

44. Trembling with fear, she opened the letter.
45. Delayed by the bad weather, the plane arrived in Hanoi one hour late.
46. My first job, cleaning the floor, made me exhausted.
47. The door ajar made the girl worried.
48. We watched the brown river swollen with rain.
49. A house surrounded by a large, deep ditch provides us with a safe shelter.
50. This bed sleeps comfortably.
MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST 3
1. Which of the following statements is not true?
a. The denotative meaning of a word is the meaning that the speaker wants to convey.
b. The denotative meaning of a word can be described in terms of a set of semantic features.
c. The denotative meaning of a word describes an object, an event, a state or an affair.
d. The denotative meaning of a word is the central meaning of that word found in a dictionary.
2. Which of the following statements is not true?
a. The connotative meaning of a word can be described in terms of a set of semantic features.
b. The connotative meaning of a word shows people‟s emotions and attitudes.
c. The connotative meaning of a word is the meaning that the speaker wants to convey.
d. The connotative meaning of a word is the implied meaning that word has beyond its literal
meaning.
3. Which of the following is not a term used to describe denotative meaning?
a. literal meaning b. referential meaning c. additional meaning d. descriptive meaning
4. Which of the following is not a term used to describe connotative meaning?
a. descriptive meaning b. social meaning
c. affective meaning d. additional meaning
5. Which of the following does not belong to the denotative meaning of „woman‟?
a. talkative
b. female
c. human
d. mature
6. Which of the following does not belong to the connotative meaning of „woman‟?

a. female
b. irrational
c. talkative
d. devoted
7. Which of the following does not belong to the denotative meaning of „pig‟?
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a. animal
b. domestic
c. hairy
d. lazy
8. Which of the following does not belong to the connotative meaning of „pig‟?
a. dirty
b. greedy
c. stupid
d. domestic
9. Which of the following statements is true?
a. The semantic role of a word is the role performed by that word in relation to the verb
b. The semantic role of a word is its grammatical function in the sentence
c. The semantic role of a word is its syntactic function in the sentence
10. Which of the following is not a type of semantic role?
a. patient
b. object
c. agent
d. locative
11. The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „On the river bank sat little Robert,
covered with mud‟ is:
a. patient
b. instrument

c. cause
d. stimulus
12. The semantic role performed by the underlined NP in „This pill can help you sleep deeply‟ is:
a. cause
b. instrument
c. patient
d. stimulus
13. The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „Water boils at 1000 C‟ is:
a. patient
b. cause
c. Instrument
d. stimulus
14. The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „The door opened suddenly at the first
blow of the wind‟ is:
a. patient
b. cause
c. instrument
d. stimulus
15. The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „The door opened suddenly at the first
blow of wind‟ is:
a. Instrument
b. cause
c. patient
d. stimulus
16. The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „They loaded the truck with hay‟ is:
a. cause
b. patient
c. instrument
d. stimulus
17. The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „Peter recognized his mistakes‟ is:

a. experiencer
b. agent
c. patient
d. stimulus
18. The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „My brother is afraid of spiders‟ is:
a. stimulus
b. experiencer
c. patient
d. agent
19. The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „The snow melts at the morning
sunshine‟ is:
a. patient
b. experiencer
c. agent
d. stimulus
20. The semantic role performed by the underlined part in „The snow melts at the morning
sunshine‟ is:
a. patient
b. temporal
c. cause
d. stimulus

2. SEMANTIC MEANING & PRAGMATIC MEANING
a. Semantic meaning: the meaning of a sentence out of context or context-free. It is
the linguistic meaning of a sentence.
b. Pragmatic meaning: the meaning of an utterance in a particular situation.
Pragmatic meaning is context-dependent or context bound.
Ex 1: A: Would you like to go out with me?
B: I have a lot of homework to do.
I have a lot of homework to do

⇒semantic meaning: the teacher gave me a lot of assignments to do at home.
⇒pragmatic meaning: I‟m sorry. I‟m very busy. I‟m afraid that I have to
refuse your invitation.
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Ex 2: “Oh! It’s too noisy”
⇒semantic meaning: there is a lot of noise here.
⇒pragmatic meaning: Please, keep silent!
3. Figures of speech
A figure of speech is „a word or phrase which is used for special effect, and which
doesn’t have its usual or literal meaning’. (Richards. Platt & Weber. 1987: 105)
TYPES OF FIGURES OF SPEECH
 Simile /‟sımılı/: direct / explicit comparison using comparison words „like, as’ or
comparison form.
Ex: He eats like a tiger (he eats as much as a tiger does.)
He is as poor as a church mouse (he is very poor)
 Metaphor /‟metǝfǝ/: indirect / implied comparison (no comparison words „like, as‟.
Types of metaphor
 Dead metaphor: a metaphor which has lost its metaphoric characteristic and
become a fixed expression or idiom.
Ex: the eye of a needle; the head quarter; the foot of the mountain; the leg of
the table; the mouth of the river; the face of the table; the back of the chair; the
childhood of the earth etc.
A dead metaphor is used naturally and unconsciously by a native speaker of a
language. Ex: đầu giường; chân ghề; mặt trái xoan; mắt bồ câu; trăng lưỡi
liềm; etc,
 Live metaphor: a metaphor used consciously, intentionally by a speaker with
various figurative meanings.
Ex: „He is a pig‟ may be interpreted as he is fat; he is lazy; he is stupid; he is

dirty etc. depending on the situation in which it is used.
Usually there is a metaphor when one
+ puts 2 different species on the same rank.
Ex: He is an old fox (a person = an animal) (he is very wicked)
He is a rock in storm (a person = a thing) (he is a strong-minded
person)
+ applies a feature of one species for another.
Ex: Have you digested the lesson yet?: ‘digest’ is a term usually used
for food, now is used for study: the speaker compares the
process of
eating and digesting food with that of learning and understanding
lessons. (Have you carefully understood the lesson yet?)
He apes your betters: „ape’, a term used for animal is here
used for a person: the speaker compares a person who usually
imitates others with an ape whose characteristic is to imitate. (He
imitates your betters.)
He bottled up his feelings: „bottle’ a term usually used for the
process of making different kinds of drink or wine etc. is used here for
feelings. (He hid / concealed his feelings.)
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 Irony: Saying the opposite of one‟s thought for emphasis, for fun or mocking.
Ex: + He is so kind that he let all the housework for me to do. (He is not kind at
all)
+ He is so intelligent that no examiner has agreed to pass him so far.
(He is rather stupid.)
 Sarcasm /‟sa:kæzǝm/ : bitter irony; sneeringly ironical remarks to hurt somebody‟s
feelings.
Ex: + “The more I know about human beings, the more I want to be an animal”

(Jungle Boy) (Human beings are worse than animal!)
+ “Oh yes, we know how clever you are!” “Well, Mr. Know-it-all, What‟s
the answer this time?”
 Synecdoche /sı´nekdǝki/ : substitution of the whole for the part & vice versa
Ex:+ Vietnam won the football match (VN is used to refer to VN football team;
whole for part)
+ I don‟t want you to come under my roof (= my house) (part for whole)
+ This work requires an intelligent brain (= person)
+ The war has robbed 2,000 souls of the village (= people)
 Metonymy /mǝ´tɒnǝmi/: substitution of related words (not whole – part)
Ex: The kettle is boiling. (= the water)
The disease has cut off his breath. (= his life)
Ways to identify a metonymy:
 Container – Contained :
Ex: - Very thirsty, he gulped down the whole bottle (= liquid in the bottle)
- As the teacher entered the room, the whole class stood up to greet
him. (all the students in the class)
 Author – Works
Ex: - Have you read Khái Hưng yet? (= the novels of Khái Hưng)
- This is not a Picasso (= a painting by Picasso)
 Profession – Means
Ex: - I live on my pen (= by writing / I‟m a writer)
- My Tyson lives on his gloves (= by boxing / I‟m a boxer)
 Symbol - Reality / Concrete - Abstract
Ex: - He tries his best to win her heart (= her love)
- He succeeded to the crown. (= the royal office)
- He has the tongue of king. (= the talent of tasting food)
- She has an ear for music. (= the talent for learning, appreciating,
enjoying … music)
 Material – Object made of it

- All our glass is kept in the cupboard. (= vessels and objects made of
glass)
- You can get our gold in the upper drawer. (= jewelry made of gold)
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 Personification: Endowing an inanimate object with human qualities.
Ex:
- The leaves are dancing in the morning wind. (= moving)
- The waves tore the ship into pieces. (= destroyed completely)
 Hyperbole /haı´pɜ:bǝli/ (cường điệu): overstatement or exaggeration
Ex:
- I‟m so hungry that I can swallow a cow (= extremely hungry)
- I‟ve invited millions of people to my party (= a lot of)
- I haven‟t seen you for ages. (= a long time)
 Euphemism /‟ju:fǝmızǝm/ (uyển ngữ, nói tránh): the use of a pleasant, mild ,
comforting, or indirect expression for one that is taboo, negative, offensive or too
direct.
Ex:
- Could you tell me where the restroom is? (= toilet)
- His father has just passed away (= died)
- Caught by a cold, he went to the fathers. (= died)
- She is not beautiful. (= ugly)
- The U.S. decided to help the developing countries. (= poor countries)
- I don’t think you’re right (= you‟re wrong)
- It‟s not bad (= it is fine)
- It wasn’t easy (= it was really difficult)
- Always remember that she is no fool (= she is wise)
Exercise 16: Identify the type of figure of speech used in the following sentences then give
their literal meaning.

1. My hands are as cold as ice.
2. I‟ll make him eat his words.
3. He is the best pen of the day.
4. She has a good head of business.
5. Their Majesty died a year ago.
6. She usually sheds floods of tears whenever she is upset.
7. We need a force of a thousand rifles.
8. You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
9. He washed his hand out of the matter.
10. He looks as though he hasn‟t had a square meal for months.
11. Who brought fire and sword into our country?
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12. Why don‟t you recognize the power of the purse?
13. I found the 52 pounds of books you let for me to carry. Your kindness really moves
me.
14. The man is a demon for work.
15. They organized a fleet of 50 sails.
16. She is a girl of 20 summers.
17. When you take that course, plan to study 30 hours a day.
18. The wind howled angrily around the house all night.
19. Grey hairs should be respected.
20. Spare the rod, spoil the child.
21. Don‟t live in such a sea of doubt.
22. When the White House called, the ambassador came at once.
23. My dormitory room is like a cave.
24. Come to the dormitory and see what a cave I live in.
25. If you are not happy with the service, go and talk to the City Hall.
26. The princess captures the hearts of the nation.

27. He has a kind heart.
28. The river ate the bank away.
29. The captain was in charge of 100 horses.
30. You can depend on Paul; he is a rock when trouble comes.
31. Life is a dream.
32. Research says that these methods are best.
33. Little Susie is a picture of loveliness in her new dress.
25