Word Meaningexample; Goddard 1998 is an accessible introduction to that style of doing
semantics.)
While linguists may claim that the sets of primitives they propose are uni-
versal, no one claims that they are bundled together in the same way in all
languages. For instance, while both English and French both make use of the
component FEMALE, they use it in different ways. Both languages indicate
the female member of certain pairs of words morphologically: lion, lioness;
lion, lionne. However, the two languages differ in that French has separate
(though related) words for MALE and FEMALE cousins (cousin, cousine);
English does not. (For an amusing compilation of words with remarkable
meanings see de Boinod 2006.)
We must also distinguish between central and more marginal aspects of a
word’s meaning. You might argue that cannibal suggests primitiveness, war-
fare, initiation, or absorption of the characteristics of the person devoured.
However, these are not essential components of the meaning of cannibal; a
cannibal is still a cannibal even if he is a highly educated rugby player. The
marginal aspects of the meaning of cannibal can be regarded as its conno-
tations. The connotations of words are often variable across speakers of a
language and typically express emotional associations. Different words that
may be used for the same things may convey different feelings about them;
for example, woman and lady may refer to the same entities, but they convey
rather different attitudes toward them.
Exercise
- (a) Using the components in Table 2 and any others you might need,
identify the meaning components shared by the words in each of the
sets below and the components that distinguish the members of the
sets:
a. ram, ewe, lamb
b. boar, sow, piglet
c. stag, doe, fawn
d. bull, cow, calf
e. stallion, mare, foal, filly, colt
f. man, woman, child, girl, boy
(b) Using the components you identified, characterize the meanings of
ewe, fawn, man, filly. - Examine the words below. Which of the components from Table 2
might the words represent? For each word, identify one component not