Module 1 ELS Semantic of English Moderated

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Aklan Catholic College

Flexible Learning System
ELS 8
Semantic of English
Learning Module 1
Ms. Danielle Muriel G. Suamen

Course Instructor
Contact information
Email: msdaniellesuamen@gmail.com
Mobile number: 0930 473 8957
Facebook profile: Danielle Muriel Suamen
Semantic of English| Module 1 Aklan Catholic College HED

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Aklan Catholic College

Archbishop Gabriel M. Reyes St.
5600 Kalibo, Aklan, Philippines
Tel. Nos. : (036)268-4152 ; 268-9171
Fax No.: (036)268-4010
Website: http://www.acc.edu.ph
E-mail Add: aklancollege@yahoo.com
ACC Flexible Learning System
Learner Module
Semantic of English
Module no.: 1 of 2
FL Design: CorreL (Correspondence Learning)
Course Code & Title: ELS 8– Semantic of English
Course Description: This course deals with the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences in the English
language. It is developed to introduce principles of linguistic semantics and focus on the English language
and in the attention it gives to the lexical and grammatical devices that English employs to express
meanings. Students begin by discovering the value and fascination of the subject and then move through
all key topics in the field, including sense and reference, simple logic, word meaning, and interpersonal
meaning. Quizzes and activities have been added to the end of each lesson to help reinforce and test
learning. Students at the end of this course, should finish with a sense of what semantics is about and how
semantic analysis is done; they should also have a deeper appreciation of English and of the nature of
language in general.
Outcomes: At the end of the course the learner should have
1. discussed the basic ideas of semantics;

2. examined the specific features and meaning of communication;
3. analyzing basic notions and dimensions of semantic meaning;
4. classifying structure of proposition and semantic roles;
5. constructed meaning among different lexical relationships;
6. distinguished three ways in making meaning through reference;
7. analyzed the form of sentences and the purpose of utterances; and
8. interpreted figurative or non-literal meaning of language.
Introduction to the Module
This is Module 1 of 2 of the course ELS8 – Semantic of English. This learner module is developed for
the flexible learning program of Aklan Catholic College and programmed to run for at least a week. This
module tackles the first four outcomes of the course:
1. discussing the basic ideas of semantics;

2. examining the specific features and meaning of communication;
3. analyzing basic notions and dimensions of semantic meaning;
4. classifying structure of proposition and its semantic roles;
This module will tackle the primary concepts of grammar, form, and structure-class words. This
module will provide contextualized examples in better analyzation of texts that shows rules of how
language and grammar work.
This module is primarily used at home and it takes advantage of task-based approach to education
and self-paced learning. Success of learning would essentially depend on the collaboration between the
instructor and the learner and the commitment of the learner to self-directed learning.
How to use this Module

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Below is a learning program or sample learning cycle prepared by the module developer to help you
navigate your way through the module works. You are highly encouraged to follow the program to increase
the success rate in using the module.
It is very important that every time you begin work on your module that you begin with a prayer for
guidance, openness, clarity of mind, and wisdom. At the end of each module work, say a prayer of
gratitude, guidance, and passion to put into good use what you have learned. See the prayer page for the
prayers we say before and after each learning session.
It can also be an effective practice in this course to maximize your learning in this module by reading,
watching, and examining current news and relating observed sentence formation from the things you see
and read with the understanding you have learned from the lessons.
As this module comes with reading materials and a dual flash drive containing learning media, you
should study thoroughly all the required readings and other media cited in the concept notes. All readings
and media written in bold in the concept notes can be found in the dual flash drive. If you have any issues
in accessing the content of the dual flash drive, please contact your instructor right away.
You are also encouraged to study supplementary materials provided in the dual flash drive. It is wise
that you review first the outline of the module and the guide questions in each lesson to get an overview of
the module. This will help you create a focus to facilitate answering the quizzes and written test and
performing the activities and the task in each lesson.
It is recommended that you complete two lessons a day so that you can have ample time to prepare
for the written test and for the task performance.
Sample learning cycle
To keep you on track of your learning task you can create a plan or program of your home-based
learning. Creating a routine of learning task will help you create a focus that is essential for your success in
this learning modality.
The table below is a sample of a personal learning plan. You are encouraged to use the same
template or create one that works better for you. It is also important to coordinate this schedule with your
instructor and your assigned peer.
Module 1 Week 1
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5
Course Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri
 Opening Prayer  Opening Prayer
GRizal  Study all  Study all
materials materials
8:00 – 11:00  Answer quizzes  Answer quizzes
AM  Perform  Perform
activities activities
 Work with peer  Work with peer
 Write reflection  Write reflection
 Closing Prayer Closing Prayer
GArtApp  Study all  Study all
materials materials
NN  Perform  Perform
Closing Prayer Closing Prayer

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GReadingPH  Study all  Study all
materials materials
PM  Perform  Perform
Closing Prayer Closing Prayer
For activities that require writing, write legibly as this will helps a lot on how you successfully get your
ideas across. You can write in extra sheets of paper if necessary. If available, you can process your
responses on Microsoft office and print or store soft copy in the dual flash drive. Extra sheets of paper
should be inserted between the pages where the activity can be found. Don’t forget to label these extra
sheets or soft copies with your name and the title of the activity.
Make sure to take all the quizzes and written test and to perform each activity with care and diligence.
Some activities may be performed individually while some activities may require collaboration with your
peer.
For collaborative activities, called Peer work in this module, your instructor will provide the name and
mobile number of the students with whom you will collaborate. The Peer work is one of the most essential
features of this module and will mean a lot for learning to succeed as we recognized that you can learn
better if you share insights and perspectives with another. The peer work may be done through phone calls
or text messaging. If better channels are accessible at the time of the activity such as chat or forum, make
use of better channel. If connecting with your designated peer through the most basic means is impossible,
try your best to solicit ideas from members of your household on the questions, statements, or instructions
contained in the peer work.
Once you have completed this module, place this module and all required outputs for the week in the
learning packet to prepare them for collection. Make sure to recheck your submissions especially soft
copies that you have stored in the dual flash drive. If you are having any trouble in storing the files into
your dual flash drive, please contact your instructor right away.
Course Requirements
1. Quizzes (10%)
2. Activities (20%)
3. Peer work
4. Reflection
5. Written Test (20%)
6. Task Performance (50%)

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Table of Contents
Lesson 1 –Discussing the basic ideas of semantics
Intended Learning Outcomes …………………………………………………………………….. 6

Instructions …………………………………………………………………….. 6
Guide Questions …………………………………………………………………….. 6
Concept Notes …………………………………………………………………….. 6
Instructions for supplementary materials ………………………………………………………….. 8
Lesson 2 –Examining the specific features and meaning of communication

Instructions …………………………………………………………………….. 9
Guide Questions …………………………………………………………………….. 9
Concept Notes …………………………………………………………………….. 9
Lesson 3 – Classifying basic notions and dimensions of semantic meaning

Instructions …………………………………………………………………….. 12
Guide Questions …………………………………………………………………….. 12
Concept Notes …………………………………………………………………….. 12
Lesson 4 – Analyzing structure of proposition and its semantic roles

Instructions …………………………………………………………………….. 15
Guide Questions …………………………………………………………………….. 15
Concept Notes …………………………………………………………………….. 15
Instructions for supplementary materials ......................………………………………………….. 18
Learning Activity Sheets
Peer works (L1) …………………………………………………………………….. 19

Quiz (L1) …………………………………………………………………….. 20
Activities (L1) …………………………………………………………………….. 21-22
Reflection (L1) …………………………………………………………………….. 23
Peer works (L2) …………………………………………………………………….. 24

Quiz (L2) …………………………………………………………………….. 25
Activities (L2) …………………………………………………………………….. 26-27
Reflection (L2) …………………………………………………………………….. 28
Peer works (L3) …………………………………………………………………….. 29

Quiz (L3) …………………………………………………………………….. 30
Activities (L3) …………………………………………………………………….. 31
Reflection (L3) …………………………………………………………………….. 32
Peer works (L4) …………………………………………………………………….. 33

Quiz (L4) …………………………………………………………………….. 34
Activities (L4) …………………………………………………………………….. 35-36
Reflection (L4) …………………………………………………………………….. 37
Written Test …………………………………………………………………….. 38
Performance Task …………………………………………………………………….. 40

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Discussing the Basic Ideas of Semantics

Lesson 1
I. Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, the learner will have
1. defining the meaning and nature of semantics;
2. determining aspects of speaker’s semantic knowledge; and
3. explained aspects of a sentence’ semantic meaning.
II. General Instructions

1. Read the guide questions
2. Study the concept notes. Refer to materials cited for further understanding.
3. Study supplementary materials for additional information
4. Work with peer
5. Take the quiz
6. Perform the activity
7. Fill out the reflection page
III. Guide questions

Use these guide questions to navigate through the concept note and additional readings and media.
Keep them in mind while studying. You can use a separate note to pick up answers from the materials as
move along them.
1. How can you describe semantic and linguistic semantics?
2. From your experience, what are the ways in which you interpret a someone’s message?
IV. Concept Notes
It may seem to you that meaning is so vague, insubstantial, and elusive that it is impossible to come to
any clear, concrete, or tangible conclusions about it. However, by careful thought about the language
you speak and the way it is used, definite conclusions can be arrived at concerning meaning.
What is semantics? What nature and expression of meaning do speakers have in their language? In
this lesson, we will be introduced of the meaning of semantics and how one goes about investigating
and understanding this branch of linguistics.
Linguists want to understand how language works. Linguistics is concerned with identifying the
Meaningful elements of specific languages, for example, English words like paint and happy and affixes
like the -er of painter and the un- of unhappy. It is concerned with describing how such elements go
together to express more complex meanings—in phrases like the unhappy painter and sentences like The
painter is unhappy—and telling how these are related to each other. Linguistics also deals with the
meanings expressed by modulations of a speaker’s voice and the processes by which hearers and readers
relate new information to the information they already have (Kreidler, 2002).
Semantics is the systematic study of meaning, and linguistic semantics is the study of how languages
organize and express meanings.
According to Yule (2010) Semantics is the study of the meaning of words, phrases and sentences. In
semantic analysis, there is always an attempt to focus on what the words conventionally mean, rather than
on what a speaker might want the words to mean on a particular occasion. This technical approach to
meaning emphasizes the objective and the general. It avoids the subjective and the local. Linguistic
semantics deals with the conventional meaning conveyed by the use of words and sentences of a
language.
The word mean can be applied to people who use language, i.e. to speakers (and authors), in
roughly the sense of ‘intend’. And it can be applied to words and sentences in a different sense, roughly
expressed as ‘be equivalent to’. The first step in working out a theory of what meaning is, is to recognize

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this distinction clearly and always to keep in mind whether we are talking about what speakers mean or
what words (or sentences) mean (Hurford J., Heasly B., and Smith M., 2007).
The following two definitions encapsulate this essential distinction.
 SPEAKER MEANING is what a speaker means (i.e. intends to convey) when he uses a piece of
language.
 SENTENCE MEANING (or WORD MEANING) is what a sentence (or word) means, i.e. what it
counts as the equivalent of in the language concerned.
Read the following conversation between two people, A and B, at a bus stop one morning.
A: ‘Nice day’
B: ‘Yes, a bit warmer than yesterday, isn’t it?’
A: ‘That’s right – one day fine, the next cooler’
B: ‘I expect it might get cooler again tomorrow’
A: ‘Maybe – you never know what to expect, do you?’
B: ‘No. Have you been away on holiday?’
A: ‘Yes, we went to Spain’
B: ‘Did you? We’re going to France next month’
A: ‘Oh. Are you? That’ll be nice for the family. Do they speak French?’
B: ‘Sheila’s quite good at it, and we’re hoping Martin will improve’
A: ‘I expect he will. I do hope you have a good time’
B: ‘Thank you. By the way, has the 42 bus gone by yet? It seems to be late’
A: ‘No. I’ve been here since eight o’clock and I haven’t seen it’
B: ‘Good. I don’t want to be late for work. What time is it now?’
A: ‘Twenty-five past eight’\
All the things said in this conversation are meaningful in one way or another. But one must not equate
meaningfulness with informativeness in a narrow sense. While it is true that many sentences do carry
information in a straightforward way, it is also true that many sentences are used by speakers not to give
information at all, but to keep the social wheels turning smoothly.
If it is hard to say what meaning is, it is fairly easy to show what knowledge speakers have about
meanings in their language and therefore what things must be included in an account of semantics
(Bierwisch 1970:167–75; Dillon 1977:1–6).
Ten Aspects of a Speaker’s Semantic Knowledge
1. Speakers know, in a general way, whether something is or is not meaningful in their language.
2. Speakers of a language generally agree as to when two sentences have essentially the same
meaning and when they do not.
3. Speakers generally agree when two words have essentially the same meaning—in a given
context. In each sentence below one word is underlined. Following the sentence is a group of
words, one of which can replace the underlined word without changing the meaning of the
sentence.
a. Where did you purchase these tools?
use/ buy/ release/ modify/ take
b. At the end of the street we saw two enormous statues
pink/ smooth/ nice/ huge/ original
4. Speakers recognize when the meaning of one sentence contradicts another sentence.
5. Speakers generally agree when two words have opposite meanings in a given context.
6. Synonyms and antonyms have to have some common element of meaning in order to be,
respectively, the same or different. Words can have some element of meaning without being
synonymous or antonymous.
7. Some sentences have double meanings; they can be interpreted in two ways. Speakers are
aware of this fact because they appreciate jokes which depend on two-way interpretation, like
the following.
a. Marjorie doesn’t care for her parakeet.
(doesn’t like it; doesn’t take care of it)
b. Marjorie took the sick parakeet to a small animal hospital.
(small hospital for animals; hospital for small animals)
A sentence that has two meanings is ambiguous—an example of ambiguity.

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8. Speakers know how language is used when people interact. If one person asks a question or
makes a remark, there are various possible answers to the question or replies one might make to
the remark. Thus, for the question in A some answers are suggested, of which all but one might
be appropriate. Similarly, the statement in B is followed by several possible rejoinders, all but
one of which could be appropriate.
a. When did you last see my brother?
Ten minutes ago. Last Tuesday. Very nice.
Around noon. I think it was on the first of June.
b. There’s a great new comedy at the Oldtown Playhouse.
So I’ve heard. What’s it called? When did it open?
So do I. Are you sure it’s a comedy?
When a question and an answer, or any two utterances, can go together in a conversation and
the second is obviously related to the first, they constitute an adjacency pair. The ability to deal
with adjacency pairs is part of any speaker’s implicit knowledge.
9. Speakers are aware that two statements may be related in such a way that if one is true, the
other must also be true.
a. There are tulips in the garden.
b. There are flowers in the garden.
c. The ladder is too short to reach the roof.
d. The ladder isn’t long enough to reach the roof.
These pairs of sentences are examples of entailment. Assuming that A and B are about the same
garden, the truth of A entails the truth B, that is, if A is true, B must also be true. Likewise, assuming the
same ladder and roof, the truth of C entails the truth of D.
10. Speakers know that the message conveyed in one sentence may presuppose other pieces of
knowledge. For instance, if A is accepted as true, B–E must also be accepted as true.
a. Andy Murfee usually drives his Datsun to work.
b. There is a person named Andy Murfee.
c. Andy Murfee works.
d. There is a Datsun that belongs to Andy Murfee.
e. Andy Murfee knows how to drive an automobile.
Speakers of a language have an implicit knowledge about what is meaningful in their language,
and it is easy to show this. In our account of what that knowledge is, we introduced ten technical terms:
anomaly; paraphrase; synonymy; semantic feature; antonymy; contradiction; ambiguity; adjacency pairs;
entailment and presupposition.
If you need to understand more about the nature and basic ideas of semantics, read Chapter 1:
The study of meaning in Introducing English Semantics by Kreidler, C.W. (1998) and watch
Semantics: Crash Course Linguistics stored in your flash drive. You can access this through your
mobile device, tablets or laptops.
Want to know more?
Check out Unit 1: Basic Ideas in Semantics in Semantics: A Coursebook by Hurford J., Heasly B.,
and Smith M. (2007).
References
1. Hurford J., Heasly B., and Smith M. (2007). Semantics: A coursebook. U.S.A: Cambridge
University Press, New York
2. Kreidler, C.W. (1998). Introducing English semantics. U.S.A.: Taylor &Francis e-Library
3. Yule, G. (2010). The study of language. (4th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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4. Taylor Behnke. (2020, October 10). Semantics: Crash Course Linguistics. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6geQjY8b7sA
Examining the Specific Features and Meaning of Communication

Lesson 2

At the end of the lesson, the learners will have
1. explain how prosody may affect meaning;
2. distinguished notions of sentences and utterances;
3. analyzing specific features in semantics from a given statements.

1. Read the guide questions.
4. Work with peer
5. Take the quiz
III. Guide Questions

Use this guide questions to navigate through the concept note and additional readings and media.
Keep them in mind while studying. You can use a separate note to pick up answers from the
materials as move along them.
1. What are the differences among sentences and utterances in terms of its semantic meaning?
2. Why is it important to distinguish sentence from an utterance?
3. How can prosody help interpret meaning from a statement?
IV.Concept Notes
Anything meaningful in a language is a linguistic expression. Linguistic expressions may be of various
length. The notion that every word has a single meaning and every meaning is expressed by just one word
is utterly wrong and an obstacle to recognizing the complexities in meaningful expressions and in the
meanings expressed. It is important to know that different pieces of language can have different meanings
in different contexts.
In this lesson we look more at the specific features of communication, beginning with the distinction
between a sentence, a language construction, and an utterance, a particular act of speaking or writing. An
utterance is typically part of a larger discourse. We will also be introduced in spoken discourse meanings
that are partly communicated by the emphases and melodies called prosody.
UTTERANCE AND SENTENCE
To start this lesson, try to read the three fictitious events stated below and see how each can be
interpreted differently:
1. A beggar who has not eaten all day says “I’m hungry”
2. A child who hopes to put off going to bed announces “I’m hungry”.
3. A young man who hopes to get better acquainted with one of his co-workers and intends to ask
her to have dinner with him begins with the statement “I’m hungry.”

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The three events obviously have something in common and yet, just as obviously, they are different:
they indicate different intentions and are liable to be interpreted differently because the situations and the
participants are different. Each of the three speech events illustrated above is a different utterance, and we
write an utterance with quotation marks: “I’m hungry.” Each utterance contains the same sentence, which
we write with italics: I’m hungry.
An utterance is an act of speech or writing; it is a specific event, at a particular time and place and
involving at least one person, the one who produces the utterance, but usually more than one person. An
utterance happens just once; a spoken utterance happens and then, unless it is recorded electronically, it
ceases to exist; a written utterance is intended to last—for a short time in the case of a shopping list, for
instance, or much longer, as in the case of a book.
A sentence, on the other hand, is not an event; it is a construction of words (in English or whatever
language) in a particular sequence which is meaningful (in that language). In our illustration each of the
three utterances contains the meaning of the sentence, and each utterance has an extra meaning or
meanings because of the circumstances in which it occurs. The meaning of a sentence is determined by
the language, something known to all people who have learned to use that language. It is the meanings of
the individual words and the meaning of the syntactic construction in which they occur.
Remember that…
 It is important to distinguish between linguistic meaning, what is communicated by particular
pieces of language, and utterance meaning, what a certain individual meant by saying such-and-
such in a particular place, at a particular time, and to certain other individuals.
 An utterance is often part of a larger discourse—a conversation, a formal lecture, a poem, a short
story, a business letter, or a love letter, among other possibilities.
 In discourse, an implicature may take place. An implicature is a bridge constructed by the hearer
(or reader) to relate one utterance to some previous utterance, and often the hearer or reader
makes this connection unconsciously. Try to examine the following example:
Jim: Would you like to go dancing tomorrow night?
Laura: We have guests coming from out of town.
(Has Laura answered Jim’s question? If so, what is her answer? Has she answered a question
that he didn’t ask? If so, what is the question?)
If you want to study more on Utterance and Sentence, read Chapter 2 (page 26) of Introducing
English Semantics by Charles Kreidler stored in your storage device and uploaded in this class’ Google
classroom.
PROSODY
In speech meanings are communicated not merely by what is said but also by the way it is said. Read
these four brief dialogues.
1 A: Has the Winston Street bus come yet?
B: Sorry. I didn’t understand. What did you say?
2 C: I’m afraid Fred didn’t like the remark I made.
D: Oh? What did you say?
3 E: Some of my partners said they wouldn’t accept these terms.
F: And you? What did you say?
4 G: You’re misquoting me. I didn’t say anything like that.
H: Oh? What did you say?
The sequence of words “What did you say?” occurs in all four dialogues but it is pronounced differently in
each. We produce all our spoken utterances with a melody, or intonation: by changing the speed with
which the vocal bands in the throat vibrate we produce rising or falling pitch or combinations of rise and
fall.
By making one syllable in a sense-group especially loud and long, usually where the change of pitch
occurs, we endow that word with a special prominence called accent. Intonation and accent together
constitute prosody, the meaningful elements of speech apart from the words that are uttered.

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Here are some common distinctions made with intonation in utterances that have the same verbal
material.
1. Statement vs question (fall vs rise)

¯ ↓ Yes. ↑ Yes? ↓This is the place. ↑This is the place?
2. Parallel structure vs antithesis (fall vs fall and rise)
This is my sister, ↓ Ellen.
This is my ↓ sister, ↑ Ellen.
3. Open question vs alternative question (rise vs rise, fall)
Do you have a ↑ pencil or a pen?
Do you have a ↑ pencil or a ↓ pen?
In summary, intonation may have a role in distinguishing one meaning (that is, speaker’s intention) from
another, but it seldom has the sole burden of communicating a meaning. We interpret an utterance
according to its position in a discourse, our knowledge of the speaker, our recognition of how things are in
our world (Couper-Kuhlen 1986:209).
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Aside from what we say to one another through the verbal content and the prosody of spoken
utterances, we can, in face-to-face communication, transmit less systematic messages to one another by
means of audible and visible signs that are not part of language. In addition, our voice or our appearance
may have an effect on other participants in a conversation and therefore have an effect on the way our
verbal messages are interpreted.
In speech situations some meanings are conveyed by nonlinguistic matters. These include the following:
1. Paralanguage - using the voice, as part of the spoken utterance, which cannot be considered
either signs or part of language. These include laughing, giggling, crying (which need not
accompany an utterance); whisper, falsetto, a quavering or ‘breaking’ voice; and other
elements that are vocal but not verbal: the relative loudness or softness of the voice, high or
low pitch, the modulations of pitch from a near monotone to an exaggerated rising and falling,
a nasal quality, a rasping sound, the tempo of speech—the speed at which a whole utterance
is delivered or the relative timing of syllables.
2. Appearance- clothing, hair style, jewelry, cosmetics, facial hair and what is done with it—
have an effect on others, intentional or not. The distance between interlocutors and whether
they touch each other or not depends on tacit standards that each of us learns from the
culture in which we grow up. Whether we sit on the floor or on chairs, cross our legs at the
ankles, over the knees, or not at all—these ‘say’ something about a person’s cultural
background.
3. Gestures - for instance, gestures with hand or whole body, such as pounding on a table with
a finger or a fist, and facial gestures like pursing one’s lips, arching the eyebrows, opening
the eyes wide, squinting, or fluttering the eyelids—are not conventional signals and do not
have meanings in themselves; they may lead an observer to form some particular impression
of the speaker, which in turn may have an effect on how the hearer interprets.
4. Silence. - The failure to use language—silence—at a particular juncture can likewise be
expressive.
Thus, a face-to-face communication event contains linguistic and non-linguistic elements like these:
 Linguistic:
vocal and verbal—words put together to form utterances (representing sentences)
vocal and non-verbal—prosody, the intonation and accenting with which utterances are spoken
 Non-linguistic:
Vocal—paralanguage, the “tone of voice”
non-vocal—distances maintained; appearance; gestures; silence
If you need to understand more about this lesson, read Chapter 2: Language in use in Introducing
English Semantics by Kreidler. You can access this through your mobile device, tablets or laptops.

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Want to know more?

Check out Unit 2: Sentences, utterances, and propositions in Semantics: A coursebook stored in
your storage device in your learning packet. You can access this through your mobile device, tablets or
laptops.
References
2. Kreidler, C.W. (1998). Introducing English semantics. U.S.A.: Taylor & Francis e-Library
3. Yule, G. (2010). The study of language. (4th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Analyzing Basic notions and Dimensions of Semantic Meaning

Lesson 3

At the end of this lesson, the learner will have
1. identified basic notions and dimensions of semantic meaning;
2. determined lexical and grammatical meaning; and
3. analyzed the different dimensions of meaning according to how it is used.

4. Work with peer
5. Take the quiz

Use these guide questions to navigate through the keynotes and additional readings and media. Keep
them in mind while studying. You can use a separate note to pick up answers from the materials as
move along them.
1. How can you differentiate lexical meaning from grammatical meaning?
2. What can be the causes of lexical ambiguity?
3. How can you differentiate connotation from denotation? Give some examples.
IV. Concept Notes
Anything meaningful in a language is a linguistic expression. Linguistic expressions may be of

various length. We recognize three units of meaning: morphemes (which may be less than a word),
lexemes (roughly, words and idioms), and sentences.
In this lesson, we introduce a distinction between lexemes, which have semantic relations outside
of language, and function words, which contribute grammatical meanings to utterances. A lexeme may
consist of one or more meaningful units, called morphemes, and we discuss different kinds of morphemes.
Every lexeme is a combination of form and meaning. Generally, we can recognize three aspects of
meaning in lexemes: the relation to phenomena outside language, the relation to people’s attitudes and
feelings and the relation to other lexemes. Two lexemes that have the same form (pronunciation, spelling)
are homonyms; a single lexeme with a wide range of meanings is polysemous; but it is not always easy to
decide if apparently different meanings for one form represent a range of meanings belonging to a single
lexeme or meanings of different lexemes, which are homonyms.
DIMENSIONS OF SEMANTIC MEANING
1. Reference and Denotation

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The notion that every word has a single meaning and every meaning is expressed by just one
word is utterly wrong and an obstacle to recognizing the complexities in meaningful expressions and in the
meanings expressed.
Ogden and Richards Mentalistic Theory:
concept
word object
Ogden and Richard called the bond between word and concept an ‘association,’ the bond between
concept and object ‘reference,’ and the bond between object and word ‘meaning.’
Reference is the relation between a language expression such as this door, both doors, the dog, another
dog and whatever the expression pertains to in a particular situation of language use, including what a
speaker may imagine.
Denotation is the potential of a word like door or dog to enter into such language expressions.
Reference is the way speakers and hearers use an expression successfully; denotation
is the knowledge they have that makes their use successful.
Language furnishes the means for expressing a wide range of attitudes; this aspect of meaning is called
connotation. Another aspect is sense relations: the meaning of any expression varies with context, what
other expressions it occurs with and what expressions it contrasts with.
2. Connotation
The word dog has a certain denotation, the possibility of entering into numerous referring
expressions. However, the meaning can also include the attitudes of a society and of individuals, the
pragmatic aspect. It would be wrong to think that a purely biological definition of the lexeme dog is a
sufficient account of its meaning. Part of its meaning is its connotation, the affective or emotional
associations it elicits, which clearly need not be the same for all people who know and use the word.
Connotation refers to the personal aspect of meaning, the emotional associations that the word
arouses. Connotations vary according to the experience of individuals but, because people do have
common experiences, some words have shared connotations.
3. Sense relations
What a word means depends in part on its associations with other words, the relational aspect.
The meaning that a lexeme has because of the relationships it is associated with is the sense of that
lexeme. Part of this relationship is seen in the way words do, or do not, go together meaningfully.
Example:
It makes sense to say John walked and it makes sense to say An hour elapsed. It doesn’t make
sense to say John elapsed or An hour walked.
4. Grammatical meanings
Grammatical meanings are expressed in various ways: the arrangement of words (referring
expression before the predicate, for instance), by grammatical affixes like the -s attached to the noun dog
and the -ed attached to the verb bark, and by grammatical words, or function words, like: do (in the form
did), not, a, some, and the.
5. Homonymy and Polysemy

In homonyms, such as bank ‘a financial institution’ and bank ‘the edge of a stream,’ pronunciation
and spelling are identical but meanings are unrelated. In other pairs, numerous in English, such as steak
and stake, pronunciation is identical but spelling is different.
English also has pairs of homographs (heteronymy), two words that have different pronunciations
but the same spelling; for example, bow, rhyming with go and referring to an instrument for shooting
arrows, and bow, rhyming with cow and indicating a bending of the body as a form of respectful greeting.

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Polysemy is when a lexeme has several (apparently) related meanings. Example: The noun
head, for instance, seems to have related meanings when we speak of the head of a person, the head of a
company, head of a table or bed, a head of lettuce or cabbage.
6. Lexical ambiguity
When homonyms can occur in the same position in utterances, the result is lexical ambiguity, as
in, for example, “I was on my way to the bank.”.
Ambiguity may also occur because a longer linguistic form has a literal sense and a figurative
sense. For example, in the sentence, “There’s a skeleton in our closet.” Skeleton in the closet can mean
‘an unfortunate event that is kept a family secret.’ With this meaning skeleton in the closet is a single
lexeme; with its ‘literal’ meaning it is a phrase composed of several lexemes.
7. Sentence meaning
The meaning of a sentence can be first, derived from the meanings of its constituent lexemes and
from the grammatical meanings it contains. Second, at least if the sentence is a statement, if you know the
meaning of the sentence, you know what conditions are necessary in the world for that sentence to be
true.
Example:
Albert Thompson opened the first flour mill in Waterton.
You don’t know whether this sentence is true or not, but you know that if it is true, there must exist (at
some time) a person named Albert Thompson and a place called Waterton (presuppositions), that Albert
Thompson opened a flour mill, and that there was no flour mill in Waterton before Albert Thompson
opened his mill (entailments). You know that if this sentence is true, the sentence Albert Thompson did not
open the first flour mill in Waterton is false (a contradiction). This process of making meaning is called
Truth-conditional semantics (the study of meaning through a consideration of the conditions that must exist
for a sentence to be true, and how the truth of one sentence relates to the truth or falsity of other
sentences.)
The notion that every word has a single meaning and every meaning is expressed by just one
word is utterly wrong and an obstacle to recognizing the complexities in meaningful expressions and in the
meanings expressed.
If you need to understand more about the dimensions of meaning, read Chapter 3: Dimensions of
meaning in Introducing English Semantics by Kreidler and visit this page:
http://web.mnstate.edu/houtsli/tesl551/Semantics/page2.htm, to further learn about the kinds of
relationships between the word.
Want to know more?
Check out Language, The Loaded Weapon. Chapters 7 and 8 (58–88).
References
2. Kreidler, C.W. (1998). Introducing English semantics. U.S.A.: Taylor &Francis e-Library
Press.
4. JTA Technology Consulting. (2010, December 5). Connections between words
[Webpage]. Retrieved from http://web.mnstate.edu/houtsli/tesl551/Semantics/page2.htm

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Classifying Structure of Proposition and Semantic Roles

Lesson 4

At the end of this lesson, the learner will have:
1. distinguish sentence from a proposition in terms of semantic roles of specific terms; and
2. classified the various roles referents that noun phrases have.

4. Work with peer
5. Take the quiz

Use these guide questions to navigate through the concept note and additional readings and media.
Keep them in mind while studying. You can use a separate note to pick up answers from the materials as
you move along them.
1. How can you differentiate a sentence from a proposition?
2. What are the various roles referents of noun phrases can have?
IV. Concept Notes
A sentence contains certain information, but the same information can be presented in different
sentences and in parts of sentences; the information presented, apart from the way it is presented, is
called a proposition. A proposition can be seen as consisting of a predicate and various noun
phrases (referring expressions), each of which has a different role.
In this lesson we explore the structures of propositions and the various roles that the referents of
noun phrases can have.
SENTENCE AND PROPOSITION
Before we begin in this lesson, try to examine and compare these three language expressions:
1. We walk in the park
2. our walk in the park
3. for us to walk in the park

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Do all of these three expressions generate a complete thought? What can be considered as a
sentence among the three?
A traditional way of defining a sentence is ‘something that expresses a complete thought.’ This
definition is a rather strange way of explaining since it assumes that we know what a complete thought is
and with this knowledge can determine whether something is or is not a sentence.
We call the first given expression is a complete sentence, and in writing we begin with a capital
letter and end with a period. We say the other two are not complete sentences. But all three expressions
have the same semantic content, the same relation to an action or possible action performed in a certain
place by two or more people, one of whom is the speaker or writer. The difference is grammatical. The first
expression asserts something, makes a statement. The other two expressions can be parts of statements.
The semantic content shared by the three expressions is a proposition. A simple statement like
We walk in the park expresses a single proposition, something presented as a fact and therefore subject to
verification; generally speaking, one can find out if the proposition is true or false. We don’t walk in the
park is the negation of this proposition, and Do we walk in the park? is a question about it.
A proposition can be expressed in different sentences.

2a Helen put on a sweater.
2b Helen put a sweater on.
These are different English sentences, but they convey the same message— they express the
same proposition.
3a Richard wrote the report.
3b Richard is the one who wrote the report.
3c The report was written by Richard.
3d The report is what Richard wrote.
We may say that these four sentences also express a single proposition but they differ in focus:
3b and 3c give a special emphasis to Richard, 3d emphasizes the report, and 3a has no particular focus.
In the approach taken here, a proposition does not have a focus; a sentence may add a focus and may
add the focus in different places and in different ways.
A proposition is something abstract but meaningful. It can be expressed in different sentences
and in parts of sentences, perhaps with differences of focus but always with the same basic meaning.
An English sentence has certain kinds of modification that, together, we call inflection. Inflection
includes tense (the distinction between present walk and past walked, for instance); aspect (are walking,
have walked), and modality (may walk, could walk, should walk, among other possibilities). Tense, aspect
and modality can be combined, as in were walking, should be walking, would have walked.
The description of a proposition is a semantic analysis.

The semantic analysis deals with meaning, the proposition expressed in the sentence, not
necessarily with all the function words in the sentence. In semantic analysis we first separate Inflection
from Proposition. In semantic analysis every proposition contains one predicate and a varying number of
referring expressions (noun phrases) called arguments, like a window, Albert, marmalade, the house.
The arguments that accompany the predicate have different semantic functions, or roles, in the
proposition. What roles they have depends partly on the nature of the predicate and partly on their own
meanings.
SEMANTIC ROLES
Every simple sentence—every proposition—has one predicate and a varying number of referring
expressions, or arguments. The meaning of a predicate is determined in part by how many arguments it
may have and what role those arguments have. For example, the sentences A window broke, A rope
broke, A plate broke all contain the verb break and a single argument.
In the sentences A window broke, etc. the referring expressions a window, a rope, a plate have
the same role, the same relation to the verb break.
Different predicates—verbs, adjectives, prepositions—can be described according to the number
of referring expressions, or arguments, that can occur with them and the roles these arguments have. An
account of the number of arguments that a predicate has is called the valency of that predicate. Valency
theory is a description of the semantic potential of predicates in terms of the number and types of
arguments which may co-occur with them.
For example:

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Some predicates, such as break, have variable valency: a valency of one in A window broke
and a valency of two in Tom broke a window.
DIFFERENT VALENCIES
o Valency Zero
Example: It is snowing.
The sentence above has the verb snow, and the subject is it, but it doesn’t name
anything. The sentence has a subject because English requires a subject, but this subject does
not correspond to anything in the underlying proposition. We say that snow is a zero-argument
verb.
o Valency One
Example: My brother snores.
The sentence above has the verb snore and a subject my brother. A lot of verbs are like
snore: they have a subject but no object. They are intransitive verbs or, in our terminology, one-
argument predicates.
Other one-argument verbs appear in the sentences below.
1. The dog is sleeping.
2. Larry laughed.
3. The earth rotates.
4. Grandfather died (last week).

5. A volcano erupted.
6. The cake fell
In the first group of examples, 1–3, the predicates sleep, laugh and rotate express
actions; they tell what the dog, Larry and the earth do, respectively. Consequently, each of these
arguments names an actor that carries out the action.
Turning to the second group, 4–6, it would be possible to say that Grandfather and a
volcano and the cake did something and the respective predicates tell what they did, but these
predicates are not like those of the first group. The predicates die, erupt, fall tell of an event, a
change in the condition of the entity named by the argument, and the entity named in the
argument undergoes this change, is affected by it. The structure of this group of sentences is:
 Argument – affected – Grandfather, volcano, cake
 Predicate – event – die, erupt, fall
In the sentence, This man is a carpenter has a referring expression as predicate. The
predicate in some way provides an identity for the entity named by the subject, as one or more of
a kind (a carpenter).
o Valency Two
Example: Chris is making an omelet.
Most verbs take a subject and an object; they are two-argument predicates. One of them
is make, illustrated in sentence above. Other examples are need and use. We can’t simply say
*Chris is making or *I need or *Sue used. A statement with make must contain a mention of who
makes and what is made, and likewise with need and use.
The sentence, The cat killed a rat denotes an agent and the second argument names
the entity affected. An agent is involved in an action that has some effect on another entity or
entities; an actor, on the other hand, is involved in some action (e.g. running) that has no
necessary effect on others.

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In sentences: The decision surprised us all and You’re disturbing everybody the
predicate expresses an affect, the first argument names the entity that affects—that has the
affecting role—and the second argument names the entity that is affected.
Our next following sentences are about neither action nor affecting. The predicate
merely acts as a link between one argument, a theme, and another argument, its associate. The
predicate is a linking, or relational, predicate:
1. Sheila is like her mother.

2. This present is for you.
3. Tom is with Ann.
4. The book is about fossils.
Semantic Roles Summary
Actor The role of an argument that performs some action without affecting any other entity.
Sylvia left.
Affected The role of an argument that undergoes a change due to some event or is affected by
some other entity. A window broke. Tom broke a window. Betty likes opera. Opera
delights Betty.
Affecting The role of an argument that, without any action, affects another entity. Betty likes
opera. Opera delights Betty.
Agent The role of an argument that by its action affects some other entity. Tom broke a
window.
Associate The role of an argument that tells the status or identity of another argument, the theme:
Roger is a student.
Effect The role of an argument that comes into existence through the action of predicate. Tillie
baked a pie.
Place The role of an argument that names the location in which the action of the predicate
occurs. The fireman climbed a ladder.
Theme The role of an argument that is the topic of a predicate that does not express action – a
stative predicate. Audrey is a computer expert.
In conclusion…
a sentence is defined as a composite of inflection and proposition, and a proposition consists of a
subject and a predicate. Inflection includes agreement and tense; agreement is the formal bond between
subject and predicate, a bond that varies considerably from one language to another. Tense is a system of
contrasts that locates the general meaning of the proposition in the past, present or future, from the time-
perspective of the speaker; and different languages have quite different tense systems.
A proposition consists of a predicate and varying numbers of arguments, or referring expressions.
The number of arguments that accompany a particular predicate is called its valency. We have examined
valencies of zero, one, two and three. The meaning of a predicate is partly determined by the valency and
by the semantic roles that these arguments have.
If you need to study further on this lesson, read Chapter 3 Unit 4: Referring expressions (page 36)
and Unit 6: Predicates and referring expression (page 56) in Semantics: A coursebook by Hurford J.,
Heasly B., and Smith M. (2007) that can be accessed in your flash drive.
Want to know more?
Check out Chapter 5: Word meaning (page 194) in Semantics: A coursebook by Hurford J., Heasly
B., and Smith M. (2007), which can be accessed in your flash drive.

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References
2. Kreidler, C.W. (1998). Introducing English semantics. U.S.A.: Taylor &Francis e-Library.
Press.
Peer work (L1)
Name: ______________________________________ Program and year: ___________________
For this section, you have to meet with your assigned peer by communication with them through chatting,
texting, or calling. Earlier you have been given guide questions to keep in mind while you read. With these
questions, discuss with your peers your responses. When done, fill in the field below with the responses of
your peer.
Name of peer: _______________________________________________
1. How can you describe semantic and linguistic semantics?

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2. From your experience, what are the ways in which you interpret someone’s message?

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Quiz (L1)
Name: _______________________________________ Program and year: ___________________
Score: ____________
To test your underpinning knowledge of the concepts and principles covered in lesson 1, take this check-
up quiz.
Instructions: Explain in not more than 5 sentences the following statements.
1. The study of meaning can be undertaken in various ways.
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2. Linguistic semantics is an attempt to explicate the knowledge of any speaker of a language.
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Activity(L1)
Score: ____________
Instructions: Below are ten pairs of sentences. In each pair assume that the first sentence is true. Then
decide what we know about the second sentence, which has the same topic(s). If the first is true, must the
second also be true (T)? Or if the first is true, must the second be false (F)? Or does the truth of the first
tell us nothing about the truth of the second (X)? Write your answers on the space provided in each paired
sentences and explain or justify your identification.
1a Rose is married to Tom.

1b Rose is Tom’s wife.
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2a David is an unmarried adult male.

2b David is a bachelor.
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3a This knife is too dull to cut the rope.

3b This knife isn’t sharp enough to cut the rope.
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4a Victoria likes to sing.

4b Victoria doesn’t sing.
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5a Harold has been here for an hour.

5b Harold is tired of waiting.
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6a Mr Bond has given up smoking.

6b Mr Bond used to smoke.
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7a Mr Bond still smokes.

7b Mr Bond used to smoke.
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8a Oil paintings are more expensive than watercolors.

8b Watercolors cost more than oil paintings.
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9a The Carlson Hotel is more than a century old.

9b The Carlson Hotel has operated for more than a century.
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10a Alice invited some friends to lunch.

10b Alice has friends.
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Semantic of English | Module 1 Aklan Catholic College HED

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Reflection (L1)
Write legibly your reflections in the space provided. You use extra sheets of paper if needed. Label the
extra sheet and insert between these pages.
Here are the questions to help you in your reflection.

1. Why is it important to know the nature and basic ideas of semantics?
2. After learning about semantics, what difficulties have you encountered in this lesson? How can you
address these difficulties?
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Peer work (L2)
For this section, you have to meet with your assigned peer by communication with them through a catting,
texting, or calling. Earlier you have been given guide questions to keep in mind while you read. With these
questions, discuss with your peers your responses. When done, fill in the field below with the responses of
your peer.
Name of peer: _______________________________________________
1. What are the differences among sentences and utterances in terms of its semantic meaning?
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2. Why is it important to distinguish sentence from an utterance?
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3. How can prosody help interpret meaning from a statement?
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Quiz (L2)
Score: ____________
To test your underpinning knowledge on the features and meaning of communication, take this short quiz.
Instructions: Analyze the two following short discourses and identify what could be the implicature that
connects the second utterance to the first. Explain how you were able identify the implication from the
discourse.
1. Barbara: How did you do on the examination?

Barry: I think I’ll just drop this course.
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2. Jim: Would you like to go dancing tomorrow night?

Laura: We have guests coming from out of town.
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Activity (L2)
Score: ____________
A. Instructions: Create two discourses or sets of conversation where one participant answers “Yes, it is”.
The response “Yes, it is” from the two discourse must be interpreted differently when compared.
1. _____________________________________________________________________________
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2. _____________________________________________________________________________
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B. Instructions: For each of the following, fill in an appropriate utterance for B which implicates (but does
not entail) the indicated implicature. There may be several appropriate possibilities
1. A: ‘Let’s see if this store has what we are looking for.’

B: _____________________________________________________________________________
Implicature: The store sells expensive merchandise
2. A: ‘Why don’t we have lunch in this restaurant?’

B: _____________________________________________________________________________
Implicature: The food there is too fattening
3. A: ‘Are the Browns at home?’

B: _____________________________________________________________________________
Implicature: The Browns are usually home when their car is in the drive way
4. A: ‘Should we turn right or left?’

B: _____________________________________________________________________________
Implicature: B isn’t sure which way to turn
5. A: ‘How is your physics course going?’

B: _____________________________________________________________________________

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Implicature: B is having trouble in the course
C. Instructions: The following are 5 stylized gestures that are used by speakers of English. Write down
what each could mean and in what speech situations could it be appropriately use.
1. Hand is held on the stomach, palm inward, and the hand makes a circular movement.
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2. Shoulders are moved upward and down again, possibly repeated.

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3. The palm of one hand is brought up and slaps smartly against the forehead.
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4. Arms crossed over the chest

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5. One hand placed on cheek.

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Reflection (L2)
Write legibly your reflections in the space provided. You can use extra sheets of papers if needed. Label
the extra sheet and insert between these pages.

1. From the things that you have learned in this lesson, what are the most interesting realizations you
had?
2. How will you use what you've learned in this lesson in improving your skill in communication?
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Peer work (L3)
texting, calling. Below are given paired words which may differ in connotation. Discuss with your peer how
each of the pair can have different connotations. When done, fill in the fields below with the responses of
your peer.
Name of peer: _______________________________________________
1. politician, statesman
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2. cautious, timid
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3. inquisitive, nosey
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4. bargain, haggle
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5. sensitive, touchy.
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Quiz (L3)
Score: ____________
To test your underpinning knowledge on the different dimensions of semantic meaning, take this short
quiz.
Instructions: Give a sentence example (that is not included in this lesson’s concept notes) for each of the
following dimension of meaning. Explain how the sentence/example shows that type of dimension of
semantic meaning.
1. Reference
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2. Denotation
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3. Connotation
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4. Lexical ambiguity
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5. Polysemy
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Activity (L3)
Score: ____________
Instructions: It might seem that any name would be appropriate as a label for a commercial product as long
as it is easy to remember. However, companies with products to sell make great expenditures of time,
talent and money to select brand names which will project the preferred ‘image’ for cars, cosmetics,
detergents et al., but names are often chosen for their connotation rather than for what they denote.
Why is Caterpillar a good name for an earth-moving tractor but not for a sports car? How would
you rank the following as possible names for a sports car: Butterfly, Cheetah, Dolphin, Owl, Rattler XL4?
Explain how your knowledge of dimensions of meaning help in your ranking.
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Give an example of a possible name for a men’s cologne and an example of a name which is very
unlikely. Explain how your knowledge of dimensions of meaning helped you in deciding for the possible
and unlikely names.
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Reflection (L3)
Write legibly your reflections in the space provided. You can use extra sheets of papers if needed. Label
the extra sheet and insert between these pages.

1. How will you personally rate yourself in performing the activity (very good, good, needs
improvement)? Why?
2. What were your difficulties in understanding the dimensions of meaning?
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Peer work (L4)
texting, and calling. In this peer work, you need to formulate two questions about the lesson tackled and
ask these questions to your peer. You must know the answer to the questions you asked and check if your
peer can answer. After writing down the questions you formulated and the answer of your peer, give a
comment on this answer (Is the answer correct? If not, what would be the appropriate answer? How can
you justify that the answer to your question is correct?).
Name of peer: _______________________________________________
Formulated Question 1:
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Answer of Peer:
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Personal Comment:
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Formulated Question 2:
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Answer of Peer:

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Personal Comment:
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Quiz (L4)
Score: ____________
To test your underpinning knowledge on semantic roles, take this short quiz.
Instructions. Read the questions and answer in the space provided. Give examples to further support
point.
1. How can you differentiate a sentence from a proposition?
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2. What are the various roles referents of noun phrases can have?
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Activity (L4)
Score: ____________
Answer the following activities to test your learning in semantic roles.
A. For each sentence here decide if it has the semantic structure Actor+Action or Affected+Event. Does
the subject name something that is acting or something that is affected?
(a) My head aches. Answer: _____________________________

(b) All animals breathe. Answer: _____________________________
(c) Denis is (always) complaining. Answer: _____________________________
(d) Fanny fainted. Answer: _____________________________
(e) The pond froze (last night). Answer: _____________________________
(f) The woman frowned. Answer: _____________________________
(g) They gossip (a lot). Answer: _____________________________
(h) Arnold hurried. Answer: _____________________________
(i) The lock has rusted. Answer: _____________________________
(j) You were snoring. Answer: _____________________________
B. Examine the given sentences and identify its structure. Choose from the following for your answer.
Write only the letter of your answer.
A. agent – action – affected

B. agent – action – effect
C. actor – action – place
D. affecting – affect – affected
1. Jenny admired the painting. Answer: ______________

2. The children built a sand castle. Answer: ______________
3. The chef cooked a great meal. Answer: ______________
4. Sandra covered the birdcage. Answer: ______________
5. That medicine cured my headache. Answer: ______________

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6. A mad bull damaged the fence. Answer: ______________

7. Little Audrey drew a picture of two kittens. Answer: ______________
8. Alan entered the library. Answer: ______________
9. Mr Bainbridge (accidentally) killed a bird. Answer: ______________
10. Mother mended the shirt. Answer: ______________
C. Create a table, chart, or any type of graphic organizer that would best illustrate your knowledge of
semantic roles. Include examples to support your content.
Rubric:
1 = Weak 2 = Moderately Weak 3 = Average 4 = Moderately Strong 5 = Strong

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1. The graphic organizer has an appropriate title and labels.

2. The graphic organizer’s lines, boxes, and text are neat and legible.
3. The information in the graphic organizer is accurate.
4. The spelling, grammar, and punctuation of the text on the graphic organizer are
accurate.
5. The graphic organizer presents the information in a manner that is easy to follow.
6. The relationships presented in the graphic organizer are correct and clear.
7. The form in which the graphic organizer portrays the information is appropriate to the
relationships being represented.
8. The graphic organizer demonstrates an understanding of the topic, its relationships &
related concepts.
9. The graphic organizer fulfills all the requirements of the activity.
Reflection (L4)
Score: ____________
Write legibly your reflections in the space provided. You can use extra sheets of paper if needed. Label the
extra sheet and insert between these pages.

1. How will you personally rate yourself in performing the activity (very good, good, needs
improvement)? Why?
2. What were your difficulties in this lesson? How do you plan to address these difficulties?
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WRITTEN TEST
This written test covers the underpinning knowledge, concepts, and principles learned from Lesson 1 to
Lesson 4 of this module.
Score: ____________
General Instructions:
1. This test covers the following outcomes:
a. examine a given situation for its semantic problem;
b. examine a given situation for its dimensions of semantic meaning;
c. analyze the basic notions of semantics from a given situation;
d. support a solution to a language problem through the basic notions of semantics; and
e. evaluate significance of semantics.
2. Read instructions and questions carefully.
3. Use the space provided below for your essay or write it in a yellow pad or use word processor if
available.
4. Write your essay in a yellow pad.
5. If your essay is encoded using a word processor, you may either print the document or store the
soft copy in your flash drive.
6. Label your paper or file with Written Test-ELS8-Module 1-<your full name>
Essay Test
Instructions: Read the question below and discuss your answer in the space provided. Write a 200 to 300-
word essay corresponding to the given question below. Make sure to use examples to support your ideas.
Use at least three sources. Attention should be given to originality, proper documentation and using or
processing of related literatures, and source citation. Unoriginal, copied, and plagiarized work will not be
credited.
I once referred to a character in one of my cartoons as a "dork" (a popular insult when I was growing up),
but my editor called me up and said that "dork" couldn't be used because it meant "penis." I couldn't
believe it. I ran to my New Dictionary of American Slang and, sure enough, he was right. All those years of
saying or being called a "dork" and I had never really known what it meant. What a nerd.
- Gary Larson (1989)
Formulating your ideas may be facilitated by answering these guide questions.
What does the given situation above say about the English language? What does it say about linguistics
and in a more specific sense, semantics? What dimensions of meaning and/or semantic problem can be
seen in the given situation and how can this be addressed using one’s knowledge of the study of the
meaning of words, phrases and sentences? What alternative name would you give to the cartoon

40
character if you were Gary? Why do you think this name would be a better choice? What idea in semantics
can support and justify the name you have chosen for the character? Based from all of your generated
answers to the given questions, how can you now evaluate the significance of semantics?
For further guidance, see rubric on the next page.
Essay Rubric:84 pts.
Exemplary Accomplished Developing Limited

4 pts. 3 pts. 2 pts. 1 pt.
Essay shows Essay shows Essay shows Essay shows
evidence of strong evidence of inconsistent inconsistent
skills of analysis, application of skills application of skills application of skills
Critical Thinking
synthesis, and of analysis, of analysis, of analysis,
x5
evaluation. Logic synthesis, and synthesis, and synthesis, and
is virtually flawless. evaluation. Logic evaluation. Logic evaluation. Logic
is nearly flawless. may be flawed. may be flawed.
Essay remains Essay remains Essay remains Essay may lose
focused on a clear focused on a clear focused on a focus on or lack a
Essay Focus thesis with every thesis with every thesis with most clear thesis; some
support powerfully support clearly supports supports are not
x4 connected to the connected to the adequately connected to the
thesis. thesis. connected to the thesis.
thesis.
Powerfully chosen Well-chosen Acceptably chosen Questionably
textual proof textual proof textual proof chosen textual
supports each supports each supports most proof supports a
point. The textual point. The textual points. The textual few points. The
Quality of Support proof is thoroughly proof is adequately proof may be textual proof is
x4 examined, examined, inconsistently likely insufficiently
explained, and explained, and examined, examined,
clearly relevant to relevant to the explained, and explained, or
the thesis. thesis. relevant to the relevant to the
thesis. thesis.
Essay is strikingly Essay is well Essay is Essay is
organized with a organized with a competently inconsistently
keen sensitivity to logical approach to organized with a organized with a
Essay
building an building an logical if uninspired haphazard
Organization &
argument. argument. approach to approach to
Transitions
Transitions are Transitions are building an building an
sophisticated and solid and varied. argument. argument.
x3
varied. Transitions are Transitions are
ordinary but choppy or lacking.
sufficient.
Paragraphs flow Paragraphs flow Paragraphs are Paragraphs are
well internally with well internally with choppy internally choppy internally
Internal Paragraph
each sentence each sentence with sometimes with confusing
Coherence
building and building into the confusing jumps jumps and
x3
flowing into the next. between ideas. between ideas.
next.
Mechanics and Essay is flawlessly Essay is well Essay is Essay is poorly
Style written with a flair written with a solid acceptably written written with a little

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for academic style. academic style. with some academic style.

Excellent word Some strong word academic style. Word choice and
x2 choice and choice and Word choice and sentence variety
sentence variety. sentence variety. sentence variety are below
are ordinary. expectations.
PERFORMANCE TASK
This performance task measures how well you can put together the skills you have learned from Lesson 1
to Lesson 4 of this Module.
Score: ____________
Performance Task:
Instructions:
1. Make an instructional aid that shows the semantic features of the English language using 10
sentences you have formed as your example.
2. You can choose what instructional aid to create such as a video essay, a lecture video, a PPT
presentation, etc.
3. Store your final output in your flash drive and title it Performance Task ELS8-M1 <your surname>
or submit it in this course’ Google classroom.
Rubric:
Criteria Very Good (3 points) Good (2 points) Needs Improvement (1 point)
Creativity All of the graphics or Most of the graphics or objects Only a few graphics or objects
x5 objects used in the used in the reflect student creativity, but the
output reflect creativity in their output reflect student ideas were typical rather than
display. Student creativity in their creative. Minimal levels of
utilizes numerous display. Student only creativity shown in the project
materials and resources. High uses pictures to depict the design.
level of creativity throughout themes, symbols,
design process. Unique, well &/or characters. Lower level of
planned and creative. creativity in the design process.
Content The presentation The presentation The presentation
x5 is very easy to follow. is easy to follow. is not easy to follow.
The content shows how the The content shows how the The content does not clearly
sentences given were formed sentences given were formed. show how the sentences were
following semantic features. Semantic features are stated in formed. Semantic features are
Semantic features are clearly the presentation. not clearly stated in the
stated in the presentation. Shows good transitions. Showed presentation.
Shows clear transitions. Showed some application of knowledge Shows no transitions. Showed no
application of knowledge taken taken from the lessons. Most application of knowledge taken
from the lessons. All information information from the lessons. Most of the
presented in is clear, accurate presented is clear, accurate and information is
and thorough. thorough. inaccurate or not clear
Information Many points are very clear and Main points are somewhat clear Presentation lacks main points

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Quality and very detailed. Information is but could use more details. Most and related details. Information
Organization directly linked to presentation information is linked to the lacks connection to the
x4 topic. Information is organized. presentation topic. Information is presentation topic. Information is
loosely organized. not organized.
Grammar, •The output is free of misspellings, •Some of the writings in the •Most of the writings in the
Usage, and and words are capitalized medium are free of misspellings, medium are full of misspellings,
Mechanics correctly. •Sentences are and words are capitalized and words are not capitalized
x3 punctuated correctly, and the correctly. •Some sentences are correctly. •Sentences are not
narrative is free of fragments and punctuated correctly, and the punctuated correctly, and the
run-ons. •Standard English usage narrative is free of fragments and narrative is full of fragments and
is employed. •The paper is neat, run-ons. •Standard English usage run-ons. •Standard English usage
legible, and presented in an is employed. •The paper is neat, is not employed. •The paper is
appropriate format. legible, and presented in an disorganized, incoherent, and do
appropriate format. not follow an appropriate format.

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1

Aklan Catholic College

Ms. Danielle Muriel G. Suamen

Semantic of English| Module 1 Aklan Catholic College HED

Aklan Catholic College

ACC Flexible Learning System

Course Code & Title: ELS 8– Semantic of English

1. discussed the basic ideas of semantics;

Introduction to the Module

1. discussing the basic ideas of semantics;

How to use this Module

Semantic of English| Module 1 Aklan Catholic College HED

Sample learning cycle

Semantic of English| Module 1 Aklan Catholic College HED

 Opening Prayer  Opening Prayer

Semantic of English| Module 1 Aklan Catholic College HED

Lesson 1 –Discussing the basic ideas of semantics

Intended Learning Outcomes …………………………………………………………………….. 6

Lesson 2 –Examining the specific features and meaning of communication

Intended Learning Outcomes …………………………………………………………………….. 9

Lesson 3 – Classifying basic notions and dimensions of semantic meaning

Intended Learning Outcomes …………………………………………………………………….. 12

Lesson 4 – Analyzing structure of proposition and its semantic roles

Intended Learning Outcomes …………………………………………………………………….. 15

Learning Activity Sheets

Peer works (L1) …………………………………………………………………….. 19

Peer works (L2) …………………………………………………………………….. 24

Peer works (L3) …………………………………………………………………….. 29

Peer works (L4) …………………………………………………………………….. 33

Written Test …………………………………………………………………….. 38

Performance Task …………………………………………………………………….. 40

Semantic of English| Module 1 Aklan Catholic College HED

Discussing the Basic Ideas of Semantics

I. Intended Learning Outcomes

II. General Instructions

III. Guide questions

IV. Concept Notes

Semantic of English| Module 1 Aklan Catholic College HED

Ten Aspects of a Speaker’s Semantic Knowledge

Semantic of English| Module 1 Aklan Catholic College HED

Want to know more?

Semantic of English| Module 1 Aklan Catholic College HED

Examining the Specific Features and Meaning of Communication

I. Intended Learning Outcomes

II. General Instructions

III. Guide Questions

UTTERANCE AND SENTENCE

Semantic of English| Module 1 Aklan Catholic College HED

Semantic of English| Module 1 Aklan Catholic College HED

1. Statement vs question (fall vs rise)

Semantic of English| Module 1 Aklan Catholic College HED

Want to know more?

Analyzing Basic notions and Dimensions of Semantic Meaning

I. Intended Learning Outcomes

II. General Instructions

III. Guide questions

IV. Concept Notes

Anything meaningful in a language is a linguistic expression. Linguistic expressions may be of

DIMENSIONS OF SEMANTIC MEANING

Name: ____________________ Program and year: _

Name: _____________________ Program and year: _

Name: _____________________ Program and year: _

Name: _____________________ Program and year: _

Name: _____________________ Program and year: _

Name: _____________________ Program and year: _

Name: _____________________ Program and year: _