INTRODUCING SEMANTICS Nick Riemer (CHAPTER 2)

CHAPTER 2

Meaning and definition

CHAPTER PREVIEW

This chapter considers the role of definition in the description of meaning, through four main questions: 

◆What units need to receive definition? 

◆What forms should the definitions take? 

◆Can definitions be grounded in a set of semantic primitives? 

◆What is the place of definition in semantics generally? 

We begin by contrasting the types of definition that might appear in dictionaries from the types that interest a theoretical semantic analysis (2.1).Before any definition can begin, we have to confront an initial question: what are the meaning-bearing units of the language for which definitions are required? We explore this question by looking at meaning on, above and below the word level in 2.2, paying particular attention to certain problematic cases. The next section distinguishes definition of things (real definition) from definition of meanings (nominal definition), and cognitive from extensional definitions, and discusses some differences of opinion in linguistics as to what the proper objects of linguistic definition are (2.3.1). We then distinguish different possible definitional strategies, including 

◆ definition by ostension (2.3.2)

◆ definition by synonymy (2.3.3) 

◆ definition by context and typical exemplar (2.3.4) 

◆ definition by genus and differentia (2.3.5). 

The test of truth preserving substitutability is introduced as a standard criterion of definitional adequacy (2.4), and we discuss the problem of definitional circularity and the question of semantic primitives (2.5). 

       We then exemplify the extreme difficulty involved in couching successful definitions of words (2.6), before finally devoting some discussion to the relationship between definition and understanding (2.7).

SUMMARY

Meaning, definition and the mental lexicon 

The concept of a word’s meaning is closely linked to the concept of definition. Many linguists identify the task of linguistic semantics with the task of describing the entries stored in the mental lexicon, a stock of words and meanings stored in long-term memory: the definition of a word is part of its entry in the mental lexicon, and the process of matching a meaning with a word-form is assumed to be analogous to that involved in consulting a dictionary. In order to serve the purposes of serious linguistic description, the definitions in the lexicon must be much more detailed than is usual in ordinary dictionaries.

What units need to receive definition?

Any attempt to analyse the meanings of language must specify what the meaning-bearing units are. Individual lexemes are the central examples of units with individually describable meanings. Morphemes also have meanings, as do phrasal verbs and compounds. Ambiguities about the level of grammatical structure to which meaning is correctly attributed are not infrequent: sound symbolism and idioms exemplify cases where the correct level for the analysis of a meaning may not be clear.

Real and nominal definition 

We can distinguish two types of definition: 

• definition of the essence of a thing (real definition), or 

• definition of the meaning of a word (nominal definition).

Most linguists take nominal definition to be the type that is of interest to linguistic semantic research.

Cognitive and extensional definition 

A nominal definition may be of two types:

• cognitive (aimed to inculcate an understanding of the word’s correct use), or 

• extensional (aimed at delimiting the denotation of the word).

Modes of definition

Cognitive nominal definition can take a number of forms. It may be 

• definition by ostension, 

• definition by synonymy

• definition by context or typical exemplar, or \

• definition by genus and differentia.

Often, definitions combine these means.Definitions are typically required to be truth-preserving under substitution for their definiendum.

Semantic primitives 

     Certain theories of semantics try to restrict the language of definitions to a set of universal or language-specific semantic primitives, but these attempts are faced with many difficulties. Not least of these is the extreme difficulty in accurately defining words: whether based on semantic primitives or not, no fully accurate definition of a word has ever been advanced in linguistics. 

     

     Mostly, conversation and other instances of language use proceed without the need for explicit definition: this is only ever required to resolve confusions. From this point of view, explicit definition plays a rather insignificant role in language. But definitions take on a central role in language use if we take concepts to be essentially definitional in nature, and assume that concepts are or enter into the meanings of words.