19/04/2024

Assessments:
Midterm Test: Buổi 8 – 14/06/2024 (sẽ được thầy confirm lịch trước 2 tuần) - 30% (Học từ đầu
đến phần irony)
1. Semantic features
2. Lexical gaps
3. Non-literal meaning
4. Semantic relations
5. Lexical ambiguity
6. Antonymy
- Class Activities: 20% - 0.6
- Midterm Test: 80% (cố gắng 7 điểm trở lên) - 2.4 (Thực hành)
+ Thường sẽ lấy các ví dụ trong lớp
Final Test: Theo lịch của Khoa - 70% - 7.0
- Hai câu về lý thuyết (1 điểm / câu) - Điền keywords (chủ yếu là terms)
Attendance: > 80% (> 12 buổi)
Không gửi email cho thầy vì thầy không check email

WHAT IS LINGUISTIC?
Linguistic:
General definition: the scientific study of language
Details: the systematic study of human language
Aims:
1/ to define how languages are developed in the human mind
2/ describes how human languages are formed and how they work
Main branches of linguistics:
- Applied linguistics
- Phonetics
- Phonology
- Syntax
- Semantics
● Phonetics (phiên âm) is the general study of the characteristics of speech
sounds, whereas phonology examines the systems and patterns of speech
sounds in a particular language.
● Syntax: sentence structures
● Semantics:
- the study of meanings
- A branch of linguistics which deals with meaning
 → the study of meaning in language - what language means
- Semantic meaning: context (time, place, characters →
settings) - free
➢ Semantics and pragmatics: deal with meaning
● Pragmatics: concerned with meaning in context - what people mean by the
language they use.
- Pragmatic meaning: context - dependent

Example 1:
I LOVE YOU
- New language learner / don’t know the meaning of the word “I” / use the
dictionary → the definition in the dictionary is semantic (Việt: Tôi yêu bạn)
- The mother said to her daughter: “I love you” → pragmatics (Việt: Mẹ yêu
con)
Example 2:
A: ‘Would you like a piece of cake?’
B: ‘I am on a diet.’
Semantic meaning: I want to lose weight by eating food which is not rich in fat,
sugar, etc.
Pragmatic meaning: I don’t want any food → I’m afraid that I have to
refuse your invitation. A & B do not have a close relationship.
POSSIBLE INCLUDED ASPECTS OF SEMANTICS
1/ Word meaning / lexical meaning
2/ Sentence meaning
3/ Utterance meaning
26/04/2024
I. SEMANTIC PROPERTIES
Semantic properties: our knowledge towards the words (Không thi)
E.g. father: a male parent of a child

Semantic features (Thi

kì):

- part of the meaning of different words

- the smallest units of meaning in a word
 - formal and notational devices for expressing the presence (trong từ có nét
nghĩa đó) or absence of semantic properties by means of pluses and
minuses.
E.g.
father: [+human], [+male], [+mature], [+parental]. [+paternal]
Paternal grandfather = ông nội
father: a male parent of a child
hen: a female chicken, often kept for its eggs or meat
hen: [+animate], [+bird], [+fowl (thịt gà)], [+female], [+fully-grown].
chalk: a substance made into white or coloured sticks for writing or drawing
chalk: [+thing], [+limestone (material tạo ra chalk - đá vôi)], [+soft], [+white or
coloured], [+for writing or drawing]
drive: to operate a vehicle
drive: [+motion], [+operate], [+related to a vehicle]
rose: a flower with a sweet smell that grows on a bush with thorns on its stems
rose: [+plan], [+bush], [+sweet - smelling], [+different colors], [+thorns]

BINARY OPPOSITIONS
Binary Oppositions: negative semantic features. [Khuyến khích sử dụng Pluses]

[+human] - [-inhuman]

[+male] - [-female]

[+mature] - [-immature]

[+paternal] - [-maternal]

COMPONENTIAL ANALYSIS
Componential Analysis: an approach to the study of meaning which analyzes a word
into a set of semantic features.

SEMANTIC FIELDS
Semantic fields: the organization of related words and expressions into a system
which shows their relationship to one another.

- The same semantic feature: found in many different words (nghĩa khác nhau 1
chút nhưng có điểm chung)

E.g.

doctor, engineer, teacher, physicist, chemist, tailor, hairdresser, …

[+professional]

Mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandparent, aunt, uncle

[+kinship]

Angry, sad, happy, etc.

[+human emotional states]

- The same semantic features: occur in words of different word classes

E.g.
Mother (N)
Breast-feed (V)
Pregnant (A)
[+female]

II. LEXICAL GAPS

Lexical gaps: the absence of a word in a particular place in a lexical field of a
language

???? → Dấu hỏi được gọi là

Lexical gaps vì không có
từ vựng

bull cow calf

(M) (F) (Y)

horse

stallion mare foal

(M) (F) (Y)

dog

dog bitch puppy

(M) (F) (Y)
 sheep

ram ewe lamb

(M) (F) (Y)

goat

billy-goat nanny-goat kid

(M) (F) (Y)

giraffe

male-giraffe female-giraffe baby-giraffe

(M) (F) (Y)

03/05/2024
I. DENOTATION (Thi giữa kì)
Denotation (of a word) / Denotative meaning/ Referential meaning: the
core, central or referential meaning of the word found in a
dictionary.
Denotation (of a word/of a content word): described in terms of a set
of semantic features.
Child: young human being
[+human] [+immature]/[-mature]/ [+- male]/[+- female] - dấu trừ dưới
dấu cộng

Content words vs Function words?

1. Content words: Nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs (sẽ có
denotation)
2. Function words: Articles, prepositions, conjunctions and auxiliaries
II. CONNOTATION
Connotation (of a word)/ Connotative meaning/ Social and
affective meaning:
● The additional meaning that the word has beyond its denotative
meaning. (không xuất hiện trong từ điển)
● Show people’s emotions and/or attitudes towards what the word
refers to.
Denotative meaning:
Child: [+human] [+immature]/[-mature]/ [+- male]/[+- female]
Connotative meaning:
Positively:
Child: [+affectionate] , [+innocent]
Negatively:
Child: [+noisy], [+irritating]
Factors may affect the connotation (of a word)
● The culture in which the word is used
● The language user’s family and/or educational background
● The language user’s social and/or political class;
● The language user’s speech community and/or ethnic group
Woman:(thứ tự của từ quan trọng)
[+human] [+mature] [+female]
Connotative meaning:
Positively:
Woman: [+devoted] [+patient]
Negatively:
Woman: [+wicked] [+talkative]
DENOTATION CONNOTATION
- What a lexical item means - Emotions and/or attitudes
toward what a lexical refers
to
- Core, central - Peripheral = additional /
surround the core/central
- referential - Social, affective

Bachelor
Denotative meaning:
Bachelor: unmarried man
Connotative meaning:
- Still single after the usual age for marrying.
- Decided by himself to stay single.
- Enjoying freedom, friendship, life, etc.
- Ready for his impending marriage.

Spinster
Denotative meaning:
Spinster: unmarried woman
Connotative meaning:
- Still single after the usual age for marrying.
- Not decided by herself to stay single.
- Left in an unfavorable state.
- A symbol for some failure in life.
 ● mother/mom (+) → positively
● Woman (Ө) → neutrally
● Witch (-) → negatively
➔ Father / dad (+)
➔ Man (Ө)
➔ The old man (-)
● Slender (+)
● Thin (Ө)
● Skinny (-)
● Plump (+)
● Overweight (Ө)
● Fat (-)
- Frugal (+) = tiết kiệm
- Stingy (-) = bủn xỉn
+ Aggressive (+) = tháo vát
+ Pushy (-) = vội vã

Fox:
Denotative meaning
A wild animal of the dog family
Connotative meaning
A deceitful person = người xảo quyệt
III. REFERENT - REFERENCE & SENSE
1. REFERENT
Referent: an object or an entity in the real world or in the world of
your imagination.
E.g. car / dragon
10/05/2024
 2. REFERENCE
Reference: the relationship between a word or a linguistic
expression and its referent.
3. TYPES OF REFERENCE (Thi giữa kì)
 Variable reference: the same linguistic expression refers to
different referents
→ E.g. Raise your right hand: 1 linguistic expressions & more than
one referents
 Constant reference: one linguistic expression refers to one and
the same referent
 Co-reference: two or more linguistic expressions share the
same referent
4. SENSE: the internal relationship between a word or a linguistic
expression and others in the vocabulary of a language.
 Dogs are animal.  make sense
 Dogs are human.  doesn’t make sense
+ The thief tried to conceal/hide the evidence.  same sense but different
meaning
+ I’m going to purchase/buy a new coat.  same sense but different
meaning
+ These tomatoes are large/ripe = chín.  different sense
+ How many kids/children have you got?  same sense
PRACTICE
 When Albert talks about “his former friend”, he means me. 
REFERENCE
Vì “his former friend” là liên tưởng đến “me” = referent.
 Daddy, what does logic mean?  SENSE
Vì nói về ý nghĩa của từ “logic mean” có hợp lý hay không
4.1 SENSE RELATIONS: (Thi giữa & cuối kì)
Sense relations: involve individual predicates and whole sentences.
+ the relationship between the words.
+ the sense of an expression contracts with the senses of other
expressions in the language.
e.g.
small / big
4.2 TYPES OF SENSE RELATIONS: (Thi giữa & cuối kì)
1. Hyponymy: a relation in which the referent of a word is totally included
in the referent of another word.
+ the relationship between each of the hyponyms = từ nằm ở tầng phía
dưới (the “lower” word) and its superordinate = từ nằm ở tầng phía trên
(the “higher” word)
e.g.
cook / boil: Hyponymy (chỉ ghi dạng, không giải thích trong bài KTra)
cook  superordinate (higher)
boil fry bake  hyponyms (lower)

emotion / sad: Hyponymy

emotion  superordinate (higher)
sad happy Angry / tired  hyponyms (lower)

book / novel: Hyponymy (chỉ ghi dạng, không giải thích trong bài KTra)
books  superordinate (higher)
novel comics textbook  hyponyms (lower)

reptile / crocodile: Hyponymy (chỉ ghi dạng, không giải thích trong bài KTra)
reptile  superordinate (higher)
crocodile lizard snake  hyponyms (lower)

flower / tulip: Hyponymy (chỉ ghi dạng, không giải thích trong bài KTra)
flower  superordinate (higher)
tulip rose daisy  hyponyms (lower)

2. Synonymy: (><Homonymy)
+ the relationship between two predicates that have the same sense.
+ a relation in which various words have different written = spelling and
sound forms but have the same or nearly the same meaning.
e.g.
stubborn / obstinate: Synonymy
mercury / quicksilver: Synonymy
 True synonymy vs Partial synonymy
True / Perfect synonymy: have the same denotative meaning (chỉ có 1)
and connotative meanings (có nhiều)
Gần như không có True synonymy vì connotative rất nhiều, không thể
giống nhau.
e.g.
movie / film: synonymy (not true synonymy)
movie: AE
film: BE
mother / mom: synonymy (not true synonymy)
Partial synonymy: a relation in which a polysemous word = từ đa nghĩa
shares one of its meanings with another word.
+ leads to collocations
e.g.
deep / profound  You have my deep / profound sympathy.  tôi xin chia
buồn cùng bạn.
The river is very deep at this point.
The river is very profound at this point. x
Collocations:
A bunch of keys
A herd of sheep
A school of ants
A flock of birds
A group of teachers
A gang of thieves
3. Antonymy: a relation in which two words have different written and
sound forms and are opposite in meaning.
e.g.
pass / fail
 Types of antonymy (Phải ghi kiểu loại chi tiết)
[Link] antonymy/ Complementary antonymy: a relation in which two
members of a pair of antonyms are mutually exclusive = loại trừ cho nhau.
e.g.
alive / dead:
NOT = binary Alive  dead
NOT Dead  Alive
Married / single: Binary antonymy.
2. Gradable antonymy: a relation in which two members of a pair of
antonyms are gradable. (có chia thành các mức độ giữa 2 từ đối nghịch
nhau)
e.g. hot --- cold: Gradable antonymy
hot -------------------------------------- cold
warm lukewarm cool
love --- hate: Gradable antonymy
love ---------------------------------------------------------------- hate
like be indifferent to = not caring dislike
possibly --- certainly: Gradable antonymy
possibly ---------------------------------------------------------- certainly
probably quite probably almost certainly

3. Relational antonymy / Converse antonymy: a relation in which two

members of a pair of antonyms display symmetry = đối xứng in their
meaning.
Employer (Mr. Brian) --- employee (Mr. Bruce):
If …., then ….. (tương đương với nhau)
E.g. If Mr Brian is [Link]’s employer, then Mr. Bruce is Mr. Brian’s
employee.
Buy (Nam) --- sell (Lan):
E.g. If Lan sells the book to Nam, then Nam will buy that book from Lan.
Buy something from someone
Sell something to someone
Cheaper --- more expensive:
Faster --- more slowly
In front of --- behind
[Link] incompatibility (relation of hyponyms): a relation in which the
members of a system cover all the relevant area.
boil --- fry
[Link]: a relation in which various words have the same sound and
written form but have different meanings
Bank: Homonymy
Bank: a financial institution
Bank: the shore of a river
Bear: Homonymy (không tập trung vào loại từ)
Bear: a large heavy animal with thick fur
Bear: give birth to
Bear: tolerant
[Link]: a relation in which various words have the same sound
form but have different meanings and written forms.
Hour --- our: Homophony
[Link]: a relation in which various words have the same written
form but have different meanings and sound forms.
Lead
This road leads /li:d/ to the town.
Lead = /led/ is a heavy metal.
Nghĩa không hề liên quan gì đến nhau.
[Link]: a relation in which a single word has two or more slightly
different but closely related meanings.
Chip:
Can I try one of your chips (size small)?
This computer has got a fast chip (size small).
5. LEXICAL AMBIGUITY (Thi giữa kì, không thi cuối kì)
Ambiguity: a sentence is considered as ambiguous when it permits more
than one interpretation.
Tom asked how old Sam was.
Tom asked how old Sam was. (hỏi sức khỏe)
Tom asked how old Sam was. (hỏi tuổi)
Types of ambiguity:
[Link] ambiguity (Syntax)
[Link] ambiguity (Semantics)
We watched the hunters with binoculars.
We watched the hunters with binoculars.
Lexical ambiguity: any ambiguity resulting from the ambiguity of a word.
They were waiting at the bank. (homonymy)
They were waiting at the financial institution.
They were waiting at the shore of a river.
That robot is bright. (polysemy)
That robot is shining.
That robot is intelligent.
[Link] (Thi giữa kì, không thi cuối kì)
Anomaly: a violation of semantic rules to create nonsense.
E.g.
1. That bachelor is pregnant.
Bachelor: [+male]
Pregnant: [-male]
Áp dụng 1 trong 2 cách sau:
 That bachelor is so kind.
 That woman is pregnant.
2. My brother is the only child in the family.
Brother: [+ having at least one sibling]
Only Child: [+ having no other sibling]
My brother is the only boy in the family.
I / My cousin is the only child in the family.
[Link] vs LITERAL MEANING (Thi giữa kì, không thi cuối kì)
1. Primary meaning: the first meaning or usage that the word will suggest to
most people when it is said in isolation = không có context  context free
He usually plays on the wing.
 wing (n): a movable organ supporting the bird when it is flying
2. Secondary meaning(s): the meaning(s) besides its primary meaning. They
are said to be not central but peripheral = liên quan tới / có ngữ cảnh  context -
bound
He usually plays on the wing = cánh phải/trái trong bóng đá.
LITERAL MEANING (Thi giữa kì, không thi cuối kì)
Literal meaning (Nghĩa đen): the basic or usual meaning of a word
From here, we can clearly see the two wings of the airplane.
*Muốn nắm literal meaning thì phải nắm primary meaning của từ.
NON - LITERAL MEANING / FIGURATIVE MEANING (Thi giữa kì,
không thi cuối kì)
Non – literal meaning / figurative meaning (Nghĩa bóng): the meaning which is
different from its usual literal meaning and which creates vivid mental images to readers
or listeners. = các từ vựng sử dụng nhiều trong văn học
E.g.
We hope college life will help him to spread his wings a bit.
Tụi tui mong khi lên đại học con tôi sẽ trưởng thành / tự tin và hòa nhập tốt hơn.
Yêu cầu về context: Ai nói? Nói với ai? Trong hoàn cảnh nào? Đóng vai và nói tiếng
Việt?
Giáo viên / Hiệu trưởng - đại diện của trường cao đẳng  phụ huynh
Trưởng thành hơn / tự tin hơn để thể hiện chính mình. / dang rộng đôi cánh / vương
cánh bay xa
Phụ huynh khoe với hàng xóm về đứa con sắp vào đại học.
Having a new baby to look after has clipped her wings a bit.
Context: Đồng nghiệp nói chuyện với nhau về 1 đồng nghiệp nữ = cô ấy
FIGURES OF SPEECH (Thi giữa kì, không thi cuối kì)
Figures of speech: a word or phrase which is used for a special effect, and which does
not have its usual or literal meaning.
E.g.
Tom eats like a horse.
(Tom eats a lot.)
Kinds of Figures of speech:
[Link]: the use of comparison of one thing with another.
A simile: an explicit or direct comparison in which something is compared to something
else by the use of a function word such as like or as.
E.g.
My hands are as cold as ice.
(My hands are very / extremely cold) – literal meaning
[Link]: an implicit or indirect comparison in which no function word is used.
E.g.
She has a heart of stone. (She has a pitiless and unfeeling nature.)
His words stabbed = cut at her heart. (His words caused great pain or much
unhappiness for her.) – Lời nói anh ấy đã làm tổn thương cô ấy
He washed his hands out of the matter. (He refused to have anything more to do
with the matter.) – Anh ấy đã rũ bỏ trách nhiệm.
Dead metaphor vs live metaphors?
Dead metaphor: ones used so often that they have lost their metaphoric
characteristics. (Được xem là literal meaning, không còn là figurative meaning nữa)
E.g.
The leg/face of the table = inanimate object
The back of the chair
The mouth of the river = cửa sông
Live metaphors: ones which have a variety of figurative meanings through their
endless use.
Tom is a pig. (Tom is greedy = eat a lot / fat / slow / lazy / not intelligent)
[Link] = nhân cách hóa: a special kind of metaphor in which some human
characteristic is attributed to an inanimate object or abstract notion.
E.g.
It was a pitiless cold. (It was very cold.)
It was a cruel heat. (It was extremely hot.)
It was a thirsty ground. (Mảnh đất cằn cỗi) = It was very dry.
It was a laughing harvest. = It was a successful harvest.
[Link]: the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another to which it is
related/with which it is associated.
* He is the best pen of the month. (He is the best writer of the month.) = dùng 1 tool
để thay thế 1 cviec.
* The kettle is boiling. (The water is boiling.) = dùng 1 container để nói về sự vật chứa
bên trong.
* I have read Nguyen Du. (I have read Nguyen Du’s poems.) = dùng tên 1 người nổi
tiếng để nói về những thành tựu (Tác phẩm).
* He was buried under this stone. = Anh ấy đã an nghỉ ở đây. (He was buried under
this tomb/tombstone) = dùng vật liệu để nói về cái được tạo dựng lên từ vật liệu đó
1. He drank the cup.  dùng 1 container để nói về sự vật chứa bên trong.= He drank
the tea/ coffee.
2. Can you protect your children from the cradle to the grave?  Bà có chắc sẽ bảo bọc
chúng suốt đời được không? (can you protect your children from childhood to death?)
5. Synecdoche: a special kind of metonymy in which a part or aspect of a person = của
cùng 1 vật thể, object, etc. is meant to refer to the whole person, object, etc.
E.g
They organized a fleet of fifty sails = cánh buồm.
(They organized a fleet of fifty ships.)
He is a man of seventy winters.
(He is seventy years old.)
This is a village of only more than one hundred souls.
(This is a village of only more than one hundred people.)
[Link]/ Overstatement = Biện pháp nói quá: the use of exaggerated statement
that is made for special effect and is not meant to be taken literally.
E.g.
I have invited millions of people to my party. (I have invited a lot of people to my
party.)
She sheds floods of tears = khóc nức nở whenever she is upset. (She cries a lot
whenever she is upset.)
I haven’t seen you for ages. (= mừng rỡ khi gặp lại ai sau khoảng thời gian dài)
(I haven’t seen you for a few weeks / months.)
[Link] / Meiosis = Biện pháp nói giảm nói tránh: the use of deliberately gentler,
milder or weaker statements to express something in a controlled way.
E.g.
I don’t think I would agree with you. (I disagree with you.)
I am afraid that no passenger is allowed to smoke in here.
(You are not allowed to smoke in here.)
It’s not bad. (It’s fine.)
It wasn’t easy. (It was very difficult.)
[Link]: the expression of one’s meaning by saying the direct opposite of one’s
thoughts in order to be emphatic, amusing, sarcastic, etc.
E.g.
What a lovely day it was! Everything I had went wrong.
(What a terrible day it was! Everything I had went wrong.)
He is lucky to have such an ugly and awkward wife.
(He is unlucky to have such an ugly and awkward wife.
---------------------------------------------------------
9. Euphemism: