English Semantics
Unit 2 Reference

Unit 2
Reference
Lesson 4: REFERRING EXPRESSIONS
A REFERRING EXPRESSION is any expression used in an
utterance to refer to something or someone (or a clearly
delimited collection of things or people), i.e. used with a
particular referent in mind.
Ex: The name Fred in an utterance such as 'Fred hit me',
where the speaker has a particular person in mind when
he says 'Fred', is a referring expression.
Fred in 'There's no Fred at this address' is not a
referring expression, because in this case a speaker
would not have a particular person in mind in uttering
the word.

An OPAQUE CONTEXT is a part of a sentence
which could be made into a complete sentence
by the addition of a referring expression, but
where the addition of different referring
expressions, even though they refer to the same
thing or person, in a given situation, will yield
sentences with DIFFERENT meanings when
uttered in a given situation.

Jack, an English boy, has just come to Vietnam.
Lan tells him: “Chi Pheo lives in Vu Dai village”.
Lan also tells him: “Ba Kien hates Thi No's
lover”.
 Jack thinks that Chi Pheo and Thi No's lover
are two different people.
 This is an opaque context in which Jack thinks
that Chi Pheo is not Thi No's lover or these
two referents are different.

An EQUATIVE SENTENCE is one which is used
to assert the identity of the referents of two
referring expressions, i.e. to assert that two
referring expressions have the same referent. 
The following are equative sentences:
• That woman over there is my daughter's
teacher.
• Quang Trung is Nguyen Hue.
> The two referring expressions can replace
each other.

Chi Pheo is Thi No's lover.
 This is an equative sentence.
 Chi Pheo = Thi No's lover
We, Vietnamese people, know this fact.

Summary

Speaker meaning
Sentence meaning
Utterance
Sentence
Proposition
Sense
Reference
Referent: Variable, constant, co-referent
Referring expression
Opaque context
Equative sentence

Lesson 5: PREDICATES
The PREDICATOR of a simple declarative
sentence is the word (sometimes a group of
words) which does not belong to any of the
referring expressions and which, of the
remainder, makes the most specific contribution
to the meaning of the sentence. Intuitively
speaking, the predicator describes the state or
process in which the referring expressions are
involved.

PREDICATOR AND REFERRING EXPRESSION
Ex: Ho Chi Minh is patriotic.
When we talk about Ho Chi Minh, we have his
image in our minds. So Ho Chi Minh is a
referring expression.
When we pronounce patriotic, we have no
image in our minds although it has sense.
Patriotic is called a predicator.
Ex: He yawns.
He is a referring expression. Yawn is called a
predicator. It has sense.

Ex: Mai is in the room.
Mai is a referring expression. In is a predicator.
Room is a referring expression.
Ex: He is a Japanese.
He is a referring expression. Japanese is a
predicator.
A predicator may be a verb, an adjective, a
preposition and a noun.
In a sentence there are two major semantic
roles: a referring expression and a predicator.

A predicator may be an adjective, a verb, a
preposition or a noun, but it must not be a
referring expression.
 In a sentence, there must be a predicator.
+ At first, we identify the predicator. Then, the
remaining will be predicates.
A verb
An adjective
Predicator
A preposition
Predicate
A noun

A PREDICATE is any word (or sequence of words)
which (in a given single sense) can function as
the predicator of a sentence.
Ex: hungry/patriotic, in, crook/Japanese, asleep,
hit/yawn, show, bottle, are all predicates; and,
or, but, not, are not predicates.

PREDICATE AND PREDICATOR
Ex: A beautiful young woman left a baby.
Beautiful is a predicate.
Young is a predicate.
Woman is a predicate.
Baby is a predicate.
Leave is a predicator.
In the example there are four predicates.

Ex: Hoa is beautiful.
Beautiful is a predicator.
Ex: Hoa is young.
Young is a predicator.
Ex: Hoa is a woman.
Woman is a predicator.
Ex: It is a baby.
Baby is a predicator.
In a sentence there is only a predicator. In other
sentences, predicator may be predicate.

Ex: Hoa has a beautiful baby.

Like a predicator, a predicate may be an
adjective, a verb, a preposition or a noun, but it
must not a referring expression.
 In a sentence, there must be a predicator, so
others are predicates.
* He is tall and handsome.
 A predicator is a role. (A role in a sentence may
consist of two or more words).

PREDICATOR AND ARGUMENT
Ex: Hoa visits the pagoda.
Hoa is an argument (referring expression).
Visit is a predicator. Pagoda is an argument
(referring expression)

The DEGREE of a predicate is a number
indicating the number of arguments. It is
normally understood to have in simple
sentences.
Ex: Asleep is a predicate of degree one (often
called a one-place predicate)
He is asleep.
Love (verb) is a predicate of degree two (a
two-place predicate)
Diep loves Lan.

Give (verb) is a predicate of degree three (a
three-place predicate)
He gives me a book.
Elect (verb) is a predicate of degree three (a
three-place predicate)
We elected Mr Nghia our monitor.
> The red words are called arguments in the
sentence. The number of the arguments is the
number of degree of predicates.
 degree: Predicator > Predicate of degree …

Summary

Speaker meaning
Sentence meaning
Utterance
Sentence
Proposition
Sense
Reference
Referent: Variable, constant, co-referent
Referring expression
Opaque context
Equative sentence
Predicator
Predicate
Degree of (Arguments)

Lesson 6: PREDICATES, REFERRING
EXPRESSIONS, AND UNIVERSE OF DISCOURSE
We explore further the distinction and the
relationship between referring expressions and
predicates. We will see how the same word can
be used for the radically different functions of
reference and predication. And we will begin to
see how these two functions fit together in the
overall language system.

A GENERIC SENTENCE is a sentence in which
some statement is made about a whole
unrestricted class of individuals, as opposed to
any particular individual.
Ex: The whale is a mammal (understood in the
most usual way) is a generic sentence.
That whale over there is a mammal is not a
generic sentence.
The cattle have four legs.
The poultry have two legs.

Human beings are the most intelligent animals.
Einstein is the most intelligent person.
Class >< individual
The dogs are very loyal.
Hachiko is very loyal.
The Vietnamese are very intelligent.
Ngo Bao Chau is very intelligent.

We define the UNIVERSE OF DISCOURSE for any
utterance as the particular world, real or
imaginary (or part real, part imaginary), that the
speaker assumes he is talking about at the time.
Ex: When an astronomy lecturer, in a serious
lecture, states that the Earth revolves around
the Sun, the universe of discourse is, we all
assume, the real world (or universe).
When I tell my children a bedtime story and
say 'The dragon set fire to the woods with his
hot breath', the universe of discourse is not the
real world but a fictitious world.

Universe of discourse

real
fictitious

Summary

Speaker meaning Sentence meaning
Utterance Sentence
Proposition Sense
Reference
Referent: Variable, constant, co-referent
Referring expression
Opaque context
Equative sentence
Predicator Predicate
Degree of (Arguments) Generic sentence
Universe of discourse

GOOD LUCK!