SEMANTICS AND PRAGMATICS
2 credits
Units 5,6
Week 2 part 1

1


CONTENTS
• Reference and sense: types of reference, referring
expression
• Word meaning: denotative, connotative
• Sentence meaning: semantic roles
• Sentence meaning: figures of speech


REFERENCE – REFERENT - SENSE

Reference (SỞ CHỈ):
the relationship between language and the
world.
the relationship between words and the
things, actions, events, and qualities they
stand for. (Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 25)
Reference helps listeners or readers identify
something in the real world.
My students are studying with a computer.
(identified people) (identified thing)
The largest city in Viet Nam
The students in the linguistics class

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REFERENCE – REFERENT - SENSE

Referent (vật nói đến): the thing the speaker
is talking about, the object referred to.
=>The actual thing in the world.

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REFERENCE – REFERENT - SENSE

Sense: dealing with relationships inside the
language. Something in the head; Semantic
properties
woman
girl
The moon: the object similar to a planet that goes
round the Earth and that you can see shining in
the sky at night.

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Referent: refers to a certain object

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The moon was bright last night.
referent, (refers to a certain object)
My love is like the moon. (sense,
something more is involved in the phrase “the
moon” than just the object

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“bachelor”
•Its referent is the extension of the class
bachelors. ( THONG, NHAN etc.)
•Its sense is the concept of an unmarried
male.

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FOOTBALL PLAYER
Sense: someone who plays football, especially as their job
Referent


HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY
•REFERENT
•SENSE:

a Vietnamese university
in HCM city that

teaches degree courses
through full-time and
distant programs
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referent

The mason put the red brick on the wall

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• A noun phrase has sense and reference and the
combination of the two constitutes its meaning.
• Knowing the sense of a noun helps us identify
its referent.
• Consider “The President of Viet Nam”
– Its sense is stable
– Its referent changes
2000: TRẦN ĐỨC LƯƠNG
2014:
TRƯƠNG TẤN SANG
2019

NGUYỄN PHÚ TRỌNG
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Rector of Ho Chi Minh city Open University


Sense
Referent
•1990: DR.CAO VAN PHUONG
•1996: MR. LE THE DONG
•2003: ASSOC.PROF.DR. LE BAO LAM
•2013: ASSOC.PROF.DR. NGUYEN VAN PHUC
•2020: ASSOC.PROF.DR. NGUYEN MINH HA


Reference and Sense
• Proper names, e.g., John, Anna have
reference but no sense
• Vietnamese names have sense or not?
• Other nouns have sense and reference
The President of Viet Nam
The monitor of the linguistics class
• Others have sense but no reference
The present King of France is bald.

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TYPES OF REFERENCE

Variable Reference: same expression may refer
to different objects.
“My mother”
“Here” in the sentence “I am here”
Your examples?

Same Reference: different expressions refer to
the same object.
Uncle Ho – Ho Chi Minh – Nguyen Ai Quoc Nguyen Sinh Cung – Nguyen Tat Thanh
HCM City and Saigon
My father is a teacher
Your examples?
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Constant Reference: one expression always
refers to the same object
Proper names, especially geographical names:
John, Smith, David, Vietnam, Laos …
Unique things: the sun, the moon, the earth, the
east, the west, Halley’s Comet

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• The sun in “The sun shines” is an example of
_____ reference
• “your mouth” in “Watch your mouth” is a
___reference.
• Bill Clinton and Hillary’s husband have _____
reference.
• The Himalayas has _____ reference.
• “Harry Potter” has ________ reference.
• The most beautiful girl in this class
• The tallest boy in this class
• Santa Clause

• Nguyen Du and _________have the same referent *


No reference: an expression which is
meaningful but does not refer to anything.
Function words: and, but, if, almost, …
Imaginary characters: Batman, Dragon,
Superman, Snow White, Tấm Cám, Thạch
Sanh…
The objects that do not exist now.
The king of France is bald (France does not
have any king nowadays)
The Queen of Vietnam nowadays is a
Cambodian. (no VN queen now)
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REVIEW

• What is sense and reference?
• Do all nouns have both sense and
reference? Give examples.

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• Do Cuong dollar and Quoc cuong gia lai have the
same referent?
• If we are talking about a situation in which John is
standing in the corner, can John have the same

referent as the person in the corner?

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Give an example of an expression that might be
used to refer to the Prime Minister of Viet Nam
in 2019.
Give an example of an expression that could
have variable reference.
Give an example of an expression that always
has constant reference.
Give an example of different expressions
having one referent.
Give an example of an expression that has no
reference
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REFERRING EXPRESSIONS

Definition: A referring expression is any
expression used in an utterance to refer to
someone or something particular. (Hurford &
Heasley, 1983: 35) (on the part of the speaker)
Ex: + When a speaker says, ‘My father” he has a
particular person in mind => my father is a
referring expression.
+ The name Fred in the utterance “Fred hit
me”, where the speaker has a particular person in

mind, is a referring expression.
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Some clues of referring expression

Possessive: my friend, Paul’s hat, …
Demonstrative: this book, that machine, …
Proper name: Smith, David, Vietnam …
Personal Pronouns (only when being uttered):
I, You, He, …
Constant Reference (unique thing): the sun,
the moon, the earth, the east, the west,
Halley’s Comet, …
Past tense: helps to recognize Referring
Expression
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Not a referring expression
Something general: family, society, people
Representative of social classes or species: the
poor, the rich, the elephant, dogs, cats
Profession/ Job: singer, teacher, lawyer, …
Ex: The singer in “The singer I admire most is
Siu Black” is a RE because it refers to a
particular person.
A singer in “My sister is a singer” is not a
RE because it is a job in general
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Underline the referring expressions

1.
2.
3.
4.

A man was in here looking for you last night.
The first sign of the monsoon is a cloud on the
horizon no bigger than a man’s hand.
Forty buses have been withdrawn from service
by the Liverpool Corporation.
5. This engine has the power of forty buses.
6. Yesterday, Nancy married a Norwegian.
7. My sister also wants to marry a Norwegian.
8. John is looking for a car to buy.
9. Dick believes that a man with a limp killed
Bo Peep.
*