1、Lecture 4（第 2周） Semantic and Fuzziness.Lecture FourSemantic Boundary, Ambiguity and FuzzinessWhat words are fuzzy?Lock (1632 1704):Classification 2 properties: primary property and secondary property:Primary property:extension（广延）、mass（体积）、shape（形状）、density（密度）和 movement（运动） and so on are more objec
2、tive and therefore = Primary = clear = boundedSecondary property:color（颜色）、sound（声音）、smell（气味） and so on are more subjective, thus= Secondary = fuzzy = unboundedExamples and IllustrationsPrimary properties: Square, round, triangle, rectangular 平行四边形, 圆柱体, 圆锥体 do not depend on our senses to be so and
3、 are more objective. Therefore, We can tell their differences and they are never fuzzy.Secondary properties: red, blue, white, black, beautiful, ugly, loud, soft appeal to human senses sight smell hearing and so on for preciseness and are more subjective, therefore often fuzzyBig or small, far or ne
4、ar:This is a big mouseThis is a small elephantThey stand near each other. / My home isnear KoreaJourney to Beijing / a trip to the moonMore Examples and Exceptions山欲高，画出之则不高，烟霞锁其腰则高矣。（郭熙林泉高致）山欲高，白云绕其腰；水欲长，群山掩其源。咸与苦：尔雅释言：“咸，苦也”。又有“苦即大咸”。郝懿行：“苦味近辛”（“辛”的意思是辣，所以“辣”字从辛）故言辛苦咸极必苦故淮南子地形训：炼苦生咸”Exceptions然而，大
5、、小、高、矮等属于第一性的概念同样是模糊的。1 米 5的姑娘觉得 1米 7的男青年个头高，1 米 7的姑娘觉得矮；1 米 7的男性和 1米 7的女性相比，显得矮，身高接近 2米的篮球队员到了 NBA也仅仅是个中等个头。square / round face: not precise but fuzzyPhonetic 四指弯曲=wonderful. Why?斑竹 = 版主；粉丝 = fans玉米 = 宇迷 = 超女李宇春之迷者凉粉 = 张靓颖之粉丝（fans 的谐音）（参见徐盛桓 2006：18 24）。synthetic language and analytic language: Eng
6、lish (synthetic) and Chinese (analytic)Standard and regional dialects: 冯奇/红旗The boundary is fuzzy2.3 Syntactic Fuzziness: Old men and womenThey are flying planesVisiting aunts can be boring要死猎人的狗中国队大胜美国队 / 中国队大败美国队2.3 Syntactic Fuzziness: TenseThe present tense:Historical presentStrictly speaking, b
7、e going to is a present tense + progressive aspect, but the meaning is future tense2.3 Syntactic Fuzziness: 抗震救灾、救死扶伤救火在家养病逃命、逃生恢复疲劳盖被子打扫卫生晒太阳很中国非常可乐、非常女人太小儿科了未婚夫、未婚妻又当爹，又当妈不要太潇洒住谁？ 住我！Fuzziness Related to Logical Mattersand & or: 合取与析取关系John does not smoke or drink.I have no time or energy.How to p
8、araphrase: deep structure?John does not smoke and John does not drinkI have no time and I have no energy.Chomsky: Aspects of the SyntaxAll (none) of the blue, green, red, and (or) yellow pennantsMarkedness and UnmarkednessOpposition between markedness and unmarkedness:How wide is the road? Not: how
9、narrow?The highway is two meters wide. Not: twometers narrowSimilar adjectives: heavy / light, deep / shallow, big / small, old / young, far / near, long / short, many / few, good / badMarkedness and UnmarkednessNot all pairs of adjectives can form markedness and unmarkedness oppositions:pretty / ug
10、ly: “How pretty is she?” presupposes that she is pretty, not ugly.Similar examples:fat / thin, busy / free, sweet / odorous, great / little, clever / stupid, clean/ dirty, noble / humble, strong / weak,simple / complex, true / false, brave /timidSense of PerceptionConsider the following:What a big m
11、ouseIts a small elephant 100 yuan = a high price or low price?500 yuan = a high price or low price?Businessmen purchase second-hand furniture at a “high price” of 100 but they claim to sell it at a “low price” of 500.The meaning of high and low is fuzzy.Synaesthesia（通感）尖 and sharp: sense of touchBut
12、 we can say:尖（叫）声、眼尖、耳尖sharp eyes / ears / tongue / voice瞎说观音菩萨 / 观世音菩萨Sense of Perception 闻: In modern Chinese = smell孔子家语：“如入芝兰之室，久而不闻其香。”But in ancient Chinese = hear: 听而不闻、闻所未闻、百闻不如一见、早有耳闻、闻讯赶来、闻名、旧闻、新闻、久闻大名鲁迅阿长与山海经：“推她呢，不动；叫她呢，也不闻。”味：从口：说文解字：味：滋味但：从味觉引申到嗅觉：气味、香味、臭味English: flavor: smell tasteSy
13、naesthesia（通感）and fuzziness钱钟书：“寻常官能，时复互用，心理学命曰通感。”日常生活语言：“声音尖”、“嗓子脆”、“声音圆润” 文学语言：“声音不但会有气味哀响馥、鸟声香，而且会有颜色、光亮红声、笑语绿、鸡声白、鸟话红、声皆绿、鼓（声）暗。香不但能闹，而且能劲。流云学声，绿阴生静。花色和竹声都可以有温度：热、欲燃、焦。鸟语有时快利如剪，有时圆润如丸。五官感觉真算得有无相通、彼此相生了。” Synaesthesia and fuzzinessHarsha harsh texture (sense of touch)a harsh voice (sense of hear
14、ing)a harsh light / color (sense of sight)a harsh food (sense of taste)a harsh odor (sense of smell)In fact harsh is used as a supernym, a general word (perception) that covers thedomains of descriptive words. 上位概念词Part IIICognitive Linguistics3.1 Category and fuzzinessgrammatical category 语类noun, v
15、erb, fuzzy boundaries between grammatical categories:非常女人，做女人挺好的go my way, semantic categoryfish and man, drink and eatfuzzy boundaries between semantic categories喝西北风He is a big fish.Categorization & Conceptualizationcategorization: proposed as another termin contrast with category:category: static
16、 property (define boundaries)categorization: dynamic process (transcend boundaries)Conceptualization, categorization and category: Conceptualization is a psychological phenomenonCategorization is a parole-langue phenomenonCategory is a linguistic phenomenonCategorization is a result of conceptualiza
17、tionCategory is a result of categorizationBoundary, Fuzziness, Prototype & Margins“What kind of bird are you, if you cannot fly”, said the little bird to the duck. “What kind of bird are you, if you cannot swim”, said the duck and dived. (Prokofir, Peter und der Wolf) the little bird observes that t
18、he duck cannot fly the duck similarly observes that the little bird (a sparrow or a blackbird for instance) cannot swim they still call each other bird. birds: seem to share the same features such as animalfeatherswingslaying eggs & so forth. componential analysis: not ideally applicable for the cat
19、egorization of natural kinds since it allows fuzzy boundaries in the categorization of the entity it aims to represent. Boundary, Fuzziness, Prototype & MarginsDie: transitive or intransitive?He died a hero / died a glorious death.他死了父亲。买：买米打米 / 打酱油 = 打电话 / 打车（买？）买Fuzziness and MetaphorAristotle (Po
20、etics: XXI, 1457b): “ giving the thing a name belonging to something else, the transference being on the grounds of analogy”Quintilian (VIII, VI, 1):“The artistic alteration of a word or phrase from its proper meaning to another.”Traditionally:A trope: a nonstandard meaning used for its literary eff
21、ectSimply: metaphor: A = BFuzziness and MetaphorConsider the following The truth is clear.He was blinded by love.His writing is opaque.I see what you mean.SEEING domain = KNOWING domaineasy to see = understandunable to see = understandhard to see = understandsee = understandBoundary, Fuzziness, Doma
22、in and Domain MappingKnowerTopic of understandingQuality of understandingintelligenceSeerThing seenQuality of visionVisual abilityKnowing Seeing Example of domain mapping Fuzziness and MetaphorCognitive Linguists have identified a large number of conventionalized metaphors:DESIRE IS HUNGER:sex-starv
23、ed / sexual appetiteHOPE IS LIGHT:dim hopes, ray of hope, beacon light of hopeLOVE IS A JOURNEY:We have come a long way together / theirmarriage is going off-track / were just spinning our wheels.THEORIES ARE BUILDINGS:This theory has no windows / I examined the walls of his theoryFuzziness and Ment
24、al SpaceMental space: temporary container for relevant information about a particular domain:Orlando Bloom is the new James Bond.Iraq is the new Vietnam, as protests return to the airwaves.Two mental spaces for Bloom and Bond:British actor: Orlando Bloom: in the reality spaceCharacter: James Bond: i
25、n the movie spaceTwo mental spaces for Iraq and Vietnam:Iraq: war with the U.S.: in the 2004 spaceVietnam: war with the U.S.: in the 1970 spaceFuzziness, Mental Space BlendingMental space blending is metaphorical blending: (non-conventional metaphor mapping)Example 1Theres not a thing thats magical
26、about a computer. One of the most brilliantthings about a computer is that theres nothing up its sleeve. (Daniel Donnet:Edge 94, Nov 19, 2001)COMPUTERS ARE MAGICIANSExample 2:With Trent Lott as the Senate Majority Leader, and Gingrich at the helm in the House, the list to the Right could detestabili
27、ze the entire Ship of State.NATION IS SHIOFuzziness and MetonymyClassical definition: “Metonymy is a trope that takes its expression from near and close things and by which we can comprehend a thing that is not denominated by its proper word.” (Rhetorica ad Herennium before 82 A.D. Koch, 1999: 140 1
28、41)Modern definition: “Metonymy is a cognitive process in which one conceptual entity, the vehicle, provides mental accessto another conceptual entity, the target, within the same idealized cognitive model.” (Radden & Kovecses 1999:21)Classical example:The pen is mightier than the swordWriting essay
29、s is more powerful than using weapons.Fuzziness and MetonymyMetonymy: been studied forOver 2000 years by rhetoricians200 years by historical semanticistsAbout 2 decades by cognitive linguistsExample 1Kenneth loves ShakespeareShakespeare: not the person but the playwritten by personExample 2The White
30、 House never admits an errorWhite House: not the building but peopleworking in buildingBoundary, Fuzziness and Idealized Cognitive ModelAn Idealized Cognitive Model, ICM or Frame is the name given in cognitive linguistics to the mental representation knownas “meaning”. It is a mental construct which
31、 is recruited in a Mental Space as we think and speak. It has been proposed by scholars such asGeorge Lakoff and Gilles Fauconnier.Boundary, Fuzziness and FrameHere is the essence of the frame theory:When one encounters a new situation ., one selects from memory a structure called a frame. This is a
32、 remembered framework to be adapted to fit reality by changing details as necessary. A frame is a data-structure for representing a stereotyped situation like being in a certain kind of living room or going to a childs birthday party. Attached to each frame are several kinds of information. . Some i
33、s about what one can expect tohappen next (Minsky 1977: 355).Boundary, Fuzziness and Framea frame = a mental representation of ourknowledge of the world, a data-structure which is located in human memory and can be selected, or retrieved when needed. A frame is “a network of nodes and relations” (Mi
34、nsky 1977: 355) which seem tobe structured in different levels. There are the fixed top levels, representingthose components of a situation that are always true, and there are the lower levels, which have many terminals, “slots that must be filled by specific instances or data” (Minsky 1977: 355Part
35、 IVFuzzy Set TheoryWhat is Fuzzy Set Theory? Fuzzy set theory is the extension of conventional (crisp) set theory. Use: It handles the concept of partial truth (truth values between 1 (completelytrue) and 0 (completely false). It was introduced by Prof. Lotfi A. Zadeh of UC/Berkeley in 1965 as a mea
36、ns to model the vagueness and ambiguity in complex systems. Crisp Set & Fuzzy SetDark gray levels defined by crisp set and fuzzy set theories:Crisp Set & Fuzzy Set ExplainedClassical crisp set theory: to define a set of gray levels that share the property dark: we need a threshold, say the gray leve
37、l 0 - 100. All gray levels between 0 and 100 are element of this set, the others do not belong to the set. Fuzzy set theory: to define this set, weneed two thresholds, e.g. gray levels 50 and 150. All gray levels that are less than 50 are the full member of the set, all gray levels that are greater
38、than 150 are not the member of the set. The gray levels between 50 and 150, however, have a partial membership in the set.The Problem: Real-world vaguenessNatural language abounds with vague & imprecise concepts, e.g: “Sally is tall.”“It is very hot today.” Such statements are difficult to translate
39、 into more precise language without losing some of their semantic value: e.g, the statement “Sallys height is 152 cm.” does not explicitly state that she is tall, and the statement “Sallys height is 1.2 standard deviations about the mean heightfor women of her age in her culture” is fraught with dif
40、ficulties: Questions:Would a woman 1.1999999 standard deviations above the mean be tall?Which culture does Sally belong to, and How is membership in it defined? A Quantified Description of Fuzzy SetZadeh: Middle Age: 44 47 Modern Chinese Dictionary现代汉语词典：中年：四五十岁的年纪membership function: approximatingQ
41、uantificational description: an attemptto strike a balance between discrete units & continuous units: see below:.3.5.7.8911111.9.8.5.3Grade of Membership53525150494847464443424140Age Span易经：易之为书也不可远，为道也屡迁，变动不居，周流六虚，上下无常，刚柔相易，不可为典要，唯变所适。老子道经二章：天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已；皆知善之为善，斯不善已。故有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相倾，音声相和，前后相随。是以圣人处无为之事，行不言之教。万物作焉而不辞。生而不有，为而不恃，功成而弗居。 楚辞卜居：夫尺有所短，寸有所长，物有所不足，智有所不明，数有所不逮，神有所不通。段玉裁说文解字注 ：古今无定时。周为古则汉为今，汉为古则晋宋为今。
