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2.4.1 Meaning Properties
Lyons 1977: 57 states “Meaning properties is one of several features or components which together can be said to make up the meaning”. We can say that
the analysis of meaning properties is almost the same with componential analysis. We analyze the conceptual meaning of a word or utterances. In the componential
analysis of meaning, the analyzed word is written in small letters, and the component is written in capital letters and put in square bracket. There are five kinds of meaning
properties, they are meaningfulness, anomaly, contradictory, ambiguity, and redundancy Leech 1981: 29.
2.4.1.1 Meaningfulness
The word ‘meaningful’ means having meaning and significances. Any expression of language is meaningful. In order to be meaningful, an expression must
obey the Semantic rules of the language as obeying only the syntactic rule cannot end up with meaningful expression and must represent their meaning. So, from this,
it can be said that meaningful expression is the word or expression which has meaning and it is not strange or contradiction, and also must obey the grammatical
rules. Semantic theory must be able to distinguish and describe about both meaningful and meaningfulness, and must be able to say which expression is
meaningful or meaningless. For examples:
19 This is my house.
20 He is my brother.
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Sentences 19 and 20 are meaningful. The speaker and listener can easily get the meaning of each sentence, and the meaning is not strange.
2.4.1.2 Anomaly
If there is term meaningfulness, there must be term meaninglessness. Jerold J. Katz proposes the term anomaly as substitution of term meaninglessness. A
constituent is semantically anomalous just in case it is assigned no readings the set of readings assigned to its null -Katz 1972: 49-
Katz uses term reading to represent morphemes, words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. Anomaly happens when the selected features of one member of the
construction with it or the selected features are not familiar in the world every day. For example:
21 I heard trees whispering.
Sentence 21 is anomalous because tree is not kind of human, so it has no mouth and when it has no mouth, it will not possibly do a whispering.
2.4.1.3 Contradictory
A sentence is contradictory when there is a contradiction of meaning between the constituent expressions. It is impossible for the constituent expression to be true
at the same time in the same circumstances. For example:
22 I like what I dislike.
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In sentence 22, there is a contradiction. Usually, we hate what we dislike. 2.4.1.4
Ambiguity
Ambiguity, as ordinarily understood, is a case where there is a problem telling one thing from another, and accordingly, a semantic ambiguity is a case where
there are at least the two senses required to pose this problem. According to Hurford and Heasley 1983: 121, a word or sentence is ambiguous when it has more
than one sense.
Ullman in Pateda 2001: 202 divides ambiguity into 3 three main forms, they are:
a. Phonetical ambiguity This ambiguity exist because of the mixing of language sound uttered. It is
because the words that are formed to be a sentence uttered quickly, so that it becomes an ambiguity for people about the meaning of the sentence.
For examples, 23
Love her 24
Lover. In both examples 23 and 24, if people say it quickly, it will be
ambiguous for which one is used. b. Grammatical ambiguity
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This kind of ambiguity usually comes in unit of language named sentence group of sentences or words. Grammatical ambiguity can be seen
from 3 three sides: First possibility, is the ambiguity which is caused by word forming
grammatically, such as prefix and suffix that can make a word have two or more meanings, so that it can be confusing.
For example, 25
Suffix –able In desirable, readable adjectives, eatable, knowable, and debatable just happens in the same form.
In English does not always the same meaning. In desirable, readable adjectives, eatable, knowable, and debatable just happens
in the same form. Second possibility, is like Ullman’s equivocal phrasing and amphiboly
Pateda 2001: 204. Every words form a phrase, but the combination can have more than one meaning.
For example: 26
I met a number of old friends and acquaintance, In sentence 26, the word old here can be related to the old
friends or acquaintance. Third possibility, is the ambiguity that comes in context, individual
context or situation context. For example:
27 Go
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The word 27 can have more than one meaning. It can be where do you go? Or why do you go? To avoid this kind of ambiguity,
people have to know the context of conversation. c. Lexical ambiguity
Words in sentences have several meaning, and lexical ambiguity is resulted from polysemous word, or word has more than one meaning. Palmer
1976: 67 states that “polysemy is one word with several meanings”. It can be disambiguated by giving further information.
For example, 28
Glasses In example 28, it can be a thing useful to see clearly, or a container
for drinking.
2.4.1.5 Redundancy