Predicate and predicator

Predicate : any word (or sequence of words) which (in a given single sense) can function as the predicator of a sentence.
Hungry, in, crook, asleep are all predicates.
Predicator : A word that 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.
- asleep is the predicator in Mother is asleep.
- Love is the predicator in The tall boy loved the Japanese girl.
- Standing is the predicator in James was standing there.

The verb be in its various forms (is, was, are, were, am) cannot be a predicator.
The term predicate identifies elements in the language system, independently of particular example sentences. Predicator identifies the semantic role played by a particular word (or group of words) in a particular sentence. It is possible to show the predicator of a sentence, but impossible to list the predicators of English. A simple sentence only has one predicator, although it may contain more than one instance of a predicate.
A tall, handsome stranger entered the shop.
This sentence have only one predicator enter, but the sentence also contains the words tall, handsome, stranger, and shop.

Referent vs Reference

Reference vs. referent
Reference: relationship between piece of language and the things in the world.
Referent: A referent is concrete object or concept that is designated by a word or expression.
Example:
Princess Diana is the referent of Rose of England.
The relationship between Princess Diana and Rose of England is called reference.

Sense and Reference

Reference : relation between piece of language and the things in the world. A referent is concrete object or concept that is designated by a word or expression, for example :
Historically, there was only one person called George Washington, the first president of US, but he can be referred to in a text in many ways, such as:
- the president
- Mr. Washington
- he
The different reference can have the same referent.
Example : morning star and evening star, both of which refer to planet Venus.
Sense : its place in a system of semantic relationships with other expressions in the language. Sense consists of 'semantic properties'. Example:
Woman has a sense of animate, female, married.
Girl has a sense of animate, female, unmarried.
To know what a woman means, you have to know what a girl means, so that you get the idea why a woman is different from a girl.
To make it simple, sense is the meaning of an expression, and if an expression refers to something, it has reference.

Speech Act Theory

People can do many things with speech. They can make promises, lay bets, warnings, offer congratulations, or swear on oath. When you say, “Be careful! Mr. Potter is in his office.” you not only say something, but you also warn someone.

The study of how we do things with sentences is the study of speech acts. In studying speech acts, we are dealing with the context of the utterance. “Mr. Potter is in his office.” may be a warning, but in some cases, the same sentence may be a promise, or merely information, depending on circumstances.

Speech act theory aims to tell us when we appear to ask questions but actually we are giving orders, or when we say something with special intonation and mean the opposite. Thus, when your friend says, “Excuse me, but you sit on my book,” he actually means “Don’t sit on my book!” It is not merely information, and you will not say “Thank you for informing,” without doing anything.

Normally, the speech act is a sentence, but it can be a word or a word or phrase as long as it follows the rules necessary to accomplish the intention. When one speaks, one performs an act. Speech act stresses the intent of the act as a whole. According to Searle, understanding the speaker’s intention is essential to capture the meaning. Without the speaker’s intention, it is impossible to understand the words as a speech act.

John R. Searle (1983) says that there are three types of speech act:

1. Locutionary acts

2. Illocutionary acts

3. Perlocutionary acts

Locutionary act is an act of saying something with the utterance’s exact meaning. Sometimes, locutionary act is merely called the act of saying something. In locutionary act, the speaker’s intention is not important. Thus, “I’m thirsty” is mere information to the hearer that the speaker is thirsty.

Illocutionary act is an act of doing something with a certain intention and function. Illocutionary act is sometimes called the act of doing something. When someone says “I’m thirsty.” he actually requests the hearer to take him a drink.

Perlocutionary act is an act to give an influence to the hearer. Sometimes, it is called the act of affecting someone.

Searle classifies illocutionary acts into five categories:

1. Assertives

An act in which the speaker commits to the truth of the corresponding proposition (i.e. He asserts the proposition), such as: stating, suggesting, complaining, claiming, and boasting.

2. Directives

Any illocutionary act which essentially involves the speaker trying to get the hearer to behave in some required way, example: ordering, commanding, requesting, advising, recommending, etc.

3. Expressives

Any illocutionary act to express the speaker’s psychological expression towards something, such as: thanking, congratulating, pardoning, blaming, condoling, etc.

4. Commisives

Any illocutionary act which essentially involves the committing to behave in some required way

5. Declarations

An act which relates the utterance with some state of affairs, for example: resigning, dismissing, naming, appointing, etc.

Actually, every utterance is some kind of speech act, even when there is no explicit performative verb. In “It is raining,” we recognize an implicit performance of stating. On the other hand, “Is it raining?” is a performance of questioning, just as “Leave!” is a performance of ordering.

References:

Fromkin, V, et al. 1990. An Introduction to Language. Australia: Hancourt Jovanovich Group

Hurford, James. R. 1983. Semantics: A Coursebook. England: Cambridge University Press.

Leech, Geofrey. 1983. Principles of Pragmatics. Edinburgh: Longman Group Limited.

What a good idea!

The most common mistake I find among non-native English speakers when they pronounce the word "idea" is that they put the stress on the first syllable. They say "/AYdie/" instead of "/ayDIE/". If you consult the dictionaries, the correct pronunciation should be "/ayDIE/". Now practice these words:

> idea: /aiDIE/
> good idea: /gud aiDIE/
> what a good idea: /wat e gud aiDIE/

Keep practicing!

Variations of metonimy

Since there are a lot of associations between objects, there are several variations of metonimy.

1. The sign for person/ thing symbolized.
Example:
> You must address The Chair.
(The Chair represents "The Leader")

2. The container for the thing contained.
Example:

> The cattle boils. (Of course, what boils is the water inside the cattle, not the cattle itself)

> The whole city went out to see the President. ("the whole city" means "all of the citizens")

> He was dead because he had drunk the fatal cup. (i think none would like to drink a cup. What he drank was the content inside the cup)

3. The instrument of the agent.
> The pen is mighter than the sword. (A pen is an instrument for writing, so it means that sometimes words can do something a sword can't)

4. The author for his works.
> I am reading Shakespeare. (means: I am reading one of Shakespeare's works.)

5. The name of a feeling or passion for the object.

> Oh my love, you are so beautiful. (The speaker mentions his feeling, "Oh my love," to address his lover.)