Understanding the Principle of Compositionality in
Semantics
Semantics, at its core, is the study of
meaning in human language. But what does it mean to study meaning, and how do
we approach this scientifically? In this article, we’ll explore how semantics
fits into the broader field of linguistics, why theories are essential, and
introduce a key concept: the principle of compositionality.
Semantics as a Scientific Study
Semantics is a branch of linguistics, which
itself is the scientific study of human language. Like any science, linguistics
relies on theories to explain the phenomena it observes. Just as physics has
theories to explain the physical world, linguistics needs theories to explain
how language works—especially how meaning is created and understood.
The Need for a Theory of Semantics
To develop a theory of semantics, we first
need to identify the phenomena that require explanation. One of the most
fascinating aspects of human language is our ability to create and understand
new, never-before-heard sentences. This ability is known as productivity.
What is Productivity?
Productivity refers to our capacity to
produce and comprehend novel meanings. For example, consider the sentence:
“The ugly man saw Mary and her cat that was
next to, or that jumped over, the planet Venus.”
Chances are, you’ve never heard this
sentence before. Yet, you can understand its meaning. This isn’t because you’ve
memorized every possible sentence in your language, but because you can
generate and interpret new meanings on the fly.
This challenges the behaviorist theory of language acquisition, which suggests
we learn language by imitation. Clearly, productivity shows that we do more
than just imitate—we create.
The Principle of Compositionality
So, how do we explain productivity? The
answer lies in the principle of compositionality. This principle states:
The meaning of a sentence is a function of
the meanings of its component words and the way they are combined.
Let’s break this down with an example.
Example: “Bob ate the apple.”
To understand this sentence, we don’t just
look at the meanings of “Bob,” “ate,” “the,” and “apple” in isolation. We also
consider how these words are combined according to the rules of syntax. For
instance:
- The meaning of “the” and “apple” combine to form “the apple.”
- “Ate” combines with “the apple” to form the verb phrase “ate the apple.”
- Finally, “Bob” combines with the verb phrase to form the complete sentence.
This process is similar to mathematics. For example, the result of 2 + 2 is 4,
but the order and method of combination matter, especially in more complex
expressions.
Why Order Matters: A Math Analogy
Consider the mathematical expression: 10 ÷
5 × 2
Depending on how you combine the operations, you get different results:
- (10 ÷ 5) × 2 = 2 × 2 = 4
- 10 ÷ (5 × 2) = 10 ÷ 10 = 1
The same principle applies to language: the way words are combined (syntax)
affects the overall meaning (semantics).
Syntax and Semantics: A Close Relationship
Because the combination of words is so
crucial, syntax and semantics are closely linked. There’s even a branch of
linguistics called semantical syntax, which studies how meaning builds upon
syntactic structure. Typically, syntax provides the structure, and semantics
interprets the meaning based on that structure.
Conclusion
The principle of compositionality is fundamental to understanding how we
create and interpret new meanings in language. It explains our remarkable
productivity and highlights the importance of both the meanings of individual
words and the rules for combining them.
Reference:
Linguistics with Dr. Nesrin. (2021, March 7). Semantics: Principle of Compositionality [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qCa0O4dOpk