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  • From: "Barry H." <nebarry AT verizon.net>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Lexemes and meanings
  • Date: Mon, 06 May 2013 21:15:21 -0400

On 5/6/2013 6:51 PM, Michael Abernathy wrote:
> Karl,
> Back in prehistorical times, when I was in seminary, our linguistics
> professor took it as a given that words have multiple meanings. Not
> just in English but in human language in general.
> To bring home the point our professor pointed to the word "dog." Look it
> up. There are 10 definitions found in the Miriam Webster Dictionary.
> And it is not rare for an English word to have multiple meanings. It is
> more common than not. Just as an experiment I looked up the names of
> several objects in the room I'm in.
> I found 9 definitions for book, 6 for table, 8 for horse (a figurine not
> a real horse), and 5 for dragon (another figurine just in case you think
> my house is really strange). Many of those definitions were developed
> from the original use but they are nevertheless clearly distinct. I
> doubt you'll find a language where multiple meanings did not eventually
> develop for many of the words.

My favorite teaching example for demonstrating semantic range:

"The captain can run the ship with a run in her stocking while her crew members run a race on the run on deck 10."

Now, what does "run" mean?


--
N.E. Barry Hofstetter
The American Academy
http://www.americanacademy.net
The North American Reformed Seminary
http://tnars.net
Bible Translation Magazine
http://bible-translation.net




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