Concave as a Semantic Feature: English vs. Spanish
Concave as a Semantic Feature: English vs. Spanish
Discussing whether ‘concave’ is a distinctive semantic feature (seme) in English and Spanish. According to structuralism, distinctive features differentiate units within a language system, from phonological to semantic levels. For example, phonetic features differentiate sounds (/k/ and /g/).
To prove a feature’s distinctiveness, we use a commutation test: changing a feature for its opposite and observing if sounds or words change.
Semantic Features and the Commutation Test
This analysis focuses on semes, semantic features articulating a word’s meaning. Languages differ, so some features are distinctive in only one language. The seme ‘concave’ is distinctive in Spanish. Applying the commutation test to rincón (concave area), changing it to the non-concave (convex) area, esquina, shows a change.
In English, corner refers to both convex and concave areas, so the commutation test doesn’t cause a change. Thus, ‘convex’ is not distinctive in English, but it is in Spanish.
Structuralism and Language Relations
According to structuralism, language is a system where units (phonemes, words, semes) relate through opposition or neutralisation. Saussure’s dichotomies include paradigmatic/syntagmatic relations, signifier/signified, langue/parole, and synchrony/diachrony.
Paradigmatic vs. Syntagmatic Relations
Paradigmatically related words are abstractly equivalent, sharing context and substituting each other due to related meanings and category. Syntagmatically related units share an environment in a phrase or sentence but cannot substitute each other due to unrelated meanings and different word classes.
Examples of Paradigmatic Relations
Words paradigmatically related to food include: nourishment, sustenance, fodder, provisions, meal, supplies, bread, pizza, and cuisine. For example, in “The boy scouts were running out of food,” many of these words could substitute food.
However, words like smell and taste are not equivalent to food, although they can combine in sentences like “I could smell the food from the kitchen.”