Like many other words in the English language, the word “girl” can have different meanings to different groups of people.  It is something that you might not be thinking about when you use it, but it can have certain connotations, both positive or negative.  The first time I stopped to consider this was while reading Analyzing Meaning: An Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics, when I came across a few examples of binary feature analysis.  This analysis uses the symbols + and Ø to distinguish between different lexical categories; the + symbol shows a positive relationship, that the word has that feature, while the Ø symbol means that the word does not have that particular feature.  In one of the examples, they describe the word girl as -adult and -male.  This would mean that the word should only be used when referring to female children.  This was surprising to me, because I have used this word for not only female children, but also female adults.  For example, I was telling my friend a story about someone I work with, a 27-year-old with a child of her own, and I referred to her as “a girl that I work with.”  According to the textbook, this would be an improper use of the word; however, I don’t think it is that much of a stretch because many of my friends speak the same way.  Some of my friends even use the word when speaking to people who do not identify as female.  It is true that historically the word “girl” has been used to refer to female children, but one of the most beautiful things about language is that it is constantly shifting and changing, and it shouldn’t be governed by strict and outdated rules.  It is interesting to consider how this word can have different connotations depending on who is using it and how it is said.

Thanksgiving dinner can be the perfect opportunity to implement Grice’s Maxims of Conversation. Out of the four principles, quality, quantity, relation, and manner, I believe that the most effective to use would be relation. This principle simply means to keep the what you are saying relevant to the conversation at hand and not to veer off into random topics. For example, if Person A brought up the pandemic and vaccine mandates and it seemed like it would cause controversy, Person B could violate this principle by asking them something completely different, like how they are doing at work or how their children are if they have any. This would steer the conversation away from a controversial subject and make it obvious that it is something that they would not like to discuss.

The topic I am considering exploring is the textbook’s discussion of the word “girl”.  The textbook uses the word “girl” to give an example of binary feature analysis.  In this example, the word “girl” is said to have the feature [-adult].  However, during our own class discussion, most female students preferred this word over woman or other similarly meaning words.  I agree with this, when I speak about myself, I always use the word “girl,” and almost never refer to myself as a “woman.”

For my final paper, I would like to discuss why the word “girl” can be so controversial and how its meaning can be interpreted in different ways.  For some people, the word is very juvenile and can even seem misogynistic.  Although I do not personally subscribe to this theory, I think it would be very interesting to go into more detail and try to understand this line of thinking.  Then I would like to discuss the other side of the argument and try to give reason to why some people may prefer this word over its counterparts.  I would also like to do my own research.  I am hoping to get as large of a sample group as possible by asking not only my female friends but also many of my female coworkers and other people that I come across.  This is so I can make sure that I have as diverse a sample as possible, if I only used my friends it may be biased because over the years, we have mirrored some of each other’s vocabularies and share many of the same opinions.

1. Simple antonyms: right/wrong

When we got back our grades, I found out I had gotten the first question right.

When we got back our grades, I found out I had gotten the first question wrong.

These are simple antonyms because they are contradictory, they cannot both be true and they cannot both be false.  One of these must be the correct answer, because any answer must either be right or wrong.  There is no middle ground.

 

2. Gradable antonyms: won/lost

We won the game.

We lost the game.

These are gradable antonyms because they can’t both be true, but they can both be false.  Or one could be true and the other could be false.  It is not possible to win and lose a game, but it is possible to tie a game.  To tie a game would mean that you neither win nor lose.

 

3.  Reverse pairs: left/right

When we get to the light, go left.

When we get to the light, go right.

These are reverse pairs because they signify motion or change in opposite directions.

 

4.  Converse pairs: student/teacher

Brandon is my student.

I am Brandon’s teacher.

These are converse pairs because they are words that name a asymmetric relationship between two different things, and the positions are opposite each other.  The two complement each other, Brandon needs a teacher and I need a student.

 

5. Taxonomic sisters: Toyota/Jeep

I drive a Toyota.

I drive a Jeep.

These are taxonomic sisters because they belong to the same class of words.  In this case, both Toyota and Jeep are kinds of cars.

 

 

1a entails 1b

He broke his phone when he threw it at the wall.

The phone is broken.

 

2a presupposes 2b:

She stopped teasing him when he cried.

Trigger: stopped, presupposes that she had previously been teasing him

 

3a presupposes 3b:

I regret eating chocolate cake right before going to bed.

Trigger: regret, presupposes that I ate chocolate cake right before going to bed.

The pair of words that I chose with the same denotation and different expressive meanings are “mom” and “mother.”  They both usually refer to a child’s female parent, but they are used in very different situations.  Using the word “mom” seems very warm and gives a feeling of love and affection towards this person.  The word “mother” seems very cold and makes you think that the relationship may be very distant or strained.  “Mother” can also seem like a clinical term, anytime that you have to fill out forms that would ask for this kind of information, the word used is always “mother,” never “mom.”  The way this word is used in this situation may also be a reason that it seems so cold and formal.