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Semantics

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7 views1 page

Semantics

Uploaded by

easteak00987
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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<< Semantics >>

•The branch of linguistics that focuses on the study of meaning in language. It


examines how words, phrases, sentences and discourse convey meaning and how meaning
is interpreted by speakers and listeners. Semantics goes beyond the surfece-level
definitions of words and delves (reach inside) into the intricacies (details) of
how language conveys ideas, concepts and relationships.

Word Meaning :

1. Denotation : Refers to the literal or dictionary definition of a word. Example:


i) The denotation of "dog" is a domesticated carnivorous mammal.

2. Connotation : Refers to the associated or implied meaning of a word, which may


include emotional or cultural associations. Example:
i) The word "dog" may connote loyalty, companionship or affection.

3. Lexical Relations :
(i)Synonymy: Words that have similar or identical meanings. Example:"Big" and
"Large" are synonyms.
(ii)Antonymy: Words that have opposite meanings. Example:"How" and "Cold" are
antonyms.
(iii)Hyponymy: Words that have a hierarchical (rank-based) relationship, where one
word represents a more specific term or subset of another. Example: "Rose" is a
hyponym of "flower".

4. Sentence Meaning :
Propositional Meaning: Refers to the information or content expressed by a
sentence, independent of context. Example:The propositional meaning of "The cat is
on the mat" is that there is a cat on the mat.
Truth conditions: The conditions under which a sentence can be considered true or
false. Example:The sentence "It is raining outside" is true if there is
precipitaion (rain,snow-fall etc.) occuring outdoors.

5.Pragmatics :
Contexual meaning: Refers to the meaning of a word or utterance influenced bt the
context or situation in which it is used. The meaning of linguistic expressions is
not fixed and can vary depending on the context in which they occur. Contextual
meaning takes into account the specific situation, background knowledge, and shared
assumpations of the participants in a communication act. Example:
i) The meaning of "Can you pass the salt?" may depend on the context,such as being
at a dinner table.
ii)"I need a hand." Depending on the context it can either "I require physical
assistance" or "I need someone's help or support"

6. Lexical Ambiguity: Words can have multiple meanings, and the correct
interpretation depends on the context.For example, the word "bank" can refer to a
financial institution or the side of a river.

7. Syntactic Ambiguity: The arrangement of words in a sentence can lead to


different interpretations.For instance, consider the sentence "I saw a man with a
telescope." It can mean either "I used a telescope to see a man" or "I saw a man
who had a telescope". A dangling participle is a grammatical construction where a
participle ( a verb form ending in -ing or -ed ) is used at the beginning or middle
of a sentence, but it does not clearly modify the intended noun. As a reult, the
sentence becomes unclear or illogical. For example: Visiting teacher is boring.

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