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syntax_semantics

Syntax refers to the rules governing sentence structure and word order, while semantics pertains to the meaning derived from those structures. Both concepts are crucial in linguistics and programming languages, where syntax defines valid combinations of symbols and semantics explains their meanings and behaviors. Additionally, pragmatics addresses the user-related aspects of language, such as application efficiency and implementation ease.

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31 views

syntax_semantics

Syntax refers to the rules governing sentence structure and word order, while semantics pertains to the meaning derived from those structures. Both concepts are crucial in linguistics and programming languages, where syntax defines valid combinations of symbols and semantics explains their meanings and behaviors. Additionally, pragmatics addresses the user-related aspects of language, such as application efficiency and implementation ease.

Uploaded by

klee
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Syntax and Semantics

NEL C. HERNANDO, ME, MBA


What Is Syntax?
 Syntax refers to the rules of grammar in sentence structure—
the way that words are ordered to form sentences. Strong
syntax is marked by subject-verb agreement, proper word
choice, and putting phrases or words in the correct order. In
linguistic communication, a shared language makes it easy
for people to express ideas and understand one another, and
syntax offers a guidebook so everyone can possess the same
grammatical rules to communicate clearly and efficiently.
 The syntax of a programming language describes which
strings of characters comprise a valid program. The
semantics of a programming language describes what
syntactically valid programs mean, what they do. In the larger
world of linguistics, syntax is about the form of language,
semantics about meaning
Examples of Syntax in Writing
 Subject plus verb agreement
Sentences are often structured as subject plus verb plus direct object.
For example, “She tossed the ball.” The syntactic analysis of this sentence is
that “she” is the subject, “tossed” is the verb, and “the ball” is the direct object.
This sentence’s meaning is clear, and it fits into a natural language English
speakers share.

 Independent and dependent clauses


Syntax also uses a combination of independent and dependent clauses.
An independent clause is one that can act as a stand-alone sentence, such
as “She tossed the ball.” A dependent clause is one that is not a complete
sentence but might give more context to or support the independent clause.
You can add a dependent clause to a simpler sentence to enrich it: “After
building up her strength for several weeks, she tossed the ball all the way
from left field to home plate.” Everything up to the comma in that sentence
acts as a dependent clause to modify the independent clause.
What Is Semantics?
 Semantics refers to the meaning of a sentence. Without
proper semantics—and a thoughtful, grammatically correct
ordering of words—the meaning of a sentence would be
completely different. Linguists break semantics down into
various categories, including lexical semantics, which is the
study of word meanings and relations. On the other hand,
conceptual semantics looks at the ways in which semantics
are understood and acquired by people sharing a language.
Examples of Semantics in Writing
 Word order: Consider the sentences “She tossed the ball” and
“The ball tossed her.” In the first, the subject of the sentence is
actively tossing a ball, while in the latter she is the one being tossed
by a ball. Even though it is a grammatically correct sentence, the
latter makes less sense and doesn’t sound plausible.
• Deixis: Semantics can also rely on deixis, or common words that
give context to a place, time, or person. Words like “yesterday” or
“he” or “here” are examples of deixis and can help with semantics,
or the meaning of a sentence. For example, “He’s coming to dinner”
is a sentence that sparks urgency, whereas “He’s coming to dinner
tomorrow”—the indexical word being tomorrow—implies that the
person or people prepping for the dinner have more time to
prepare.
Many of the methods and much of the terminology of
linguistics apply to programming languages. For example,
language definitions consist of three components:
 Syntax refers to the ways symbols may be combined to create well-
formed sentences (or programs) in the language. Syntax defines the
formal relations between the constituents of a language, thereby
providing a structural description of the various expressions that make
up legal strings in the language. Syntax deals solely with the form and
structure of symbols in a language without any consideration given to
their meaning.
 Semantics reveals the meaning of syntactically valid strings in a
language. For natural languages, this means correlating sentences
and phrases with the objects, thoughts, and feelings of our
experiences. For programming languages, semantics describes the
behavior that a computer follows when executing a program in the
language. We might disclose this behavior by describing the
relationship between the input and output of a program or by a step-
by-step explanation of how a program will execute on a real or an
abstract machine
 Pragmatics alludes to those aspects of language that
involve the users of the language, namely psychological
and sociological phenomena such as utility, scope of
application, and effects on the users. For programming
languages, pragmatics includes issues such as ease of
implementation, efficiency in application, and
programming methodology.

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