Semantics Journal
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Meeting 1 (What is semantics?)
What is Semantics? FOLK NAMES TECHNICAL TERMS
CONTENT • Meaning
• Wordings (words & structures) • (discourse) semantics
• Lexico-grammar
EXPRESSION • Sounds/letters • Phonology/graphology
A tri-stratal semiotic system of language
When the lights are out, they are invisible.
When the stars are out, they are visible.
There are three types of context:
1) Situational context what the speakers know about what they can see around the world.
2) Background knowledge context what the speakers know about another in the world.
3) Co-textual context what the speakers know about what they have been saying
Semantics investigates both denotative and connotative meanings. For example: Friday 13th
Denotative meaning the day between 12 and 14
Connotative meaning the bad day, the sacral day
A meaning of meaning is an idea represented by a word.
Plant sale a sale of plants (trees/flowers/etc.)
Garage sale a family sells their furniture (second hand furniture) in the garage when they want to move
Baby sale a sale of baby clothes, pampers/diapers, or baby equipment
Semantics is the study of meaning, it is one branch of linguistics dealing with the meaning of words, phrases and sentences. It is a wide subject within the general study of language. An understanding of semantics is essential to the study of language acquisition (how language users acquire a sense of meaning, as speakers and writers, listeners and readers) and of language change (how meanings alter over time). It is important for understanding language in social contexts, as these are likely to affect meaning, and for understanding varieties of English and effects of style. It is thus one of the most fundamental concepts in linguistics. The study of semantics includes the study of how meaning is constructed, interpreted, clarified, obscured, illustrated, simplified negotiated, contradicted and paraphrased.
Semantics is
Meeting 1 (What is semantics?)
What is Semantics? FOLK NAMES TECHNICAL TERMS
CONTENT • Meaning
• Wordings (words & structures) • (discourse) semantics
• Lexico-grammar
EXPRESSION • Sounds/letters • Phonology/graphology
A tri-stratal semiotic system of language
When the lights are out, they are invisible.
When the stars are out, they are visible.
There are three types of context:
1) Situational context what the speakers know about what they can see around the world.
2) Background knowledge context what the speakers know about another in the world.
3) Co-textual context what the speakers know about what they have been saying
Semantics investigates both denotative and connotative meanings. For example: Friday 13th
Denotative meaning the day between 12 and 14
Connotative meaning the bad day, the sacral day
A meaning of meaning is an idea represented by a word.
Plant sale a sale of plants (trees/flowers/etc.)
Garage sale a family sells their furniture (second hand furniture) in the garage when they want to move
Baby sale a sale of baby clothes, pampers/diapers, or baby equipment
Semantics is the study of meaning, it is one branch of linguistics dealing with the meaning of words, phrases and sentences. It is a wide subject within the general study of language. An understanding of semantics is essential to the study of language acquisition (how language users acquire a sense of meaning, as speakers and writers, listeners and readers) and of language change (how meanings alter over time). It is important for understanding language in social contexts, as these are likely to affect meaning, and for understanding varieties of English and effects of style. It is thus one of the most fundamental concepts in linguistics. The study of semantics includes the study of how meaning is constructed, interpreted, clarified, obscured, illustrated, simplified negotiated, contradicted and paraphrased.
Semantics is
References: Aitchison, J. (1997) The Language Web, pp. 61 - 78; Cambridge; ISBN 0-521-57475-7 Crystal, D. (1987) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, pp. 100 - 107; Cambridge; ISBN 0-521-42443-7 Crystal, D. (1995) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, pp. 138, 156 - 170; Cambridge; ISBN 0-521-59655-6 Potter, S. (1950) Our Language, pp. 104 - 116; Penguin; ISBN 0-14-02-0227-7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysemy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_polysemes