Chapter 6 - Semantics and Pragmatics Flashcards
Semantics
The study of the meaning of linguistic expressions, such as morphemes, words, phrases, clauses, and sentences.
Pragmatics
The study of the effect of context on meaning
Lexical semantics
The branch of semantics that deals with the meaning of words
Structural semantics
The branch of semantics that deals with the meaning of utterances larger than words
Lexicon
The mental dictionary each person has that contains the definitions of all the words that person knows.
Referent
The actual concrete item or concept to which the word refers
Referential meaning
Describes the referent, an action, or a state of being
Sense
The extended meaning of a word or phrase that, in context, clarifies the referent
Shifting referents
Referents that are different for each speaker and each sentence
Semantic properties
The elements of meaning that make up the lexical entry of the word in the speaker’s mind
Semantic domain
A set of words that share semantic properties
Distinctive feature analysis
The process of analyzing the semantic properties of a word
Markedness
The concept that some words or morphemes are more common or usual than others (actor/actress, lion/lioness)
Hyponyms
More specific words that constitute a subclass of a more general word
Synonyms
Words that have similar meanings and share the same semantic properties
Denotation
The referential meaning of the word or morpheme, often the first meaning listed in a dictionary
Connotation
A shade of meaning for a word or morpheme
Homonyms
Words that sound the same
Polysemous
Words have more than one meaning
Antonyms
Words that are opposite in one of their semantic properties
Complementary pairs
Antonyms that express a binary relationship such as the words male/female
Gradable pairs
Antonyms, such as big/little, that are part of a larger set of related words and express the concept that one of them is more whereas the other is less
Relational opposites
Antonyms that express a symmetrical relationship between two words, such as teacher/student
Structural semantics
The study of how the structure of sentences contributes to meaning
Contradictions
Utterances in which the the
