Semantics Flashcards
test 2 sense relationships, synonyms/antonyms
What is semantics?
the study of meaning in a language
- how one string of words can mean multiple things & vice verse
how word meanings relate to each other
Lexical semantics
the meanings of morphemes & words
Compositional semantics
the meanings of phrases and sentences
Pragmatics
the contribution of context
Sense (of a word)
mental concept associated with the word
Reference (of a word)
relation of the sense of some expression to particular entities in the world
-the collection of all the referents of an expression
Dictionary Style (how is word meaning stored?)
words are defined in terms of other words
-not the only way words are stored
dictionaries often paraphrase meanings using other words
Mental Image (how is word meaning stored?)
stored in mind as a mental image
-most words have no clear image attached to them
-people may have different images for the same word
Usage Based (how is word meaning stored?)
we know under what circumstances a word is appropriate if we know the meaning
-context related
Hyponym
when the meaning of one form is included in the meaning of the larger form
ex. beagle is a hyponym of dog
-subordinate term
Hypernym
general term, superordinate term
ex. fruit is the hypernym, berries is the hyponym
What is homonymy?
words that sound the same but have unrelated meanings
Homophones
pronounced the same, have different meanings, may or may not have different spelling
ex. bear/bare, see/sea
Homographs
spelled the same, different meanings
ex. saw (v)/saw (n), lead (v)/ lead (n)
What are synonyms?
words with nearly the same reference
ex. couch/sofa, resting/relaxing
