Semantics Flashcards
1
Q
Sound Symbolism
A
- associations between certain sounds and abstract meanings
- used in marketing to mimic aspects of the product
e.g. Mazda ‘Zoom Zoom’, ‘z’ and ‘m’
2
Q
Semantic Field
A
- what the text is about/the general association between the words
e.g. sports - ball, bat, court
3
Q
Inference
A
- infer the meaning of something from a word
- helps achieve coherence as meaning/references must be inferred
e.g. words that are unkown to the leader lack inferetial meaning, lowering coherence
4
Q
Personification vs Animation
A
- personification - giving non-human things human characteristics
e.g. the waterfall cried - animation - giving non-human things animal characteristics
**e.g. the tree howled at the moon **
5
Q
Oxymoron
A
- a contradicting statement to emphasise something
e.g. deafening of silence
6
Q
Irony
A
- when a speaker states one thing but intends for the audience to interpret the opposite meaning
- often used with emphasis, elongated vowel sounds, slow tempo to fully achieve coherence
7
Q
Lexical Ambiguity
A
- a sentence/word that can indicate multiple meanings
- puns use lexical ambiguity for comedic effect, can grab attention
8
Q
Synonymy|Antonymy|Hyponymy
A
- synonomy - words with similar meaning
- antonymy- words with opposite meaning
- hyponymy - words within a hierarchy
**e.g. apple - hyponym - fuji | hypernym - fruit **
9
Q
Denotation vs Connotation
A
- denotation - literal meaning
- connotation - associated meaning, can be subjective
- connotation can help achieve function of text such as positive connotation in marketing
10
Q
Taboo and Euphamism
A
- taboo - topics that are not comfortably directly discussed within a society/culture
e.g. sex, profanity, racism - euphamism - phrases that indirectly discuss taboo or mask offensive meaning
- used in public and professional setting to signal respect and politeness, avoiding offense
e.g. gone to god meaning death
11
Q
Dysphemism
A
- phrase that further magnifies the inappropriate/offensive nature of a taboo
- used in more private and closer relationships to signal closeness adn be humorous or overtly signal lack of embarrassment for a taboo
e.g. take a piss meaning urinate
12
Q
Hyperbole vs Understatement
A
- hyperbole - overstatement/exaggeration to emphasise something for function/register
- understatement - underexaggeration to signal nonchalantness, bravery or humility, characteristic of Australian English and identity
