Semantics Flashcards
Def.: Semantics
‘Semantikos’ from Ancient Greek = ‘meaningful’
A sub discipline of linguistics which devotes itself directly and exclusively to the systematic study of meaning.
Chiefly concerned with the meaning at the level of the linguistic system, that is de-contextualized or Potential meaning. (Meaning in context would be pragmatics)
Semantics - meaning of propositions (abstract, de-contextualised)
(Utterance situated in discourse context)
semasiology versus onomasiology
Semasiology (from Greek, “signification”) is a discipline of linguistics concerned with the question “what does the word X mean?”. It studies the meaning of words regardless how they are pronounced. Semasiology starts with a word and asks for its meanings.
It is the opposite of onomasiology.
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Onomasiology (from Greek: ὀνομάζω (onomāzο)—to name, which in turn is from ὄνομα—name) is a branch of linguistics concerned with the question “how do you express X?” It is in fact most commonly understood as a branch of lexicology, the study of words (although some apply the term also to grammar and conversation).
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The exact meaning of semasiology is somewhat obscure. It is often used as a synonym of semantics (the study of the meaning of words, phrases, and longer forms of expression). However, semasiology is also sometimes considered part of lexical semantics, a narrow subfield of lexicology (the study of words) and semantics.
The term was first used in German by Christian Karl Reisig in 1825 in his work, [Lectures on Latin Linguistics] (German: Vorlesungen über lateinische Sprachwissenschaft), and was used in English by 1847. Semantics replaced it in its original meaning, beginning in 1893.
Semantics
- what types of words are there?
proper names,
nomenclature,
function words,
lexical words
Sign theory
Part of semantics
words as symbols, i.e. signs expressing an arbitrary relation between a form and its meaning(s)
a matter of convention
–> de Saussure
Semantics, sign theory
- motivation versus arbitrariness of form
Motivation:
The presence of some degree of necessity between the signified and siginifier of a sign. Makes the sign proper, and complete motivation makes the sign lawful. For example, a painting may resemble its subject, making it a proper sign.
Antonym: arbitrariness.
Arbitrariness:
The absence of any degree of necessity between the signified and siginifier of a sign. Makes the sign symbolic. For example, in English we say “bachelor” to refer to an unmarried man, but since we might just as well say “foobar”, therefore “bachelor” is a symbol.
Antonym: motivation.
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Proper Sign :
A sign which has an intermediate degree of motivation. For example, a photograph is a proper sign.
Cases: icon, index.
the relevance of encyclopedic
knowledge
encyclopedic knowledge:
the position of semantics in linguistics
.
the principle of relativity
.
aspects of meaning
Descriptive meaning:
- sense/reference,
- intension/extension;
- connotation/denotation,
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First words of pairs relate to conceptual side of meaning and to the problem how to provide a def. of meaning.
- sense: descriptive meaning is independent of a particular utterance and situational context
- intension of a linguistic expression is the bundle of semantic features
- connotation are secondary meanings
Second words are contrasting and relate to the relation between language and the world.
- reference: relations between external world (referent, if in particular context) and words
- extension: class of potential referents (e.g. all bottles of the world)
- denotation: Denotation is generally defined as literal or dictionary meanings of a word in contrast to its connotative or associated meanings. sometimes viewed as same as extension. But generally broader term.
Semantics
- Ways of defining meaning
paraphrase, pointing, sample reference, group of referents, typical features, prototypical member
Semantics
- contrasts
complementary
(binary, exclusive opposites)
gradable
(inclusive contraries),
relational
(converses),
directional
(reversive)
word field theory
Lexical field theory, or word-field theory, was introduced on March 12, 1931 by the German linguist Jost Trier. He argued that words acquired their meaning through their relationships to other words within the same word-field. An extension of the sense of one word narrows the meaning of neighboring words, with the words in a field fitting neatly together like a mosaic. If a single word undergoes a semantic change, then the whole structure of the lexical field changes. The lexical field is often used in English to describe terms further with use of different words.
Trier’s theory assumes that lexical fields are easily definable closed sets, with no overlapping meanings or gaps. These assumptions have been questioned and the theory has been modified since its original formulation.
cognitive semantics
- Is one area of study of cognitive linguistics (CL)
- CL is based on the idea that language reflects the way our brains organize meaning, the way our brains process meaning and how we perceive the world
- in CL it’s believed that linguistic knowledge involves not only knowledge of the language but knowledge of the world; our knowledge of the world is reflected in how our language is built-up
- cognitive semantics (CS) holds that language can only describe the world as people conceive of it
- CS is built on the argument that lexical meaning is conceptual: meaning is not necessarily reference to the entity or relation in some real or possible world; instead, meaning corresponds with a concept held in the mind based on personal understanding
Semantics
- metaphor theory
Part of cognitve semantics.
Conceptual metaphor theory
…explains how when using a metaphor two concepts are mapped together.
Source domain --> target domain (Vocab from source mapped on to target domain) EXAMPLE: "An Argument Is War" - we are fighting - win the argument - lash out - etc.
unidirectionality
- typical directions
- -> source concrete and target abstract?
Types of metonymies?
Conceptual blending, mental spaces
Lexical semantics
The study of meaning of individual words
Strictly speaking the unit of semantic description is the lexeme, the abstract entity subsuming the various inflectional forms of a word
Def.: Lemma
In lexicography, the Lexeme is often present as the lemma, i.e. the headword of an entry.
Thus, we would not expect a diff entry for boys and boy
Difference between semantics, lexicology and lexicography
Lexicology covers aspects of lexical semantics but in addition studies the morphological form and structural status of words
Lexicography could be said to be an applied branch of lexicology as it chiefly concerned with appropriate ways of representing meaning in dictionaries for various types of users. In that Sense it is a branch of applied linguistics
Structural and cognitive semantics
- where’s the difference?
Structural semantics exclusively focuses on the sense relations of the words and expressions that exist within a language system. It looks at language like a network of semantic relations with each word constituting a node in this network. The meaning of a word is defined by what it has in common with other expressions and by what distinguishes it from them. Structural semantics describes and analyzes meaning.
Cognitive semantics focuses on how our perception of the world influences the way our language is built up. Furthermore, it’s based on the idea that meaning is linked to how we group phenomena into conceptual categories. Cognitive semantics explains meaning.
Connotation - Denotation
Semantics
Semantics
Connotation secondary meaning, but can also be generalized (encyclopedic meaning?)
