Semantics

Question 1

Semantics

Answer 1

the study of the meaning of morphemes, words, phrases and sentences

Question 2

pragmatics

Answer 2

the meaning of language in its context of use

Question 3

metaphor

Answer 3

a figure of speech in which a term is transferred from the object it ordinarily designates to an object it may designate only by implicit comparison or analogy

Question 4

Metonymy

Answer 4

a figure of speech in which an attribute or commonly associated feature is used to name or designate something

Question 5

Synecdoche

Answer 5

a figure of speech by which a more inclusive term is used for a less inclusive one, or vice versa

Question 6

connotation

Answer 6

an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning

Question 7

denotation

Answer 7

the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests

Question 8

syntagmatic

Answer 8

of or denoting the relationship between two or more linguistic units used sequentially to make well-formed structures

Question 9

paradigmatic

Answer 9

of or denoting the relationship between a set of linguistic items that form mutually exclusive choices in particular syntactic roles

Question 10

synonymy

Answer 10

“sameness of meaning” (pavement is a synonym of sidewalk)

Question 11

hyponymy

Answer 11

“inclusion of meaning” (cat is a hyponym of animal)

Question 12

antonymy

Answer 12

“oppositeness of meaning” (big is an antonym of small)

Question 13

incompatibility

Answer 13

“mutual exclusiveness within the same superordinate category” (e.g. red and green)

Question 14

lexical semantics

Answer 14

looks at the classification and decomposition of lexical items, the differences and similarities in lexical semantic structure cross-linguistically, and the relationship of lexical meaning to sentence meaning and syntax

Question 15

compositional semantics

Answer 15

deals with how lexical meanings combine to form more complex phrasal meanings

Question 16

reference

Answer 16

what a concept corresponds to in the world

Question 17

sense

Answer 17

what we know about a concepts meaning

Question 18

possible worlds semantics

Answer 18

a complete and consistent way the world is or could have been in order to provide a semantics for intentional and modal logic

Question 19

trivial

Answer 19

denoting a subgroup that either contains only the identity element or is identical with the given group

Question 20

trivium

Answer 20

a group of studies consisting of grammar, rhetoric, and logic and forming the lower division of the seven liberal arts in medieval universities

Question 21

Deixis

Answer 21

a word or phrase (such as this, that, these, those, now, then, here) that points to the time, place, or situation in which a speaker is speaking

Question 22

Principle of Compositionality

Answer 22

the meaning of a complex expression is determined by the meanings of its constituent expressions and the rules used to combine them

Question 23

Denotative meaning

Answer 23

The logical meaning, which indicates the essential qualities of a concept which distinguish it from other concepts

Question 24

Connotative meaning

Answer 24

The additional or associated meaning, which is attached to the denotative, conceptual meaning. It consists of associations made with a concept whenever that concept is referred to

Question 25

Social meaning

Answer 25

the meaning that a word possesses by virtue of its use in particular social situations and circumstances

Question 26

Thematic meaning

Answer 26

lies in the manner in which a message is organized for emphasis

Question 27

Theory of Naming

Answer 27

maintains that language is a

communication system which works with two elements; the signifier, and the signified

Question 28

Conceptual Theory of Meaning

Answer 28

words and things are related through the mediation of concepts of the mind

Question 29

Behavioristic Theory of Meaning

Answer 29

the description of a language is not complete

without some reference to the context of situation in which the language operated

Question 30

Collocation

Answer 30

words which tend to occur with other words; e.g. hammer collocates with nail; wife with husband and knife with fork