Semantics Flashcards
Semantics
The study of the meaning of morphemes, words, phrases, and sentences. “The analysis of meaning”.
Pragmatics
The meaning of language in its context of use.
Metaphor
“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.
Pragmatics
The way speakers use language to express themselves.
Metonymy
A figure of speech in which an attribute or commonly associated feature is used to name or designate something.
Synecdoche
A figure of speech by which a more inclusive term is used for a less inclusive one, or vice versa.
Syntagmatic relations
The way lexemes are related in sentences
Paradigmatic
The way words can substitute for each other in the same sentence context.
Synonymy
Sameness of meaning
Hyponymy
Inclusion of meaning
Antonymy
Oppositeness of meaning
Incompatibility
Mutual exclusiveness within the same superordinate category
Homonymy
Two words are homonyms if they are pronounced the same (too, two).
Polysemy
A single word is polysemous if it has several meanings.
Compositional semantics
Theory that determines the meaning of a phrase by combining the meanings of its subphrases, using rules which are driven by the syntactic structure.
Reference (extension)
What it corresponds to in the world
Sense (intension)
What we know about its meaning, whether or not we know anything about its extension
Referent
The entity identified by the use of a referring expressions such as a noun phrase is the referent of that expression.
Extension
The set of all potential referents for a referring expression.
Prototype
A typical member of the extension of a referring expression is a prototype of that expression.
Stereotype
A list of characteristics describing a protype is said to be a stereotype.
Coreference
Two linguistic expressions that refer to the same real-world entity.
Anaphora
A linguistic expression that refers to another linguistic expression is said to be anaphoric or an anaphor.
The Principle of Compositionality
The semantic meaning of any unit of language is determined by the sematic meanings of its parts along with the way they are put together.
Denotative meaning
The logical meaning, which indicates the essential qualities of a concept which distinguish it from other concepts.
Connotative meaning
The additional or associated meaning, which is attached to the denotative, conceptual meaning.
Social meaning
It is the meaning that a word possesses by a virtue of its use in particular social situations and circumstances.
Thematic meaning
It lies in the manner in which a message is organized.
The Theory of Naming
Language is a communication system which works with two elements.
The Conceptual Theory of Meaning
Words and things are directly related.
