Syntax Vocabulary Practice Flashcards
Syntax
A set of rules that determine the arrangement of words in a sentence. It’s a subset of grammar
Grammar
Linguistics that studies the rules of a language. It includes the study of: Syntax, Morphology, Phonology, Semantics, Pragmatics.
Morphology
The study and description of word formation. It includes inflection, derivation, and compounding.
Semantics
The study of meaning in language. It can be applied to entire texts or to single words.
Deictic Expression
can refer to different entities depending on
the speaker and his or her spatial and temporal orientation.
Lexical Semantics
A branch of linguistics that studies the meanings of words.
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. It consists of associations made with a concept whenever that concept is referred to
Social meaning
it is the meaning that a word possesses by virtue of its use in particular social situations and circumstances
Thematic meaning
lies in the manner in which a message is organized for emphasis
The Conceptual Theory of Meaning:
In the theory of meaning, just explained, words and things are directly related.
But in the conceptual theory of meaning words and things are related through the mediation of concepts of the mind.
Ogden and Richards (1923) saw this relationship as a triangle:
The Theory of Naming
This theory, explained in Plato‟s dialogue Cratylus maintains that language is a
communication system which works with two elements; the signifier, and the signified. Plato says that the signifier is a
word in the language and the signified is the object in the world that it „stands for‟ or „refers to‟. Thus, according to this
theory words and things are directly related. Traditional grammar was based on the assumption that the word was the
basic unit of syntax and semantics. The word was a „sign‟ composed of two parts, or components: the form (signifier)
and its meaning (signified).
The Behavioristic Theory of Meaning
The term context of situation is used by two scholars, first by an
anthropologist called Malinowski, and later by a British linguist called Firth. Both of these scholars stated meaning in
terms of the context in which language is used. These two maintained that the description of a language is not complete
without some reference to the context of situation in which the language operated. A more extreme view sees the meaning of the linguistic elements AS the situation in which the word is used. Bloomfield, the structuralist, maintained this behavioristic view. He explained his view through his famous account of Jack and Jill. As we know, Bloomfield is a follower of Skinner‟s school of psychology called behaviorism. However, Skinner‟s model has been severely criticized by Chomsky, a proponent of the conceptual theory of meaning
Syntactically
A way that relates to the grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence.
Polysemy
It can be defined as one form (written or spoken) having multiple meanings which are all related by
extension. e.g. head refers to top of your body, top of a glass of beer, top of a company. If two words are treated as
homonyms, they will typically have two separate entities
Homophony
When two or more differently written forms have the same pronunciation but different meaning; e.g.
sea-see
