U4 L5 Semantics Flashcards
What Greek word is the term semantics derived from? And what does that Greek word mean?
semantikos, signification
What is semantics?
scientific study of word meanings
What are the three main areas of semantics?
- philosophical
- general
- linguistic
What is does Linguistic semantics deal with?
- word meanings as they occur in language structure
- what they mean and add to context
What does General semantics deal with?
word influence and meanings on human behavior
What does Philosophical semantics deal with?
- symbolic logic
- theories of meaning
- looks at signs and symbols
- tries to form these into a symbolic language
- then tries to analyze relations btw signs and symbols and their meanings
What are the other/early names for semantics?
semasiology and significs
What is connotation?
- suggest meaning of a word
- differs from lexical meaning
When did modern semantics begin to develop?
early 20th century
Who developed a theory of general semantics?
Alfred Korzybski
What did S.I. Hayakawa advance?
study of general semantics
Is general semantics considered part of language studies of linguistic semantics?
no
What does General semantics deal with?
inadequacy of language to express what is left
What did IA Richards and CK Ogden use semantics in?
their study of stylistics and literary crticism
Why is context important to both meaning and understanding?
includes all parts of a sentence that surrounds a word/phrase that can give meaning to the word/phrase
What are the 5 levels of usage?
- intimate
- casual
- conference
- formal
- frozen
What is intimate level of usage?
- very close friends and family
- little context needed
What is casual level of usage?
- friends
- slang
What is conference level of usage?
- making appointment
- conducting business
What is formal/official level of usage?
adults who have higher positions than you
What is frozen level of usage?
- written material
- textbooks and formal written material
- very general because the audience is large and unknown
Why are semanticists interested in advertising?
- advertisers play/change the meaning of words for their own purpose
- meaning/grammatical use of a word in a slogan influences meaning/usage of word from that point forward
- shades of meaning communicated by words that qualify the meaning
How often do advertisements/advertising change the usage of a word?
sometimes
