Vocabulary 6

Question 1

Semantics

Answer 1

Semantics is the study of meaning in language. We know that language is used to express meanings which can be
understood by others. But meanings exist in our minds and we can express what is in our minds through the spoken and
written forms of language (as well as through gestures, action etc.).

Question 2

Lexicon

Answer 2

the vocabulary of a person, language, or branch of knowledge

Question 3

pragmatics

Answer 3

a branch of semiotics that deals with the relation between signs or linguistic expressions and their users

Question 4

morphology

Answer 4

the study of the forms of words.

Question 5

Metonymy

Answer 5

the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the track for horse racing.

Question 6

synecdoche

Answer 6

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in Cleveland won by six runs (meaning “Cleveland’s baseball team”).

Question 7

Connotation/denotation

Answer 7

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

Question 8

lexical semantics

Answer 8

Study of word meaning

Question 9

synonymy

Answer 9

A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language.

Question 10

hyponymy

Answer 10

a word of more specific meaning than a general or superordinate term applicable to it. For example, spoon is a hyponym of cutlery.

Question 11

antonymy

Answer 11

is a word that has the opposite meaning of another word

Question 12

incompatibility

Answer 12

the condition of two things being so different in nature as to be incapable of coexisting

Question 13

homonymy

Answer 13

ch of two or more words having the same spelling or pronunciation but different meanings and origins. For example, pole and pole, Compare with homograph, homophone.

Question 14

polysemy

Answer 14

the coexistence of many possible meanings for a word or phrase.

Question 15

Compositional Semantics

Answer 15

Compositional Semantics The general theory in compositional semantics: The meaning of a phrase is determined by combining the meanings of its subphrases, using rules which are driven by the syntactic structure.

Question 16

anaphora

Answer 16

repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect

Question 17

deixis

Answer 17

In linguistics, deixis is the use of general words and phrases to refer to a specific time, place, or person in context, e.g., the words tomorrow, there, and they.

Question 18

Sense

Answer 18

Sense is abstract conceptual content, essentially the dictionary definition and perhaps also involving aspects like what features the described concept has and how it is related to the meaning of other expressions such as synonymy, as opposed to reference, which is the concrete objects in the outside world comprised by the expression.

Question 19

Reference

Answer 19

is the use of a word or phrase to designate a specific entity or concept, rather than using it to express a general idea.

Question 20

possible worlds semantics

Answer 20

Possible worlds semantics is a general approach to theories of meaning, on which meanings (or, more precisely, semantic values) are assigned to sentences in terms of the truth-values they take across all possible worlds.

Question 21

semantic

Answer 21

relating to meaning in language or logic.

Question 22

syntax

Answer 22

the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language

Question 23

Principle of Compositionality

Answer 23

In semantics, mathematical logic and related disciplines, the principle of compositionality is the principle that the meaning of a complex expression is determined by the meanings of its constituent expressions and the rules used to combine them.

Question 24

Semantic features

Answer 24

In linguistics, semantic features are those linguistic units that contribute to the meaning of an utterance.

Question 25

Semantic roles

Answer 25

labels for the meaning properties or the parts that participants play in a state of affairs or a situation, in relation to a predicate. They are a concept that combines semantics and grammar, and that provides a level of abstraction for the statement of linguistic generalizations

Question 26

lexical relation

Answer 26

used to indicate any paradigmatic relation among words. It is not just a semantic relation; so, it includes phonetic relations such as rhyme and alliteration, morphological relations such as inflectional variations, and morpho-syntactic relations such as co-membership in a grammatical category.

Question 27

Detonative meaning

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Connotative meaning

Answer 28

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 29

social meaning

Answer 29

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

Question 30

hematic meaning

Answer 30

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