Vocabulary: Semantics key terms and phrases

Question 1

Semantics

Answer 1

The study of meaning in language, how it is constructed, interpreted, and negotiated by speakers of a language.

Question 2

Historical Semantics

Answer 2

The study of the change of meanings of expressions through time, in particular the change of meaning of words.

Question 3

Tonal effects

Answer 3

How difference in tone changes the meaning of the same phrase.

Question 4

Stress effects

Answer 4

How the difference of how you stress words in a sentence changes the meaning of the same phrase.

Question 5

Inflection

Answer 5

A change that signals the the grammatical function of words.

Question 6

Derivation

Answer 6

The formation of a word from another word or base to change the meaning (ex: happy vs unhappy)

Question 7

Pragmatics

Answer 7

Studies how the meaning of language changes in different contexts and how those contexts develop meaning. This is similar to Semantics, but is a different field.

Question 8

Signifier

Answer 8

A sign’s physical form (such as a sound, printed word, or image) as distinct from its meaning.

Question 9

Signified

Answer 9

The meaning or idea expressed by a sign, as distinct from the physical form in which it is expressed.

Question 10

Speaker-reference

Answer 10

What the speaker is referring to by using some linguistic expression

Question 11

Linguistic-reference

Answer 11

The symbolic relationship that a linguistic expression has with the concrete object or abstraction it represents.

Question 12

Referent

Answer 12

The entity identified by the use of a referring expression like a noun or noun phrase. So when someone refers to a bird, the referent is the specific bird they are discussing.

Question 13

Extension

Answer 13

Refers to the set of all potential referents for a referring expression. The extension of a noun includes all other referents.

Question 14

Prototype

Answer 14

A typical member of the extension of a referring expression is a prototype of that expression. So if you refer to a bird, bluebirds and robins are prototypes of bird.

Question 15

Stereotype

Answer 15

A general list of characteristics describing a prototype.

Question 16

Coreference

Answer 16

Two linguistic expressions that refer to the same entity. Coreferential expressions are not necessarily synonymous, they just can refer to the same entity.

Question 17

Anaphora

Answer 17

A linguistic expression that refers to another entity through a linguistic expression that is not coreferent. For example, “Sarah would marry whoever would have her”

Question 18

Deixis

Answer 18

A deictic expression has a set meaning in context but can refer to different entities depending on the speaker and their immediate context.

Question 19

Semantic meaning

Answer 19

The literal answer of a direct question outside of its immediate context.

Question 20

Morphological Structure

Answer 20

The internal structure of words

Question 21

Syntactic Structure

Answer 21

The structure of words and phrases in a sentence

Question 22

Principle of Compositionality

Answer 22

The semantic meaning of any unit of language is determined by the semantic meanings of its parts along with the way they are put together.

Question 23

Compositional/Formal Semantics

Answer 23

Studies the variety of grammatical patterns that occur in individual languages and across other world languages.

Question 24

Lexical Semantics

Answer 24

Studies the meanings of words and relations among words’ meanings.

Question 25

Denotative meaning

Answer 25

The logical meaning, which indicates the essential qualities of a concept outside of context.

Question 26

Connotative meaning

Answer 26

The additional or associated meaning which is attached to the denotative, conceptual meaning of a concept.

Question 27

Social meaning

Answer 27

The meaning that a word/phrase possesses by virtue of its use in particular social situations

Question 28

Thematic meaning

Answer 28

Belonging to, relating to, or denoting the theme of a sentence.

Question 29

The Conceptual Theory of Meaning

Answer 29

The theory that the meaning of signifier and signified are related through the mediation of concepts in the mind rather than their inherent qualities.

Question 30

The Behavioristic Theory of Meaning

Answer 30

The theory that meaning cannot be derived from language without some reference to the context in which the language is operated.