SEMANTIC
1. What is Semantic?
semantics is the subfield that is devoted to the study of meaning, as inherent at the levels of words, phrases, sentences, and larger units of discourse (referred to as texts). The basic area of study is the meaning of signs, and the study of relations between different linguistic units.
2. Symbol and referent
A symbol is an object that refers to a referent.
Example: "STOP". On maps, crossed sabers may indicate a battlefield. Numerals are symbols for numbers (amounts). All language consists of symbols.
A referent is an object that is referred to by a symbol.
3. Conception of Meaning
Words → things: This view is found in the Cratylus of Plato (427-347 BC). Words “name” or “refer to” things. It works well for proper nouns like London, Everton FC and Ford Fiesta. It is less clear when applied to abstractions, to verbs and to adjectives - indeed wherever there is no immediately existing referent (thing) in the physical world, to correspond to the symbol (word).
Words → concepts → things: This theory was classically expressed by C.K. Ogden and I.A. Richards, in The Meaning of Meaning (1923). It states that there is no direct connection of symbol and referent, but an indirect connection in our minds. For each word there is a related concept.
The difficulty is in explaining what this concept is, and how it can exist apart from the word. In Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell imagines a society whose rulers remove disapproved thoughts by removing (from print and broadcasting) the corresponding words. However there are many real-world examples of concepts which came before the words which described or named them (hovercraft, Internet) or where the symbols have changed, but not the concepts they refer to (radio for wireless, Hoover for vacuum cleaner). This suggests that the concept is independent of particular language symbols.
Stimuli → words → responses: Leonard Bloomfield outlines this theory in Language (1933). A stimulus (S) leads someone to a response (r), which is a speech act. To the hearer the speech act is also a stimulus (s), which leads to a response (R), which may be an action or understanding.
S → r.................s → R
Jill is hungry, sees an apple (S) and asks Jack to bring it her (r). This new language stimulus, Jack's hearing her (s) leads to his action (R) of bringing her the apple. Bloomfield's behaviorist model leads to obvious problems - Jack doesn't bring Jill the apple because of a quarrel years before, or he brings several apples and a glass of beer.
4. Word and Lexemes
Word is a unit which is a constituent at the phrase level and above. It is sometimes identifiable according to such criteria as
· Being the minimal possible unit in a reply
· Having features such as a regular stress pattern, and phonological changes conditioned by or blocked at word boundaries
· Being the largest unit resistant to insertion of new constituents within its boundaries, or
· Being the smallest constituent that can be moved within a sentence without making the sentence ungrammatical.
Lexeme is an abstract unit of morphological analysis in linguistics, that roughly corresponds to a set of forms taken by a single word. For example, in the English language, run, runs, ran and running are forms of the same lexeme, conventionally written as RUN. A related concept is the lemma (or citation form), which is a particular form of a lexeme that is chosen by convention to represent a canonical form of a lexeme. Lemmas are used in dictionaries as the headwords, and other forms of a lexeme are often listed later in the entry if they are not common conjugations of that word. For example, the lexeme RUN has a present third person singular form runs, a present non-third-person singular form run (which also functions as the past participle and non-finite form), a past form ran, and a present participle running. (It does not include runner, runners, run able, etc.)
5. Denotation
Denotation is Actual meaning contained in the dictionary, Example Pig. In dictionary pig is an animal with pink, black or brown skin, a broad nose and have short tail which curls round it.
6. Connotation
Connotation is can usually be formulated as a series of qualities, contexts, and emotional responses commonly associated with its referent (that to which it refers). Which of these will be activated by the word will depend on the context in which it is used, and to some degree on the reader or hearer.
Example: "She's slim" has a positive connotation, suggesting the woman is not overweight.
"She's skinny" has a negative connotation suggesting the woman suffers from anorexia.
7. Implication
Implication is This is the meaning which a speaker or writer intends, but does not communicate directly. where as a listener we can conclude that is intended from what had been said, this is known as the (conversational) implicatures.
Example: On the road( Implicit meaning) we must carefully.
8. Pragmatics
study the use of signs, which specifically can be interpreted as the way people use sign language and how sign language interpreted. What is meant by definition these people are users of the sign itself as the speakers.
Example: claimed by these two governments risks reproducing exactly what they pretend to interrupt.
9. Ambiguity
Ambiguity is sentences which contain a double meaning or more than one either because the sentence structure or because of the use he said.
Example: Employees of a fat wife is from Surabaya.
The sentences above has the meaning ambiguous (double) so as to confuse people who read it. Who is fat, employee or employee's wife? That sentence does contain two meanings:
First, the fat is an employee; or
Second, the fat is the employee's wife.
10. Figure Of Spech
Figure of speech is is where a word or words are used to create an effect, often where they do not have their original or literal meaning
Example:
1. Metaphor
The substitution of a word for a word whose meaning is close to the original word.
2. Metonymy
a noun is substituted for a noun in such a way that we substitute the cause of the thing of which we are speaking for the thing itself; this might be done in several ways: substituting the inventor for his invention, the container for the thing contained or vice versa, an author for his work, the sign for the thing signified, the cause for the effect or vice versa
Example: I must comfort the weaker vessel, as doublet and hose ought to show itself courageous to petticoat
3. Synecdoche
Substitution of part for whole, genus for species, or vice versa
Example: Was this the face that launched a thousand ships.
4. Irony
Expressing a meaning directly contrary to that suggested by the words
Example: He was no notorious malefactor, but he had been twice on the pillory, and once burnt in the hand for trifling oversights.
5. Metaplesis
A double metonymy in which an effect is represented by a remote cause.
Example: Woe worth the mountain that the mast bear.
6. Paradox
A seemingly self contradictory statement, which yet is shown to be true.
Example: For what the waves could never wash away.
7. Oxymoron
A condensed paradox at the level of a phrase.
Example: O modest wantons! wanton modesty.
8. Anthimeria
The substitution of one part of speech for another; for instance, an adverb for a noun or a noun for an adverb.
Example: Lord Angelo dukes it well.
9. Litotes
Deliberate understatement or denial of the contrary.
Example: He is no fool.
10. Hyperbole
Exaggerated or extravagant statement used to make a strong impression, but not intended to be taken literally.
Example: His legs bestride the ocean, his rear’s arm
11. Semantic fields
Semantic field is A set of words (or lexemes) related in meaning
"The words in a semantic field share a common semantic property. Most often, fields are defined by subject matter, such as body parts, landforms, diseases, colors, foods, or kinship relations. . . .
"Let's consider some examples of semantic fields. . . . The field of 'stages of life' is arranged sequentially, though there is considerable overlap between terms (e.g., child, toddler) as well as some apparent gaps (e.g., there are no simple terms for the different stages of adulthood).
12. Synonym
Synonym is words that have the same meaning in a structural or lexical in different sequence of words.
Example: Rich = wealthy
13. Antonym
Antony is a word that means the opposite of each other. Antonyms are also called opposite.
Example: Up x Down
14. Hyponym
Hyponym is a word with a particular meaning that is included in the meaning of general words.
Example: Plant : Flower, tree, grass etc
15. Homonym
Homonym is A word that has the same pronunciation as another
Example:
plain (ordinary looking) and plain (flat country)
skip (to jump) and skip (to miss out)
miss (unmarried woman) and miss (to overlook)
pluck (to remove feathers) and pluck (bravery)
type (to write via keyboard) and type (a sort)
train (a loco and trucks) and train (to teach)
fluke (a stroke of luck Fluke ( the fins on a whales tail)
16. Homophone
Homophone is renounced the same way but differ in meaning or spelling or both (e.g. bare and bear)
17. Polysemy
Poliysemy is the capacity for a sign (e.g., a word, phrase, etc.) or signs to have multiple meanings (sememes)
Example: Wood:
a piece of a tree
a geographical area with many trees
an erection
18. Homograph
Homograph is word or a group of words that share the same written form but have different meanings.
Example
wind, wind
tend, tend
19. Collocation
collocation is two or more words that often go together. These combinations just sound "right" to native English speakers, who use them all the time. On the other hand, other combinations may be unnatural and just sound "wrong". Look at these examples: the fast train
fast food
quick food
a quick shower
a quick meal
20. Fixed Expressing and Idiom
A fixed expression in English is a standard form of expression that has taken on a more specific meaning than the expression itself. It is different from a proverb in that it is used as a part of a sentence, and is the standard way of expressing a concept or idea.
Examples include:
all of a sudden
come into mind
fall in line.
Idiom is: the expression is a combination of words that make up a whole new meaning where not associated with the word forming the basis.
Example: I will not be attending tonight's party because I am feeling a bit under the weather.
21. Semantic change and Etymology
Semantic change, also known as semantic shift or semantic progression describes the evolution of word usage — usually to the point that the modern meaning is radically different from the original usage. In diachronic (or historical) linguistics, semantic change is a change in one of the meanings of a word. Every word has a variety of senses and connotations which can be added, removed, or altered over time, often to the extent that cognates across space and time have very different meanings. The study of semantic change can be seen as part of etymology, onomasiology, semasiology and semantics.
Etymology is Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.
Example: "PHILOSOPHY. The Greek word sophia is ordinarily translated into English as "wisdom," and the compound philosophia, from which "philosophy" derives, is translated as "the love of wisdom." But sophia had a much wider range of application
22. Lexicology
Lexicology is the part of linguistics which studies words, their nature and meaning, words' elements, relations between words (semantically relations), word groups and the whole lexicon.
Example: John took off his jacket
John took his jacket off
23. Lexicography
Lexicography is a branch of linguistics pertaining to the inventory of words in a particular language.
24. Thesaurus
Thesaurus is: a reference work that lists words grouped together according to similarity of meaning (containing synonyms and sometimes antonyms), in contrast to a dictionary, which contains definitions and pronunciations.
Example:
eat (ēt)
transitive verb ate (āt; Brit usually et), eaten eat′en (ēt′'n), eating eat′·ing
-to put (food) in the mouth, chew if necessary, and swallow
-to use up, devour, destroy, or waste as by eating; consume or ravage: usually with away or up
-to penetrate and destroy, as acid does; corrode
-to make by or as by eating: the acid ate holes in the cloth
-to bring into a specified condition by eating: to eat oneself sick.
25. Libraries and Web portals
Libraries organize books under categories and sub-categories, the most popular model by far being the Dewey system named after its inventor. And portal sites on the World Wide Web organize information and links by (usually) a hierarchy of categories. These may all be helpful to you, in understanding semantic fields.
26. Epistemology
Epistemology is traditional name for the division of philosophy otherwise known as theory of knowledge. Epistemology underlies semantics in a fundamental way. Historically, it has had a profound influence on how we understand language. For example, a modern language scientist, looking at the class of words we think of as nouns, might wish to subdivide them further. But there is no very good reason to split them into those that denote physical and material realities and those that denote feelings and concepts - that is concrete and abstract nouns.
27. Color
Color is the byproduct of the spectrum of light, as it is reflected or absorbed, as received by the human eye and processed by the human brain.
Example: white, black, red, green, yellow, blue, brown, purple, pink, orange and grey.
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