2. What is semantics?
SEMANTICS
is the technical term
used to refer to the
study of meaning.

3. The term semantics and meanings
The term semantics is a recent
addition to the English
language

5. •17th Centaury:
semantick philosophy
divination

6. •1894 semantics

7. •1897 semantique
coined from the
Greek by M. Breal.Michel Jules Alfred Bréal

8. In both cases the term
was not used simply to
refer to meaning, but to
its development - with
what we shall later call
'historical semantics'.

9. •1900 semantics
It treated semantics as the
'science of meaning,
It was not primarily
concerned with the
historical change of
meaning

10. Yet the term
semantics did
not catch on for
some time

11. •1923 semantics

12. Yet semantics does not occur in the
main body of the book itself.
However, it appears in an
appendix, which is itself a classic in
the field, entitled
The problem of meaning in primitive
languages,
written by the
anthropologist, B. Malinowski.

13. Semantics: other terms
H. G. Wells

14. semasiology
semology
semiotics
sememics
semics

15. The term meaning is
much more familiar to
us all
The term semantics and meanings

16. The dictionary will
suggest a number of
different meanings of
meaning, or, more
correctly, of the verb
mean,

17. Ogden and Richards were
able to list no less than
sixteen different meanings
that have been favoured
by 'reputable scholars'.

18. Those clouds mean thunder

19. A red light means 'stop’

20. I mean to be there tomorrow.
intend

21. Sign: Natural

22. Sign: conventional

23. Signs indicate something
that
• is happening,
•will happen, or
•has to be done.

24. Such signs provide
information or give
instructions, and it is easy to
assume that language
consists of signs of a similar
kind.

25. •The most relevant use
of the terms for our
purposes is found in
such sentences as
What does 'calligraphy' mean?
‘Calligraphy' is beautiful handwriting.

26. •In stating meaning, we
are obliged to produce a
term that is more
familiar than the one
whose meaning is being
questioned

27. Scientology
Nanotechnology
Sobajo
Foreign
language
Obscure
term
Technical
term

28. What is ‘Scientology’?

29. What is ‘nanotechnology’?

30. What is ‘friend’ in
Umbararo language?
sobajo

31. We translate from
obscure
terms, technical
terms, or a foreign
language into words
that can be easily
understood.

32. ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Humpty Dumpty

33. “I don't know what you mean by 'glory,' "
Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously.
"Of course you don't—till I tell you. I
meant 'there's a nice knock-down
argument for you!' “
"But 'glory' doesn't mean 'a nice knock-
down argument'," Alice objected.

34. "When I use a word," Humpty
Dumpty said, in rather a scornful
tone, "it means just what I choose
it to mean—neither more nor
less."
"The question is," said
Alice, "whether you can make
words mean so many different

35. • 'Then you should say what you
mean', the March Hare went on.
• 'I do', Alice hastily replied; 'at
least - at least I mean what I say -
that's the same thing, you
know'.
• 'Not the same thing a bit', said
the Hatter.

36. If our words have a
meaning, how can we fail to
say what we mean?
or
How can the words fail to
mean what they mean?
A BIG QUESTION

37. ANSWER
we wish to suggest that
the words do not mean
what they might most
obviously be thought to
mean.

38. There is some other
meaning besides
the 'literal' meaning
of the words

39. How can we achieve this?
•Intonation patterns.
This is all what I need.
A wink

40. Sarcasm

41. Semantics is a part
of linguistics, the
scientific study of
language.