2. Content
Definition of Semantics
Importance of semantics in the study of
language
Functions of language
Types of meaning
Sense relations
3. What is Semantic
Linguistics is the scientific study of language.
Linguistics is made up of branches namely:
phonetics and phonology, morphology,
syntax, semantics and pragmatics.
Semantics is the branch linguistics which
studies the systematic ways in which
languages structure meaning, especially in
words and in sentences (Finegan & Besnier
1989).
4. What is Semantic
Semantics has two subfields namely:
1. Lexical semantics which is concerned with
the meaning of the words and the meaning
relationships among words.
2. Phrasal or sentential semantics is
concerned with the meaning of syntactic
units larger than the word (Fromkin, Rodman
& Hyams 2011).
5. Importance of semantics in
the study of language
According to Lyons (1981) Linguistics is the
scientific study of language whereby
language is a system of arbitrary symbols
which people use to communicate.
In order for communication to successfully
take place meaning has to be conveyed and
this is where semantics comes in.
Semantics studies the relationship between
the signified (object) and the signifier (words,
symbols)
6. Importance of semantics in
the study of language
In other words semantics is concerned with
words and what they denote and connote for
example the term ‘book’ denotes printed
work but it can also connote knowledge this
is called lexical semantics.
Furthermore semantics studies the use of sign
systems called semiotics, it studies how this
signs are used to convey meaning e.g. the
alphabet sign system and the traffic signs
(Saeed 2009).
7. Importance of semantics in
the study of language
Semantics also studies the meaning expressed
in sentence utterances for example ‘I love
my dress’.
It is moreover at the centre of the study of
human mind-thought process, cognition and
conceptualization (Leech 1981).
Semantics goes beyond verbal language
because one can also communicate or
convey meaning without using spoken
language by using :
8. Importance of semantics in
the study of language
Facial expressions, dressing codes,
proxemics (distance or territoriality),
kinesics (body movement) and haptic
(touching).
Additionally semantics plays an important
role in translation, in order to accurately
translate a message from one language
to another; you need to understand what
the words mean in both languages.
9. Functions of language
Semantics looks at the functions of
language whereby in order to
comprehend what is being said or what it
means, you have to pay attention to the
following functions:
1. informal function-is the
language being used to inform you about
certain issues/what is the main purpose of
the message conveyed?
10. Functions of language
2. expressive function-how does the
speaker feel (happy, sad?);
3. directive function-what is your reaction
to what the speaker said? “Keep quiet!).
4. aesthetic function-is the message
entertaining?
5. phatic function-is the person talking in
order to get rid of awkwardness or to make small
talk (start a conversation)?
11. Types of meaning
According to Cruse (2011) the meaning of all
linguistic expressions vary with the context in
which they occur for example the word
“jersey” can have different meanings
according to how it is used: it can be a name
(proper noun) or just a noun.
Fromkin, Rodman & Hymans (2011) say that
the meaning of the word is what it refers to.
There are two main types of meaning:
denotative and connotative meaning.
12. Types of meaning
Conceptual/denotative meaning- refers to
the basic essential components of meaning
that are conveyed by the literal use of a
word. This is the type of meaning that one
can find in the dictionary.
In other words conceptual meaning refers to
the direct relationship between the object
and the word.
It is mostly used in formal writing and
discourse.
13. Types of meaning
Connotative meaning refers to the
communicative value that is associated with
an expression based on what it refers to
beyond its conceptual meaning (Leech
1990).
It varies from culture to culture, it is linked to
real life experiences.
Connotative meaning is further divided into 5
subcategories: social meaning, collocative
meaning, affective meaning, thematic
meaning & associative meaning
14. Types of meaning
Social meaning- refers to the level of meaning
that we rely on when we identify certain
social characteristics of the speakers and
situations from the character of the language
used.
In simple terms, we put meaning to
utterances according to the social contexts in
which they are used
It is concerned with social factors such as
social class and ethnicity.
Makes use of synonyms.
15. Types of meaning
Collocative meaning is the associated
meaning a word acquires in line with the
meaning of words which tend to co-occur
with it.
Affective meaning is the level of meaning
that conveys the language user’s feelings,
attitudes and opinions about a particular
piece of information or about the on going
context (Finegan & Besnier 1989).
We use stress, intonation and word choice to
communicate our feelings and attitudes
towards utterances and context.
16. Types of meaning
Thematic meaning concerns itself with
how the order of words spoken affects the
meaning that is entailed.
It is more concerned with active and
passive voice.
Associative meaning refers to what
different people associate words with for
example water can be associated with
life or healing.
17. Sense relations
According to Cruse (2011) sense relation is
a semantic relation between units of
meaning.
There are 5 types of sense relations:
1. synonymy
2. antonymy
3. polysemy
4. homonyms
5. hyponymy
18. Sense relations
Synonyms are two or more words which
are closely related in meaning e.g.
happy=content, joyful and pleased.
However the are hardly words that have
a precise meaning and that can be
replaced with the other.
There is nothing like a true synonyms
because synonyms belong to different
dialects e.g.
20. Sense relation
Synonyms have the same meaning but
differ in terms of context, connotation,
origin.
They have the same meaning but have
different associative and emotive
meaning .e.g.
hate vs loathe
misuse vs abuse
21. Sense relation
Antonyms refer to words with the opposite
meanings.
They are divided into many categories:
1. Simple antonyms refer to the relation
between words such that the negative of
one implies the positive of the other.
2. Gradable antonyms refer to the relationship
between opposites where positive one term
does not necessarily imply the negative of
the other.
22. Sense relation
3. Non-gradable antonyms
4. Reverse antonyms is the relation
between terms describing movement,
where one term describes movement in
one direction and the other in opposite
direction (Saeed 2009)
23. Sense relation
Polysemy refers to words which have a lot of
meanings attached to them mainly
depending on the context in which they are
used (part of speech).
Polysemy is economical, as it enables several
related meanings to expressed by a single
form (Cowie 2009).
Homonyms are words that are either written
the same ( homographs)or pronounce the
same (homophones) but have different
meanings.
24. Sense relation
Hyponymy is a relation between two
words in which the meaning of one of the
words includes the meaning of the other
word.
Cellphone= gadget, girl-person
Superordinate is referred to as the
hypernymy
subordinate
26. References
Cruse, A.(2011). Meaning in Language. An
Introduction to Semantics & Pragmatics.
Finegan, E. & Besnier, N.(1989). Language: Its
Structure and Use.
Fromkin, V. Rodman, R. & Hymans. (2011). An
Introduction to Language. (10th ed). USA :
WADSWORTH CENAGE Learning
Leech (1981).Semantics
Lyons, G. (1981). The study of language.
Saeed, J.(2009). Introducing English Linguistics.
Cambridge University Press.
