semantics

Semantics is generally considered to be the study of meaning in language.

What is Semantics ?

Some Views on semantics

1) One of the oldest views is the

Naming Theory.

The form is a word in a language and the meaning is the object in the world that it stands for, refers to or denotes.

Naming Theory?

Words are names or labels for

things.

In other words, the semantic relationship holding between words and things is the relationship of naming.

Weakpoints of Naming Theories

1) This theory seems to apply

only to nouns.

2)even with nouns, there will be problems, because many nouns such as unicorn, fairy, ghost, heaven relate to creatures or things that do not exist.

2. Concepts

This theory holds that words and things are related through the mediation of concepts of the mind.

This can be best illustrated by the Semiotic Triangle advanced by Ogden and Richards.

Thought or Reference

Symbol Referent

Thought or Reference

Symbol Referent

Linguistic elements such as words or sentences

The object, etc, in the world of experience

concept

According to this theory, there is no direct link between symbol and referent (between language and the world). The link is via thought or reference, the concepts of our minds.

This theory raises a new problem. For example, what is precisely the link between the symbol and concept?

Weakpoints ?

Some scholars have suggested that the link is simply a psychological one ---when we think of a name, we think of a concept.

The problem is that people don’t actually try to see the image of something in their mind’s eye every time they utter a word.

3. Context and behaviourism

During the period roughly from 1930 to 1960, linguists gave pre-eminence to the empirical or observational aspect in the study of meaning.

This theory holds that meaning should be studied in terms of situation, use, context---elements closely linked with language behaviour.

Firth, the leading British linguist of the period held the view that “ We shall know a word by the company it keeps.”

a piece of paper

a daily paper

an examination paper

a white paper

a term paper

4.behaviourist theory

According to Bloomfield, the meaning of a linguistic form should be viewed as “ the situation in which the speaker utters it, and the response which it calls forth in the hearer.”

S r s R

Events before

speech

Events after

speech

Speech

the famous account of Jack and Jill

S r s R

Events before

speech

Events after

speech Speech

Bloomfield argued that meaning consists in the relation between speech and the practical events S and R that precede and follow it.

5. Mentalism

This approach has been headed by Chomsky since 1960’s. Mentalists believe that data needed for the study of language can be supplied by direct resort to intuition.

They argue that people often judge which sentences are synonymous, which sentences are ambiguous, which sentences are ill-formed or absurd, based on their intuition.

Therefore they regard the task of semantics mainly as one to explain those data supplied by direct resort to intuition by constructing theories

Lexical Meaning

Two Concepts to Understand

Sense Vs Reference

Sense

Sense relates to the complex system of relationships that hold between the linguistic elements themselves; it is concerned only with intra-linguistic relations.

Cow/hello, sow/boar, ewe/ram, mare/stallion etc. form a pattern indicating a meaning related to sex.

Pairs of words can be formed into certain patterns to indicate sense relations.

Duck/ducking, pig/piglet, dog/puppy, lion/cub, etc. form another pattern indicating a relationship between adult and young.

Narrow/wide, male/female, buy/sell, etc. show a different pattern related to opposition.

In fact, when we are talking of sense relations, we are talking of synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, polysemy, homonymy, etc.

3.2 synonymy

Synonymy is used to mean “ sameness of meaning”

Context plays an important part in deciding whether a set of lexical items is synonymous.

" What a nice ----of flowers!"

The items “range, selection, choice,” etc. are synonymous.

" His ----of knowledge is enormous!"

Range, breadth,etc. are synonymous.

Difference in meaning

Amaze and astound form a pair of synonyms. Both suggest great wonder or bewilderment in the face of something that seems impossible or highly improbable.

But they differ in degrees of wonder or bewilderment. Amaze denotes difficulty of belief and astound extreme difficulty of belief.

A teacher was amazed to find that a lazy student had gained a �mark of 100 in an important test.

A woman may be astounded to learn that her dearest friend has been spreading malicious gossip about her.

“Anger, rage, fury, indignation and wrath” are synonymous in denoting the emotional excitement induced by intense displeasure.

"Anger" , the most general term, describes merely the emotional reaction; the word itself suggests no definite degree of intensity, and carries no necessary implication of outward manifestation;

" to conceal one's anger",

" Tom is easily aroused to anger."

"Rage" often implies a loss of self-control.

" fury" , the strongest word in the group, suggests a �rage so violent that it may approach madness;

The insolence of the waiters drove him into a rage, and he flung his plate to the floor and stalked out of the restaurant.

Mad with fury, John pounded his fists on the wall and beat his breast.

"Indignation" denotes anger based on a moral condemnation of something felt to be wrong and unfair; e.g.

Abolitionists viewed the institution of slavery with indignation.

Mary expressed her indignation at being unfairly dismissed.

English is particularly rich in synonyms for the historical reason that its vocabulary has come from two different sources, from Anglo -Saxon on the one hand and from French, Latin and Greek on the other.

Since English is considered to be a Germanic language from a historical point of view, with Anglo-Saxon as an earlier stage of its development, the "Anglo-Saxon" words are often considered "native" while those from French, Latin or Greek are “foreign”, “borrowed” from these languages.

Native Borrowed words

Answer reply

homely domestic

might power

buy purchase

fiddle violin

Native French Latin

kingly royal regal

time age epoch

rise mount ascend

fast firm secure

Triplets

native French Latin

belly stomache abdomen

holy sacred consecrated

fire flame conflagration

fear terror trepidation

ask question interrogate

A) dialectal synonyms

Synonyms belonging to different dialects of the language

British English American English

coach bus

garage Service station

Car park parking lot

Lay-by Rest area

tube subway

British English American English

Call box Telephone booth

telephonist operator

vest undershirt

pavement sidewalk

petroleum gasoline

B) words differing in styles or registers

Words having the same cognitive meaning but having different stylistic meanings

Penalties for overdue books will be strictly enforced. ( written ) You have got to pay fines for overdue books. ( spoken )

man (neutral ) chap ( colloquial ) fellow ( colloquial ) bird ( colloquial ) guy ( slang ) bozo ( slang )

domicile ( very formal ) residence ( formal ) abode (poetic) home ( general )

steed ( poetic ) horse ( general ) nag ( slang ) gee-gee ( baby talk )

C) words differing in emotive or

evaluative meaning

"little" and "small" are synonyms. But if any emotion is associated with the designation, we must choose "little".

" A small boy" is as good English as " a little boy."

Yet if you should exclaim" *Poor small boy!", the phrase is unidiomatic, because the word "small" has no affective meaning.

� What a pretty little house! That poor little girl! (indicating sympathy)

Isn't he a little devil! � � �

(indicating affectionate regard).

...She is a nice little thing �

�

( indicating tenderness or regard, but possibly patronage, or a �feeling of superiority)...."

appreciative derogative

frugal miser

bravery foolhardiness

Firm bigheaded

statesman politician

intellectual egghead

D) collocationally-restricted synonyms

These words can be considered as synonyms only when they occur in conjunction with certain words.

rancid, addled, sour, rotten:

rancid bacon rancid butter addled egg sour milk rotten butter and egg

pretty handsome

girl boy child man flower car garden table colour overcoat village airliner cottage house

sail a small boat navigate a liner teach arithmetic inculcate doctrine scholarly intelligence animal cunning offering to a church dole to the unemployed