Semantics The systematic study of linguistic meaning
Semantics The systematic study of linguistic meaning
Linguistic Meaning The meaning of linguistic items (linguistic item anything, from a word to a grammatical morpheme or a combination of words) Different from personal/social/ cultural meanIngs
Linguistic Meaning • The meaning of linguistic items. • (linguistic item = anything, from a word, to a grammatical morpheme or a combination of words). • Different from personal/social/ cultural meanings
Different meanings of meaning What is the meaning of the word book? ° A specific book? The class of all books? The idea of bookness'(i.e the idea of what makes a book a book)
Different meanings of meaning • What is the meaning of the word book? • A specific book? • The class of all books? • The idea of ‘bookness’(i.e. the idea of what makes a book a book)
Semantic triangle idea/concept sign(phonemes/graphemes) real world Concept: mental class of things/humans/ events/ properties, etc that share certain features in meaning (i.e. which are sufficiently similar to each other) In other words, a concept is what allows us to recognize something as a book, as green, as walking, etc
Semantic triangle idea/concept sign (phonemes/graphemes) real world • Concept: mental class of things/humans/events/ properties, etc. that share certain features in meaning (i.e. which are sufficiently similar to each other). • In other words, a concept is what allows us to recognize something as a book, as green, as walking, etc
Speaker meaning ■ He is really stupid! What do you mean by stupid? u Not the idea of stupidity but what is the intention of using this word at all Meaning as relation between sign and intention of speaker speaker meanIng. Speaker meaning is less an object for semantics but rather for pragmatics/discourse analysis
Speaker meaning ◼ He is really stupid! ◼ What do you mean by stupid? ◼ Not the idea of stupidity but what is the intention of using this word at all. ◼ Meaning as relation between sign and intention of speaker: speaker meaning. ◼ Speaker meaning is less an object for semantics but rather for pragmatics/discourse analysis
Reference Can you give me this book over there! u Meaning as relation between sign and specific thing/ person/event/property in the " real word" is reference u It only becomes relevant in discourse/texts, i.e. when linguistic item actually used
Reference ◼ Can you give me this book over there! ◼ Meaning as relation between sign and specific thing/ person/event/property in the “real word” is reference. ◼ It only becomes relevant in discourse/texts, i.e. when linguistic item actually used
Sense u Meaning as relation between the sign and the concept/idea sense
Sense ◼ Meaning as relation between the sign and the concept/idea: sense
Connotations slut Meaning as associations evoked by ● prostitute concept connotations brat affective connotations child intertextual connotations ethanol alcohol obtain get scopophilic Peeping Tom
Connotations • slut • prostitute • brat • child • ethanol • alcohol • obtain • get • scopophilic • Peeping Tom • Meaning as associations evoked by concept = connotations • affective connotations • intertextual connotations
How do we know whether it is just a connotation? He is not skinny but slim If you can say this then the two terms differ in sense. ?You cannot get it there but you can obtain it. PARENTAL ADVISORY: EXPLICIT LYRICS ?It is a prick and not a penis
How do we know whether it is just a connotation? • He is not skinny but slim. • If you can say this then the two terms differ in sense. • ?You cannot get it there but you can obtain it. • PARENTAL ADVISORY: EXPLICIT LYRICS • ?It is a prick and not a penis
Lexical semantics Mental lexicon: list of all the words that we know in our heads stored there together with information about the grammatical and phonological properties of the words together with information about their meanings Lexical semantics studies the organization of the mental lexicon, this is, how lexemes are ordered there. Lexical semantics thus particularly looks at the meaning relationships that lexemes have with each other in the lexicon Assumption: meanings of a word can be described by the company it keeps
Lexical semantics • Mental lexicon: list of all the words that we know in our heads, stored there together with information about the grammatical and phonological properties of the words together with information about their meanings. • Lexical semantics studies the organization of the mental lexicon, this is, how lexemes are ordered there. Lexical semantics thus particularly looks at the meaning relationships that lexemes have with each other in the lexicon. • Assumption: meanings of a word can be described by the company it keeps