QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
MODULE 4
Competencies: At the end of the module, the student should be able to :
[Link] understanding on the basic concepts of semantics as domain of Linguistics;
[Link] word relations such as lexical ambiguity, hyponymy, antonym and
synonymy; and
[Link] semantic featuring in some related words.
Module Overview:
This modules provides the students detailed and comprehensive lessons
on semantics as domain of Linguistics.
SEMANTICS
Semantics is from Greek sēmantikós, is a subfield of linguistics that is
traditionally defined as the study of meaning of words, phrases, sentences, and texts.
Linguistic semantics is the study of meanings that humans use language to express. It
is often used in ordinary language to denote a problem of understanding that comes
down to word selection or connotation. This problem of understanding has been the
subject of many formal inquiries, over a long period of time, most notably in the field of
formal semantics. Contrary to pragmatics, it does not analyze the intended speaker
meaning, or what words denote on a given occasion, but the objective, conventional
meaning.
Since semantics is the study of word meanings, connotations and denotations
must be first differentiated.
CONNOTATIVE AND DENOTATIVE MEANING OF WORDS
Every word has its meaning. Meaning however ,varies from one person to another.
For example, Valentines’ Day may denote a deeper meaning among the teens and
adults. It has romantic meaning to the younger ones. If the meaning of Valentine’s
refers literally to the day related to St. Valentin’s, a saint beheaded on the 14th day of
February, it is the conceptual meaning or the denotation of it. Hence, it is the day after
February 13. It does not mean anything. It refers to the denotative meaning of the word.
However, when people associate Valentine’s Day into a very especial and emotional day
QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
of love and its several touching impact, it has its associative meaning. Hence, the
meaning becomes connotative.
denotation connotation
Flame- a strong feeling or emotion
flame- fire
The flame of the candle was The desperate suitor felt the flame
blown away by the soft wind. in his heart as he walked away.
Denotation is the literal meaning of a word which can be found in a dictionary.
It does not suggest any associative relations at all. Connotation is the associative
meaning which person may think as he associates the word to other ideas. Below are
the two possible meanings of the word flame.
Below are some quotations full of connotatively expressed insights.
Can you explain the meaning of the following quotes ?
1. When God closes the windows, He opens the door.
2. After the rain, the sun will surely shine.
3. No matter how long the procession is, still the church is the finishing site.
4. For the lovers, the more that the flame is covered up, the hotter it burns.
SYNONYMS
Synonymy or synonyms are words that have the same or nearly the same
meaning. The best reference to consult for almost complete list of synonyms and
antonyms is the Thesaurus.
Knowing a variety of synonyms can add color and variety to the working
vocabulary of a person. Thus you will not get stuck with overused words and
expressions. Instead of using terms for several times, you may other words to make your
statement more efficient both in written and oral statements. However,synonyms do
not have exact meaning. They can not be used interchangeably. Exact use of terms
requires knowledge of the shades of differences in meanings of these words.
ANTONYMS
Two words are antonyms if their meanings differ only in the value for a single
semantic feature. They are words with opposed meaning. Example : The antonym of
common is rare.
The three kinds of Antonyms can be illustrated below as :
[Link] antonyms Teacher . . . . . student
Parent…… . child
QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Buy….. . . . . . sell
Relational antonyms are opposites where one
word describes a relationship between two objects, and
the other word describes the same relationship when the
two objects are reversed.
2. Complementary antonyms are absolute opposites, like mortal and
immortal.
Hot … . Warm … .Cool … . . Frozen
3. Gradable Antonyms
4. Gradable antonyms are opposites at either end of the scale or range , as
in Hot and Frozen.
Hyponymy
A hyponymy is a word that contains the meaning of another word. The contained
word is known as super ordinate. For example: Oak contains the meaning of tree.
Therefore, oak is the hyponym of the super ordinate tree.
DOG
The illustration shows that poodle, K-9,Chiuaua
are terms under the general term dog. The dog is the
super ordinate. Poodle ,K-9 and Chihuahua are
Poodle, hyponyms of dog.
K-9,Chiuaua
HOMOPHONES
Homophones are often mistaken for homonyms. But homonyms are words
which have the same written or spoken forms and unrelated meanings. A homophone
('same sound') is a word that has the same pronunciation as another word, but a
different meaning.
1. A flying creature
Bat 2.a gadget in baseball
1. Running contest
race 2. A group of people
QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
For example, punch and punch are homophones, but so are creak (the
sound) and creek (a tiny river). Homophones don't have to be spelled the same way.
Here are some more homophones:
- there, their and they're
- to, too, and two
- led and lead (the metal)
- weak and week
Many puns rely on homophones for their humor. Puns are figures of
speech that play on words. It expresses at least one word that has two or more
meanings or associations. Sometimes, one word sounds very much like another word
with a very different meaning.
This is often used by advertisers to get attention for their product.
Example : Muscle Fitness Gym
“We make you healthy and happy.”
HOMONYMS
A homonym ('same name') is a word that has the same pronunciation and
spelling as another word, but a different meaning.
For example, mean (an average) and mean (nasty) are homonyms. They are
identical in spelling and pronunciation, but different in [Link] are some more
homonyms:
- punch (a drink) and punch (a hit)
- dog (an animal) and dog (to follow closely)
- bat (an animal) and bat (baseball equipment)
To summarize:
Homonyms sound the same and are spelled the same, and have different meanings.
Homophones sound the same (but need not be spelled the same), and have different meanings.
METONYMY
Another interesting relation between words is metonymy. It is from the Greek
word metonumia, which means change a [Link] refers to a single word used as a
substitute for a related word or phrase. The word is based on close connection of
certain entities in everyday experience. The connection can be that of a container,
content, whole, parts and others. In the sentence : He drank the whole bottle implies
that He did not drink the container but the content of the bottle.
Other Examples :
I enjoy reading Shakespeare. ( referring to the literary works of Shakespeare )
QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Malacanang will make an announcement for the incoming holiday.( refers to the
Philippine President and/ or his staff )
Semantic Feature Analysis Strategy
Semantic-Feature Analysis is a strategy that helps reinforce vocabulary that is
essential to understanding important concepts in a text. The teacher builds a grid in
which essential vocabulary words are listed vertically and features and/ or ideas are
listed horizontally. Students complete the grid by indicating with a check mark or
minus sign whether each word possesses the stated features or is related to the ideas.
Semantic feature analysis is an n interactive strategy for vocabulary development and
text comprehension.
The Semantic Feature Analysis strategy engages students in reading assignments
by asking them to relate selected vocabulary to key features of the text. This technique
uses a matrix to help students discover how one set of things is related to one another.
This strategy helps students to :
1. understand the meaning of selected vocabulary words
2. group vocabulary words into logical categories
The purpose of using the semantic-feature analysis strategy is to help students
develop word associations and to extend their content knowledge. In addition, this
strategy can elicit prior knowledge if used before students read the text. It can serve as
a purpose for reading as well as an activity that allows students to monitor
comprehension if used during reading. It will allow students to assess their
comprehension if used or discussed after reading
Benefits of Semantic Featuring
A Semantic Feature Analysis improves students' comprehension, vocabulary, and
content retention. This strategy helps students to examine related features or concepts
and make distinctions among them. By analyzing the completed matrix, students are
able to visualize connections, make predictions, and better understand important
concepts.
Explanation : Indicate + if the item possess the description,else – (negative) if not.
U.S.A. Russia Japan Australia Taiwan Philippines
Democratic Gov'ts + + + + + +
Population more than 300 Million + + - - -
-
Centrally Planned Economy - + - - - -
Covid- 19 Affected + + + + - -