Semantics: The Analysis of Meaning
Summary of Pages: 203-220
1- Definition of Semantics :
Semantics is defined as the study of meaning in human language. It focuses on how
words, phrases, and sentences convey content or messages in communication.
Essentially, semantics is about understanding how language expresses ideas,
concepts, and intentions.
2- The Major Topics in Semantics :
The Nature of Meaning
The Properties of the Conceptual System Underlying Meaning.
The Contribution of Syntactic Structure to the Interpretation of Sentences.
The Role of Non-Grammatical Factors in the Understanding of Utterances.
3- Semantic Relations Among Words :
3.1 Synonyms
- Synonyms are words or expressions that have the same meaning in some or all contexts.
Examples : Big/Large , Vacation/Holiday , Adolescent/Youth
3.2 Antonyms
- Antonyms are words or phrases that are opposites with respect to some component of their
meaning. Examples: Cold/Hot , Up/Down , Boy/Girl
3.3 Polysemy
- Polysemy occurs where a word has two or more related meanings.
Examples :
3.4 Homophony
- Homophony exists where a single phonetic form has two or more entirely distinct meanings.
Examples: Write/Right , Peace/Piece
- Polysemy and homophony create lexical ambiguity, in that a single form has two or more
meanings.
- The most ambiguous word in English may well be the word set .
4- Semantic Relations Among Words :
4.1 Paraphrase
- Two sentences that have essentially the same meaning are said to be paraphrases of each
other.
- Examples:
A. I gave the summons to Erin.
I gave Erin the summons.
B. It is unfortunate that the team lost.
Unfortunately, the team lost.
4.2 Entailment
- When the truth of one sentence guarantees the truth of another sentence, we say that there
is a relation of entailment.
- Examples:
A. The park wardens killed the bear.
The bear is dead.
B. Prince is a dog.
Prince is an animal.
4.3 Contradiction
- Sometimes it turns out that if one sentence is true, then another sentence must be false.
- Examples:
A. Charles is a bachelor.
Charles is married.
5- What is Meaning ?
- It’s easy to tell when two words or sentences have the same or different meanings.
But it is hard to explain what "meaning" really is. Even after centuries of study, we still
know little about how meaning works or how it is represented in the human mind.
Example:
We know that “dog” and “cat” don’t mean the same thing.
But what exactly is the meaning of “dog”? Is it the picture in your mind? The animal itself?
The word?
5.1 Connotation
Connotation is the set of associations that a word’s use can bring to mind.
But connotation is not the same as meaning (or not the whole meaning).
🔹 Example:
The word “winter” might bring up ideas like:
1- Snow
2- Bitter cold
3- Frozen fingertips
5.2 Denotation
Denotation (or referents) is the set of real-world things that a word refers to.
🔹 Examples:
“Winter” refers to the season between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
“Dog” refers to the group of animals that are canines.
5.3 Extension and Intension
Because meaning can’t just be about real-world referents, we distinguish between:
Extension: The set of entities in the real world that a word or phrase refers to.
🔹 Example: “Prime minister of Canada” → Stephen Harper (2014)
Intension: The inherent sense or concept behind the word.
🔹 Example: “Prime minister” → leader of the governing party
5.4 Componential Analysis
- Componential analysis is a way of representing a word’s intension by breaking it down
into smaller semantic features or components.
🔹 The words “man”, “woman”, “boy”, and “girl” can be described using features like:
- GO CONCEPT in Verbs
GO represents different types of change:
Positional change (moving in space)
Possessional change (change of ownership)
Identificational change (change of identity)
Examples:
“The bird flew to its nest.” → GO (positional)
“The coach gave a new ball to the children.” → GO (possession)
“The caterpillar turned into a butterfly.” → GO (identification)
5.5 Verbs and Subcategorization
- The meaning of a verb can affect the kind of phrases (like noun phrases or NP) it can
appear with. Some verbs allow two noun phrases (NPs), others do not. This depends on
semantic features in the verb.
Example (Ballistic motion vs. Continuous force):
1- These verbs allow two NPs:
throw, toss, kick, fling
→ Example: “Throw [NP the boy] [NP a ball]”
These describe ballistic motion: force applied quickly and then released.
2- These verbs do not allow two NPs:
push, pull, lift, haul
→ Example: *“Push [NP the boy] [NP the package]” (Incorrect)
These describe continuous force: force is applied the whole time.
6- The Conceptual System
6.1 Fozzy Concepts
Some words don’t have clear or fixed meanings. Their meaning depends on the situation
or the person using the word.
Example:
The word "rich" is fuzzy. We don’t all agree on how much money someone needs to be
rich.
6.2 Typicality
Within a concept, some examples are more typical than others.
Scientific categories like “bird”, people see some birds (like robins) as more typical than
others (like penguins).
→ Concepts have an internal structure: typical examples are at the center, less typical
ones on the edges.
6.3 Metaphor
We often understand one idea using another idea, especially in a creative or visual way.
Example:
We talk about time like it’s money: “You’re wasting my time.”
6.4 Lexicalization of Concepts
Different languages choose different ways to express the same idea using words.
Example:
In Inuktitut, the word "qana" means "falling snow," but in English, we say two words:
"falling snow."
6.5 Grammatical Concepts
Some ideas are shown in grammar, not in vocabulary—like showing past tense with "-ed"
in English.
Example:
The "-ed" in "walked" shows it happened in the past.