SEMANTICS
The study of the meaning of words, phrases and sentences.
CONCEPTUAL MEANING
The basic, essential, and logical meaning of a word, much like its dictionary definition.
ASSOCIATIVE MEANING
The additional meanings, feelings, and connections that a word brings to mind ased on
personal experiences, cultural context, or social settings.
In short:
Conceptual meaning is the literal, dictionary meaning of a word — it is objective.
For example, mother means “female parent of a child.”
Associative meaning is the emotional, cultural, or personal meaning — it is
subjective.
For example, mother can suggest love, care, protection, and warmth.
SEMANTIC ROLES
In a sentence, each noun has a semantic role that shows its relationship to the
action.
Agent is the one who performs the action.
Theme (or Patient) is the one who is affected by the action.
Examples The key opened the door. The dog chased the boy.
The boy kicked the Agent: the key Agent: the dog
ball. Theme: the door Theme: the boy
Agent: the boy
Theme: the ball The dog chased the boy. Agent = doer of the action
Agent: the dog Theme = receiver or affected by the
Theme: the boy action uy
The girl cut the rope with scissors. Agent: the doer of the action
Agent: the girl Theme: the entity affected by the action
Theme: the rope Instrument: the tool or means used to
Instrument: scissors perform the action
Experiencer: the one who feels or
Anna enjoyed her birthday party. perceives something
Experiencer: Anna Location: the place where the action
Verb “enjoy” occurs
Source: the starting point of a movement
Jack saw a monkey on the tree. or action
Experiencer: Jack Goal: the endpoint or destination of a
Theme: a monkey movement or action
Location: on the tree
We drove from Hanoi to Danang.
Source: Hanoi
Goal: Danang
LEXICAL RELATIONS
1. big - large Which pairs have similar Which pairs have opposite
2. rich - wealthy meanings? meanings? 4,5, 6
3. buy - purchase 1, 2, 3 Antonymy
4. big - small Synonymy
5. fast - slow
6. dead - alive
Gradable antonyms are pairs of words Non-gradable antonyms are pairs
that show different degrees of the same of words that show absolute
quality. opposites, not degrees.
Examples: Examples:
cold – cool – warm – hot alive - ✗ - dead
sad – a bit sad – okay – happy true - ✗ - false
short – medium – tall married- ✗ -single
They form a scale from one extreme to They express either one or the
another, not absolute opposites. other, with no middle point
between them.
Lexical Relations Examples:
rose, tulip, lily, sunflower
Hyponyms are specific words that
belong to a broader category.
Hypernyms are general words that car, bus, bicycle, scooter
cover a group of related items.
So: apple, banana, cherry, kiwi
• Hyponym = specific word
• Hypernym = general category
Hyponymy: a semantic relationship where a word's meaning is included in a more general
word's meaning, creating a hierarchical structure
Prototype
Meaning: A prototype is the best or most typical example
of a category in our mind.
Example: robin, dove, sparrow
penguin, ostrich
Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation but
different spelling and meaning.
Examples:
see ✗ sea
flower ✗ flour
night ✗ knight
Homonyms are words that have the same spelling
and pronunciation but different, unrelated meanings.
Examples:
bank – the side of a river / a place for money
park – a green area / to stop a car
bat – an animal / a sports tool
Polysemy is when one word has two or more related
meanings.
Examples:
head – part of the body / leader of a group
paper – material for writing / newspaper
Metonymy is when a word is used to represent
something closely related to it.
Examples:
The White House announced new policies.
I read Shakespeare last night.
The kettle is boiling.
COLLOCATIONS
A collocation is when two or more words often appear together in
English.
Even if other combinations are grammatically correct, they might sound
unnatural.
Example: make a mistake, do homework, fast food