Vocabulary: Semantics key terms and phrases Flashcards
(30 cards)
Semantics
The set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning
Semantic Theories
A shift from the structure to the meaning for language acquisition
Compositional Semantic
A subfield of semantics that studies the meanings of phrasal expressions, and how those meanings arise given the meanings of the lexical expressions they contain and how they are syntactically combined
Entailment
An entailment is a proposition (expressed in a sentence) that follows necessarily from another sentence.
Contradictory sentences
The opposite of analytic sentences. While analytic sentences are necessarily true as a result of the words in them, contradictory sentences are necessarily false for the same reason.
Collocation
Two or more words that co-occur in a language more often that would be expected by chance.
Metonymy
A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it
Polysemy
Having many possible meanings or interpretations
Homonymy
Two words sounding the same but having different meanings
Homophony
When two or more forms are the same only in writing but different in pronunciation and meaning they are described as homographs such as lead
Co-Hyponyms
Words in hyponymy that share the same superordinate (“Daffodil” and “rose” are co-hyponyms of “flower”)
Hyponymy
The abstract term for one thing being an example of a more general thing. “Car” is a hyponym of “vehicle.” “Vehicle” is the superordinate term.
Non-Gradable Antonyms
Words which are direct opposites (e.g. alive-dead)
Gradable
Antonyms that are not exact opposites but can be considered in terms of degree of quality
The Behavioristic Theory of Meaning
The term context of situation is used by two scholars, first by an anthropologist called Malinowski, and later by a British linguist called Firth. Both of these scholars stated meaning in terms of the context in which language is used.
The Conceptual Theory of Meaning
Words and things are directly related. But in the conceptual theory of meaning words and things are related through the mediation of concepts of the mind.
The Theory of Naming
Explained in Plato‟s dialogue Cratylus maintains that language is a communication system which works with two elements; the signifier, and the signified.
Thematic meaning
It lies in the manner in which a message is organized for emphasis.
Social meaning
is the meaning that a word possesses by virtue of its use in particular social situations and circumstances.
Connotative meaning
The additional or associated meaning, which is attached to the denotative, conceptual meaning. It consists of associations made with a concept whenever that concept is referred to.
Denotative meaning
The logical meaning, which indicates the essential qualities of a concept which distinguish it from other concepts.
Grammar
In a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others
The Principle of Compositionality
The notion that the meaning of a phrasal expression is predictable from the meanings of the expressions it contains and how they were syntactically combined.
phrases
a small group of words standing together as a conceptual unit, typically forming a component of a clause.
