ENG112 Module 6 Lesson 1 Notes:
overview of semantics
• semantics – it is the study of the
meaning of words and sentences.
• reference – it is the relationship
between the word and the object or idea
it represents.
• referents – it is the one being referred
to.
• sense – there is something more to
meaning than reference alone.
Note: not all words have referents, but
all of them have sense.
• conceptual meaning – it is also called
denotative meaning / conventional /
cognitive meaning that refers to the
primary meaning of the word. It is the
first meaning that is conveyed to people
when the word is used in isolation. It is
neutral and objective as opposed to the
other kinds of meanings. For example:
the word Hollywood, it is a place in Los
Angeles California considered as the US
entertainment capital.
• associative / connotative meaning –
it is the connection you attached with it
aside from its conceptual or
conventional meaning, it is also
relatively unstable because word
meaning is often influenced by culture,
historical period, experiences of an
individual. It is relative or subjective and
open-minded which iso opposite to
conceptual meaning. For example: the
word Hollywood, it is associated with
actors and famous people, celebrities,
glitz and glamour.
• social / stylistics meaning – the
meaning conveyed by a word is
dependent on various social factors or
context of its use, also in examining the
meaning expressed in a word or
sentence, we have to consider the
social background of the speaker and
the intended receiver and their
relationship, and the context of the use
of the expression. Formal, informal,
colloquial, slang, all contribute to its
social or stylistic meaning.
• affective / emotive meaning – it
refers to personal feelings and emotions
of the speaker, including the attitude of
the listener towards the speaker and
vice-versa, emotions involved in the
communication process significantly
contribute the meaning of the word
expressed as well as intonation, tone of
voice, voice quality.
• reflected meaning – it is when a word
or phrase is associated with more than
one conceptual meaning. The taboo
sense of the word becomes dominant
that its non-taboo sense almost dies out.
For example: the word intercourse, one
of its meanings is communication or
dealings between people, but the sexual
association of the word drives away
from this innocent, conceptual meaning.
• collocative meaning – these are
words that always go together or co-
occur frequently. A word acquires
meaning on the account of the meaning
of other words which always occur
around it. For example: beautiful and
handsome, means good looking.
• thematic meaning – it refers to what
is communicated by the way a writer or
speaker organizes the message in
terms of order, focus, and emphasis.
The way we order our message also
conveys what is more important and
what is not. For example:
1. john is the richest man in cebu.
2. the richest man in cebu is john.
• meaning extension – in identifying
the semantic features of lexical items,
the general process of meaning
extension should be considered, this is
because many words have figurative or
metaphorical meanings rather than
being literal. For example:
Literal:
the sun shines.
the wind blew.
Metaphorical:
the sun smiled.
the win whispered.