Contrastive

Semantics
Lexicon Discourse
English vs
Spanish
 It is the study of how
language is used to represent
meaning.

Semantics semantics aims to explain

how literal meanings are
linguistically encoded and
decoded by speakers and
hearers.
Semantics
• Lexicon refers to the words of a language or language
variety, especially the way they are organized in the
mind.

Do not confuse with:

• Lexis also exists, but it tends to be used more as a

general word for the vocabulary of a language
 Process of an
utterance/word
 At the level of SEMANTICS:

For Here: indicates a

example: proximal location

Is: signifies existence in

Here is the location.

ring. The: the determiner shows that

both the speaker and hearer have a
previous knowledge of this ring.

Ring: an object in the

world.
 At the level of
pragmatics:
the branch of
linguistics depending on the context, the
dealing with hearer might infer that this speech
language in use act is a proposal of marriage, or a
and the contexts request for a divorce
in which it is
used
 At the level of
semiotics:the the ring itself may be understood
study of signs as a symbol of a bond, alliance, or
and symbols vow, which by extension might
and their use signify matrimony, allegiance to a
or college, or religious authority.
interpretation.
•beanbag, bench,
pew, seat, sofa,
stool
Semantic differences:
a word can have different meanings

Mary did her homework.

Bob did his homework.
su
su The cat hides its tail.
su
Semantic differences:
Cognates don´t always have the same meaning

SPANISH ENGLISH

Actual Present
Traducir Translate
Exponer Present
Librería Bookstore
Biblioteca Library
 For example:

Words in English “time” means → tiempo,

vez, hora
that have different
meaning in
Spanish “fine” means → bien,
bueno, atractivo, delgado,
multa
 For example:
“hacer” means → do, make
Words in
Spanish that “en” tiene diferentes significados
have more en inglés dependiendo del contexto
than one en que se usa:
meaning in
English “on”, “in”, “into”, or “at”
 • For example, in standard contexts
the English idiom silence is golden
means “keeping quiet is a good
idea” can be translated into
Spanish by the idiom “en boca
Idioms cerrada no entran moscas”
• (literally, “if you keep your mouth
shut, flies will not get in”) evoking
a mental image of a situation
where silence is advisable.
 What is the meaning in Spanish of:

• As clean as a whistle
• As dead as a doornail
• As dull as ditchwater
• As easy as pie
Exercise about • As mad as a hatter
As ugly as sin
•
lexicon and • At the eleventh hour
discourse • By the skin of your teeth
• In a stew, to be
References
• Corpas, G. (2003). Diez años de investigación en fraseología: análisis
sintáctico-semánticos, contrastivos y traductológicos. Madrid:
Iberoamericana. Verbuer.

• Lattey, E. (1956). Pragmatic classification of idioms as an aid for the

language learner. IRAL, 24 (3), 217-33