Semantics

The Study of Meaning in

Language

Siti Aisyah, M.Pd

 Semantics
Semantics: the study of meaning that can be
determined from a sentence, phrase or
word.

 semantics only focus on the sentence and

ignore about the context.

2
 language
Language is used to communicate each
other. It’s aim to exchange information,
ideas, message, attitudes, feelings from
one person to another person.
Language has 4 principal levels:
• sound (phonetic/phonology)
• Words (morphology)
• Sentences (syntax)
• Meaning (semantics)
Semantics Is…
The study of meaning in language of
what has been expressed..
It deals with the meaning of words
And how meaning of sentences is
derived from words.
 Semantics deals with sentence meaning
and pragmatics with utterance meaning.
As linguists, it is important to distinguish
between
SEMANTICS: Literal meaning “core
meaning”,
What is the difference?

House

Home
Denotation :Dictionary definition,
literal meaning

Connotation: Implied meaning,

connections to emotions and feelings
 Possitve Connotation
Nice – Awesome
Unusual - extraordinary

Negative connotation
Big – Chubby
Thin – Srawny
THEORIES OF MEANING
Four theories to the meaning of
words:
 Dictionary meanings
 Mental image
 Referents
 Componential
Dictionary Meanings
demand (N)
 the need or desire that people have for particular
goods or services
desire (N)
 a strong hope or wish
wish (N)
 the act of wishing for something
wish (V)
 to hope that something will happen
Mental image…
Is a graphic representation in one’s mind of a referent
(when I say table, you "draw" a table in your mind)
There is much more to meaning than a simple mental
image. Why?
 People may have very different mental images for same
word
(lecture – from perspective of student vs. teacher)
 Some words, even though having meaning, have no real
definite image
(honesty, or the)
 Mental images are usually a prototype or standard of the
referent
(bird: what bird? -- image may exclude a typical examples)
What is the prototype for bird?
But bird also includes…
Referents…
Have to do with the fact that words usually stand for
(refer to) actual objects or relations in the world.
 Example: “Manchester”, “Disney World.”
There is much more to meaning than a referent. Why?
 It would exclude from language fantasies, speculations, and
fiction.
(Santa Claus refers to what?).
 The fact that two words (or expressions) refer to the same
thing does not indicate that they mean the same thing.
(Queen Elizabeth = Queen of England in 2005?).
Componential Theory
The meaning of a word is specified by
smaller semantic components
Semantic components are primitive
elements of meaning expressed as
binary features (+ or -)
Semantic decomposition
woman: girl:
[+ human] [+ human]
[+ female] [+ female]
[+ adult] [- adult]

man: boy:
[+ human] [+ human]
[- female] [- female]
[+ adult] [- adult]
Semantic relationships
Semantic relationships indicate a
similarity in meaning between two
words.
 “crayon” and “pencil.”
 But not “pencil” and “refrigerator”,
for example.