Review article about
semantics
Reviewed by Dewi Suriany
Title : Semantics
and Theories of Semantics
Post by : Abbas Bukhari at Academia.Edu
Pages : 14
The article give us the material about semantics, such as
:
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning
in language. The sound patterns of language are studied at the level of
phonology and the organization of words and sentences is studied at the level
of morphology and syntax. Semantics is that level of linguistic analysis where
meaning is analyzed. It is the most abstract level of linguistics, since we
cannot see or observe meaning as we can observe and record sounds. Semantics concerns itself with ‘giving a
systematic account
of the nature of meaning’ (Leech).
The
problem of ‘meaning’ is quite difficult; it is because of its toughness that some linguists went on to the extent of excluding
semantics from linguistics. A well-known structuralist made the astonishing statement that ‘linguistic system of a language does not include the
semantics. The system
is abstract, it is a signaling system, and as
soon as we study semantics we are no longer studying language but the semantic system
associated with language. The structralists were of the opinion that it is only the form of
language which can be studied, and not the abstract functions.
Both
these are misconceptions. Recently
a serious interest has been taken in the various problems
of semantics. And semantics is being studied not only by the linguists but also by philosophers,
psychologists, scientists, anthropologists and sociologists. so, how many meaning will we learn in semantics ? To answer this question, the researcher uses library research method.
Taking up some
of the above definitions of
meaning, we can discuss the different
aspects of meaning o a word as follows:
(i)
The logical or denotative meaning. This is the literal meaning of a word indicating the idea or concept to which it refers. concept is a minimal unit of meaning which could be called a ‘sememe’ in the same way as the unit of
sound is called a ‘phoneme’ and is like the ‘morpheme h Is structure
and organisation.
(ii)
The connotative meaning. This is the additional meaning that a concept
carries.
(iii)
The social meaning: This is the meaning that a word or a phrase conveys
about the circumstances of its
use.
That is, the meaning
of a
word is understood
according to the different style and situation in which the word belongs to a particular situation of
use ‘democilie’ is used in an official context, ‘residence’ in formal context,
‘abode’ is a poetic use and ‘home’ is an ordinary use.
(iv)
The thematic meaning: This is the meaning which is communicated by
the way in which a speaker or writer organises the message in terms of ordering, focus
and emphasis. It is often
felt,
for example, that an
active sentence has a different meaning from
its
passive equivalent although its conceptual meaning seems to be the same.
Some Terms and Distinctions in Semantics
(a) Lexical and
grammatical meaning
Lexical or word meaning
is the meaning of individual lexical items.
(b) Sense and Reference
It has been explained earlier that signs refer to concepts as well as to other signs.
(c) Sentence-meaning and Utterance-meaning
A distinction may be drawn between, sentence-meaning
and utterance-meaning.
(d) Entailment and
Presupposition
One sentence may entail other sentence—that
is, include the meaning of other sentence
in its meaning, just as hyponymy includes the
meaning of other word.
Theories of semantics
a) Traditional Approach:
We have noted earlier that meaning was always a central concern with thinkers.
b) Analytical/Referential Approach:
Between the symbol
and the object/thing there
is an intervening phenomenon which is
recognized as ‘the mediation
of concepts of the mind’.
(c) Functional Approach
In the year 1953
L. Wittgenstein’s
work Philosophical Investigation was
published.
Around this time Malinowski
and J.R. Firth were working to formulate the ‘operational character of
scientific concepts like ‘length’,
‘time’ or ‘energy’; they tried to grasp the
meaning of a word by observing the uses to which it is put instead of what is said about it.
(d) Field Theory of Meaning:
Basic to this theory is the concept
that each word in a language is surrounded by a network of associations
that connect it with other terms.
Many of these associations are embodied in figurative language: metaphors,
similes, proverbs, idioms, and the link.
Below we discuss five such major
sense-relationships.
1. Hyponymy
2. Synonymy
3. Antonymy
4. Polysemy
5. Homonymy
Strengthen of this article is
:
Explain each sentences more clearly and easy
to understand about all of meaning’s aspects in semantic.
Weakness of this article is :
There are so many examples.
Conclusion :
the researcher is really nice to compile all the datas in this article, there is essential correspondence between the sound of word and their meaning. However, this article also has the weakness which is contain so many examples to be understood. you can read the original file here:
https://www.academia.edu/11703317/Semantics_and_Theories_of_Semantics
