SLHS 227 - Chapter 4

Lexical Semantics

The study of meaning related to words.

Synonyms

Words that have the same meaning in some or all contexts.

Dialect difference

Variations in language that may use different words for the same concept, such as 'lift' vs 'elevator'.

Stylistic difference

Variation in language style, such as formal vs informal; for example, 'insane' vs 'looney'.

Connotation difference

The association or emotional meaning of a word, as seen in 'house' vs 'hut'.

Antonyms

Words that have opposite meanings.

Complementary

Antonyms that are mutually exclusive, such as 'alive' vs 'dead'.

Gradable pairs

Antonyms that can vary in degree, such as 'big' vs 'small'.

Relational

Words that are oppositely related in context, such as 'give' vs 'receive'.

Homonyms

Words that sound the same but have different meanings, like 'bear' vs 'bare'.

Polysemous

Words with multiple conceptually or historically related meanings, such as 'diamond' (the shape or stone).

Hyponyms

A specific term that falls under a general category, as in 'rose', 'iris', 'poppy', 'daisy' → 'flower'.

Hypernyms

A general term that encompasses specific instances, like 'color' → 'red'.

Argument Structure

The way different kinds of verbs require different numbers of arguments.

Intransitive verbs

Verbs that take no arguments, such as 'sleep'.

Transitive verbs

Verbs that take one argument, such as 'find'.

Ditransitive verbs

Verbs that take two arguments, such as 'give'.

Phrasal Semantics

The study of meaning in syntactic units larger than one word.