Introduction to Semantics - Key Concepts and Terms

These flashcards cover fundamental concepts and terminology from the Introduction to Semantics course.

Semantics

The study of the relationship between linguistic form and meaning.

Presupposition

Information that must be accepted as true for the assertion to make sense, often not explicitly stated.

Entailment

A logical relationship where if one statement is true, another must also be true.

Implicature

A meaning that is suggested or implied by a speaker but not explicitly expressed.

Grice's Cooperative Principle

A guideline in communication that suggests participants should contribute to the conversation in a way that is informative, truthful, relevant, and clear.

Maxim of Quantity

An expectation in conversation that the speaker provides as much information as needed and no more.

Maxim of Quality

An expectation that speakers do not say what they believe to be false or for which they lack adequate evidence.

Maxim of Relevance

An expectation that speakers will be relevant in their contributions to the conversation.

Maxim of Manner

An expectation that speakers will be clear and orderly in their communication.

Felicity Conditions

Conditions that must be met for a speech act to be successfully performed.

Direct Speech Act

A speech act where the sentence form directly corresponds to its intended function.

Indirect Speech Act

A speech act where the intended function is not directly expressed through the form of the sentence.

Generalized Quantifiers

Quantifiers in natural language that express relationships between sets.

Cardinality

The number of elements in a set.

Situation Types

Classifications of situations described by predicates, such as states, activities, accomplishments, achievements, and semelfactives.

Tense

The grammatical category that locates a situation in time.

Aspect

The grammatical category that analyzes the temporal structure of a situation.

Imperfective Aspect

Aspect that focuses on the internal structure of an ongoing event.

Perfective Aspect

Aspect that presents a situation as a complete whole.