Semantics

Semantics definition

Aspect of language concerned with rules governing the meaning of content of words or grammatical units.

What words, phrases, and sentences actually mean.

Receptive Semantics

Receptive: Taking in / understanding

When you understand the meaning of words that you hear or read.

“Show me the apple” Knowing what apple is and pointing to it.

“Following directions”

Expressive semantics

Expressive: Expressing/saying

When you use words correctly to share meaning.
It’s about talking (or writing), not just understanding.

Kid pointing to a dog, saying “dog”. Expressive because they used the right word.

Object knowledge

• Particular objects (vocabulary words, people, places, things)

• Classes of objects (i.e., categories)

• Knowing what those objects are used for or what makes them different from other objects.

Knowing a ball is round, you can throw it and it’s for playing.

Shoes are for your feet, not your hands.

Nouns (Meaning of words)

People, places, things, ideas:

Dog, school, pencil

Verbs (Meaning of words)

Actions/what you do:

Run, walk, study, eat, laugh

Adjectives (Meaning of words)

A word that describes a noun (a person, place, or thing)

The “red” balloon. The “tall” man. The “bouncy” ball.

Adverbs (Meaning of words)

A word that describes a verb, an adjective, or even another adverb.

• How, when, where, or to what degree something happens.

• How: She runs quickly.

• When: We will eat tomorrow.

• Where: Look outside.

• To what degree: It’s very hot.

Label objects (processing words)

Saying or recognizing the word (label) that matches an object.

What is this? An apple.

Functions/actions of objects

Saying what something does or how it’s used.

What does this do? You can eat it (an apple)

Associations

Saying what is connected, goes with or link meanings.

What goes with this? It’s also considered a snack. (the apple)

Categorization

The group something belongs to

These are all … healthy food (the apple)

Similarities and differences

How something is the same and how it’s different.

The apple and orange are both fruits and healthy. The difference is that the apple has smooth skin you can eat; orange has peel you don’t usually eat.

Multiple meaning words

What does the word mean? Does it mean something else?

• Apple (fruit) → the thing you eat.

• Apple (company) → the brand that makes iPhones and computers.

Concepts

Categories of meaning that help us understand and use language

• Numbers/quantity: one, two, all, some, many, less, none

• Spatial: Location, direction, position, on, under, over, behind, up/down

• Temporal: Time, before, after, later, yesterday, tomorrow.

Nomination (Object relations or semantic relations)

Naming ide

Existence (Object relations or semantic relations)

“This, there, that..”

““Look, that cookie!”

Nonexistence/disappearance (Object relations or semantic relations )

No, all gone; “Cookie gone”

Recurrence (Object relations or semantic relations )

More, again.

“More cookies”

Attribution (Object relations or semantic relations )

Linking an object with a word that describes its quality or property.

“The sweet cookie”

Quantity (Object relations or semantic relations )

The number of something

“Two cookies”

Action (Object relations or semantic relations )

What it does “give, throw, eat”

“Eat cookie”

Location (Object relations or semantic relations)

Where it is

“Cookie behind cup”

Possession (Object relations or semantic relations )"

My cookie

Nonliteral language

When words don’t mean exactly what they say

Idioms (Nonliteral language)

Not literal

“Hit the hay” — Sleep

Similes (Nonliteral language)

“Like” or “as”

He runs like the wind — running very fact

Metaphors (Nonliteral language)

Comparing two things directly but not using “like” or “as”

Time is money — Time is valuable

Proverbs

Traditional sayings that give advice or share wisdom

“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch!” means don’t assume success too early.