Semantics

1. Semantics

• Definition: The study of the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences.

• Key Term: Utterance

  • An utterance is any stretch of talk by one person, followed by silence from that person.

2. Word Relationships

2.1 Synonymy

• Definition: Two or more words with very closely related meanings.

• Examples:

  • almost/nearly

  • big/large

  • buy/purchase

  • cab/taxi

  • car/automobile

  • couch/sofa

  • freedom/liberty

2.2 Antonymy

• Definition: Two forms with opposite meanings.

• Examples:

  • alive/dead

  • happy/sad

  • hot/cold

• Types of Antonyms:

  • Graded Antonyms: Have meanings that can be used in comparative forms. (e.g., hot/cold)

  • Non-Gradable Antonyms: Opposite meanings that do not lie on a continuous spectrum. (e.g., push/pull)

2.3 Hyponymy

• Definition: When the meaning of one word is included in the meaning of another.

• Examples:

  • animal/dog

  • dog/poodle

  • vegetable/carrot

2.4 Prototypes

• Definition: The most characteristic instance of a category.

• Examples:

  • Furniture: chair (more recognizable than a bench or stool)

  • Vegetables: carrot (recognized better than potato or tomato)

2.5 Homophones

• Definition: Different written forms with the same pronunciation.

• Examples:

  • bare/bear

  • flour/flower

  • right/write

  • sew/so

  • to/two/too

2.6 Homonyms

• Definition: One form with two or more unrelated meanings.

• Examples:

  • bank (of a river) - bank (financial institution)

  • bat (flying creature) - bat (used in sports)

2.7 Polysemy

• Definition: Words with the same form and related meanings.

• Examples:

  • head: top of a body, froth on a drink, person in charge

  • run: actions of a person, water flow, colors fading

2.8 Metonymy

• Definition: A word used in place of another closely connected in everyday experience.

• Example:

  • He drank the whole bottle [meaning the liquid].

2.9 Collocation

• Definition: Words that frequently occur together.

• Examples:

  • salt and pepper

3. Cueing Systems

3.1 Semantic Cueing System

• Definition: Using clues in text to determine the meaning of unknown words.

• Sources of Clues:

  • Prefixes or suffixes

  • Other words in the sentence

  • Other words in the paragraph

3.2 Pragmatic Cueing System

• Definition: Reader’s background and context influences expectations for the text.

• Challenge: Discrepancy between the reader's cultural background and the author's may weaken this cue.

3.3 Graphophonic Cueing System

• Function: Helps readers sound out unknown words.

• Implication: If the word is in the reader's oral vocabulary, they can understand its meaning.

3.4 Syntactic Cueing System

• Definition: Provides clues from sentence structure.

• Example:

  • In the sentence "The boy rode the bike," the structure suggests that an adjective may follow.

4. Knowledge Check Questions

Q1: Which of the following are synonyms?

• Answer: Synonyms (mistake/error).

Q2: Example of non-synonyms?

• Answer: crooked - straight.

Q3: Which has the same spelling but different sound and meaning?

• Answer: Homograph.

Q4: What relationship exists between (declare) and (announce)?

• Answer: Synonymy.

Q5: What is an utterance meant to convey the opposite of the literal meaning?

• Answer: Metonymy.

Q6: Bite and byte are examples of?

• Answer: Homophones.

Q7: Words that are spelled the same but have different meanings?

• Answer: Homographs.

Q8: Which is not a pair of synonyms?

• Answer: abstract - summary.

Q9: How does lexical semantics show usefulness in risk management?

• Answer: Interpreting meanings of compound nouns.

Q10: An example of antonyms?

• Answer: enable - inhibit.

Q11: What do we call two or more words that often go together?

• Answer: Collocations.

Q12: Which is a semantic cueing system?

• Answer: Guesses based on context and earlier storyline.

Q13: The word "comply" is closest in meaning to?

• Answer: obey.