Lecture Three: The Scope of Semantics

Lecture Three
THE SCOPE OF SEMANTICS

SEMANTICS
COURSE CODE: ENG 943
COURSE TITLE: SEMANTICS
Course Teacher
Dr Wael As-Sawi
Al-Imam Mohammed bin Saud Islamic University
The Content
 1.0 Introduction
 2.0 Objectives
 3.0Main Content
 3.1 The Nature of Semantics
 3.2 Semantics and Other Disciplines
 3.3 Major concerns of Semantics
 4.0 Conclusion
 5.0 Summary
 6.0Tutor-Marked Assignment
 7.0 References
1.0 INTRODUCTION
 Semantics has its origin in philosophy.
 In France, the term “semiology” has been favoured.
 Inthis course, the emphasis is on linguistic semantics – with
our interest on the properties of natural languages.
 We shall see how this study relates to other disciplines.
 We shall also examine the real issuaes in linguistic
semantics.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
 At the end of this Lecture, you should be able to:
 Explain how semantics relates to other disciplines.

 Discuss the main areas of focus in semantics.
3.1 THE NATURE OF SEMANTICS
 In semantics, we study the meaning of words and sentences
of languages.
 Linguistic semantics studies meaning in a systematic and
objective way.
 Meaning is not static, a great deal of the idea of meaning still
depends on the context and participants in the act of
communication.
 Thereis a strong connection between meaning and
communication.
 Communication is the exchange of information, message,
attitude, feelings or values from one person to another.
 This is done mainly by the use of language.
 Language is a system, which uses a set of symbols agreed
upon by a group.
 These symbols can be spoken or written, expressed as
gestures or drawings.
 The symbols employed in language must be patterned in a
systematic way.
 Language is organised at four principal levels:
Sounds (that is phonetics/phonology),
Words (that is phonology),
Sentences (that is syntax) and
Meaning (that is semantics).
 Phonology and syntax are concerned with the expressive
power of language
 Semantics studies the meaning of what has been expressed.
 Knowledge of grammar is an aspect of the innate cognitive
ability of human beings.
 The power of interpretation complements that innate ability.
 Interpretation is an aspect of semantics.
 Therefore, language acquisition or learning includes not only
the knowledge of the organisation of sounds and structures,
but also how to associate meaning to the structures.
 Semantics can, therefore, be characterised as the scientific
study of meaning in language.
3.2SEMANTICS AND RELATED DISCIPLINES
A very strong ally of semantics is logic – a branch of
philosophy.
 Logical systems are known to exhibit coherent and consistent
models for evaluating thought.
 Semantics is also related to sociology and anthropology
 This is clear in the connection between language and culture.
 The whole essence of cultural relevance in language justified
the reliance on context for the meaning of expressions.
.
3.2SEMANTICS AND RELATED DISCIPLINES
 Semantics is related to psychology.
 Itdepends on the distinction between deep and surface
meaning.
 It
depends also on the power of the human brain to generate
many paraphrases of a single structure.
 Semantics is also related to communication theory.
 Information is carried and processed in the communication
system passing through the channel and the medium.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
List other disciplines related to semantics.

3.3 MAJOR CONCERNS OF SEMANTICS
 Semantics is associated with different issues related to
meaning including naming, concept, sense and reference.
 Naming is the understanding that words are names for things.
 The major problem with this naming is that, it is only nouns
that can be analysed semantically.
 In addition, abstract nouns like love, hatred, truth will be
difficult to explain since they are not living things.
(i) There is a red bull in the park
 This will have meaning, only if there is a red bull in a
particular park.
 Concepts mediate between the mind constructs and objects
in the real world.
 InSaussure’s sign theory, semantic triangle derives from the
conceptual approach to semantics.
 The approach emphasises the power of the mind to make
images and to associate these images to objects and ideas.
 Dictionariesrelies heavily on denotations and connotations,
two major angles to the study of meaning.
 Reference relates to things, people and events in the world.
 It is the object or entity to which a linguistic expression
relates.
 Thus, the referent of the word “boy” is a human being
called boy.
 Ifmeaning were restricted to reference, many words without
obvious referents will be left out.
 Several linguistic expressions may relate to single referents.
 To avoid these limitations, semanticists use the words
denotation and connotation to distinguish between meanings.
 Another interesting area of concern for semantics is sense.
 Sense explains the system of linguistic relationships, which a
lexical item bonds with others.
 If that relationship is ‫ا=ستبدا==لي‬paradigmatic, we have
synonymy, antonymic, and so on.
 However, if the relationship is ‫س==ياقي‬syntagmatic, we have
collocation.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
What are the main areas of the

concern of semantics?
.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Semantics has been found to be related to a wide range of
disciplines because of the general interest in meaning.
Inspecific terms, semantics has been formed to be relevant to
naming, reference and sense.
It is also concerned with the interpretation of sentences.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this lecture, you have learnt:
 The place of linguistic semantics in the study of meaning.
 Semantics and other related disciplines.
 The major concerns of semantics.
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
1.Discuss how semantics relates to other disciplines.
2.Identify the major areas of emphasis in the study of
semantics.
7.0 REFERENCES
Lech, G. (1981). Semantics. London: Penguin Books.
Ndimele, O. M. (1998). Semantics and Frontiers of

Communication. Port Harcourt: University of Port
Harcourt Press.
Palner, F. R. (1996). Semantics. London: Cambridge University

Press.

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Lecture Three

THE SCOPE OF SEMANTICS

COURSE TITLE: SEMANTICS

 Explain how semantics relates to other disciplines.

List other disciplines related to semantics.

What are the main areas of the

2.Identify the major areas of emphasis in the study of

Ndimele, O. M. (1998). Semantics and Frontiers of

Palner, F. R. (1996). Semantics. London: Cambridge University

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