Difference between revisions of "Semantics" - New World Encyclopedia

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'''''Semantics''''' ([[Ancient Greek|Greek]] ''semantikos'', giving signs, significant, symptomatic, from ''sema'', [[sign]]) refers to the aspects of [[Meaning (linguistic)|meaning]] that are expressed in a [[language]], [[code]], or other form of representation. Semantics is contrasted with two other aspects of meaningful expression, namely, ''[[syntax]]'', the construction of complex signs from simpler signs, and ''[[pragmatics]]'', the practical use of signs by agents or communities of interpretation in particular circumstances and contexts. By the usual convention that calls a study or a theory by the name of its subject matter, '''''semantics''''' may also denote the theoretical study of meaning in systems of signs.
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'''Semantics''' (Greek ''semantikos,'' giving signs, significant, symptomatic, from ''sema,'' sign) is a theory of the aspects of meanings of various forms of linguistic expressions: Such as natural languages, artificial languages, codes, etc. As such, it is contrasted with two other aspects of linguistic expressions. One is [[syntax]], which studies the construction of complex signs from simpler signs; the other is [[pragmatics]], which studies the practical use of signs by agents or communities of interpretation in particular circumstances and contexts.  
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There are various kinds of studies in semantics in various fields. For instance, in [[linguistics]] and [[philosophy of language]], the general natures of meaning are discussed and, in [[mathematical logic]], the formal structures of semantical concepts are developed. Other disciplines, such as [[computer science]] and [[psychology]], also address semantics, depending on the interests of the studies.
  
Though terminology varies, writers on the subject of meaning generally recognize two sorts of meaning that a significant expression may have:  (1) the relation that a sign has to objects and objective situations, actual or possible, and (2) the relation that a sign has to other signs, most especially the sorts of mental signs that are conceived of as ''[[concept]]s''.
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==Historical overview==
 +
[[Syntax]] is one of the major subfield of linguistics, whose origin can be traced back to [[Ancient Greece]]. The recent development of semantic theories witness various kinds of approaches. Componential analysis, having a long tradition, was recently developed by Fordor (1963), Wierzbicka (1972), Schank (1975), Jackendoff (1983; 1990), Goddard (1994), and others. Other major approaches that deviate from this are, for instance, structuralism and prototype theory. The former goes back to [[Ferdinand de Saussure]] and has been developed in two separate lines: The theory of lexical fields by Trier (1934) Lehrer (1974), and relational theories of word meaning by Lyons (1977), Cruse, (1986), Evens (1988) and others. The latter emerged in the theory of [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]] and was later established by Rosch (1978).<ref>Philip Edmonds, ''Semantic Representations of Near-Synonyms for Autocratic Lexical Choice'' (University of Toronto, 1999).</ref>
  
Most theorists refer to the relation between a sign and its objects, as always including any manner of objective reference, as its ''[[denotation]]''Some theorists refer to the relation between a sign and the signs that serve in its practical interpretation as its ''[[connotation]]'', but there are many more differences of opinion and distinctions of theory that are made in this case.  Many theorists, especially in the [[formal semantic]], [[pragmatic]], and [[semiotic]] traditions, restrict the application of ''semantics'' to the denotative aspect, using other terms or altogether ignoring the connotative aspect.
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==Linguistics and philosophy of language==
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In [[linguistics]] and [[philosophy of language]], semantics is the subfield that is devoted to the study of meanings of various kinds of linguistic units, which ranges from smaller linguistic units, such as words, phrases, or sentences, to larger units of discourse, generically referred to as texts.   
==Linguistics==
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Traditionally, semantics has included the study of two main aspects of the meanings of linguistic expressions. One is an extensional (or denotational) aspect of meaning, concerning the relation between linguistic expression and the objects that the linguistic expression refers to, often referred to as denotations or referents. For instance, the expression “two” and the expression “the smallest prime number” refers to the same object, i.e. the number two. Thus, these expressions are considered as extensionally indistinguishable. The other aspect is the intensional (or connotative). This concerns the relation between linguistic expressions and the aspects of the associated meanings that are not captured by the extensional aspect of meaning, which are often referred to as "concepts." The expression “two” and the expression “the smallest prime number” refers to the same object, but they do so through different concept.
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One tradition in studying these aspects of meaning is compositional theories of meaning. In theories of this kind, the meanings of linguistic expressions are considered in such a way that the meanings of the simplest linguistic units, say, words, are first given and those of more complex expressions, (phrases, sentences etc.) are explained in terms of those of the simplest components of the expressions.
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Another tradition is to consider linguistic expressions as having independent established meanings of their own and to study the relations between different linguistic expressions in terms of the similarities in meaning.  This includes homonymy, synonymy, antonymy, polysemy, paronyms, hypernymy, hyponymy, meronymy, metonymy, and others.
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===The dynamic turn in semantics===
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These traditional perspectives have been fiercely debated in the emerging domain of cognitive linguistics.<ref>Ronald W. Langacker, ''Grammar and Conceptualization'' (New York: Mouton de Gruyer, 1999). ISBN 3-11-0166604</ref>
  
In [[linguistics]], '''semantics''' is the subfield that is devoted to the study of meaning, as borne on the syntactic levels of words, phrases, sentences, and sometimes larger units of [[discourse]], generically referred to as ''[[text]]s''. As with any [[empirical science]], semantics involves the interplay of concrete data with theoretical conceptsTraditionally, semantics has included the study of connotative ''[[word sense|sense]]'' and denotative ''[[reference]]'', [[truth condition]]s, [[argument structure]], [[thematic role]]s, [[discourse analysis]], and the linkage of all of these to syntax.
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There are two main challenges against the traditions. One concerns the fact that meanings of certain linguistic expressions, such as "indexical" or "anaphora" (e.g. "this X," "him," "last week"), are contextual. The meanings of linguistic expressions of such kinds seems to be determined from factors external to the expressions themselves, such as the contexts of the utterance of the expressions or the positions (say, positions in a given discourse) in which the expressions are placed. The other challenge holds that language is not a set of labels stuck on things, but "a toolbox, the   importance of whose elements lie in the way they function rather than their  attachments to things" (Peregrin 2003)This view reflects the position of the later [[Ludwig Wittgenstein|Wittgenstein]] and his famous "game" example, and is related to the positions of [[Willard_Van_Orman_Quine|Quine]], [[Donald_Davidson|Davidson]], and others.  
  
The decompositional perspective towards meaning holds that the meaning of words can be analyzed by defining meaning atoms or primitives, which establish a '''language of thought'''.  An area of study is the meaning of [[compound (linguistics)|compounds]], another is the study of relations between different linguistic expressions ([[homonym]]y, [[synonym]]y, [[antonym]]y, [[polysemy]], [[paronyms]], [[hypernym]]y, [[hyponym]]y, [[meronymy]], [[metonymy]], [[holonymy]], [[exocentric]], and [[endocentric]]).
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A concrete example of the latter phenomenon is semantic underspecification&mdash;meanings are not complete without some elements of context. To take an example of a single word, "red," its meaning in a phrase such as "red book" is similar to many other usages, and can be viewed as compositional.<ref>P. Gardenfors, ''Conceptual Spaces'' (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2000).</ref> However, the color implied in phrases such as "red wine" (very dark), and "red hair" (coppery), or "red soil," or "red skin" are very different. Indeed, these colors by themselves would not be called "red" by native speakers. These instances are contrastive, so "red wine" is so called only in comparison with the other kind of wine (which also is not "white" for the same reasons).  This view goes back to [[Ferdinand de Saussure|de Saussure]].
  
===The Dynamic Turn in Semantics===
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Also, each of a set of synonyms like ''redouter'' (to dread), ''craindre'' (to fear), ''avoir peur'' (to be afraid) has its particular value only because they stand in contrast with one another. No word has a value that can be identified independently of what else is in its vicinity.<ref>Ferdinand de Saussure, ''The Course of General Linguistics'' (1916).</ref>
  
This traditional view of semantics, as a finite meaning inherent in a [[lexical unit]] that can be composed to generate meanings for larger chunks of discourse, is being fiercely debated in the emerging domain of [[cognitive linguistics]]<ref name=Langacker:1999>
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Against these challenges, various attempts have been made to defend a system based on compositional meaning for semantic underspecification. These can be found, for instance, in the Generative Lexicon model of James Pustejovsky, who extends contextual operations (based on type shifting) into the lexicon.
{{cite book
 
| author=Ronald W. Langacker
 
| title=Grammar and Conceptualization
 
| year=1999
 
|location=Berlin/New York| publisher=Mouton de Gruyer
 
| isbn = 3-11-0166604-6
 
}}</ref>
 
and also in the non-[[Jerry Fodor|Fodorian]] camp in [[Philosophy of Language]]<ref
 
name=Peregrin:2003> {{cite book| author = Jaroslav Peregrin | year = 2003 |
 
title = Meaning: The Dynamic Turn. Current Research in the Semantics/Pragmatics Interface |
 
  publisher =  Elsevier |
 
  location =    London
 
}}</ref>. 
 
The challenge is motivated by
 
* factors internal to language, such as the problem of resolving [[indexical]] or [[anaphora]] (e.g. ''this X'', ''him'', ''last week'').  In these situations "context" serves as the input, but the interpreted utterance also modifies the context, so it is also the output. Thus, the interpretation is necessarily dynamic and the meaning of sentences are  viewed as context-change potentials instead of [[propositions]].
 
* factors external to language, i.e. Language is not a set of labels stuck on things, but "a toolbox, the  importance of whose elements lie in the way they function rather than their  attachments to things."<ref name=Peregrin:2003/>  This view reflects the position of the later [[Wittgenstein]] and his famous ''game'' example, and is related to the positions of [[Quine]], [[Davidson]] and others.  
 
  
A concrete example of the latter phenomenon is semantic [[underspecification]] &mdash; meanings are not complete without some elements of context. To take an example of a single word, "red", it's meaning in a phrase such as ''red book'' is similar to many other usages, and can be viewed as compositional<ref name=Gardenfors:2000>
+
===Prototype theory===
{{cite book|
+
Another set of concepts related to fuzziness in semantics is based on Prototype theory. The work of Eleanor Rosch and George Lakoff in the 1970s led to a view that natural categories are not characterizable in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions, but are graded (fuzzy at their boundaries) and inconsistent as to the status of their constituent members.
  author =     P. G\"ardenfors |
 
  title =       Conceptual Spaces |
 
  publisher =   MIT Press/Bradford Books |
 
  location =     Cambridge, MA |
 
  year =         2000 }}</ref>.  However, the colour implied in phrases such as "red wine" (very dark), and "red hair" (coppery), or "red soil", or "red skin" - are very different. Indeed, these colours by themselves would not be called "red" by native speakers. These instances are contrastive, so  "red wine" is so called only in comparison with the other kind of wine (which also is not "white" for the same reasons).  This view goes back to [[Ferdinand de Saussure|de Saussure]]:
 
:Each of a set of synonyms like ''redouter'' ('to dread'), ''craindre'' ('to fear'), ''avoir peur'' ('to be afraid') has its particular value only because they stand in contrast with one another. No word has a value that can be identified independently of what else is in its vicinity.<ref>
 
{{cite book
 
|author = Ferdinand de Saussure
 
| title = The Course of General Linguistics (Cours de linguistique générale)
 
| year = 1916}}</ref>
 
and may go back to earlier [[India]]n views on language, especially the [[Nyaya]] view of words as indicators and not carriers of meaning.  
 
  
An attempt to propose a system based on propositional meaning for semantic underspecification can be found in the [[Generative Lexicon]] model of [[James Pustejovsky]], who extends contextual operations (based on type shifting) into the lexicon. Thus meanings are generated on the fly based on context.
+
Systems of categories are not objectively "out there" in the world, but are rooted in people's experience. These categories evolve as learned concepts of the world&mdash;that is, meaning is not an objective truth, but a subjective construct, learned from experience, and language arises
 +
out of the "grounding of our conceptual systems in shared embodiment and bodily experience"<ref>Goerge Lakoff and Mark Johnson, ''Philosophy in the Flesh: The embodies mind and its challenge to Western thought'' (New York: Basic Books, 1999).</ref>
 +
 +
A corollary of this is that the conceptual categories (i.e. the lexicon) will not be identical for
 +
different cultures, or indeed, for every individual in the same culture. This leads to another debate discussed by the [[Whorf-Sapir hypothesis]].
  
===Prototype Theory===
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==Logic==
Another set of concepts related to fuzziness in semantics is based on
+
Various semantical structures of languages have been studied through various [[mathematical logic|logic]] paradigms. One dominant logical setting in which semantical structures of languages are studied is 1st-order language. The 1st-order is an artificial language which includes constants, variables, function symbols, predicate symbols, and quantifiers. Linguistic expressions in natural languages are dealt with in terms of these artificial linguistic units, and interpreted extensionally. For instance, consider the sentence “The brother of Bob is tall.” Given a domain of discourse, say, human beings in this case, the name “Bob” is dealt with as a constant, say “b”  and to the symbol “b,” Bob himself is assigned as the referent; the predicate “is tall” is taken as a predicate symbol, say “T,and the set of tall people in the domain will be assigned to the symbol “T”; the expression “the brother of” is dealt with as a function symbol, say “f,” and the function from people to the brothers of people is assigned to the symbol “f.” In this setting, the whole sentence will be represented as “Tf(b)” and logical connections of this expression and other expressions of languages are studied.
[[Prototype Theory|prototype]]s. The work of [[Eleanor Rosch]] and [[George Lakoff]]
 
in the 1970s led to a view that
 
natural categories are not characterizable in terms of
 
necessary and sufficient
 
conditions, but are graded (fuzzy at their boundaries) and inconsistent as to  
 
the status of their constituent members.
 
  
Systems of categories are not objectively "out there" in the world but are
+
The semantic structures of various linguistic expressions have been represented and clarified in terms of the first-order logic. For instance, the meanings of determiners, such as “some,” “most,” “more than half” etc. can be analyzed in the setting of the first-order logic.
rooted in people's experience. These categories evolve as [[learning theory (education)|learned]] concepts
 
of the world &mdash;meaning is not an objective truth, but a
 
subjective construct, learned from experience, and language arises
 
out of the "grounding of our
 
conceptual systems in shared [[embodiment]] and bodily experience"<ref>
 
{{cite book|
 
author =  George Lakoff and Mark Johnson|
 
title =  Philosophy in the Flesh: The embodied mind and its challenge to Western thought. Chapter 1. |
 
publisher = Basic Books. |
 
location = New York|
 
year = 1999}}</ref>.
 
A corollary of this is that the conceptual categories
 
(i.e. the lexicon) will not be identical for
 
different cultures, or indeed, for every individual in the same culture. This
 
leads to another debate (see the [[Whorf-Sapir hypothesis]] or [[Eskimo words for snow]]).  
 
  
==Logic and mathematics==
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There are other logical settings used to study semantical structures of languages. Among those, lambda-calculus, [[modal logic]], [[fuzzy logic]].
  
Many of the formal approaches to semantics applied in [[linguistics]], [[mathematical logic]], and [[computer science]] originated in techniques for the [[semantics of logic]], most influentially being [[Alfred Tarski]]'s ideas in [[model theory]] and his [[semantic theory of truth]].  Also, [[inferential role semantics]] has its roots in the work of [[Gerhard Gentzen]] on [[proof theory]] and [[proof-theoretic semantics]]. One of the most popular alternatives to the standard model theoretic semantics is [[truth-value semantics]].
+
Semantics, in the field of [[mathematical logic]], also refers often to the theory that presents the rules of how to interpret each elements of logical vocabulary and define the notions of truth and validity (see [[Metalogic]] too).
  
==Computer science==
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==Other Areas==
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===Computer science===
  
 
In [[computer science]], considered in part as an application of [[mathematical logic]], semantics reflects the meaning of programs.
 
In [[computer science]], considered in part as an application of [[mathematical logic]], semantics reflects the meaning of programs.
  
==Psychology==
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===Psychology===
  
In [[psychology]], ''[[semantic memory]]'' is memory for meaning, in other words, the aspect of memory that preserves only the ''gist'', the general significance, of remembered experience, while [[episodic memory]] is memory for the ephemeral details, the individual features, or the unique particulars of experience.
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In [[psychology]], ''semantic memory'' is memory for meaning, in other words, the aspect of memory that preserves only the ''gist'', the general significance, of remembered experience, while episodic memory is memory for the ephemeral details, the individual features, or the unique particulars of experience.
  
==Semasiology==
 
In [[International Scientific Vocabulary]] semantics is also called ''semasiology''.
 
  
==References==
 
<references />
 
  
==See also==
 
 
===Major theorists===
 
===Major theorists===
 
{{col-begin}}
 
{{col-begin}}
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* [[Thomas Aquinas]]
 
* [[Thomas Aquinas]]
 
* [[Augustine of Hippo]]
 
* [[Augustine of Hippo]]
* [[J.L. Austin]]
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* J.L. Austin
 
* [[Jeremy Bentham]]
 
* [[Jeremy Bentham]]
 
* [[Rudolf Carnap]]
 
* [[Rudolf Carnap]]
* [[Janet Dean Fodor]]
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* Janet Dean Fodor
 
* [[Gottlob Frege]]
 
* [[Gottlob Frege]]
 
{{col-break}}
 
{{col-break}}
* [[Cliff Goddard]]
+
* Cliff Goddard
* [[Nelson Goodman]]
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* Nelson Goodman
* [[H.P. Grice]]
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* H.P. Grice
 
* [[Jürgen Habermas]]
 
* [[Jürgen Habermas]]
* [[Ray Jackendoff]]
+
* Ray Jackendoff
* [[Saul Kripke]]
+
* Saul Kripke
 
* [[John Locke]]
 
* [[John Locke]]
 
* [[John Stuart Mill]]
 
* [[John Stuart Mill]]
* [[Charles W. Morris]]
+
* Charles W. Morris
 
{{col-break}}
 
{{col-break}}
* [[Charles Sanders Peirce]]
+
* Charles Sanders Peirce
* [[C.K. Ogden]]
+
* C.K. Ogden
 
* [[Plato]]
 
* [[Plato]]
* [[I.A. Richards]]
+
* I.A. Richards
 
* [[Bertrand Russell]]
 
* [[Bertrand Russell]]
 
* [[Ferdinand de Saussure]]
 
* [[Ferdinand de Saussure]]
 
* [[Alfred Tarski]]
 
* [[Alfred Tarski]]
* [[Anna Wierzbicka]]
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* Anna Wierzbicka
 
* [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]]
 
* [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]]
 
{{col-end}}
 
{{col-end}}
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{{col-begin}}
 
{{col-begin}}
 
{{col-break}}
 
{{col-break}}
* [[Colorless green ideas sleep furiously]]
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* Colorless green ideas sleep furiously
* [[Discourse representation theory]]
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* Discourse representation theory
* [[General semantics]]
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* General semantics
* [[Meta-semantics]]
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* Meta-semantics
* [[Natural semantic metalanguage]]
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* Natural semantic metalanguage
* [[Pragmatic maxim]]
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* Pragmatic maxim
* [[Pragmaticism]]
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* Pragmaticism
* [[Pragmatism]]
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* Pragmatism
* [[Semantic change]]
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* Semantic change
* [[Semantic class]]
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* Semantic class
 
{{col-break}}
 
{{col-break}}
* [[Semantic feature]]
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* Semantic feature
* [[Semantic field]]
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* Semantic field
* [[Semantic lexicon]]
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* Semantic lexicon
* [[Semantic progression]]
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* Semantic progression
* [[Semantic property]]
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* Semantic property
* [[Semeiotic]]
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* Semeiotic
* [[Sememe]]
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* Sememe
* [[Semiosis]]
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* Semiosis
 
* [[Semiotics]]
 
* [[Semiotics]]
* [[Words whose meanings changed when people misunderstood them in context]]
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* Words whose meanings changed when people misunderstood them in context]]
 
{{col-end}}
 
{{col-end}}
  
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{{col-break}}
 
{{col-break}}
 
* [[Formal logic]]
 
* [[Formal logic]]
* [[Game semantics]]
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* Game semantics
* [[Model theory]]
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* Model theory
* [[Possible world]]
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* Possible world
 
{{col-break}}
 
{{col-break}}
* [[Proof-theoretic semantics]]
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* Proof-theoretic semantics
* [[Semantics of logic]]
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* Semantics of logic
* [[Semantic theory of truth]]
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* Semantic theory of truth
* [[Truth-value semantics]]
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* Truth-value semantics
 
{{col-end}}
 
{{col-end}}
  
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{{col-begin}}
 
{{col-begin}}
 
{{col-break}}
 
{{col-break}}
* [[Axiomatic semantics]]
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* Axiomatic semantics
* [[Denotational semantics]]
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* Denotational semantics
* [[Formal semantics of programming languages]]
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* Formal semantics of programming languages
* [[Inheritance semantics]]
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* Inheritance semantics
* [[Operational semantics]]
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* Operational semantics
* [[Semantic integration]]
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* Semantic integration
 
{{col-break}}
 
{{col-break}}
* [[Semantic link]]
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* Semantic link
* [[Semantic network]]
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* Semantic network
* [[Semantic spectrum]]
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* Semantic spectrum
* [[Semantic web]]
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* Semantic web
* [[Theory-based semantics]]
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* Theory-based semantics
 
{{col-end}}
 
{{col-end}}
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 +
==Notes==
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<references/>
 +
 +
==Reference==
 +
*Aronoff, M. and J. Rees-Miller. 2003. ''The Handbook of Linguistics.'' Blackwell Publishing Professional. ISBN 978-1405102520
 +
*Enderton, H. B. 2000. ''A Mathematical Introduction to Logic.'' 2nd Edition. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0122384523
 +
*Heasley B. and J. R. Hurford. 2006. ''Semantics: A Coursework.'' Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521289498
 +
*Saeed, J. I. 2003. ''Semantics'' (Introducing Linguistics, 2). 2nd Edition Blackwell Publishing Professional. ISBN 978-0631226932
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
* [http://www.w3.org/TR/owl-features/ OWL]
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All links retrieved January 25, 2023.
* [http://cypher.monrai.com Cypher] Free software that converts natural language statements into semantic metadata representation
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* [http://www.w3.org/TR/owl-features/ OWL].
 +
* [http://www.iep.utm.edu/c/conc-rol.htm Semantics, Conceptual Role. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy].
 +
* [http://www.iep.utm.edu/l/logcon-m.htm Semantics, Conceptions of logical consequence, The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy].
 +
===General Philosophy Sources===
 +
*[http://plato.stanford.edu/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy].
 +
*[http://www.iep.utm.edu/ The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy].
 +
*[http://www.bu.edu/wcp/PaidArch.html Paideia Project Online].
 +
*[http://www.gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg].
  
[[Category:Grammar]]
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[[Category:philosophy and religion]]
[[Category:Semantics| ]]
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[[Category:philosophy]]
 
[[Category:Social philosophy]]
 
[[Category:Social philosophy]]
 
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[[category:Linguistics]]
[[ar:دلالية]]
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[[Category:Politics and social sciences]]
[[ast:Semántica]]
 
[[be:Сэмантыка]]
 
[[br:Semantik]]
 
[[bg:Семантика]]
 
[[ca:Semàntica]]
 
[[cv:Семантика (лингвистика)]]
 
[[cs:Sémantika]]
 
[[da:Semantik]]
 
[[de:Semantik]]
 
[[es:Semántica]]
 
[[eo:Semantiko]]
 
[[eu:Semantika]]
 
[[fa:معناشناسی]]
 
[[fo:Merkingarfrøði]]
 
[[fr:Sémantique]]
 
[[gl:Semántica]]
 
[[ko:의미론]]
 
[[io:Semantiko]]
 
[[id:Semantik]]
 
[[ia:Semantica]]
 
[[is:Merkingarfræði]]
 
[[it:Semantica]]
 
[[he:סמנטיקה]]
 
[[lt:Semantika]]
 
[[jbo:smuske]]
 
[[hu:Szemantika]]
 
[[ms:Semantik]]
 
[[mo:Семантикэ]]
 
[[nl:Semantiek]]
 
[[ja:意味論]]
 
[[no:Semantikk]]
 
[[pl:Semantyka]]
 
[[pt:Semântica]]
 
[[ro:Semantică]]
 
[[ru:Лингвистическая семантика]]
 
[[sk:Sémantika (náuka)]]
 
[[sr:Семантика]]
 
[[fi:Semantiikka]]
 
[[sv:Semantik]]
 
[[ta:சொற்பொருளியல்]]
 
[[tr:Semantik]]
 
[[uk:Семантика]]
 
[[zh:语义学]]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Latest revision as of 17:49, 25 January 2023

Linguistics
Comparative linguistics
Computational linguistics
Dialectology
Etymology
Historical linguistics
Morphology
Phonetics
Phonology
Psycholinguistics
Semantics
Synchronic linguistics
Syntax
Psycholinguistics
Sociolinguistics

Semantics (Greek semantikos, giving signs, significant, symptomatic, from sema, sign) is a theory of the aspects of meanings of various forms of linguistic expressions: Such as natural languages, artificial languages, codes, etc. As such, it is contrasted with two other aspects of linguistic expressions. One is syntax, which studies the construction of complex signs from simpler signs; the other is pragmatics, which studies the practical use of signs by agents or communities of interpretation in particular circumstances and contexts.

There are various kinds of studies in semantics in various fields. For instance, in linguistics and philosophy of language, the general natures of meaning are discussed and, in mathematical logic, the formal structures of semantical concepts are developed. Other disciplines, such as computer science and psychology, also address semantics, depending on the interests of the studies.

Historical overview

Syntax is one of the major subfield of linguistics, whose origin can be traced back to Ancient Greece. The recent development of semantic theories witness various kinds of approaches. Componential analysis, having a long tradition, was recently developed by Fordor (1963), Wierzbicka (1972), Schank (1975), Jackendoff (1983; 1990), Goddard (1994), and others. Other major approaches that deviate from this are, for instance, structuralism and prototype theory. The former goes back to Ferdinand de Saussure and has been developed in two separate lines: The theory of lexical fields by Trier (1934) Lehrer (1974), and relational theories of word meaning by Lyons (1977), Cruse, (1986), Evens (1988) and others. The latter emerged in the theory of Ludwig Wittgenstein and was later established by Rosch (1978).[1]

Linguistics and philosophy of language

In linguistics and philosophy of language, semantics is the subfield that is devoted to the study of meanings of various kinds of linguistic units, which ranges from smaller linguistic units, such as words, phrases, or sentences, to larger units of discourse, generically referred to as texts.

Traditionally, semantics has included the study of two main aspects of the meanings of linguistic expressions. One is an extensional (or denotational) aspect of meaning, concerning the relation between linguistic expression and the objects that the linguistic expression refers to, often referred to as denotations or referents. For instance, the expression “two” and the expression “the smallest prime number” refers to the same object, i.e. the number two. Thus, these expressions are considered as extensionally indistinguishable. The other aspect is the intensional (or connotative). This concerns the relation between linguistic expressions and the aspects of the associated meanings that are not captured by the extensional aspect of meaning, which are often referred to as "concepts." The expression “two” and the expression “the smallest prime number” refers to the same object, but they do so through different concept.

One tradition in studying these aspects of meaning is compositional theories of meaning. In theories of this kind, the meanings of linguistic expressions are considered in such a way that the meanings of the simplest linguistic units, say, words, are first given and those of more complex expressions, (phrases, sentences etc.) are explained in terms of those of the simplest components of the expressions.

Another tradition is to consider linguistic expressions as having independent established meanings of their own and to study the relations between different linguistic expressions in terms of the similarities in meaning. This includes homonymy, synonymy, antonymy, polysemy, paronyms, hypernymy, hyponymy, meronymy, metonymy, and others.

The dynamic turn in semantics

These traditional perspectives have been fiercely debated in the emerging domain of cognitive linguistics.[2]

There are two main challenges against the traditions. One concerns the fact that meanings of certain linguistic expressions, such as "indexical" or "anaphora" (e.g. "this X," "him," "last week"), are contextual. The meanings of linguistic expressions of such kinds seems to be determined from factors external to the expressions themselves, such as the contexts of the utterance of the expressions or the positions (say, positions in a given discourse) in which the expressions are placed. The other challenge holds that language is not a set of labels stuck on things, but "a toolbox, the importance of whose elements lie in the way they function rather than their attachments to things" (Peregrin 2003). This view reflects the position of the later Wittgenstein and his famous "game" example, and is related to the positions of Quine, Davidson, and others.

A concrete example of the latter phenomenon is semantic underspecification—meanings are not complete without some elements of context. To take an example of a single word, "red," its meaning in a phrase such as "red book" is similar to many other usages, and can be viewed as compositional.[3] However, the color implied in phrases such as "red wine" (very dark), and "red hair" (coppery), or "red soil," or "red skin" are very different. Indeed, these colors by themselves would not be called "red" by native speakers. These instances are contrastive, so "red wine" is so called only in comparison with the other kind of wine (which also is not "white" for the same reasons). This view goes back to de Saussure.

Also, each of a set of synonyms like redouter (to dread), craindre (to fear), avoir peur (to be afraid) has its particular value only because they stand in contrast with one another. No word has a value that can be identified independently of what else is in its vicinity.[4]

Against these challenges, various attempts have been made to defend a system based on compositional meaning for semantic underspecification. These can be found, for instance, in the Generative Lexicon model of James Pustejovsky, who extends contextual operations (based on type shifting) into the lexicon.

Prototype theory

Another set of concepts related to fuzziness in semantics is based on Prototype theory. The work of Eleanor Rosch and George Lakoff in the 1970s led to a view that natural categories are not characterizable in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions, but are graded (fuzzy at their boundaries) and inconsistent as to the status of their constituent members.

Systems of categories are not objectively "out there" in the world, but are rooted in people's experience. These categories evolve as learned concepts of the world—that is, meaning is not an objective truth, but a subjective construct, learned from experience, and language arises out of the "grounding of our conceptual systems in shared embodiment and bodily experience"[5]

A corollary of this is that the conceptual categories (i.e. the lexicon) will not be identical for different cultures, or indeed, for every individual in the same culture. This leads to another debate discussed by the Whorf-Sapir hypothesis.

Logic

Various semantical structures of languages have been studied through various logic paradigms. One dominant logical setting in which semantical structures of languages are studied is 1st-order language. The 1st-order is an artificial language which includes constants, variables, function symbols, predicate symbols, and quantifiers. Linguistic expressions in natural languages are dealt with in terms of these artificial linguistic units, and interpreted extensionally. For instance, consider the sentence “The brother of Bob is tall.” Given a domain of discourse, say, human beings in this case, the name “Bob” is dealt with as a constant, say “b” and to the symbol “b,” Bob himself is assigned as the referent; the predicate “is tall” is taken as a predicate symbol, say “T,” and the set of tall people in the domain will be assigned to the symbol “T”; the expression “the brother of” is dealt with as a function symbol, say “f,” and the function from people to the brothers of people is assigned to the symbol “f.” In this setting, the whole sentence will be represented as “Tf(b)” and logical connections of this expression and other expressions of languages are studied.

The semantic structures of various linguistic expressions have been represented and clarified in terms of the first-order logic. For instance, the meanings of determiners, such as “some,” “most,” “more than half” etc. can be analyzed in the setting of the first-order logic.

There are other logical settings used to study semantical structures of languages. Among those, lambda-calculus, modal logic, fuzzy logic.

Semantics, in the field of mathematical logic, also refers often to the theory that presents the rules of how to interpret each elements of logical vocabulary and define the notions of truth and validity (see Metalogic too).

Other Areas

Computer science

In computer science, considered in part as an application of mathematical logic, semantics reflects the meaning of programs.

Psychology

In psychology, semantic memory is memory for meaning, in other words, the aspect of memory that preserves only the gist, the general significance, of remembered experience, while episodic memory is memory for the ephemeral details, the individual features, or the unique particulars of experience.


Major theorists

Linguistics and semiotics

  • Colorless green ideas sleep furiously
  • Discourse representation theory
  • General semantics
  • Meta-semantics
  • Natural semantic metalanguage
  • Pragmatic maxim
  • Pragmaticism
  • Pragmatism
  • Semantic change
  • Semantic class

  • Semantic feature
  • Semantic field
  • Semantic lexicon
  • Semantic progression
  • Semantic property
  • Semeiotic
  • Sememe
  • Semiosis
  • Semiotics
  • Words whose meanings changed when people misunderstood them in context]]

Logic and mathematics

  • Proof-theoretic semantics
  • Semantics of logic
  • Semantic theory of truth
  • Truth-value semantics

Computer science

  • Axiomatic semantics
  • Denotational semantics
  • Formal semantics of programming languages
  • Inheritance semantics
  • Operational semantics
  • Semantic integration

  • Semantic link
  • Semantic network
  • Semantic spectrum
  • Semantic web
  • Theory-based semantics

Notes

  1. Philip Edmonds, Semantic Representations of Near-Synonyms for Autocratic Lexical Choice (University of Toronto, 1999).
  2. Ronald W. Langacker, Grammar and Conceptualization (New York: Mouton de Gruyer, 1999). ISBN 3-11-0166604
  3. P. Gardenfors, Conceptual Spaces (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2000).
  4. Ferdinand de Saussure, The Course of General Linguistics (1916).
  5. Goerge Lakoff and Mark Johnson, Philosophy in the Flesh: The embodies mind and its challenge to Western thought (New York: Basic Books, 1999).

Reference

  • Aronoff, M. and J. Rees-Miller. 2003. The Handbook of Linguistics. Blackwell Publishing Professional. ISBN 978-1405102520
  • Enderton, H. B. 2000. A Mathematical Introduction to Logic. 2nd Edition. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0122384523
  • Heasley B. and J. R. Hurford. 2006. Semantics: A Coursework. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521289498
  • Saeed, J. I. 2003. Semantics (Introducing Linguistics, 2). 2nd Edition Blackwell Publishing Professional. ISBN 978-0631226932

External links

All links retrieved January 25, 2023.

General Philosophy Sources

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