4. What is semantics ???
Semantics concerns knowledge of the meaning of lexical items
how the meanings of grammatical combinations of lexical
items, including sentences, depend upon the meanings of their
structure and constituents.
Semantics thus concerns knowledge of expression types that
competent speakers bring to particular contexts of language
use.
14. EXAMPLE 1
1) “She had the same sharp features and the same
rather small beady eyes but her lips were scarlet
with paint, her cheeks lightly rouged and her
short black hair permanently waved. Mrs.
Sunbury took in all this at a glance, and she
reckoned to a penny how much her smart rayon
dress had cost her, her extravagantly high heeled
shoes and the saucy hat on her head. Her frock
was very short and she shoed a good deal of flesh
colored stocking.”
15.
16. • The definition of set will be further elaborated
by the following example.
“He was neat in his dress; he went to work in
quiet grey trousers, a black coat and a bowler
hat.”
The scrutiny of the statement illustrates that
trouser, coat and bowler hat comes under the
category of set.
20. EXAMPLE
• “on principle the Sunbury’s were total abstainers, but
on Sundays, when to make up for the frugal lunch
consisting of scone and butter with a glass of milk,
which Samuel had during the week, Beatrice gave him
a good dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, for
his health’s sake she liked him to have a glass of beer”.
“She poured out tea and asked Herbert to give a cup
to his lady friend. ‘Ask Miss Bevan if she’ll have some
bread and butter or scone, Samuel, my dear.’
Scone bread butter pudding roast beef milk
beer tea
21.
22. Kinship systems make an interesting area for componential analysis. Kinship is
universal since all humans are related to other humans through blood ties through
marriage, but kinship systems differ from society to society.
23. Theme Predicate Associate
Samuel Father-of Herbert
Betty wife-of Herbert
24.
25. Truth conditional
semantics
Hyponyms Antonyms Synonyms
Converse Binary &
antonyms non binary
antonyms
31. Two or more words with very closely related meanings are called
synonymy. They can often, though not always, be substituted for
each other in sentence in appropriate circumstances …
32.
33. 2) The kite, the new, expensive kite, was in fragments. It
had been savagely attacked with the hatchet, the
woodwork was all in pieces, and the reel was hacked to
bits.
3) She was a little woman, but strong, active and wiry, with a
sallow skin; sharp, regular features and small beady eyes.
4) it was not without satisfaction that Mrs. Sunbury perceived
that Betty was offended. 4b) ‘She said she’d never been so
insulted in her life. I had a rare job pacifying her.
5) There was a fresh breeze blowing and a number of kites
small and large were sailing through the air.
34. • strolled and walk,
• fragments and pieces,
• offended and insulted,
• breeze and air
The underline words have the same sense in the
given context, they are the instances of synonymy
and they are synonymous to each other. Synonyms
share the same meaning but they never have the
same range of syntactic occurrences. It can be
noticed from the sentences given above that W.
Somerset Maugham has expeditiously used
synonyms in his literary piece, ‘The kite’.
35.
36. 1a) ‘Perhaps the acquaintance is a bit short for that,’ said Mrs. Sunbury with
a gracious smile.
1b) ‘I hope so.’ said Mrs. Sunbury with an acid smile, ‘I Wouldn’t dream of
letting you eat a piece of cake that’s been on the floor.
37. 2) He was a stubborn boy and he wasn’t going to be beaten.
Something was wrong and it was up to him to put it right.
3) She hesitated. Mr. Sunbury fidgeted, he didn’t know
whether to stay or go.
4) Mrs. Sunbury was anxious because she had never let him
play with the children in the street. Evil communication
corrupts good manners.
5) They weren’t flying the big kite which he was used to, but
a new one, a box kite, a small one on the model for which he
had made the designs for himself.
38. In the sentences
mentioned above….
•gracious and acid;
•wrong and right;
•stay and go;
• evil and good;
• big and small
Are antonyms of each other. They differ in
polarity and are mutually contradictory.
They are antonymous and are instances of
antonyms.
39. Binary antonyms
• Non- binary antonyms
Non-binary antonyms are those in which middle option is
there …like OLD AND young ….it can be how old or how
young …..
41. Example :
Non binary antonyms:
• 1) They were contemptuous of smaller kites
than theirs and envious of bigger ones.
Small and big are non binary antonyms and
they are having various intermediate terms.
Non binary antonyms are easily modified, like
very big, quiet big, rather big, extremely
small, very small, etc.
2) “Just the right height, said his mother ‘Not too
tall and not too short.”
In the above statement tall and short are binary
antonyms.