Semantics

Semantics is the branch of linguistics that interprets the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences in different contexts. It is concerned with the relationship between signifiers—like words, phrases, signs, and symbols—and what they stand for in reality, their denotation.

Overview

Semantics is one of the important branches of linguistics that deals with interpretation and meaning of the words, sentence structure and symbols, while determining the reading comprehension of the readers how they understand others and their interpretations. Semantics includes the study of semiosis, which is the relationship between signs and symbols and their role in interpretation.

History

The word "semantics" itself denotes a range of ideas, from the popular to the highly technical. It is often used in ordinary language to denote a problem of understanding that comes down to word selection or connotation. This problem of understanding has been the subject of many formal inquiries, over a long period of time, especially in the field of formal semantics. In linguistics, it is the study of interpretation of signs or symbols used in agents or communities within particular circumstances and contexts. Within this view, sounds, facial expressions, body language, and proxemics have semantic (meaningful) content, and each has several branches of study.

Types of Semantics

There are various fields and theoretical perspectives, each of which has its own understanding of semantic phenomena:

• Formal semantics: It is about constructing a formal system for a specific language, defining how sentences of the language map to meanings.
• Lexical semantics: It involves the study of word meanings and word relations.
• Conceptual semantics: This is the study of the cognitive structure of meaning.
• Computational semantics: It is focused on the processing of linguistic meaning.
• Cognitive semantics: This is about the cognitive structure of meaning.

See also

• Semiotics
• Pragmatics
• Syntax
• Phonetics
• Phonology

References

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