Language Meaning and Use

Language Meaning and Use

1. Types of meaning

   • There are four recognisable types of meaning: lexical meaning, grammatical meaning, sentence meaning and utterance meaning which refer to the areas of derivational morphology, inflectional morphology, syntax and pragmatics respectively.
   • External meaning relationships involve sense (relationships between words) and denotation (relationship of word to what it signifies).

2. Semantics and Pragmatics

   • Semantics is concerned with the study of meaning in language and is related to both philosophy and logic. Semiotics is the study of communication systems in general. Sign language is a common means of communication among those who are deaf and can, if learned from childhood, approach natural language in terms of scope and flexibility.
   • Pragmatics is the study of language from the point of view of usage. It has various sub-forms depending on the emphasis given by linguists, for instance it can be investigated from a strictly linguistic stance or with regard to social factors.

3. Models for analysing meaning

   • Different models for semantic analysis are available: prototype theory, where a central concept is taken as typical and less central ones are peripheral, and componential analysis which seeks to break words down into their component semantic parts.

4. Cognates and False Cognates

   • We can also use cognates and false cognates as a tool to understand meaning. They play an important role in language learning and there is no difference when it comes to semantics and pragmatics.