Semantics

What the page covers

This unit collects community-made material on the study of meaning. The notes titled Traditional Semantics set out the field: lexical semantics, sentence semantics and discourse semantics. Other resources go deeper into word meaning, the semiotic triangle, synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, connotation and denotation, and semantic change.

Where to start

1. Open the notes Traditional Semantics for an overview of the field.
2. Work through the flashcard decks 9.) Semantics 2 and 8.) Semantics 1. They cover ideas such as arbitrary and conventional meaning, conceptual and associative meaning, and paradigmatic versus syntagmatic relations.
3. Move on to Morphology and Semantics and Words & Meaning for terms like reference, sense, lexeme, collocate and lexical cohesion.
4. Look at Sem&Prag for propositions, entailment and felicity conditions.

Using quizzes and maps together

Mind maps make up most of this page. Many follow a textbook chapter by chapter, such as Word Meaning, Meaning, Thought and Reality, Sentence Semantics 1: situations, Sentence Semantics 2: Participants, and Context and Inference. Read a map first to see how the ideas connect. Then test yourself with Semantic Change, which asks about words that gain or lose status, or with First partial English semantics exam, which starts from the basic question of what semantics is and what a theory should include.

Maps on sense relationships, semantic features, ambiguity and logic in semantic analysis suit later revision, once the basic terms feel familiar. Flowcharts such as Sense properties and Stereotype give a quick visual summary.

Where it sits

Semantics belongs to the Meaning, Use and Text strand within Linguistics and philology. Its neighbour in the listings, pragmatics, appears here too in the PRAGMATICS mind map.

Make it your own

Every resource was made by GoConqr users, so styles and chapter labels vary. Choose the one that matches your course, then build your own maps and flashcards to fill any gaps.