Approaches to word meaning

Approaches to word meaning

1. Conceptual theory

   • lexemes
     • associated
     • intention
       • semantic features
   • semantic features
     • need not be scientifically correct
     • Breaking up the meaning of a lexeme
       • component analysis
     • pieces of information
       • a lexeme can be specified
   • problems
     • A large number of lexemes are not associated with concepts
     • Functions words are not definable in terms of concepts or essential features of concepts.
     • we cannot propose a definition of word meaning without taking sentence meaning into consideration.

2. Referencial theory

   • lexemes
     • "name"
   • common noun
     • individual objects
   • verbs
     • actions
   • adjectives
     • properties of individuals
   • adverbs
     • properties of actions
   • problems
     • Do not refer to anything
     • Refer to something in the past
     • Perform grammatical functions in sentences