The basis of semantics relies on the relationships between symbols, signs, and words and their meanings.
One of the problems that students face is the difference between literal and figurative meanings. Fortunately, semantics addresses this issue.
Kinds of relationships between words
1- Synonyms: Words with similar meanings in similar contexts, but sometimes a synonym is preferable to another.
Example: Quick/Fast.
2- Antonyms: Words with contradictory meanings in some regards, and there are several types of antonyms:
- Complementary pairs: It is all or nothing. Example: Asleep/ Awake.
- Gradable pairs: It has graded levels. Example: Tall/ Short.
- Relational opposites: It shows some symmetry and a mutual relationship between the words. Example: Give/ Receive.
3- Hyponyms: Words within a wider category. Example: Red/ Color.
4- Homonyms/ Homophones: Words with different meanings but the same pronouncing. Example: Two/ Too/ To.
5- Heteronyms: Words with different pronunciations but spelled the same way. Example: Present (to offer)/ Present (gift).
6- Homographs: Words with the same spelling but have several meanings. The pronunciation may be different or the same. Example: Lead (metal)/ Lead (to guide).
Signs and Referents
Words in the language are associated with each other and with their referents. It means the relationship of a word with its meaning, what comes to our mind when mentioning a specific word. For example, when thinking of the word "red color" we do not think of blue or yellow but only red.
Componential Analysis
It refers to clarifying a word's relationship to its meaning. The analysis pursues to identify the essential characteristics of words. For example, the words winter and summer are described as follows:
Winter - [+season][+cold]
Summer - [+season][-cold]
These are the most important concepts of semantics. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can share them in the comments section below.