TITLE

UNDERSTANDING SEMANTIC S

UNVEILING THE POWER OF MEANING

P R ES ENTED B Y: MAR IA F ERNANDA M.

ES GUER RA
&
MARY ANGELINE VILLUANUEVA
OVERVIE
01 W DEFINITION OF SEMANTICS

IMPORTANCE OF SEMANTICS IN
02 LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION.

03 KEY CONCEPTS AND

04 COMPONENTS OF SEMANTICS
SEMANTI
CS
Semantics refers to the study of meaning in
langua ge. It explores how words, phrases, and
sentences convey meaning and how context
influences interpretation. Essentially, semantics
de lves into the relationships between linguistic
elements and the thoughts they represent, aiming
to understand how language conveys meaning
be yond its structural c omponents.
IMPORTANCE OF SEMANTICS IN
LANGUAGE AND
COMMUNICATION
Semantics plays a crucial role in language and
communication as it deals with the meanings of words,
phrases, and sentences. Understanding semantics allows
individuals to convey accurate information, avoid
misunderstandings, and interpret messages correctly. It
influences how we express ourselves, comprehend
others, and construct shared meanings within social
interactions. In essence, semantics provides the
foundation for effective communication by ensuring that
messages are conveyed and understood accurately.
OVERVIEW OF HOW SEMANTICS
INFLUENCES LANGUAGE
COMPREHENSION AND
PRODUCTION

Semantics, the study of meaning in language, plays a

crucial role in both comprehension and production.
Here's an overview of how it influences these processes:

1. Comprehension
•Word meaning
•Sentence meaning
•Contextual Understanding
•Ambiguity Resolution

2.Production
•Word Selection •Sentence Formation
•Pragmatic Consideration •Creativity
 DEFINITION AND SCOPE
OF SEMANTICS
1 2 3
Semantics is the study of S eman t i cs i s t h e b ran ch o f l i n g u i s t i cs t h at d eal s wi t h t h e st u d y o f - Differentiating between
mean i n g i n l an g u ag e. I t ex p l o r es h o w wo r d s , p h ras es , s en t en ces,
meaning in language, an d l arg er u n i t s o f d i s co u r se co n v ey mean i n g , an d h o w t h at
semantics and other
focusing on how words, mean i n g i s i n t erp r et ed b y s p eak ers an d l i st en er s. S eman t i cs linguistic fields (syntax,
phrases, sentences, and ex ami n es v ar i o u s asp ect s o f mean i n g , i n cl u d i n g l ex i cal s eman t i cs phonology, pragmatics)
( mean i n g o f wo r d s) , co mp o si t i o n al s eman t i cs (h o w mean i n g i s
texts convey meaning and co n s t r u ct ed f r o m s mal l er u n i t s ), an d p r ag mat i c s eman t i cs ( h o w
how this meaning is co n t ex t i n f l u en ces mean i n g ) . It ' s es sen t i al l y co n cer n ed wi t h
interpreted by individuals u n d er st an d i n g h o w l an g u ag e ex p r esses mean i n g an d h o w t h at
mean i n g i s u n d ers t o o d b y i n d i v i d u al s wi t h i n a l i n g u i s t i c
and communities. co mmu n i t y.
 COMPONENTS OF
SEMANTICS
Components
• Wo rd mean ing: Sense vs. reference, denotation vs. connotation
• Sentence meaning: Truth con ditio ns, en tailment, presupposition
• Disco urse and con tex t: Contextual effects on meaning, deixis,
anap ho ra

Semantic Relations
• Synon ymy, a ntonymy, hyponymy,
hy pe rn ymy
• Me rony my, holonymy
• Hom ony my, polysemy
 STORY: THE MYSTERY
OF THE OLD MANSION

• In a quaint village nestled between rol l i ng hi l l s, t here

stood an old m ansion rum ored to be haunt ed. One
foggy evening, a group of adventurous fri ends deci ded
to investigate the m ansion and unravel i t s m yst eri es.

Synonym y:
A synonym is a word or phra se tha t ha s the sa m e or
ne a rly the sa m e m e a ning a s a nothe r word or phra se
in the sa m e la ngua ge .
 STORY: THE MYSTERY
OF THE OLD MANSION

• Example: As they approached the mansi on, t hey

noticed an eerie glow emanating from t he wi ndows.
• The words "eerie" and "spooky" are synonym s.

The words eerie and spookie what

does it mean?
 STORY: THE MYSTERY
OF THE OLD MANSION

• Antonymy refers to the relationship bet ween words

that have opposite meanings or are si gni fi cant l y
different from each other in meaning.

.- Ex am p le:I n sid e th e man sio n , th e air w as m u sty an d stale, a star k

co ntrast to th e f r esh , cr isp air o u tsid e.
-"Mu sty " an d "stale" ar e an to n y ms, in d icatin g o p p o site q u alities
o f th e air in sid e th e man sio n co mp ar ed to th e air o u tsid e.
 STORY: THE MYSTERY
OF THE OLD MANSION

• H y p o n y m y an d h y p er n y my ar e lex ical r elatio nsh ips wh ere o n e

w o r d , th e h y p o n y m, r ep r esen ts a su b class o f ano ther w ord , th e
h y p er n y m . H y p o n y ms ar e sp ecif ic in stan ces or ty pes o f the
b r o ad er categ o r y r ep r esen ted b y th e h y p er n y m.

Hyponymy/Hype rnymy:
Example :As the y explore d the mans ion's libra ry, the y s tumble d upon a
c ollec tion of a nc ient s crolls , dus ty tome s , and lea ther-bound volumes .
- The words "s c rolls, " "tone s , " and "volumes " a re hyponyms of the hypernym
"books " or "lite ra ture . " The y repres e nt s pec ific types or ins tanc es of books,
s howc as ing the re la tions hip betwe en a gene ra l ca te gory and its s ubtypes .
 STORY: THE MYSTERY
OF THE OLD MANSION

Homonymy refers to a linguistic phenomenon where two

or more words have the same spelling or pronunciation but
different meanings. These words can belong to the same or
different parts of speech.

-Example: As they cautiously climbed the

stairs, they spotted a bat fluttering in the
darkness, its wings brushing against the cobweb-
covered walls.
STORY: THE MYSTERY
OF THE OLD MANSION

As the friends continued their exploration of the old

mansion, they encountered many more examples of
semantic relations, each contributing to the intrigue and
suspense of their adventure.
THEORITICAL
APPROACHES TO
SEMANTICS
FORMAL SEMANTICS: LOGICAL AND
MATHEMATICAL MODELS OF MEANING
REPRESENTATION
- Cognitive semantics: Conceptual
metaphor theory, prototype theory
- Pragmatic semantics: Study of meaning
in context and language use
 FORMAL
SEMANTICS
• Formal sem ant ic s i s an approa c h t o understa nding
t he me ani ng of la nguage t hrough l ogica l and
ma t he ma t ic a l m odel s. It ai ms t o repre sent the
me a ni ng of se nt e nc e s usi ng pre ci se forma l
syste ms, such as predi ca t e l ogi c or la mbda
c al c ul us, t o a na l yz e t he rel a ti onshi ps betwe en
l i ngui sti c expressions and i nfe r l ogi c al
c onse quenc es.

e . g: In formal sem ant ic s, a common a pproa ch is to use

l ogi ca l form ul a s t o represent the m ea ni ng of
sente nce s. For inst a nc e , t he sent ence "All huma ns are
mort a l " ca n be re pre se nt e d a s ∀ x (Huma n(x) →
Mort a l(x)), whe re ∀ x de not es "for a l l x", Huma n(x)
repre sent s "x is huma n", a nd Mort al (x) re pre se nts "x
i s m orta l ". T hi s l ogi c al formula ca ptures the universal
qua nt i fi c at i on a nd i m pl i ca t i on i nhe re nt in the
sente nce 's me aning.
COGNITIVE
SEMANTICS
• Co g n i t i v e S eman t i cs -Co g n i t i v e s eman t i cs i s a t h eo r et i cal
f r amewo rk t h at i n v est i g at es h o w l an g u ag e r ef l ect s an d
sh ap es co g n i t i v e p r o ces ses, su ch as cat eg o r izat i o n ,
co n cep t u al i zat i o n , an d met ap h o ri cal reaso n i n g . I t emp h asi zes
t h e r o l e o f men t al st ru ct u r es an d p r o ces ses i n co n s t r u ct i n g
mean i n g , ex p l o r i n g p h en o men a l i k e co n cep t u al met ap h o r
t h eo r y an d p r o t o t y p e t h eo r y.

e g: Accord in g to co nceptu al metap h o r theory,

understand in g ab stract co n cep ts is facilitated by
mapping th em o nto mo re con crete d o mains. For
example, th e co ncept o f " lov e" is o ften
metaphorically un d erstoo d in terms o f journeys,
as in expressio n s lik e " o ur relatio n sh ip has hit a
rough patch " o r "we're on the same p ath in life".
 PRAGMAT IC
SEMANTICS
Pragmatic semantics examines how
meaning is influenced by context,
speaker intentions, and language use
conventions. For example, the sentence
"Could you pass the salt?" can function
as a request for salt or as a polite way
to ask someone to pass the salt.
 PRAGMAT IC
SEMANTICS
E.g: Pragmatic semantics examines
how meaning is influenced by context,
speaker intentions, and language use
conventions. For example, the senten
CONCLUSION
Semantics is the branch of linguistics concerned with the meaning of
words, phrases, and sentences. It explores how language conveys
meaning, both denotative (literal) and connotative (emotional or cultural
associations). Key concepts in semantics include reference (what words
refer to), sense (meaning within a particular context), ambiguity
(multiple interpretations of a word or phrase), and entailment (logical
relationships between sentences). Semantics is crucial for understanding
language comprehension, communication, and the complexities of
human thought. It intersects with various disciplines such as philosophy,
psychology, computer science, and artificial intelligence, influencing
fields ranging from natural language processing to cognitive science.
REFERENCES:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/
dictionary/
semantics&ved=2ahUKEwjSzNf184KEAxVV2DgGHWHoCgsQFnoECCgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3Nb4aMfUo639MtNk
0zxqCs https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Lexical_semantics%23:~:text%3DLexical%2520semantics%2520(also%2520known%2520as,and%2520uses%2520of
%2520a
%2520word.&ved=2ahUKEwjckvGY9IKEAxXt9zgGHffnCDwQFnoECBEQBQ&usg=AOvVaw2Uti02ll8bdXihxbAT
fDfS https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/
384/38401101.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjn6pq09IKEAxXe8TgGHUVBAfoQFnoECBMQBg&usg=AOvVaw3h5iJUjqwMrq
lL23SPudw4
THANKYOU PPT: MA R IA E .

FOR
LISTENING!