SEMANTICS

                                                                           SEMANTICS

    Semantics is the study of meaning in language. We know that language is used to express meanings which can be understood by others. But meanings exist in our minds and we can express what is in our minds through the spoken and written forms of language (as well as through gestures, action etc.).The sound patterns of language are studied at the level of phonology and the organisation of words and sentences is studied at the level of morphology and syntax. These are in turn organised in such a way that we can convey meaningful messages or receive and understand messages.‘How is language organised in order to be meaningful?’ This is the question we ask and attempt to answer at the level of semantics. Semantics is that level of linguistic analysis where meaning is analysed. It is the most abstract level of linguistic analysis since we cannot see or observe meaning as we can observe and record sounds. Meaning is related very closely to the human capacity to think logically and to understand. So when we try to analyse meaning, we are trying to analyse our own capacity to think and understand, our own ability to create meaning. Semanticsconcerns itself with ‘giving a systematic account of the nature of meaning(Leech,1981).

    Philosophers have puzzled over this question for over 2000 years. Their thinking begins with the question of the relationship between words and the objects which words represent. For example, we may ask: What is the meaning of the word ‘cow’? One answer would be that it refers to an animal who has certain properties, that distinguish it from other animals, who are called by other names. Where do these names come from and why does the word ‘cow’ mean only that particular animal and none other? Some thinkers say that there is no essential connection between the word ‘cow’ and the animal indicated by the word, but we have established this connection by convention and thus it continues to be so. Others would say that there are some essential attributes of that animal which we perceive in our minds and our concept of that animal is created for which we create a corresponding word.

     According to this idea, there is an essential correspondence between the sounds of words and their meanings, e.g., the word ‘buzz’ reproduces ‘the sound made by able. It is easy to understand this, but not so easy to understand how ‘cow’ can mean’ a four-legged bovine’—there is nothing in the sound of the word ‘cow’ to indicate that (Children often invent words that illustrate the correspondence between sound and meaning: they may call a cow ‘moo-moo’ because they hear it making that kind of sound.) The above death at words in a language corresponds to or stands for the actual objects intheworldisfoundinPlato’sdia logueCratylus. However, it applies only to some words and not to others, for example, words that do not refer to objects, e.g. ‘love’, ‘or hate’. Thisfactgivesrisetotheviewheldbylaterthinkers, that the meaning of a word is not the object it refers to, but the concept of the object that exists in the mind.Moreover,asdeSaussurepointedout,the relation between the word (signifier) and the concept (signified) is an arbitrary one,i.e.theworddoesnotresembletheconcept(see Chapter 2).

     Also, when we try to define the meaning of a word we do so by using other words. So, if we try to explain the meaning of ‘table’ we need to use other words such as ‘four’, ‘legs’, and ‘wood’ and these words in turn can be explained only by means of other words. In their book, The Meaning of Meaning (1923), L.K. Ogden and I.A.Richardsmadeanattempttodefinemeaning.When we use the word ‘mean’, we use it in different ways.‘I mean to this is a way of expressing our intention. 

    ‘The red signal means stop’ is a way of indicating what the red signal signifies. Since all language consists of signs, we can say that every word is a sign indicating something–usually, a sign indicates other signs. Ogden and Richards give the following list of some definitions of ‘meaning’. Meaning can be any of the following: An intrinsic property of something Other words related to that word in a dictionary. The connotations of a word(that is discussed below) The thing to which the speaker of that word refers The thing to which the speaker of that word should refer. The thing to which the speaker of that word believes himself to be referring The thing to which the hearer of that word believes is being referred to. These definitions refer to many different ways in which meaning is understood. One reason for the range of definitions of meaning is that words (or signs)in a language are of different types. Some signs indicate meaning in a direct manner, e.g. an arrow indicates direction. 

    Some signs are representative of the thing indicated, e.g.onomatopoeic words such as buzz, ‘tinkering’; even cough, ‘slam’, ‘rustle’ have onomatopoeic qualities. Some signs do not have any resemblance to the thing they refer to, but as they stand for that thing, they are symbolic. Taking up some of the above definitions of meaning, we can discuss the different aspects of the meaning of a word as follows: Thelogicalor denotative meaning is the literal meaning of a word indicating the idea or concept to which it refers. A concept is a minimal unit of meaning which could be called a‘ sememe’ in the same way as the unit of sound is called a ‘phoneme’ and is like the ‘morpheme’ in its structure and organisation. Just as the phoneme/ b/ may be defined as a bilabial + voiced + plosive, the word‘ man ’may be defined as a concept consistingofastructureofmeaning‘human+male+adult’expressed through the basic morphological unit + æ + n’. 

    All the three qualities are logical attributes of which the concept ‘man’ is made. They are the minimal qualities that the concept must possess in order to be a distinguishable concept, e.g. if any of these changes, the concept too changes. So ‘human + female + adult’ would not be the concept referred to by the word ‘man’, since it is a different concept. The connotative meaning This is the additional meaning that a concept carries. It is defined as ‘the communicative value an expression has by virtue of what it refers to over and above its purely conceptual content ’(Leech, 1981). That is, apart from its logical or essential attributes, there is a further meaning attached to a word, which comes from its reference to other things in the real world. In the real world, such a word maybe associated with some other features or attributes. For example, the logical order connotative meaning of the word ‘woman’ is the concept, ‘human+female+adult’.To it may be added the concept of ‘weaker sex’ or ‘frailty’. These were the connotations or values associated with the concept of ‘woman’. Thus connotative meaning consists of the attributes associated with a concept. As we know, these associations come into use over a period of time in a particular culture and can change with change in time. While denotative meaning remains stable since it defines the essential attributes of a concept, connotative meaning changes as it is based on associations made to the concept; these associations may change. 

    The social meaning This is the meaning that a word or a phrase conveys about the circumstances of its use. That is, the meaning of a word is understood according to the different style and situation in which theword is used, e.g. though the words ‘domicile’, ‘residence’, ‘abode’, ‘home’ all refer to the same thing (i.e. their denotative meaning is thesame), each word belongs to a particular situation of use ‘domicile is used in an official context, ‘residence in a formal context, ‘abode’isapoeticuseand‘home’isanordinary use.

    Where one is used, the other is not seen as appropriate. Social meaning derives from an awareness of the style in which something is written and spoken and of the relationship between speaker and hearer whether that relationship is formal, official, casual, polite, or friendly. Thethematicmeaning This is the meaning which is communicated by the way in which a speaker or writer organises the message in terms of the order, focus and emphasis. It is often felt, for example, that an active sentence has a different meaning from its passive equivalent though its conceptual meaning seems to be the same. In the sentences: Mrs Smith donated the first prize was donated by Mrs Smith the thematic meaning is different. In the first sentence, it appears that we know who Mrs Smith is, so the new information on which the emphasis is laid is ‘the first prize’.

    In the second sentence, however, the emphasises is laid on ‘Mrs Smith’. Itissometimesdifficulttodemarcateallthesecategoriesofmeaning. For example, it may be difficult to distinguish between conceptual meaning and social meaning in the following sentences: He stuck the key in his pocket. He put the key in his pocket. We could argue that these two sentences are conceptually alike,but different in social meaning—the first one adopts a casual or informal style, the second adopts a neutral style. However, we could also say that the two verbs are conceptually different:‘stuck’meaning‘put carelessly and quickly, which is a more precise meaning than simply ‘put’. Of course, it is a matter of choice which word the speaker wishes to use,a more precise one or  a neutralon