Concept 1

1. Semantics Focuses on General Meaning

Semantics studies the agreed-upon meanings of words, phrases, and

sentences, rather than personal or humorous interpretations.

 Examples:

 "Fire Department" sounds like they start fires, but we all know they
put out fires.

 "Bomb Squad" sounds like a group that places bombs, but it actually
refers to people who remove or defuse bombs.

Even though these names sound misleading, everyone understands

what they actually mean because of shared knowledge in language.

2. Objective vs. Subjective Meaning

 Objective meaning is the meaning agreed upon by most people.

 Subjective meaning is how an individual might perceive a word

based on personal opinion or humour.

 Examples:

 The phrase “wrinkle cream” sounds like it creates wrinkles, but we

all know it is meant to remove them.

 “Pain pills” sounds like they give pain, but we understand that they
are for pain relief.
 Even if these phrase sound confusing at first, their meaning is clear
because of how people use language.

3. Why Semantics Matters

Semantics helps us communicate effectively because it ensures that

words have a consistent meaning across different speakers. If we only
focused on personal interpretations, language would become
confusing.

 Example:

 If someone insisted on calling the Fire Department the

“Extinguishing Department”, it might make sense to them, but it
would confuse others because everyone already understands what
"Fire Department" means.

Conclusion
This humorously points out how some words might sound
misleading, but semantics ensures that people still understand their
actual meanings. Language works because we share common
meanings, even if some words might seem funny or illogical at first.

Concept 2

Conceptual and Associative Meaning

Semantics is the study of meaning in language, but it focuses more

on some types of meaning than others.
 1. Two Types of Meaning

There are two main types of meaning:

 Conceptual Meaning (Literal meaning)

 Associative Meaning (Personal associations)

2. Conceptual Meaning (Literal Meaning)

This is the basic meaning of a word that you find in a dictionary. It

describes the essential features of a word.

 Example: The word "needle"

 Its conceptual meaning includes:

 "Thin"

 "Sharp"

 "Steel instrument"

This meaning stays the same for everyone who speaks English.

3. Associative Meaning (Personal Associations)

These are extra meanings that people personally connect with a

word. They are not part of the word’s dictionary meaning.
 Example: The word "needle"

 Different people might associate it with:

 "Pain" (because of injections)

 "Illness" (because of hospitals)

 "Blood" (because of medical use)

 "Drugs" (because of syringes)

 "Thread" or "Knitting" (because of sewing)

 "Hard to find" (as in "a needle in a haystack")

Since these associations are different for each person, they are not
part of the word’s conceptual meaning.

4. Another Example: "Low-Calorie"

 Conceptual meaning: "Produces a small amount of heat or energy."

 Associative meaning: Some people might connect "low-calorie" with

"healthy," but this is their personal opinion, not the actual meaning
of the word.

5. Why This Matters in Semantics

 Writers, poets, advertisers, and songwriters often use associative

meaning to create emotional effects.

 Linguistic semantics focuses more on conceptual meaning, which

helps in clear communication.
 Conclusion:

 Conceptual meaning is the dictionary definition of a word.

 Associative meaning is the extra meaning people personally connect

with a word.

 Linguistic semantics studies conceptual meaning to understand

language clearly.

Concept 3
Semantic Features

Semantic features are small components of meaning that help us

understand why some sentences make sense while others feel "odd."

1. Why Some Sentences Feel Odd

Sometimes, a sentence follows grammar rules (syntax) but still

sounds strange because the words don’t match meaning-wise
(semantics).

 Examples of odd sentences:

 The hamburger ate the boy.

 The table listens to the radio.

 The horse is reading the newspaper.

These sentences have correct grammar, but their meaning is

incorrect because:
 A hamburger cannot eat.

 A table cannot listen.

 A horse cannot read.

2. Semantic Features: Why Some Words Fit and Others Don’t

Words have semantic features that define their meaning.

 Example: The verb "eat" requires a subject that is alive (animate).

 Boy = +animate (can eat)

 Hamburger = -animate (cannot eat)

This explains why The boy ate the hamburger makes sense, but The
hamburger ate the boy does not.

3. How Semantic Features Work

Words can be described using features like:

 +animate / -animate (Is it alive?)

 +human / -human (Is it a person?)

 +female / -female (Is it a female?)

 +adult / -adult (Is it an adult?)

For example:
| Word | +Human | +Female | +Adult |
|------|--------|---------|--------|
| Boy | + Human |- Female | - Adult |
| Man | + Human |- Female | + Adult |
| Girl | +Human | + Female | - Adult |
| Woman | + Human | + Female | + Adult |
| Horse | - Human | - Female | - Adult |
| Table | - Human l - Female | - Adult |

From this, we can see that:

 The word "girl" has the features +human, +female, -adult.

 The word "table" has -human, -female, -adult, which is why it cannot
perform human actions like reading.

4. Using Semantic Features to Predict Sentence Meaning

Semantic features help determine whether a word can be used in a

sentence.

 Example: The ________ is reading the newspaper.

 Only words with the feature *+human+ can fit.

 Boy, girl, man, woman → Correct

 Table, horse, hamburger → Incorrect (because they are not human)

5. Limitations of This Approach

Although semantic features are useful, they don’t always work

perfectly.

 Some words don’t fit neatly into features.

 Example: Words like advice, threat, warning are hard to break down
into simple features.

 This is because words don’t just carry meaning like containers—their

meanings also depend on context and how people use them.

Conclusion

Semantic features help explain why some sentences make sense and
others don’t. They break down word meanings into small parts like
+human, +animate, +female to show how words relate to each
other. However, not all words fit into simple categories, which make
meaning more complex than just features.

Concept 4
 Semantic Roles

Instead of thinking of words as containers of meaning, we can

understand them by looking at the roles they play in a sentence.
These roles are called semantic roles or thematic roles.

1. What Are Semantic Roles?

Semantic roles describe how different words (nouns) function in a

sentence based on the action happening.

 Example: The boy kicked the ball.

 Kicked is the action (verb).

 The boy is the one doing the action (agent).

 The ball is the thing affected by the action (theme).

2. Two Common Semantic Roles: Agent and Theme

 Agent → The person or thing performing an action.

 Theme → The person or thing affected by the action.

 Example sentences:

 The wind blew the ball away.

 Agent → The wind (causes the action).

 Theme → The ball (is affected).

 A car ran over the ball.

 Agent → A car.

 Theme → The ball.

 The dog chased the boy.

 Agent → The dog.

 Theme → The boy (because he is being chased).

3. Agents Are Not Always Human

Agents are usually humans (The boy kicked the ball), but they can
also be:

 Nature: The wind blew the ball away.

 Machines: A car ran over the ball.

 Animals: The dog caught the ball.

4. The Same Word Can Have Different Roles

A word can act as both an agent and a theme in the same sentence.

 Example: The boy cut himself.

 Agent → The boy (he performs the action).

 Theme → Himself (he is also affected by the action).

Conclusion

Semantic roles help us understand who is doing what in a sentence.

 Agent → The one performing the action.

 Theme → The one affected by the action.

 Agents can be humans, animals, forces of nature, or machines.

Understanding these roles makes it easier to analyse sentence
meaning!

Concept 5
 Lexical Relations: Synonymy and Antonyms

Words are not just containers of meaning or roles in a sentence—

they also have relationships with other words. This study of how
words relate to each other is called lexical relations.

1. What Are Lexical Relations?

 Lexical relations describe how words are connected in meaning.

 Instead of defining words separately, we explain them based on their

relationship with other words.

 Examples:

 Conceal means the same as hide → Synonymy

 Shallow is the opposite of deep → Antonymy

 Daffodil is a type of flower → Hyponymy

2. Synonymy (Words with Similar Meanings)

Synonyms are words that have very similar meanings.

 Examples:

 Big → Large

 Cab → Taxi

 Buy → Purchase
 Couch → Sofa

 Freedom → Liberty

Key Points about Synonyms:

 They are not always interchangeable.

 Example:

 What was his answer? (Sounds natural)

 What was his reply? (Sounds odd in this case)

 They can differ in formality.

 Example:
 My father purchased a large automobile. (Formal)

 My dad bought a big car. (Informal)

3. Antonyms (Words with Opposite Meanings)

Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings.

 Examples:

 Hot → Cold

 Happy → Sad

 Old → New

 Rich → Poor

 True → False

Types of Antonyms:

 Gradable Antonyms (Opposites with Degrees)

 Words that exist on a scale and can have comparisons.

 Examples:

 Big → Small (I’m bigger than you.)

 Fast → Slow (She runs faster than him.)

 Hot → Cold (Today is colder than yesterday.)

 The negative of one doesn’t always mean the other.

 My car isn’t old ≠ My car is new

 Non-Gradable Antonyms (Absolute Opposites)

 Words that have direct opposites with no middle ground.

 Examples:

 Dead → Alive

 True → False

 Married → Single

 You can’t say "She is deader than him" because dead is absolute.

Non-Gradable Antonyms and Reversives

Antonyms are words with opposite meanings, but not all antonyms
function in the same way. Some are absolute opposites, while others
describe reversible actions.

1. Non-Gradable Antonyms (Complementary Pairs)

These antonyms have no middle ground—something is either one or

the other.

Example Pairs:

Dead ↔ Alive

Male ↔ Female

Married ↔ Single

True ↔ False

Key Features:

1. No Comparisons → We don’t say “deader” or “more dead.”

2. Negative of One Implies the Other →

“My grandparents aren’t alive.” → Means → “My grandparents are
dead.”

“She isn’t married.” → Means → “She is single.”

2. Reversives (Opposite Actions, Not Just Negatives)

Some antonyms don’t just mean “not” but actually mean “to undo”
or “to reverse” an action.

Example Pairs:

Dress ↔ Undress (Undress means to remove clothes, not just “not

dress.”)

Enter ↔ Exit (To enter is to go in; to exit is to leave.)

Pack ↔ Unpack (Unpacking means undoing the act of packing.)

Lengthen ↔ Shorten (One makes something longer, the other makes

it shorter.)

Tie ↔ Untie (Untying reverses tying.)

 Key Features of Reversives:

1. One Action Reverses the Other → If you tie a knot, you can untie it.

2. They Don’t Just Mean “Not” → Unpack means to remove things,

not just “not pack.”

Concept 6

Lexical Relations:

1. Hyponymy (Meaning Inclusion)

 What It Means: When one word’s meaning is included in another

word’s meaning.

 Simple Rule: “A kind of” test → If X is a kind of Y, then X is a hyponym

of Y.

Examples:

 Rose is a kind of flower → Rose is a hyponym of flower.

 Dog is a kind of animal → Dog is a hyponym of animal.

 Carrot is a kind of vegetable → Carrot is a hyponym of vegetable.

Three Key Parts in Hyponymy:

 Hyponym → The more specific word (rose, dog, carrot).

 Superordinate → The broader category (flower, animal, vegetable).

 Co-Hyponyms → Words under the same category (dog and cat are
co-hyponyms under animal).

Verbs Can Be Hyponyms Too:

 Jump, run, walk → Hyponyms of move.

 Kick, slap, punch → Hyponyms of hit.

2. Prototypes (Best Examples of a Category)

 What It Means: Some words are better examples of a category than

others.
 Example:

 If someone says “Think of a bird,” you will probably think of a

sparrow or robin, not a penguin.

 If someone says “Think of furniture,” you will think of a chair, not a

bench.

 If someone says “Think of clothing,” you will think of a shirt, not a

scarf.

Why This Happens?

 Some words are more commonly associated with a category than

others.

 People disagree on some categories, like:

 Is an avocado a fruit or a vegetable?

 Is a whale a fish or a mammal?

3. Homophones (Same Sound, Different Meaning & Spelling)

 What It Means: Words that sound the same but have different
meanings and spellings.
 Examples:

 Bare (without covering) / Bear (animal)

 Meat (food) / Meet (to see someone)

 Flour (used in baking) / Flower (a plant)

 Right (correct) / Write (to put words on paper)

 Two (number) / Too (also) / To (direction)

Example Sentences:

 I bare my soul to my best friend. (Expose my feelings)

 I saw a bear in the forest. (Animal)

 Let’s meet at the park. (To see someone)

 I eat meat every day. (Food)

4. Homonyms (Same Spelling & Sound, Different Meaning)

 What It Means: Words that look and sound the same but have
completely different meanings.
 Examples:

 Bank

 I went to the bank to deposit money. (Financial institution)

 The boat is near the riverbank. (Side of a river)

 Bat

 A bat flew in the room. (Animal)

 He hit the ball with a bat. (Sports equipment)

 Mole

 She has a mole on her face. (Spot on the skin)

 A mole dug tunnels in my garden. (Small animal)

 Pupil

 The pupil answered the teacher’s question. (Student)

 The pupil of your eye changes size. (Part of the eye)

Key Difference Between Homonyms &

 Homophones

 Homonyms → Same spelling & pronunciation, different meaning.

 Homophones → Same pronunciation, different spelling & meaning.

5. Polysemy (One Word, Many Related Meanings)

 What It Means: A word has multiple meanings, but all are connected.

Examples:

 Head

 She has a headache. (Body part)

 He is the head of the company. (Leader)

 There is foam on the head of the beer. (Top part of something)

 Foot

 My foot hurts. (Body part)

 The foot of the bed is broken. (Bottom part of something)

 The climbers reached the foot of the mountain. (Base of something)

 Run

 He runs every morning. (Action)

 The water is running in the sink. (Liquid movement)

 The colors ran when I washed the shirt. (Spreading of color)

Difference Between Polysemy & Homonyms

 Homonyms → Meanings are unrelated. (Bank = money place OR

riverbank)

 Polysemy → Meanings are connected. (Head = body part OR leader)

6. Word Play Using Homophones, Homonyms & Polysemy

 Examples:

 Mary had a little lamb.

 Could mean she had a pet lamb (animal) OR she ate lamb (meat).

 Why are trees mistaken for dogs?

 Because they have bark (tree covering & dog’s sound).

 Why is 6 afraid of 7?

 Because 7 8 (ate) 9. (Play on numbers & the word “ate.”)

7. Metonymy (Word Substitution by Association)

 What It Means: Using a word to refer to something closely related.

Examples:

 Container-Contents Relationship

 He drank the whole bottle. (Bottle refers to the liquid inside, not the
actual glass.)
 She ate a whole plate of food. (Plate means food, not the dish.)

 Whole-Part Relationship

 I bought a new car. (Means the whole vehicle, not just the frame.)

 The house needs a new roof. (Roof represents the entire house.)

 Symbol-Representative Relationship

 The White House announced new policies. (White House = U.S.

government.)

 Downing Street made a statement. (Downing Street = U.K.

government.)

 He wears the crown. (Crown = King or Queen.)

8. Collocation (Words That Commonly Go Together)

 What It Means: Some words naturally appear together more often.

Examples:
 Hammer → Nail

 Table → Chair

 Salt → Pepper

 Needle → Thread

 Butter → Bread

Corpus Linguistics (Studying Word Patterns)

 Scientists use computers to study large text collections and find word
pairs.

 Example: “True feelings” often appears with “deny” or

“communicate.”

 Sentence Examples:

 She tried to deny her true feelings.

 He wanted to communicate his true feelings.

 Why It Matters?

 Helps us understand natural word combinations.

 Explains why “strong rain” sounds wrong, but “heavy rain” sounds
correct.

Final Summary

Understanding lexical relations helps us see how words are

connected in meaning:

 Hyponymy → Words in a hierarchy (Dog → Animal).

 Prototypes → Some words are better examples (Robin for Bird).

 Homophones → Same sound, different spelling & meaning

(Bare/Bear).

 Homonyms → Same spelling & sound, unrelated meanings (Bank).

 Polysemy → Same word, related meanings (Head = body part &

leader).

 Metonymy → Words replace related things (White House =

Government).

 Collocation → Common word pairs (Salt & Pepper).

These ideas shape how we use and understand words in daily life!