Semantics

“Semantics is the study of the meaning of words, phrases and sentences”. (Yule, 2014: 109)

In semantic analysis, there is always an attempt to focus on what the words conventionally mean, but as the definition
reads, it also involves the study of the meaning of phrases and sentences.

e.g. the meaning of the following set of sentences is different: a)

in a restaurant

A: I’m going to have a pizza. (intention)

B: I’ll have a pizza. (sudden decision)

b) talking about plans

A: I’m playing tennis this Saturday afternoon. (arrangement)

B: I’m going to play tennis this Saturday afternoon. (intention)

c) talking about commitments

A: I have to go. (external obligation)

B: I must go. (internal obligation)

Therefore, we can conclude that “semantics is the study of meaning in language” (Yule, 2014: 110). This is important to
highlight as many people link semantic studies to the study of the meaning of words (only).

When analysing the meaning of a word, we distinguish two aspects: denotation (or conceptual meaning) and
connotation (or associative / figurative meaning).

DENOTATION

A word's denotation is the strict dictionary definition of that word and refers to the actual thing or idea it represents. In
other words, a denotation is the actual meaning of the word without reference to the emotional associations it can
arouse in a reader. It can also be referred to as conceptual meaning.

In semantics, conceptual meaning is the literal or core sense of a word. There is nothing read into the term, no subtext;
it's just the straightforward, literal, dictionary definition of the word. The term is also called denotation or cognitive
meaning.

Conceptual meaning covers those basic, essential components of meaning that are conveyed by the literal use of a word.
It is the type of meaning that dictionaries are designed to describe. Some of the basic components of a word like needle
in English might include “thin, sharp, steel instrument.” (Yule, 2014: 110)

Some words have more than one conceptual meaning (or denotation); then when we define the meaning of a word that
has more than one denotation, we should talk about its context meaning:
e.g. They were walking along the river bank. (the side of a river, canal, etc. and the land near it)

The bank opens at 9.00. (an organization that provides various financial services)
We should also differentiate literal meaning from extended, figurative or metaphorical meaning. Literal meaning
involves taking the strict or the most basic meaning without any metaphorical usage. However, figurative meaning
involves depiction of a meaning other than the most basic meaning with the use of a figure of speech. Anyway, they both
appear in the dictionary.

literal meaning figurative meaning

It’s raining cats and dogs.

Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries

CONNOTATION

Apart from the aspects of meaning discussed above, different people might have different associations or connotations
attached to words. For example, they might associate the word needle with “pain,” or “illness,” or “blood,” or “drugs,” or
“thread,” or “knitting,” or “hard to find” (especially in a haystack), and these associations may differ from one person to
the next. (Yule, 2014: 110)

These types of associations are not treated as part of the word’s conceptual meaning. The connotation of a word (its
associative, affective or figurative meaning) go beyond the dictionary to add subtext to a word when it's used. Moreover,
we can distinguish group connotation from individual connotation.

Connotation refers to the emotional or psychological associations a word carries with it. The connotation of a word goes
beyond its strict meaning to express the feelings, thoughts, and images the word suggests or evokes. e.g. let’s take the
word cow

Denotation / ˌdiːnəʊˈteɪʃn / Connotation / ˌkɒnəˈteɪʃn /

literal meaning extended meaning group connotation individual connotation
a large animal kept on (slang, disapproving) an (in India) (in Argentina) Someone who was
farms to produce milk or offensive word for a Hindus consider the Many Argentinians link chased by a cow in their
beef woman cow to be a sacred the word cow childhood might hear
• You stupid symbol of life that to barbecue, the word cow and feel
cow! should be protected or frightened.
• That interfering and revered. leather shoes
old cow has never liked and jackets.
me.

Because of the subjective nature of language, it has the power to create unpredictable psychological responses. Some
connotations are personal, deriving from one's particular experiences, whereas others carry emotional overtones by
virtue of the way the writer presents the word.
For example, the word home evokes a different response from someone who came from a happy childhood and home
than that evoked in someone who had an unhappy home life. Several types of connotation can influence the way you
think about a word, which are as follows:

• Positive (favorable) connotation—Words that make people feel good

• Negative (unfavorable) connotation—Words that provoke a negative emotional response
 Neutral connotation—Words that cause no emotional reaction at all
https://www.pearsonitcertification.com/articles/article.aspx?p=350922&seqNum=4

https://www.esldirectory.com/learning-english/english-connotations-explored/

A euphemism is a mild and positive expression used to replace an unpleasant or negative one, while a dysphemism is
meant to convey a negative connotation. A dysphemism is an offensive, disagreeable, or disparaging expression in the
place of an inoffensive or agreeable expression.

Neutral connotation Euphemism (positive connotation) Dysphemism (negative connotation)

die pass away kick the bucket
old people senior citizens the oldies

Words also have formal and informal connotations.

While both sentences in the example describe something that captures the attention, “cool” is a more informal word
than the word “interesting” is. While “interesting” is appropriate for use with all kinds of people and in almost any
setting, “cool” is best used among friends in informal settings.

https://www.esldirectory.com/learning-english/english-connotations-explored/

Changes of Meaning: Widening, Narrowing, Lowering and Rising of meaning

The meaning of a word sometimes changes throughout time. This is known as semantic change. Semantic change (also
semantic shift, semantic progression, semantic development, or semantic drift) is a form of language change regarding
the evolution of word usage—sometimes to the point that the modern meaning is radically different from the original
usage.

Widening of meaning (extension of meaning): the same sign (word) is used to refer to more “signifieds”. It is the
extension of semantic capacity of a word.
e.g. Let’s take the word “girl”, which gradually broadened its range of meaning. At first it came to denote not only a
female child but, also, a young unmarried woman, later, any young woman, and in modern colloquial English it is
practically synonymous to the noun woman. (https://studopedia.su/10_19049_CHANGE-OF-MEANING.html)

Narrowing of meaning: it is the restriction of the semantic capacity of a word in the historical development.

e.g. Let’s take the word “girl” again. It is interesting to trace the history of the word “girl” as an example of the changes
in the range of meaning in the course of the semantic development of a word. In Middle English it had the meaning of “a
small child of either sex”. Then the word underwent the process of transference based on contiguity and developed the
meaning of “a small child of a female sex”, so that the range of meaning was somewhat narrowed.
(https://studopedia.su/10_19049_CHANGE-OF-MEANING.html)
Rising (elevation or melioration) of meaning: It is the semantic change in the meaning of a word which rises it from
humble beginning to a position of greater importance, e.g. “minister” in old times meant simply “servant”.
(https://studopedia.su/10_19049_CHANGE-OF-MEANING.html)

Lowering (degradation or degeneration) of meaning: It is a semantic change, by which, for one reason or another, a
word falls into disrepute1, or acquires some derogatory emotive charge, e.g.: silly originally meant “happy”.
(https://studopedia.su/10_19049_CHANGE-OF-MEANING.html)

Concerning rising and lowering of meaning, it is important to notice that they do not mean degeneration or elevation of
the meaning itself, they mean degeneration or elevation of referent to which the word is transferred. The change can be
either positive or negative. (https://studopedia.su/10_19049_CHANGE-OF-MEANING.html) disrepute /ˌdɪsrɪˈpjuːt / the fact that
somebody/something loses the respect of other people

Not only words, phrases and sentences convey meaning, intonation can also be meaningful:

Substandard connotations:

"Substandard" carries connotations of usage not being good enough or somehow "below"
what is the "norm."

e.g. You ain't going to like this.

Contraction: the definition of ain't is slang for the phrases am not, is not, are not and have not.
You ain't seen nothing yet (this is the name of a song, apart from ain't , the double negative is another
example of substandard connotation)