Semantics

Semantics is the study of meaning in language, more specifically the meaning of words, sentences and even larger elements.

  • Word Semantics
    deals with the analysis of word meanings.

  • Sentence Semantics
    studies the meanings of sentences and how they derive from the meanings of their component parts.
Whereas some linguists believe that semantics should be concerned with all aspects of meaning, including facets such as politeness or interaction, others hold that it should only deal with those aspects that are independent of context and regard all other aspects as belonging to the province of pragmatics.

Note: The triangle in the diagram above is known as the semiotic triangle. It exhibits the relationship between linguistic units (e.g. words) and objects in the real world.