Let’s talk about
linguistics
The 5th
discussion
Semantics
Definition
In Greek language, semantic is someion,
it has mean “mark, sign”.
it is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relationship
between signifiers—like words, phrases, signs, and symbols—and what they stand for, their denotation.
Linguistic semantics is the study of meaning that is used for understanding
human expression through language. Other forms of semantics include the
semantics of programming languages, formal logics, and semiotics.
In international scientific vocabulary
semantics is also called semasiology.
The study of semantics is typically
focused on such topics as the meaning of individual words (lexical semantics)
and the ability of words to refer to points in time or individuals in the
external world (deixis).
Grammatical vs. pragmatic meaning
At this
level, we are within grammar, studying what is known as semantics: how words
have individual meaning and can be used refer to entities in the external
world. Semantics is one component of grammar, and is therefore part of our
linguistics competence. As fish correctly observes, however, interpretation of
a sentence goes beyond understanding its meaning at the level of grammar. We
need to understand the entire social context in which a sentence was uttered, a
different level of interpretation that is studied within pragmatic, which explores the role that context plays in the
interpretation of what people say.
Sentence vs. utterance
Many people mistakenly think that
complete sentences are the norm in both speech and writing. For example :
Speaker 1 : lots of
people are roller skating lots of people do rollerblade (contain 2 grammatical
sentences, “lots of people,” and a finite verb (are and do, respectively).
Speaker 2 : just running around the city (don’t
contain sentences. It contains a construction centered around the verbal element running).
Speaker 3 : uh mainly in
Golden Gate Park (preposition phrase).
Speech act theory
A speech act can be explicit or implicit, direct or indirect,
and literal or non-literal. If a speech act is explicit, it will contain a
performative verb, a verb that names the speech act and has a very specific structure. However, in the form of an imperative sentence, a form
conventionally associated with directive.
The cooperative principle
Grice purposed four maxims to explain
how people cooperate when they speak Quantity, Quality, Relation, and Manner.
Maxims of the cooperative principle
maxim
|
summary
|
Grice’s (1989) description
|
quantity
|
Don’t say too much;
Don’t say too little
|
1.
Make your
contribution as information as informative as is required
2.
Do not make
your contribution more informative than is required
|
quality
|
Be truthful
|
1.
Don’t say what
you believe to be false
2.
Don’t say that
for which you lack adequate evidence
|
relation
|
Stay on topic; don’t digress
|
Be relevant
|
manner
|
Make sure what you say is clear and unambiguous
|
1.
Avoid obscurity
of expression
2.
Avoid ambiguity
3.
Be brief (avoid
unnecessary prolix)
4.
Be orderly
|
Politeness
Polite usage
language comes into play whenever speaker has the potential to produce a face threatening act (FTA), an
utterance that undermines the tacit understanding that all language should
preserve face.
Power relationships and social
distance
In any social group, there will be
differing power relationships among people. English has other titles used as
honorifics (e.g. Miss, Ms, Sir, Madam,
General, Colonel, President, Prime Minister, and Office) as well as terms of address that have very restricted uses,
your hono(u)r, sir, and madam(which in Southern American English
can be shortened to ma’am).
Sir and Madam are found in face-to-face
conversations where speakers are disparates and the subordinate wants to show a
high degree of deference to the other. These expressions are also found in the
salutation of highly formal letters.
Level of impoliteness, face-threatening
acts, and tact
While power relationship and social
distance are important influences on levels of politeness that speakers of a
language will use, and equally important consideration is the extent to which a
speaker is willing to commit an FTA. Tact, according to Leech (1983: 109) hs
two polarities:
Negative: minimize the cost to h
Positive: maximize the benefit to h
Other kinds of politeness
Tact is not only consideration
motivating polite language usage. There are additional motivating factors as
well.
Gratitude for favors (either accepted
or declined) and compliments are typically expressed through variations of the
lexeme thanks. In the examples below,
gratitude for favors accepted is conveyed through use of the verb thank as well as the expressive thank you and thanks, often intensified with adverbials such as very much.
References
F. Meyer, Charles. 2009.
Introducing English Linguistics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Chaedar Alwasilah, A. 2011. Linguistik
Suatu Pengantar. Bandung: Angkasa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantics
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