Semantics - A Cognitive Account of Linguistic Meaning - Zeki Hamawand
2. Lexical semantics
Semantics - A Cognitive Account of Linguistic Meaning - Zeki Hamawand
Zeki Hamawand [+]
University of Kirkuk and University of Sulaimani
Description
Chapter 2 explores lexical semantics, the branch of semantics which deals with the meanings of words. The aim is to show how the lexicon is organized, how the words of a language are interrelated and how their meanings are consequently interpreted. The chapter addresses two concerns. One relates to terminology. It introduces the terms used in the study of lexical semantics and defines them in a way that is both concise and precise. The other pertains to relation. It introduces the meaning relations which exist between words. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 2.1 focuses on the issue of what the term word is and what word meaning is. Section 2.2 centres on the types of paradigmatic relations which exist between words. Section 2.3 concentrates on the types of syntagmatic relations which exist between words. Section 2.4 combines both paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations in the description of words. In all the sections, I pursue three steps. First, I introduce the term. Second, I explain its meaning. Third, I devise an exercise to test its application. Section 2.5 summarizes the main points of the chapter.