Linguistics An Essential Introduction (Version 1.5)

This is the first of two chapters introducing the fundamentals of semantics, the study of meaning. In this chapter, we take a more detailed look at word meaning. We begin by fleshing out the basic ideas we introduced in the preceding chapter: sense, reference and the relationship between them. We then discuss three central aspects of word meaning: the possible relationships between different senses of a word, the relationships between different words, and the distinction between descriptive and expressive aspects of word meaning. When you have read this chapter, you should have a good understanding of the intricate ways in which words mean.

When you’ve completed this chapter, you will be able to: