English Grammar: An Introduction

SEMANTICS is usually defined as "the study of meaning". Many textbooks separate semantics from grammar and phonetics (= the study of speech sounds), but this is a rather artificial distinction. It is impossible to discuss any aspect of language without making some reference to meaning.

2.3.1. Kinds of Meaning

'Meaning' is a very broad term and one which can be hard to define (check the definition in your dictionary). In using language, we communicate many different kinds of meanings. We can communicate straightforward information:

3. The car keys are in the bowl on the sideboard.

or express emotion

4. How could I ever forget her!

or indicate to people that we feel well-disposed towards them:

5. Hello! How are you? (You don't generally expect a complete medical report in reply!)

A sentence like (3) could also express emotion if it was addressed in slow, menacing tones to someone who habitually mislays the car keys. In this case it might be accompanied by a gesture such as a pointing finger or raised eyebrows. Such gestures are known as PARALINGUISTIC FEATURES and are often used to enhance meaning in spoken language.

2.3.2. Reference

The general term for the relationship between words and items in the real world is REFERENCE. We use words to REFER TO things. The item to which we refer is the REFERENT of the word. Thus the word "horse" refers to a real horse, or a picture of a horse, which we happen to be looking at.