Terms Definition Example

1 Semantics The study of meaning in language

2 Semantic feature The smallest units of meaning in a word Father: [+human], [+male], [+mature],
"+" and "-" [+parental], [-maternal]
Animate, Human, Adult
3 Componential An approach to the study of meaning which Boy: [+human], [+male], [-adult],
analysis analyses a word into a set of menaing Man: [+human], [+male], [+adult]
components or sematics features
4 Semantic field The organization of related words and -Kinship terms: father, mother, brother,
expressions into a system which shows their sister, etc
relationship to one another. -Drinking vessels: cup, mug, wine
glass,tumbler
5 Referent Is a object or an entity in the real world or in Your school, your classmates, your
the world of your immagination teacher,
Snow White: the lovely princess in a
fairy tale.
6 Reference The relationship between that word or an Snow White: the relatioship between
(linguistic expression and the object it is used to refer the name Snow White and the very
expression) to (referent) princess
7 Sense The internal relationship between that word “Snow is white.”
or expression and others in the vocabulary
of a language
8 Variable reference The same linguistic expression refers to Computer,classroom,Huong, Thang,
different referents Prime Minister
9 Constant reference One linguistic expression refers to one and The sun, the moon, Helly’s comet,
the same referent FIFA, Angola
10 Co-reference Two or more linguistic expressions share the General Secretary of the party and the
same referent President of the country
11 Denotation Is the core, central, or referential meaning of Bird= a two-legged, winged, egg-laying,
the word found in dictionary warm-blood creature with a beak
12 Connotation The additional meaning that the word has Lonley=alone, without company
beyond its denotative meaning (denotation)
= melanchoy, sad (emotive
connotation)
13 Primary meaning The first meaning of a word (will suggest to Wing: either of the pair of feathered
most people ) limbs that a bird uses to fly
14 Secondary meaning The meanings besides its primary meaning Wing: side part of playing area in
footballm hockey,ect
15 Simile The use of comparision of the one thing As brave as a lion, a face like a mask
with another
16 Metaphor The use of a word or phrase to indicate I’ll make him eat his words (rút lại lời
something different form the literal meaning nói) or She has a heart of stone.
17 Personification A special kind of metaphor in which some Cruel heart, a treacherous calm, a sullen
human characteristic is attributed to an sky, a frowning rock
inanimate object or abstract notion
18 Metonymy Is the substitution of the name of the one + A sign (symbol – representative): He
 thing for that of anoter to which it is related succeeded to the crown.
+ An instrument: The pen (the writer)
has more infulence than the sword (the
solider
+ A container: The kettle ( the water in
the kettle) is boiling.
+ The concrete (organ of the human
body): She has an ear for music (She
possesses a remarkable talent in music.)
+ The abstract: His Majesity ( the king)
died in a year ago.
+ The material: All our glass is kept in
the cupboard. ( vessels and the articles
made of glass)
+ An author/ a producer/ a
place where goods are
made: I have never read
Keat. ( Keat’s poems)

19 Synedoche A special kind of metonymy in which a part He is a man of seventy winters. ( years
or aspect of a person, object, etc is meant to of age)
refer to the whole person, object, etc.
20 Hyperbole The use of exaggerated statement that is I’ve invited millions of (a lot of) people
(overstatement) made for special effect and is not meant to to the party.
be taken literally
21 Litotes (meiosis) The use of deliberately gentler, milder or I am afraid that no passenger is allowed
weaker statements to express something in a to smoke in here. ( You are not allowed
controlled way to smoke in here.)
22 Irony The expression of one’s meaning by saying - What a lovely day it was! Everything I
the direct opposite of one’s thoughts in order had went wrong.
to be emphatic, amusing, sarcastic, etc
23 Euphemism The use of pleasant, mild or indirect words A garbage man can be replaced with a
or phrases in place of more accurate or sanitation engineer.
direct ones
24 Onomatopoeia The imitation f natural sounds by means of She is always sqeaking and squawking.
words or groups of words:hiss, cuckoo,
moo, baa
25 Hyponymy A relation in which the referent of a word is
totally included in the referent of another
word
(superordinate: a word whose referent
covers all the referents of its hyponyms)
26 Synonymy A relation in which various words have Hide/conceal, kind/type/sort
different (written and sound) forms but have
the same or nearly the same meaning
 + True synonymy (few)
+ Partial synonymy: deep/profound, a bunch
of keys, a herd of sheep
27 Antonymy A relation in which two words have
different (written and sound) forms and are
opposite in meaning

+ Binary antonomy (complementary Married >< single, dead >< live

antonymy): mutually exclusive, cannot be
used in a compartive or superlative sense,
cannot be used in question HOW
+ Gradable antonymy : are gradable, can be Difficult >< easy, hot >< cold, wider ><
used in a comparative or superlative sense, narrow
can be used in question HOW
+ display symmetry in their meaning Buy >< sell, nephew >< niece, cheaper
>< more expensive, more efficiently ><
less efficiently, above >< below
28 Homonymy A relation in which various words have the + bank: a financial institution/ bank: the
same (sound and written) form but have shore of a river
different meanings.
29 Homophony Homophony: a relation in which various Hour >< our, place >< plaice (type of
words have the same form but have fish)
different meanings and written forms.
30 Homography A relation in which various words have Lead /li:d/
the same wirtten form but have Lead /led/
different meanings and sound forms Written Sound Meaning
form form
Antonymy - - -
Synonymy - - +
Homonymy + + -
Homophon - + -
y
Homgraphy + - -
31 Polysemy A relation in which a single word has two Chip: a small piece which has been
or more slightly different but closely broken off/ a small piece of potato, vital
related meanings piece of a computer [+small piece]
32 Ambiguity Its structure permits more than one We /watched /the hunters with
interpretation binoculars.
We /watched /the hunters /with
binoculars.
33 Anomaly A violation of semantic rules to create My brother is the only child in the
nonsense family.
34 Proposition The part of the meaning of the utterance + same proposition
of a declarative sentence which describes Harry took out the garbage.
some state of affairs (persons or things) Harry took the garbage out.
+ different propsition
Isobel loves Tony.
Tony loves Isobel.
35 Utterance The use by a particular speaker, on a Jane: ‘Coffee?’
particular occasion, for a particular
purpose, of a piece of language, such as a
sequence of sentences, or a single phrase,
or even a single word.
36 Sentence types + Analytic sentence (A) is one that is All elephants are animals.
necessarily TRUE, as result of the senses Sam’s wife is married.
of the words in it
+ Contradictory sentence (C)is a sentence This animal is a vegetable
that is necessarily FALSE, as a result of
the senses of the words in it.
Synthetic sentence (S) is one which may John is from Ireland.
be either TRUE OR FALSE, depending on
the way the word is
37 Paraphase The relationship between a word and a Bachelors prefer red-haired girls.
combination of other words with the same =Girls with red hair are preferred by
meaning unmarried men.
38 Entailment The relationship that applies between two a)A piece of funiture can be used to
sentences, where the truth of one implies furnish the house.
the truth of the other because of the b) A table is a piece of funiture.
meanings of the words involved c) A table can be used to furnish the
house.
+ One-way entailment Alfred saw a bear symmertrically
entails Alfred saw an animal.
+ Two-way entailment Paul borrowed a car from Sue
symmertrically entails Sue lent a car to
Paul.
39 Presupposition What a speaker or writer assumes that the ‘John doesn’t write poems anymore’
receiver of the message already knows presupposes that ‘John once wrote
poetry’.