Universitatea “Dunărea de Jos” din Galați
Facultatea de Litere

Specializarea: Limba și literatura română – Limba și literatura engleză

Limba engleză contemporană. Semantica
Conf.dr. Mariana Neagu

Anul III, Semestrul 2

D.I.D.F.R.

UDJG Facultatea de Litere

Contemporary English Language.
Semantics

Course tutor: Associate Professor Mariana Neagu

Galați 2011

Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. Definitions and the beginnings of semantics 1.2. An overview of semantic studies 1.3. Study questions and exercises

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5 5 10

2. The relationship between language, thought and reality 11
2.1. Extension and intension 2.2. Sign – sense – referent 2.3. Types of signs 2.4. Models of meaning 2.5 Study questions 11 12 13 14 16

3. Types and dimensions of meaning
3.1 Descriptive meaning 3.2 Non-descriptive meaning 3.3 Social meaning 3.4 Evoked meaning 3.5 Study questions and exercises

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18 19 20 21 23

4. Sense relations(I):polysemy and homonymy
4.1. Semasiology and onomasiology- two basic approaches to the study of words and their senses 4.2. From word to concept: polysemy and Homonymy 4.3 Study questions and exercises

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25 26 27

5. Sense relations (II): synonymy and antonymy
5.1. From concept to word: synonymy and antonymy 5.2. Study questions and exercises

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31 34

6. Hierarchical sense relations: hyponymy and meronymy
6.1 Hyponymy 6.2 Meronymy 6.3 Study questions and exercises

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7. Semantic organization
7.1. The lexicon 7.2. Semantic fields 7.3. Study questions and exercises

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43 44 49

8. Semantic decomposition
8.1 Componential analysis 8.2 Universal semantic categories 8.3 Semantic primitives 8.4 Study questions and exercises

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51 53 54 54

Revision exercises
Contemporary English Language. Lexicology and Semantics

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3

Unit 1 - Introduction

Unit 1 - Introduction
1.1