Hi! I’m Joel and this is The Glossary, a bi-weekly supplement to Learned. This week, we're still defining terms.
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I'm currently building up a lexicon of useful definitions and terms to have on hand when researching and writing about linguistics. This week, we're looking at another word that has a specific meaning inside the field of linguistics that is both derived from and yet slightly different from it's general meaning. Fortunately, the OED has us covered for both. Semantics is:
1. The meaning of signs; the interpretation or description of such meaning
2a. The branch of linguistics or philosophy concerned with meaning in language
Both the general and linguistics-related definitions are similar to semiotics, and, in truth, defining exactly what makes them separate studies can be very difficult. The OED continues on in its sub-definition to explain that, in linguistics, semantics is concerned with not just meaning, but how that meaning relates to the time and place in which it is transmitted. In other words, both semiotics and semantics are concerned with the meaning of a give word, but they differ in how they approach the study of said meaning, with semiotics comparing the intent vs. the received meaning, and semantics comparing the meaning with how, when, and where it was said or written.
In fact, semantics might be best understood by looking at the OED's 3rd entry for it:
2b. The use of words with particular meanings, esp. for euphemistic or tendentious purposes. Also: (the act of making) pedantic distinctions regarding the precise or technical meaning of words; verbal quibbling.
In looking at semantics, we're not just looking at an instance of a word in use, but we're comparing it to other attempts to transmit the same information, be it through a near-synonym, alternate symbol, or different grammar. Or am I just splitting hairs?
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New Learned on Monday.
Joel