Semasiology Quiz: Study of Meaning with Approaches and Flashcards

Semasiology is a branch of morphology.

According to the functional approach, the meanings of 'to move' and 'movement' are identical.

Grammatical meaning deals with relationships between words.

Lexical meaning refers to the grammatical forms of words.

Semasiology focuses solely on the study of sounds in language.

The referential approach combines sound form, concept, and referent.

The functional approach claims that 'to take' and 'to bring' have identical meanings.

'Go', 'gone', 'goes', 'going', 'gone' have different lexical meanings.

The words good and bad are synonyms

Antonyms are two or more words with the same spelling or pronunciation but with different meanings.

Semasiology: The Study of Meaning

Semasiology is a branch of lexicology that focuses on the study of meaning.

Approaches to Studying Meaning

There are multiple approaches to studying meaning, including:
Referent approach
Functional approach

Referent Approach

The referential approach combines three elements:
Sound form (the word itself)
Concept (category of human cognition through abstraction and generalization)
Referent (the actual word or object being referred to)
Examples of referential approach:
"House" refers to a building for human habitation
Words have different meanings in different languages

Functional Approach

The functional approach examines meaning through the relationship between linguistic units
Meaning is determined by how words function in speech
Examples of functional approach:
"To move" and "movement" have different meanings due to their different functions in speech
Words can have multiple meanings depending on their usage, e.g. "to take" (to take the book, to take the tram)

Types of Meaning

There are two main types of meaning:
Grammatical meaning
Lexical meaning

Grammatical Meaning

Grammatical meaning refers to the expression of relationships between words in speech
Examples of grammatical meaning:
Plurality (boys, girls, tables)
Tense (asked, thought, worked)

Lexical Meaning

Lexical meaning refers to the different grammatical meanings of a word form
Examples of lexical meaning:
Go, gone, goes, going, gone possess different grammatical meanings

Learn about Semasiology, a branch of lexicology dedicated to the study of meaning, and the different approaches to studying meaning such as the Referent approach. Explore how the sound form of words is connected with our concept of the word and how concepts are categories of human cognition.