Semantics
2nd Edition
Published on 10. January 2003
Book
Hardback
440 pages
978-0-631-22692-5 (ISBN)
Description
This book provides an engaging introduction to semantics for students new to the field. It covers the basic concepts and methods of the field and discusses some of the most important contemporary lines of research. Semantics is divided into three parts: the first establishes the place of semantics within linguistics and its relationship to other disciplines. The second introduces key topics in the description of word and sentence meaning. The final part reviews the three main current theoretical approaches to semantics: componential theory, formal semantics, and cognitive semantics. Each chapter contains exercises that familiarize the student with the practice of semantic description. The second edition of this classic work is a complete revision that updates and extends the discussion of theories and is a vital resource for students of semantics.
Reviews / Votes
"This new edition of Saeed's textbook is clearly written and very comprehensive, with updated discussions of important areas in semantics. It is impeccably structured, includes useful exercises and will serve as an excellent main text for introductory and intermediate semantics classes." David Adger, Queen Mary, University of London "This lively book provides a truly comprehensive introduction to current linguistic semantics. Used in introductory and intermediate courses in semantics, it will supply teachers with an easy-to-use basic text and students with an accessible source of dependable information." Ronnie Cann, University of EdinburghMore details
Series
Edition
2nd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Revised edition
Illustrations
31
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 172 mm
Weight
934 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-631-22692-5 (9780631226925)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
John I. Saeed is Associate Professor of Linguistics in the Centre for Language and Communication Studies, Trinity College, University of Dublin. He is the author of several books, including Somali Reference Grammar (second edition, 1993) and Somali (1999).
Content
List Of Figures And Tables. Preface. List Of Abbreviations And Symbols. Part I: Preliminaries: 1. Semantics In Linguistics: Introduction. Semantics And Semiotics. Three Challenges In Doing Semantics. Meeting The Challenges. Semantics In A Model Of Grammar. Some Important Assumptions. Summary. Further Reading. Exercises. Notes. 2. Meaning, Thought And Reality: Introduction. Reference. Reference As A Theory Of Meaning. Mental Representations. Words, Concepts And Thinking. Summary. Further Reading. Exercises. Notes. Part II: Semantic Description: 3. Word Meaning: Introduction. Words And Grammatical Categories. Words And Lexical Items. Problems With Pinning Down Word Meaning. Lexical Relations. Derivational Relations. Lexical Universals. Summary. Further Reading. Exercises. Notes. 4. Sentence Relations And Truth: Introduction. Logic And Truth. Necessary Truth, A Priori Truth And Analyticity. Entailment. Presupposition. Summary. Further Reading. Exercises. Notes. 5. Sentence Semantics 1: Situations: Introduction. Classifying Situations. Modality And Evidentiality. Summary. Further Reading. Exercises. Notes. 6. Sentence Semantics 2: Participants: Introduction: Classifying Participants. Thematic Roles. Grammatical Relations And Thematic Roles. Verbs And Thematic Role Grids. Problems With Thematic Roles. The Motivation For Identifying Thematic Roles. Voice. Summary. Further Reading. Exercises. Notes. 7. Context And Inference: Introduction. Deixis. Reference And Context. Knowledge As Context. Information Structure. Inference. Conversational Implicature. Summary. Further Reading. Exercises. Notes. 8. Functions Of Language: Speech As Action: Introduction. Austin's Speech Act Theory. Categorizing Speech Acts. Indirect Speech Acts. Sentence Types. Summary. Further Reading. Exercises. Notes. Part III: Theoretical Approaches: 9. Meaning Components: Introduction. Lexical Relations In CA. Katz's Semantic Theory. Grammatical Rules And Semantic Components. Components And Conflation Patterns. Jackendoff's Conceptual Structure. Pustejovsky's Generative Lexicon. Problems With Components Of Meaning. Summary. Further Reading. Exercises. Notes. 10. Formal Semantics: Introduction. Model-Theoretical Semantics. Translating English Into A Logical Metalanguage. The Semantics Of The Logical Metalanguage. Checking The Truth Value Of Sentences. Word Meaning: Meaning Postulates. Natural Language Quantifiers And Higher Order Logic. Intensionality. Dynamic Approaches To Discourse. Summary. Further Reading. Exercises. Notes. 11. Cognitive Semantics: Introduction. Metaphor. Metonymy. Image Schemas. Polysemy. Mental Spaces. Langacker's Cognitive Grammar. Summary. Further Reading. Exercises. Notes. References. Index.