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semantics
ANA-MARIA TRANTESCU
CLAUDIA PISOSCHI

ENGLISH SEMANTICS

Curs universitar pentru Învăţământ la distanţă

EDITURA UNIVERSITARIA
CRAIOVA, 2012

CONTENTS

forEwOrd....................................................................................................4

Unit I. Introduction to Semantics…………………………….5
1.1. A Short History of Semantics…………………………………………….6
1.2. Definition and Object of Semantics……………………………………..11
1.3. Semantics and Semiotics………………………………………………...14
Conclusions…………………………………………………………………..15
Self-assessment tests…………………………………………………………16 Exercises……………………………………………………………………..17

Unit II. The Problem of Meaning………………………………18
2. 1. The Concept of Meaning………………………………………………..18
2.1.1. Meaning as a Bipolar Relation………………………………………...19
2.1.2. Meaning as a Triadic Concept…………………………………………19
2. 2. Dimensions of Meaning………………………………………………...24
2. 2. 1. The Multiple Facets of Meaning……………………………………..24
2. 2. 2. Types of Meaning according to G. Leech……………………………25
Conclusions…………………………………………………………………..27
Self-assessment Tests………………………………………………………...28 Exercises……………………………………………………………………..29 Unit III. Motivation of meaning………………………………..31 3. 1. Absolute Motivation................................................................................32 3. 2. Relative Motivation.................................................................................33
Conclusions…………………………………………………………………..35
Self-assessment Tests………………………………………………………...35 Exercises……………………………………………………………………..36 Unit IV. Structural Approaches to the Study of Meaning………………………………………….37 4. 1. Componential Analysis………………………………………………....37 4. 2. Paradigms of the Lexicon. The Semantic



Bibliography: Kleiber, G. 1990. La sémantique du prototype. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. Lakoff, George.1987 Leech, G. 1990. Semantics. The Study of Meaning. London: Penguin Books. Saeed, J. 1997. Semantics. Dublin:Blackwell Publishers. Crystal, D., Davy, D. 1973. Investigating English Style. London: Longman. de Saussure, F. 2004. Scrieri de lingvistică generală. Bucureşti: Polirom. Duţescu-Coliban, T. 2001. Derivational Morphology. Bucureşti, Universitatea “Spiru Haret”: Editura Fundaţiei România de mâine. Fauconnier, Gilles Greimas, Algirdas, Julien. 1966. Sémantique structurale. Recherches de méthode. Paris: Seuil.

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