Semantics - The Study of Meaning

Semantics is the study of the meaning of words. In order to drive home the significance of semantics, let’s do a quick definition activity that will temporarily put us in the shoes of our English learners. For this activity, you’ll need a dictionary. Any dictionary (book or electronic) will do. Go ahead and open your dictionary. Now, here’s your task: look up the word “get.”

What were your findings? How many definitions for this three-letter word are there? How many pages of the dictionary does the word “get” consume? Yes, isn’t it amazing? Who would have known that this tiny little word could have so many different meanings?! Are we starting to see the confusion that an English learner may face when attempting to use this word? Well, there are many polysemantic words (more than one meaning) in English. And this is what semantics is all about –the study of the meanings of words in various contexts within a language.

So, let’s get into semantics; get started; get with it; get the ball rolling; and get a move on this course!

Got it?

VIDEO SESSION # 7 – Semantics
https://youtu.be/8QZWx_XAO1w