Lexical Semantics

Abstract

Lexical semantics is the branch of linguistics which is concerned with the systematic study of word meanings. Probably the two most fundamental questions addressed by lexical semanticists are: (a) how to describe the meanings of words, and (b) how to account for the variability of meaning from context to context. These two are necessarily connected, since an adequate description of meaning must be able to support our account of variation and our ability to interpret it. The study of contextual variation leads in two directions: on the one hand, to the processes of selection from a range of permanently available possibilities; and on the other hand, to the creation of new meanings from old, by such means as metaphor and metonymy, in response to contextual pressure. An understanding of synchronic variation of meaning (variation observable at any one time in a language) is essential to an understanding of diachronic change (change over time). Another important area of inquiry is how the vocabularies of languages are structured by means of sense relations (systematic relations between meanings), such as antonymy (long:short, fast:slow), hyponymy (animal:dog, fruit:apple), and incompatibility (dog:cat, apple:banana).