In the broad sense of the word, semantics is a section of linguistics, the subject of study of which is the relationship between the existing and imaginary reality and the linguistic expressions that are used in these realities. In other words, the semantics of the language is used to search for general patterns when displaying and projecting realities in this language. Reflected can be objects or phenomena, as well as abstract categories, processes that do not have practical application or material cover.
The role of semantics in language
Translated from Greek, semantics is a designation of something (Greek. Semanticos root - "designating"). Semantics in its linguistic understanding serves to study the connections between the phenomena of a natural language with the area of its application, whether it be the real or imaginary world.
This science clearly demonstrates how a person who is familiar with the grammatical structure of the language and the set of basic syntactic, lexical, morphological units is able to clothe his thoughts in verbal form and perceive information coming from various sources, even the one he encounters for the first time.
Semantics is an essential part of such a section of linguistics as grammar. In the process of development of any language, the semantics of a word undergoes numerous changes with the advent of new theories and propositions in linguistics. So, for example, the basic principles used in constructing the semantic component were developed by American scientists J. Katz and J. Fodor.
Semantics in dictionaries: principles and features
In the process of
semantic analysis, the vocabulary meaning of a word is fixed using a special definition, or definition, developed in a specialized language. Semantic language implies a more explicit (detailed), but at the same time more rigorous description of an object or phenomenon than from the point of view of everyday language. For example, on the pages of the semantic dictionary you can find such a characteristic: "NOSINF = INF, SUBM." It is used to briefly indicate the information carrier, which from the point of view of semantics is equated with an object containing information.
When interpreting words using natural language, scientists use single quotes to write expressions and components. However, this method is not used in dictionaries, since the very system of vocabulary source design involves a “word-interpretation” layout model, i.e. the definition is usually located to the right of the word being defined. When interpreting sentences, linguists use double quotes. It must be remembered that the techniques encountered in semantics do not coincide with the corresponding in natural language. For example, the STEPS-IN-MARRIAGE design in semantics will be considered not as a combination of three words, but as a single element of study.
Semantics is a special science that in its practice uses the category of metalanguage. This term is necessary to denote the language by which another language is described. Natural, for example, can appear in relation to itself as a metalanguage. Elements of metalanguage can also include graphic schemes, tables, images or drawings, which are often found in illustrated dictionaries.