Semantics— Signs, Syntax

Mohammad Aminur RahmanLecturer, Dept. of English, ZHSUST

What is Semantics?

Semantics, the study of the meaning of linguistic sign—— that is words, expressions, and sentences——

* what signs are; * how signs possess SIGNIFICANCE——

►►how they are intended by speakers;►► how they designate (make reference to

things and ideas, and;►►how they are interpreted by hearers.

Finally, the goal of semantics is to match the meanings of signs——

* what they stand for—— with the process of assigning those meanings.

What does it mean?

What does sign mean and what is it composed of?

What is Syntax?

The word syntax is derived from a Greek word meaning——

* ‘ordering together’; * ‘systematic arrangement’; * ‘putting together’.

It is the study of sentence-building, of ways in which words are arranged in a specific order to make larger units.

Finally, syntax is the grammar, structure, or order of the elements in a language statement. We think of syntax as ‘word order’.

Syntactic Diagram

Thank you………