Semantics II (Some Additions)

Semantics II (Some Definitions)

1. Lexicon

The lexicon is the collective name for the list of the lexemes of a language. We may call it the vocabulary of the language.

But it has to be remembered that all the lexemes of a language are not single word forms. The lexicon also includes the phrasal lexemes which have an idiomatic meaning that cannot be predicted from the meaning of the words which constitute them.

2. Lexemes

Lexemes are the word forms and phrasal expressions having an idiomatic meaning used in a language which are listed in a dictionary using their base forms or citation forms or stem forms or in any other way which distinguishes them from one another. It must be remembered, however, that the base form and the citation form of all the words of English except BE is identical. The lexemes are listed in the dictionary which gives not only their meanings but also all the grammatical information about them.

All the lexemes of a language are not single word forms. There are some phrasal lexemes also which consist of two or more word forms. ‘To make a mountain of a mole hill’ (to exaggerate something)‘, a pig in a poke’ (something the true value of which is not known), ‘to go for a song’ (to sell for a very low price), and ‘a Herculean task’ (an extremely difficult task) are some examples of phrasal lexemes of English. But these phrasal lexemes have an idiomatic meaning which cannot be predicted from the meaning of the words which constitute them. Their meaning may be expressed using some phrasal expressions which may or may not contain some words that constitute them but these expressions have a literal meaning. A phrasal expressions which carries only a literal meaning cannot be treated as a lexeme.

Although there is a large number of phrasal lexemes in a language the phrasal status of which cannot be disputed, there is an equally large number of phrasal expressions the phrasal status of which is debatable. Some people may accept them as lexemes while others may deny them this status.

3. Lexical (Literary) Meaning and Figurative Meaning

The lexical meaning of a word is the meaning which is given in a dictionary. It is the primary meaning of the word. It is also called the literary meaning or the denotative meaning.

The figurative meaning or connotative meaning is different from the lexical meaning although it is related to it in certain way. It is derived from the lexical meaning. It is based on some quality, trait or property of the concept denoted literally by the word. We all know that an ass is four legged beast of burden with two ears, two eyes and a tail. But sometimes we call a man an ass. It does not mean that the man is that beast of burden. It simply means that he shares some quality with that animal which it is well known for. In this case, we may mean that the man has a poor intelligence or that he works very hard without getting any reward for his labour.

Some good dictionaries give even the figurative meanings of words. But even when they do so, the lexical/literary/denotative meaning is given first.