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Semantics

Semantics explores the meaning behind words, phrases, and sentences in language. It delves into how humans understand and interpret language in context, comprising various aspects from conceptual meaning to logical implications.
Sub-categories:

Focuses on the analysis of word meanings and relationships among words including synonyms, antonyms, and hyponyms.

Studies how meaning is derived from the syntactic structure of sentences, exploring how individual words combine to form complex meanings.

Applies mathematical logic to model linguistic phenomena, providing a formal characterization of the meaning of linguistic expressions.

Examines the cognitive structure of meaning and how language relates to human concepts and thought processes.

Investigates the mental representation of meaning, blending linguistic analysis with psychological research into how we process language.

Compares the meaning of words and phrases across different languages and cultures to understand universality and diversity in language interpretation.

Studies the graded categorization in semantics, wherein some members of a category are more central than others.

Analyzes how words evoke certain background knowledge or 'frames' that provide context for understanding meaning.

Considers how the truth conditions of a statement relate to its meaning, examining how language is used to assert propositions about the world.

Looks at how the meaning of discourse changes over time based on context and the inclusion of new information.

Focuses on the relationship between language usage and its context, showing how semantics is influenced by the situation in which language is used.

The study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behavior; explores how words and other signs make meaning.

Analyzes how words group into specific areas of meaning and the structure of these sets of related vocabulary.

Investigates the roles that different participants in a sentence play, such as 'agent,' 'patient,' 'source,' and 'goal.'

Looks at the historical evolution of word meanings, studying the processes of linguistic change and metaphorical extension.

Identifies the basic, universal elements of meaning that form the building blocks of language's semantic systems.