Lexical Semantics

✍ Scribed by D. A. Cruse

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 1986
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 322
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Lexical Semantics is about the meaning of words. Although obviously a central concern of linguistics, the semantic behaviour of words has been unduly neglected in the current literature, which has tended to emphasize sentential semantics and its relation to formal systems of logic. In this textbook D. A. Cruse establishes in a principled and disciplined way the descriptive and generalizable facts about lexical relations that any formal theory of semantics will have to encompass. Among the topics covered in depth are idiomaticity, lexical ambiguity, synonymy, hierarchical relations such as hyponymy and meronymy, and various types of oppositeness. Syntagmatic relations are also treated in some detail. The discussions are richly illustrated by examples drawn almost entirely from English. Although a familiarity with traditional grammar is assumed, readers with no technical linguistic background will find the exposition always accessible. All readers with an interest in semantics will find in this original text not only essential background but a stimulating new perspective on the field.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover......Page 1
Title Page......Page 3
Contents......Page 6
Typgraphical Conventions......Page 10
Preface......Page 11
1. A Contextual approach to lexical semantics......Page 13
2. The syntagmatic delimitation of lexical units......Page 35
3. The paradigmatics and sntactic delimitation of lexical units......Page 61
4. Introducing lexical relations......Page 96
5. Lexical configurations......Page 124
6. Taxonomies......Page 148
7. Meronomies......Page 169
8. Non-branching hierarchies......Page 193
9. Opposites I: complementaries and antonyms......Page 209
10. Opposites II: directional oppositions......Page 235
11. Opposites III: general questions......Page 256
12. Synonymy......Page 277
References......Page 307
Subject Index......Page 314
Author Index......Page 321