Lexical Semantics

by D. Alan Cruse

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.

Genres: Linguistics, Nonfiction, Language

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book to be a bit disappointing overall. I like the author's approach f studying the meaning of words in terms of how they are used and, in particular, the relationship between related lexical items (which may or may not be words). But, with some exceptions, the book reads like a more or less ad hoc collection of lexical relationships,without much of an overarching vision or theory. But, as the author observes: languages are created neither for nor by logicians. I may be asking too much, but it doesn't seem to me that I came away with much more insight into the nature of word meaning. On the positive side, the author has done an excellent job f identifying phenomena that must be accounted for in future theories of lexical semantics.

[Saher Al-Saher · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book