Introduction to Semantics and Lexical Development
Semantics
Definition
Semantics, derived from the Greek word “Semantik” meaning “what has meaning,” is the study of the meaning of signs in linguistics. This includes words, expressions, and sentences. Students of semantics explore questions like “What is the meaning of a word?” To answer this, we must consider that signs exist and have meaning for the speaker.
General Semantics
General semantics is concerned with meaning and how it influences what people do and say.
Relationships Between Words
- Relationships between words are diverse. A word can be analyzed by considering its elements or sounds.
- Words can be grouped into families based on their stem or root. These are called lexical families because they share morphemes.
- Examples include: mother, stepmother, godmother, maternal, matriarchal, maternity.
Semantic Fields
- A semantic field is a set of words that share a common meaning.
- These fields can form categories.
Semantic Relationships
- Homonyms: Words that have the same sound but different meanings (e.g., face).
- Synonyms: Words that have similar meanings.
- Paronyms: Words that have similar sounds but different spellings and meanings (e.g., tube, had, mass, club).
- Antonyms: Words with opposite meanings.
Lexicon
Definition
The lexicon is the vocabulary a child acquires and understands. It is also referred to as a dictionary.
Lexical Development
- A child’s lexical development is not limited to words or expressions but involves understanding the meanings of words in context.
- The meanings a child assigns to words may not match those of an adult.
- The lexicon includes data (though not all possible data) about events, occurrences, and objects that we name.
Properties of Things
We understand objects based on their properties, including:
- Perceptive physical properties: Appearance (color, size, external characteristics).
- Functional properties: What it does, its purpose.
- Habitual behaviors: Running, rolling, growing.
- Origins: Plant, animal, source.
- History: Facts associated with the object.
- These properties help us recognize things, but some objects lack specific names (e.g., a poodle requires three words instead of one).
Concept Formation
What is a Concept?
A concept is a cognitive entity that organizes objects and events into classes based on shared characteristics that distinguish them from other objects.
Concept Organization
The process of categorizing objects can be described as follows:
- Perceptual and/or functional recognition of an object.
- Learning the properties or features of an object that are relevant for its inclusion in a specific concept (e.g., chairs).
- Understanding the organization and relationships of the concept to other concepts, including which concepts are included and excluded (e.g., understanding sound management concepts).
Semantic Errors
Types of Semantic Errors
- No identification/no nomination: Failure to identify or name an object.
- No significant relationship/no meaning: Inability to establish the corresponding relationship between a name and a stimulus.
- Error categorization: Failure to include an element within a class (failure in analysis).
- Classification error: Inability to recognize a criterion that determines class membership (failure in synthesis).
- Overgeneralization: Using a name to describe a broad range of things with a common characteristic (e.g., calling all animals “dog”).
- Subgeneralization: Defining a class based on a peripheral element inherent in only some members (e.g., defining similarities between dogs and cats as “/hairless/”).
- Behavioral approximation: Defining similarities based on subjective perception rather than specific properties (e.g., defining similarities between animals as “/beautiful/” or defining the use of a towel as “/to clean/”).
Relaxation and Mobility Exercises
Passive Relaxation
- Eye area: Defuse temple after massage.
- Frontal-temporal area: Defuse after massage.
- Chin and pinna area: Defuse after massage.
- Press from the chin into the esophagus for drooling control.
- Stretch the neck and trapezius area after massage.
- Stretch and/or massage the mouth area.
- Turn the head gently.
Global Relaxation
- Supine position: Relax different body parts.
- Prone position: Relax different body parts.
- Standing: Relax different body parts.
- Sitting: Relax different body parts.
- Be aware of the act of overall relaxation.
Segmental Relaxation: Facial
- Frown and drop sharply.
- Frowning and dropping.
- Loosely crumple and drop lips.
- Mimic chewing slowly.
Neck
- Move the head “forward” and “backward.”
- Move the head “right” and “left.”
- Bending to the right and left.
- Head rotation (180 degrees).
Mobility of Vocal Bodies
Lips
- Lip area: Defuse the inferior area after massage.
- Distend the superior and inferior lips, stretching the superior lip.
- Loosen the lips from the sides, stretching.
- Open/close the mouth.
- Tighten your lips.
Tongue
- Raise the tongue passively after pressure on the chin tip.
- Move the tongue back passively, pressing with a spatula.
- Move the tongue right/left with lateral pressure.
- Remove and stick out the tongue, slowly and quickly.
- Puff out the cheeks.
- Exaggerate vowel sounds with contrasting gestures.
- Puff out cheeks at once.
Jaws
- Open and close the mouth rapidly and slowly.
- Open your mouth, shut quickly and slowly.
- Open your mouth slowly and close rapidly.
Soft Palate
- Swallow saliva.
- Gargle.
Morphology
Receptive Language
- Understanding words in the plural whose singular ends in a vowel.
- Understanding words in the plural whose singular ends in a consonant or is unchanged.
- Understanding regular verb forms in the present tense.
- Understanding regular verb forms in the future tense.
Expressive Language
- Use proper gender matches: noun + adjective.
- Use proper gender matches: subject + attribute.
- Use the correct plural of words whose singular ends in a vowel.