Semantic Fields: Meaning, Sense, and Categorization
The difference between meaning and sense has to do with what is purely semantic and what is extrasemantic (pragmatic). Structuralism starts from the idea that languages are structures or systems, i.e., sets of interrelated elements. The value of each element within a structure is defined in terms of its relationship with other elements within that structure. Therefore, in structural semantics, the meaning of a word has to be defined through its relation to the meaning of other words within a set. The basic concept in structural semantics is the semantic or lexical field.
What is a Semantic Field?
A semantic field is a set of lexemes linked by a common lexical value. In other words, a semantic field is an area of common meaning between different units of a language. We must not confuse the lexical field (area of common meaning) with a lexical family (set of words having the same root). In structural semantics, distinctive semantic features allow us to analyze the meaning of those words which belong to the same semantic field.
- Each of the lexical items that are defined are called Lexemes.
- Each of the semantic features that distinguish the meanings of the lexemes are called semes.
- The set of semantic features that define a lexeme are called sememes.
- The whole of semes common to all lexemes of a semantic field is called ARCHISEMEMA.
- The lexeme that is defined by an archisemema, if it exists, is called ARCHILEXEMA.
Archisemema: “to sit” Archilexema: seat.
Categorization in Semantics
Categorization: A mental operation that involves bringing different things together and that allows us to organize our experience of the world. All semantic theories allude to some form of the concept of categorization. Where theories differ is in the answer given to the question: What criteria determine the membership of a member of a category?
Objectivist vs. Experientialist Approaches
Objectivist Current (classic response): The criteria that determine the membership of a member of a category are the common properties or CNS. Members of a category have identical features. If a particular object is perceived as a chair, it is because it has the characteristics that define the category or the concept of chair. Thus, all members of a category have common properties.
Experientialist Current: The existence of common properties shared by all members of a category is not a necessary condition for the establishment of a category. What is important is the notion of prototype, the ideal member of a category. And from this reference, we group them by similarity to the prototype. The membership of a member of a category is defined by a set of necessary and sufficient conditions (CNS). For example, to categorize something as a child, it has to meet the human traits, be young, and be male. If one does not appear in an entity, we cannot say that this institution belongs to the child category (features needed). And if you are all three, that entity is automatically a child (enough features). The features are binary in nature. Either it has a certain trait or it does not have it, i.e., (+) or (-). A feature can have only two values (presence or absence). The categories have discrete boundaries. Since the features only gain two values, institutions can only be grouped into two sets: in the category or outside it. Ambiguous cases are not covered to some degree belonging to a category. All members of a category are equivalent. An entity that has all the CNS is a full member of the class, and an entity that does not have all the CNS is not a member of the category. There are degrees of category membership; there shall be more suitable for a category than others. A prototype is the most appropriate copy or even the best, the best representative or central case of a category.