Syntax, Semantics, and Pragmatics: A Linguistic Overview
Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics, and Semiotics
Syntax, derived from Greek, focuses on how words combine to form sentences. It analyzes sentence constituents, examining their form, position, and function, as well as their internal organization and relationships. Semantics studies how languages organize and express meanings, dealing with linguistic meanings. Pragmatics explores the additional meanings a sentence carries in specific contexts. Semiotics is the general science of communication, encompassing
Read MoreUnderstanding Conjunctions: Types and Usage
Conjunctions: Types and Usage
Conjunctions of Place
These indicate the place where the action is executed. Examples: where.
Conjunctions of Time
They refer to the time when the main action is made. Examples: before, as, meanwhile, while, as soon as.
Conjunctions of Mode
These indicate the form or manner in which the main action occurs. Examples: as.
Comparative Conjunctions
The relationship established is the comparison between a main action and a proposition. Examples: as…as, more…than, so…as.
Causal
Read MoreNumeral Adjectives and Pronouns: Types and Usage
Numeral Adjectives: Types and Usage
Numeral adjectives modify nouns by indicating quantity or order. Here’s a breakdown of the different types:
- Cardinal Numbers: Indicate exact quantities (e.g., one, two, three…). In Spanish, these numbers follow specific spelling rules:
- Numbers up to thirty-one are written as one word.
- Numbers from thirty-two to ninety-nine are written separately.
- Compound hundreds have the second element written as one word (e.g., three hundred).
- If the second element is a thousand,
Understanding Grammar, Syntax, and Morphology
Grammar is the study of the principles that govern the formation and interpretation of words, phrases, and sentences, and how they are put together.
Syntax is concerned with the formation and interpretation of phrases and sentences.
Morphology is a branch of grammar that studies the structure of words. It is also the study of the formation and interpretation of words, and how words are formed.
These are the definitions of grammar, syntax, and morphology according to Radford.
A morpheme is the smallest
Read MoreUnderstanding Grammatical Categories: Nouns, Adjectives, and Verbs
Grammatical Categories: Nouns, Adjectives, and Verbs
Determinants
The determinant is a grammatical category that functions as a noun modifier. It is an important element of cohesion as it agrees in gender and number with the noun.
Demonstrative Determinants
Demonstrative determinants (this, that, these, those) indicate closeness or distance in time or space. Formally, they are variable-unchangeable. Functionally, they are determinants. Semantically, they indicate proximity, remoteness, and anaphoric
Read MoreUnderstanding Vocabulary and Semantics in Linguistics
Vocabulary and Semantics
1.1. The Linguistic Sign
Features:
- The linguistic meaning is arbitrary: The relationship between signifier and signified does not obey any rules. It’s conventional.
- The linguistic sign is immutable: Individual speakers cannot change the signs.
- It is mutable: Some linguistic signs change their meaning over time, and society adopts the new meanings.
Examples:
- Pass:
- Transit
- Not minding
- Roll:
- Cylindrical geometry
- Something boring
- Occasional erotic relationship