tailieunhanh - Introdungcing English language part 5

Introdungcing English language part 5: 'In this exciting new textbook, Louise Mullany and Peter Stockwell have provided a fresh and imaginative set of alternatives for teaching and learning a huge amount about the English language. The book allows tor creative and lateral approaches to developing an understanding of important linguistic concepts and, together with the thought-provoking activities, and accessible readings, guarantees there is something to stimulate every learner. | A3 1 0 INTRODUCTION KEY BASIC CONCEPTS A3 SEMANTICS AND PRAGMATICS Semantics and pragmatics are closely related terms in language study. Semantics refers to the construction of meaning in language while pragmatics refers to meaning construction in specific interactional contexts. Pragmatics is also sometimes referred to as the study of meaning in use or meaning in interaction whereas semantics is concerned with the more abstract study of general conventional meaning within language structure. These two disciplines of language study are thus firmly linked and establishing a clear distinction between them is difficult as they tend to blur into one another. Similarly in recent years there has also been a blurring of the boundaries of semantics and other disciplinary areas of language study as linguists have increasingly realised that it is misleading to treat sentence meaning in isolation from its surrounding context. One example of such blurring is with lexical semantics in B2 which illustrates the interrelationship between lexicology and the semantic study of meaning construction. Pragmatics is also heavily interrelated with studies of discourse as we will see in strand 5. Elements of pragmatics study are also utilised within sociolinguistics see A9 . In this unit we begin by briefly introducing you to more traditional terms and foundational elements of semantics we then consider how semantics and pragmatics interrelate with one another finally we move on to examine some foundational principles of pragmatics study. Sense and reference An important distinction in semantics and a useful principle for our exploration of the traditional role of semantics in English language study is to define the sense and reference of linguistic expressions. Sense and reference are crucial components as they form part of the foundation of every facet of study within semantics. Sense refers to the central meaning of a linguistic form and how it relates to other expressions within the .