Realms of Meaning: An Introduction to Semantics

Routledge, 2013. — xx, 339 pages. — (Learning About Language). — ISBN 13: 978·0·582·02886-9.The chapters of the book have been written to be read independently of each other, though connections to other chapters are mentioned. This will allow for reading chapters selected on the basis of personal interest, often the best way of learning something well. It also allows the instructors to follow a different sequence, to skip chapters they think less important, to supplement selected ones with materials oftheir own choosing, and even to substitute some chapters with material they find more appropriate. Nevertheless, unless they advise against it, you may find that reading skipped chapters is useful, and even entertaining.In essence, then, this text provides a light description of much of the most modern work in semantics. The substantive work - knowledge about the structure of English and other languages - has been emphasized at the cost of theories, which are always changing (whatever abstract theory is believed today it surely will not be acceptable in ten years' time), and which are in any case hardly relevant to the student ofEnglish. For much the same reasons, technical details and terminology are avoided, so students of English literature and of other languages can profit nearly as much as students of linguistics.On Entering the Realms
Markedness and Blocking
Opposites and Negatives
Deixis
Orientations
Modal Verbs
Time: Tense and Aspect
Limits to Events
Prepositions
Reference and Predication
Words to Sentences
Word Meanings
Combining Sentences
Meaning and Context
Afterwords