Semantics: A New Outline

by Frank Robert Palmer

An elementary and wide-ranging survey of semantics, the study of meaning. Semantics has attracted more attention in recent years than almost any other part of language study — and from psychologists, philosophers and logicians as well as from linguists. Professor Palmer provides a clear, succint and shrewd guide to all the major topics of traditional interest and to the many recent developments in the field. He shows that semantics is not, and probably cannot ever be, a single, well-defined and well-integrated discipline. Rather it is a set of studies in the use of language in relation to many different aspects of experience, to linguistic and non-linguistic context, to participants in discourse, to their knowledge and experience, to the conditions under which particular bits of language are appropiate.
This is the most comprehensive modern survey of its kind. It is readily intelligible to beginning students and to the interested non-specialist and layman.

Genres: Linguistics, Nonfiction

164 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Frank R. Palmer, British linguist, Professor Emeritus of Linguistic Science at the University of Reading. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, a Member of the Academia Europaea and an
Honorary Doctor of Letters. He has lectured on English Grammar and on Linguistics in over thirty different countries.

Reviews

[محمد حسين ضاحي · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read in semantics. I had been curious to know about it, and met this classic book somewhere I don't remember.
It is an introductory book, but it's somewhat outdated. It's very useful, because it draws attention to the meaning of semantics and its interrelation with other disciplines (in the first chapter). It describes the scope of semantics and its working area introducing concepts such as reference (in the second chapter). The book introduces the idea of concept. Then the book moves into exploring sense relations such as synonymy, antonymy, homonymy and polysemy, ... etc (in the fourth chapter). In the fifth chapter the book introduces collocations and idioms. In the chapter 6, it relates meaning to the sentence, and in chapter 7 semantics to grammar. In the final chapter he discusses some of the new and recent topics of his time including case relations and generative semantics

[Othman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure what to say about this book. It's good for someone who knows nothing about semantics. I read the first 10 pages and then had to skim through it because there was nothing new. My 3-star rating is for the clarity and presentation

[Esraa Adel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed book .

[Talha]

Hulasa: semantik yeterince iyi-tanimlanmis mefhumlara, sistematige sahip bir alan degil. Neredeyse cocuksu denebilecek (yazarin tabiri) cok fazla tartisma ihtiva ediyor. Ve fakat bazi guzel acilimlari da var (dil ile dil-disi tecrubenin baglantilari hakkinda). Yine de, saglam yol kat etmesi lazim (i.e. bir 'gramer' degil).

[Umer Farooq]

good