Analyzing meaning: An introduction to semantics and pragmatics

by Paul R. Kroeger

This book provides an introduction to the study of meaning in human language, from a linguistic perspective. It covers a fairly broad range of topics, including lexical semantics, compositional semantics, and pragmatics. The chapters are organized into six units: (1) Foundational concepts; (2) Word meanings; (3) Implicature (including indirect speech acts); (4) Compositional semantics; (5) Modals, conditionals, and causation; (6) Tense & aspect. Most of the chapters include exercises which can be used for class discussion and/or homework assignments, and each chapter contains references for additional reading on the topics covered. As the title indicates, this book is truly an INTRODUCTION: it provides a solid foundation which will prepare students to take more advanced and specialized courses in semantics and/or pragmatics. It is also intended as a reference for fieldworkers doing primary research on under-documented languages, to help them write grammatical descriptions that deal carefully and clearly with semantic issues. The approach adopted here is largely descriptive and non-formal (or, in some places, semi-formal), although some basic logical notation is introduced. The book is written at level which should be appropriate for advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students. It presupposes some previous coursework in linguistics, but does not presuppose any background in formal logic or set theory.

Genres: Linguistics, Textbooks, Language

494 pages, Paperback

Published August 26, 2022

About the author

Paul Kroeger is a Professor of Applied Linguistics at the Dallas International University in Dallas, Texas, and a Senior Linguistic Consultant for SIL International. He is the author of Phrase structure and grammatical relations in Tagalog (1993, CSLI); Analyzing syntax: a lexical-functional approach (2004, Cambridge University Press); and Analyzing grammar: an introduction (2005, Cambridge University Press). He holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Stanford University. His research has focused primarily on the syntax and semantics of Western Malayo-Polynesian languages, with a particular interest in languages of Borneo.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've encountered much of this book's content before, but I decided to read it anyway because I was intrigued to see that this survey book on semantics is offered free of charge in PDF form (as are all of the books published by Language Science Press, it appears). I hope to one day find an introductory semantics book that I can wholeheartedly recommend; for me this is not that book. Even so, depending on one's goals this book could be useful, provided one is conscious of its strengths and limitations.

My bias tends toward resources that teach people to use computers to perform quantitative analyses of text corpora. This book doesn't reach in that direction much at all - certainly not to the point of mentioning projects like WordNet or FrameNet. I found this disappointing for a book whose first edition has a 2018 publication date. While there are many references to 21st century works, the overall core content and methodologies of the book seem consistent with comparable books published around the mid-1990s.

Here are some other areas that get limited coverage:

• The semantic aspects of morphosyntax don't get a thorough treatment; while several valuable topics in this area are presented, there are also significant gaps. In the preface, a full semester of morphosyntax is recommended as a prerequisite to the book; given this, I'm not sure why the handling of this area is so restrained.

• Though translation gets mentioned frequently, there is no section dedicated exclusively to translation. There is also no mention of semantic frames (at least not named as such).

• Diachronic semantics gets scarce attention. I would have preferred more detailed examination of topics like semantic shift and grammaticalization (which in turn could have helped bolster the treatment of morphosyntax).

That being said, the book has some promising strengths:

• I like the writing style; the prose is accessible, flows smoothly, and doesn't distract from the content. This is important because the book tends to favor prose exposition over formal definitions or even diagrams. While I would have preferred more diagrams, especially in Units IV and V, overall I found the prose approach effective; as an example, I found Chapter 15's presentation of lambda expressions to be particularly clean.

• Lexical semantics gets plenty of attention, as does the interplay of semantics and pragmatics; indeed, the book is subtitled 'An introduction to semantics and pragmatics.' For those whose interests lie closer to psycholinguistics or sociolinguistics, Units II and/or III are likely to be a good fit.

• The references to other books are frequent, and the ones I recognized were generally well-chosen. I was particularly glad to see references to From Etymology to Pragmatics: Metaphorical and Cultural Aspects of Semantic Stucture, English Verb Classes and Alternations: A Preliminary Investigation, and The Evolution of Grammar: Tense, Aspect, and Modality in the Languages of the World. I was hoping for more references to online resources, but that may reflect my bias.

For the theoretically-inclined (such as those who have already seen set theory and/or formal logic), I think the book will be on the easy side. On the other hand, for the empirically-inclined, the gaps in coverage mean that the book could be hit-or-miss as a whole depending on one's specific interests.

[Freya Abbas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate that this book gets straight to the point and doesn't have any annoying fluff at the beginning of the chapters. It could be better organized to highlight key words. The conclusions at the end of each chapter could be a little bit longer to recap key concepts. Some of the questions in this book were very helpful, especially in the first three chapters which were introducing key concepts. But it would be nice if the answers to all of these questions were given. Semantics is a really hard topic for me, but this textbook was overall quite interesting.

[Levi Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, I have in fact read this complete textbook in its entirety. Something I don't know I can say about hardly any other textbook. I guess that's what you get when you get the professor who literally wrote the book.

It's thorough, it's very clear, it teaches you what philosophers have had to say about semantics in ancient times up through what many different linguists have discovered in modern times, this guy cites like crazy and clearly knows what he's talking about. There's also several different syntaxes of writing logical notation, set notation, lambda notation, etc. The breadth of this was a bit much to cover in one class but you can't fault a book for being thorough, especially when it's so (relatively) clear compared to many other textbooks.

[Ellie J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: linguistics, semantics, pragmatics, morphology

This is a good introductory textbook if you're newer to semantics. The focus of the textbook is largely semantics and not pragmatics, but I actually found that to be helpful since it's the semantics stuff that I have trouble with.

The information was presented in an accessible, easy to read way and the chapters were all a manageable size. I especially appreciate that this really focuses on the meaning behind different linguistic features and not just on meaning re: propositional and prepositional logic. I've found it difficult to find a semantics resource that isn't just about how to use pre/propositional logic and determine truth values, so I'm super pleased with this book.

[Alien Bookreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clear and well written. A foundation in many topics, with homework exercises at the end of each chapter to give you a review. I love that.

[Aman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This textbook tends to bury important definitions, examples, etc. inside paragraphs. This is a big problem.

[Giulia Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really helpful book concerning semantics and pragmatics. It is understandable and gets straight to the point.
I would have preferred more detailed conclusions to the chapters.

[YOUSSEF IDAMMI · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in philosophical fields such as Epistemology, Philosophy of Language, and Logic, then having some basic knowledge on Semantics and Pragmatics, and Linguistics in general would help a lot to run for that (personally, it's a milestone for me).
It is not the best introductory work to Semantics and Pragmatic, but it is a very well-written and easy-to-read introduction though. Honestly, I wouldn't read this particular book if it wasn't required for my class!

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb introduction to semantics. Very comprehensive (though not exhaustive... there's no discussion of polarity sensitive items, for example), big on insights, small on formal detail, though any formal detail included is done very soundly. Non-intrusive but constant reference to the research literature, both old and new. Highly recommended.