Semantic meaning

• v • t • e In semantics is the rigorous mathematical study of the meaning of Semantics describes the processes a computer follows when History [ ] In 1967, Assigning meanings to programs; his chief aim is "a rigorous standard for proofs about computer programs, including A semantic definition of a programming language, in our approach, is founded on a In 1969, In the 1970s, the terms Overview [ ] The field of formal semantics encompasses all of the following: • The definition of semantic models • The relations between different semantic models • The relations between different approaches to meaning • The relation between computation and the underlying mathematical structures from fields such as It has close links with other areas of Approaches [ ] There are many approaches to formal semantics; these belong to three major classes: • • • is exactly what can be proven about it in some logic. The canonical example of axiomatic semantics is Apart from the choice between denotational, operational, or axiomatic approaches, most variations in formal semantic systems arise from the choice of supporting mathematical formalism. Variations [ ] Some variations of formal semantics include the following: • • • attributes) for the various cases of • • • • Describing relationships [ ] For a variety of reasons, one might wish to describe the relationships between different formal semantics. For example: • To prove that a particular operational semantics for a language satisfies the logical...

I hear this phrase from time to time, and I really don't know what it means. Two people are debating, and one says "the difference between your position and mine is just a matter of semantics." This would seem to me to be quite an important difference. That is, if one person means one thing, and the other person means something else, then they really do have different positions. If they said "it is just a matter of terminology" or "just a matter of phrasing" I would get it. But if someone says "we differ only what we mean" ... it kinda makes me chuckle because it seems to be saying that their meaning is not important, as if the argument was primary and the positions they take a secondary consideration. So I started looking around for examples of this. I guess it seems that there is a popular notion that semantics is about very fine distinctions, such as: Another interpretation seems to be that semantics is the difference between two ways of saying the same thing: Maybe it is just a way of stopping an annoying conversation: And then there is some usage that I simply don't understand: And also: Still, to me it is just a meaningless phrase. Am I missing an important meaning here? It is not just a meaningless phrase: it is offensive and dismissive. Semantics are about meaning, and meaning is without question the single most important thing in any communication. If meaning has no meaning, than people are just making random noises. So semantics is not a matter of no import as th...

Database model Semantic data model Process type semantics-based database description Product(s) Leading companies U.S. Air Force as Main facilities Planning of Data Resources, Building of Shareable Databases, Evaluation of Vendor Software, Integration of Existing Databases Year of invention mid-1970s A semantic data model ( SDM) is a In software engineering [ ] A semantic data model in • It is a • It is a Typically the instance data of semantic data models explicitly include the kinds of relationships between the various data elements, such as . To interpret the meaning of the facts from the instances, it is required that the meaning of the kinds of relations (relation types) be known. Therefore, semantic data models typically standardize such relation types. This means that the second kind of semantic data models enables that the instances express facts that include their own meanings. The second kind of semantic data models are usually meant to create semantic databases. The ability to include meaning in semantic databases facilitates building Overview [ ] The logical data structure of a According to Klas and Schrefl (1995), the "overall goal of semantic data models is to capture more meaning of data by integrating relational concepts with more powerful abstraction concepts known from the History [ ] The need for semantic data models was first recognized by the U.S. Air Force in the mid-1970s as a result of the • • • • During the 1990s, the application of semantic modell...

The term “theory of meaning” has figured, in one way or another, in a great number of philosophical disputes over the last century. Unfortunately, this term has also been used to mean a great number of different things. In this entry, the focus is on two sorts of “theory of meaning”. The first sort of theory—a semantic theory—is a theory which assigns semantic contents to expressions of a language. The second sort of theory—a foundational theory of meaning—is a theory which states the facts in virtue of which expressions have the semantic contents that they have. Following a brief introduction, these two kinds of theory are discussed in turn. 1. Two Kinds of Theory of Meaning In “General Semantics”, David Lewis wrote I distinguish two topics: first, the description of possible languages or grammars as abstract semantic systems whereby symbols are associated with aspects of the world; and, second, the description of the psychological and sociological facts whereby a particular one of these abstract semantic systems is the one used by a person or population. Only confusion comes of mixing these two topics. (Lewis 1970: 19) Lewis was right. Even if philosophers have not consistently kept these two questions separate, there clearly is a distinction between the questions “What is the meaning of this or that symbol (for a particular person or group)?” and “In virtue of what facts about that person or group does the symbol have that meaning?” Corresponding to these two questions ...

Bloomfield thought that semantics, or the study of meaning, was the weak point in the scientific investigation of language and would necessarily remain so until the other sciences whose task it was to describe the universe and humanity’s place in it had advanced beyond their present state. In his textbook Two groups of scholars may be seen to have Also of considerable importance in the description of the indigenous languages of America has been the work of linguists trained by the Summer Institute of Linguistics, a group of Protestant missionary linguists. Because their principal aim is to produce translations of the Bible, they have necessarily been concerned with meaning as well as with grammar and The two most important developments in semantics in the mid-20th century were, first, the application of the structural approach to the study of meaning and, second, a better appreciation of the relationship between grammar and semantics. The second of these developments will be treated in the following section, on The structural approach to semantics is best explained by contrasting it with the more traditional “atomistic” approach, according to which the meaning of each word in the language is described, in principle, independently of the meaning of all other words. The structuralist takes the view that the meaning of a word is a function of the relationships it contracts with other words in a particular lexical field, or subsystem, and that it cannot be adequately described...

Semantic memory is key to understanding and describing how everything around us works. Collected over each person’s lifetime of learning, the information in semantic memory—facts, relationships between objects or concepts, and many more abstract details—is invaluable to everyone from kindergartners to gameshow contestants. The information contained in semantic memory ranges from basic facts such as the meanings of words and what colors different kinds of food are to more complex forms of understanding, such as how certain concepts relate to each other. Semantic memory also reflects the abstract details of one’s own life, such as birth date, hometown, or personal characteristics. Semantic memory isn’t just a library of trivia: In compiling a vast range of meanings, details about the way things are, and conceptual linkages, it enables one to learn about the world and other people, to use language and share ideas, and to interpret personal experiences, among other important behaviors. Unlike episodic memory, which reproduces the subjective impressions of past experiences, semantic memory contains information that is context-free—not grounded in a particular time and place. A person who started learning the alphabet on a particular afternoon in childhood doesn’t need to revisit that moment to remember (thanks to semantic memory) that the letter P comes after M. The base of knowledge contained in semantic memory is accumulated through many moments of learning, from picking up t...