Semantics deals with understanding the meaning of __________ and __________.
A.
speech units . . . language structure
B.
words . . . word combinations
C.
language rules . . . development
D.
language skills . . . development
Answer: B. Semantics deals with understanding the meaning of words and word combinations.
Explanation:
We should make a distinction between:
semantics, as the study of meaning, and
the study of language structure at different levels, from small units of speech to the entire conversation, which is called linguistics.
Semantics is a linguistic discipline which is devoted to the study of meaning. Semantics is concerned with the meaning at all levels - words, phrases, sentences, and larger units (texts). For instance, compare the following words: 'last stop' and 'destination'. Their meaning is quite similar, but semanticists are interested in exploring their shades of meaning.
