semantics in linguistics

Semantics in linguistics is the study of meaning in language. It examines how words, phrases, and sentences convey concepts, ideas, and relationships. Essentially, semantics explores what speakers and listeners understand when they communicate, including how meanings are constructed, interpreted, and change over time. It involves analyzing individual words’ meanings (lexical semantics) and how combinations of words create specific meanings in context (compositional or sentence semantics). Overall, semantics helps us understand how language systematically represents our thoughts and the world around us.