Semantics

             Definition of semantics philosophers and linguists a like have long debated the intricacies of language, how we construct meaning and how stationary those meanings really are. You've probably heard the line, that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Shakespeare asserts here then that a name doesn't matter. It's what that thing or concept really is. Even if we ceased to call a rose, we could still smell its fragrance, feel its velvety petals and be pricked by its thorns. Semantics means the meaning and interpretation of words, signs and sentence structure. Semantics largely determine our reading comprehension, how we understand others and even what decisions we make as a result of our interpretations. Semantics can also refer to the branch of study within linguistics that deals with language and how we understand meaning. This has been a particularly interesting field for philosophers as they debate the essence of meaning, how wewe build meaning, how we share meaning with others and how meaning changed over time.

             Semantik ada pada ketiga tataran bahasa(fonologi, morfologi, sintaksis dan leksikon). Morfologi dan sintaksis termasuk ke dalam gramatika atau tata bahasa. (Fatimah,2009:1) "Dengan tataran analisis bahasa lainnya, semantik merupakan cabang linguistik yang mempunyai hubungan erat dengan ilmu-ilmu sosial lain seperti sosiologi dan antropologi bahkan juga dengan filsafat dan psikologi. Dalam analisis semantik harus juga disadari karena bahasa itu bersifat unik dan mempunyai hubungan yang sangat erat dengan budaya masyarakat dalam pemakaiannya maka analisis semantik suatu bahasa hanya berlaku untuk bahasa itu saja, tidak dapat digunakan untuk menganalisis bahasa lain. Kata semantik yang digunakan untuk bidang linguistik yang mempelajari hubungan antara tanda-tanda linguistik dengan hal-hal yang ditandai nya atau dengan kata lain bidang studi yang mempelajari makna atau arti dalam bahasa. Oleh karna itu kata semantik dapat diartikan sebagai ilmu tentang makna atau arti".

Semantik bahasa terdiri atas : 

1. Tata bahasa (gramatika)
2. Fonologi (fonemik)
3. Fonetik
4. Leksikon

              Semantics is the study of the meaning of language. It can be applied to entire texts or to single words. For example "destination" and "last stop" technically mean the same thing, but students of semantics analyze their subtle shades of meaning. To correctly pronounce semantics which is a singular noun even though it ends in s accent the second syllable : "suh-man-ticks". In the late 1800s, Michel Breal coined the term semantique to describe the psychology of language. That french word has its Origins in Greek : semantikos means "significant", and comes from semainein "to show, signify, indicate by a sign". Semantics investigates the meaning of language. It also deals with varieties and changed in the meaning of words, pharases, sentences and text.
Semantik adalah studi tentang atri bahasa. Hal ini dapat diterapkan pada keseluruhan teks atau kata-kata tunggal. Misalnya "tujuan" dan "perhentian terakhir" secara teknis berarti hal yang sama, ini juga berkaitan dengan varietas dan perubahan makna kata, frase, kalimat dan teks.
Example of semantics-multiple meanings one part of studying a language is knowing the many meanings of individual words. Here are some examples of word with more than one meaning :

• A water Pill at first glance could be a pill with water in it, but it is understood to be a diuretic that causes a person to lose water from his body.

• Crash can mean auto accident, a drop in the stock market to attend a party without being invited, ocean waves hitting the shore or the sound of a cymbals being struck together.

• A child's alphabet block could be described as a wooden cube, learning aid, toy or block.

• Some see the glass half empty and others see the glass half full.

• A flowering plant could be referred to as a weed or a garden flower.

• One man's trash is another man's treasure.

• Some may consider an X-rated book pornography and others may consider it adult themed photos.

• Paying a child for chores may be considered a bribe or simply incentive.

• A human can be referred to as a male, female, child, adult, baby, bachelor, father or mother. Young can mean a colt, filly, piglet, baby, puppy or kitten.

• A female animal can be a tigress, ewe, hen, doe, mother, daughter or sister.

• The verb motion can mean walk, run, fall, plod, hurry or fly.

• The word create can mean build, make, construct, erect, compose or imagine. A flower may be yellow, but the hair color would be blonde.

• A barking dog can be good, especially if he is a guard dog or can be bad because he is untrained and awakens people.

• The simple word "on" can have many meanings, such as : on call, on the roof, on cloud nine, on edge, on fire, on purpose, on demand, on top, or on the phone.

• Words without meanings advertisers use certain words, some without any real meaning at all to convey ceritain impressions.

               Pengetahuan semantik akan memudahkan dalam memilih dan menggunakan kata dengan makna yang tepat dalam menyampaikan informasi kepada masyarakat umum.

               For example : Cleans like a white tornado do you have tired blood? Go for the Gusto at birdseye we've got quality in our corner good year radials : made for American cars Chevron gasoline with F-310 pennzoil with Z-7. One of the central issues with semantics is the distinction between literal meaning and figurative meaning. With literal meaning, we take concepts at face value. Example : if we said, 'fall began with the turning of the leaves', we would mean that the season beban to change when the leaves turned colors. Figurative meaning utilizes similes and metaphors to represent meaning and convey greater emotion. For example, 'i'm as hungry as a bear' would be a simile and a comparison to show a great need for sustenance