Pengertian Semantics

Semantics is the study of meaning. It is a wide subject within the general study of
language. An understanding of semantics is essential to the study of language
acquisition (how language users acquire a sense of meaning, as speakers and writers,
listeners and readers) and of language change (how meanings alter over time). It is
important for understanding language in social contexts, as these are likely to affect
meaning, and for understanding varieties of English and effects of style. It is thus one of
the most fundamental concepts in linguistics. The study of semantics includes the study
of how meaning is constructed, interpreted, clarified, obscured, illustrated, simplified
negotiated, contradicted and paraphrased.(
http://www.teachit.co.uk/armoore/lang/semantics.htm#7)

Pengertian Pragmatics
According to Professor Crystal, pragmatics is not a coherent field of study. It refers to the
study of those factors which govern our choices of language - such as our social
awareness, our culture and our sense of etiquette. How do we know how to address
different people like the queen? How do we know how to express gratitude for a gift or
hospitality?
To learn Pragmatic, first, we must know the definition of Pragmatic. So, I took
from some references about it. Here they are:
1. Cruse (2000:16) said:
Pragmatic can be taken to be concerned with aspect of information (in the
widest sense) conveyed through language which are not encoded by generally
accepted convention in the linguistic form used but which none the less arise
naturally out of and depend on the meaning conventionally encoded in the
linguistic form used, taken in conjunction with the context in the forms are
used (emphasis added).
2. Levinson
Pragmatic is the study of those relations between language and context
that are grammaticalized or encoded in the structure of language. (Page 9)
Levinson also stated that Pragmatic is the study of the relation between
language and context that are basic to an account of language understanding.
(Page 21)
3. Mey (1993:42)
The study of the condition of human language uses as these is determined
by the context of society. Pragmatic is needed if we want a fuller, deeper, and
generally more reasonable account of human language behavior.
Base on the three definitions above, we can see that the context take a big
part in learning Pragmatic because it is the study of language use.
No definition of pragmatic will be complete in the absence of some
mention of context. The notion of context extends beyond its obvious
manifestation as a physical setting within which an utterance is produced to
include linguistic, social, and epistemic factors. (Cummings: 2005-4).

Pragmatics can be illustrated by jokes or irony which rely on the contrast between
expected and subsequently revealed meaning. Consider this example from a 1999
episode of Barry Levinson's TV police drama, Homicide: Life on the Streets. (The TV
audience is assumed to know police procedure for arresting suspects.) An arresting
officer says to a suspect (whose hands are raised, so he is not resisting arrest): You
have the right to remain silent. Instead of continuing with the reading of rights, the officer
shoots the suspect. The audience enjoys the wordplay and the dramatic revelation of the
officer's real meaning, because pragmatics tells us what You have the right to remain
silent normally leads to - more words and no bullets.

Perbedaan Semantics dan Pragmatics

A semantic language disciplines that examine the meaning of
lingual unit, meaning both lexical and grammatical meaning,
whereas pragmatics is the branch of linguistics that studies the
structure of language externally, ie, how the language used in
the communication unit.
Semantics and pragmatics both examine the meaning, but
the meaning of which is the study of semantics is the linguistic
meaning (linguistic meaning) context-free, while the pragmatic
significance was assessed by mean of speakers (speakers
meaning) associated with the context. In other words, the
semantic meaning of internal study, which is the literal meaning,
and apart from the situation, speakers and petuturnya. However,
pragmatic study of meaning externally, that is directly related to
the speaker or speakers. It can be concluded that between
semantics and pragmatics have a complementary relationship
(complementary).
Semantics treat meaning as a relationship involving two
terms (dyadic) includes forms and meanings, whereas
pragmatics treat meaning as a relationship involving three terms
(triadic) which includes the form, meaning, and context.
Sematik merupakan displin ilmu bahasa yang mengkaji makna satuan lingual,
baik makna leksikal maupun makna gramatikal, sedangkan pragmatik merupakan
cabang ilmu bahasa yang mempelajari struktur bahasa secara eksternal, yakni
bagaimana satuan kebahasaan digunakan dalam komunikasi.
Semantik dan pragmatik keduanya mengkaji makna, namun makna
yang menjadi kajian semantik adalah makna linguistik (linguistic meaning)
yang bebas konteks, sedangkan makna yang dikaji oleh pragmatik adalah maksud

penutur (speaker meaning) yang terkait dengan konteks. Dengan kata lain,
semantik mempelajari makna secara internal, yaitu makna literal dan terpisah
dari situasi, penutur dan petuturnya. Akan tetapi, pragmatik mempelajari makna
secara eksternal, yaitu berhubungan langsung dengan penutur atau pemakai
bahasa. Dengan demikian dapat disimpulkan bahwa antara Semantik dan
pragmatik memiliki hubungan yang saling melengkapi (komplementer).
Semantik memperlakukan makna sebagai suatu hubungan yang melibatkan
dua segi (dyadic) mencakup bentuk dan makna, sedangkan pragmatik
memperlakukan makna sebagai suatu hubungan yang melibatkan tiga segi
(triadic) yang mencakup bentuk, makna, dan konteks.

Semantic
Definition:
Semantics is a sub discipline of linguistics which focuses on the study of meaning.
Semantics tries to understand what meaning is as an element of language and how it is
constructed by language as well as interpreted, obscured and negotiated by speakers
and listeners of language.
Semantics refers to the meaning of words in a language and the meaning within the
sentence. Semantics considers the meaning of the sentence without the context. The
field of semantics focuses on three basic things: the relations of words to the objects
denoted by them, the relations of words to the interpreters of them, and, in symbolic logic,
the formal relations of signs to one another (syntax)" [1]. Semantics is just the meaning
that the grammar and vocabulary impart, it does not account for any implied meaning. In
this

sense,

there's

focus

on

the

general

'rules'

of

language

usage.

Example:
a. A water pill at first glance could be a pill with water in it; but, it is understood to be a
diuretic

that

causes

person

to

lose

water

from

his

body.

b. 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.
c. A barking dog can be good, especially if he is a guard dog, or can be bad because he
is

untrained

and

awakens

people.

d. 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.

Pragmatic
Definition:
Pragmatics is the study of the aspects of meaning and language use that are dependent
on the speaker, the addressee and other features of the context of utterance, such as the
following.
Pragmatic meaning looks at the same words and grammar used semantically, except
within context. In each situation, the various listeners in the conversation define the
ultimate meaning of the words, based on other clues that lend subtext to the meaning.

Example:
For example, if you were told to, Crack the window, and the room was a little stuffy, and
the speaker had just said prior to this that they were feeling a little warm, then you would
know, pragmatically, that the speaker would like you to open the window a 'crack' or just a
little.
If you were with a friend who was locked out of his home, and you were standing at a
back door trying to get inside, your friend might say 'crack that window' and literally mean
to

put

'crack'

in

the

window,

Differences

or

break

in

the

window.

Meaning

As the example above shows, considering both the pragmatic and semantic meaning of
your sentence is important when communicating with other people. Although semantics is
concerned only with the exact, literal meaning of the words and their interrelations,
pragmatic usage focuses on the inferred meaning that the speakers and listeners
perceive.
The

following

examples

>> She
>> He

demonstrate

hasnt
was

so

the

difference

taken
tired

he

between

the

a
could

two:

shower.

sleep

for

days.

In both of these examples, the context and pragmatic meaning really define the sentence.
In the first, did the speaker really mean to say that the woman has not ever taken a
shower, not even once? Although the sentence says just that, the listener in the
conversation may understand, based on other factors, that the speaker means that the
woman

they

are

referring

to

has

not

taken

shower

...

today.

In the second example, we have a guy who is so tired he can sleep for days. Is he really
going to sleep for days? Semantically, we would need to take that sentence to mean
exactly that. But, in casual conversation, the listeners and speaker might tell you that the
guy was just saying he was really, really tired, and using those words to convey that
meaning, instead of saying, 'he was really tired'.