Lexical semantics delves into word meanings and their relationships within language systems. It examines how individual words contribute to sentence and discourse meaning, forming a crucial component in understanding language comprehension and production processes.

This field explores various aspects of word meaning, including denotation vs connotation, literal vs figurative meaning, and polysemy. It also investigates semantic networks, lexical ambiguity resolution, and cross-linguistic differences in word meanings.

Foundations of lexical semantics

• Explores the study of word meanings and their relationships within language systems
• Investigates how individual words contribute to overall sentence and discourse meaning
• Forms a crucial component in understanding language comprehension and production processes

Word meaning vs sentence meaning

• Distinguishes between lexical semantics (individual word meanings) and compositional semantics (sentence-level meanings)
• Examines how word meanings combine to create larger units of meaning in phrases and sentences
• Explores the principle of compositionality where sentence meaning derives from word meanings and syntactic structure
• Investigates cases where sentence meaning cannot be fully predicted from individual word meanings (idioms)

Semantic features and components

• Breaks down word meanings into smaller units called semantic features or components
• Utilizes binary feature systems to represent word meanings (animate/inanimate, human/non-human)
• Explores componential analysis to compare and contrast related words
• Investigates how semantic features contribute to the organization of the mental lexicon
• Examines limitations of feature-based approaches in capturing complex or abstract concepts

Lexical relations and hierarchies

• Studies relationships between words based on their meanings
• Explores various types of lexical relations
  • Synonymy (similar meanings)
  • Antonymy (opposite meanings)
  • Hyponymy (hierarchical class relationships)
  • Meronymy (part-whole relationships)
• Investigates how these relationships influence language processing and organization
• Examines the role of lexical hierarchies in semantic memory and cognitive processing

Types of word meaning

• Explores different aspects and dimensions of word meanings in language
• Investigates how various types of meaning contribute to overall language comprehension
• Examines the cognitive processes involved in interpreting different types of word meanings

Denotation vs connotation

• Distinguishes between the literal, dictionary definition (denotation) and associated meanings or emotions (connotation)
• Explores how connotations can vary across cultures, contexts, and individuals
• Examines the role of connotations in literature, poetry, and persuasive communication
• Investigates how denotation and connotation influence word choice in different communication contexts
• Studies the impact of connotations on language processing and interpretation

Literal vs figurative meaning

• Contrasts straightforward, direct meanings (literal) with non-literal, metaphorical meanings (figurative)
• Explores various types of figurative language (metaphors, similes, idioms)
• Examines cognitive processes involved in interpreting figurative language
• Investigates the role of context in disambiguating between literal and figurative interpretations
• Studies the development of figurative language comprehension in language acquisition

Polysemy and homonymy

• Explores words with multiple related meanings (polysemy) and words with multiple unrelated meanings (homonymy)
• Examines the cognitive processes involved in selecting appropriate meanings in context
• Investigates the historical development of polysemous words and their semantic relationships
• Studies cross-linguistic differences in polysemy and homonymy patterns
• Explores the impact of polysemy and homonymy on language processing and ambiguity resolution

Semantic networks and models

• Investigates theoretical frameworks for representing and organizing word meanings in the mental lexicon
• Explores how semantic information interconnects and influences language processing
• Examines computational models that simulate human semantic processing

Spreading activation theory

• Proposes that semantic concepts activate related concepts in a network-like structure
• Explains priming effects in lexical decision tasks and semantic memory retrieval
• Investigates how activation spreads through semantic networks during language comprehension
• Examines the role of spreading activation in word association and semantic fluency tasks
• Explores applications of spreading activation theory in cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics

Hierarchical network models

• Organizes semantic concepts in tree-like structures with superordinate and subordinate relationships
• Examines the Collins and Quillian hierarchical network model and its predictions
• Investigates semantic distance effects in concept verification tasks
• Explores limitations of strict hierarchical models in representing complex semantic relationships
• Studies the role of hierarchical networks in semantic memory organization and retrieval

Distributed representation models

• Represents word meanings as patterns of activation across multiple semantic features
• Examines connectionist models of semantic processing (parallel distributed processing)
• Investigates how distributed representations capture semantic similarities and relationships
• Explores the ability of distributed models to account for context-dependent meaning activation
• Studies applications of distributed representations in computational linguistics and natural language processing

Lexical ambiguity resolution

• Investigates how the brain processes and resolves words with multiple potential meanings
• Explores the role of context in selecting appropriate word meanings during language comprehension
• Examines cognitive mechanisms involved in disambiguating lexically ambiguous words

Context-dependent interpretation

• Explores how surrounding linguistic and non-linguistic context influences word meaning selection
• Investigates the time course of context integration in ambiguity resolution
• Examines the role of top-down and bottom-up processing in context-dependent interpretation
• Studies how context affects the activation and suppression of alternative word meanings
• Explores individual differences in the use of context for ambiguity resolution

Priming effects in semantics

• Investigates how exposure to related words or concepts facilitates subsequent semantic processing
• Examines different types of semantic priming (associative, categorical, functional)
• Explores the time course and decay of priming effects in lexical decision tasks
• Studies how priming influences ambiguity resolution and meaning selection
• Investigates neural correlates of semantic priming using neuroimaging techniques

Cognitive load in ambiguity processing

• Examines the increased mental effort required to process lexically ambiguous words
• Investigates how cognitive load affects the speed and accuracy of ambiguity resolution
• Explores the role of working memory capacity in managing multiple potential word meanings
• Studies the impact of cognitive load on context integration during ambiguity resolution
• Examines individual differences in cognitive load effects on ambiguity processing

Cross-linguistic lexical semantics

• Investigates how word meanings and semantic structures vary across different languages
• Explores universal and language-specific aspects of lexical semantics
• Examines the relationship between language, culture, and conceptual organization

Universal semantic primitives

• Explores the concept of semantic universals or basic building blocks of meaning across languages
• Examines Anna Wierzbicka's Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach
• Investigates how universal semantic primitives combine to create complex meanings
• Studies the application of semantic primitives in cross-linguistic semantic analysis
• Explores critiques and limitations of the universal semantic primitives approach

Cultural influences on word meaning

• Investigates how cultural factors shape lexical semantics across languages
• Examines culture-specific concepts and their linguistic expressions
• Explores the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and linguistic relativity in relation to word meanings
• Studies how cultural differences affect the categorization and labeling of colors, emotions, and kinship terms
• Investigates the role of cultural knowledge in understanding and translating culturally-bound expressions

Lexical gaps across languages

• Explores concepts that exist in one language but lack a direct equivalent in another
• Examines strategies for expressing lexical gap concepts in translation
• Investigates how lexical gaps reflect cultural and environmental differences between language communities
• Studies the cognitive implications of lexical gaps for bilingual speakers
• Explores how lexical gaps influence second language acquisition and cross-cultural communication

Lexical semantics in language acquisition

• Investigates how children acquire word meanings during language development
• Explores the cognitive mechanisms underlying vocabulary growth and semantic organization
• Examines the relationship between lexical acquisition and conceptual development

Early word learning strategies

• Explores mechanisms children use to map words to meanings in early language acquisition
• Examines the role of joint attention and social cues in early word learning
• Investigates constraints and biases that guide word learning (whole object bias, taxonomic bias)
• Studies the development of word learning strategies across different stages of language acquisition
• Explores cross-linguistic differences in early word learning strategies

Fast mapping phenomenon

• Investigates children's ability to quickly associate new words with referents after minimal exposure
• Examines the cognitive processes underlying fast mapping in vocabulary acquisition
• Explores how fast mapping contributes to rapid vocabulary growth in early childhood
• Studies individual differences in fast mapping abilities and their relationship to overall language development
• Investigates the retention and consolidation of fast-mapped words in long-term memory

Overextension and underextension

• Examines common patterns of semantic errors in early word use
• Explores overextension where children apply words too broadly (calling all four-legged animals "dog")
• Investigates underextension where children apply words too narrowly (using "cat" only for the family pet)
• Studies the cognitive and perceptual factors contributing to over- and underextension
• Examines how these phenomena reflect children's developing semantic categories and conceptual understanding

Semantic change over time

• Investigates how word meanings evolve and change throughout the history of a language
• Explores various mechanisms and patterns of semantic shift
• Examines the relationship between semantic change and broader linguistic and cultural changes

Mechanisms of semantic shift

• Explores processes by which word meanings change over time
• Examines types of semantic change
  • Broadening (generalization of meaning)
  • Narrowing (specialization of meaning)
  • Amelioration (improvement in connotation)
  • Pejoration (worsening in connotation)
• Investigates metaphorical and metonymical processes in semantic change
• Studies the role of analogy and reanalysis in driving semantic shifts
• Explores how technological and social changes influence semantic evolution

Historical linguistics perspective

• Examines semantic change within the broader context of language evolution
• Investigates methods for tracing semantic changes through historical records and comparative linguistics
• Explores the relationship between semantic change and other aspects of language change (phonological, syntactic)
• Studies how semantic change contributes to the diversification of languages and dialects
• Examines the role of language contact and borrowing in semantic change across languages

Sociolinguistic factors in change

• Investigates how social and cultural factors influence semantic change
• Examines the role of prestige and stigma in driving or resisting semantic shifts
• Explores how generational differences contribute to semantic change and variation
• Studies the impact of media, technology, and globalization on contemporary semantic shifts
• Investigates how social movements and cultural changes influence word meanings and connotations

Computational approaches to lexical semantics

• Explores computational methods for modeling and analyzing word meanings
• Investigates applications of lexical semantics in natural language processing and artificial intelligence
• Examines how computational approaches contribute to our understanding of human semantic processing

Word embedding techniques

• Explores methods for representing words as dense vectors in a continuous semantic space
• Examines popular word embedding models (Word2Vec, GloVe, FastText)
• Investigates how word embeddings capture semantic and syntactic relationships between words
• Studies applications of word embeddings in various NLP tasks (sentiment analysis, machine translation)
• Explores limitations and biases in word embedding models and approaches to address them

Semantic similarity measures

• Investigates computational methods for quantifying the semantic relatedness between words or concepts
• Examines different types of semantic similarity measures
  • Corpus-based measures (cosine similarity, Jaccard similarity)
  • Knowledge-based measures (path-based measures, information content measures)
• Explores applications of semantic similarity in information retrieval and text classification
• Studies the relationship between computational similarity measures and human judgments of word similarity
• Investigates cross-lingual semantic similarity measures for multilingual applications

Natural language processing applications

• Explores practical applications of lexical semantics in NLP tasks
• Examines the role of lexical semantics in
  • Machine translation
  • Text summarization
  • Question answering systems
  • Sentiment analysis and opinion mining
• Investigates challenges in handling lexical ambiguity and figurative language in NLP applications
• Studies the integration of lexical semantic knowledge into deep learning models for improved language understanding
• Explores ethical considerations in the development and deployment of NLP systems utilizing lexical semantics

Neurocognitive aspects of word meaning

• Investigates the neural basis of semantic processing and representation in the brain
• Explores how the brain stores, retrieves, and manipulates word meanings
• Examines the relationship between neural structures and semantic cognitive processes

Brain regions for semantic processing

• Explores key brain areas involved in semantic processing and representation
• Examines the role of the temporal lobe (anterior temporal lobe) in semantic memory
• Investigates the involvement of the inferior frontal gyrus in semantic retrieval and selection
• Studies the contribution of the angular gyrus to semantic integration and comprehension
• Explores how distributed neural networks support different aspects of semantic processing

Semantic memory organization

• Investigates how semantic knowledge is structured and organized in long-term memory
• Examines theories of semantic memory organization (feature-based, category-based, domain-specific)
• Explores the relationship between episodic and semantic memory systems
• Studies how semantic memory organization influences language comprehension and production
• Investigates age-related changes in semantic memory organization and retrieval

Semantic deficits in language disorders

• Examines semantic processing impairments in various language and cognitive disorders
• Investigates semantic deficits in
  • Semantic dementia
  • Alzheimer's disease
  • Aphasia (particularly anomic aphasia)
  • Autism spectrum disorders
• Explores the relationship between semantic deficits and other cognitive and linguistic impairments
• Studies assessment methods for evaluating semantic processing in clinical populations
• Investigates rehabilitation approaches for improving semantic processing in language disorders