Word meaning is studied by the branch of lexicology called semasiology. Among the word’s various characteristics meaning is the most important. There are different theories of the nature of meaning. Usually meaning is defined as the realization of a notion (or concept, in other terms) by means of a definite language system. It is usually said that a word denotes objects, qualities, actions, phenomena, or expresses the corresponding notions. The complex relationships between referent (object, etc., denoted by the word), notion (concept, thought) and word (symbol, sound-form) are traditionally represented by the following triangle:
The dotted line suggests that there is no immediate relation between word and referent, it is established only through the concept.
Word meaning is made up of various components which are usually described as types of meaning. The two main types of meaning are grammatical and lexical meanings.
^ Grammatical meaning unites words into parts of speech. Such words as goes, stops, works have different lexical meanings, but are united by a common grammatical meaning: they are characterized by a common system of forms in which their grammatical categories are expressed.
^ Lexical meaning is individual for every word: grammatically identical words have individual lexical meanings (cf.: went, kissed, looked), which are common for all forms of one and the same word. Go, went, going – all these forms denote the process of movement.
Lexical meaning includes two components: denotational and connotational.
^ Denotational component is present in every word and makes communication possible. It expresses the notional content of the word, shows what the word refers to.
Connotational component expresses additional meanings of the word which may be of different types: stylistic, evaluative and emotional, etc.
