Correct option is D
The study of words and their meanings is referred to as Semantics. Semantics is a branch of linguistics that deals with the interpretation and meaning of words, phrases, and sentences. It examines how words convey meaning in different contexts and how these meanings are understood by speakers of a language.
Information Booster:
• Semantics deals with literal, figurative, and implied meanings.
• It includes lexical semantics (word meanings) and compositional semantics (meanings of sentences).
• Plays a crucial role in language processing, translation, and artificial intelligence.
• Context greatly influences the meaning of words and phrases in semantics.
• Semantics bridges linguistics and cognitive science, exploring how humans interpret language.
Additional Knowledge:
Phonetics:
• Concerned with speech sounds and their physical production, transmission, and perception.
• Studies aspects like articulation, acoustic properties, and auditory recognition.
• Example: Examining the sound differences between "cat" and "bat."
Syntax:
• Deals with the structure and order of words in a sentence.
• Analyzes how different sentence components interact to form grammatically correct phrases.
• Example: In English, the sentence "She eats apples" follows the Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order.
Linguistics:
• Encompasses the study of language in all its aspects, including phonetics, syntax, semantics, morphology, and pragmatics.
• Studies how languages are structured, learned, and evolve over time.
• Semantics is a subfield within linguistics.
Semantics:
• Focuses specifically on meaning in language.
• Explores how meanings of words and phrases change with context.
• Helps in understanding synonyms, antonyms, polysemy (multiple meanings), and homonyms.