Lexis and Semantics

Lexis refers to the vocabulary of a language — the individual words and phrases that make up a text. Semantics is the study of meaning — how words, phrases, and sentences convey meaning. These two levels are closely interrelated: the words a writer or speaker chooses (lexis) carry specific meanings (semantics) that shape the reader's or listener's understanding.

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Word Classes

Understanding word classes (also called parts of speech) is fundamental to lexical and grammatical analysis. Each word class performs a different function in a sentence:

Word Class	Function	Examples
Noun	Names a person, place, thing, or concept	cat, London, happiness, information
Verb	Expresses an action, state, or occurrence	run, think, is, have, become
Adjective	Modifies or describes a noun	red, enormous, beautiful, complex
Adverb	Modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb	quickly, very, extremely, however
Preposition	Shows relationship between elements (typically spatial or temporal)	in, on, at, between, during, through
Conjunction	Connects words, phrases, or clauses	and, but, because, although, while
Determiner	Specifies or quantifies a noun	the, a, this, some, every, my
Pronoun	Replaces a noun or noun phrase	he, she, it, they, who, this

Types of Nouns

Type	Description	Examples
Concrete	Refers to physical, tangible things	table, dog, rain
Abstract	Refers to ideas, qualities, states	freedom, beauty, anger
Proper	Names a specific person, place, or organisation (capitalised)	Shakespeare, London, NHS
Common	General, non-specific nouns	city, writer, hospital
Collective	Refers to a group	team, flock, committee
Mass/uncountable	Cannot be counted individually	water, information, furniture

Types of Verbs

Type	Description	Examples
Dynamic	Express actions or events	run, hit, write, eat
Stative	Express states, conditions, or feelings	know, believe, love, own
Auxiliary	Help form tense, mood, or voice (primary auxiliaries)	be, have, do
Modal	Express possibility, obligation, ability, permission	can, could, must, should, might, will
Copular/Linking	Link a subject to a complement	She is a doctor. He seems happy.

Key Definition: Word class — the grammatical category a word belongs to, determined by its function in a sentence. The major word classes are noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, determiner, and pronoun.

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Semantic Fields

A semantic field is a group of words that are related in meaning and belong to the same topic area. Identifying semantic fields in a text can reveal its dominant themes and preoccupations.

Key Definition: Semantic field — a set of words grouped by meaning, all relating to the same topic or concept. For example, a semantic field of war might include: battle, troops, enemy, advance, surrender, casualties.

For example, a political speech might draw on a semantic field of unity (together, community, shared, united, collective, common) to promote social cohesion, or a semantic field of conflict (fight, battle, enemy, defeat, struggle) to present political opponents as adversaries.

Tracking semantic fields across a text can reveal shifts in tone, topic, and attitude. A charity appeal might begin with a semantic field of suffering (pain, hunger, despair, vulnerable) before shifting to one of hope (future, transformation, change, opportunity) to motivate the audience to act.

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Connotation and Denotation

Every word has a denotation — its literal, dictionary meaning — and connotations — the associations, feelings, and cultural values it evokes.

Key Definition: Denotation — the literal, explicit meaning of a word. Connotation — the associations, emotional overtones, and cultural values a word carries beyond its literal meaning.

Word	Denotation	Connotations
Home	A place where a person lives	Warmth, safety, family, belonging, comfort
House	A building for human habitation	Neutral, physical structure, property, financial value
Slender	Thin	Elegance, grace, attractiveness
Skinny	Thin	Negative — too thin, unhealthy, unattractive
Thrifty	Careful with money	Positive — sensible, prudent
Stingy	Unwilling to spend money	Negative — mean, selfish

The choice between words with similar denotations but different connotations is one of the most powerful tools available to writers and speakers. The linguist Geoffrey Leech (1981) identified seven types of meaning, including conceptual meaning (denotation) and several types of associative meaning (connotation, social meaning, affective meaning, and others).

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Figurative Language

Figurative language uses words in ways that depart from their literal meaning to create particular effects: