An Illustrative Dictionary Of Semantics

Book excerpt: It is with great pleasure that I introduce the first edition of An Illustrative Dictionary of Semantics (ILLUDS). As an assistant professor of English Language and Literature with over twenty years of teaching linguistics and literature courses, it has always been my concern to provide a comprehensive guide to semantic concepts and issues as a complementary reference. The significance of “meaning” goes beyond word level, and it could be so critical in language use that few disciplines, if at all, would do away with the knowledge and principles of semantics in their spoken and written discourse. In effect, semantics is a highly researched area that concerns language scholars from all linguistic backgrounds. But philosophers, logic scholars, and students majoring in these fields will especially benefit from this reference as much as the Applied Linguists, if not even more, since many of the terms are shared among these disciplines. I hope ILLUDS users find the dictionary a valuable source for learning, teaching, and researching, and I sincerely welcome any comments to take into consideration in the second edition.