Study of meaning in a language is known as________.

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 2:

Detailed explanation of why it is correct:

The study of meaning in language is formally known as Semantics. This field is a core branch of linguistics that is specifically dedicated to understanding how meaning is encoded and interpreted in words, phrases, and sentences. Semantics investigates the relationship between signifiers (like words and phrases) and what they stand for (their denotation or sense). It operates on several levels: lexical semantics focuses on the meaning of individual words, compositional semantics studies how the meanings of parts combine to form the meaning of larger structures (like sentences), and conceptual semantics examines how language structures thought and meaning. Semantics is crucial for communication, as it is the component of language that allows us to distinguish between literal meaning (sense) and figurative meaning, and to understand truth conditions—what must be true in the world for a statement to be accurate. Without a shared semantic understanding, meaningful communication would be impossible.

The incorrect option is 1:

Syntax is the study of the rules that govern the structure of sentences in a language. It is concerned with how words combine to form grammatically correct phrases and clauses, focusing on word order and grammatical relationships, not meaning itself. While meaning relies on correct syntax to be conveyed coherently, syntax is structural, whereas semantics is interpretive.

The incorrect option is 3:

Morphology is the branch of linguistics dedicated to the internal structure of words. It analyzes morphemes—the smallest meaningful units in a language—and how they combine to form words (e.g., prefixes, suffixes, and roots). Morphology is about word formation and structure, but the study of the overall meaning of those words and sentences falls under semantics.

The incorrect option is 4:

Linguistics is the comprehensive scientific study of language itself, encompassing all its aspects. Semantics is a major sub-field *of* linguistics, along with syntax, morphology, and phonology (the study of sounds). Therefore, while the study of meaning is *part* of linguistics, the specific term for this study is Semantics.