Semantics is a core topic on the majority of undergraduate linguistic degree courses: it is the study of meaning in language, both in terms of definition and the way meanings are conveyed and vary within everyday situations. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to approaches to meaning and presents the most popular and successful theories in a way that makes them accessible for undergraduates. It also explores how the boundry between semantics and pragmatics may be drawn and sums up a coherent picture of meaning in language system and in language use.

Dr K Jaszczolt lectures in the Department of Linguistics, University of Cambridge and Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge