constituent structure rules and 2 transformational rules. Those rules present the knowledge of how constituents of phrases or sentences are put together and
categorized in a language McManis, Stollenwerk and Zheng Seng, 1987, p. 171. However this study is not going to discuss further about this rules since it is not
the focus of this study. Leaving the rules above, words in all human language can be grouped into a
relatively small number of classes called syntactic categories, in which constituents belong to, reflecting a variety of factors including the type of
meaning the words express, the type of affixes that they take, and the type of sentence structures in which they can occur O’Grady, Dobrovolsky, Katamba,
1997, p. 182. The table 2.1 below will provides the example of how O’Grady, Dobrovolsky, and Katamba classify words in syntactic categories.
Table 2.1 Syntactic Categories
Lexical Categories Examples
Noun N Verb V
Adjective A Preposition P
Adverb Adv Harry, boy, wheat, policy, moisture, bravery
arrive, discuss, melt, hear, remain, dislike good, tall, old, intelligent, beautiful, fond
to, in, on, near, at, by silently, slowly, quietly, quickly, now
Non-lexical Categories Examples
Determiner Det Degree word Deg
Qualifier Qual Auxiliary Aux
Conjunction Con the, a, this, these
too, so, very, more, quite always, perhaps, often, never, almost
will, can, may, must, should, could and, or, but
However, the fact that some items can belong to more than one category may be a potential source of confusion in the word classification.
using DP matters for pedagogical purpose. Using NP structure in this scope is preferred A. Radford, PC, October 17, 2012.
Over those three arguments of structuring a phrase or sentence, a phrase or sentence can be built by more than one tree diagram. This phenomenon will lead
to the existence of structural ambiguity that will be discussed later.
2.1.3. Semantics and Word’s Meaning
Semantics is a term which is in inseparable from meaning. Semantics is roughly defined as the study of meaning in language. Based on Language Files
compiled by McManis, Stollenwerk and Zheng-Sheng 1987, pp. 185-186, a word’s meaning is not simply based on dictionary. A word’s meaning also
includes its mental image. As an example, while reading the words Mona Lisa, an image of the Mona Lisa will appear in our mind. As many words seem to stand
for or refer to actual objects or relations in the real world, a referent also is considered as one aspect of the word’s meaning.
It is also believed that “anyone who does understand the sentences knows what the world would be like in order for the sentence to be true.” McManis,
Stollenwerk and Zheng-Sheng, 1987, p. 185 , meaning that the truth conditions rule as the other aspect of a word’s meaning as it is also determined by the
conditions under which sentence may be used. Those aspects of meanings are what semantics studied, while it also “deals with the ways meanings of words are
combined to give meanings of larger linguistic expressions such as phrases and sentences.” McManis, Stollenwerk and Zheng-Sheng, 1987, p. 186.
Meanwhile, semantically, ‘meaning’ is described by various definitions. Among three definitions that Leech 1981, p. 23 proposes, it is clear that meaning
is something which is performed rather than something which exists in statics way. It involves action, interaction and speakers’ intention in conveying a certain
meaning. Consequently, the interpretation of meaning depends on the context of the action, interaction and speakers intention. This definition is supported by
Kempson’s similar statement which relates meaning and reference, as she states that “the meaning or sense of a symbol could be defined as a statement of the
condition necessary and sufficient to hold in some state of affairs” 1975, p. 32. Meaning is a multifaceted phenomenon. It is also defined as “things that
are grasped, stored and assembled in the mind of the speakers and hearers who use language”, having two complementary aspects which cannot be separated
Bergmann, 2007, p. 233. Bergmann 2007, p. 233 explains that a language is “a system of symbols
used to represent object and states of affairs in the world”, while one of the aspects of linguistic meaning is the information content of language: “what
language tells us about the real world”. In the other words, one aspect of meaning is the relationship between the symbols that we used to refer to things and the
actual states of affairs that we use these symbols to describe. On the other hand, linguistic meaning also does not exist independently
outside the minds that process language. Therefore, as a cognitive and
