Semantics is the study of the meaning of words, phrases and sentences. In semantic analysis, there is always an attempt to focus on what the words conventionally mean, rather than on what an individual speaker (like George Carlin) might want them to mean on a particular occasion. This technical approach is concerned with objective or general meaning and avoids trying to account for subjective or local meaning. Linguistic semantics deals with the conventional meaning conveyed by the use of words, phrases and sentences of a language.

Conceptual and associative meaning

When we investigate the meaning of words in a language, we are normally interested in characterizing the conceptual meaning and less concerned with the associative meaning of the words. Conceptual meaning covers those basic, essential components of meaning that are conveyed by the literal use of a word. Some of the basic components of a word like needle in English might include ‘thin, sharp, steel instrument’. These components would be part of the conceptual meaning of needle.