Lexis and semantics: the vocabulary of English, including social and…

The idea

Lexis refers to the vocabulary of English, while semantics concerns meaning, including denotation, connotation, sense relations and semantic change. When analysing lexis and semantics, you examine word choices and their meanings, and you consider how vocabulary varies socially and historically. For example, occupational jargon such as 'plaintiff' and 'defendant' marks legal register, while older words such as 'thou' or 'thee' signal historical distance. Social variation includes dialect words, slang, sociolect and occupational lexis; historical variation includes archaic terms, semantic broadening, narrowing, amelioration and pejoration. You link these choices to context, identity, power and change, and you support every claim with precise textual evidence.

What earns the marks

• Identifies lexical choices accurately, including dialect words, slang, sociolect, occupational jargon, archaic terms and neologisms.
• Explains semantic meaning, distinguishing denotation from connotation and using sense relations such as synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy and polysemy.
• Analyses social variation in vocabulary, for example how occupational jargon such as 'plaintiff' and 'defendant' marks legal register and constructs professional identity.
• Analyses historical variation in vocabulary, for example how older words such as 'thou' or 'thee' signal historical distance and how processes such as broadening, narrowing, amelioration and pejoration change meaning.
• Links lexical and semantic choices to context, audience, purpose, identity and power, showing how vocabulary positions readers and reflects social groups.
• Supports analysis with precise textual evidence and appropriate terminology rather than vague comments about 'interesting words'.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Confusing lexis with semantics.

  Put it right: Treat lexis as vocabulary choices and semantics as meaning, and to show how the two interact.

• Describing a word as 'old-fashioned' without naming the process.

  Put it right: Use precise terms such as archaic, broadening, narrowing, amelioration or pejoration.

• Ignoring social or historical context when discussing word choice.

  Put it right: Explain how the vocabulary reflects a particular community, period, identity or power relationship.

Exam tips

• Choose a small number of lexical items that are genuinely significant and analyse them in depth rather than listing many words superficially.
• Use semantic terminology such as denotation, connotation, synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy and polysemy accurately and only where it fits the data.
• Anchor every claim about social or historical variation in a specific example from the text, such as a dialect form or an archaic pronoun.
• Connect lexical and semantic analysis to the wider context of the text, including its producer, audience, purpose and the social or historical setting.