1.0 What are Semantics and Pragmatics?

Semantics is basically an in-depth study of the meaning of words and phrases as well as

their meaning within sentences. As stated in Sixth Edition of The Columbia Encyclopedia

(2001), the three basic yet significant aspects of semantics are the relation of words to the

objects denoted by them, the relations of words to the interpreters of them and last but not

least, the formal relation of phrases and words to one another (syntax). As most words bring

about the same meaning, semantics help us distinguish subtle differences among those

words and their use in various contexts. On the other hand, pragmatics is concerned with the

use of language in social contexts and how they affect the meaning of words as well as the

way it is interpreted.

2.0 Aspects of Semantics and Pragmatics in Comic Strips

The elements of semantics and pragmatics in both comic strips have been analyzed

comprehensively and thoroughly.

2.1 Comic Strip 1

In this particular comic strip, the rat told the ox that he is coming up with a plan

because a financial planner on television said that the key to retiring wealthy is to

always plan ahead. In the aspect of semantics, the rat took the phrase “you need to

make a plan” too literal. He thought that those plans should only be suited to his own

capability and way of living. Little did the rat know that the word “plan” actually conveys

a connotative meaning. In this context, it refers to the process of meeting retirement

goals by managing your finances properly. This includes settling pending debts,

managing assets and calculating your monthly income. When it comes to lexical

semantic relation, the word “lottery” can be categorized as a hyponym of the word

“rich” while the word “wealthy” is the synonym of it. Apart from that, the word “writing”

is a polyseme because it has multiple but closely related meanings. It can either mean

a piece of text or simply the act of marking coherent letters and words. In this context,
 however, it means the latter. In terms of structural semantic relation, the phrase “kill

rich uncle” is considered as a proposition. It can be true or false depending on the

action done by the rat.

When analyzing the aspect of pragmatics, it is evident that the rat had violated the

maxim of relevance. According to this rule, it is a must for a person to only say things

that are relevant to the topic of conversation. In this case, the rat told his friend that he

was going to win the lottery and murder his rich uncle. His respond was indeed

irrelevant because there is no certainty or guarantee that the rat would win the lottery.

Furthermore, killing his rich uncle is completely absurd as it is against the law to do

so. If he were to really do the latter, his goal of retiring rich would be destroyed as he

would have to spend the rest of his years in prison. In this comic strip, there is the use

of pronouns such as “I” and “you”. In this case, “you” is said to be a free or unbound

pronoun because the person whom the financial planner was referring to is not

explicitly mentioned. It is possible that “you” could be referred to the audience on the

show, the people watching the show from home or even the rat. “I”, on the other hand,

is known as a deictic word. The sentence “I saw a financial planner on TV…” implies

that “I” refers to the rat himself because the Origo is with him and not the ox.

When it comes to discourse analysis (situational context), the question “Can I

see?” can be interpreted as a request. Here, the ox asked the rat whether he could

have a look at what was written on the paper. Speech act is carried out when the rat

said “sure”. Even though it was just a word, it was adequate to imply that the rat agreed

to the ox’s request. The sentence “That’s a great idea” is also a part of speech act as

it is a form of compliment.

2.2 Comic Strip 2

In the second comic strip, we can see that two men are having a conversation with

each other regarding hard work. In the aspect of semantics, the phrase “earn your
rewards” brings about a connotative meaning. In this context, it means that people

should strive for success and not solely depend on charity or financial support. In terms

of lexical semantic relation, the word “rewards” is a hyponym of the word “hard work”

while “handouts” is the synonym of “charity”. Apart from that, the word “family” can be

considered as the synonym of “parentage” while “wealth” is the superordinate of the

word “money”, “fund” and “loan”.

Contradiction as a part of structural semantic relations occurred in the first and

second section of the comic strip. One of the men said that money should not be given

to freeloaders. However, later on, he said that it is not wrong for him to give money to

his family. This is indeed a contradiction as it opposes the earlier statement asserted

by him. When it comes to figurative language, simile is used as a vivid comparison of

a statement. For instance, “What we have is a tangled mess of ad-hoc opinions,

constantly sliding past each other in search of a position that favors itself the most,

like a five-gallon bucket of earthworms.” Apart from that, words such as “leave it to”,

“goes into”, “sliding past” and “in search” are examples of phrasal verbs.

When analyzing the aspect of pragmatics, pronouns like “you” and “I” in this

context are bound pronouns because the person is being directly referred to (deictic).

For instance, “I say, you have until death to donate your wealth to whatever charity

you like…”. It is clear that “I” refers to the speaker himself whereas “you” refers to the

listener. At the last part of the comic strip, it is evident that one of the speakers had

violated the maxim of manner. His respond was not direct and clear. Instead, the man

was being sarcastic when he said that no one really has ideals. Everyone is just finding

ways to benefit themselves regardless of how messy the situation is. Lastly, an

illocution was performed when the man told his friend to completely outlaw inheritance.

Only then, everyone (including family members) can start building themselves from

nothing into something.

3.0 Conclusion

As language teachers, it is of utmost importance for us to thoroughly understand the key

aspects of linguistics such as semantics and pragmatics. With proper knowledge, only then

we are able to help our students gain a better grasp on the origin and meaning of words as

well as their applications in different contexts. Apart from that, students will know how to

communicate properly, be it verbally or written. For instance, they can harness their

knowledge in choosing the correct words, phrases and sentences to convey messages

effectively or to even solidify their arguments.