This diploma thesis analyses the occurrence of synonymy in the texts of academic prose and fiction. The topic of synonymy has been in the centre of attention for a long time and it still deserves much attention. The aim of this thesis is to approach to the topic from a different perspective. Theoretical part describes the theoretical background of synonymy from the upper layers of the system of language. These theories are used as analytical tool in analysing the collected samples with the focus on similarities and differences in connotation of pairs of synonyms. The diploma thesis should particularly contribute to study of partial synonymy and the components of associative meaning that vary in dependence on functional style. This thesis should also marginally refer to the topic of absolute synonymy. The frequency of the components of associative meaning and findings are described in the conclusion of the thesis.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / While research links the presence of meaning in life to better psychological well-being, the relationship between the search for meaning and psychological well-being is less clear. The search for meaning is generally thought to be psychologically distressing, but there is evidence that this process is moderated by the presence of meaning in life. Because the search for meaning in life can be considered a goal pursuit, goal-related personality traits may also moderate the relationship between the search for meaning and psychological well-being. The first aim of this cross-sectional study was to replicate the moderating effect of the presence of meaning on the relationship between the search for meaning and psychological well-being in a sample of undergraduates (N = 246). The second aim was to examine the potential moderating effects of hope and optimism on these relationships. As an exploratory third aim, this study examined whether there was a unique combination of the presence of meaning, the search for meaning, and hope or optimism that differentially predicted psychological well-being. Results suggest that optimism and the presence of meaning, but not hope, are significant moderators of the relationship between the search for meaning and psychological well-being. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

Musical language does not carry obvious semantic meaning. The question of whether music has semantic meaning, or how it does, has been an age old question in musicology. This paper is a case study of musical analyses from Lawrence Kramer and Constantin Floros, and it discusses how they interpret semantic meaning into the Beethoven and Mahler pieces they analyze. Their analyses are then discussed against Nicholas Cook's model of musical meaning, and the formalist approach of Leonard B. Meyer. Even though these offer some insight to the difficulties faced in Kramer's and Floros' methods, some major problems with associating semantic meaning into music remain.

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The thesis explores aspects of language in the modern media of communication, with particular reference to its role in the production and circulation of ideologies (Ideologies are understood in this context as systems of representation whose effect is to sustain relations of domination). Investigation is conducted by means of case studies on a variety of media texts ranging from print Journalism through to TV and radio. These case studies suggest that ideology in text may be analysed using various techniques from linguistics, including - for example - the analysis of vocabulary, and the analysis of grammatical systems such as transitivity. But the case studies also suggest that ideologies operate in the form of implicit background assumptions which may be made analytically explicit by drawing upon recent developments in linguistic pragmatics. In addition to engaging with issues of language and ideology in the study of media texts, the case studies are also concerned with the ways in which such texts shape up to their audiences, particularly through the adoption of modes of direct address. Direct address is. considered to be an important indicator of genres in media discourse; and the thesis includes a detailed study of a one particular genre from popular day-time radio. The research is thus seen as occupying a middle ground between linguistics and media studies. It begins with media discourse as projecting dominant forms of common sense but it concludes with issues concerning the relation of these discourses to their putative audiences.

This study describes meaning changes that have occurred in the native word stock of English. Since no existing studies are devoted solely to investigating semantic change in Old English words, this study tries to illustrate word histories through examples of usage in the past and by a discussion of causes for change.

Is there a philosophically interesting connection between what and how we love and a theory about the superlatively meaningful life? Love seems to me to be a particularly intense, potent and expressive form of care. In my report I consider whether love of a specific kind is a necessary and/or sufficient condition for a supremely significant existence. I critique Harry Frankfurt’s subjectivist account that just so long as we love something, anything, our lives are meaningful. In reply, I submit that there are three conditions for the meaningful life: that we love something, that the something we love be worth loving, and that we love this thing in the right kind of way. I consider Levy’s contention that work, not love, is necessary for the most meaningful existence and reject it because of the lack of consideration he gives to ‘active engagement’ in our projects. I conclude that it is love of a particular sort that grounds both a necessary and sufficient conditions for the most meaningful life.

Wan Shun-chuen. / Thesis submitted in: October 2003. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-81). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Domain of Study and Its Significance / Chapter 1.2 --- Central Statement / Chapter 1.3 --- Preliminaries / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Other Meaning Theories / Chapter 1.3.2 --- Meaning as Use / Chapter 1.3.3 --- "What ""Social"" Can Mean" / Chapter 1.4 --- Layout of the Essay / Chapter 2 --- The Social Nature of Meaning (Part One): Prior Agreement & Uniform Response --- p.15 / Chapter 2.1 --- Overview / Chapter 2.2 --- The Contractarian View / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Public Criteria / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Intersubjective checking / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Prior Agreement / Chapter 2.3 --- Criticism of the Contractarian View / Chapter 2.4 --- The Uniform Response View / Chapter 2.5 --- Summing-up / Chapter 3 --- The Social Nature of Meaning (Part Two): Background & Communication --- p.30 / Chapter 3.1 --- Overview / Chapter 3.2 --- Criticism of the Sceptical Solution: No One Checks the Community / Chapter 3.3 --- Meaning and Background / Chapter 3.4 --- Inferential Roles and Scorekeeping / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Meanings and Inferential Roles / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Scorekeeping / Chapter 3.5 --- Objections and Replies / Chapter 3.5.1 --- "One Thinker, Two Perspectives" / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Three Replies / Chapter 3.5.2.1 --- "An Exception, not the Norm" / Chapter 3.5.2.2 --- Interdependence between Social Articulation and Solitary Thinking / Chapter 3.5.2.3 --- Indirect Involvement / Chapter 4 --- Conclusion --- p.58 / Chapter 4.1 --- A Summary of the Central Question and the Thesis / Chapter 4.2 --- A Summary of the Main Arguments and Results / Chapter 4.3 --- A Preliminary Conclusion / Chapter 4.4 --- Additional Remarks on the Conclusion / Chapter 4.5 --- Postscript: A Suggestion for Further Research / References --- p.73