ABSTRACT
Semantics is the field of linguistic studies that deals with language as meaning and communication. The International Society for General Semantics, a scholarly organization that came to prominence in the 1940s, was devoted to a philosophy of semantics best known through a classic textbook, Language in Thought and Action, by S. I. Hayakawa. The American war against Iraq in 2003 raised several more issues of semantic labeling. Semanticists use various terms to describe the use of words with positive versus negative connotations: "God terms and Devil terms," "purr words and snarl words," and "'cleans' and 'dirties.'" People are frequently swayed in their opinions simply by differing connotations in writers' or speakers' selection of words. A Planned Parenthood newspaper ad with the heading "Words Kill" blamed pro-life rhetoric for the deaths of two clinic receptionists. Both the denotation and the connotation of words are key elements in argumentation and critical thinking.
