Meaning seems at once the most obvious feature of language and the most obscure aspect to study.
But the steps in understanding something said to us in a language in which we are fluent are so rapid, so transparent, that we have little conscious feel for the principles and knowledge which underlie this communicative ability. Questions of 'semantics' are an important part of the study of linguistic structure . Applications Research in these areas reveals principles and systems which have many applications. It also improves materials which help those acquiring a second language through instruction. Studying the rules governing the composition of word meanings into sentence meanings and larger discourses allows us to build computer systems which can interact with their users in more naturalistic language.