Talk:Semantics/GA1

GA Review
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Reviewer: Remsense (talk · contribs) 17:07, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

Don't mind if I do. I'm really excited to review this one.


 * Thanks for doing this review! I've gotten used to waiting several months before someone picks up my GA nominations so I'm happy to get feedback without this lengthy waiting period. Phlsph7 (talk) 17:17, 26 February 2024 (UTC)


 * Following my first read through the article, I have a question that would feel pedantic to ask about most other articles but seems cogent here. The prose style generally is very deliberate with names and conservative in its treatment of words as words, which is nice. In some places you use italics when mentioning words, and quote marks in other places. Is there an intent behind the use of both? I couldn't immediately identify it if so. Remsense  诉  17:52, 26 February 2024 (UTC)
 * I tried to use italics for words and shorter expressions and quotation marks for sentences but it's possible that I was not always consistent. I'm not sure if that's the best practice. What are your thoughts on how to best handle this? Phlsph7 (talk) 18:07, 26 February 2024 (UTC)
 * I think what you've described is as good an approach as any. I'll keep that in mind as I'm reviewing, and tweak anything I catch so that it follows it. Remsense  诉  18:13, 26 February 2024 (UTC)


 * I have now properly gotten into surveying the bibliography and weight given: while this may be my particular biases showing, do you think the analogous Chinese tradition deserves a sentence or two in the History section inline with India and Perso–Arabic? Perhaps specific names would involve Mohism and the School of Names, though this area on Wikipedia is comparatively underdeveloped.
 * Thanks, that's a good point. I added a short explanation. I felt that finding a good way to cover the eastern semantic traditions was a bit of a challenge since they should be included but they get very little attention in the general overview sources. That may also be a reason why the corresponding Wikipedia articles are underdeveloped. Phlsph7 (talk) 12:46, 27 February 2024 (UTC)
 * (Such topics are certainly on my contributor's bucket list, as an aside.) Very good with the addition. I've mentally checked off the "History" and "Theories of meaning" sections, leaving "Branches" as my next section of review—probably the most technical of the article. Remsense  诉  18:17, 27 February 2024 (UTC)
 * As a side note, I'm purposefully referencing Thebiguglyalien's review of your Knowledge GAN since I want to do the best job I can and I've never reviewed an article of this scope or sophistication before. Many of the potential issues they mentioned there seem to be largely absent from the prose of this article. Remsense  诉  22:30, 28 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Regarding the lead, I think the distinction could be made more clear between syntax, which studies the rules that dictate how to create sentences by arranging words, which is to be contrasted with semantics, and Phrasal semantics studies the meaning of sentences by exploring the phenomenon of compositionality or how new meanings can be created by arranging words, which is a type of semantics. The difference between these two things may be unclear to a skimming lay reader. Remsense  诉  23:47, 28 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Right, describing both disciplines in regard to arranging words may give the false impression that they are more or less about the same thing. I reformulated the description of syntax, which I hope avoids the problem. Phlsph7 (talk) 12:58, 29 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Apologies for lack of updates the last few days, I'm still working through the material.
 * I would perhaps quibble with the selection of "objective" for the caption in #Basic concepts#Meaning, given how theories of semantics can generally be logically independent from positions of metaphysical or epistemological relativism. "Public" sounds a little odd as the lone adjective in this sentence, but perhaps it's the right choice. Remsense  诉  18:16, 3 March 2024 (UTC)
 * You are right, there is a sense in which the word objective can be misunderstood in this context. The word public is also not ideal but I hope that the the meaning becomes clear in the context of the paragraph next to it. Phlsph7 (talk) 08:45, 4 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I'm curious if you'd find any other links in the See also section to be beneficial? I was thumbing through Category:Semantics and some of its subcategories, but I could find fairly few articles to put there that aren't already linked in the article. Remsense  诉  09:45, 9 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Feel free to add some if you find good candidates. Personally, I'm not a big fan of them, mainly because there are usually too many articles that are somehow relevant and the choice can be rather arbitrary. Phlsph7 (talk) 11:42, 9 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Aye—they are a bit of an edge case thing rather than a default. In any case, I'm getting ready to wrap this one up and write my review, just want to do one more pass. Congrats—and maybe leave some vital articles for the rest of us? Face-smile.svg Remsense  诉  14:21, 10 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks for all the work you have put into this review, including revisiting old reviews. Please let me know if further issues catch your eye. I'll make sure to save a couple of vital articles for you in their pre-GA status. :)
 * Phlsph7 (talk) 18:48, 10 March 2024 (UTC)

Remsense 诉  17:07, 26 February 2024 (UTC)