Lexical meanings are actual meanings, meanings that are following the results of our sensory observations, or meaning as they are, while contextual meanings are the meanings of a lexeme or words that are in one context.
In communicating between speakers and speech partners sometimes misunderstandings occur. This is because there are differences in the messages conveyed so that the meaning of the language expressed by the speaker is not in accordance with the response of the listener. The difference in response to meaning can occur because a word or a sentence can have several meanings. Tarigan (1995: 11-13) generally divides meaning into two types, namely linguistic meaning and social (cultural) meaning. Then the linguistic meaning is divided into lexical meanings and structural meanings, as well as referential meanings and precedential meanings. In line with Tarigan, Heatherington (1980: 135-136), as quoted by Tarigan (1995: 11-12), also divides meaning into two namely, lexical meaning and lexico-structural meaning.
Furthermore, the lexical meaning is divided into denotative meanings and connotative meanings, literal meanings and figurative meanings. The meanings associated with morphemes and words are called lexical meanings (Chaer, 2012: 45).
Lexical meanings are actual meanings, meanings that are in accordance with the results of our sensory observations, or meaning as they are, while contextual meanings are the meanings of a lexeme or words that are in one context. (Chaer, 2012: 289-290). Meanings are everywhere, for example in literary works, scientific works, songs, etc. With the many types of meanings put forward by linguists
A lexical word or meaning is the meaning that corresponds to its referent, meaning that is in accordance with the results of observation of the senses, or meaning that is truly real in our lives, in other words, lexical meaning of a word is a real picture of a concept as the word symbolizes it (Chaer, 1990: 63).
Lexical meanings can also be considered as the meaning contained in a dictionary (Chaer, 1990: 63). Djajasudarma (1993: 34), expressing the lexical meaning is the meaning of the word that corresponds to what we encounter in the lexicon (dictionary). Lexical meanings can be searched in the dictionary. Chaer (2012: 289), describes lexical meaning as a meaning that is owned or existed in lexeme even without any context. The following will discuss some examples of words in sentences that have lexical meanings.
The phrase “the mouse got killed by the cat” contains the word mouse that has the lexical meaning of a rodent that can cause typhus. The word mouse in the sentence above refers to the animal mouse and not to others. We can see these mice in dirty places and usually roam inside the house, especially in hidden places. If you are not aware, these mice can damage foods and can cause disease when touched/eaten by humans.
Contextual meaning is a linguistic meaning in context. (Longman, 1992). For example, the meaning of a word is in a sentence or a sentence is in a paragraph. The sentence "do you know the meaning of war?" Has two different contextual meanings. The first contextual meaning in the question sentence, "do you know the meaning of the word war is?" The question sentence changes if expressed by a teacher to the students in the class. While the second contextual meaning is "war produces death, injury, and suffering", if expressed by a war-wounded soldier to politicians who support the war. 4 Kadmon (2001: 9), expressed his opinion about contextual meanings as follows: "Besides that, we talk about the" context of utterance.
"Each utterance occurs in a context. This context includes all sorts of things. It includes previous utterances. The speech situation, including location, speakers, addressees, various salient objects, and more. It includes various topics in the conversation, about the world in general and about the subject matter of the conversation in particular. It includes assumptions that interlocutors make about the beliefs and intentions of each other ". It can be concluded that in each phrase, there is a context.
The context in question varies, including the context of the situation, location, speaker, address, and other important objects. Context also includes various assumptions that participants have in the conversation. Chaer (2012: 290), expressing contextual meaning is the meaning of a lexeme or word that is in one context. The contextual meaning in the form of word-level can be seen from the following example. The sentence that says "You crocodile, he cheated his own mother!” has the contextual meaning of a rebellious child. The word "crocodile" in the sentence above refers to a child who willingly commits a crime of deception to his own parent without feeling guilty.