asemantically

Asemantically is an adverb used to describe processing, analysis, or description that ignores semantic content. In linguistic and computational contexts, it denotes attention to form, structure, or other non-semantic aspects rather than meaning. The term is not common in standard dictionaries and is primarily encountered in theoretical discussions and experimental reports about parsing and representation where semantics may be de-emphasized.

Etymology and morphology: the word is formed from the prefix a- meaning not, attached to semantic, with the adverbial suffix -ly. It is related to asemantical or asemantic as adjectives; these forms are rare and specialized.

Usage and examples: The experiment evaluated text asemantically, focusing on surface features like word order and morphology. Asemantically-informed models prioritize syntactic structure over semantic interpretation. For example, “The model processed the sentence asemantically, ignoring word meaning but preserving grammatical relations.” Researchers may compare asemantic and semantic analyses to isolate the contribution of syntax.

Relation to other terms: It contrasts with syntactic processing, semantic analysis, and non-semantic approaches. It should not be confused with ant semantics or semantics-focused tasks, where meaning is central.

Evaluation: Because semantics underpins interpretation in many fields, the use of asemantically is controversial and limited to niche contexts. When used, it signals a deliberate decoupling of form from meaning rather than a claim that meaning does not matter.