Meaning: say

Illustrative Context

She said that she would be late.

Target Sense

• The most generic transitive verb for say, as prototypically used to refer to a specific mention of an instance of speech, direct and/or indirect, i.e.:
  • With a citation of direct speech: e.g. “I’ll be late”, she said.
  • With indirect speech, introduced by a conjunction or other equivalent to English that: e.g. She said that she would be late.
• In many cases, the default verb will be transitive also in being able to take as its direct object a noun such as words, prayers, something, as in she said something strange, or expressions of ‘pseudo-direct’ speech such as say hello, say your goodbyes.
• Do not confuse with verbs for speak, which can typically take as direct object a noun like language or the name of a language, unlike the objects of saying: a specific, individual phrase or utterance, or object noun standing in for one.
• The target sense is thus explictly that of English say not speak, of French dire not parler, German sagen not sprechen, and so on.
• Avoid terms that add a narrower, explicit meaning of imparting information, e.g. tell, inform (where the person informed may be the object of the verb), rather than any form of utterance (including those not addressed to anyone). Note, for example, that English allows say hello, but not tell hello.
• The broader semantic field here is in many languages replete with dozens of lexemes. As per strict IE-CoR policy, enter only the single lexeme of basic vocabulary, most neutral and default in register, that best matches the definition and illustrative context above. Avoid any additional lexemes that are narrower in any other senses, among them:
  • Lexemes that inherently refer to a particular manner of speaking, such as loud, quite, fast, slow, deliberate, off-hand, etc., e.g. exclaim, declare, mention_, drawl, etc..
  • Lexemes specific to acts of reading or performances of texts, stories, songs, etc., e.g. recite, recount.
  • Lexemes that specify two-way communication, e.g. discuss, chat.
  • Non-neutral lexemes that have additional emotional sense or an implicit value judgement, e.g. blabber, lie.
  • Lexemes from non-default registers, e.g. elevated and literary utter, pronounce, cry, French fit (for dit), antiquated English quoth, or slang (e.g. French baraguiner).