对于meaning的理解论文.doc

对于meaning的理解论文 篇一：英语词汇学论文MeaningchangesinEnglish OntheChangeinWordMeaning 1.Introduction Withtheflyingdevelopmentofhumansociety,languagesastoolsforpeopletoexpressandmunicatetheirideaschangesconstantlyandfrequently.Whilevocabularyisthemostunstableelementoflanguageasitisundergoingconstantchangesbothincontentandform.Ofcourse,somemeaningsremainmuchthesameforalongtimebecausethereferentstowhichtheydirectusdonotchange.Frequently,anoldformorwordsarepressedintonewservicewhenanewlinguisticneedisfelt.Whenawordlosesitsoldmeaningandestorefertosomethingdifferent,theresultisachangeinwordmeaning.Changeofmeaningreferstothealternationofthemeaningofexistingwords,aswellastheadditionofnewmeaningtoaparticularword. 2.Typesofmeaningchanges 2.1ExtensionofMeaning Itisaprocessbywhichawordwhichoriginallyhadaspecializedmeaninghasnowbeegeneralizedorhasextendedtocoverabroaderandoftenlessdefiniteconcept.Forexample,?lady”originallymeanshostess(womenofhouse)whileitspresentmeaningisanywomeninpoliteway.Suchassaleslady、cleaninglady、ladies?room.Salarywas(Original)asumofmoneygiventoRomansoldierstoenablethemtobuysalt;andis(present)fixedpaymentmadebyemployeratregularintervalstoemployees. ExtensionofMeaningisnotonlyusedinnonebutalsoincludedverb、adjectiveandsoon.Forexample,“carry”originallymeans“transportbycart”(averb).butnowitisjustmeans“tansport”.theadjective“bullish”originalfrombullmarket(causingorassociatedwithariseinprise),andnowtheword?smeaningextendedto“optimistic”. 2.2NarrowingofMeaning Itisaprocessbywhichawordofwidemeaningacquiresanarroworspecializedsense.Inotherwords,awordwhichusedtohaveamoregeneralsensebeesrestrictedinitsapplicationandconveysaspecialconceptinpresentdayEnglish.The followingchartprovidesusdefinitedemonstration. Inaword,bothextensionandnarrowingofmeaningaretalkingaboutthechangesinconceptualmeaning.Nextwewilltalkaboutthechangesinassociativemeaning. 2.3ElevationofMeaning Elevationistheprocessbywhichwordsrisefromhumblebeginningstopositionsofimportance.Elevationofmeaningisoneofthetendenciesofmeaningchange,whichchangesthemeaningofalinguisticsfromlowtohigh.Somewordsearlyintheirhistorysignifysomethingquiteloworhumble,butchangeastimegoesbytodesignatesomethingagreeableorpleasant. Forexample,theword?inn”originallymeans“auberge”especiallythosepoorequipmenthousesinruralareaorroadside.Whileitspresentmeaningis“holidayinn”.Obviously,themeaningof“inn”iselevation.ministeroriginallymeans“aservantofmaster”topresentlyheadofadepartmentinanation”. 2.4DegradationofMeaning Itisaprocesswherebywordsofgoodoriginoraffectiveneutralityfallintoillreputationoretobeusedinaderogatorysense.Forinstance,thewordsillymeanthappyandfortunateinoldEnglishperiod.InmiddleEnglishperioditmeant“innocentandharmless”whichexpressedamanwithunderdevelopmentintelligence.However,nowthemeaningoftheworddegeneratedtofoolishandimbecile.Therearestillsomeotherexamples: Sad:full,satisfied,contentedcalmserioussorrowful Cunning:knowing,skillfulsly,crafty Wench:girl,youngwomendissolutewomen,prostitute 3.Conclusion: Takingintoaccountwhathasbeendiscussedabove,aconclusioncanbedrawnthatthewordsmeaninginEnglishisincessantlydevelopingandchanging.Thechangesaregradual,Itisimportantforthelanguagelearnerstobeacquaintedwiththechangingprinciplesandupdatetheirvocabulary,whenstudentsstudyalanguage,theycan?tjustlearnitsgrammarorvocabulary,studentsshouldknowsomethingmore,likehowdidthise,howwouldthischanged.Themoreweaskedthemorewegot.Holdthisattitudecanmakeusbemoreprofessionalonourmajorsubject. 篇二：MeaningChangesinEnglish论文 MeaningChangesinEnglish Abstract:Asotherlanguagesintheworld,Englishchangesastimesgoesby.Englishformedanddevelopedovermanycenturiesintotheformtoday.StudyingthechangingprinciplesofwordsofEnglishwouldhelpusacquirefurtherawarenessofEnglishlexiconanddogoodtoourlanguageacquirement. Keywords:Meaningchanges,Causes,Types 1.Introduction Vocabularyisthemostunstableelementoflanguageasitisundergoingconstantchangesbothincontentandform.Ofcourse,somemeaningsremainmuchthesameforalongtimebecausethe referentstowhichtheydirectusdonotchange.Frequently,anoldformorwordsarepressedintonewservicewhenanewlinguisticneedisfelt.Whenawordlosesitsoldmeaningandestorefertosomethingdifferent,theresultisachangeinwordmeaning.Changeofmeaningreferstothe alternationofthemeaningofexistingwords,aswellastheadditionofnewmeaningtoaparticularword. 2.CauseofChangesinWordMeaning Therearegenerallytwomajorfactorsthatcausechangesinmeaning. 2.1.ExtralinguisticFactors 2.11HistoricalReason Awordisretainedforanamethoughthemeaninghaschangedbecausethereferenthaschanged.E.g.PencilisfromLatinwordmeaningalittletailorafinebrush,likeourChinesepen,later,whenitwasmadeofwoodandgraphite,itwasstillcalleda“pencil”. 2.12ClassReason Languagerecordsthespeechandattitudeofdifferentsocialclasses,sodifferentsocialvarietiesoflanguagehaveeintobeing. Theattitudeofclasseshasmadeioadsintolexicalmeaning,particularlyinthecaseofelevationanddegradation. Quiteanumberofwordsthatdenotedifferentsortsofworkingpeopleortheiroccupationshavedeterioratedandnowhavetakenonapejorativesense. “illmannedorbadpeople”. 2.13PsychologyReason1 Theassociatedtransferofmeaningandeuphemisticuseofwords,etc.isoftenduetopsychologicalfactors.Ittakesthreeforms(a)euphemism(b)grandiloquence(c)cynicism. Peoplechangewordmeaningowingtovariouspsychologicalmotives:love,respect,courtesy,suspicious,pessimism,sarcasm,irony,contempt,hatred,etc. Thefactthatsomelow,humbleanddespisedoccupationsoftentakeonmoreappealingnamesisallduetopsychologicalreasons. Religiousinfluenceisanotherkindofpsychologicalneed. 2.2LinguisticFactors Theinternalfactorswithinthelanguagesystemconsistof: Onetypeofsuchchangeoccurswhenaphraseisshortenedtoonewordwhichretainsthemeaningofthewhole.（English=theEnglishLanguage） Theinfluxofborrowingshascausedsomewordstochangeinmeaning.(deer,animal,beast) E.g.Churl,villain,hussy,wenchwhichwereoriginallyneutralincolorhavebeendowngradedas Thepetitionofnativewordseventuallyyieldsthesemanticdivision. Thechangeofmeaningisbroughtaboutbyanalogy. 3.TypesofChanges 3.1ExtensionofMeaning Itisaprocessbywhichawordwhichoriginallyhadaspecializedmeaninghasnowbeegeneralizedorhasextendedtocoverabroaderandoftenlessdefiniteconcept.2 Forexample,salarywas(Original)asumofmoneygiventoRomansoldierstoenablethemtobuysalt;andis(present)fixedpaymentmadebyemployeratregularintervalstoemployees. AlargeproportionofpolysemicwordsofmodernEnglishhavetheirmeaningsextendedsometimeinthecourseofdevelopment.Somewordsaregeneralizedtosuchadegreethattheycanmeanalmosteverything.E.g:thing,business,respect 3.2NarrowingofMeaning Itisaprocessbywhichawordofwidemeaningacquiresanarroworspecializedsense.Inotherwords,awordwhichusedtohaveamoregeneralsensebeesrestrictedinitsapplicationandconveysaspecialconceptinpresentdayEnglish. E.g:wifewomanmarriedwomanmeatfoodfleshofanimals 3.3ElevationofMeaning Itistheprocessbywhichwordsrisefromhumblebeginningstopositionsofimportance.Somewordsearlyintheirhistorysignifysomethingquiteloworhumble,butchangeastimegoesbytodesignatesomethingagreeableorpleasant.3 E.g:Nice(ignorantfoolishdelightful,pleasant) Fond(foolishaffectionate) Awesome(terribleterrific) 3.4DegradationofMeaning Itisaprocesswherebywordsofgoodoriginoraffectiveneutralityfallintoillreputationoretobeusedinaderogatorysense. E.g:Silly:blessedandhappyinnocentsimpleorsimplemindedfoolish Sad:full,satisfied,contentedcalmserioussorrowful 3.5TransferenceofMeaning Somewordswhichwereusedtodesignateonethingbutlaterchangedtomeansomethingelsehaveexperiencedtheprocessofsemantictransfer,knownastransferenceortransferofmeaning. 3.51AssociatedTransfer Twoobjectshavesomesimilaritiesthatenablepeopletoassociateonetotheother. E.g：thelipofawound;thetonguesoffire 3.52TransferbetweenAbstractandConcreteMeanings Abstracttoconcretemeaning E.g:Roomformerlymeant“space”,nowithasdevelopedaconcrete“rooms”. Concretetoabstractmeaning E.g:Grasp(original)afirmholdwiththehandsandarms (present)thepowerorabilitytounderstand 3.53TransferbetweenSubjectiveandObjectiveMeanings Somewordswereformerlyusedsubjectivelybutlatershiftedtoanobjectiveuse,andthesubjectivemeaningwastotallylost. E.g:pitifulfullofpitydeservingpity 3.54Synesthesia Thiskindoftransfertakesplacebetweenwordsofsensation.Thatis,wordsusuallyassociatedwithonesenseareusedtodescribeanothersense. E.g:Clearsounding(fromsighttohearing) Warmcolors(fromtouchtosight) 3.6Euphemism Whenpeopleuseeuphemismsthereisasemanticchangeinvolvedastheexpressionsusedoftenhavelittletodowiththereferents. Forexample,restroom,bathroom,lounge,John,convenience,fortsroomandpowderroomarealleuphemistictermsfor“toilet”whichitselfisaeuphemisticterm.4 4.Conclusion: Sobyreadingtheseparts,weofcoursereachtheconclusionthatthewordsinEnglishisincessantlydevelopingandchanging.Thechangesinmeaningaregradual,andwordsarenotchangedinaday.“Changingwordmeaninghasneverceasedsincethebeginningofthelanguageandwillcontinueinthefuture.”Itisimportantforthelanguagelearnerstobeacquaintedwiththechangingprinciplesandupdatetheirvocabulary. References: 1吴秀芳.现代英语词义变化与外部原因M.河南职技师院学报（社会科学版）2000.6 2申开敏.词义的演变课件海南师范大学外国语学院百度文库 3杨鑫南.当代英语变迁M.北京外语教学与研究出版社. 4吴松华.英语新词的构成及修辞手段M.武汉理工大学学报（社会科学版）.10 篇三：英语词汇学论文MeaningchangesinEnglish MeaningchangesinEnglish Abstract:Asotherlanguagesintheworld,Englishchangesastimesgoesby.Englishformedanddevelopedovermanycenturiesintotheformtoday.StudyingthechangingprinciplesofwordsofEnglishwouldhelpusacquirefurtherawarenessofEnglishlexiconanddogoodtoourlanguageacquirement. Keywords:meaningchangestypescauses 1.Introduction Vocabularyisthemostunstableelementoflanguageasitisundergoingconstantchangesbothincontentandform.Ofcourse,somemeaningsremainmuchthesameforalongtimebecausethereferentstowhichtheydirectusdonotchange.Frequently,anoldformorwordsarepressedintonewservicewhenanewlinguisticneedisfelt.Whenawordlosesitsoldmeaningandestorefertosomethingdifferent,theresultisachangeinwordmeaning.Changeofmeaningreferstothealternationofthemeaningofexistingwords,aswellastheadditionofnewmeaningtoaparticularword. 2.Typesofmeaningchanges 2.1ExtensionofMeaning/GeneralizationofMeaning Itisaprocessbywhichawordwhichoriginallyhadaspecializedmeaninghasnowbeegeneralizedorhasextendedtocoverabroaderandoftenlessdefiniteconcept.ForexampleManuscriptoriginallymeanshandwriting(writingbyhandonly)whileitspresentmeaningisanyauthor?swritingwhetherwrittenbyhandortypedwithatypewriterorawordprocessor.Salarywas(Original)asumofmoneygiventoRomansoldierstoenablethemtobuysalt;andis(present)fixedpaymentmadebyemployeratregularintervalstoemployees. AlargeproportionofpolysemouswordsofmodernEnglishhavetheirmeaningsextendedsometimeinthecourseofdevelopment.Somewordsaregeneralizedtosuch adegreethattheycanmeanalmosteverything. (1)Sheissuchaprettylittlething. (2)Ihavetopackmythingsforthejourney. (3)ThereisanotherthingIwanttoaskyouabout. (4)Thatonlymakesthingsworse. (5)Thethingis,canwefinishthejobintime? Intheabovesentences,“Thing”whichusedtomean“apublicassembly”or“acouncil”inAngloSaxontimes,nowhasbeeanallpurposeword.Itsmeaningissogeneral,andwesometimescallthisnouna?lightnoun?.heEnglishpeopleareofamixedblood.TheearlyinhabitantsoftheislandwenowcallEnglandwereBritons,butinfactalltheracesweretheinvaderscamefromEurope.NobodyknowsverymuchaboutBritainbeforetheRomanscameduringthefirstcenturyBC,buttherehadbeenatleastthreeinvasionsbeforethat.ThefirstofthesewasbyadarkhairedMediterraneanracecalledtheIberians.TheothertwowerebyCeltictribes:oneisGaels,whosedescendantsarethemodernScotsandIrish;anotheristheBritons,whogavetheirnametothewholeislandofBritain.ThesewerethepeoplewhomtheRomansconquered.TheRomansgavetheBritonsagooddealoftheircivilization.ThenatthebeginningofthefifthcenturyBritainwasinvadedbythreetribesfromthenorthernEurope:theAngles,theSaxons,andtheJutes.Thesethreetribesmergedintoonepeople,andthethreedialectstheyspokenaturallygrewintoasinglelanguage,theEnglishlanguage. 2.2NarrowingofMeaning Itisaprocessbywhichawordofwidemeaningacquiresanarroworspecialized sense.Inotherwords,awordwhichusedtohaveamoregeneralsensebeesrestrictedinitsapplicationandconveysaspecialconceptinpresentdayEnglish.Thefollowingchartprovidesusdefinitedemonstration. conceptualmeaning. Nextwewilltalkaboutthechangesinassociativemeaning. 2.3ElevationofMeaning Itistheprocessbywhichwordsrisefromhumblebeginningstopositionsofimportance.Somewordsearlyintheirhistorysignifysomethingquiteloworhumble,butchangeastimegoesbytodesignatesomethingagreeableorpleasant.MeanwhiletheterritorialexpansionoftheEnglishempireinthisperiodresultedintheexpansionoftheEnglishvocabulary.Thus,therearemanywordsflowintoEnglishvocabulary,whichincludesAmericanIndianwords,Mexicanwords,Peruwords,Brazilwords,IndiaandAfricanwords.ThenineteenthandtwentiethcenturiesareaperiodofrapidexpansionfortheEnglishvocabularyinthehistoryoftheEnglishlanguage.Inthisperiodmanychangeshavetakenplace.EspeciallythegreatdevelopmentofscienceandtechnologyisreflectedintheEnglishvocabulary.Besides,thegreatchangesinindustry,inpoliticalandsociallives,insportsandamusementsallhavecontributedagreatdealtotheEnglishvocabulary.SincetheSecondWorldWartheEnglishvocabularyhasbeenaffectedpowerfullybysocial,political,economic,especially scientificandtechnicalchanges.TheEnglishvocabularynotonlychanges,butalsochangesquicklyinthisperiod.Thousandsofnewwordsareadded,existingwordsacquirenewmeaningandoldwordsdieout.Tillnow,theEnglishvocabularyisstillchanging,somewordseoutandsomedieout.Inaword,associetyisconstantlyinastateofdevelopment,soislanguage.Societydependsonlanguageforitsexistence.Associetydevelopsnewobjectsarecreatedthatrequiretheinventionofnewwordsandexpressions.Therefore,thechangingofEnglishvocabularyisanendlesschangingprocess Nice:ignorantfoolishdelightful,pleasant Marshal:akeeperofhorsesahighrankingarmyofficer Constable:akeeperofhorsesapoliceman 2.4DegradationofMeaning Itisaprocesswherebywordsofgoodoriginoraffectiveneutralityfallintoillreputationoretobeusedinaderogatorysense.Forinstance, Silly:blessedandhappyinnocentsimpleorsimplemindedfoolishSad:full,satisfied,contentedcalmserioussorrowful 2.5TransferenceofMeaning Somewordswhichwereusedtodesignateonethingbutlaterchangedtomeansomethingelsehaveexperiencedtheprocessofsemantictransfer,knownastransferenceortransferofmeaning.ThetypesoftransferenceincludeAssociatedTransfer,TransferbetweenAbstractandConcreteMeanings,TransferbetweenSubjectiveandObjectiveMeaningsandSynesthesia. ExamplesforAssociatedTransfer:thelipofawound;thetonguesoffire;thefootofamountain.ExamplesforTransferbetweenAbstractandConcreteMeanings:Roomformerlymeant“space”asin“Thereisnoroominthecar”.Nowithas developedaconcretemeaningasin“Thisflathasthreerooms”.Inaddition,graspwas(original)afirmholdwiththehandsandarms;and