Unit 7 The Meaning of English (II) 教学提示.doc

Unit 7 The Meaning of English (II)Check your understandingState whether each of the following statements is True or False. 1. Different languages represent the world in completely different ways. F 2. Metaphoric reasoning explains much of the extension of word meanings. T3. Every sentence has its truth conditions. F Note: Interrogative sentences and imperative sentences may not have truth conditions.4. “Theme” as a semantic role refers to the topic the sentence is about. F Note: “Theme” as a semantic role refers to the one or thing that undergoes an action. In-Class Activities1. ASK:(1) What do you think gives rise to the semantic fuzziness of language? There may be no clear boundary between objects in the real or imaginary world that language represents. Another reason is that language is an economical, rough representation of the world. Last but not least, language users fail to understand the world properly. (2) Can you cite more examples of fuzzy expressions? tall, big, quickly, greatly, much, many, etc.(3) What advantages and disadvantages may the fuzzy property of language have as a tool of communication? Advantages: 1) It makes the use of language easy and flexible. 2) It makes exaggeration and the like possible. 3) Sometimes, fuzziness is precision. Disadvantages: Most of the time, precision is impossible. Vague communication often results.2. ASK:(1) What else do we compare “time” to? What related expressions do we have? We may compare “time” to something that moves. E.g. As time advances, we know world better and better. His time has come. We may also compare “time” to a kind of medicine. E.g. Time heals most troubles.(2) Do we use the same kind of metaphors in English and in Chinese? Give some examples that show their convergence and divergence. Yes. 节省/浪费时间，耗时, etc.(3) What metaphors do you know that relate to the following themes? language: 桥梁、工具、资源 life: 舞台、行程、教科书 friendship: 纽带、贵重物品 books: 人类进步的阶梯、精神食粮 motherland: 母亲、归属3. ASK:(1) In what ways is communicating ideas similar to food intake and digestion? In the course of communication, the hearer takes information from the speaker and processes it. All this is similar to food intake and digestion.(2) Can you give two more expressions involving similar metaphors? My lecture was pure nonsense, but they really ate it up. What she says is food for thought, but it gives us only a taste of what she means.(3) Ideas are sometimes also compared to products. Can you give a couple of examples in English to demonstrate the related metaphorical thinking? exchange ideas with sb. market ones ideas work out an idea4. ASK:(1) Can you give more examples of similar kinds? be down with the flue get over the illness under the influence of sb.(2) Are there corresponding metaphors in Chinese? Yes. e.g 心里低沉 垂头丧气 落了下风(3) How would you understand the use of “into” in the different contexts? What is the nature of X in “into X”? Use a couple of other examples to illustrate. In a, “into” means “to the inside or interior of sth.”; in b, “into” means “to the inside or interior of sth.”, but in a metaphorical way, because information is not an object that can be placed or found in the computer; in c, “into” means “to the activity or occupation of sth.” X is conceived as a container.Other examples: They are into vegetarianism.A car crashed into a tree.5ASK:(1) Can you add more terms to the list? tumbler knife ashtray (2) Can you work out what the prototype item of tableware is? One research procedure would be to create a list of these terms down one side of a page, with a scale beside each term. The scale would go from 5 (=excellent example of “tableware”) to 1 (=not really an example of “tableware”). Make copies of your list (plus scale) and ask people to indicate their choices on the scale. The highest score would presumably be the prototype. What do you think of this procedure?Omit.6. ASK: (1) What are the logical roles or meanings of the italicized other members subject or object?(1) The garden is swarming with bees. location(2) They loaded hay onto the truck. patient(3) They loaded the truck with hay. instrument(4) John gave Jane the book. goal(5) The dog died. theme(6) Noon found us waiting at the railroad station. time(2) What effects does the use of different kinds of subjects produce? New perspective; better cohesion if the subject is the topic; vividness as shown by personification in (6).7. ASK:(1) What are the metaphors used in the headlines? The metaphors are underlined as shown below: (1) 车站 “肥水”为何流入外人田读者会诊 “问题”中央门 (扬子晚报2004-10-19)(2) In Mexico, Strains Along Democracys Path (The Washington Post, July 25, 2006)(3) One Mans Long Battle To Get U.S. to Kick Oil (Washington Post, July 25, 2006)(4) A War Between Neighbors, Seen From Their Back Yard (Washington Post, July 24, 2006)(5) Gun Sellers Case Reveals Hurdles of Enforcement (Washington Post, July 23, 2006) (6) In Iraq, Military Forgot Lessons of Vietnam (Washington Post, July 23, 2006)(2) Is any metaphor used more “metaphorical” than the others? “War” and “lesson” seem to be most frequently used.(3) How does the Chinese headline strike you in terms of being metaphorical? Can you confirm your observation with more examples? It employs a mixture of metaphors (agricultural & medical).(4) Are the English metaphors directly transferable to Chinese? All except (5).(5) Metaphors are also extensively used in English poetry. Look at the following classic excerpt and discuss how the use of metaphors enhances the effect of the poetic communication.Here, the words “slings”弹弓 and “arrows” help to make “outrageous fortune” sound concrete so that one can conjure up a picture in which someone full of hatred is using the slings and arrows to take his or her revenge. Similarly, the word “sea” helps readers to visualize how many troubles Hamlet is suffering.8. ASK:(1) What are the metonyms used in these headlines? The metonyms are underlined as shown below:(1) White House Softens Tone On Embryo Use (Washington Post, July 25, 2006) name of location for U.S. government(2) List of Top Pentagon Orders Reveals Strategy Shift (Washington Post, July 24, 2006) name of building for the U.S. Department of National Defense(3) Bush Pollution Curbs Are Rated Equal to Clintons (Washington Post, July 23, 2006) name of president for the administration(4) Microsoft Confirms It Will Offer Device To Battle the iPod (Washington Post, July 23, 2006) brand name for the company(2) Can you supply any example in Chinese? 莫斯科，联想，广东宏远, etc.(3) Which word is a case of metonymy? Why is it preferred to the replaced word?The word “winter” is used for “years”. It is more effective in that while the latter is neutral, the former represents something negative and unpleasant.9. ASK:(1) What do the two tautological sentences mean in normal cases? “Boys will be boys.”Boys are naughty. “NBA is NBA.” NBA has a high standard of performance.(2) Can you come up with similar uses of Chinese? 专家就是专家。 上海毕竟是上海。10ASK:(1) How would you define the set of semantic roles for the following verbs in terms of the pattern just shown?COOK AGENT _ THEMEBREAK AGENT _ THEMEDIE THEME_ PUT AGENT _ THEME LOCATIONHAPPEN THEME_ OFFER AGENT _ THEME GOAL(2) What are the Chinese equivalents of these verbs? Do they all share the same semantic structures of the English verbs? If not, give one or two examples to illustrate the differences. Not all of them. Exceptions are “煮” and “死”. E.g. While “cook” can be both transitive and intransitive, “煮” is transitive only. While “die” is intransitive in English, “死” can be used with double arguments 论元, as in “张三死了父亲,” although it is still debatable whether “父亲” is an object or not.(3) Does it help, in this exercise, to make a distinction between obligatory roles (i.e. you must have these or the sentence will not be grammatical) and optional roles (these are often present, but their absence doesnt make the sentences ungrammatical)? Goal in the semantic structure of “offer” is optional. Task 3: Study Questions1. Does Chinese and English dissect the spectrum of color in the same way? Not exactly. There are color names (like “orange”) in English that do not have single-word equivalents in Chinese.2. What item would you claim to be the prototype of each of the following? (a) sports (b) vegetable (c) vehicle (d) building Omit.3. Humans are often compared to different things. Look at the following picture. What is man compared to? Can you think of other things that man is compared to?Bird. Man is also compared to animal, machine, candle, etc.4. Saying that “time is money” is attempting a conceptual metaphor. Most metaphors, indeed, are conceptual. When we argue with others, we often do so as if we were fighting a war. Such conceptualization gives rise to many expression like “win an argument” and “indefensible arguments”. Do you know other similar expressions? Is the same kind of metaphorizing employed in Chinese?Yes. Similar expressions are “attack an argument”, “lose a debate”, etc.There are similar expressions in Chinese that suggest the same kind of metaphorizing.5. Words referring to spending and finance (such as cost, spend, invest, buy, sell) also have abstract metaphorical uses, as in: That mistake will cost you a lot, He invested a lot of time in the project, He paid dearly for his ways, Youre only buying trouble if you do that. List three additional examples of the metaphorical use of words from the realm of spending and finance and discuss how the metaphorical uses are related to the concrete (financial) meanings. Also, is the same kind of metaphorizing employed in Chinese?Yes. Examples: buy sb.s ideas; do sth. at the cost of ones life; it pays to do sth. Yes. The same kind of metaphorizing is employed in Chinese.6. What is the relation, if any, between the following uses of the word hot?The senses are meanings derived from the basic sense of “hot” (i.e. having or giving off heat capable of burning) by metaphorical extension. Some (like 8, 9 and 10) may require more imagination than others. (1) Being at a high temperature; being at or exhibiting a temperature that is higher than normal or desirable.(2) Causing a burning sensation, as in the mouth; spicy.(3) Marked by intensity of emotion; ardent or fiery.(4) Violent; raging.(5) Close to a successful solution or conclusion.(6) (in baseball) difficult to catch.(7) Charged or energized with electricity.(8) Arousing intense interest, excitement, or controversy.(9) Recently stolen.(10) Very good or impressive.7. Metonymy is characterized by the use of one word or phrase being substituted for another with which it is closely associated