英语词汇学课件chapter 8 Meaning and Context

Chapter8,MeaningandContext,Contextreferstothewordsaroundaword,phraseetc.,oftenusedforhelpingtoexplainthemeaningoftheword,phrase,etc.Contextisofgreatimportancefortheunderstandingofword-meaningbecausethemeaningisinfluencedimmediatelybythewholespeechsituationaswell.Meaninglivesincontextandthecontextthrowslightonmeaning.Thischapterwilldiscusstherelationshipbetweenmeaningandcontextandthewaysinwhichcontextaffectsthemeaningofwords.,8.1TypesofContext,Contextisusedindifferentsenses.Inanarrowsense,itreferstothewords,clauses,sentencesinwhichawordappears.Thisisknownaslinguisticcontextorco-text,whichmayextendtoembraceaparagraph,awholechapterandeventheentirebook.Inabroadsense,contextincludesthephysicalsituationwhereawordisemployed.Thisiscalledextra-linguisticornon-linguisticcontext,coveringtheparticipants(addresserandaddressee),time,place,andeventhewholeculturalbackground.,8.1.1Extra-linguisticContextThenon-linguisticsituationcanoftenexercisegreaterinfluenceonthemeaningofwordsthanwerealize,e.g.lookout;tradeunion;landlord.8.1.2LinguisticContextLinguisticcontextcanbesubdividedintolexicalcontextandgrammaticalcontext.,1)LexicalContextThisreferstothelexemesthatco-occurwiththewordinquestion.Themeaningofthewordisoftenaffectedanddefinedbytheneighboringlexemes.Forinstance,paperhasanumberofmeaningsinthedictionary,yetineachofthefollowingcontext,itconveysonlyoneconcept.,1)asheetofpaper(thinflatsheetsofsubstanceforwriting,printing,decoratingwalls,etc.)2)awhitepaper(governmentdocument)3)atermpaper(essaywrittenattheendoftheterm)4)todayspaper(newspaper)5)examinationpaper(asetofquestionsusedasanexamination),2)GrammaticalContextInsomecases,themeaningsofapolysemantmaybeinfluencedbythestructureinwhichitoccurs.Thisiswhatwecallgrammaticalcontext.Letusconsidertheverbbecomeforexample.,(1)become+adj./n(usedaspredictive),meaningbegintobe,e.g.1)Daydreamshavebecomerealities.2)Shebecameincreasinglyanxiousaboutherhusbandsstrangebehavior.(2)become+pron./n(usedasobject),meaningsuit,befit,e.g.1)Thissortofbehaviorhardlybecomesapersoninyourposition.2)Sarcasmdoesntbecomeyou.(3)become+of,meaninghappento,ofteninabadway,e.g.Idontknowwhatwillbecomeofusifthecompanygoesbankrupt.,8.2TheRoleofContext,8.2.1EliminationofAmbiguityAmbiguityoftenarisesduetopolysemyandhomonymy.Whenawordwithmultiplemeaningsisusedininadequatecontext,itcreatesambiguity,e.g.Heisahardbusinessman.Homonymyisanothercauseofambiguityastwoseparatelexemessharethesameform,e.g.,(1)Theysawherduck.(2)Theballwasattractive.Grammaticalstructurecanalsoleadtoambiguity,e.g.(1)Thefishisreadytoeat.(2)IlikeMarybetterthanJean.,8.2.2IndicationofReferentsEnglishhasalargenumberofdeictic(指示的)wordssuchasnow/then,here/there,I/you,this/that,whichareoftenusedtoreferdirectlytothepersonal,temporalorlocationalcharacteristicsofthesituation.Withoutclearcontext,thereferencecanbeveryconfusing,e.g.now.,8.2.3ProvisionofCluesforInferenceofWord-meaningContextmayproveexceptionallyvaluableinguessingthemeaningsofnewwords.Inmanycases,whenanewwordappearsforthefirsttime,theauthorgenerallymanagestogivehints,whichmighthelpthereaderstograsptheconceptorcomprehendtheidea.Contextcluesvaryagreatdealbutcanbesummedupasfollows:,1)DefinitionOftenwemayfindthattheauthorgivesformaldefinitionimmediatelyafterthenewterm,e.g.Perhapsthemoststartlingtheorytocomeoutofkinesics(身势学),thestudyofbodymovement,wassuggestedbyProfessorBirdwhistell.,2)ExplanationSometimestheauthormightexplaintheideainsimplewords.Thatis,hemightmakearestatementinknownwords,e.g.Itsjustonemoreincredibleresultofthedevelopmentofmicroprocessors(计微处理器)thosetinypartsofacomputercommonlyknownassiliconchips.,3)ExemplificationInsomecases,theauthormayciteanexamplewhichissufficienttothrowlightonthemeaningoftheterm,e.g.ManyUnitedNationsemployeesarepolyglots(通晓数种语言的人).MsMary,forexample,speaksfivelanguages.,4)SynonymySynonymsorsynonymousexpressionsarefrequentlyemployedbyauthorstoexplainnewwords,e.g.Theirgreatestfearwasofaconflagration(大火),sincefirewoulddestroytheirflimsywoodensettlementbeforehelpcouldarrive.,5)AntonymyContrastingwordsorstatementsarealsocommonlyusedtoexplainunknownwords,e.g.Asthefightingonallfrontsreacheditspeak,theeconomyneareditsnadir(最低点).6)HyponymySuperordinatesandsubordinatesoftendefineandexplaineachother,thusforminganimportantcontextclue,e.gThevillagehadmostoftheusualamenities(福利设施):apub,alibrary,apostoffice,avillagehall,amedicalcentre,andaschool.,7)RelevantDetailsInsomecases,theauthorprovidesdetailsincontextwhicharerelatedtotheunknownword,suchasthefunctions,characteristics,nature,etc.ofthereferent,e.g.Inspiteofthefactthatthefishermenwerewearingsouwesters(防水帽),thestormwassoheavythattheywerewetthrough.,8)SchematicKnowledgeTherearecaseswherethekeywordsandstructuresprovidedinthecontexthelpactivatethereadersschematicknowledgeofthewordtomakesenseoftheunknownword,e.g.Thefortune-tellerwasunabletoprog