(词汇学)Word MeaningPPT幻灯片

.WordMeaning,().Definition:Meaningisanotioninsemanticsclassicallydefinedashavingtwocomponents:reference,anythinginthereferentialrealmdenotedbyawordorexpression,andsense,thesystemofparadigmaticandsyntagmaticrelationshipsbetweenalexicalunitandotherlexicalunitsinalanguage.,TheEnglishlinguist,EricPartridge,says:“Wordshavenomeaning;peoplehavemeaningforthem.”（词本无义，人赋予之。）Isay:“Wordsarewords,becausetheyaremeaningful.”,Acompleteword:meaning(房子)form-referent(house),这个图形表示:第一,词有两个方向“形式”和“意义(概念)”.“形式”指的是拼写;与此相对的是词的“意义(概念)”,也就是词的内容.每个词都有一定的形式和意义,这两方面缺一不可.第二,词义与所指对象连接在一起.一方面,词义在客观世界中是有所指的;另一方面,词义又是客观世界的某一(或某些)事物在语言中的反映.第三,在“语义三角”中,“形式”和“所指对象”间不是实线,而是用虚线连接起来的,说明它们两者之间没有必然的直接关系.也就是说,house和之间没有必然联系，它们之间是约定俗成的,Whydowenamea“house”Thereisnowaytoexplain“why”.However,thereissomewaytoexplain“house”in“Ithousesus.”or“Wearehoused.”,So,wordsmayhavetwonatures:“conventionality”and“motivation”.,().NaturesofWordMeaning:,1.Conventionality（约定俗成）MostEnglishwordsareconventional，arbitrarysymbols;consequently,thereisnointrinsicrelationbetweenthesymbolanditssense.Thereisnowaytoexplainwhythisorthatsymbolhasthisorthatmeaning.,2.Motivation:（理据形成）Motivationreferstotheconnectionbetweenwordsymbolanditssense.Fromthepointofviewofmotivation,thegreatmajorityofEnglishwordsareconventional.However,thereisasmallgroupofwordsthatcanbedescribedasmotivated,thatis,adirectconnectionbetweenthesymbolanditssensecanbereallyobserved.,Motivationcanariseinthreemajorways:(1).Phoneticmotivation:(onomatopoeicwords)(2).Morphologicalmotivation:(derivation,compounding,conversion),(3).Semanticmotivation:Semanticmotivationreferstomotivationbasedonsemanticfactors.Itisakindofmentalassociation.eg:thelegofatable,astonyheart,Herfavoritedishissteak.Hemanagestoearnbread.,().MainTypesofWordMeaningWordmeaningismadeupofvariouscomponentswhichareinterrelatedandinterdependent.Thesecomponentsarecommonlydescribedastypesofmeaning.Twomaintypesofwordmeaningaregrammaticalandlexical.,1.Grammaticalmeaning:(1).word-class:modern(adj)modernize(v)modernization(n)(Howtousethem?)(2).Inlfectionalparadign:（词形变化）catcatswritewriteswrotewrittenwriting,2.Lexicalmeaning:(1).Denotativemeaning:Itisthecentralfactorinlinguisticcommunication.eg:chair椅子mother母亲man男人woman女人politician政客blood血液chicken小鸡adult成年人,(2).Connotativemeaning:eg:chair官位motherlove,care,tendernessman勇敢，强壮，责任心，大度woman意志薄弱，爱流泪，多情善感(Anyway,sheisawoman.)politician欺诈，夸夸其谈blood出身，亲情，民族(Bloodisthickerthanwater.HehasCanadianblood)chicken懦弱，胆怯adult责任,(3).Socialmeaning:Basedon:thesocialrelationshipbetweenthespeakers;theoccasion;thesubjectmatter;themodeofspeech;etc.eg:Whatsyourage?（对求职者）你吃了吗？(denotativemeaning;connotativemeaning),(4).Affectivemeaning:a.Interjections:Oh!Alas!Ouch!b.Approvalanddisapproval:mother,scholar,masterpiece,career,buzz,gang,boast,workaholic,etc.c.Bias:slenderskinny,statesmanpolitician,famousnotoriousproudarrogant（褒义）（贬义）,().PolysemyandHomonymyAsawordisapurelyarbitraryandconventionalsymbolwithoutanyintrinsicconnectionwithwhatitrefersto,itmaysometimeshappenthatmorethanonemeaningisattachedtoaword,ortwoormorewordsmayhavethesameformbutbedifferentinmeaning.TheformerisknownasPolysemy,andthelatter,Homonymy.,1.Polysemy（一词多义）,(1).Definition:Polysemyisatermusedinsemanticanalysistorefertoalexicalitemwhichhasarangeofdifferentmeanings.IfyoulookatanyEnglishdictionary,youwillknowhowfrequentPolysemyis.One-meaningwordsareveryrare.(Theyareoftenscientificterms:oxygen,monoxide,moonwalk,hepatitis,penicillin,etc).ItmaybesaidthatPolysemyistheruleandMonosemyistheexception.Themorecommonawordis,themoremeaningsithas.eg:“get”,“do”,“make”,“take”,“have”,etc.Polysemyisalsoanessentialfeatureofalanguageseconomyandefficiency.JustimaginewhataheavyburdenitwouldbeonourmemoryifithadnotbeenforPolysemy.,(2).ApproachesorprocessesleadingtoPolysemy:a.originalmeaningextendedmeaningpen（羽毛）（笔）train（拖裙）（火车）plane（刨子）（飞机）bulb（球茎）（电灯泡）crane（鹤）（起重机）b.generalmeaningspecificmeaninglight（光）（灯）：turnonthelightgas（气体）（煤气）：turnonthegasfire（火）（客厅里的炉火）,c.abstractmeaningconcretemeaningbeauty:Beautyisbutskindeep.美只是外表罢了。Intheeyesofthelover,hisbelovedisabeauty.success:Hardworkleadstosuccess.Heisagreatsuccess.failure:（同success）d.concretemeaningabstractmeaninghead:具体“头”抽象“头脑”Useyourhead!eye:具体“眼睛”抽象“眼光，鉴赏力”Shehasaneyeforart.nerve:具体“神经”抽象“勇气，力量”Didhehavethenervetosaythat?,e.literalmeaningfigurativemeaninggardener（园丁）（教师）beast（野兽）（凶残的人）flaw（裂缝）（缺点）cool（凉的）（冷淡的）Achillesheel（阿基里斯的脚后跟）（致命弱点）TheSwordofDamocles（达摩克利斯之剑）（时刻存在的危险）crocodiletears（鳄鱼的眼泪）（假慈悲）acid（酸性的，酸的）（尖刻的）,2.Homonymy（同形异义）,(1).Definition:Homonymyiscommonlyusedtorefertothelinguisticphenomenonthatwordsareidenticalinpronunciation,spelling,orboth,butdifferentinmeaning.,(2).TypesofHomonymy:a.perfecthomonyms:Wordsidenticalinsoundandspellingbutdifferentinmeaningarecalledperfecthomonyms.eg:lie（躺；说谎）still（静止的；仍然）right（正确的；右边的；权利）bear（熊；忍耐；出生）pupil（瞳孔；小学生）sound（声音；健全的；测探；海峡）,b.homophones:Wordsidenticalinsoundbutdifferentinspellingandmeaningarecalledhomophones.eg:air（空气）heir（后嗣，继承人）bear（熊；忍耐；出生)bare（光秃的）hair（头发）hare（野兔）meet（遇见)mete（边界)meat（肉）right（正确的；右边的）write（写）wright（工人）,c.homographs:Wordsidenticalinspellingbutdifferentinsoundandmeaningarecalledhomographs.eg:leadli:dv.领导leadledn.铅teartin.眼泪teartv.撕开minuteminitn.分钟minutemainju:tadj.微小的,().SenseRelationsbetweenWordsWordsmaybeclassifiedaccordingtotherelationshipsbetweentheirsenses.Hence,wewillgiveabriefaccountofthesemanticrelationsofsimilarity(synonymy),oppositeness(antonymy),andinclusion(hyponymy).,1.Synonymy（同义）(1).Definition:Synonyms（同义词）aretraditionallydefinedaswordsdifferinginsoundformbutidenticalorsimilarinmeaning.Synonymsarebasedonthedenotativemeaning.Ineverysynonymousgroupacommondenotativecomponentbringsthewordstogether.SuchanagreementindenotationisthemostimportantcriterionofSynonymy.,eg:headchiefbossleader（同义，但不是同义词）statesmanpolitician（褒义）（贬义）adultgrown-up（正式）（口语）chap（英口）fellow（美口）guy（美俚）,eg:headchiefbossleader（同义，但不是同义词）statesmanpolitician（褒义）（贬义）adultgrown-up（正式）（口语）chap（英口）fellow（美口）guy（美俚）,(2)KindsofSynonymspletesynonyms:word-formationword-buildingspirantfricative（摩擦音）malnutritionundernourishment,b.relativesynonyms:Degree:smalltinyminutemicroscopicangerragefuryindignationEffective:smalllittleasmallboyalittleboy但：Poorlittleboy!Poorsmallboy!Shade:refusedeclinerejectrefusesb(sbsrequest),refuseagift,refusetodosth,declineaninvitation,rejectanappeal（驳回上诉），rejectabill（否决议案）,Stylistic:man(neutral)chap(colloquial)fellow(colloquial)guy(slang)Collocation:pretty(girl)handsome(boy)aflockof(birds)acrowdof(people)aschoolof(fish)aswarmof(bees)Distribution:livingalivesleepingasleep,(3).SourcesofSynonymsTheEnglishlanguageisnotedforitswealthofSynonyms.“TherichnessofEnglishinSynonymsislargelyduetothehappyminglingofLatin,Frenchandnativeelements.”,(4).SignificanceoftheAppropriateUseofSynonymsa.toavoidrepetition:,Weweregreatlysurprisedtoseesogreatacrowdofpeopleassembled,evidentlyforsomegreatoccasion.Oninquirywelearnedthatagreatmanwastoaddressthepeopleonasubjectofgreatinterest.Thegreatsizeofthefield,whichslopedlikeanamphitheater,enabledthegreatcrowdtoheareverywordwithgreatease,andalllistenedwithgreatattentiontothegreatthoughtspresented.该段略用了太多great，显得很重复，如果用同义词代替就能避免：,Weweremuchsurprisedtoseesolargeacrowdofpeopleassembled,evidentlyforsomeimportantoccasion.Oninquirywelearnedthataeminentmanwastoaddressthepeopleonasubjectofspecialinterest.Theamplesizeofthefield,whichslopedlikeanamphitheater,enabledthevastcrowdtoheareverywordwithperfectease,andalllistenedwithutmostattentiontothenoblethoughtspresented.,b.toemphasize:Therearetemporarysetbacksandreverses.Toservethepeopleishishighestaimandobject.Theyravedabouttheopportunitiesandchancesofdoingfineworkinthenewfactory.Hisexplanationisclearandclean.Whymustitbe?Shoulditbe,really?Shechokedandstifled.,2.Antonymy(1).Definition:Antonymyisthestandardtechnicaltermforoppositenessofmeaningbetweenwords.WordsthatareoppositeinmeaningareAntonyms.,(2).TypesofAntonymsa.semanticcontrast:(a)Contraries（相对性反义词）richpoorheavylightdeepshallow（以上形容词是gradable:richricherrichest）foolwiseman(n)lovehate(v)updown(adv),(b)Complementaries（互补反义词）alivedeadsinglemarriedpresentabsentmalefemalerightleft（以上形容词是nongradable:没有比较级和最高级）,(c)Conversives（换位反义词）lendborrowtakebringimmigrateemigratehusbandwifeemployeremployeehirefirehostguest,b.morphologicalstructure:(a)RootAntonyms（词根反义词）：shallowdeeplovehateupdown以上a部分谈到的全部属于此种。,(b)DerivationalAntonyms（派生反义词）：happyunhappylikeunlike(dislike)harmfulharmlessadvantagedisadvantage,(3).SignificanceoftheApplicationofAntonymsCleverapplicationofAntonymswillimprovethelanguageeffectbymakingitcontrastive,humorous,etc.,a.showingastrikingcontrast:firstandlast（总的来说）Morehaste,lessspeed.（欲速则不达）Nopains,nogains.Weshallsupportanyfriend,opposeanyfoe.Iftheyoffend,weshalldefend.,b.formingoxymoron:opensecretendlessminuteacleverfoolcruelkindnessanhonestlielivingdeath,3.Hyponymy（上下义关系）(1).DefinitionofHyponymy:Hyponymyistherelationshipwhichobtainsbetweenspecificandgenerallexicalitems,suchthattheformerisincludedinthelatter.,(2).Examples:color-Redblackwhiteyellowbrowngreyblue,(3).SignificanceofHyponymya.Usuallygeneraltermssufficeourpurpose.eg:Wewenttherelastyear.（模糊语言）(Itisclearenoughtotellsomeonewherewewent.Wedonothavetodescribehowwegotthere.)b.Specifictermscanbeusefullyemployedtomakeonesspeechorwritingmorevividandprecise.,().ChangesintheWordMeaning,Whenawordlosesitsoldmeaningandcomestorefertosomethingaltogetherdifferent,theresultisachangeofwordmeaning.“Changesofmeaningisacommonplace,andindeeditwouldappeartobefundamentalinlivinglanguage.almosteverywordweusetodayhasaslightlydifferentmeaningfromtheoneithadacenturyago:andacenturyagoithadaslightlydifferentmeaningfromtheoneithadacenturybeforethat.”,Someaningsofwordsarechanging.Why?Fivereasonsarenoticeable:Historicalcause;Socialcause;Foreigninfluence;PsychologicalcauseLinguisticcause;,Meaningsofwordstendtochange.Herewelltalkaboutthefourtendenciesinsemanticchange:,1.Restrictionofmeaning(specialization)(1).Definition:Restrictionofmeaningmeansthatawordofwidemeaningacquiresanarrower,specializedsensewhichisapplicabletoonlyoneoftheobjectsithadpreviouslydenoted.,(2).TypesofRestriction:a.generalspecificbusiness:allthingscommercewife:womanmarriedwomancorpse:bodydeadbody,b.abstractconcreteroom:spacearoombeauty:natureabeautysuccess:qualityasuccessfailure:qualityafailure,monnamespropernamesstatetheStatescontinenttheContinentcongresstheCongresschinaChinasedanSedan,montermstechnicaltermsmemory:记忆（电脑）存储器soft:柔软的（语音学）浊音的；（化学）易极化的；（市场）疲软的,2.Extensionofmeaning(generalization)(1).Definition:Extensionofmeaningmeansthewideningofawordssenseuntilitcoversmuchmorethanwhatitoriginallyconveyed.Restrictionisfarmorefrequentthanextension.,(2).Typesofextension:a.specificgeneralholiday:(religious)holydaydayoffestivityorrecreationpipe:musicalinstrumentanythinglikethatsalary:saltpaymentjournal:dailyanymagazine,b.concreteabstractthing:place:pernamescommonnamesnewton,wat,sandwich,Shylock,LeiFeng,bible,jack,smithd.technicaltermscommontermsbudget:（经济）预算计划，安排catalyst:催化剂促成因素immune:免疫的不受影响的,3.Degenerationofmeaning(pejoration)(1).Definition:Degenerationofmeaningisthefallingofwordmeaningintodisrepute,foronereasonoranother.,silly:InoldEnglish,itmeans“blessedandhappy”.Sinceblessedpeopleareusuallythoseinnocentofevil,thewordcametomean“innocent”inthe17thcentury.Asinnocentpeopleareoftenthosewholivesimplelives,itlatercametomean“simple”and“simple-minded”,whichisoftenassociatedwith“lackofintelligence”;hencethemodernmeaningtheword“silly”becomes“foolish”.Inthisway“silly”degeneratedfromatermofrespecttooneofcontempt.,girl:Thiswordisnoprobleminourdailylife.Butwhenitcomestoared-lightdistrict,itmeans.,4.Elevationofmeaning(amelioration)AprocessofawordmeaningtakingaturnforthebetterinthecourseoftimeisknownasElevation.eg:fond:foolish喜爱marshal:horsetender元帅job:(slang)houseworkwork,Wordmeaningischangingeveryday.Forsomewords,oldmeaningsaredyingwithnewmeaningscomingup.Forothersoldmeaningsandnewmeaningsarebothinexistence.,().FigurativeMeaningofWords,Commonwordsarewordsconnectedwiththeordinarythingsoractivitiesnecessarytoeverydaylife.ThegreatmajorityofEnglishwordsarecommonwords.Theyarestylisticallyneutral,butifweusethosewordsfiguratively,wecanachievemanykindsofrhetoricaleffect.Hereinthefollowingwelltalkaboutsomefiguresofspeechformedbycommonwords.,1.SimileSimileisafigureofspeechwhichmakesacomparisonbetweentwounlikeelementshavingatleastonequalityorcharacteristicincommon.Thecomparisonispurelyimaginative,thatis,theresemblancebetweenthetwounlikethingsinthatoneparticularaspectexistsonlyinourminds,inour“inwardeye”andnotinthenatureofthethingsthemselves.Tomakethecomparison,wordssuchas“like”or“as”areusedtotransferthequalityweassociatewithonetotheother,e.g.,(1).MyheartislikeasingingbirdWhosenestisinawaterdshoot;Myheartislikeanapple-treeWhoseboughsarebentwiththick-setfruit.(2).Mybrainwasaspowerfulasadynamo,aspreciseasachemistsscales,aspenetratingasascapel.,(3).asblackasjet;asbusyasbees;asclearascrystal;ascoldasice;aswhiteassnow;asblueasthesky;asdeafasstone;aseasyasABCasfirmasarock;asstrongasahorse;asfreeastheair;aspoorasachurchmouse;asproudasapeacock;asrichasaJew;,2.MetaphorMetaphor,likeSimile,alsomakesacomparisonbetweentwounlikeelements,butunlikeSimile,thiscomparisonisimpliedratherthanstated.ItisahigherformofSimilewhichrequiresgreaterabilityonthepartofthereadertoperceivethehiddenassociation,theinsightintopersons,thingsorthatisimplied.,(1).Alltheworldsastage,Andallthemenandwomenmerelyplayers.(2).Hehasaheartofstone.(3).Somebooksaretobetasted,otherstobeswallowed,andsomefewtobechewedanddigested.,(4).theheadofanarrow（箭头）,thefaceofabuilding（建筑物的正面），themouthofariver（河口），theteethofasaw（锯齿），theeyeofaneedle（针眼），,(5).toape（模仿），todog（尾随，跟踪）tofox（欺骗）tosnail（缓行）toworm（像虫一样蠕动向前）,3.MetonymyMetonymyisafigureofspeechthathastodowiththesubstitutionofthenameofonethingforthatofanother.Thissubstitutednamemaybeanattributeofthatotherthingorbecloselyassociatedwithit.Inotherwords,itinvolvesa“changeofname”,thesubstitutednamesuggestingthethingmeant.Suitableapplicationofthisdevicecancausetheeffectofbeinghumorous,ironicalandimplicit.,ThereareseveralkindsofsubstitutioninMetonymy:（1）.Thesubstitutionof“abstract”for“concrete”:Wereitlefttometodecidewhetherweshouldhaveagovernmentwithoutnewspapersornewspaperswithoutagovernment,Ishouldnothesitatetopreferthelatter.（2）.Thesubstitutionof“concrete”for“abstract”:Heexpressedhisphilosophyinletterstoafriend.,（3）.Thesubstitutionof“characteristic”for“person”:Greyhairshouldberespected.（4）.Thesubstitutionof“awriter”for“hisworks”:IamreadingShakespeare.（5）.Thesubstitutionof“thepart”for“thewhole”:Hedesertedtosavehishead.(=hislife),（6）.Thesubstitutionof“thewhole”for“thepart”:AustraliabeatCanadaatcricket.（7）.Th