现代英语词汇学

1、现代英语词汇学（第三章）,Motivation What is motivation? Motivation refers to the connection between word-symbol and its sense. From the point of view of motivation, the great majority of English words are non-motivated, since they are conventional, arbitrary symbols. However, there is a small number of words th

2、at can be described as motivated, that is, a direct connection between the symbol and its sense can be readily observed. Based on our textbook, motivation may arise in three major ways:,1.Onomatopoeic motivation Words motivated phonetically are called onomatopoeic or phonetic or echoic words, whose

3、pronunciation suggests the meaning. They show a close relation of sound to sense, whereas non-onomatopoeic words do not show any such relationship. Many onomatopoeic words imitate natural sounds, such as the cries of animals or the noises that resemble these associated with the object or action to b

4、e named, or that seem suggestive of its qualities.,Here the sense is truly the echo of the sound. Examples are: the bow-wow or woof-woof of a dog, the meow-meow of a cat, the moo of a cow, the roar of a lion, the coo of a pigeon, the hiss of a serpent, the hum of bees, and quack of a duck; the boom

5、of a cannon, the crack of a pistol shot, the clang of the fire-bell, the clash of weapons, the bang of a door and the rumble of thunder.,Some onomatopoeic words are not completely motivated as pointed out by R. Quirk: “And even these (echoic words) are conventional to quite a large extent. The word

6、mutter does not mean mutter in German or French, even though these language also have onomatopoeic words for mutter: murren and marmotter respectively.If you throw a stone into water, the sound you hear is by no means as when you say splash.” (Quirk 1963:43),Poets and great writers often use the sou

7、nd of words to achieve very expressive effect as can be seen in the following poem: “ The ice was here, the ice was there , The ice was in all around: It cracked and growled, and roared and howled, Like noise in a swound .” (Note: swound=woond: a bewitched state; trance 昏厥, 神魂颠倒),The number of such

8、words in any language is small, but their existence is important because they show a popular desire for a sound-symbol to have as close a relation to its meaning as possible. Such a desire is present in every linguistic community.,Onomatopoeic words may be subdivided into two kinds: primary onomatop

9、oeia and secondary onomatopoeia Primary onomatopoeia Primary onomatopoeia means the imitation of sound by sound. Here the sound is truly an “echo to the sense”: the reference itself is an acoustic experience which is more or less closely imitated by the phonetic structure of the word. The terms like

10、 crack, growl, hum, roar, squeak, squeal, whizz and a great many others fall into this category.,(2) Secondary onomatopoeia Secondary onomatopoeia means that certain sounds and sound-sequences are associated with certain senses in an expressive relationship. In this form, the sounds evoke, not an ac

11、oustic experience, but a movement (dither 发抖, dodder 蹒跚, quiver 颤抖, slink 潜逃, slither 滑动, slouch 懒散, squirm 蠕动, wriggle 扭动), or some physical or moral quality, usually unfavorable (gloom 阴沉, grumpy 暴躁, mawkish 厌恶, slimy 黏糊, sloppy溅湿, sloth 懒惰, wry wai 扭曲).,Some of these onomatopoeic words have certa

12、in elements in common; in Bloomfields words, there is “a system of initial and final root-forming morphemes, of vague significance”, with which the “intense, symbolic connotation” of such words is associated. For example, the sounds /sn/ may express three types of experiences: “breath-noise” (sniff,

13、 snuff, snore, snort), “quick separation or movement” (snip, snap, snatch), and “creeping” (snake, snail, sneak, snoop). Final groups have similar functions: -are suggests “big light or noise” as in blare, flare, glare, stare; -ump suggests “protuberance 隆起,结节” as in bump, chump, clump, dump and “he

14、avy fall” as in dump, crump, flump, pump, slump, thump.,Another interesting feature of onomatopoeia patterns is that they often work by vowel alteration. By substituting one vowel for another one can express different noises: snipsnap, sniffsnuff, flipflapflop. Akin to this tendency are reduplicated

15、 words and phrases like riff-raff, wishy-washy, tit for tat, tick-tock, click-clack. It should be noted that many onomatopoeic forms are based on alterations of not vowels but of initial consonants: higgledy-piggledy, helter-skelter, namby-pamby, roly-poly, etc. Fairly recent onomatopoeic formations

16、 are: hi-fi, walkie-talkie, heebie-jeebies, li-lo, flower-power, hokey-cokey, itsy-bitsy, swing-wing, etc.,2. Semantic motivation Semantic motivation refers to the mental association suggested by the conceptual meaning of a word. It explains the connection between the literal sense and figurative se

17、nse of the word. When we say the mouth of a river, we associate the opening part of the river with the mouth of a human being or an animal. When we speak of the foot of the mountain, we are comparing the lower part of the mountain to the foot of a human being.,In the sentence “He is fond of the bott

18、le”, bottle reminds one of what is contained inside; and pen and sword in “The pen is mightier than the sword” suggests “writing” and “ war” respectively. In the same way, when we say “a stony heart”, there is semantic motivation due to the fact that “heart” in question is closely associated with “s

19、tone”. ( “He has a stony heart.” means “He has a heart of stone.” The figurative meaning can be easily understood by those who know the literal meaning. Here it is the figurative usage that provides motivation.,(1) Metaphor Metaphor is a figure of speech containing an implied comparison, in which a

20、word or phrase ordinarily and primarily used of one thing is applied to another, as in “The curtain of night has fallen.” We know that words are used in two ways: literally and figuratively. When used literally, they have their natural and usual meaning. When used figuratively, they have a non-liter

21、al, suggestive meaning. In figures of speech words no longer retain their literal meaning, but used as symbols and images.,Take a sentence for example. “Imperialism is a paper tiger.” Here paper tiger is a metaphor. It is used in a figurative sense, not in its literal meaning. What is a metaphor? Ho

22、w does it differ from a simile? A simile is a figure of speech which makes a comparison between two unlike elements, having at least one point of resemblance in appearance, quality, action or effect. A simile makes a comparison, but is different from an ordinary comparison.,An ordinary comparison is

23、 a comparison between two like elements. “He looks like his brother” is an ordinary, literal comparison because he and his brother are both human beings. “He and his brother are as like as two peas” is a comparison between two unlike elements, that is, human beings and peas. So as like as two peas i

24、s simile. The simile may be expressed by the connecting words: like, as, asas, sometimes by the use of than, as if or as though. A metaphor is an important language device. It is closely related to the simile.,A metaphor, like a simile, also makes a comparison between two unlike elements, but unlike

25、 a simile, this comparison is implied rather than stated. In a simile the connecting words, such as like, as are used to make the comparison, e.g. “The world is like a stage.” In a metaphor the connecting words are not used, e.g. “The world is a stage.” “Life is but a walking shadow” (Fr. Shakespear

26、). (In the above sentence, life is called tenor, while walking shadow vehicle) It is therefore that a metaphor is in a sense of a condensed simile differing from the simile only in form and artistic skill.,There are three major groups of metaphors According to function and character. ( 1) Anthropomo

27、rphic metaphor (拟人隐喻） Many inanimate objects are compared to the parts of the body, e.g. the eye of a needle, the teeth of a comb, the foot of the wall, the head of a hammer, the heart of London (2) Animate metaphors（动物拟人） Another source of imagery is the animal kingdom. A great many inanimate objec

28、ts, including various instruments, machines, and parts of machines are called after animals. e.g.,cat-o-nine-tails-a whip of nine knotted cords fastened to a handle cat-ice-thin ice unsupported by water Another large of animal names can be transferred into words indicating persons. Here we have a fe

29、w: an ass-a stupid person, a pig-a dirty, greedy person, a lion-a famous and important person a black sheep-a person regarded with disfavor or shame in a group a dark horse-a person whose abilities are hidden or unknown a parrot-a person who repeats, often without understanding the words or action o

30、f another,3) Synaesthetic metaphors (联觉隐语） Synaesthetic metaphors are metaphors used to refer to a direct association between the form and the meaning of language. That is to say, this type of metaphor is based on the similarity of two things. warm or cold weather (literal meaning) warm or cold atti

31、tude (metaphoric use) More examples: loud colors, piercing wind, a stormy quarrel, a golden voice, grave news A number of nouns, adjectives, or verbs in English can be used as metaphors. The following examples will make this clear.,a ray of hope, a shadow of doubt, a stony heart, bitter enemy, Time

32、presses. He bridles his anger. 2. Metonymy Metonymy is a very common, useful and effective language device. It is also an important factor in the shift of meaning that involves substitution of the name of one thing for that of another closely associated with it. According to the different associatio

33、ns between names and senses metonymy can be classified as follows: (1) According to Names of persons: Uncle Sam-the United States government,(2) According to names of animals: the Bear-the former Soviet Union (3) According to names of parts of the body: foot-infantry, heart-feeling, head-mind (4) Ac

34、cording to names of professions: press-newspapers and magazines in general bench-the judges of the law court (5) According to locations of government, business: White House-the official house of the president of the United States Whitehall-the British government (6) According to giving abstract word

35、s a concrete,meaning: beauty-someone or something beautiful This picture is the pride of my collection. (7) According to the container for the thing contained: The kettle is boiling. (water in the kettle) He is fond of the bottle. ( alcohol or other intoxicating beverages (8) According to the materi

36、al for the thing made: copper-coin made of copper or bronze iron-a heavy object with a handle on top, which is heated and used for making clothing and cloth smooth Brevity is the virtue of metonymy. Many writers, especially journalists and news reporters use it,frequently. 3). Synecdoche Synecdoche

37、is a figure of speech that involves the substitution of the part for the whole or the whole for the part. e.g. There are five sails in the harbor. (part for the whole) The birds sang to welcome the smiling year. (the whole representing the part: The phrase smiling year indicates “spring”) Synecdoche

38、 may be classified into two kinds according to meaning. (1) The part for the whole: The teacher gave the students two pencils per head. We are no longer short of hands.,( 2) The whole for the part: Australia beat Canada in the cricket. 4). Analogy Analogy is a process whereby words are created in im

39、itation of other words. It is a special kind of word formation, that is, word-formation by analogy. There are two main groups of analogy according to word-structures. ( 1) New words created by using one-word structure (solid compounds, hyphenated compounds and word + combining forms):,airbag(1969)-f

40、rom handbag(1862), airtel(1960)-from hotel(1765) earthrise(1968)-from sunrise(15c.) e-commerce(1993)-from e-mail(1982) househusband(1955)-from housewife(13c.) moonquake(1946)-from earthquake(14c.) picturephone(1956)-from videophone(1950) snail mail (1983) or s-mail-from e-mail(1982),G-mail or g-mail

41、 created in 2004 that has not been entered in the dictionaries issued in the United States. Google, the worlds most popular Internet search engine, announced a free service which it believes will challenge other leading free e-mail service including Microsoft and Yahoo. Googles g-mail will have a st

42、orage capacity of up to eight bits. ( 2) New words coined by two-word structures (open compounds) From White Paper (1899) (an official report from the British government on a certain subject) English,gets new words by using an analogy between names of color, e.g. Green Paper (1967)-Br.E a government

43、 document that proposes and invites discussion on approaches to a problem Black Paper-Br.E an authoritative document that criticizes or censures an existing policy, practice, etc. Fourth World comes from Third World by analogy between names of numbers. 3. Logical motivation,Logical motivation deals

44、with the problems of defining a concept by means of logic. A definition has two forms. A common form of definition is “This means such and such.” “Fat” means “having much or superfluous flesh”. Another form, also common, is “This means the same as that” or “This is equivalent to that”; and a word or

45、 set of words is given that can be substituted for the original word. “Fat” means “the same as obese”. These two forms of the definition show that a definition has two parts: the definiendum (the word being defined), and the definiens (the definition that is being defined). In the above example, “fa

46、t” is the definiendum, and “having much or superfluous flesh” and “obese” are definiens.,Giving a definition involves two steps to be taken. One step is to identify the concept of a genus (a class of things made up of two or more subordinate classes or species ) that is closest to the concept of the

47、 definiendum. The other step is to identify the attributes distinguishing one species from other similar species in the same genus. A combination of these two approaches helps define a concept. In the 1950s, for example, there appeared a new crisis gripping the minds of part of the American youth wh

48、o felt disturbance and anxiety about their personality development and adjustment. This crisis is called an identity crisis. The word “crisis” is a genus, which consists of two or more species, such as spiritual crisis, economic crisis, political crisis. The expression “identity crisis” is used to d

49、istinguish itself from other crises.,Morphological motivation Compounds and derived words are multi-morphemic words and the meanings of many are the sum total of the morphemes combined. Quite often, if one knows the meaning of each morpheme, namely affix stem, one can figure out the meaning of the w

50、ord. For example, airmail means to “mail by air”, reading-lamp is the “lamp for reading”, miniskirt is a “small skirt” and hopeless means “without hope”. It should be pointed out that there are a lot of words whose structures are opaque, i.e. their meanings are not,the combinations of the separate p

51、arts. Black market, for example, is by no means the market black in color”, but it refers to “illegal selling and buying”. 5. Etymological motivation The meanings of many words often relates directly to their origins. In other words the history of the word explains the meaning of the word. For insta

52、nce, now people use pen for any writing tools. Though it originally denotes “feather”, because before modern pens were created, feathers were commonly used in writing, for the sake of convenience, the name is retained. All the words commonized from proper nouns can be interpreted in terms of their o

53、rigins.,6. Loss of motivation There may be two factors which lead to loss of motivation. One is a change in the morphological structure of a word. The parts of which a compound is made up may coalesce/kules/ to such a degree that it becomes an opaque, unanalysable unit. The English word “lord”, for

54、example, comes from the old English hlaford, earlier a perfectly transparent compound of half (loaf 面包) and weard (ward 保护人). The word “lord” originally meant “loaf-keeper”. The other factor that accounts for loss of motivation is change of meaning .,When the gap between original and transferred mea

55、ning becomes too wide, motivation is lost and two senses will be felt to belong to two separate words. There are many examples of this tendency: pupil in old English meant “ward” and “scholar” and “apple of the eye; collation meant “comparison” and “light repast (especially on the fast day 斋戒的点心)” ,

56、 etc.,To re-establish the link between the two senses of the last word, one requires some special information about its history; it is then found that passages from Cassians Collations（核对）Patrum used to be read before compline (the last church service of the day晚祷告) in Benedictine monasteries（a dwel

57、ling place for a community of persons, esp. monks, and readings were followed by a light meal which was called collation because of its chance connection with the book).,7. Motivation and cultural background Words that epitomizes (to be typical example of; sum up) cultural history are called cultura

58、lly-bound words or allusive words. A culturally-bound word condenses a fund of meanings into a short term. “Quixotic”, for example, is an epitome (/ipitEmi/) of a great book by Cervantes. The word derived from Don Quixote, the hero of the satirical romance, has come to mean “extravagantly chivalrous

59、 or romantically idealistic; visionary; impractical or impracticable”.,Another example is the Faustian spirit: that heaven-storming, adventurous thirst for the infinite which led Faust to sell his soul to the devil in return for universal knowledge and experience. The spiritual history not merely of a decade , but of a whole epoch may be summed up i