新編簡(jiǎn)明英語語言學(xué)教程 第二版 戴煒棟5 Semantics

1、Chapter 5 Semantics Semantics-the study of language meaning. What is meaning?- Scholars under different scientific backgrounds have different understandings of language meaning. Some views concerning the study of meaning Naming theory (Plato) （命名論） The conceptualist view （概念觀） Contextualism (Bloomfi

2、eld) （語境論） Behaviorism （行為主義）Naming theory (Plato) Words are names or labels for things. Limitations: 1) Applicable to nouns only. 2) There are nouns which denote things that do not exist in the real world, e.g. ghost, dragon, phoenix 3) There are nouns that do not refer to physical objects but abst

3、ract notions, e.g. joy, impulse, hatredThe conceptualist view The conceptualist view holds that there is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to (i.e. between language and the real world); rather, in the interpretation of meaning they are linked through the mediation（對(duì)概念的綜合理解及

4、分析） of concepts in the mind. Ogden:gdn and Richards: semantic triangleSymbol/form:words/phrases/sentencesReferent（指示物）（指示物）: object in the world of experienceThought/reference(所指所指):concepts in mindThe symbol or a word signifies things by virtue of（依靠） the concept associated with the form of the wor

5、d in the minds of the speaker; and the concept looked at from this point of view is the meaning of the word. The contextualism （語境理論）（語境理論） Meaning should be studied in terms of situation, use, contextelements closely linked with language behavior. Two types of contexts are recognized: Situational c

6、ontext: spatiotemporal（時(shí)空的） situation. Linguistic context: the probability of a words co-occurrence or collocation. For example, “black” in black hair & black sheep（害群之馬） differs in meaning; “the president of the United States” can mean either the president or presidency in different situation.B

7、ehaviorism Behaviorists attempted to define meaning as “the situation in which the speaker utters it and the response it calls forth（引出）in the hearer”. The story of Jack and Jill: Jill Jack S_r-s_R(physical stimulus) (verbal response) (verbal stimulus) (non-verbal response)(wants the apple) (speaks

8、to Jack) (hears) (gives Jill) Lexical meaning Sense and reference are both concerned with the study of word meaning. They are two related but different aspects of meaning. Sense(意義) reference(語義) nSense- is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form. It is the collection of all the f

9、eatures of the linguistic form; it is abstract and de-contextualized. It is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are interested in. For example, the word “dog”is given the definition “a domesticated(馴化的) canine （犬牙）mammal, occurring in many breeds(一胎多仔） that show a great variety in size and fo

10、rm”. This doesnt refer to any particular dog that exist in the real world,but applies to any animal that meets the features described in the definition. So this is the sense of the word “dog”.nReference-what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with the relationship betw

11、een the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience. If we say “The dog is barking”, we must be talking about a certain dog existent in the situation; the word “dog” refers to a dog known to both the speaker and the hearer. This is the reference of the word “dog” in this particular

12、 situation.Note Linguistic forms having the same sense may have different references in different situations; on the other hand, there are also occasions, when linguistic forms with the same reference might differ in sense, e.g. the morning star and the evening star, rising sun in the morning and th

13、e sunset at dusk. *Venus 金星 在西邊時(shí)是evening star 長(zhǎng)庚星 在東邊時(shí)是morning star 啟明星Major sense relationsnSynonymy snnm (同義現(xiàn)象)n Antonymy nt,nmi （反義現(xiàn)象）nPolysemy pl,sim （多義現(xiàn)象）n Homonymy homnm （同音/形異義現(xiàn)象）nHyponymy haipnimi （下義關(guān)系）Synonymysnnm Synonymy refers to the sameness or close similarity of meaning. Words that

14、are close in meaning are called synonyms. 1) Dialectal synonymssn,nm - synonyms used in different regional dialects, e.g. autumn - fall, biscuit - cracker, petrol gasoline 2) Stylistic synonyms-synonyms differing in style, e.g. kid, child, offspring; start, begin, commence;3) Synonyms that differ in

15、 their emotive or evaluative meaning, e.g.collaborator（合作者）accomplice（幫兇）,4) Collocational（搭配的） synonyms, e.g. accuseof（控告）, chargewith, rebuke（ 譴責(zé)）for; 5) Semantically different synonyms, e.g. amaze（suggesting confusing and bewilderment）, astound (suggesting difficulty in believing),Antonymy nt,nm

16、nGradable （分級(jí)）antonyms-there are often intermediate forms between the two members of a pair, e.g. old-young, hot-cold, tall-short, nComplementary （互補(bǔ)）antonyms-the denial of one member of the pair implies the assertion of the other, e.g. alive-dead, male-female, nRelational （關(guān)系）opposites-exhibits the

17、 reversal of the relationship between the two items, e.g. husband-wife, father-son, doctor-patient, buy-sell, let-rent, employer-employee, give-receive, above-below, Polysemy pl,sim nPolysemy-the same one word may have more than one meaning, e.g. “table” may mean:A piece of furniture （餐桌）All the peo

18、ple seated at a table（坐同一桌的人）The food that is put on a table （餐食，伙食）A thin flat piece of stone, metal, wood, etc.（板）Orderly arrangement of facts, figures, etc.（表格） Homonymy homnm Homonymy- the phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form, e.g. different words are identical in s

19、ound or spelling, or in both. Homophone （同音詞）- when two words are identical in sound, e.g. rain-reign, night/knight, Homogragh（同形詞） - when two words are identical in spelling, e.g. tear(n.)-tear(v.), lead(n.)-lead(v.), Complete homonym（同音/形詞）- when two words are identical in both sound and spelling,

20、 e.g. means,ball, bank, watch, scale, fast, Note: A polymeric （聚合的）word is the result of the evolution of the primary meaning of the word (the etymology（語源學(xué)）of the word) e.g. table; while complete homonyms are often brought into being by coincidence（巧合）, e.g. ball（球） - ball （舞會(huì)）. * Ambiguity & P

21、unning Ambiguity refers to expressions having more than one meaning which occur without any special intention. Punning is to play on words for a witty or humorous effect by using homonyms(同音同形異義詞), homophones(同音異形異義詞) or Polysems（多義詞）. Ambiguity1. The students complained to everyone that they couldn

22、t understand.2. The dog is too hot to eat.3. Flying planes can be dangerous.4. The fat managers wife is fond of shopping5. He did not leave home because he was afraid of his wife.1. The students complained to everyone that they couldnt understand.a. 學(xué)生向所有人抱怨他們無法理解b.學(xué)生向所有無法理解的人抱怨 2. The dog is too ho

23、t to eat.a. 狗熱到吃不下東西.b. 狗肉太熱讓人沒辦法吃3. Flying planes can be dangerous.a. 正在飛的飛機(jī)很危險(xiǎn)b. 飛飛機(jī)會(huì)很危險(xiǎn)（開飛機(jī)或飛紙飛機(jī)）4. The fat managers wife is fond of shoppinga. 那個(gè)胖經(jīng)理的妻子愛購(gòu)物（經(jīng)理胖）b. 那個(gè)胖胖的經(jīng)理夫人愛購(gòu)物（經(jīng)理夫人胖）5. He did not leave home because he was afraid of his wife.a. 他不是因?yàn)榕孪眿D兒才離開的家b. 他因?yàn)榕孪眿D兒，不敢離開家1.這份報(bào)告，我寫不好。a.這份報(bào)告，我沒能力

24、寫好。b.這份報(bào)告，我來寫不適合。2.大家對(duì)護(hù)林員揭發(fā)林業(yè)局帶頭偷運(yùn)木料的問題，普遍感到非常氣憤。a.大家對(duì)護(hù)林員揭發(fā)感到非常氣憤。b.大家對(duì)林業(yè)局帶頭偷運(yùn)木料普遍感到非常氣憤。3.無魚肉亦可無雞鴨亦可唯青菜蘿卜不可少不得一分工錢。 無魚，肉亦可；無雞，鴨亦可；唯青菜蘿卜不可。少不得一分工錢。 無魚肉亦可，無雞鴨亦可，唯青菜蘿卜不可少。不得一分工錢。 Punning 1. It was lunchtime and the only officer on duty was a fortyish black man with short, pressed hair, a pencil mustac

25、he and a neatly pressed brown suit. Everything about him suggested a carefully dressed authority. (B1 L4 The Boy and the Bank Officer)-to dress: 1) to put on clothes; 2) to make up (做頭發(fā)、梳理);2. Ben Battle was a warrior bold, And used to wars alarms: But a Cannon-ball took off his legs, So he laid dow

26、n his arms. (part of the body; weapon) (the use of homonyms) (Thomas Hood Faithless Nelly Grey) 3. We have courses to make grown men young and young men groan. (the use of homophones) 4. Reds black white-collar goods. (the use of Polysems) 1. 寶釵笑道：“原來這叫負(fù)荊請(qǐng)罪！你們通今博古，才知道負(fù)荊請(qǐng)罪，我不知什么叫負(fù)荊請(qǐng)罪。” 紅樓夢(mèng) 2. 不寫情詞不寫詩(shī)

27、，一方素帕記心知；心知接到顛倒看，橫也絲來豎也絲。這般心事有誰知？ 素帕 Hyponymy haipnimi （下義關(guān)系）（下義關(guān)系） Hyponymy-the sense relation between a more general, more inclusive word and a more specific word. Superordinate（上坐標(biāo)詞）: the word which is more general in meaning. Hyponyms: the word which is more specific in meaning. Co-hyponyms: hyp

28、onyms of the same superordinate.HyponymynSuperordinate: flowernHyponyms: rose, tulip, lily, chrysanthemum（菊花）, peony（牡丹花）, narcissus（水仙花）, nSuperordinate: furniturenHyponyms: bed, table, desk, dresser（梳妝臺(tái)）, wardrobe（衣櫥）, sofa, Sense relations between sentences (1) X is synonymous （近似）with Y (2) X is

29、 inconsistent （不一致）with Y (3) X entails Y（包含） (4) X presupposes Y（預(yù)示） (5) X is a contradiction（矛盾） (6) X is semantically anomalous nmls （反常的）X is synonymous with Y X: He was a bachelor all his life. Y: He never got married all his life. X: The boy killed the cat. Y: The cat was killed by the boy. If

30、 X is true, Y is true; if X is false, Y is false.X is inconsistent with Y X: He is single. Y: He has a wife. X: This is my first visit to Beijing. Y: I have been to Beijing twice. If X is true, Y is false; if X is false, Y is true.X entails Y X: John married a blond heiress. Y: John married a blond.

31、 X: Marry has been to Beijing. Y: Marry has been to China. Entailment is a relation of inclusion. If X entails Y, then the meaning of X is included in Y. If X is true, Y is necessarily true; if X is false, Y may be true or false.X presupposes Y X: His bike needs repairing. Y: He has a bike. Paul has

32、 given up smoking. Paul once smoked. If X is true, Y must be true; If X is false, Y is still true.X is a contradiction *My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor. *The orphans parents are pretty well-off.X is semantically anomalous *The man is pregnant. *The table has bad intentions. *Sincerity s

33、hakes hands with the black apple.Analysis of meaning Componential analysis （成分分析） Predication analysis （述謂結(jié)構(gòu)分析）Componential analysis Componential analysis- a way to analyze lexical meaning. The approach is based on the belief that the meaning of a word can be dissected(切開,分析) into meaning components

34、, called semantic features. For example, Man: +HUMAN, +ADULT, +ANIMATE有生命的 , +MALE Boy: +HUMAN, -ADULT, +ANIMATE, +MALE Woman: +HUMAN, +ADULT, +ANIMATE, -MALE Girl: +HUMAN, -ADULT, +ANIMATE, -MALEPredication analysis 1) The meaning of a sentence is not to be worked out by adding up all the meanings

35、of its component words, e.g. The dog bites the man. The man bites the dog. *semantically different while components exactly the same. 2) There are two aspects to sentence meaning: grammatical meaning and semantic meaning, e.g. Green clouds are sleeping furiously. Sincerity shook hands with the black apple. * Whether a sentence is semantically meaningful is g