(词汇学)Word Meaning（课堂PPT）

Ⅱ.WordMeaning(Ⅰ).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 关于同志近三年现实表现材料材料类招标技术评分表图表与交易pdf视力表打印pdf用图表说话 pdf 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”.(Ⅱ).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.(Ⅲ).MainTypesofWordMeaningWordmeaningismadeupofvariouscomponentswhichareinterrelatedandinterdependent.Thesecomponentsarecommonlydescribedastypesofmeaning.Twomaintypesofwordmeaningaregrammaticalandlexical.1.Grammaticalmeaning:(1).word-class:modern(adj)→modernize(v)→modernization(n)(Howtousethem?)(2).Inlfectionalparadign:（词形变化）cat→catswrite→writes→wrote→written→writing2.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mother→love,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:①thesocialrelationshipbetweenthespeakers;②theoccasion;③thesubjectmatter;④themodeofspeech;etc.eg:What’syourage?（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:slender—skinny,statesman—politician,famous—notoriousproud—arrogant（褒义）（贬义）(Ⅳ).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.Polysemyisalsoanessentialfeatureofalanguage’seconomyandefficiency.JustimaginewhataheavyburdenitwouldbeonourmemoryifithadnotbeenforPolysemy.(2).ApproachesorprocessesleadingtoPolysemy:a.originalmeaning—extendedmeaningpen（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.generalmeaning—specificmeaninglight（光）→（灯）：turnonthelightgas（气体）→（煤气）：turnonthegasfire（火）→（客厅里的炉火）c.abstractmeaning—concretemeaningbeauty:Beautyisbutskindeep.美只是外表罢了。Intheeyesofthelover,hisbelovedisabeauty.success:Hardworkleadstosuccess.Heisagreatsuccess.failure:（同success）d.concretemeaning—abstractmeaninghead: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.literalmeaning—figurativemeaninggardener（园丁）→（教师）beast（野兽）→（凶残的人）flaw（裂缝）→（缺点）cool（凉的）→（冷淡的）Achilles’heel（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 小学生如何制作手抄报课件柳垭小学关于三违自查自纠报告小学英语获奖优质说课课件小学足球课教案全集小学语文新课程标准测试题 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:lead〔li:d〕v.领导lead〔led〕n.铅tear〔tiэ〕n.眼泪tear〔tεз〕v.撕开minute〔′minit〕n.分钟minute〔mai′nju:t〕adj.微小的(Ⅴ).SenseRelationsbetweenWordsWordsmaybeclassifiedaccordingtotherelationshipsbetweentheirsenses.Hence,wewillgiveabriefaccountofthesemanticrelationsofsimilarity(synonymy),oppositeness(antonymy),andinclusion(hyponymy).1.Synonymy（同义）(1).Definition:Synonyms（同义词）aretraditionallydefinedaswordsdifferinginsoundformbutidenticalorsimilarinmeaning.Synonymsarebasedonthedenotativemeaning.Ineverysynonymousgroupacommondenotativecomponentbringsthewordstogether.SuchanagreementindenotationisthemostimportantcriterionofSynonymy.eg:head—chief—boss—leader（同义，但不是同义词）statesman—politician（褒义）（贬义）adult—grown-up（正式）（口语）chap（英口）—fellow（美口）—guy（美俚）eg:head—chief—boss—leader（同义，但不是同义词）statesman—politician（褒义）（贬义）adult—grown-up（正式）（口语）chap（英口）—fellow（美口）—guy（美俚）(2)．KindsofSynonymsa.completesynonyms:word-formation—word-buildingspirant—fricative（摩擦音）malnutrition—undernourishmentb.relativesynonyms:Degree:small—tiny—minute—microscopicanger—rage—fury—indignationEffective:small—littleasmallboy＝alittleboy但：Poorlittleboy!√Poorsmallboy!×Shade:refuse—decline—rejectrefusesb(sb’srequest),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:living—alivesleeping—asleep(3).SourcesofSynonymsTheEnglishlanguageisnotedforitswealthofSynonyms.“TherichnessofEnglishinSynonymsislargelyduetothehappyminglingofLatin,Frenchandnativeelements.”NativeLatinfriendshipamityhelpaidhideconcealtotiretofatigueNativeFrenchLatinaskquestioninterrogatefireflameconflagrationrisemountascendtimeageepoch(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）rich—poorheavy—lightdeep—shallow（以上形容词是gradable:rich→richer→richest）fool—wiseman(n)love—hate(v)up—down(adv)(b)Complementaries（互补反义词）alive—deadsingle—marriedpresent—absentmale—femaleright—left（以上形容词是nongradable:没有比较级和最高级）(c)Conversives（换位反义词）lend—borrowtake—bringimmigrate—emigratehusband—wifeemployer—employeehire—firehost—guestb.morphologicalstructure:(a)RootAntonyms（词根反义词）：shallow—deeplove—hateup—down以上a部分谈到的全部属于此种。(b)DerivationalAntonyms（派生反义词）：happy—unhappylike—unlike(dislike)harmful—harmlessadvantage—disadvantage(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:opensecretendlessminuteacleverfoolcruelkindnessanhonestlielivingdeath3.Hyponymy（上下义关系）(1).DefinitionofHyponymy:Hyponymyistherelationshipwhichobtainsbetweenspecificandgenerallexicalitems,suchthattheformerisincludedinthelatter.(2).Examples:color∣∣---------∣--------∣---------∣---------∣--------∣-------∣RedblackwhiteyellowbrowngreyblueFoodmeatvegetablefruitbeefporkmuttoncabbagecarrotspinachappleorangebanana(3).SignificanceofHyponymya.Usuallygeneraltermssufficeourpurpose.eg:Wewenttherelastyear.（模糊语言）(Itisclearenoughtotellsomeonewherewewent.Wedonothavetodescribehowwegotthere.)b.Specifictermscanbeusefullyemployedtomakeone’sspeechorwritingmorevividandprecise.(Ⅵ).ChangesintheWordMeaningWhenawordlosesitsoldmeaningandcomestorefertosomethingaltogetherdifferent,theresultisachangeofwordmeaning.“…Changesofmeaningisacommonplace,andindeeditwouldappeartobefundamentalinlivinglanguage.…almosteverywordweusetodayhasaslightlydifferentmeaningfromtheoneithadacenturyago:andacenturyagoithadaslightlydifferentmeaningfromtheoneithadacenturybeforethat.”Someaningsofwordsarechanging.Why?Fivereasonsarenoticeable:Historicalcause;Socialcause;Foreigninfluence;PsychologicalcauseLinguisticcause;Meaningsofwordstendtochange.Herewe’lltalkaboutthefourtendenciesinsemanticchange:1.Restrictionofmeaning(specialization)(1).Definition:Restrictionofmeaningmeansthatawordofwidemeaningacquiresanarrower,specializedsensewhichisapplicabletoonlyoneoftheobjectsithadpreviouslydenoted.(2).TypesofRestriction:a.general→specificbusiness:allthings→commercewife:woman→marriedwomancorpse:body→deadbodyb.abstract→concreteroom:space→aroombeauty:nature→abeautysuccess:quality→asuccessfailure:quality→afailurec.commonnames→propernamesstate→theStatescontinent→theContinentcongress→theCongresschina→Chinasedan→Sedand.commonterms→technicaltermsmemory: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:Extensionofmeaningmeansthewideningofaword’ssenseuntilitcoversmuchmorethanwhatitoriginallyconveyed.Restrictionisfarmorefrequentthanextension.(2).Typesofextension:a.specific→generalholiday:(religious)holyday→dayoffestivityorrecreationpipe:musicalinstrument→anythinglikethatsalary:salt→paymentjournal:daily→anymagazineb.concrete→abstractthing:place:c.propernames→commonnamesnewton,wat,sandwich,Shylock,LeiFeng,bible,jack,smithd.technicalterms→commontermsbudget:（经济）预算→ 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，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)housework→workWordmeaningischangingeveryday.Forsomewords,oldmeaningsaredyingwithnewmeaningscomingup.Forothersoldmeaningsandnewmeaningsarebothinexistence.(Ⅶ).FigurativeMeaningofWordsCommonwordsarewordsconnectedwiththeordinarythingsoractivitiesnecessarytoeverydaylife.ThegreatmajorityofEnglishwordsarecommonwords.Theyarestylisticallyneutral,butifweusethosewordsfiguratively,wecanachievemanykindsofrhetoricaleffect.Hereinthefollowingwe’lltalkaboutsomefiguresofspeechformedbycommonwords.1.SimileSimileisafigureofspeechwhichmakesacomparisonbetweentwounlikeelementshavingatleastonequalityorcharacteristicincommon.Thecomparisonispurelyimaginative,thatis,theresemblancebetweenthetwounlikethingsinthatoneparticularaspectexistsonlyinourminds,inour“inwardeye”andnotinthenatureofthethingsthemselves.Tomakethecomparison,wordssuchas“like”or“as”areusedtotransferthequalityweassociatewithonetotheother,e.g.(1).MyheartislikeasingingbirdWhosenestisinawater’dshoot;Myheartislikeanapple-treeWhoseboughsarebentwiththick-setfruit…….(2).Mybrainwasaspowerfulasadynamo,aspreciseasachemist’sscales,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).Alltheworld’sastage,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）.Thesubstitutionof“acontainer”for“contents”:Themancannotlivewithoutbottles.(8).eye:眼睛→鉴赏力Hehasaneyeforart.ear:耳朵→灵听觉Shehasanearformusic.tongue:舌头→语言Hehasasilvertongue.（他有流利的口才）head:头→头脑(Useyourhead,andyou’llfindaway.)heart:心脏→信心Don’tloseheart!iron:铁→熨斗firstviolin:第一小提琴→第一小提琴手dish:盘子→饭菜sword:剑→武力thesceptre:（君主的）节杖→统治权4.PersonificationBydefinition,personificationisafigureofspeechinwhichinanimateobjects,abstractionsandeventsarecomparedtohumanbeings,andhumanqualitiesandabilitiesareattributedtothem.Itisoftenemployedinliteraryworks,especiallyinpoetry.Itsfunctionsare:①togiveprofounddescriptionsofthingsandtoexpressfeelingscompletely;②toleaveadeepandvividimpressionontheaudienceandreadersbybouncingafar-and-wideechointheirheartsandsouls.eg.(1).Thehouseswerecold,closed,unfriendly.(2).Moneytalks.(3).Loveisblind.(4).Moonlightsawtheyoungcoupletalkingsweetlybythelake.5.EuphemismEuphemismisdefinedas“substitutionofmildorvagueorround-aboutexpressionforharshordirectone;expressionthussubstituted”.(1).Theyoungladyisplump.(fat)(2).Yourgrammarisnotparticularlygood.(3).Wefoundhimgonetosleep---butforever.(4).die→gotosleep;gohome;gowest;gotoheaven;begone;jointhemajority;paythedebtofnature;kickthebucket;(5).Thegirlisplain.(ugly)原词语词义委婉语prostitute妓女lady,girl,mistressugly丑的plain,homelypregnant怀孕的inthefamilyway,expectinggarbagecollector垃圾工sanitationengineerservant佣人domesticengineerhairdresser理发师beauticianthepoor穷人thedisadvantaged,theunderprivilegedoldpeople老人seniorcitizens,maturepeoplewar战争conflictstupid笨slow-learnerplumber管道工pipeengineerstrike罢工industrialactionMen’slavatory男厕所Gent’sAIDS爱滋病socialdisease6.HyperboleHyperboleisafigureofspeechwhichdeliberatelyexaggeratesthetruthtoachieveemphasis.Itisoftenusedtoexpressone’sstrongfeelingsorviolentemotionsbyremarkableimaginationandextravagancefortheeffectofstrongimpression,humor,sarcasm,irony,etc.ratherthantostateafactinitsrightperspective,eg.(1).Ihaveahundredandonethingstodo.(2).I’mtiredtodeath.(3).I’dgiveworldstoseeyou.(4).Icouldseeaseaoffaces.