语言学第五章Semantics

Chapter Five SemanticsTeaching Focus▪1. What is semantics?▪2. Meanings of “meaning”▪3. Sense and reference▪4. Sense relations▪5. Componential analysis --- a way to analyze lexical meaning▪6. Predication analysis --- a way to analyze sentence meaning1. What is semantics?▪Semantics is the study of meaning in language.▪Or specifically, it is the study of the meaning of linguistic units, words and sentences in particular.✦Different focus of the study in semantics:▪Logical semantics/philosophical semantics: Logicians and philosophers have tended to concentrate on a restricted range of sentences (typically, statements, or …propositions‟) within a single language.▪Linguistic semantics: The linguistic approach is broader in scope, aiming to study the properties of meaning in a systematic and objective way, with reference to as wide a range of utterances and languages as possible.2. Meanings of “Meaning”▪The word “meaning” has different meanings.▪It has been studied for thousands of years by philosophers, logicians and linguists.✦The naming theory: Plato & Aristotle✦Words are just names or labels for things.✦Can you show the limitations of this theory?▪The semantic triangle: C. K. Ogden & I. A. Richards (1923) → The Meaning of Meaning.▪There is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to. In the interpretation of meaning they are linked through the mediation of concepts in the mind. ▪thought/reference (concept)symbolizes refers tosymbol/form referent(word, phrase) stands for(object)▪Geoffrey Leech (1974, 1981). Semantics: The Study of Meaning. Seven types of meaning:✦Conceptual meaning✦Connotative meaning✦Social meaning✦Affective meaning associative meaning✦Reflected and meaning✦Collocative meaning✦Thematic meaning(1) Conceptual meaning▪It makes the central part of meaning.✦Refers to logical, cognitive or denotative content.✦Concerned with the relationship between a word and the thing it denotes, or refers to.(2) Connotative meaning▪The communicative value an expression has by virtue of what it refers to, over and above its purely conceptual content.✦A multitude of additional, non-criterial properties, including not only physical characteristics but also psychological and social properties, as well as typical features. ▪Involving the …real world‟ experience one associates with an expression when one uses or hears it.✦Unstable: they vary considerably according to culture, historical period, and the experience of the individual.▪Any characteristic of the referent, identified subjectively or objectively, may contribute to the connotative meaning of the expression which denotes it.(3) Social meaning▪What a piece of language conveys about the social circumstances of its use.✦Dialect: the language of a geographical region or of a social class.✦Time: the language of the 18th c., etc.✦Province: language of law, of science, of advertising, etc.✦Status: polite, colloquial, slang, etc.✦Modality: language of memoranda, lectures, jokes, etc.✦Singularity: the style of Dickens, etc.▪domicile: very formal, official steed: poetic▪residence: formal horse: general▪abode: poetic nag: slang▪home: general gee-gee: baby language (4) Affective meaning▪Reflecting the personal feelings of the speaker, including his attitude to the listener, or his attitude to something he is talking about.✦You‟re a vicious tyrant and a villainous reprobate, and I hate you for it!✦I‟m terribly sorry to interrupt, but I wonder if you would be so kind as to lower your voices a little. or✦Will you belt up.(5) Reflected meaning▪Arises in cases of multiple conceptual meaning, when one sense of a word forms part of our response to another sense.✦When you hear …click the mouse twice‟, you think of Gerry being hit twice by Tom so you feel excited.▪Many taboo terms are result of this.(6) Collocative meaning▪The associations a word acquires on account of the meanings of words which tend to occur in its environment.✦pretty: girl, boy, woman, flower, garden, colour, village, etc.✦handsome: boy, man, car, vessel, overcoat, airliner, typewriter, etc.(7) Thematic meaning▪What is communicated by the way in which a speaker or writer organizes the message, in terms of ordering, focus, and emphasis.✦Mrs Bessie Smith donated the first prize.✦The first prize was donated by Mrs Bessie Smith.✦They stopped at the end of the corridor.✦At the end of the corridor, they stopped.3. Sense and reference▪Sense and reference are two terms often encountered in the study of word meaning. They are two related but different aspects of meaning.✦Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form. It is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form; it is abstract and de-contextualized. It is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are interested in.✦Reference means what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience.▪Every word has a sense, but not every word has a reference.✦Grammatical words like but, if ,and do not refer to anything. And words like God, ghost and dragon refer to imaginary things.▪Therefore it is suggested that we should study meaning in terms of sense rather than reference.4. Sense relations▪Synonymygradable▪Antonymy complementaryconverse▪Hyponymy▪Polysemy4.1 Synonymy▪Synonymy refers to the sameness or close similarity of meaning. Words that are close in meaning are called synonyms.▪Complete synonyms are rare. According to the way they differ, synonyms can be divided into the following groups:▪i. Dialectal synonyms --- used in different regional dialects✦British English American English✦autumn fall✦lift elevator✦flat apartment✦tube underground▪ii. Stylistic synonyms --- differing in style✦kid, child, offspring✦kick the bucket, pop off, die, pass away, decease▪iii. Synonyms that differ in their emotive or evaluative meaning✦collaborator, accomplice▪iv. Collocational synonyms✦accuse, charge▪v. Semantically different synonyms✦surprise, amaze, astound4.2 Antonymy▪The term antonymy is used for oppositeness of meaning. Words that are opposite in meaning are antonyms.▪There are three types of antonyms.▪i. Gradable: Can be modified by adverbs of degree like very; Can have comparative forms; Can be asked with how.✦good, bad✦young, old✦hot, cold▪ii. Complementary: the denial of one member of the pair implies the assertion of the other.✦alive, dead✦male, female✦present, absent▪iii. Converse or relational: exhibit the reversal of a relationship between the pair; one presupposes the other.✦husband, wife✦buy, sell✦before, after4.3 Hyponymy▪Hyponymy refers to the sense relation between a more general word and a more specific word. It is a kind of inclusiveness.▪Superordinate: the more general word▪Hyponyms: the more specific words▪Co-hyponyms: hyponyms of the same superordinate✦flower, rose, lily✦animal, cat, dog✦furniture, bed, desk4.4 Polysemy▪Polysemy refers to the sense relation that the same one word has more than one meaning. Such a word is called a polysemic word.✦table: a piece of furniture; orderly arrangement of facts, figures5. Componential analysis---a way to analyze lexical meaning▪Componential analysis is a way proposed by the structural semanticists to analyze word meaning.▪The approach is based upon the belief that the meaning of a word can be dissected into meaning components, called semantic features.▪HUMAN✦man (ADULT, MALE)✦woman (ADULT, FEMALE)✦boy (NON-ADULT, MALE)✦girl (NON-ADULT, FEMALE)▪father: PARENT (x, y) & MALE (x)✦x is a parent of y, and x is male.▪take: CAUSE (x, (HA VE (x, y)))✦x causes x to have y.▪give: CAUSE (x, (~HA VE (x, y)))✦x causes x not to have y.▪Componential analysis provides an insight into the meaning of words and a way to study the relationships between words that are related in meaning.6. Predication analysis --- a way to analyze sentence meaning▪The meaning of a sentence is obviously related to the meanings of the words used in it, but it is also obvious that sentence meaning is not simply the sum total of the words.▪Predication analysis: proposed by the British linguist G. Leech▪The basic unit in this method is called prediction. It is the abstraction of the meaning of a sentence.▪A predication consists of argument(s) and predicate.✦An argument is logical participant in a predication, largely identical with the nominal element(s) in a sentence.✦A predicate is something said about an argument or it states the logical relation linking the arguments in a sentence.▪Tom smokes.▪Tom is smoking.▪Tom has been smoking. TOM (SMOKE)▪Does Tom smoking?▪Tom does not smoke. argument predicate▪Kids like apples. → KID, APPLE (LIKE)▪It is hot. → (BE HOT)Assignments▪How can words opposite in meaning be classified? To which category does each of the following pairs of antonyms belong?▪north/south vacant/occupied▪literate/illiterate above/below▪doctor/patient wide/narrow▪poor/rich father/daughter▪honest/dishonest normal/abnormalExercises▪I. Multiple choice.▪1. The naming theory seems applicable to ___ only.▪A. verbs B. adjectives C. adverbs D. nouns▪2. Hyponyms of the superordinate “flower” do not include “___”.▪A. wardrobe B. tulip C. lily D. rose▪3. Predication analysis is a way to analyze ___ meaning.▪A. phoneme B. word C. phrase D. sentence▪II. Make judgments (true or false)▪1. In the diagram of the classic semantic triangle, the word “symbol” refers to the object in the world of experience.▪2. When the same one word has more than one meaning we call it a polysemic word. ▪3. Complete synonyms, i.e. synonyms that are mutually substitutable under all circumstances, are rare in English.。