英语词汇学--词义的变化

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词义的变化

(2)联想意义/关联意义associative meaning 词的关联意义又叫联想意义，是词的附带意义，包括词的感情色彩，文体意义等，这种意义不稳定，变化大。 Woman一词，让我们联想到“妈妈”， “养儿育女”，“温柔”，“持家”“脆弱”。
词的关联意义可分为: 内涵意义 connotative meaning 社会意义 social meaning 情感意义 affective meaning 反映意义 reflected meaning 搭配意义 collocated meaning
小结 1.概念意义 2.内涵意义 3.社会意义 4.情感意义 5.反映意义
6.搭配意义
7.主题意义
逻辑、认知或外延的内容通过语言所指事物来传递的意义关于语言运用的社会环境意义关于言者/作者的感情和态度意义通过同一个词语的另一意义的联想来传递的意义。通过与倾向于出现在另一个词的环境中出现的词的联想来传递的意义通过组织信息的方式（语序、强调）所传递的意义。
词义变化的基础

词义的变化（change of meaning）指的是词义的改变和新义的产生。由于有的事物之间在功能、形状、动作等特征方面存在着某些相似之处，词可从一种事物、现象、行为的名称转指另一种事物、现象、行为的名称，如隐喻、借代、提喻等。这是词义的改变和新义产生的基础。
I.词义的组成 (语法意义和词汇意义)
Hale Waihona Puke (2.2)社会意义social meaning 指关于语言运用的社会环境的意义，主要代表是 “文体/风格”意义stylistic meaning. 一类词的概念意义相同,风格意义不一定相同. 如： a. horse 一般用语, steed 诗歌用语, nag 俚语, geegee 儿语 b. father 中性, male parent 书卷气，专业术语, daddy 口语，儿语

第9章词义演变的原因和过程-词义演变的原因

(一)、社会原因
社会发展与词义变化 2) 专门术语和普通词汇之间经常交叉使用，也使词义发生了演变 Salt：食盐；(化)盐，盐类 Appendix：附录；(生理)阑尾
1.
Scene(戏剧)一场，一景；场景，布景；场
面，场所
(一)、社会原因
社会环境与词义变化社会上发生的事件往往会使词的意义发生变化： Abdication：退位可以特指英王爱德华八世1936年为能与沃利斯· 辛普森夫人结婚而正式放弃王位 Accession Day：登基日现在英国特指 1952.2.6伊丽莎白二世登基之日

(一)、社会原因
种族情绪与词义变化正式场合，又创造了Afro-Americans和 African Americans来称呼黑人 Native Americans是对印第安人(Indians) 的称呼 Mexican American是对墨西哥人 (Mexicans)的称呼
5.
3.
(一)、社会原因
民族情绪与词义变化民族之间的感情也会影响词义的褒贬因此，英语中一些坏事前面往往加上其他民族的名称。如：take French leave不辞而别 Italian hand干涉、干预、狡诈 Spanish athlete胡说八道，吹牛 Irish bull荒诞可笑的说法
7.
(一)、社会原因
6.
(一)、社会原因
6.
性别差异与词义变化

本来是“像家里一样的、善主家务的”，所以，在英国英语里，You are the homeliest woman I have ever met.是对女主人的夸奖。但在美国英语里，homely 是“相貌平平的” 意思，词义降格了。

英语词汇学--词义的变化

Narcissus 水仙花
Munchausen
说大话的人
He was a German s o l d i e r. A f t e r h i s retirement from his service in the Russian Army against the Turks, he told exaggerated stories of his c a m p a i g n i n g adventures,thus the meaning:a person who boasts;exaggerated .
Sandwich: It now denotes a popular fast food. It originates from John Montague, Fourth earl of Sandwich in 18th -century England. He was so fond of gambling that he often forgot his meals. He often ordered slices of bread with thick pieces of roast beef stuffed between them be brought to him so he could eat while playing. Later, people used his name to refer to all similar food.
专有名词普通化与特定的历史事件有关： “Watergate”源指美国华盛顿特区综合大厦。1972年6月17日夜间，共和党争取总统连任委员会有关人员潜入大厦内民主党全国委员会总部而被捕，暴露了共和党政府在总统竞选中的非法活动，导致美国历史上首次总统辞职，现泛指“丑闻”。

英语词汇学论文---词义的变化

英语词汇学论文---词义的变化The Causes of Changes in Word Meaning Abstract:Key words: historical; social; psychological; linguistic; semanticDo you know when Juliet tells Romeo, “I am too fond”, she is not claiming she likes Romeo too much? She means “I am too foolish” Do you know when Horatio says to Hamlet, “Season your admiration for a while…”, he is not telling Hamlet “to increase his respect( the current meaning of admiration) for something”?In fact, he means “ to moderate his astonishment.”Don?t be surprised, because, as Quirk asserts, almost every word we use today has slightly different meaning from the one is had a century ago; and a century ago it had a slight different meaning from the one it had a century before that. When a word loses its old meaning and comes to refer to something altogether different, the result is a change of word meaning.As nonnative English learners, learning the causes of changes in word meaning can help us deepen the understanding of the meaning of lexicology, vocabulary, semantic field and culture background. By learning this, we can use vocabulary in a more precise way and avoid mistake or embarrassment when communicating with native speakers.The causes of changes in word meaning can be divided into linguistic cause and extra-linguistic cause. Extra-linguistic cause can also divide into historical cause, social cause and psychology cause.Linguistic causeChange of meaning is frequently brought about by two tendencies in a linguistic system: towards ellipsis and towardsanalogy. Some linguists think foreign influence should subordinate linguistic cause.Ellipsis occurs when a phrase is shortened to one word which retains the meaning of the whole, so it often occurs in habitual collocations, such as adjective + noun or attributive noun + noun. Private, daily, duplicate are all adjectives, but they are used as nouns. Private means a soldier of the lowest rank, daily means daily newspaper, and duplicate means duplicate copy. Under such circumstances, whatever is left, whether a noun or an adjective, is all used as a noun assuming the original meaning. Naturally, the association became so close that the first element could alone carry the meaning of the whole phrase.Besides, there is a change of grammatical function as well, as when adjectives assumethe roles of nouns. Unlike the above examples, whose sense of one word has been transferred to another simple because the two occur together habitually, in some cases, it is the second or “headword”of the phrase that remains. For example, (stream) engine, (coal) gas and (light) bulb.The analogical tendency means new meanings developed in one part of speech are passed on to other parts of speech from the same lexical bas e. Fortuitous formerly denoted …happening by chance?, …accidental?, and later took on the meaning …fortunate?probably by analogy because the two words look similar in shape. Another interesting example is fruition, originally from a Latin word fruitio meaning enjoyment. But now, its meaning is given as “fulfillment of (plans, desired results, aims, etc.),”possibly from connection with the word fruit.Foreign influencesA particularly important cause of change of meaning inwords has been the influence of foreign words. For example, the native word stool originally meant any kind of seat for one person, and could even be used for a king?s seat. It got its humble meaning because the French word chair was adopted to denote a more comfortable piece of furniture. Other example is dream. Dream meant “joy” in OE; it gets its modern sense from the related Scandinavian word draumr.Historical causeIt often happens that though a word retains its original form, its meaning has changed because the object which it denotes has changed. This is the historical cause of semantic change.The well-known semanticist Ullmann notes, “It often happens that language is more conservative than civilization, material as well as moral. Objects, institutions, ideas, scientific concepts change in the course of time; yet in many cases the name is retained and thus helps to ensure a sense of tradition and continuity.”(Ullmann 1997:198)Indeed, it often happens that a word is retained for a name though the meaning has changed because the referent has changed. Take pen for example, it donated …feather?, which was used in the West as pen in old times. Now, the time when …feather? served as pen is long gone, and people are using hall-point pens and fountain pens, yet the name is still kept. This change has also occurred to computer, which designated a …person who computes? in the past. At present, when we talk about computer, people, people would think of an …electronic machine? rather than a person.There are also many scientific concepts which have retained their original forms, although their meanings have changed as a result of new scientific discoveries and increased knowledge. Forinstance, before Copernicus, the sun was thought to be …the luminous celestial body that in the Plolemaic system is one of the seven planets revolving around the earth? and this meaning is retained in “The sun rises and sets.”The Copernician theory tried to change the historical point of view and now everyone knows that the sun is a …star around which the earth a nd other planets revolve…?Social causeWe are going to discuss social cause of the changes of words?meanings in five aspects.A. Social developmentChange in word meaning resulting from a constant verbal traffic between common word and various technical words is referred to as social cause of semantic change. (Ullmann 1997:199-200) As a result, some technical words have lost their specialized meanings and have come to be used in more general senses, which connect with electricity, physics, chemistry, medicine, mathematics, etc. For instance, feedback means “response” in common use, as in “The teacher likes to have feedback from his students.”Dimension: as a common word, it means “extent in a particular aspect”, as in “This problem has a new dimension.”B. Social environmentBig events in society will change the meaning of some words. The simple words cold and hot have changed their meanings in the field of politics, as in “cold war” and “hot war”. In England, Abdication can mean King Edward VIII abdicated for marrying a divorced American woman, Ms Simpson. In these cases, nonnative speakers should try to memorize.C. Social classVillain means bad people, but its original meaning is villager.Because the aristocrat looks down upon the low social status villagers, the meaning of villain changed. It is a kind of degeneration of meaning. More examples are clown, boor, knave, and churl. Thus, if a word has something to do with low social status, it will have derogatory sense, vice versa.D National sentimentNational sentiment influences the meaning of word deeply. In English, some bad things will have connection with other nations. For instance, to take French leave means leaving without saying goodbye. Italian hand means interfere. Spanish athlete means a person who says nonsense.The most obvious nation, to which English shows great prejudice, is Netherlands, because these two countries always fought each other in 17century. Dutch act means commit suicide. Dutch comfort means comfort of no help. Dutch widow means prostitute. Dutch uncle means strict critic. Dutch treat means a party that you should pay for yourself. Dutch bargain means a deal made when you are drunk. I amDutched means I am cheated. Double Dutch means words that are rather baffling. I’m a Dutch man if …E. SexismThere are some words with sexism in English, but the number is minor. For example, “Man is a rational animal; men are born equal.”The man in there refers to human being. Recent years, thanks to feminist movement, more and more words are created to refer to women, such as businessperson, draftsperson, poetess, heroine, spokeswoman etc.Psychological causePsychological cause is also constantly at work in bringing about changes in word meaning. Psychological factors play abasic part in meaning change, which leads to the elevation or degradation of word meanings. It takes three forms: euphemism, grandiloquence and cynicism.A.EuphemismPeople change word-meaning owing to various psychological motives: love, respect, courtesy, suspicion, pessimism, irony, contempt, hatred, etc. People tend to use mild, agreeable language when speaking of an unpleasant or embarrassing fact and taboo subjects.Death and things related to death are one of the most common objects of euphemism. “To pass away,”“to brea the one?s last,”“to cease to think,”“to fall asleep,”“to kick the bucket,”“to be no more,”“to go west,” all refer to death.Toilet is another example. Rest room, lounge, convenience, comfort station and powder room are just some of its euphemism. Pregnant can be said “big,”“big with child,”“expectant,”“heavy with child,”“laden,”“anticipating,”“in the family way,”and “in an interesting condition.”B.GrandiloquenceGrandiloquence refers to the use of long, important-sounding words for effect. The desire to upgrade or raise the social status of a position, occupation, or institution by changing its common name to one felt to confer greater dignity or importance is another psychological factor in the change of word meaning.In American English, there are so many words of grandiloquence used in unpopular jobs. Garbage collector is sanitation engineer, servant is domestic engineer, mortician is funeral director and gardener is landscape architect.In a sense, grandiloquence is a form of euphemism, too. So some linguists consider grandiloquence subordinate the Euphemism.C.CynicismCynicism is the desire to sneer and to be sarcastic. For instance, the word pious may mean “hypocritically virtuous” in addition to its primary meaning, “having, showing deep devotion to religion.” The present meaning of sanctimonious is “pretending to be very holy or pious”, while it once meant “devout, holy or sacred”. Fanatic, a Latin synonym for enthusiastic, means “unreasonably enthusiastic, almost approaching to madness.”ConclusionChange in word meaning is commonplace and fundamental in a living language, for it is one of the simplest and most convenient ways of meeting peoples? need for new manes to refer to new things, ideas, processes, etc. Broadly speaking, change of meaning refers to the alteration of the meaning of existing words, as well as the addiction of new meaning to established words.The causes of semantic change are historical, social, psychological or purely linguistic. As nonnative English learners, we need to pay more attention to the changes of word meanings, for we are not familiar with their own history, their culture background and psychological situation. Only by learning these causes can we get a better understanding of lexicology, vocabulary, semantic field and context. Only by learning these causes can we know which words should be used and which words should be avoided, so that we can express our meaning more specific in communication with others.Bibliography:Jackson Howard (2000), Words, Meaning and V ocabulary, Trowbridge: The Cromwell PressJavier E Diaz Verd (2004), Lexicography, Semantics and Lexicology in English Historical Linguistics, Netherlands: Rodopi 汪榕培（2000），《英语词汇学研究》，上海：上海外语教育出版社汪榕培& 卢晓娟（2006），《英语词汇学教程》，上海：上海外语教育出版社杨艳华& 张树凡（2007），《现代英语词汇学》，：冶金工业出版社张维友（1997），《英语词汇学教程》，武汉：华中师范大学出版社张韵斐（2012），《现代英语词汇学概论》，北京：北京师范大学出版社。

英语词义的变化

目录引言 (3)1、英语词义演进与退化 (3)2、英语词义的缩小与扩大 (5)3、英语词义的弱化与加强 (7)4、英语词义功能的转变 (7)结束语 (8)参考文献 (9)英语词义的变化摘要：语言作为人类交流思想和传递信息的工具，总是随着人类社会的进步而发生着变化。

英语作为一种语言，已经有1500年的历史，其变化巨大也是可想而知的。

英语词义的变化主要表现在词义的演进与退化、词义的缩小与扩大、词义的弱化与加强以及词义功能的转变等方面【1】。

关键词：英语；词义；变化The changes of lexical meanings of English wordsAbstract: The language as tools of human thought and communicate information, is always changing with the progress of humansociety. English as a language, having1500 years of history,the change is palpable. English word meaning changes in wordmeaning evolution and degeneration, narrowing of the meaningand expand, the weakening and strengthening as well as themeaning of the word function transformation, etc.Key word：English；meaning；change引言随着社会的发展，时代的变迁，英语像汉语一样，一些新词出现，旧词消失，一些词义退化演进，词义的功能也在发生转变。

词义的变化从时间上可以分为文艺复兴时期、资产阶级革命时期、殖民地开拓时期【2】。

词汇学词义变化类型

• It is a process by which a word which originally had a specialized meaning has now become generalized or has extended to cover a broader concept.
• 一个原本具有特殊意义的单词的词义被延伸，范围扩大，可以用来指代一种更普遍的词义
a general = a general officer an editorial = an editorial article
a private=a private soldier
Some material nouns are used to refer to objects made of them and thus have a more specific sense.
• person names：newton（牛顿），ampere （安培），farad（法拉），joule（焦耳）， pascal（帕斯卡），watt（瓦特），ohm（欧姆），volt（伏特）
• place names:champagne（香槟酒--法国地名），gin（杜松子酒，产自日内瓦，是 Geneva一词的缩写）
英语061 符娜娜
• Extension of Meaning • Narrowing of Meaning • Elevation of Meaning • Degradation of Meaning • Transference of Meaning • Euphemism
Extension of Meaning
• cunning---knowing,skillful---sly
• gay---happy---homosexual

词义的变化

词义是一个历史范畴，随着社会生活的变化和人的认识的深化，就会变化化和演化。

（一)词义变化的原因(1）社会生活的发展。

新事物的出现及旧事物的消亡都要影响到词义。

比如“飞”原来只指鸟、虫鼓动翅膀离开地面前进，而现在可以指利用机械比如螺旋桨、喷气等在空中飞行，包拾飞机、飞船等离开地面甚至地球球飞行。

(2)人的思想意识的改变。

比如“云”、古人以为是“山川气也”。

这个词义反映了当时人们对“云”的认识，而现在我们知道，‘‘云”是由水滴、冰晶聚集而形成的悬浮在空中的物体。

现在的认识要比过去更加深刻，更为科学。

(3)语言内部因素的相互作用。

比如语音的变化可以分化词义，在汉语中在一些单音节的名词、形容词中增加一个去声读音，就可以表示相关的动作，从而导致词义变化。

比如：种——种，好——好。

(二)词义变化的类型大致有以下四个方面，分属词义本身的变化和语素义的衍化这两类。

1．深化与精确词义的深化和精确，是指词的理性义所反映的对象没有变化，但人的认识改变了，所以词义也变了。

这大都是些常用的事物和现象o 比如·‘人”，《说文》的解释是：天地之性最贵者。

直到1915年出版的旧《辞源》的解释还是“动物之最灵者”。

而现在的认识是：能够制造并能使用工具进行劳动的高等动物。

显然是大大深化了。

再比如“电”，《说文》的解释是：阴阳激越。

《康熙字典》的解释是；盖阴阳暴格分争，激射；有火生焉，其光为电，其声为雷。

表明“电”本来就是闪电。

而现在知道，电是有电荷存在和电荷变化的现象，是一种重要的能源，广泛运用于生产和生活各个方面。

精确与深化有着密切联系，认识深化了，词义也就精确了。

比如“土”《说文》：地之吐生物者也。

这个解释实际上只指出了”土”的一种功能特征，并不确切。

而现在的认识是：地球表面的一层疏松的物质，由各种颗粒状矿物质、有机物质、水分、空气、微生物组成，能生长植物。

这个解释才指出了“土”的本质，不仅指出了土的功用，更主要的是说明了土的组成。

浅析英语词汇意义变化的方式和原因

浅析英语词汇意义变化的方式和原因英语词汇意义的变化可以通过以下几种方式来进行分析：1. 同义词演化：同一个词在不同的时代或语境下可能具有不同的意义。

例如，英语中的“nice”最初是指“愚蠢”，现在却表示“好的”或“友善的”。

2. 词义扩展：词语的原始意义逐渐扩展到包含更广泛的含义或概念。

这可能是因为词语在使用过程中逐渐被赋予新的解释。

例如，英语中的“mouse”最初只指小鼠，而现在也可用于形容计算机的输入设备。

3. 词义缩小：相反地，一个词的原始意义可以逐渐缩小，只指特定的对象或概念。

例如，英语中的“deer”最初是指各种动物，现在只用来指代鹿科的动物。

4. 词义转移：一个词的原始意义可以转移到不相关的领域或词语上。

这可能是由于人们在表达时使用了类比或隐喻。

例如，英语中的“mobile”最初是指“可移动的”，而如今也可用来形容智能手机。

词汇意义变化的原因可以是以下几个方面：1.文化和社会变化：随着社会的发展和变化，词语的意义也会随之变化。

新兴技术和社会变革会带来新的概念和需求，从而推动词汇意义的变化。

2.变化的语言使用情境：词语意义的变化可能与其在特定语境中的使用相关。

人们在特定语境中使用词语，会赋予其特定的含义。

随着时间的推移，这种语言使用的变化会导致词语意义的变化。

3.形式与意义的互动：词语的形式和意义之间存在相互影响的关系。

随着语言变化，词形的变化可能会导致词语意义的变化，反之亦然。

总结起来，英语词汇意义变化的方式和原因主要包括同义词演化、词义扩展、词义缩小和词义转移。

这些变化可能是由于文化和社会变化、语言使用情境的变化以及形式与意义的互动引起的。

英语词汇学词义的变化

On Word Forma‎t ion★Prefa‎c eLearn‎a langu‎a ge; you must learn‎pronu‎n ciat‎i on, gramm‎a r, vocab‎u lary‎. Among‎the three‎facto‎r s,vocab‎u lary‎has a very impor‎t ant role in your langu‎a ge-study‎i ng. A famou‎s schol‎a r Wilki‎n s‎said”‎witho‎u t gramm‎a r, very littl‎e can be conve‎y ed, witho‎u t vocab‎u lary‎, nothi‎n g can be conve‎y ed.”‎He‎empha‎s ized‎that in most cases‎, the vocab‎u lary‎is more impor‎t ant than gramm‎a r. Anoth‎e r famou‎s lexic‎o logi‎s tMcCar‎t hy said, when a stude‎n t learn‎the secon‎d langu‎a ge, no matte‎r how well the stude‎n t learn‎s gramm‎a r, no matte‎r how succe‎s sful‎l y he maste‎r s the secon‎d s of a L2， witho‎u t words‎to expre‎s s a wide range‎of meani‎n gs, commu‎n icat‎i on in that langu‎a ge canno‎t happe‎n in any manfu‎l way.From these‎two examp‎l es and of cours‎e inclu‎d e many other‎cases‎that are not menti‎o ned here now, we can concl‎u de‎that‎if‎you‎don‟t‎care‎vocab‎u lary‎at all, it is impos‎s ible‎to learn‎a langu‎a ge in some way. What‟s‎more, you canno‎t expre‎s s your real feeli‎n g no matte‎r you are happy‎, sad, fortu‎n e, or you are unluc‎k y, becau‎s e‎you‎don‟t‎know‎what‎words‎you can say or you can write‎.Today‎, I will tell you what I had learn‎e d in this class‎. What I will teach‎you‎is‎“word‎forma‎t ion”,‎why‎do‎I‎choos‎e this topic‎to talk? Becau‎s e in my opini‎o n, if you know the word forma‎t ion very well, you can remem‎b er and use the new words‎easil‎y. Absol‎u tely‎,it‟s‎very‎helpf‎u l for your langu‎a ge study‎i ng.Don‟t‎you‎think‎so?★Summa‎r yEngli‎s h vocab‎u lary‎has sever‎a l of Word-forma‎t ion metho‎d s. But the three‎great‎e st word forma‎t ion power‎s are affix‎a tion‎, compo‎u ndin‎g, and conve‎r sion‎. The other‎six kinds‎of word-forma‎t ion metho‎d s inclu‎d e blend‎i ng, clipp‎i ng, acron‎y my, back-forma‎t ion, sound‎redup‎l icat‎i on, and commu‎n izat‎i on of prope‎r names‎.★Keywo‎r dsMorph‎e mes, class‎i fyin‎g, word-forma‎t ion★Conte‎x tBefor‎e talki‎n g about‎word forma‎t ion, maybe‎we shoul‎d know the morph‎o logi‎c al struc‎t ure of Engli‎s h words‎first‎. So what we will discu‎s s next is morph‎o logi‎c al struc‎t ure of Engli‎s h words‎. It inclu‎d esmorph‎e mes, morph‎s and allom‎o rphs‎,class‎i fyin‎g morph‎e mes, ident‎i fyin‎g morph‎e mes, morph‎e mes and word-forma‎t ion.☆ morph‎e mesTradi‎t iona‎l ly, words‎are usual‎l y treat‎e d as the basic‎and minim‎a l units‎of a langu‎a ge to make sente‎n ce, which‎are combi‎n atio‎n s of words‎accor‎d ing to synta‎c tic rules‎. Struc‎t ural‎l y, howev‎e r, a word is not thesmall‎e st unit becau‎s e many words‎can be separ‎a ted into even small‎e r meani‎n gful‎units‎. These‎minim‎a l meani‎n gful‎units‎are known‎as morph‎e mes. In view of word-forma‎t ion, the morph‎e me‎is‎seen‎as‎…thesmall‎e st funct‎i onin‎g unit in the compo‎s itio‎n of words‎‟. Synta‎c tica‎l ly, howev‎e r, a morph‎e me is the minim‎a l form of gramm‎a tica‎l analy‎s is.Morph‎e mes are abstr‎a ct units‎, which‎are reali‎z ed in speec‎h by discr‎e te units‎known‎as morph‎s. They are actua‎l spoke‎n, minim‎a l carri‎e rs of meani‎n g.Morph‎e mes vary in funct‎i on. Accor‎d ingl‎y, we can class‎i fy morph‎e mes into sever‎a l gener‎a l categ‎o ries‎:① Free versu‎s Bound‎Morph‎e mes ---- morph‎e mes which‎are indep‎e nden‎t of other‎morph‎e mes are free. These‎morph‎e mes have compl‎e te meani‎n gs in thems‎e lves‎and can be used as free gramm‎a tica‎l units‎in sente‎n ces. Morph‎e mes which‎canno‎t occur‎as separ‎a te words‎are bound‎. They are so named‎becau‎s e they are bound‎to other‎morph‎e mes to form words‎or to perfo‎r m a parti‎c ular‎gramm‎a tica‎l funct‎i on.② Deriv‎a tion‎a l versu‎s Infle‎c tion‎a l Morph‎e mes ---- morph‎e mes which‎are used to deriv‎e new words‎are known‎as deriv‎a tion‎a l morph‎e mes becau‎s e when these‎morph‎e mes are conjo‎i ned, new words‎are deriv‎e d.③ Conte‎n t versu‎s Gramm‎a tica‎l Morph‎e mes ---- On a seman‎t ic and synta‎c tic basis‎, morph‎e mes can fall into conte‎n t and gramm‎a tica‎l morph‎e mes. Conte‎n t morph‎e mes are lexic‎a l morph‎e mes which‎are used as we see above‎to deriv‎e new words‎, so also known‎as deriv‎a tion‎a l morph‎e mes.☆ Morph‎e mes and Word-forma‎t ionWe know that words‎can be analy‎z ed into morph‎e mes, which‎are the minim‎a l meani‎n gful‎units‎in the compo‎s itio‎n of words‎. In word-forma‎t ion forma‎t ion, howev‎e r, morph‎e mes are conve‎n tion‎a lly label‎e d root, stem, base and affix‎.Affix‎e s are forms‎that are attac‎h ed to words‎or eleme‎n ts to modif‎y meani‎n g or funct‎i on. Affix‎e s are bound‎morph‎e mes becau‎s e none of them can stand‎as words‎in their‎own right‎. Accor‎d ing to the funct‎i ons of affix‎e s, we can divid‎e them into infle‎c tion‎a l affix‎e s and deriv‎a tion‎a l affix‎e s. Deriv‎a tion‎a l and infle‎c tion‎a l affix‎e s are ident‎i cal with deriv‎a tion‎a l and infle‎c tion‎a l morph‎e mes. In view of their‎distr‎i buti‎o n in the forma‎t ion of word, affix‎e s can fall into prefi‎x and suffi‎x.Befor‎e we begin‎our actua‎l discu‎s sion‎of word-build‎i ng proce‎s ses, there‎are some basic‎conce‎p ts that need clari‎f ying‎:1. Root: a root is the basic‎form of a word which‎canno‎t be furth‎e r analy‎z ed witho‎u t total‎loss of ident‎i ty.2. Stem: a stem may consi‎s t of a singl‎e root morph‎e me or of two root morph‎e mes. It can be a root morph‎e me plus one or more affix‎a tion‎a l morph‎e mes.3. Base: a base is refer‎r ed to a form to which‎affix‎e s of any kind can be added‎. It can be a root or a stem.☆ Word Forma‎t ionThe expan‎s ion of vocab‎u lary‎in moder‎n Engli‎s h depen‎d s chief‎l y on word forma‎t ion. There‎is a varie‎t y of means‎being‎at work now. The most produ‎c tive‎are affix‎a tion‎, compo‎u ndin‎g and conve‎r sion‎.⑴ Affix‎a tion‎Affix‎a tion‎is gener‎a lly defin‎e d as the forma‎t ion of words‎by addin‎g word-formi‎n gor deriv‎a tion‎a l affix‎e s to base. This proce‎s s is also known‎as deriv‎a tion‎, by which‎new words‎are deriv‎e d from old or base forms‎. The words‎creat‎e d in this way are calle‎d deriv‎a tive‎s. Accor‎d ing to the posit‎i ons affix‎e s occup‎y in words‎, affix‎a tion‎falls‎into two subca‎t egor‎i es: prefi‎x atio‎n and suffi‎x atio‎n.Prefi‎x atio‎n inclu‎d es:Negat‎i ve Prefi‎x es (a-, dis- ,in-, non-, un-…‎)Rever‎s ativ‎e or Priva‎t ive Prefi‎x es (de-, dis-,‎un,…‎)Pejor‎a tive‎Prefi‎x es (mal-, mis-, pseud‎o- …‎)Prefi‎x es of Degre‎e or Size (arch-, co-, extra‎-, hyper‎-, macro‎-, micro‎-, mini-, out-,over-, sub-, super‎-, sur-, ultra‎-, under‎-…‎)Prefi‎x es of Orien‎t atio‎n and Attit‎u de (anti-, contr‎a-, count‎e r-, pro-…‎)Locat‎i ve Prefi‎x es ( fore-, inter‎-, intra‎-, super‎-, tele-, trans‎-…‎)Prefi‎x es of Time and Order‎( ex-, fore-, post-, pre-, re- …‎)Numbe‎r Prefi‎x es ( bi-, multi‎-, semi-,tri-,uni- …‎)Conve‎r sion‎Prefi‎x es ( a-, be-, en- …‎)Misce‎l lane‎o us Prefi‎x es ( auto- , neo-, pan-, proto‎-, vice- …‎)Suffi‎x atio‎n inclu‎d es:Noun suffi‎x es (denom‎i nal nouns‎, dever‎b al nouns‎, de-adjec‎t ive nouns‎, non andadjec‎t ive suffi‎x es) Adjec‎t ive suffi‎x es (denom‎i nal suffi‎x es, dever‎b al suffi‎x es )Adver‎b suffi‎x es (Omit examp‎l e)Verb suffi‎x es (Omit examp‎l e)⑵ Compo‎u ndin‎gCompo‎u ndin‎g is the forma‎t ion of new words‎by joini‎n g two or more bases‎. Words‎w orth‎forme‎d in this way are calle‎d compo‎u nds. Compo‎u nds can be writt‎e n solid‎, hyphe‎n ated‎and open.1. Chara‎c teri‎s tics‎of compo‎u ndsCompo‎u nds have notic‎e able‎chara‎c teri‎s tics‎which‎may in most cases‎diffe‎r enti‎a te thems‎e lves‎from noun phras‎e s in the follo‎w ing four aspec‎t s:Phono‎l ogic‎a l featu‎r es, seman‎t ic featu‎r es, gramm‎a tica‎l, ortho‎g raph‎i cal featu‎r es.2. Forma‎t ion of compo‎u ndsCompo‎u ndin‎g can take place‎withi‎n any of the word class‎, but the produ‎c tive‎ones are nouns‎and adjec‎t ives‎follo‎w ed by verbs‎to a much lesse‎r exten‎t. Noun compo‎u nds, adjec‎t ive compo‎u nds, verb compo‎u nds.⑶ Conve‎r sion‎Conve‎r sion‎is the forma‎t ion of new words‎by conve‎r ting‎words‎of one class‎to anoth‎e r class‎. Conve‎r sion‎is gener‎a lly consi‎d ered‎to be a deriv‎a tion‎a l proce‎s swhere‎b y an item is adapt‎e d or conve‎r ted to a new word class‎witho‎u t the addit‎i on of an affix‎. Hence‎the name zero-deriv‎a tion‎. Words‎produ‎c ed by conve‎r sion‎are prima‎r ily nouns‎, adjec‎t ives‎, and verbs‎.Conve‎r sion‎to nouns‎(dever‎b al, de-adjec‎t ival‎, misce‎l lane‎o us conve‎r sion‎) Conve‎r sion‎to verbs‎(denom‎i nal, de-adjec‎t ival‎, misce‎l lane‎o us conve‎r sion‎) conve‎r sion‎to adjec‎t ives‎(voice‎l ess to voice‎d conso‎n ant, initi‎a l to end stres‎s) the other‎six means‎of word-forma‎t ion inclu‎d es:Blend‎i ng, Clipp‎i ng, Acron‎y my, Back-forma‎t ion, Sound‎redup‎l icat‎i on, Commu‎n izat‎i on of prope‎r names‎.Becau‎s e the words‎limit‎, the six word-forma‎t ion metho‎d s is not detai‎l ed intro‎d uced‎here. If you areinter‎e sted‎in them, pleas‎e refer‎to the lexic‎o logy‎.Annot‎a tion‎:《英语词汇学‎教程》张伟友著，《词汇学学习‎指南》Thank‎you for your revie‎w s !A happy‎New Year, good healt‎h杨春慧著。

词义变化

一）词义的扩大凡是词义从特定的意义扩大为普遍的意义，或者从指"种"的概念扩大为指"类"的概念，结果新义大于旧义，这种演变叫做词义的扩大（the enlarging, widening, extension或expansion of meaning），也叫做词义的一般化（the generalization of meaning）。

以lady一词为例，它以前仅仅指"女主人"。

这个词的词义渐渐扩大了，适用的妇女越来越多，先是指贵族太太，后来指有教养的妇女，例如：The lords and ladies are all gathered in the palace。

现在，lady可以用于指任何"女人"，是一种礼貌的用法，尤其是那个女人就在跟前的时候，例如：There is a Japanese lady here, looking for someone who looks like you.在提到老妇人的时候，几乎总是说old lady或elderly lady。

在对一群女士说话的时候也总是说ladies，而不用women，例如：Ladies, could I have your attention, please？Good evening, ladies and dy已经几乎成为woman（女人）的同义词，例如：saleslady（女售货员），cleaning lady（清扫女工），ladies' room（公共女厕所）等等；甚至可以用作定语：a lady novelist（女小说家），lady traffic wardens（女交警），lady guests（女客人）。

词义的扩大不仅限于名词，动词、形容词的词义也都可以扩大。

例如：carry（拿）的原义是"用车运"（transport by cart），跟cart的关系只要看词形就能看出来，现在把by cart这一语义选择限制去掉了，这个词的词义范围也就扩大了。

自考论文—论英语词义的变化

毕业论文题目：论英语词义的变化准考证号：学生姓名：指导老师：武汉大学外语学院制On the Meaning Change of English Words论文摘要语义学是关于意义的学问，它旨在研究语言单位，特别是单词和句子的意义。

词是语言中具有意义的，最小的能够独立运用的单位，所以关于词的意义（即词汇语义学）在语言学中占用重要的位置。

单词一直处在不断的变化过程当中，形式上的或是内容上的，常常是后者发生变化。

正像Quirk在1963年指出的那样，“…几乎我们现在使用的每一个词与其在一个世纪以前的意义稍有不同,而一个世纪以前的单词又和它在一个世纪之前的意义稍有差别”。

宽泛的讲，意义的变化指的是现行词义的变化，或是对现行词语添加新的义项。

这种变化随着时间的流逝而产生。

本论文探究了英语词义变化的方式、类型及原因。

希望本论文可以帮助英语专业的学生更好地学习英语词义。

关键词：词义; 变化; 方式; 类型; 原因AbstractThe subject concerning the study of meaning is called semantics, which targets at the study of the meanings of linguistics units, such as words and sentences. A word is the minimum free form with certain meaning, thus the study of word meaning (lexical semantics) occupies an important position in linguistics study. Word has been constantly undergoing the process of changes，either in forms or in meanings, with the latter being more frequent. Just as Quirk said in 1963, ―… almost every word we use today has a different meaning from the one it had a century ago, and a century ago it had a slight different meaning from the one it had a century before that‖. Broadly speaking, meaning change refers to the alternation of the meaning of existing words, as well as the addition of new meaning to established words. This change occurs along with time. This thesis explores the approaches, modes, causes of word meaning change. Hopefully, it may help us English majors study English word meaning better.Keywords:meaning；change；approach; mode; causeContentsI. Introduction (1)II. Approaches to meaning change of English words (2)2.1 extension approach (2)2.2 figurative approach (3)2.3 merger approach (3)III. Modes of meaning change of English words (4)3.1generalization (5)3.2 specialization (6)3.3 elevation (7)3.4 degradation (7)IV. Causes of meaning change of English words (8)4.1 extra –linguistics factors (8)4.2 linguistics factors (10)V. Conclusion (11)Bibliography (12)On the Meaning Change of English WordsI. IntroductionAs a branch of semantic study, the lexical semantics has been long regarded as the focal point. And the question as to what is the meaning of word becomes the first inquiry for language leaners. The objective matters, which exclude human mind, including all the living creatures, unanimated objects, events and their behavior, state and characteristics, etc. are reflected, thus sensation, perception, representation are produced first. Human mind then will generate the abstract preliminary products into concepts. Then man fixes the concepts in the vehicle of language, enabling us human beings to exchange our thoughts through these signs with certain meaning individually. Thus, words come into being. In other words, the meaning of words is endowed by men. As British linguist Eric Partridge once pointed out, ―words have no meanings, people have meaning for them‖. This process is generally agreed upon by all linguists. However, different people may hold different opinions on the sub-structure of word meaning.One difficulty in the study of meaning is that the word ―meaning‖ itself has different meanings. In their book The meaning of meaning written in 1923, C.K Odgen and I.A Richards presented ―a representative list of the main definition which reputable studen ts of meaning have favored‖ (Odgen & Richards, 2003: 186). There are 16 major categories of them, with sub-categories totaling up to 22.The edifice of any language could be observed as a grand project composed of three elements: sound, lexicon, and grammar, among which sound is the physical shell of a language; lexicon serves as the ―brick‖ and ―concrete‖; while grammar functions as the ways and principles by which linguistic elements are organized and oprate. So word meaning above all can be divided into two big categories: grammatical meaning and lexical meaning.Grammatical meaning corresponding with grammar signifies the grammatical aspect of a word. For example, ―girl‖ is a single form, while ―girls‖ represents theplural form in meaning.Lexical meaning, on the other hand, is the study of word meaning at its content level. For example, in the group of words ―go, goes, gone, went, going‖, each word has different grammatical meaning obviously, but their lexical meaning is the same, namely ―to move or tra vel fro m one place to another‖ (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 1998:746). Foreign linguists have different classifications on word meaning. Geoffrey Leech, a world famous British linguist, categorizes seven types of meaning, as follows: conceptual meaning, connotative meaning, social meaning, affective meaning, reflected meaning, collocative meaning, thematic meaning, with conceptual meaning being the center of word meaning. And connotative meaning, social meaning, affective meaning, reflected meaning, and collocative meaning and thematic meaning can be brought together under the heading associative meaning(Leech.,1981).In the following sections, we are going to explore the approaches to meaning change, the modes of meaning change and the causes accounting for the meaning change. And with some basic knowledge of word meaning change in the thesis, it may cast light on how to gasp word meaning and help us English majors study English language better.II. Approaches to meaning change of English wordsThe change of word meaning refers to the process in which the existing word has some changes either in number of its meaning items or its content in its application or development. In this section we will take a glimpse at the trace of changes in word meaning. There are mainly three types as follows：2.1 Extension approachExtension refers to a way a word derived from a new through certain connections based on its original meaning, or its existing meaning items. For example, the word ―hoe‖（noun）meant ― a garden tool with a handle and a blade ,used for breaking upsoil and removing weds‖ and then a related meaning was produced , ―to break up soil, remove plants, etc, with a hoe‖, such as in the phras e ― to hoe a flowers‖(Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary, 1997: 838), so ―hoe‖ h ere is used as a verb. However, we can easily see the close connection in meaning between the noun ―hoe‖and the verb ―hoe‖. Some words can create new meaning through extending or narrowing the scope of reference, which is also very common. For example, th e word ―journal‖ originally mean t ―a written record that you make of th e things that happen to you each day (diary) (Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary, 1997: 775). Let us look at another example, the word ―wedge‖ (noun) originally meant ―a piece of wood, robber, metal, etc, with one thick end and a thin pointed end that you use to keep a door open, to keep two things apart, or to split wood or rock‖, then its verbal meaning came into being, namely ― to put or squeeze something tightly int o a narrow space, so that it can not move easily‖(ibid).2.2 Figurative approachWhether the scope of reference extends or narrows, the type of object a word denotes has not changed. However, when a word has changed its literal meaning to its figurative meaning, the type of object is utterly different, and then semantic shift has occurred in word meaning. This is also a very important style of meaning changes.Abundant examples can serve as the illustrations of the figurative approach. For example, the w ord ―burden‖ originally mean t ―a heavy load that is difficult to carry‖and then people tended to use it for referring to ― a duty ,responsibility ,etc, that causes worry, difficulty or hard work‖, for example, in the sentence ―The main burden of caring for old people falls on the state‖. This abstract sense of ―burden‖ is very vivid and concise in the effect of expression, which will certainly leave a deep impression on the listener‘s mind.2.3 Merger approachThis way of change in word meaning refers to another way of change in word meaning, reflecting the relationship between two words under certain circumstances.When one word‘s scope of reference expands into that of another related word, meaning may then be annexed, making the latter one lose its status of independence. Comparatively speaking, this approach is less in frequency in word meaning change than the previous two approaches, which however should not be ignored by us English learners. In the study of antonyms, we come to know the concept of ―gr adable antonyms‖ first, the commonest type of antonyms. That is, the members of a pair differ in terms of degree. The denial of one is not necessarily the assertion of the other, and there is no absolute criterion of judgments by which we may say something is good or bad, long or short, big or small. Usually, the term of the higher degree serves as the ―cover term‖. For example, we ask somebody ―how old are you?‖ and the person asked may not be old in any sense. He may be as young as twenty or three. The wo rd ―old‖ is used here to cover both old and young. The sentence above means the same as ―what is your age?‖. Technically, the ―cover term‖is called ―unmarked‖, i.e. usual; and the covered ―marked‖, or unusual. That means, in general, it is the ―cover term‖ that is more often used. If the covered is used, then it suggests that is something odd, unusual here. The speaker may already know that something or somebody is young, small, near, and he wants to know the extent in greater detail. This characteristic is also reflected in the corresponding nouns, such as length, height, width, and depth.Because of the differences, a lot of word meanings are different. For example, in Cambridge International Dictionary of English, the word ‗individual‘is defined as ‗the idea that freedom of thought and action for each person is the most important quality of a society, rather than shared effort and responsibility‘. It is positive. However, in The English-Chinese Dictionary, there is a sentence ‗These poets were individualists, wanting to explore their own thoughts and feelings, not content with the general truth‘. Obviously, the meaning of ‗individualists‘ is negative.III. Modes of meaning change of English wordsGenerally speaking, the development and change of word meaning isever-increasing in number of meaning items almost in every language system, due to social development and word meaning development itself. However it becomes complicated as each individual word is concerned. For some, the number of meaning item m ay increase, and for others, just the reverse. And some words‘ meaning may disappear, or reduce to morphemic meaning, etc.3.1 GeneralizationThe generalization of meaning is a process by which a word originally having a specialized meaning has now extended to cover a broader and often less definite concept.A large proportion of polysemic words of modern English have their meaning extended sometime in the course of development. Let us refer to some example as illustrations. The word ―manuscript‖ today means ―an author‘s writing whether by hand or typed with a type writer or a word-procession‖. Bu t its old meaning referred to ―hand writing‖(written by hand)only. The word ―fabulous‖ originally mean t ―resembling a fable‖ or ―based on a fable‖, but then it meant ―incredible‖ or ―marvelous‖, since as we all kn ew that something incredible or marvelous often only existsd in fables, not in reality. Another example is the word ―barn‖. It meant ―a place for storing only barle y‖, but now its meaning extends to ―storeroom‖. More examples are available here to cast light on the generalization of meaning.Word Old meaning Extended meaningbutcher one who kills goats one who kills animalsbonfire fire on bones a fire in the open madeby burning anything What is more, ―thing‖ is often associated with ―any‖, ―some‖, and ―no‖, namely ―anything‖, ―something‖, and ―nothing‖ respec tively. The frequency of these three words is high in both written and spoken form, the latter one especially. I have once counted and amazed at the high frequency one tend to employ ―something‖ when he or she tries to introduce or explain a certain object, event, idea, etc. Other words like business, concern, matter, article, and circumstance have undergone similar processof meaning generalization.3.2 SpecializationSpecialization of language is a process by which a word which is used to have a more general sense becomes restricted in its application and conveys a special concept in present-day English. A typical example is the word ― deer‖, which was used to refer to all kinds of animals, for example in Shakespeare‘s sentence ― rats and mice and such small dear‖; i n British English, ―corn‖ was once used as ―grain‖, but in present-day American English, it only refers to ―maize‖; w hen ―garage‖ was first borrowed from French, it meant more other than ―any safe place‖, but at present ―garage‖ narrows down to ― a place for storing cars‖—a shelter for cars only. Here are more examples:Word Old meaning Specialized meaning girl young person of either sex female young person wife woman married womanaccident event unfortunate eventChange of meaning is frequently brought about by two tendencies in a language system: toward ellipsis and toward analogy. Ellipse as a cause of semantic change often occurs in habitual collocations, such as adj + n. or attributive + n, in which the noun is often deleted and only the first element(the attributive) is left, but retaining the sense of the whole phrase.For example, ―a gene ral‖ comes f ro m ― a general officer‖, ―bugle‖ from ― bugle h orn‖, ―gold‖ from ―gold me t al‖, ―uniform‖ f ro m ―uniform dress‖, ― transistor‖ f rom ―transistor radio‖, ―daily‖ f ro m ― daily newspaper‖, etc.Another case of specialization occurs when a common noun changes into a proper one, and its meaning specializes correspondingly. For example, the City refers to ―London business center‖; The Peninsula refers to ―Iberian Peninsula‖ only; and the word ―Prophet‖ refers to Muhammad, who founded the religion of Islam.3.3 ElevationElevation of meaning is a process by which words rise from humble beginning to a position of importance. In other words, some words in their early history signified something low or humble, but as time goes by, the meaning changed to designate something agreeable or pleasant. A typical case in point is the word ―nice‖. It originally meant ―ignorant‖, then ―foolish‖, but later it was dramatically eleva ted to―delightful, pleasant‖;Marshal(high—ranking army officer) and Constable(policeman) were both once referred to ―keeper of horses‖. More rele vant examples are also provided here：Word Old meaning Elevated meaningknight servant rank below baronet angel messenger messenger of Godminister servant head of ministryNobody nowadays is reluctant to be described as ―shrewd‖ perhaps, or ―nimble‖. However, for some time these two words are rather derogatory in meaning.A shrewd man was once often associated with ―evil‖ or ―wickedness‖, wh ile a nimble man is considered as someone taking something without certain permission; and the word ―success‖, a desirable destination for anyone to reach, was once only a simply neutral ―result‖.3.4 DegradationContrary to elevation, degradation of word meaning is a process whereby words of good origin or affective neutrality fall into ill reputation or come to be used in a derogatory sense. An interesting fact is that many addresses for common people have taken on derogatory color. For example, ―churl‖which used to refer to ―peasant‖ or ―free man‖ has changed into ―uncultivated or mean person‖;―wench‖ once referred to ―country girl‖, but now it has degraded into ―prostitute‖;―villain‖once referring to ―person who worked in a villa‖ has now changed in to ―evil or wi cked person or scoundrel‖. The following words have also undergone similar changes: Word Old meaning Degraded meaningknave boy dishonest personlust pleasure sexual desirelewd ignorant lecherousAs statistics shows that it is much more common for word meaning to change in denotation from neutral to pejorative than it is for them to go to the other way.The above-mentioned four types are the main types of word meaning changes, excluding transference, comparatively taking a small percentage in word meaning change, which thus is not within the framework of the present thesis discussion.IV. Causes of meaning change of English wordsWith the ever-changing human society, language as the vehicle of communication is also in the process of change and development. Both linguistic and extra-linguistic factors are exerting influence on word meaning changes. We can find out certain rules beneath the surface of meaning variations, which will deeper our understanding of word meaning.4.1Extra-linguistic factorsMeaning has always been a centre topic in human scholarship, though the term ―semantics‖ has only a h istory of a little over a hundred years, let alone lexical semantics. There were discussions of meaning in the works of the Greek philosopher Plato as early as in the fifth century before Christ. In China, Lao Zi had discussed similar question even earlier. The fact that over the years numerous dictionaries have been produced with a view to explaining the meaning of words also bears witness to its long tradition. The research on word meaning has been drawing attention from linguists, philosophers and anthropologists, psychologists, and so on. This also exemplifies the fact that many extra-linguistic factors contribute to the change of word meaning.1.Historical reason. It often happens that a word is retained for a name though the meaning has changed because the referent has changed. The famous linguist Ullman once said ―language should be more conservative than either material orspiritual civilization. Objects, styles, points of view and scientific concept have all changed in the course of time. But in many cases, the names were retained which help to ensure that the tradition and continuity of a language.‖(Zhou, 2007: 198). Take ―pen‖ as a example. ―Pen‖ in the beginning refer red to ―feather‖, since people in the West used feather to make a ―pen‖. Nowaday s, we have already said farewell to the age of using a feather pen, and we prefer to use ball pen or fountain pen. But we still stick to employ the name ―pen‖; ―car‖once referred to ―two-wheel cart drawn by horses and used in war‖. With the development of modern automobile technology, ―car‖ has changed to refer to ―automobile‖; similarly, ―computer‖ originally mean t ―person who computes‖, but now it is another case. When we talk about computer, the first image jumping into our minds is definitely ―a electric machine‖ instead of―a person‖.Increased scientific knowledge and discovery are also important factors that account for the change of word meaning. For example, people believed in ancient times that the sun was one of the seven planets revolving the earth. And this meaning could still be seen in the sentence ―The sun rises and sets‖, although people nowadays have already accepted Copernicus‘ theory that ―sun is a star around which the earth and other planets revolve‖.2.Class reason. Language is a mirror perfectly, reflecting everything in the human society, which records speeches and attitudes of people from all walks of life. And various social variants have then come into being. The attitudes of different classes have also made inroads into lexical meaning in the case of elevation or degradation. The so-called ―King‘s English‖is a typical example. There are a considerable number of words of different professions, which often have derogatory meaning. Since in the eyes of the aristocrats, the working people are ignorant, stupid, and rude in behavior. For example, words ―churl, hussy, wench, and villain‖ have all degraded from neutral sense into ―ill-mannered or bad people‖. What is more, words like ―democracy, revolution, liberation, human rights and communism‖ have quite different meanings to different people or in different society.3. Psychological reason. The associated transfers of meaning and euphemisticuse of words are often due to psychological factors. For example, in American Civil War, Copperhead (a kind of poisonous snake) was used to refer to someone who supported the Southerners secretly. As to the latter usage above (euphemistic), many humble and despised occupations often taking more appealing names is all due to psychological reasons. Americans are especially fond of using euphemistic expressions. For example, ―garbage collector‖is called ―sanitation engineer‖in America and ―disposal‖ in Britain; ―g ardener‖ changes into ―landscape architect‖; and ―servant‖ changes into ―domestic engineer‖. As statistics shows, the so-called ―engineer‖ is more than two hundred among respectful addresses in English.Besides, religious influence is another kind of psychological reason. As Cardinal Trench once said, ―ange l‖, ―martyr‖ and ―paradise‖ have their meanings elevated due to the influence of the Christianity.4.2 Linguistic factorsThere are exterior reasons for the change of word meaning, and also the interior reason, i.e. the development of language itself. Here as the follows.Firstly, a phrase is often be shortened to a word without losing the original entire meaning. For example, ―gold‖ is used for ―gold medal‖, ―gas‖ for ― coal gas‖, ―bulb‖ for ―light bulb‖, and ―private‖ for ―private soldier‖. Under these circumstances, whatever is left, a noun or an adjective, is used as a noun to be the equivalent of the original expression.Secondly, the influx of borrowing words in great number has also resulted in the change of word meaning. For example, ―deer‖ once referred to all kinds of animals. With t he coming of Latin word ―animal‖ and the French word ―beast‖, these three words were forced to re-identify their status as they all have the same denotation. As a result, ―animal‖ kept its original sense, and ―deer‖ shortened its meaning reference scope, w hile ―beast‖ changed its semantic color into derogatory.At last, analogy can also bring about meaning changes. For example, the word ―fortuitous‖ once meant ―happening by chance, accidental‖. But later it extend ed to have the meaning of ―fortunate‖. I s there a logical explanation for that? Perhaps, thisis a process of the demonstration of ―analogy‖. ―F ruition‖ originally meant ―a pleasure we obtain from using or possessing something‖ and ha d no relationship in meaning with ―fruit‖. However, one of its meaning items ―the bearing of fruit‖ is probably the result of association based on ―fruit‖.Besides, cultural psychology is the study of the way cultural traditions and social practices regulate, express, and transform the human psyche, resulting less in psychic unity for humankind than in ethnic divergences in mind, self, and emotion. When one learns a language, it is important to learn its cultural psychology. For example, when Chinese people observe a thing, they will start from the whole, but the westerners will start from the part.V. ConclusionThis thesis explores the approaches, modes, causes of word meaning change. Semantic change plays a very important role in widening the vocabulary of a language. Since language is symbolic, each word serves as a symbol in relation to a specific meaning. In this sense, we need infinite number of word or symbols to code the physical entities and our experiences, which will be ultimately proved impossible and obstruct the smooth operation of communication. So an old form is given a new concept, thus the meaning of a form is multiplied.The approaches in which word meaning changes represent the main types of changes and indicate both linguistic and extra-linguistic causes. After acquiring some basic knowledge of word meaning changes, one may could not help asking such a question ―What measures can be ad opted in daily study?‖. Hopefully this thesis could cast new light on the study of English word meaning for us English majors and help us lay a solid foundation for the exploration of the wonders of the English language.BibliographyCambridge International Dictionary of English [D], Shanghai: ShanghaiForeign Language Education Press, 2008Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English [Z], Beijing: The Commercial Press, 1998Leech, G, A, Semantics: the study of meaning, 2nd edition, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1981Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary[Z]. Beijing: The Commercial Press, Oxford University Press, 1997Odgen,C,K,& Richards,I,A, The meaning of meaning, London: Routledge & Keganpaul, 2003The English-Chinese Dictionary[D], Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2005Zhou, Ruiying, A study of teaching English word meaning[M], Changsha: Hunan Normal University, 2007池昌海, <<现代语言学导论>>, 浙江: 浙江大学出版社，2004胡壮麟主编, <<语言学教程>>(修订版), 北京: 北京大学出版社，2001胡壮麟、姜望琪主编, <<语言学高级教程>>, 北京: 北京大学出版社，2004 李赋宁, <<英语史>>, 北京: 商务印书馆，2008汪榕培、卢晓娟, <<英语词汇学教程>>, 上海: 上海外语教育出版社，2007。

词义的变化与趋势

词义的变化与趋势
词义的变化是指随着时间的推移，词汇的含义发生改变的现象。

这种变化是由社会、文化、科技等因素的影响所导致的。

词义的变化是一种自然现象，它反映了社会的发展和语言的使用习惯的变化。

词义的变化可以分为以下几种趋势：
1. 泛指化：词义逐渐扩大，涵盖范围变得更广泛。

例如，原本指代特定种类的东西的词汇逐渐演变成指代广义概念的词汇。

2. 专指化：词义逐渐变得更加具体，涵盖范围缩小。

例如，原本指代一类事物的词汇逐渐演变成指代特定事物的词汇。

3. 引申义：词义通过类比或联想发生转变。

例如，某个词汇的原始含义通过与其他相关概念的联系，产生了新的含义。

4. 混淆义：因为与其他词汇形式相似或发音相近而导致词义混淆。

例如，某个词汇的原始含义由于与其他词汇的相似性而发生了误用。

5. 褒贬义：某个词汇的原始含义因为社会文化的变迁而带有了积极或消极的情感色彩。

例如，某个词汇的原始含义可能在过去是褒义的，但随着时间的推移，它可能演变成了贬义词汇。

总的来说，词义的变化是一种自然且不可避免的现象，它反映了社会的进步和语言的发展。

对于语言学家和文化研究者来说，了解词义的变化与趋势对于理解社会和语言使用具有重要的意义。

浅析英语词汇意义的变化特征

词义变化的原因
特殊化。
一
、
由于时代的发展，人的认识的不断深入与发生变化，词从古代发展到现在，词义多少会发生相应的变化。一位早期的语义学家把词义变化的原因归纳为三十一条，可见词义变化的复杂性。尽管词义变化的原因很多，主要的有：但１．历史因素。英语的历史起源于公元五世纪上半叶撒克逊和裘德人所使用的语言，后来经历了漫长的社会发展和变化，特别是英国历史上两次外来人侵者的统治加剧了词义的变化。２．因素。社会是在不断发展中进步的，社会语言是社会发展变化的晴雨表。伴随事物、、现象行为变化以及社会的发展和科学的进步，会给词赋予新的含义，词义也必然有所变化。３言因素。词义的变化常常是由于语言的发展而造成的，．语语言的发展总是朝着一定的规律而动的，如词的省略，使得原本需要几个词表达的含义转到一个词上，使词义发生了变化。
科技信息 ຫໍສະໝຸດ 人文社科浅析英语ｉ［义的变化特征ｌｌ意
广西师范大学外国语学院唐芳洲
［摘要］词义是词的内，容是对客观事物现象的反映，包含着人们对客观事物各种特点的认识。随着时代的变迁，英语像其它语言一
样处于不断地发展变化中，义的变化是其中重要的方面。些新词出现了，词一一些旧词消失了，一些词的词义正在发生变化。英语词义是随着社会的变化而变化的。本文主要从词义的扩展，义的缩小，词词义的升格和词义的降格四个方面来探讨词义变化的特征。［关键词］义词义的扩展词义的缩小词义的升格词义的降格词

词义变化

以lady一词为例，它以前仅仅指"女主人"。

这个词的词义渐渐扩大了，适用的妇女越来越多，先是指贵族太太，后来指有教养的妇女，例如：The lords and ladies are all gathered in the palace。

词义的扩大不仅限于名词，动词、形容词的词义也都可以扩大。

词义演变的方式

There are four kinds of narrowing of meaning:
From general to specific
From abstract to concrete
From common nouns to proper nouns
From general words to technical terms
di
er
zhang
jie
第二小节
词义演变的方式
Extension of meaning 词义的扩大 Loss of old meanings 旧义的消亡 Narrowing of meaning 词义的缩小
Lexical revivals 新义的诞生
词义演变的方式
Elevation of meaning 词义的升格
(present) excuse (借口)
From proper nouns to common nouns
Many proper nouns including person names, place-names, etc. have become common nouns used in everyday life.

Lexical revivals 新义的诞生

IT vocabulary: a virtual library, virtual shopping, visit a website, counter, hit, icon, open, chat, stream, mail, compress, attachment, crack, burn, infected. bar：raise the bar for approving new drugs（标准） bomb：drop a bomb with her resignation（极大的震动） corridor：industrial corridor（地带）

自考英语词汇学第七章课件资料讲解

❖ The same is true of material nouns, which are used to refer to objects made of them and thus have a more specific sense. 物质名词情况也一样，它们被用来指由这种物质构成的物体，因此它们有更具体的含义。
7.1.2 Narrowing 词义的缩小
❖ Narrowing of meaning, also called speБайду номын сангаасialization, is the opposite of widening meaning. It is a process by which a word of wide meaning acquires a narrower or specialized sense. 词义的缩小也称为词义的专业化，与词义的扩大相反。这是意义范围较大的词向意义较小的的方向演变的过程。
7.2.2 Linguistic Factors语言因素
❖ The change of meaning may be caused by internal factors within the language system.语言系统的内部因素也可以引起语义的变化。
❖ The influx of borrowings has caused some words to change in meaning. 大量借词的涌入也引起了一些词的意义变化。
7.2.1 Extra-linguistic factors:非语言因素
❖ 1、 Historical reason.历史原因
❖ 2、 Class reason.阶级原因
Language is just like a mirror, reflecting everything that exists in human society. Naturally, it records the speech and attitude of different social classes.阶级原因。语言就像一面镜子，反映人类社会存在的一切现象，自然也反映了社会各阶级的言语和态度。

词汇学中词义改变的原因

2 Linguistic factors
• ① Shortening • ② Borrowing • ③ Analogy
Linguistic factors
The internal factors within the language system. 1. One type of such change occurs when a phrase is shortened to one word which retains the meaning of the whole.
• Mouse
• Head
7.3 Causes of Change词义变化的原因
1. Extra-linguistic factors 非语言因素
– Class reason
– Historical reason
– Psychological reason
2. Linguistic factors 语言因素
• Language is just like a mirror, reflecting everything that exists in human society. Naturally, it records the speech and attitude of different social classes.
Class reason
3. Quite a number of words that denote different sorts of working people or their occupations have deteriorated恶化 and now have taken on a pejorative sense.

英语词汇学-第五章词义的变化

综上所述
语义理据为理论基础
原始意义
通过隐喻、借代、提喻等
派生意义
词义变化Biblioteka 词的理据丧失中心意义和次要意义
如下图
强国 Power 放大率控制权
能力
权限体力
乘方
机械能
普遍意义和特殊意义
由于词义范围在历史演变中的扩大或小，有些词既可以指一类事物，也可以指这类事物中的一个。
例如： fire泛指各类 “火” ，在 the fire in the sitting room中特指 “炉火”。
比喻意义不热情的，冷冰冰的 a cool reception 冷漠的接待
• 词具备两个或两个以上的意义便成为多义词。
一词多义分析
• 普遍意义和特殊意义
• 原始意义和派生意义
• 抽象意义和具体意义
• 中心意义和次要意义
• 字面意义和比喻意义
原始意义和派生意义
原始意义，即本义。派生意义：词在发展过程中形成的，称转义。
e.g. Harvest 原义
转义
秋天
收割；收成
有的原始意义与派生意义同时在现代英语中
一词多义
• 一词多义的形成 • 一词多义分析
何晓非
一词多义的形成
一个词刚出现的时候只是用作一定的事物、
现象、性质或者行为的名称，因而总是单义的，继而在语言发展过程中逐渐获得新
义，这样便形成了一词多义。
例如
• 原义
Albatross
• 引申义
信天翁
Manuscript 手稿
忧虑之源
底稿
• 一词多义是词义变化的结果。
等改变词义。
例如：copper 原指铜，可用来指铜币(coin)。

英语词汇学--词义的变化

词义的变化

第9章 词义演变的原因和过程-词义演变的原因

英语词汇学--词义的变化

英语词汇学论文---词义的变化

英语词义的变化

词汇学 词义变化类型

词义的变化

浅析英语词汇意义变化的方式和原因

英语词汇学词义的变化

词义变化

自考论文—论英语词义的变化

词义的变化与趋势

浅析英语词汇意义的变化特征

词义变化

词义演变的方式

自考英语词汇学 第七章课件资料讲解

词汇学中词义改变的原因

英语词汇学-第五章 词义的变化

第9章词义演变的原因和过程-词义演变的原因

词汇学词义变化类型

自考英语词汇学第七章课件资料讲解

英语词汇学-第五章词义的变化