英语语言学期末复习

Chapter5 Semantics

1. Definition

1.命名论The naming theory

Proposed by the ancient Greek scholar Plato. According to this theory, the linguistic forms or symbols, in other words, the words used in a language are taken to be labels of the objects they stand for, so words are just names or labels for things.(缺点：仅限于名词)

2.意念论The conceptualist view Ogden and Richards

It holds that there is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to; rather, in the interpretation of meaning they are linked through the mediation of concepts in the mind.

3.语境论Conceptualism

It’s based on the presumption that one can derive meaning from or reduce meaning to observable contexts. Here are two kinds of context: the situational and the linguistic context.

4.行为主义论Behaviorism

It refers to the attempted to define the meaning of a language form as the situation in which the speaker utters it and the response it calls forth in the hearer. This theory somewhat close to conceptualism emphasizes on the psychological response.

2. Lexical meaning:

Sense: it is concerned with inherent meaning of linguistic form; it is the

collection of all features of linguistic form; it is abstract and de-contextualized.

Reference: it means the linguistic form refers to the real, physical world. It deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience.

3. Main sense relations

1.同义词Synonymy

It refers to the sameness or close similarity of meaning or we can say that words are close in meaning are called synonyms.

(1)Dialectal synonyms—synonyms used in different regional dialects（方

言）

British America

autumn fall

flat apartment

(2)Stylistic synonyms---Synonyms differing in style（文体）

Old man daddy father male parent

(3)Synonyms that different in their emotive or evaluative meaning（情感）Collaborator VS Accomplice

(4)Collocational synonyms（搭配）

Accuse VS Charge（accuse…of; charge…with）

Rotten tomatoes VS Addled eggs

(5)Semantically different synonyms（语义）

Amaze VS Astound

2.多义词Polysemy

It refers to different words may have the same or similar meaning; the same one word may have more than one meaning.

Ball: 1. an round object used in game.

2. a large formal social event at which people dance.

3.同音(形)异义Homonymy

It refers to the phenomenon that words have different meanings have the same form, ., different words are identical in sound or spelling, or in both.

1). Homophones同音异义

It refers to two words are identical in sound. . rain/reign.

2).Homographs同形异义

It refers to two words are identical in form. . tear v. /tear n.

3). Complete homonyms同形同音

It refers to words that are both identical in sound and spelling. . tear v. /tear n.

4.上下义关系Hyponymy

It refers to the sense relation between a more general, more inclusive word and a more specific word. The word which is more general in meaning is called superordinate, and the more specific words are called its hyponyms. Superordinate: animal