英语语言学讲义 Lecture 5-semantics

MeaningWhat is Semantics ? •Semantics -the study ofmeaning oflinguisticunits.•words•sentences•Plato •Lao Zi5.1 The meaning of meaning • C. K. Ogden & I. A. Richards (1923). The Meaning of Meaning.•presented "a representative list of the main definitons which reputable students of meaning have favoured"•16 major categories•22 all together with sub-categories•Geoffrey Leech (1974, 1981). Semantics: The Study of Meaning. Seven types of meaning:1.Conceptual meaning2.Connotative meaning3.Social meaning4.Affective meaning5.Reflected and meaning6.Collocative meaning7.Thematic meaning Associative Meaning5.1.1 Conceptual meaning•Also called ‘denotative’ or‘cognitive’ meaning.•Refers to logical, cognitive or denotative content.•Concerned with the relationship between a word and the thing it denotes, or refers to.5.1.2 Connotative meaning • Philosophical Ideasconnotations "human"-"biped,featherless, rational,etc."- the properties of the entity a word denotes •denotations •John & Maryconnotations • Linguistic Ideas politician vs. statesman -additional, esp. emotive meaning. • Philosophical Ideas "human"- "biped,featherless, rational,etc."- the properties of the entity a word denotes5.1.3 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.5.1.3 Social meaning•Status: polite, colloquial, slang, etc. •Modality: language of memoranda, lectures, jokes, etc.•Singularity: the style of Dickens, etc.•domicile: very formal, official •residence: formal •abode: poetic •home: general •steed: poetic •horse: general •nag: slang •gee-gee: baby language5.1.4 Affective meaning•Reflecting the personal feelings of the speaker, including his attitude to the listener, or his attitude to something he is talking about.5.1.4 Affective meaning •You’re a vicious tyrant and a villainous reprobate, and I hate you for it!•你这个凶残的土霸王,无耻的色鬼。

我恨透你了！•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？5.1.5 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 Jerry being hit twice by Tom so you feel excited.•Many taboo terms are result of this.5.1.6 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.5.1.7 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.5.2. Referential theory•Words → Meaning: Words ‘name’ or‘refer to’ things-- Platonic•Words→Concepts→Things: Ogden & Richardsthought/concept/imagesymbolizes refers to symbol -------------------------------------- referent (word) stands for (object)5.2.1 Sense•‘Meaning’ is not some kind of‘entity’ separate from language. •That words ‘have meaning’ means only that they are used in a certain way in a sentence. There is no ‘meaning’beyond the meaning of individual words and sentences.5.2.2Sense vs. Reference •Sense: the way people relate words to each other within the framework of their language•Reference: how language refers to this external worldThe family tree•舅父 = ‘mother’s brother’•叔叔 = ‘father’s younger brother’•伯父 = ‘father’s elder brother’•姨母 = ‘mother’s sister’•姑母 = ‘father’s sister’5.3 Sense Relations•Sense-•Semantic relations between one word and another- between one linguistic unit and another.•Intralinguistic relationsdesk chair table furniture5.3.1 Synonymy•buy/purchase •thrifty/economical/st ingy•autumn/fall•flat/apartment •tube/underground •Sameness relations •Synonyms5.3.2 Antonymy•good ----------------------- bad •long ----------------------- short •big ----------------------- small •Can be modified by adverbs of degree like very.•Can have comparative forms. •Can be asked with how.a. Gradable antonymyb. Complementary antonymy•alive : dead •male : female •present : absent •innocent : guilty •odd : even •pass : fail •boy : girl •hit : missc. Converse antonymy•buy : sell •lend : borrow •give : receive •parent : child •husband : wife •teacher : student •above : below •before : after•host : guest •employer : employee5.3.3 Hyponymy•Inclusiveness•A is included in / a kind of B.•Cf.: chair and furniture, rose and flowerCo-hyponyms & superordinate • flower•• tulip violet roseAnimalbird fish insect animalhuman animaltiger lion elephant ...Hyponymy & Antonymy Beautiful plain looking uglySense Relations •Synonymy•Antonymy •Hyponymy Gradable Complementary Converse5.4 Componential Analysis•HUMAN•man (ADULT, MALE)•woman (ADULT, FEMALE) •boy (NON-ADULT, MALE)•girl (NON-ADULT, FEMALE)MALE FEMALE NON-ADULT bull cow calfram ewe lamb boar sow piglet•father: PARENT (x, y) & MALE (x) •x is a parent of y, and x is male. •take: CAUSE (x, (HAVE (x, y))) •x causes x to have y.•give: CAUSE (x, (~HAVE (x, y))) •x causes x not to have y.•Die =become (x, (~alive (x))•Kill = cause (x, (become (y (~alive (y))))) •Murder =intend (x, (cause x, (become (y, (~alive (y))))))Problems withcomponential analysis1.Many words are polysemous.e.g.: man2. Some semantic components are seen as binarytaxonomies.e.g.: male vs. female absolute oppositeyoung vs. adult relative opposite boy vs. man ≠ woman vs. girl3. There are words without neatly organized parts. *human, adult, maleMeta-language: a language used for its own sake /talking about another language.•The cat is chasing the mouse.•The mouse is chasing the cat.•I have read that book.•That book I have read.•The daughter of Queen Elizabeth’s son is the son of Queen Elizabeth’s daughter.•SM= WM+SSThank You !。