语言学第五章5_semantics

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Affective meaning expressed through conceptual meaning

乌鸦嘴

Affective meaning expressed through connotative meaning

This fellow is an ass! (stupid)

Many taboo terms are result of this.
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Some words become taboo expression because of unpleasant association
intercourse, gay, cock, bottoms up 走进红楼




Derogatory ruthless obstinate sly, crafty childish wiseguy freak fleshy, fat, tubby lean, skinny, lanky, weedy, scraggy
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(5) Reflected meaning

His look was full of meaning.
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What is the meaning of life?
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What does ‘capitalist’ mean to you?
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What does ‘cornea’ mean? The transparent, convex, anterior portion of the outer fibrous coat of the eyeball that covers the iris and the pupil and is continuous with the sclera.
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3. The meaning of meaning

C. K. Ogden & I. A. Richards (1923). The Meaning of Meaning. John means to write. A green light means to go.

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Health means everything.

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It is primary and basic in linguistic communication. Without this kind of meaning, communication would be impossible.
pig: a domesticated animal with a long snout and thick fat body covered with coarse bristles Tiger: flesh-eating wild animal woman: human, adult, female.


Conceptual meaning changes in the course of time

wife, deer
operation
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A word may have different conceptual meanings

(2) Connotative meaning

The communicative value an expression has by virtue of what it refers to, over and above its purely conceptual content.

Pragmatics:

The meaning of utterances
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2. Semantic Meaning


Semantics is the study of meaning in language. Meaning has been studied for thousands of years by philosophers, logicians and linguists. E.g. Plato & Aristotle.
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Geoffrey Leech (1974, 1981). Semantics: The Study of Meaning. Seven types of meaning:
Conceptual/denotative meaning Connotative meaning Social meaning Associative Affective meaning Meaning Reflected meaning Collocative meaning Thematic meaning
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Connotative meaning may vary due to varied individual experience,
home, bee, 大灰狼

In different languages some words may have the same connotative meaning while some not.
lamb, red, dog, west wind

Connotative meaning is not stable
gay, 农民出身
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Step mother
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(3) Social meaning

What a piece of language conveys about the social circumstances of its use.
Formal <------------------------------> Informal
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(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.


Euphemistic expressions
insane for mad The person is somewhat out of senses. 下地狱---仙逝

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(6) Collocative meaning
steed: poetic horse: general nag: slang gee-gee: baby language
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The five clocks by Martin Joos
Frozen 拘谨 Formal 正式 Consultative 交谈性的 Casual 随便 Intimate 亲昵
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.
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‘Colorful’ meaning
Commendatory tough-minded resolute, firm shrewd childlike wiseman man of usual talent portly, stout, solid, plum slender, slim

A multitude of additional, non-criterial properties, including not only physical characteristics but also psychological and social properties, as well as typical features.
Chapter Five Meaning
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1. The Study of Meaning


Semantics:
It refers to the study of meaning in language. More specifically, semantics is the study of the meaning of linguistic units, words and sentences in particular.
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Involving the ‘real world’ experience one associates with an expression when one uses or hears it. woman: gentle, compassionate, hard-working fragile, prone to tears, emotional, inconsistent

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Some words may have the same conceptual meaning, but have different social meaning and stylistic meaning.
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domicile: very formal, official residence: formal abode: poetic home: general
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Logicians and philosophers have tended to concentrate on a restricted range of sentences (typically, statements, or ‘propositions’) within a single language. 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.

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.

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(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.
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.