现代英语词汇学概论6 polysemy and homonymy

Eg.

“mirror”

His diary is a mirror of the times he lived in.

“反映真象之物”

“fragrant”

fragrant flowers

“芳香的”
“愉快的,甜蜜的”

fragrant memories

II. Homonymy同形异义

120 meanings

“cut”:


Two processes of development

a) Radiation辐射型：


It is the semantic process in which the primary meaning stands at the centre and the secondary meaning radiates out of it. Though all the secondary meanings are independent of one another, they can all be traced back to the primary meaning.
Session 6
Chapter V Polysemy and Homonymy
Review chapter 4

I. Motivation of meaning

Onomatopoeic Motivation

Ducks quack. Hopeful Tabula(木板)---- table Argus-eyed professor

1.1 Polysemy

means that one single word has two or more senses at the same time. Eg.

government:

治理国家； 政府 羊毛毯；给……盖羊毛毯

blanket:


“get”:

150 meanings

More examples:
climate


原始意义
引申意义
Greek “klimax”=slope The Greeks thought that the earth sloped toward the north and that this affected the weather.
1.2.2 universal meaning vs. specific meaning

b) Concatenation连锁型:

It is the semantic process in which the meaning of a word moves gradually away from its primary meaning in succession so that the present meaning seems to have no connection to the primary meaning.

Fish Fruit
1.2.3 abstract meaning vs. concrete meaning

E.g. “envy”

a) He was filled with envy of me.

a)中,envy 有“妒嫉、羡慕”的抽象意义 b)中, envy 则指“羡慕的对象”这一具体意义

E.g. “disease ”


a) The business of doctors is to prevent and cure disease. b) Measles and flu are common diseases.

a) 泛指“疾病” b) 特指“某种疾病”

More examples

2.1 perfect homonym

They are different words identical both in sound and spelling, though different in meaning.

E.g.

1)．pop

pop ／p p/n． 流行歌曲 pop／p p／n．爸爸 pop／p p／n．砰的一声 last ／la:st／a．最后的 last／la:st／v．持续 last／la:st／n．鞋楦头
Teaching focus

I. Polysemy II. Homonymy III. How to distinguish the two forms? IV. Context V. Ambiguity and vagueness
I. Polysemy一词多义

1.1 polysemy

two processes of development

1.2 sense relations of polysemy

1.2.1 1.2.2 1.2.3 1.2.4
original meaning vs. extended meaning universal meaning vs. particular meaning abstract meaning vs. concrete meaning literal meaning vs. figurative meaning


Morphological motivation


Semantic Motivation


Etymological motivation

Argus 百眼巨人 目光敏锐的

II. Components of meaning

grammatical meaning vs. lexical meaning





forget: forgets; forgot

conceptual meaning vs. associative meaning

home small, little begin, commence pretty, handsome

associative meaning

connotative meaning

在英语的同形异义词中,同音异义词数量最多。
More examples



Weak Way Wait Waist Vein Waive Wood Tail
wenku.baidu.com



Week Weigh Weight Waste Vain Wave Would Tale

to discuss a question under five heads six pence per head the head of the school
a head of cabbage
head
to lose one‟s head use you head
the head of a page six head of cattle at the head of a list Two heads are better than one.

2)．last


3). scale


4)．mean

scale／skeil／n．鱼鳞 scale／skeil／n．天平 scale／skeil／n．标度 scale／skeil／v．攀登 mean ／mi:n／v．意指 mean／mi:n／a．卑鄙的 mean／mi:n／a．中间的 tense ／tens／n．时态 tense／tens／a．拉紧的

dragon, mother

stylistic meaning

brotherly, fraternal
famous, notorious The torch flashes. The stars twinkle. The sun shines.

affective meaning


collocative meaning

b) His splendid new car was the envy of all his friends.




entry beauty Pride
“进入” “入口” “美丽” “美人” “骄傲” “一个使人引以为骄的人”
1.2.4 literal meaning vs. figurative meaning


Ex.9 P.133
Lead-in

A man who was involved in a serious motorcycle accident was unable to speak when he first regained consciousness. Whishing to know how long he had been unconscious, he took a piece of paper and a pencil from the bedside and, after writing “date?” on it, gave it to his nurse. She handed it back to him after she had written the word “Married” on it.
1.2.1 original meaning vs. extended meaning

Etymology

original meaning: no practical use extended meaning: in use

E.g.

Original
穿白衣服的人 羽毛
extended
Candidate Pen

E.g. candidate：


1) white-roped 2) office seeker in white gowns 3) a person who seeks an office 4) a person proposed for a place, award, etc. 1) 2) 3) 4)

How to master the different meanings of a polysemic word?

relations between senses
1.2 sense relations of polysemy




1.2.1 original meaning vs. extended meaning 原始意义vs.引申意义 1.2.2 universal meaning vs. particular meaning 普遍意义vs.特殊意义 1.2.3 abstract meaning vs. concrete meaning 抽象意vs.特殊意义 1.2.4 literal meaning vs. figurative meaning 字面意义vs.比喻意义

5)．tense

2.2 homophone

They are different words identical in sound but different in spelling and meaning.

E.G:


capital; capitol dew; due die; dye dual; duel cheap; cheep …

Three types of homonyms


2.1 Perfect homonyms完全同形同音异义词 2.2 Homophones同音异义词 2.3 homograph / heteronym同形异音异义 词 Of the three types, homophones constitute the largest number and are most common.

Homonyms(同行异义词) are different words with the same form (spelling or pronunciation) E.g.

light（光）light（轻的）； bark（吠） bark（树皮）； flower（花） flour（面粉）； vain（徒劳的）vein（静脉）vane（风向标）； tear（眼泪）tear（撕）； lead（率领）lead（铅）等。