英语词汇学_unit_06_sense_relations

English LexicologyLecture 6,Sense Relation between Words,This week: Sense Relation between Words,objects-better understand the relation between words-appreciate words used in discourses-enable learners to use words effectively,Contents,1.Synonymy 同义关系 synonym 同义词2.Antonymy 反义关系 antonym 反义词3.Polysemy 多义关系 polyseme 多义词4.Homonymy 同音(同形)异义关系homonym 同音同形异义词homograph同形异义词homophone同音异义词5.Hyponymy 上下义关系 superordinate 上义词hyponym下义词6.Taxonomy (分类关系) 7. Partonomy (部分整体关系),1. Synonymy,Contents 1.1.definition of synonymy1.2. source of synonyms 1.3. kinds of synonyms1.4. Lexical variation and malapropism1.5 effects of synonyms1.6 exercises,1.1.definition of synonymy,Synonyms are words different in sound and spelling but most nearly alike or exactly the same in meaning.同义词是发音和拼写不同但在意义上极为相似或完全相同的词。This definition sounds reasonable, but it is still controversial. The focal point is what is meant by meaning.,If one chooses any group of synonyms and analyses them, one will find different shades of meaning, for example, end-terminate-close, all of which are modes of ending, but to terminate is to end finally and to close is to end gradually.Difference is also apparent in pairs of maid-girl, monkey-imitate, generous-extravagant.,Although they share similar concept, they differ in stylistic appropriateness and affective values or connotations.Therefore, wed better say synonyms are words that share a likeness in denotation as well as part of speech, for a verb cannot have an adjective as its synonym.同义词在字面意义和词性上要具有相似性。,1.2. source of synonyms,English has the most synonyms of any language in the world. Why are there so many synonyms in English?,Why are there so many synonyms in English?,1.The primary reason for this has to do with the heavy borrowing from other languages, especially from French and Latin.,Match the following native terms with their Latin counterparts. Native Borrowed friendship maternal hearty enemyinner amityouter acute motherly cordial sharp interior deed action foe exterior,Match the following native terms with their foreign counterparts. Native Borrowed brotherly mansion bodily universe homely fraternal might purchase house corporal buy domesticfiddle violin world power,In this pattern, native, French, and Latin or Greek words co-exist.Native French Latin/Greekbegin terror trepidationrise flame interrogateask commence ascendfire royal conflagrationfear question regalkingly mount initiateholy age consecratedtime virtue probitygoodness sacred epoch,2.The second reason: Dialects and regional English,3.The third reason: Figurative and euphemistic of words occupation (profession) walk of life (fig) dreamer star-gazer (fig)For example, parents of a mentally retarded child might not mind the doctor saying so bluntly, but would be greatly offended if relatives or friends should do so. To them the child is simply “a bit slow for his age”.Lets see some examples in Political and Military activities:,Euphemism,1. lies,terminological inexactitude;,2. aggression,pre-emptive action; police action;,3. retreat, rout,phased withdrawal;,4. admit defeat,concede the victory to;,5. concentration camps,strategic villages or hamlets;,6. labor strike,an industrial action,7. demobilization from military service,involuntary separation,8. military prostitute,comfort woman,9. suicidal attack,one-way action,4.The forth reason: Coincidence with idiomatic expressions,1.3. kinds of synonyms,Linguists make a distinction between strict or absolute synonymy and loose or relative synonymy.,Strict synonymy,Strict synonyms refer to two words which are identical in meaning in all its aspects. They are interchangeable in all contexts. Strict synonyms are very rare, and some linguists even argue that strict synonyms do not exist. Strict synonymy is uneconomical; it creates unnecessary redundancy in a language.,Strict synonymy,scarlet fever- scarlatina word formation- word building motherland- fatherland mother tongue- native language,Loose synonymy,When we speak of synonymy, we mean loose or relative synonymy, where we find not only a significant overlap in meaning between two words, but also some contexts where they cannot be used interchangeably. John found/discovered the basketball in the grass. Maria Curie discovered radium in 1898. *Maria Curie found radium in 1898.,discover: be the first one to come across somethingfind: experience something in some way,Distinguishing synonyms,We often take the following things into consideration when we try to find the differences between synonyms. In English and American usageDiscrimination of synonymsDifferent stylistic meaningsDifferent connotative/emotive meaningsIn shades of meaningIn the range of useIn collocation,Synonyms In English and American usage,Some synonym pairs differ in that they belong to different dialects of English. Here are some examples of synonyms from British and American English:,Discrimination of synonyms,Relative synonyms always differ in one way or another. One is more general: refuse-rejectOne is more emotive: reject-declineOne is more tense: repudiate-refuseOne is appreciative or derogatory where another is neutral: thrifty-economicalOne is more professional: decease-deathOne is more literary: passing-deathOne is more colloquial: turn down-refuseOne of the synonyms belongs to child-talk: daddy-father,Difference in range and intensity of meaningI did not comprehend his exposition or his arguments, although I understood his language. Bright denotes intense light, but in certain contexts it can also connote purity or beauty or other intangible qualities.denote: strict and literal meaning; connote: implied or suggested meaning.,beautiful, pretty, handsome, lovely, comelybeautiful 是最普通用词, 可用于人、物、景色等, 指“形式或颜色的美”, 或“给人以愉快或美感事物”, 侧重 “阴柔的优美”, 一般用于形容女人和儿童, 如: The west lake is famous for its beautiful scenery. 西湖以风景优美著称。handsome 一般指男人, 指“相貌英俊、温文尔雅”; 用于女性时, 指“身材匀称, 仪表端正”; 用于儿童时, 指“外貌俊秀”; 用于其他事物时, 指“悦目或大方”, 如: He is a handsome lad. 他是个漂亮的小伙子。lovely 往往用于女性、儿童、景色、物品等, 指“在外貌上能使人感到美好动人、漂亮可爱”, 带有“亲切”之意, 如: What a lovely smile she has! 她的微笑多可爱呀!,pretty 语气较beautiful 弱, 侧重“娇小的”, 一般用于小孩或青年女子, 指女性“适度的美”, 含有“温柔、纤巧, 从而使人产生美感”之意; 用于小孩时, 指“漂亮可爱的”; 用于事物时, 指“精致美好的”, 如: She looks very pretty in that new skirt. 她穿那条新裙子很好看。comely 通常是限定于健全的躯体带来的吸引力, 如: “Mrs. Hurd is a large woman with a big, comely, simple face” “赫德太太是一个大个子女人，长着一张大而清秀单纯的脸。,look, glance, stare, gaze, eye and peepLook 泛指 看的动作Glance: a short, quick look, e.g. He glanced at his watch. 他瞥了一眼手表.Peep: a cautious glance, e.g. to peep through a keyhole 从锁眼里偷看Gaze: a long, steady look, often caused by surprise or admiration, e.g. I gazed at the car in front of me; Id never seen anything like it.Stare: a very surprised look or a very ill-mannered gaze, e.g. We all stared at Aunties new hat. 我们目不转睛地盯着姑妈的新帽子看.Eye: watch carefully, e.g. to eye somebody narrowly 端详某人,laugh (笑), smile (微笑), grin (咧嘴笑), chuckle (暗笑), giggle (痴笑), chortle (哈哈大笑), titter (傻笑), snigger (嬉皮笑脸地笑), guffaw (哄笑), cackle (咯咯的笑), roar (狂笑)rich and wealthyA rich man and a wealthy lady are both rich, but the wealthy lady is felt to possess more money and property than a rich man.,The work was not hard and she soon learned to do it well. (light or heavy; mental or physical) The wealth of industrial society could only come from the toil of masses. (suggesting heavy and tiring work, more with manual labor)A teacher was amazed to find that a lazy student had gained a mark of 100 in an important test. (difficulty of belief) A woman may be astounded to learn that her dearest friend has been spreading malicious gossip about her. (extreme difficulty of belief),The wolf rolled over and played dead to escape capture by the farmer. They lost no time in fleeing the burning hotel.The company has decided to increase its sales by ten per cent next year. The owner of the restaurant is going to extend the kitchen. The metal will expand if heated.Each of the three terms expresses a different kind of enlargement. This can be illustrated by the following graphs:,Synonyms with different stylisticmeanings,One of a pair of synonyms may be used in a more formal context than the other. Here are some examples of synonym pairs.,Example,They made a decision to abandon the project.They decided to walk out on the project.,The group policeman, constable, bobby, cop serves for another example. Among them, policeman and constable are stylistically neutral, yet the former is used both in BrE and AmE while the latter is British specific. Bobby is colloquial used only in BrE and cop is slangy.,Difference in emotive coloring 感情色彩差异,Look at that lovely little boy. Look at that small boy. Look at that tiny boy.All the three adj. describe the smallness of the boy. But little suggests attractively and pleasantly, obviously an appreciative term; tiny means extremely small, implying the abnormal growth of the child; and small is neutral, simply implying not big.,In shades of meaning,-let, allow, permit-want, wish, desire-rich, wealthy-big, large, huge,Cool-chilly-cold-frosty-frigid-icy,Synonyms different in range of use,同义词的语法特征不同Asleep sleeping,Synonyms Different In Collocation,accuseof vs. charge withRancid vs. addledRancid bacon/ butterAddled eggs or brainspretty (girl, child, flower, garden, color, village, cottage)handsome (boy, man , car, table, overcoat, airliner, house)a flock of sheep, a herd of elephants, a shoal of fish, aswarm of bees; to sail a small boat, to navigate a liner;empty (box, street, root); vacant (seat, chair, apartment); blank (paper): empty implies that there is no one or nothing inside while vacant suggests that something or some place is not occupied.,1.4 Lexical variation and malapropism,Lexical variation 词汇变体英语中个别词有两个读音和拼写上都稍有不同的形式, 如whatever和whatsoever, 它们在词义和用法上毫无区别,完全是一个词,因此称为 “词汇变体”. More examples: eastward and eastwards; toward and towards; sere and sear; egoism and egotism; hippie and hippy; whisky and whiskey; favour and favor; connexion and connection,Malapropism 误用词语误用词语是英语中的一种用词错误现象,类似汉语里的写错别字和读别音, 如:“Five below zero, nominally a safe temperature for driving.” (weather forecast)“My goal in life is to be a success, and when I retire I want to devote my money to philandering.” (from a students composition)normally 正常地 philanthropy 慈善事业,Try to distinguish the following confused words:,1.5. effects of synonyms,Do you know the significance of studying synonyms?Eg. We are hungry for a life that turns us on;we yearn for a knowledge of living that will save us from our innocuous lives that resemble death. We look for signs in every strange event; we search for heroes in every unknown face. (A Walker, The Civil Rights Movement),Avoid repetitionGeneral-specific( achieve precision )Say/speak: murmur, scream, retort, argue, protest,claim, state, declareMonotony-vividnessBarbie dolls fashion: fashions, costumes, outfits, apparel, dress.,1.6 Exercises: Discrimination of synonyms,The losing team was from further competition.Firefighters a big fire.The meeting has been because of the flu.The government the tax on alcohol.,abolish, cancel, extinguish, eliminate,eliminated,extinguished,cancelled,abolished,Discrimination of synonyms,She made an of ideas she wanted to present in her talk.I have read the of his book.The chemistry book had a at the end of each chapter.,abstract, outline, summary,outline,abstract,summary,It is whether the economy will get better.His changes of recovery from illness are .He has some ideas about what to do, but nothing specific.His directions confused us; we did not know which of the two roads to take.The poetry of Ezra Pound is sometimes difficult to understand because it contains so many references.,ambiguous, obscure, vague, unclear, dim,unclear,dim,vague,ambiguous,obscure,He mounted his _ (gee-gee, steed)./ He got on his _ (gee-gee, steed).The corns are heavy and _ (ripe, mature).She is in some ways_ (ripe, mature) and some ways rather a child.After sustained effort, they have found_ (effective, efficient) ways of reducing pollution.To run the business more profitably, you need an _ (effective, efficient) production manager.I was so _ (fatigued, tired) as to be obliged to retire at the same time as the _ (children, kids).I was so _ (fatigued, tired) that I had to go to bed as early as the_ (children, kids).,When he asked me to dance, I _ (refused, declined) politely.He _ (refused, declined) to accept the political advice which was offered.The fridge smelled strongly of _ (addled, rancid) butter.An _ (addled, rancid) egg is one that has gone bad._ (Penalties, Fines) for overdue books will be strictly enforced.You have got to pay _ (penalties, fines) for overdue books.The teacher _ (accused, rebuked) the student for being impudent.The writer _ (accused, rebuked) the critic of failing to do justice to his maiden work.,2. Antonymy,Contents 2.1.definition of antonymy2.2. types of antonyms2.3. Some Characteristics of Antonyms2.4. use of antonyms,2.1.definition of antonymy,Antonymy is a relationship of meaning opposition that may hold between two words.Antonyms can be defined as words which are opposite in meaning.,2.2. types of antonyms,Semantic classificationContrary/ Gradable antonym 相反词等级反义词contradictory antonym /Complementaries /non-gradable 互补反义词Converse antonym 相对反义词,Contrary 相反词,Contrary antonyms are best considered in terms of a scale running between two poles or extremes. 相反词最好被想像为处于两极之间的一个标尺。,non-gradable,gradable,Words such as rich-poor, old-young, big-small represent two points at both ends of the pole. The existence of one is in relation to the other. .This shows what is called semantic relativity. 像富穷、老少、大小这样的词表示了一根杆子的两端。一方的存在与另一方有关。 这就是所谓的语义相对性。Examples: poor rich, good bad cold hot, old young,More examples are:old, middle-aged, youngopen, ajar, closerich, well-to-do, poorhot, warm, cool, coldbeautiful, good-looking, plain, ugly,Contradictory (complementary) antonyms,Contradictory antonyms include pairs like the following:asleepawakedeadaliveonoffrememberforgetwinlosetruefalseNoun: boy girl, man woman,These pairs are called contradictory antonyms because they represent an either/or relation.If you permit some behavior, then it is not forbidden. Since they are not gradable, they do not allow comparison,Features of complementaries,(1) They are so opposed to each other that they are mutually exclusive and admit no possibility between them. The assertion of one is the denial of the other or vice versa. 它们互相完全对立，互相排斥，之间不允许有任何可能项。肯定一方就等于否定另一方，反之也一样。(2) Another distinctive feature of this category is that such antonyms are nongradable. 这类反义词的另一个显著特征是这种反义词是非等级的。He is very single, or more single, or extremely single.,Converse antonyms,The following are examples of converse antonyms：lendborrowhusbandwife above belowbeforeafterbehindin front ofbuysellgivereceiveparentchildspeaklisten,Lend is the converse of borrow and vice versa; i.e. the substitution of one member for the other does not change the meaning of a sentence if it is accompanied by the change of subject and object.,John lent Mary five dollars.Mary borrowed five dollars from John.,The bridge is above the river.The river is below the bridge. This behavior is allowed.This behavior is not prohibited.,Contradictory antonymsvs. Converse antonyms,Converse antonyms are relational antonyms.,Contradictory antonyms are either/or antonyms.,2.3 Some Characteristics of Antonyms,Words denoting nature, quality or state of things have in many cases antonyms. This accounts for abundance of antonyms among adjectives. Next come verbs which denote action or activity. Least antonyms are found among nouns which generally denote names of objects, domain, idea, etc. Many words, though having synonyms, do not find their semantic opposites. Therefore, there are a great many more synonyms than antonyms.,Words which are polysemantic can have more than one antonym, e.g. fast-loose/slow; dull-interesting/vivacious.Contraries are gradable antonyms, differing in degree of intensity, so each has its own corresponding opposite, e.g. hot-cold, warm-cool; poor-rich, destitute-opulentSome words may have two different types of antonyms at the same time, one being negative and the other opposite, e.g.: happy-unhappy-sad, productive-unproductive-destructive, free-unfree-enslaved.Exceptions：valuable and invaluableflammable and inflammableshameful and shamelessheritable and inheritable,2.4 use of antonyms,A word can have more than one antonymsFresh bread-stale breadFresh air-stuffy airFresh flowers-faded flowersFresh look-tired lookPurpose of using antonyms,Purpose of using a