英语词汇学chapter6-Polysemy-and-Hyponymyppt课件

1、1,POLYSEMY AND HOMONYMY,Chapter VI,2,A man who was involved in a serious motorcycle accident was unable to speak when he first regained consciousness. Wishing 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

2、 his nurse. She handed it back to him after she had written the word “Married” on it,3,As most words are arbitrary and conventional symbols without any intrinsic connection with what they refer to, it may sometimes happen that more than one meaning is attached to a word, or two or more words may hav

3、e the same form but be different in meaning. The former is known as polysemy, and the latter, homonymy,4,Polysemy,A lexical item has a range of different meanings, that is, one single word has two or more senses at the same time. blanket: 羊毛毯；给盖羊毛毯 get: 150 meanings cut: 120 meanings A sign of the s

4、uperiority of that language. “The more meanings a word has accumulated, the more diverse aspects of intellectual and social activity it is likely to represent.,5,In order to express new ideas, new processes, new products, and so forth, language can do three things: form a new word, borrow a word fro

5、m other languages, or add new meanings to established words. Of the three ways, the simplest one is to have old words take on additional meaning. That is why polysemic words of long standing are signs of an advanced culture,6,Two approaches,1) Diachronic approach(历时的) From the diachronic point of vi

6、ew, polysemy is thought to be the result of growth and development of the semantic structure of a word. This first meaning is the primary meaning(原始意义). These later meanings are called derived meanings(派生意义,2021/1/31,7,An Example Face: 12 meanings (1)the front of the head (2)a surface of a thing (3)

7、the appearance (4)the functional surface (5)effrontery (6)the topography,1) is the primary meaning and all the rest are derived later on from the primary meaning. All derived meanings (2-12) are related to the primary one in one way or another,8,2) synchronic approach(共时的) Synchronically, polysemy i

8、s thought as the coexistence of various meanings of the same word in a historical period of time. The basic meaning of a word is considered to be the core of word meaning, called the central meaning (中心意义). The derived meanings, no matter how numerous, are secondary meanings (次要意义). The interrelatio

9、n or comparison between the central meaning and secondary meanings,9,In some cases, the primary meaning (diachronically) and the central meaning (synchronically) coincide. However, in some cases, a meaning that appeared after the original meaning can become the central meaning. The two approaches ar

10、e supplementary to each other in the analysis of a polysemous word,10,Two processes of (leading to) polysemy,radiation,concantenation,11,Radiation (语义辐射) Semantically, radiation is the process in which the primary or central meaning stands at the center while secondary meanings radiate from it in ev

11、ery direction like ray. All the meanings are independent of one another, but can all be traced back to the central meaning,12,head,the head of the school,six pence per head,the head of a page,to lose ones head,six head of cattle,a head of cabbage,at the head of a list,Two heads are better than one,t

12、o discuss a question under five heads,use you head,13,Concantenation (连锁型) Concatenation, “linking together” is a semantic process in which the meaning of a word moves gradually away from its first sense by successive shifts, like the links of a chain, until there is no connection between the sense

13、that is finally developed and the primary meaning,board木板餐桌会议桌董事会,2021/1/31,14,Concatenation describes a process where each of the later meaning is related only to the preceding one like chains. 12345 Radiation describes a process where each of the derived meanings is directly connected to the prima

14、ry meaning,15,Homonymy,Greek homonumos (homo: the same, onoma:name) refer to two or more words, which have the same form, but differ in meaning. They are pronounced alike, or spelled alike, or both. E.g.: light（光）light（轻的） bark（吠） bark（树皮） tear（眼泪）tear（撕） lead（率领）lead（铅,16,Types of homonyms Perfect/

15、absolute homonyms（完全同音同形异义词） Words identical in sound and spelling but different in meaning bear/be/（熊） bear/be/ （忍耐） Dont trouble trouble until trouble troubles you. Homophones（同音异义词） Words identical in sound but different in spelling and meaning meet/mi:t/（遇见）mete/mi:t/（边界）meat/mi:t/（肉） Homographs

16、(同形异义词) Words identical in spelling but different in sound and meaning tear/t/（眼泪）tear/te/（撕裂） Of the three types, homophones constitute the largest number and are most common,17,Sources of homonyms A. Phonetic convergence: sea/seesteal/steel B. Semantic divergence: When two or more meanings of the

17、same word drift apart to such an extent that there will be no obvious connection between them, polysemy will give place to homonymy C. Foreign influence D. Shortening,18,Differentiation of homonym from polysemys,Polysemy: one word having several meanings that derive from the same historical source a

18、nd between which there is a historical or realistic relation. In dictionary, all meanings are listed under the same single polysemy,Homonym: words only identical in sound or spelling or both but having no connection in meaning and not deriving from the same historical source. In dictionary, Homonyms

19、 are listed independently,19,The Stylistic Value of Polysemy and Homonymy,Achieving humour, irony and heightened dramatic power 1) “waiter!”“Yes, sir.” “Whats this?”“Its bean soup, sir” “No matter what its been. What is it now?” 2) Why is the Middle Ages also called the Dark Ages? Because there were

20、 so many knights. 3) Why should a man never tell his secrets in a cornfield? Because it has so many ears,20,1) （赵辛楣在追求苏小姐，他把方鸿渐视为情敌。) 赵：方先生在外国学的是什么啊？ 方（没好气）：没学什么。 苏：鸿渐，你学过哲学，是不是？ 赵：从我们干实际工作的人的眼光看来，学哲学跟什么都不学没两样。 方：那么得赶快找个眼科医生，把眼光验一下；会这样看东西的眼睛，一定有毛病。 钱钟书围城,21,SUMMARY,22,SENSE RELATIONS BETWEEN WORDS,C

21、hapter VII,23,Words are arbitrary symbols and independent identities so far as their outer facet- spelling and pronunciation, is concerned. But semantically, all words are related in one way or another. A word which is related to other words is related to them in sense, hence sense relations. Moreov

22、er, the discussion will also cover semantic field, which is commonly felt to be an integral part of sense relations,24,A dog is an animal that thinks its human; A human is an animal that thinks its not an animal; Therefore, a dog is an animal that thinks its an animal that thinks its not an animal,2

23、5,Sense relations Polysemy Homonymy(同形异义关系/同音异义关系/同音同形异义关系) HomophonesHomographsPerfect homonyms Synonymy 同义关系synonym 同义词 semantic similarity Antonymy 反义关系antomym 反义词 semantic opposition Hyponymy 上下义关系 semantic inclusion,26,Synonymy,Synonymy is a relationship of sameness of meaning that may hold bet

24、ween two words. Synonym: a word that means the same as another. Or exactly one of two or more words which have the same or very nearly the same essential meaning,27,Types of Synonyms Synonyms can be classified into two major groups: absolute/complete synonyms and relative synonyms. 1) absolute/compl

25、ete synonyms, also known as complete synonyms are words which are identical in meaning in all its aspects, i.e. both in grammatical meaning and lexical meaning, including conceptual and associative meanings. Rare, non-existent Absolute synonyms are restricted to highly specialized vocabulary, such a

26、s scarlet-fever/ scarlatina in medicine,28,2) Relative synonyms, also called near-synonyms, are similar or nearly the same in denotation, but embrace different shades of meaning or different degrees of a given quality. E.g.: change / alter /vary change: to put another thing in its place alter: to ma

27、ke it different from which it was before vary: to alter it in different manner and at different times A man changes his habits, alters his conduct, and varies his manner of speaking,29,Relative synonyms may be different in the following aspects: In degree of a given quality or in shade of meaning; I

28、n affective meaning, and stylistic meaning; In collocation and distribution; Some sets of synonyms belong to different dialects of the language,30,Sources of Synonyms 1) Borrowing “ the richness of English in synonyms is largely due to the happy mingling of Latin, French and native elements.”(Baugh,

29、 1978) Native French Latin ask question interrogate fast firm secure 2) Dialects and regional English railway (BrE) railroad (AmE) 3) Figurative and euphemistic use of words occupation (profession) walk of life (fig) 4) Coincidence with idiomatic expressions decide make up one s mind,31,Discriminati

30、on of Synonyms The differences between synonyms boil down to three areas: denotation, connotation, and application. 1) Difference in denotation Synonyms may differ in the range and intensity of meaning. Some words have a wider range of meaning than others. comprehend / understand extend / increase /

31、 expand laugh: chortle, chuckle, giggle, guffaw, snicker/snigger, titter,32,2) Difference in connotation. By connotation, we mean the stylistic and emotive coloring of words. Some words share the same denotation but differ in their stylistic (emotional) appropriateness. unlike / dissimilar homely /

32、domestic Look at that lovely little boy. Look at that small boy. Look at that tiny boy. 3) Difference in application. Many words are synonymous in meaning but different in usage in simple,33,3) Difference in application Many words are synonymous in meaning but different in usage in simple terms. The

33、y form different collocations and fit into different sentence patterns (distribution: pre- or post- modifier). empty (box, street, room), vacant (seat, chair, apartment), blank (check, a blank sheet of paper) accuse.of, chargewith, rebukefor, reproachwith/for,34,Discrimination of synonyms The losing

34、 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,extinguished,eliminated,cancelled,abolished,Exercises,35,It is to judge a foreign culture only by its food. There was an idea

35、 that the earth was flat and motionless. You were very to trust him. The boss him strongly for his negligence The police him of theft. The police him with murder,absurd, ridiculous, silly,ridiculous,absurd,silly,accuse, charge, rebuke,rebuked,accused,charged,36,Antonymy Antonomy is concerned with se

36、mantic opposition. Antonyms can be defined as words which are opposite in meaning. There are a variety of oppositeness. antonyms can be classified on the basis of A. semantic contrast B. morphological structure,37,types of antonyms,Morphological classification root antonyms derivational antonyms Sem

37、antic classification Contraries/ Gradable 相对反义词 Complementaries 互补反义词 Conversives 换位反义词,38,A. antonyms classified on the basis of semantic contrast Contraries Complementaries Coversives,39,a) Contraries /gradable antonyms(相对反义词) Antonyms of this type are best viewed in terms of a scale running betwe

38、en two poles or extremes. The two opposites are gradable. hot, warm, cool, cold beautiful, pretty, good-looking, plain, ugly old-young, open-close, big-small, poor-rich,40,b) Complementaries (绝对反义词/互补反义词) These antonyms truly represent oppositeness. They are so opposed to each other that they are mu

39、tually exclusive and admit no possibility between them (non-gradable). The assertion of one is the denial of the other. dead-alive, present-absent, male-female, true-false, approval-disapproval, capable-incapable Prefixes: dis-, in-, il-, ir-, im-, un,41,a,b,a,b,gradable complementary contrary contr

40、adictory,42,c) Conversives (换位反义词/关系反义词) This third type consists of relational opposites. one member of the antonyms pair presupposes the other member. Husband-wife, fianc-fiance, employer-employee, debtor-creditor Above-below, in front of-behind, up-down Buy-sell, give-receive, go-come, gain-lose,

41、43,B. antonyms classified on the basis of the morphological structure root antonyms clear vague; large small derivational antonyms polite impolite prewar - postwar,44,Some features of antonyms 1) Marked and unmarked members (有标记项和无标记项) E.g.: tiger(unmarked), tigress(marked) The unmarked member is us

42、ed much more widely than merely as a contrast with the marked one, which is more specific in denotation. More examples Old/young; “How old / young are you?” big/small; “How big ?” wide/narrow;“How wide ?” Heavy/light Which one in each pair is unmarked? The cover term is called “unmarked”, i.e. usual

43、; and the covered “marked”, or unusual,45,2) Some words without antonyms Not all words have antonyms: House, window, forest, book, coal 3) Polysemous words can have more than one antonym fast: secureloose quickslow,46,Stylistic purpose of the use of antonyms 勤学如春起之苗，不见其增，日有所长； 辍学如磨刀之石，不见其损，日有所亏 Unit

44、ed we stand, divided we fall. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. He is too old to work, but too young to die. One hundred years later，Negro lives on a lonely lsland of poverty In the midst of vast oeean of material Prosperity. (Martin Luther King: I Have a Dream) Education makes people eas

45、y to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but difficult to slave. (Henry Peter Brousham, Political Leadership,47,Hyponymy The relationship of semantic inclusion between words is called hyponymy, i.e. the meaning of a more specific word is included in that of another more general word. Examp

46、les: cat is a hyponym(下义词) of animal, flute of instrument, chair of furniture,48,Food is a superordinate (上义词), meat, vegetable and fruit are hyponyms(下义词) or subordinates of food, and they are co-hyponyms(共下义词). But their status either as superordinate or subordinate is relative to other terms,49,T

47、he set of terms which are hyponyms of the same superordinate terms are called co-hyponyms, which are also knows as semantic fields. The words of language can be classified into sets which are related to conceptual fields and divide up the semantic space or the semantic domain in certain ways. For example, apple, pear, date and etc. make up the semantic field of “fruits”. The German linguist Jost Trier saw vocabulary as an integrated system of lexemes inter