新编简明英语语言学教程 第二版 戴炜栋5 Semantics

1、Chapter 5 Semantics Semantics-the study of language meaning. What is meaning?- Scholars under different scientific backgrounds have different understandings of language meaning. Some views concerning the study of meaning Naming theory (Plato) （命名论） The conceptualist view （概念观） Contextualism (Bloomfi

2、eld) （语境论） Behaviorism （行为主义）Naming theory (Plato) Words are names or labels for things. Limitations: 1) Applicable to nouns only. 2) There are nouns which denote things that do not exist in the real world, e.g. ghost, dragon, phoenix 3) There are nouns that do not refer to physical objects but abst

3、ract notions, e.g. joy, impulse, hatredThe conceptualist view The conceptualist view holds that there is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to (i.e. between language and the real world); rather, in the interpretation of meaning they are linked through the mediation（对概念的综合理解及

4、分析） of concepts in the mind. Ogden:gdn and Richards: semantic triangleSymbol/form:words/phrases/sentencesReferent（指示物）（指示物）: object in the world of experienceThought/reference(所指所指):concepts in mindThe symbol or a word signifies things by virtue of（依靠） the concept associated with the form of the wor

5、d in the minds of the speaker; and the concept looked at from this point of view is the meaning of the word. The contextualism （语境理论）（语境理论） Meaning should be studied in terms of situation, use, contextelements closely linked with language behavior. Two types of contexts are recognized: Situational c

6、ontext: spatiotemporal（时空的） situation. Linguistic context: the probability of a words co-occurrence or collocation. For example, “black” in black hair & black sheep（害群之马） differs in meaning; “the president of the United States” can mean either the president or presidency in different situation.B

7、ehaviorism Behaviorists attempted to define meaning as “the situation in which the speaker utters it and the response it calls forth（引出）in the hearer”. The story of Jack and Jill: Jill Jack S_r-s_R(physical stimulus) (verbal response) (verbal stimulus) (non-verbal response)(wants the apple) (speaks

8、to Jack) (hears) (gives Jill) Lexical meaning Sense and reference are both concerned with the study of word meaning. They are two related but different aspects of meaning. Sense(意义) reference(语义) nSense- is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form. It is the collection of all the f

9、eatures of the linguistic form; it is abstract and de-contextualized. It is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are interested in. For example, the word “dog”is given the definition “a domesticated(驯化的) canine （犬牙）mammal, occurring in many breeds(一胎多仔） that show a great variety in size and fo

10、rm”. This doesnt refer to any particular dog that exist in the real world,but applies to any animal that meets the features described in the definition. So this is the sense of the word “dog”.nReference-what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with the relationship betw

11、een the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience. If we say “The dog is barking”, we must be talking about a certain dog existent in the situation; the word “dog” refers to a dog known to both the speaker and the hearer. This is the reference of the word “dog” in this particular

12、 situation.Note Linguistic forms having the same sense may have different references in different situations; on the other hand, there are also occasions, when linguistic forms with the same reference might differ in sense, e.g. the morning star and the evening star, rising sun in the morning and th

13、e sunset at dusk. *Venus 金星 在西边时是evening star 长庚星 在东边时是morning star 启明星Major sense relationsnSynonymy snnm (同义现象)n Antonymy nt,nmi （反义现象）nPolysemy pl,sim （多义现象）n Homonymy homnm （同音/形异义现象）nHyponymy haipnimi （下义关系）Synonymysnnm Synonymy refers to the sameness or close similarity of meaning. Words that

14、are close in meaning are called synonyms. 1) Dialectal synonymssn,nm - synonyms used in different regional dialects, e.g. autumn - fall, biscuit - cracker, petrol gasoline 2) Stylistic synonyms-synonyms differing in style, e.g. kid, child, offspring; start, begin, commence;3) Synonyms that differ in

15、 their emotive or evaluative meaning, e.g.collaborator（合作者）accomplice（帮凶）,4) Collocational（搭配的） synonyms, e.g. accuseof（控告）, chargewith, rebuke（ 谴责）for; 5) Semantically different synonyms, e.g. amaze（suggesting confusing and bewilderment）, astound (suggesting difficulty in believing),Antonymy nt,nm

16、nGradable （分级）antonyms-there are often intermediate forms between the two members of a pair, e.g. old-young, hot-cold, tall-short, nComplementary （互补）antonyms-the denial of one member of the pair implies the assertion of the other, e.g. alive-dead, male-female, nRelational （关系）opposites-exhibits the

17、 reversal of the relationship between the two items, e.g. husband-wife, father-son, doctor-patient, buy-sell, let-rent, employer-employee, give-receive, above-below, Polysemy pl,sim nPolysemy-the same one word may have more than one meaning, e.g. “table” may mean:A piece of furniture （餐桌）All the peo

18、ple seated at a table（坐同一桌的人）The food that is put on a table （餐食，伙食）A thin flat piece of stone, metal, wood, etc.（板）Orderly arrangement of facts, figures, etc.（表格） Homonymy homnm Homonymy- the phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form, e.g. different words are identical in s

19、ound or spelling, or in both. Homophone （同音词）- when two words are identical in sound, e.g. rain-reign, night/knight, Homogragh（同形词） - when two words are identical in spelling, e.g. tear(n.)-tear(v.), lead(n.)-lead(v.), Complete homonym（同音/形词）- when two words are identical in both sound and spelling,

20、 e.g. means,ball, bank, watch, scale, fast, Note: A polymeric （聚合的）word is the result of the evolution of the primary meaning of the word (the etymology（语源学）of the word) e.g. table; while complete homonyms are often brought into being by coincidence（巧合）, e.g. ball（球） - ball （舞会）. * Ambiguity & P

21、unning Ambiguity refers to expressions having more than one meaning which occur without any special intention. Punning is to play on words for a witty or humorous effect by using homonyms(同音同形异义词), homophones(同音异形异义词) or Polysems（多义词）. Ambiguity1. The students complained to everyone that they couldn

22、t understand.2. The dog is too hot to eat.3. Flying planes can be dangerous.4. The fat managers wife is fond of shopping5. He did not leave home because he was afraid of his wife.1. The students complained to everyone that they couldnt understand.a. 学生向所有人抱怨他们无法理解b.学生向所有无法理解的人抱怨 2. The dog is too ho

23、t to eat.a. 狗热到吃不下东西.b. 狗肉太热让人没办法吃3. Flying planes can be dangerous.a. 正在飞的飞机很危险b. 飞飞机会很危险（开飞机或飞纸飞机）4. The fat managers wife is fond of shoppinga. 那个胖经理的妻子爱购物（经理胖）b. 那个胖胖的经理夫人爱购物（经理夫人胖）5. He did not leave home because he was afraid of his wife.a. 他不是因为怕媳妇儿才离开的家b. 他因为怕媳妇儿，不敢离开家1.这份报告，我写不好。a.这份报告，我没能力

24、写好。b.这份报告，我来写不适合。2.大家对护林员揭发林业局带头偷运木料的问题，普遍感到非常气愤。a.大家对护林员揭发感到非常气愤。b.大家对林业局带头偷运木料普遍感到非常气愤。3.无鱼肉亦可无鸡鸭亦可唯青菜萝卜不可少不得一分工钱。 无鱼，肉亦可；无鸡，鸭亦可；唯青菜萝卜不可。少不得一分工钱。 无鱼肉亦可，无鸡鸭亦可，唯青菜萝卜不可少。不得一分工钱。 Punning 1. It was lunchtime and the only officer on duty was a fortyish black man with short, pressed hair, a pencil mustac

25、he and a neatly pressed brown suit. Everything about him suggested a carefully dressed authority. (B1 L4 The Boy and the Bank Officer)-to dress: 1) to put on clothes; 2) to make up (做头发、梳理);2. Ben Battle was a warrior bold, And used to wars alarms: But a Cannon-ball took off his legs, So he laid dow

26、n his arms. (part of the body; weapon) (the use of homonyms) (Thomas Hood Faithless Nelly Grey) 3. We have courses to make grown men young and young men groan. (the use of homophones) 4. Reds black white-collar goods. (the use of Polysems) 1. 宝钗笑道：“原来这叫负荆请罪！你们通今博古，才知道负荆请罪，我不知什么叫负荆请罪。” 红楼梦 2. 不写情词不写诗

27、，一方素帕记心知；心知接到颠倒看，横也丝来竖也丝。这般心事有谁知？ 素帕 Hyponymy haipnimi （下义关系）（下义关系） Hyponymy-the sense relation between a more general, more inclusive word and a more specific word. Superordinate（上坐标词）: the word which is more general in meaning. Hyponyms: the word which is more specific in meaning. Co-hyponyms: hyp

28、onyms of the same superordinate.HyponymynSuperordinate: flowernHyponyms: rose, tulip, lily, chrysanthemum（菊花）, peony（牡丹花）, narcissus（水仙花）, nSuperordinate: furniturenHyponyms: bed, table, desk, dresser（梳妆台）, wardrobe（衣橱）, sofa, Sense relations between sentences (1) X is synonymous （近似）with Y (2) X is

29、 inconsistent （不一致）with Y (3) X entails Y（包含） (4) X presupposes Y（预示） (5) X is a contradiction（矛盾） (6) X is semantically anomalous nmls （反常的）X is synonymous with Y X: He was a bachelor all his life. Y: He never got married all his life. X: The boy killed the cat. Y: The cat was killed by the boy. If

30、 X is true, Y is true; if X is false, Y is false.X is inconsistent with Y X: He is single. Y: He has a wife. X: This is my first visit to Beijing. Y: I have been to Beijing twice. If X is true, Y is false; if X is false, Y is true.X entails Y X: John married a blond heiress. Y: John married a blond.

31、 X: Marry has been to Beijing. Y: Marry has been to China. Entailment is a relation of inclusion. If X entails Y, then the meaning of X is included in Y. If X is true, Y is necessarily true; if X is false, Y may be true or false.X presupposes Y X: His bike needs repairing. Y: He has a bike. Paul has

32、 given up smoking. Paul once smoked. If X is true, Y must be true; If X is false, Y is still true.X is a contradiction *My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor. *The orphans parents are pretty well-off.X is semantically anomalous *The man is pregnant. *The table has bad intentions. *Sincerity s

33、hakes hands with the black apple.Analysis of meaning Componential analysis （成分分析） Predication analysis （述谓结构分析）Componential analysis Componential analysis- a way to analyze lexical meaning. The approach is based on the belief that the meaning of a word can be dissected(切开,分析) into meaning components

34、, called semantic features. For example, Man: +HUMAN, +ADULT, +ANIMATE有生命的 , +MALE Boy: +HUMAN, -ADULT, +ANIMATE, +MALE Woman: +HUMAN, +ADULT, +ANIMATE, -MALE Girl: +HUMAN, -ADULT, +ANIMATE, -MALEPredication analysis 1) The meaning of a sentence is not to be worked out by adding up all the meanings

35、of its component words, e.g. The dog bites the man. The man bites the dog. *semantically different while components exactly the same. 2) There are two aspects to sentence meaning: grammatical meaning and semantic meaning, e.g. Green clouds are sleeping furiously. Sincerity shook hands with the black apple. * Whether a sentence is semantically meaningful is g