新编简明语言学导论教程课件Chapter-.ppt

1、Chapter Five Semantics1. The Study of MeaningSemantics: the study of language meaning.In our discussion, we will limit ourselves to the study of meaning from a linguistic point of view.Pragmatics: The meaning of utterances2. Semantic MeaningSemantics is the study of meaning in language.Meaning has b

2、een studied for thousands of years by philosophers, logicians and linguists. E.g. Plato & Aristotle.3. The meaning of meaningC. K. Ogden & I. A. Richards (1923). The Meaning of Meaning.John means to write.A green light means to go.Health means everything.His look was full of meaning.What is the mean

3、ing of life?What does capitalist mean to you?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.C.K Ogden and I.A. Richard, in their famous book The Meaning of Meaning(1923), ha

4、ve given a list of twenty-two definitions of the word meaning.One aim of semantics is to distinguish these different ways in which language “means”.Some views concerning the study of meaning Naming theory (Plato) The conceptualist view Contextualism (Bloomfield) Behaviorism Naming theory (Plato)The

5、naming theory was proposed by Greek scholar Plato, that is:Words are names or labels for the objects they stand for.E.g.: tree, car, fruit, dogNaming theory (Plato)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

6、, unicorn, phenix 3) There are nouns that do not refer to physical objects but abstract notions, e.g. joy, impulse, hatredThe conceptualist viewThe conceptualist view has been held by Odgen and Richard. The conceptualist viewThe conceptualist view holds that there is no direct link between a linguis

7、tic form and what it refers to; rather, in the interpretation of meaning they are linked through the mediation of concepts in the mind. Ogden and Richards: semantic triangleSymbol/formword/phrase/sentenceReferentobject in the world of experienceThought/Reference conceptairplaneThe conceptualist view

8、Limitations: (1) the link between the symbol and the concept remains unclarified. (2) people do not actually try to see the image of something in their minds eye every time they come across a linguistic symbol.The contextualism Meaning should be studied in terms of situation, use, contextelements cl

9、osely linked with language behavior.The representative of this approach was J.R. Firth And was further strengthened by Bloomfield.The contextualism “I was near that bank yesterday.”“River bank” or “financial situation”I dont like her. She is tall and thin and moves like a crane.I do like her. She is

10、 tall and thin and moves like a crane.The contextualism Two types of contexts are recognized:Situational context: spatiotemporal situation Linguistic context: the probability of a words co-occurrence or collocation.Behaviorism Behaviorists attempted to define meaning as “the situation in which the s

11、peaker utters it and the response it calls forth in the hearer”.The story of Jack and Jill: Jill Jack S_r-s_RLexical meaning Sense and reference are both concerned with the study of word meaning. They are two related but different aspects of meaning. Lexical meaning Sense- is concerned with the inhe

12、rent meaning of the linguistic form. It is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form; it is abstract and de-contextualized. It is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are interested in. Lexical meaning E.g: bachelor= never married the sense of red in color system: brown, yellow

13、, orange etc.Lexical meaning Reference-what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience. E.g.: things, actions, events and qualities.Lexical meaning Tree refers to the real tree.Book

14、 refers to a object book.Lexical meaning It is not always possible to draw a clear-cut line between sense and reference.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

15、reference might differ in sense, e.g. the morning star and the evening star, rising sun in the morning and the sunset at dusk. Sense RelationsSynonymyPolysemyHomonymyHyponymyAntonymyGradableComplementaryConverseSynonymybuy/purchasethrifty/economical/stingyautumn/fallflat/apartmenttube/undergroundSyn

16、onymySynonymy refers to the sameness or close similarity of meaning. Words that are close in meaning are called synonyms. Because of historical reasons, English vocabulary contains two categories of words: native words and loan words.SynonymyDialectal synonyms- synonyms used in different regional di

17、alects, e.g. autumn - fall, biscuit - cracker, petrol gasolineStylistic synonyms-synonyms differing in style, e.g. kid, child, offspring; start, begin, commence;SynonymySynonyms that differ in their emotive or evaluative meaning, e.g.collaborator- accomplice,Collocational synonyms, e.g. accuseof, ch

18、argewith, rebukefor; SynonymySemantically different synonyms, e.g. amaze, astound,PolysemyPolysemy-the same one word may have more than one meaning,E.g.: “foot”The part of the body at the end of the legA measurement of length The bottom of somethingPolysemyE.g. “table” may mean:A piece of furnitureA

19、ll the people seated at a tableThe food that is put on a tableA thin flat piece of stone, metal wood, etc.Orderly arrangement of facts, figures, etc. HomonymyHomonymy- the phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form, e.g. different words are identical in sound or spelling, or

20、in both.Homophone - when two words are identical in sound, E.g. rain-reign, night/knight, HomonymyHomogragh - when two words are identical in spelling, E.g. tear(n.)-tear(v.), lead(n.)-lead(v.), Complete homonym- when two words are identical in both sound and spelling, E.g. ball, bank, watch, scale,

21、 fast, Note: A polysemic word is the result of the evolution of the primary meaning of the word (the etymology of the word); While complete homonyms are often brought into being by coincidence. Homonymy“How is bread made?”“I know that!” Alice cried eagerly.“You take some flour”“Where do you pick the

22、 flower?” the White Queen asked. “In a garden, or in the hedges?”“Well, it isnt picked at all,” Alice explained; “its ground”“How many acres of ground?” said the White Queen.HyponymyHyponymy-the sense relation between a more general, more inclusive word and a more specific word.Superordinate: the wo

23、rd which is more general in meaning.HyponymyHyponyms: the word which is more specific in meaning.Co-hyponyms: hyponyms of the same superordinate.HyponymySuperordinate: flowerHyponyms: rose, tulip, lily, chrysanthemum, peony, narcissus, Superordinate: furnitureHyponyms: bed, table, desk, dresser, war

24、drobe, sofa, Animalbird fish insect animal human animal tiger lion elephant .AntonymsAntonymy -is used for oppositeness of meaning.Antonyms-words are opposite in meaningGradable antonymsGradable antonyms -there are often intermediate forms between the two members of a pair, e.g. old-young, hot-cold,

25、 tall-short, Gradable antonymy good - badlong - shortbig - smallCan be modified by adverbs of degree like very.Can have comparative forms.Can be asked with how.Complementary antonymsComplementary antonyms -the denial of one member of the pair implies the assertion of the other, e.g. alive-dead, male

26、-female, Complementary antonymyalive : deadmale : femalepresent : absentinnocent : guiltyodd : evenpass : failboy : girlhit : missRelational oppositesRelational opposites-pairs of words that exhibit the reversal of a relationship between the two items.Converse antonymyRelational antonymybuy : sellle

27、nd : borrowgive : receiveparent : childhusband : wifeteacher : studentabove : belowbefore : afterhost : guestemployer : employeeSense relations between sentences (1) X is synonymous with Y(2) X is inconsistent with Y(3) X entails Y(4) X presupposes Y(5) X is a contradiction(6) X is semantically anom

28、alousX is synonymous with YX: 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 X is true, Y is true; if X is false, Y is false.X is inconsistent with YX: He is single.Y: He has a wife.X: This is my first visit to Beij

29、ing.Y: I have been to Beijing twice.If X is true, Y is false; if X is false, Y is true.X entails YX: John married a blond heiress.Y: John married a blond.X: Marry has been to Beijing. Y: Marry has been to China.If X entails Y, then the meaning of X is included in Y.X entails YEntailment is a relatio

30、n 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 YX: His bike needs repairing.Y: He has a bike.Paul has given up smoking.Paul once smoked.If X is true, Y must be true; If X is false, Y is s

31、till 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 shakes hands with the black apple.Analysis of meaning Componential analysis Predication analys

32、is Componential analysisComponential analysis- a way to analyze lexical meaning. The approach is based on the belief that the meaning of a word can be dissected into meaning components, called semantic features. Componential AnalysisHUMANman (+ADULT, +MALE)woman (+ADULT, +FEMALE)boy (-ADULT, +MALE)g

33、irl (-ADULT, +FEMALE)Componential AnalysisComponential AnalysisComponential AnalysisComponential Analysisfather: PARENT (x, y) & MALE (x)x is a parent of y, and x is male.take: CAUSE (x, (HAVE (x, y)x causes x to have y.give: CAUSE (x, (HAVE (x, y)x causes x not to have y.Predication analysis1)The m

34、eaning of a sentence is not to be worked out by adding up all the meanings of its component words, e.g “The dog bites the man” is semantically different from “The man bites the dog” though their components are exactly the same.Predication analysis2)There are two aspects to sentence meaning: grammatical meaning and semantic meaning,E.g.*Green clouds ar