Chapter 5 Semantics 语义学 语言学教程 胡壮麟课件

Chapter5:MeaningDefinitionsofSemanticsSemanticscanbesimplydefinedasthestudyofmeaning.(Dai&He,2002,p.67)TermcoinedbyBréal(1897)forthesubdisciplineoflinguisticsconcernedwiththeanalysisanddescriptionoftheso-called‘literal’meaningoflinguisticexpressions.(Bussmann,1996,p.423)Semanticsisthestudyoflinguisticmeaning:themeaningofwords,phrases,andsentences.(Wen,P.210)Semanticsisthestudyofmeaning,ormorespecifically,thestudyofthemeaningoflinguisticunits,wordsandsentencesinparticular.Thenwhatismeaning?Manyphilosophers,psychologists,andsociologistsallclaimadeepinterestinthestudyofmeaning.Thephilosophersareinterestedinunderstandingtherelationsbetweenlinguisticexpressionsandwhattheyrefertointherealworld,andevaluatingthetruthvalueoflinguisticexpressions.Thepsychologistsfocustheirinterestonunderstandingtheworkingsofthehumanmindthroughlanguage.Nowwewillstudythemeaningsofmeaningfromalinguisticpointofview.5.1Meaningsof‘Meaning’ScholarslikeFerdinanddeSaussurehavestressedthatthestudyoflinguisticmeaningispartofthegeneralstudyoftheuseofsignsystems,andthisgeneralstudyiscalledsemiotics.

Icon-Aniconiswherethereisasimilaritybetweenasignandwhatitrepresents,i.e.betweenaportraitanditsreal-lifeobjectoradiagramofanengineandtherealengine.

Asymbolhasnologicalmeaningbetweenitandtheobject.Thereisonlyaconventionallinkbetweenthesignanditssignified,asintheuseofinsignia(徽章)todenotemilitaryranks,orperhapsthewaythatmourningissymbolizedbythewearingofblackclothesinsomecultures,andwhiteclothesinothers.Flagsarealsogoodexamplesofsymbolswhichrepresentcountriesororganisations.

Question:Whichkindarewords?Reference(referentialtheory):Thetheoryofmeaningwhichrelatesthemeaningofawordtothethingitrefersto,orstandfor,isknownasthereferentialtheory.Referenceistherelationbywhichawordpicksoutoridentifiesanentityintheworld.

Wordsarebutsymbols,manyofwhichhavemeaningonlywhentheyhaveacquiredreference.Referenceistherelationshipbetweenlanguageandtheworld.

“Bymeansofreference,aspeakerindicateswhichthingsintheworld(includingpersons)arebeingtalkedabout.”(HurfordandHeasley1983:25)Onlywhenaconnectionhasbeenestablishedbetweenthelinguisticsignandareferent,i.e.anobject,aphenomenon,aperson,etc.doesthesignbecomemeaningful.Problems:1)Somewordsaremeaningful,buttheyidentifynoentitiesintherealworld,suchasthewordsdragon,phoenix,unicorn,

mermaid,

ghost,and,or,hard,slowly,think,etc.2)Itisnotpossibleforsomewordstofindreferentsintheworld,suchasthewordsbut,and,of,however,the,etc.

3)SpeakersofEnglishunderstandthemeaningofaroundtrianglealthoughthereisnosuchgraph.

2.TheconceptualistviewThisviewrelateswordsandthingsthroughthemediationofconceptsofthemind.Whenweexplainthemeaningofdeskbypointingtothethingitrefersto,wedonotmeanadeskmustbeoftheparticularsize,colorandmaterialasthedeskwearepointingto.Thereissomethingbehindtheconcretethingwecansee.Thisisabstract,whichhasnoexistenceinthematerialworldandcanonlybesensedinourminds.Theyarguethattherelationbetweenawordandathingitreferstoisnotdirect.Itismediatedbyconcept.Inadiagramform,therelationisrepresentedasfollows:Semantictriangleconcept(meaning)symbol/wordreferent/thing(soundandspelling)Aconceptcanhaveasmanyreferringexpressionsastherearelanguagesintheworld.Eveninthesamelanguage,thesameconceptcanbeexpressedindifferentwords.Eg.Much,many–thesameconceptCollocation:differentMuchtime,muchmoney,muchwaterManypeople,manybooks,manybuildingsSynonymouspairsaregoodexamples.Sense(concept):Sensereferstothepropertiesanentityhas.Inthissense,itisequivalentto“concept”.Senseistherelationbywhichwordsstandinhumanmind.Itismentalrepresentation,theassociationwithsomethinginthespeaker’sorhearer’smind.

2)Tosomeextent,wecansaythateverywordhasasense,butnoteverywordhasareference.Thusitisreasonableforustosuggestthatweshouldstudymeaningintermsofsenseratherthanreference.Forexample:desk1)byusinganobjectorpicture2)apieceoffurniturewithaflattopandfourlegs,atwhichonereadsandwrites3)akindoftable,whichhasdrawers4)书桌Thefirstmethodisthereferentialtheorybydirectlypointingtothethingitrefersto,whilethelastthreemethodsareindirectbyresortingtotheconceptofdesk.3.ContextualismRepresentativelyproposedbytheBritishlinguistJ.R.FirthwhohadbeeninfluencedbythePolishanthropologistMalinowskiandtheGermanphilosopherWittgenstein.Thistendencyattemptstobasemeaningoncontext.Thisviewisbasedonthepresumptionthatonecanderivemeaningfromorreducemeaningtoobservablecontexts.Twokindsofcontextarerecognized:thesituationalcontextandthelinguisticcontext.Thespecificmeaningofawordisdeterminedbydifferentfactorsinthetwosituations.Examples:“BlackAir”and“blackcoffee”(linguisticcontext)Thesealcouldnotbefound.(situationalcontext)

?4.BehaviorismBloomfield:Behavioristsattemptedtodefinethemeaningofalanguageformasthe“situationinwhichthespeakeruttersitandtheresponseitcallsfrothinthehearer.”JillJackS______r……s______RBloomfieldarguedthatmeaningconsistsintherelationbetweenspeechindicatedbythesmallletterr….sandthepracticaleventsrepresentedbythecapitalizedlettersSandRthatprecedeandfollowthemrespectively.5.2TypesofMeaningG.Leechrecognizes7typesofmeaninginhisSemantics(1974):1)conceptualmeaning–alsodenotativeinthatitisconcernedwiththerelationshipbetweenawordandthethingitdenotes,orrefersto.Associativemeaning2)connotative–someadditional,especiallyemotive,meaning(philosophy–thepropertiesoftheentityaworddenotes,eg.human)3)social–thesocialcircumstancesoflanguageuse4)affective–feelingsandattitudes5)reflected–throughassociationwithanothersenseofthesameexpression6)collocative–throughassociationwithwordswhichtendtooccurintheenvironmentofanotherword7)thematic–bythewayinwhichthemessageisorganizedintermsoforderandemphasisAccordingtoLeech,theconceptualmeaningisthemostimportant.5.3SenseRelationsSense–thesemanticrelationsbetweenonelinguisticunitandanother.Thesenseofawordcanbyseenasthenetworkofitssenserelationswithothers.Itdenotestherelationshipinsidethelanguage(intra-linguisticrelations),whichisdifferentfromthereferencewhichconcernswiththerelationbetweenawordandthethingitrefersto.Generallyspeaking,therearethreekindsofsenserelations,namely,samenessrelation,oppositenessrelationandinclusivenessrelation.5.3.1Synonymy:samenessrelationEnglishisrichinsynonymsduetoitsheavyborrowingsfromLatin.1)Totalsynonymyisrare(absolutesynonyms).Theyarewordswhichareidenticalinmeaninginallitsaspects,I.e.bothingrammaticalandlexicalmeanings.Theyareinterchangeableineveryway.E.g.scarlet-fever/scarlatina猩红热

composition/compounding2)Relativesynonyms:similarindenotation,butembracedifferentshadsofmeaningordifferentdegreesofagivenquality.Almostallsynonymsarecontext-dependent.Forexample:Dialectalsynonyms–lift/elevator,flat/apartment;pavement/sidewalkSynonymsofdifferentstyles–gentleman/guy;buy/purchaseSynonymsdifferinconnotation–I’mthrifty.Youareeconomical.Andheisstingy.Synonymsdifferinginaffectivemeaning–attract/seduceSynonymsdifferincollocation–beautiful/handsome;many/much5.3.2Antonymy:oppositenessrelation1)Gradableantonymy(contraryantonymy)–pairsofwordsoppositetoeachother,butthedenialofoneisnotnecessarilytheassertionoftheother.Thereareoftenintermediateformsbetweenthetwomembersofapair,e.g.old-young,hot-cold,tall-short,…Forexample,thewordshotandcoldareapairofantonyms,butnothotdoesnotnecessarilymeancold,maybewarm,mildorcool.Features:A.gradable–themembersofapairdifferintermsofdegree.Sosomethingwhichisnot“good”isnotnecessarily“bad”.Itmaybeonly“average”.i.Theycanbemodifiedby“very”ii.TheymayhavecomparativeandsuperlativedegreesB.gradedagainstdifferentnorms(incomparison)Thereisnoabsolutecriterionbywhichwemaysaysomethingis“good”or“bad”Thecriterionvarieswiththeobjectdescribed.C.markedandunmarkedtermsrespectivelyThecovertermismoreoftenused.e.g.Howoldareyou?2)Complementary(contradictory)antonymy–Theydivideupthewholeofasemanticfieldcompletely.Theassertionofoneisthedenialoftheother,andthedenialofoneistheassertionoftheotherExamplesarealive/dead;male/female;present/absent;innocent/guilty;odd/even;pass/fail;hit/miss…Theyaremutuallyexclusiveandadmitnopossibilitybetweenthem.Thatis,ifoneofthepairistrue,theothercannotbe.Features:A.Theycannotbemodifiedby“very’andhavenocomparativeorsuperlativedegrees.Heismoredeadthanalive.(notcomparative)Johnismoremadthanstupid.Johnismorebravethanwise.Thisdifferencebetweenthegradableandthecomplementarycanbecomparedtothetraditionallogicaldistinctionbetweenthecontraryandthecontradictory.(cf.p111)B.thenormisabsolute–thesamenormisusedforallthethingsitisapplicableto.e.g.male–female(thenormisthesamewithhumanbeingsandanimals)C.Nocovertermexception:true/false(p.112)3)Converse(relational)antonymy–wordsthatdenotethesamerelationorprocessfromoneortheotherdirection(Theyshowthereversalofarelationshipbetweentwoentities.):buy/sell;lend/borrow;give/receive;parent/child;husband/wife;host/guest;employer/employee;teacher/student;above/below;before/after;push/pull,up/down,etc.

Itisareciprocalsocialrelationshipthatoneofthemcannotbeusedwithoutsuggestingtheother.Itisthesamerelationshipseenfromdifferentangles.Mainfeature:One

presupposestheother.Ifthereisabuyer,theremustalsobeaseller.Aparentmusthaveachild.Withoutachild,onecannotbeaparent.Problems:Heisachild.(somebodyunder18--adult)Heisateacher.(profession)Note:Thecomparativedegreeslikebigger:smaller,longer:shorter,better:worse,older:youngeralsobelonghere,sincetheyinvolvearelationbetweentwoentities.5.3.3Hyponymy:inclusivenessrelationHyponymyisamatterofclassmembership.A.superordinate:theclassnameB.hyponyms/co-hyponyms:membersflowerroseviolettulippeonyjasmineC.auto-hyponym:ahyponymisahyponymofitself(asuperordinateisasuperordinatetoitself).animalBirdfishinsectanimalhumananimaltigerelephantlionThiskindofverticalsemanticrelationlinkswordsinahierarchicalwork.

Asuperordinatemaybemissingsometimes.Forexample,inEnglish,thereisnosuperordinateforthecolortermsandthewordslikebeard,moustache,andwhiskers.Hyponymsmayalsobemissing.Pleasecfp.114.4)Polysemy:onewordhastwoormorethantworelatedmeanings.Facea.thefrontofthehead;b.theexpressionofthecountenance;c.asurfaceofathing;d.thesideorsurfacethatismarked,asofaclock,playingcard,domino,etc.e.theappearance;outwardaspect;f.[CHidiom]dignity;prestige;self-respectg.thetopography(ofanarea);etc.5)Homonymy:differentinmeaningbuteitheridenticalbothinsoundandspellingoridenticalonlyinsoundorspelling.Rhetorically,homonymsareoftenusedaspuns.Therearethreekindsofhomonyms:A.perfect/fullhomonyms:wordsidenticalbothinsoundandspelling,butdifferentinmeaning,eg.,bear(n.,akindofanimal),bear(v.,togivebirthtoababy/tostand)bank–theedgeoftheriver,lake,bank

–anestablishmentformoneybusinessB.homographs:wordsidenticalonlyinspellingbutdifferentinsoundandmeaning,eg.,tear(n.),tear(v.)

bow–bendingtheheadasagreeting

bow

–thedeviceusedforshootingarrowsC.homophones:wordsidenticalonlyinsoundbutdifferentinspellingandmeaning

dear–alovedpersondeer–akindofanimalsee–tolookatsea–theoceanright–correctwrite–toputdownonpaperwithapenrite–aceremonialprocedure5.4ComponentialAnalysis5.4.1WordmeaningComponentialanalysisistheapproachthatanalyzewordmeaningbydecomposingitintoitsatomicfeatures.Itshowsthesemanticfeaturesofaword.Themeaningofawordcanbedissectedintomeaningcomponents,calledsemanticfeatures(semanticcomponents).Therearesemanticunitssmallerthanthemeaningofaword.Thisisparalleltothewayaphonemeisanalyzedintosmallercomponentscalleddistinctivefeatures.E.g.

man=[HUMAN][ADULT][MALE]woman=[HUMAN][ADULT][FEMALE]boy=[HUMAN][YOUNG][MALE]girl=[HUMAN][YOUNG][FEMALE]SomesemanticfeaturessuchasYOUNGandADULTcanbecombinedasADULT,withYOUNGrepresentedas~ADULT.father=PARENT(x,y)&MALE(x)mother=PARENT(x,y)&~MALE(x)son=CHILD(x,y)&MALE(x)daughter=CHILD(x,y)&~MALE(x)OtherexamplesonP.115.Theadvantage–thesemanticfeaturesofcertainwordswillmakeitpossibletoshowhowthesewordsarerelatedinmeaning(senserelations).a.Wordswhichhavethesamesemanticfeaturesaresynonyms.Eg.,bachelor=[HUMAN][ADULT][MALE][UNMARRIED]unmarriedman=[HUMAN][ADULT][MALE][UNMARRIED]b.Wordswhichhavethecontrastingcomponentareantonyms.(man&woman)c.Wordswhichhaveallthesemanticcomponentsofanotherarehyponymsofthelatter.5.4.2SenserelationswithinandbetweensentencesA.XisacontradictionWhenXisacontradiction,itisinvariablyfalse,e.g.Myunmarriedsisterismarriedtoabachelor.JohnkilledBillbutBilldidn’tdie.B.XentailsY(Entailment蕴涵)Entailmentisarelationofinclusion.IfXentailsY,themeaningofXisincludedinY.Forexample:i.X.JohnkilledBill.Y.Billdied.ii.X.Isawaboy.Y.Isawachild.XentailsY.Forexample:X:Johnmarriedablondheiress.Y:Johnmarriedablond.X:HehasbeentoFrance.Y:HehasbeentoEurope.X:Themeetingwaschairedbyaspinster.Y:Themeetingwaschairedbyawoman.Thetruthconditionofentailmentare:IfXistrue,Yisnecessarilytrue;IfYisfalse,Xisfalse.Thetruthofthesecondsentencenecessarilyfollowsfromthetruthofthefirstsentence,whilethefalsityofthefirstfollowsfromthefalsityofthesecond.C.XissynonymouswithYe.g.X:Hewasabachelorallhislife.Y:Henevermarriedallhislife.D.XisinconsistentwithY.e.g.X:Johnismarried.Y:Johnisabachelor.IfXistrue,Yisfalse;andifXisfalse,Yistrue.E.XpresupposesY.(YisaprerequisiteofX.)X预设Y.X:John’sbikeneedsrepairing.Y:Johnhasabike.X:ThequeenofEnglandisold.Y:Englandhasaqueen.X:Samhasreturnedthebook.Y:Samborrowedthebook.IfXistrue,Ymustbetrue;IfXisfalse,Yisstilltrue;Thesesemanticrelationsarefoundwithinorbetweenmeaningfulsentences.Therearesentenceswhichsoundgrammaticalbutmeaningless.Thesesentencesaresaidtobesemanticallyanomalous.Forexample:

Colourlessgreenideassleepfuriously.

Thepregnantbachelorkilledsomephonemes.

5.4.3ProblemsA.Manywordsarepolysemous,consequently,theywillhavedifferentsetsofsemanticcomponents,e.g.,man.B.Somesemanticcomponentsareseenasbinarytaxonomies.e.g.MALE/FEMALE(absolute)ADULT/YOUNG(relative)antonymy–complementarycontrary;converseC.ThesemanticcomponentsofsomewordsaredifficulttoascertainandtheuseofMETA-LANGUAGE(alanguageusedfortalkingaboutanotherlanguage)alsomakestheanalysisdifficult.5.5SentencemeaningThemeaningofasentenceisobviouslyrelatedtothemeaningsofthewordsusedinit.Butthemeaningofasentenceisnotthesumtotalofthemeaningsofallitscomponents.A.differenceinwordorder

Thedogbittheman.Themanbitthedog.B.differenceinthematicmeaningI’vealreadyseenthatfilm.ThatfilmI’vealreadyseen.C.ambiguityThesonofPharaoh’sdaughteristhedaughterofPharaoh’sson.Therearetwoaspectsinsentencemeaning:Grammaticalityandsemanticmeaning.Sentencescaneitherbegrammaticallyviolated,orviolatedinselectionalrestrictions(wordsthataresupposedtogotogether).e.g.Hegavethebookme.(notgrammaticallywell-formed)Greencloudsaresleepingfuriously.(violatingtheselectionalrestrictions)5.5.1AnintegratedtheoryThemeaningofasentenceshouldbeviewedfromboththegrammatical(syntactic)structureandthewordmeaning.Inotherwords,themeaningofasentencedependsonthemeaningsoftheconstituentwordsandthewaytheyarecombined.(COMPOSITIONALITY)KatzandPostal:SemantictheorydictionaryProjectionrules(combinethegrammaticalsemanticmeaningsofwordsmarkerstogether)semanticdistinguishersmarkers(e.g.bachelor)integrationofsyntaxandsemanticsSelectionrestrictions:constraintsonwhatlexicalitemscangowithwhatothers.对词项间的相互搭配进行限制Somesentencesmaybegrammaticallywell-formed;i.e.theycomplyperfectlywiththegrammaticalrulesofthelanguage,yettheymaynotbesemanticallymeaningful.

Greencloudsaresleepingfuriously.Sincerityshookhandswiththeblackapple.Problems:A.Thedistinctionbetweensemanticmarkeranddistinguisherisnotveryclear.B.Thecollocationofwordssometimescannotbeaccountedforbygrammaticalmarkers,semanticmarkersorselectionrestrictions.C.TheunderstandingofMeta-languageiscrucialinthisanalysis.Predicationanalysis:Predicationistheabstractionofthemeaningofasentence.Apredicationconsistsofargument(s)andpredicate.Anargumentisalogicalparticipantinapredication,andapredicateissomethingaboutanargumentorthelogicalrelationlinkingtheargumentsinasentence.e.g.

Tomsmokes.Tomissmoking.Tomhasbeensmoking.TOM(SMOKE)Tom,smoke!DoesTomsmoke?