英语词汇学资料(续)

Chapter Five: Word Meaning and Componential Analysis 5.1 Word meaning word, reference, and concept 1) Words and concepts are inseparable. 2) Words and concepts are not identical a) Only notional words reflect things. Form words are not related to any actual thing in real life. They are abstraction of grammatical relations. b) The same concept can be expressed by different words: underground, tube, subway, all mean the same thing. Sense and Reference ?The sense of an expression is its place in a system of semantic relationships with other expressions in the language. (Lyons, 1968). ?The sense of an expression may be defined as the set, or network, of sense-relations that hold between it and other expressions of the same language. (Lyons, 1995) ?The relationship by which language hooks onto the world is usually called reference. The semantic links between elements within the vocabulary system is an aspect of their sense, or meaning. (Saeed, 1997: 12) Sense relations The relations may include lexical relations (such as paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations, polysemy, synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, meronymy, member-collection, portion-mass, etc.) and sentence relations (such as logic and truth value, entailment, presup-position, etc.). Arbitrariness and Motivation What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet. 5.2 Motivation a conception that the connection between name and sense is not arbitrary, but can be explained, or is motivated. Types of motivation 1) Onomatopoeic Motivation: ducks (quack), frogs (croak), lions (roar), wolves (howl) 2)Morphological Motivation: landlord, leader 3) Semantic Motivation ?the Pentagon ?the foot of the mountain ?The path to November was uphill all the way. 4)Etymological Motivation It refers to the motivation connected to the origin of the word. 5.3 Types of Meaning (p. 103) Denotation and Connotation ?“Rose” denotes “a flower”, but connotes “love”. ?“Lion” denotes “an animal”, but connotes “bravery”. Conceptual and Associative Meaning Context and word meaning Literal meaning----the meaning of an isolated word in a dictionary. Contextual (Actual) meaning----the meaning of word used in a certain context. The role of context in the determination of meaning: 1) Emotive (affective) meaning. 2) Meaning-area. Only the context can determine the extension of the word in any situation. Man as opposed to animal covers the whole of “mankind”: as opposed to woman only one half of it. 3) Shifts. Only the context can tell whether healthy is meant as “having good health” or as “conducive to health”. 4) Ambiguity. Lexical ambiguity: ?The bat was found in the attic. ?The man decided to wait by the bank. Syntactic ambiguity: ?Old men and women took part in the parade. ?visiting relatives can be a nuisance. ?Mary made her dress correctly. 5) Homonyms. ?The sheep were in the pen. ?I left my pen on the desk. ?Summary W ord meaning----1)grammatical meaning 2) lexical meaning The word forms go, goes, went, gone, possess different grammatical meaning of tense, but have the same lexical meaning. Lexical meaning----a) conceptual meaning b) associative meaning. Leech’s classification of words’ meaning 1. Conceptual meaning (denotative meaning; cognitive meaning) (概念义) It is the meaning of an isolated word in a dictionary, and the first component of the lexical meaning which makes communication possible, for words have essentially the same conceptual meaning for all speakers of that language. child; woman; tiger; operation (手术; 操作; 经商; 作战; 运算) 2. Associative (connotative) meaning (联想/内涵义) ?Woman: (Anyway, she is a woman.) ?frail, prone to tears, emotional, inconstant… ?gentle, compassionate, hard-working, sympathetic… ? A child is a child. ?traditional; home; the lost lamb More examples: old (and worn out) blue (and down-hearted) long (and tiresome) heavy (and dull) green (and inexperienced) rough (and uncultured) sweet (and lovely) slippery (and unreliable) plain (and tasteless) deep (and learned) 3. Social (Stylistic) meaning (社会/文体义) It is that which a piece of language conveys about the social circumstance of its use. domicile (very formal); residence (formal); abode (poetic); home (general); cast (literary, biblical); throw (general); chuck (casual, slang) ?They chunked a stone at the cops, and then did a bunk with the loot. ?After casting a stone at the police, they absconded with the money. 4. Affective meaning (情感义) It refers to that component of meaning which expresses the speaker?s emotion: appreciative neutral pejorative slim thin skinny famous well-known notorious innovative new newfangled intercede intervene interfere ?Y ou are a vicious tyrant and a villainous reprobate. ?Jane is an angel of a girl. 5. Collocative meaning (搭配义) consists of the associations a word acquires on account of the meaning of words which tend to occur in its environment: 6. Reflective meaning (反映义) An example of Water Closet W. C.; toilet; lavatory; washroom; bathroom; Men?s room; Gentleman?s Women?s room; powder room ?Last night I went to visit John twice. ?--- “I wonder if I can go somewhere?” --- “Y es, you can go anywhere in China.” 7. Semantic meaning (主题义) Chapter Six Sense Relations 6.1 Polysemy It is used of a word having two or more closely related meanings (a plurality of meaning). Diachronic approach to polysemy understood as the growth and development or, in general, a change in the semantic structure of the word. e.g. table: 1) a piece of furniture; 2)the persons seated at a table (to keep the table amused; The whole table got excited at the news.); 3) (sing. only) the food put on a table, meals (to keep a good, poor table); 4) a flat slab of stone or wood used for inscriptions; 5) words cut into it or written on it (the ten tables); 6) an orderly arrangement of facts, figures, etc. (table of contents); 7) part of machine tool on which the work is put to be operated on; 8) a level area, a plateau. Synchronic approach to polysemy understood as the coexistence of various meanings of the same word at a certain historical period of the development of the English language. Two processes lead to polysemy: 1. Radiation: a semantic process in which the primary meaning stands at the center and secondary meanings proceed out of it in every direction like rays. Each of them is independent of all the rest and may be traced back to the central signification. For example: head Central meaning: the top part of a body 1)top of anything: the ~of a walking stick; 2)the highest or uppermost part of a thing: the~ of a bed; 3)the top or most important end: the ~ of the table (queue); 4) a chief or leader; ~ of state (of a delegation); 5)heads or tails (of coin); 6)the source of a stream, spring: the ~of the river; 7)the hydraulic sense: twenty meters ~of waters; 8) a unit of measurement: count heads, four dollars a head, ten head of cattle; 9)the main points: the heads of the discourse; 10)mental power: use your ~. 2. Concatenation: (连锁联结) the semantic process in which the meaning of a word moves gradually away from its first signification by successive shifts of meaning until,in many cases, there is not a shadow of connection between the sense that is finally developed and that which the term had in it at the outset. Cheater ---(from late Middle English)其原意为“an officer who attended to escheats”即,看管领主的土地的官吏。后因这种人常常损公肥私成为不老实的人, 现在作“骗子”解。此义与原义已失去联系。 candidate---of Latin oringin candidatus(white-robed),meaning a person dressed in white,后用来指“穿白衣的谋求公职的人” (a white-robed seeker for office)。这与古罗马的风俗有关,当时凡候选人参加选举时均需穿上白衣。随着语言的发展,“穿白衣的”的原始意义丧失,只保留“候选人” (a seeker for office) 一义。显然,此义与原义已经分离。 6.2 Homonymy Homonyms are words different in meaning and either identical both in sound and spelling or identical only in spelling or sound. Classification of English homonyms 1) perfect (Absolute) homonyms words identical both in sound and in spelling but different in meaning. long (extended, not short), long (to desire, yearn); yard (an enclosed space), yard ( a unit of measure) base (基础), base (卑鄙的); bark (树皮), bark (狗吠); ball (球), ball (舞会); seal (海豹), seal (印章); match (比赛), match (火柴) 2) Homographs----words identical in spelling but different in sound and meaning: bow (鞠躬), bow (弓箭); lead (引领), lead (铅); wind (风), wind (绕); sewer (排水管), sewer (缝纫者) 3) Homophones----words identical in sound but different in spelling and meaning: air, heir; ore, oar; son, sun; pair, pear; sight, site cite; scent, cent, sent; some, sum; piece, peace; see, sea. 4) Homoforms----words quite different in meaning but identical in some of their grammatical forms: bound: past and past perfect of bind bound: to bound (to jump); bound (n. = limit); bound (adj. = ready to start). 南京市长江大桥欢迎您 “象样”的打折! Polysemy and homonymy Polysemy is a natural sequence of sense shift undergone by words in different context. In case of homonymy the different meanings of words are mutually independent, and there is no connection between such words, though they have the same pronunciation and/or spelling. 6.3 Synonyms (p. 123) ?He misplaced his wallet. (suitcase?) ?He mislaid his wallet. (suitcase?) 1. Definition of synonyms (cf. p. 123, p. 124) Two or more words of the English language, belonging to the same part of speech and possessing one or more identical or nearly identical denotational meanings interchangeable at least in some contexts, but different in sound form, spelling, shades of meaning, connotations and idiomatic use. 2. Types of synonyms (P. 124) 1) absolute (exact, complete, perfect) synonyms 2) relative (partial, near, loose) synonyms Relative synonyms denote different shades of meaning or different degrees of a given quality; ?beautiful --- good-looking --- handsome --- pretty; ?big --- large --- huge --- tremendous --- colossal; ?surprise --- astonish --- amaze --- astound; ?laugh --- chuckle --- giggle --- grin --- smile --- beam. ?stroll---stride---trot---pace---swagger---stagger---stumble; ?country --- state --- nation; Synonyms of “smile”: ?grin----smile broadly, especially in an unrestrained manner, and with the mouth open ?giggle----make quiet and repeated laughing, because you are happy; laugh lightly in a nervous, or silly manner ?chuckle----laugh quietly to yourself ?guffaw----make a very loud, hearty laugh ?titter----give a nervous or restrained little laugh, esp. when embarrassed ?sneer----express your contempt for somebody?s inferiority or stupidity, often by putting an expression of superiority or distaste on your face ?snigger (snicker) ----laugh quietly and disrespectfully; for example at something rude or at someone?s misfortune ?jeer----make rude and insulting remarks, typically in loud voice, to show that you think someone is stupid and not worthy of respect ?tease----make fun of somebody, for example, by embarrassing him, or by making him believe something that is not true. 3) Stylistic synonyms cross----traverse die----decease praise----eulogy 4) Phraseological synonyms Not only individual words but also phrases may be synonyms. Phrases or idioms can be interchangeable: to make an attempt ? to try; to make a mountain of a molehill ? to exaggerate, to take a hand in something — to interfere in something; to hold back — to restrain; to gain the upper hand of ? to win. Phraseological synonyms have absolute and relative synonyms as well. 3. Sources of Synonyms 1)Borrowing (Synonymic groups of words in English) Three levels of synonyms in English: the bookish Latin, the formal French, and the neutral and informal English. English (popular) French (literary) Latin/Greek (learned) time age era / epoch shut close conclu guess suppose conjecture far distant remote start commence initiate end finish terminate wise sage sapient 2) Dialects and Regional English British English American English lift elevator petrol gasoline coach bus lorry truck tube (underground) subway pavement sidewalk flat apartment undertaker mortician luggage baggage note bill match game maize corn 4. Discrimination of synonyms (p. 127) 1) ability, talent, genius 2) annoy, irritate, exasperate 3) eager, enthusiastic, zealous 4) panic, fear, horror 5) insult, slander, abuse 6) alarmed, frightened, terror-stricken 7) pleasure, delight, rapture 8) sadness, sorrow, grief 9) surprise, amaze, astonish, astound 10) excuse, pardon, forgive 6.4 Antonym (p. 131) words of the same word class identical in style and nearly identical in distribution, associated and used together so that their denotative meanings render contrary or contradictory notions. Nurse: His name is Romeo, and a Montague; The only son of your enemy. Juliet: My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious love it is to me, That I must love a loathed enemy. Gradable antonyms (p. 132) Antonyms are sometimes restricted to gradable expressions that usually correlate with opposite members of a scale: e.g. Good vs bad. These antonyms permit the expression of degrees, such as …very? and …quite?. ?Relativity: big mountains / eyes small elephant / bird ?Markedness: (p. 134) ω How old are you? ω How wide is the river? ω How narrow is the river? ω the height of the building Complementary (non-gradable) antonyms (p. 131) ?male : female; single : married; dead : alive; boy : girl Converse antonyms----two-way contrasts that are inter-dependent (p. 132) ?buy : sell, parent : child, give : receive, lend : borrow ascend : descend, pack : unpack, advance : retreat Polarity ?top : bottom, full : empty, start : finish, always : never Root antonyms and derivative antonyms ?big : small, past : future, strengthen : weaken, up : down ?careful : careless, polite : impolite, pre-war : post-war 6.5 Superordinate and hyponymy a relation between two words, in which the meaning of one of the words includes that of another ?This is a rose / flower. This is red / colored. 6. 6 Semantic Field (p. 139) Grouping of words 1) Lexical grouping: notional words; form words; interjection; Furniture: table, desk, chair, bed, stool, sofa, etc trees:fir, oak, polar, pine, cypress, maple, etc. color:red, yellow, blue, green, etc. fruit: apple, orange, banana, pear, etc. horse: steed, charger, palfrey, plug, nag horse: pony, mustang, mule, stud, mare horse: ox, sheep, goat, donkey, buffalo, etc. 2) Thematic grouping grouping according to theme, a subject, or a scene, a topic in social intercourse, e.g.: theater: play, drama, ticket, performance, acting, actor, actress, interval; etc. 3) Synonymic and antonymic grouping Grouping according to the similarity or the contrariety of notions. e.g.: look, see, watch, observe, notice, stare, glare, glance, glimpse, peep, peer, peek obese, fat, overweight, large, heavy, plump, chubby, stout, tubby Chapter 7 Changes of Word Meaning Types of semantic change extension of meaning (or generalization); narrowing of meaning (or specialization); degradation of meaning (or degeneration); elevation of meaning (or amelioration); transference of meaning; Euphemism 1. Extension of meaning ?manuscript; manufacture ?pioneer---person who is among the first to research and develop a new area of endeavor, (originally a military term denoting a member of infantry, from French pionnier) ?salary—fixed regular payment, (originally denoting a Roman soldier?s allowance to buy salt, from Anglo-Norman French salarie, from Latin salarium) ?layman---originally non-ordained member of a church, now any person without professional or specialized knowledge of a particular subject 2. Narrowing of Meaning ?…mice and rats and such small deer. (from OE d?or, originally denoting any quadruped) ?meat---originally meant food and drink in general. green meat; the meat of the nut/apple; after meat ?wife---from OE wif, meaning “woman”; now restricted to a married woman. (midwife; housewife) ?spinster--- …woman who spins? (late Middle English, from spin + ster); now the word means “an unmarried woman, typically an older woman beyond the usual age of marriage”. 3. Elevation of meaning Elevation (Amelioration) is the opposite of degradation. In this process, words often rise from humble beginnings to positions of greater importance. ?bridegroom---Bride refers to a woman on her wedding day; but groom in ME meaning …boy?, later, …man, male servant. ?minister---a head of a government department; from Latin origin “servant”. (Her doctor was busy ministering to the injured.) ?splendid---magnificent, very impressive; (bright) ?comrade---mid 16th cent. from Spanish for “roommate” . 4. Degradation of meaning ?gossip---Late OE. Godsibb, …godfather, godmother?, literally …a person related to one in God? (sibb---relative); ME. …a close friend, a person with whom one gossips?, hence …a person who gossips? (involving details not confirmed as true). ?vulgar---unrefined, coarse and rude, (Late ME. from …vulgus?, meaning …common people?) ?villain---a person guilty or capable of a crime or wickedness, ( ME. in the sense …a rustic, boor?) ?boor---a rough and bad-mannered person (16th cent. farmer) ?churl---an impolite and mean-spirited person ( peasant ) 5. Transference of Meaning It refers to the process by which a word that means one thing has transferred to mean something else. 1) Associated Transfer 2) Transfer between Abstract and Concrete Meanings 3) Transfer between Subjective and Objective Meanings ?pitiful---used to signify a subjective meaning: “compas-sionate”, now replaced in contemporary English by an objective meaning “causing pity”. (a pitiful sight) ?hateful---originally had the subjective meaning “feeling or showing hate” and the objective meaning “causing hate”. The former is replaced by the latter in contemporary English. (The sight of food was hateful to the seasick girl)?shameful---causing shame or disgrace: a ~ conduct; It shows a ~ lack of concern. ?shameless---showing a lack of shame: a ~ person / his ~ hypocrisy. ?“One may be doubtful abou t a doubtful question. ?imaginary: ~ dangers; a fantastic ~ figure; ?She is one of the more imaginative member of the class. ?The examiner was looking for more imaginative answer. ?excited; exciting; excitable; excitatory (excitative) 4) Synesthesia (移觉、联觉) It refers to the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body. Example from The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare: Lorenzo: … How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank! Here will we sit and let the sounds of music Creep in our ears: soft stillness and the night Become the touches of sweet harmony. … With sweetest touches pierce your mistress? ear And draw her home with music. 6. Euphemism The substitution of inoffensive expression for one that may be disagreeable. (eulogy, eulogize, eugenics, euphonious, euthanasia) 1)Courteous euphemism. Death and disaster can be the starting point. People tend to avoid mentioning them as a courtesy. 2)The language of obscenity has also been regarded as object of euphemism. 3)Sometimes a learned or scientific term is used as a euphemism, and thus becomes popular. Chapter 8 Meaning and Context (p. 169) The importance of Context in Language Use Examples: ?Come here to meet me tomorrow morning. ?It?s a beautiful garden ! ?--- It?s the telephone. --- I?m in the bath. --- O.K. 8.1 Types of Context ④Linguistic Context (Co-text) ④Extra-linguistic Context (Non-linguistic Context) The role of context in the determination of meaning: 1) Emotive (affective) meaning. 2) Meaning-area. Only the context can determine the extension of the word in any situation. For example: “England” can sometimes mean th e whole country of Britain. But, in its narrow sense, it may refer to a region as opposed to Wales and Scotland. 3) Transference of meanings. Only the context can tell whether healthy is meant as “having good health” or as “conducive to health”. 4) Ambiguity. Lexical ambiguity: ?The bat was found in the attic. ?The man decided to wait by the bank. Syntactic ambiguity: ?Old men and women took part in the parade. ?visiting relatives can be a nuisance. ?Mary made her dress correctly. Scope ambiguity: ?The shooting of the hunters was terrible. ? A student accompanied every visitor. Mary and Jack saw the mountains while they were flying to California. (cf. p. 177; readers’ schematic knowledge and knowledge of the world) Influence of context on the interpretation of ambiguity ?The man decided to wait by the bank. ?The fisherman decided to wait by the bank. ?The businessman decided to wait by the bank. ?I pulled the fish up onto the bank. ?I opened a checking account at the bank. 5) Homonyms. When two or more words identical in sound are involved, they are meaningless without their context. e.g.: pen ?The sheep were in the pen. ?I left my pen on the desk. Indication of Referents (p. 175) Provision of clues for inference of word meaning Chapter 9 English Idioms What is an idiom? A construction, expression etc., having a meaning different from the literal one or not according to the usual patterns of the language. A group of words (A set, multi-elemental group of words, or lexical entity ) established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words. An idiom is a combination of two or more words which functions as a unit of meaning ?His promotion has stepped up their social status. (improve / enhance) ?Bill took off Winston Churchill to perfection. (mimic / imitate) ?Carrying Elfie can?t be any piece of cake when she…s got the weight like that. (easy job) ?He meant to do it to save his face, but only made things worse. (avoid humiliation) ?show the white feather(show sighs of cowardice; origin: a white feather in a gamecock?s tail being considered as a sign of degeneracy)?The best fish smell when they are three days old. ?Never offer to teach fish to swim. Characteristics of English idioms 1) Structural stability An English idiom has an established form accepted by traditional usage. No element can be changed in English idioms without destroying the sense as a whole, e.g. ?To be at liberty ≠to be at freedom ?Kill two birds with one stone. ?The early bird catches the worm. 2) Semantic unity and lack of motivation Semantic unity: the member words of an idiom do not possess any lexical meaning outside the integral meaning of the whole. ?kick the bucket Lack of motivation means “semantically non-motivated”, i.e. the special meaning of an idiom cannot be deduced from the literal meaning of its member words. a) Figurative meaning of English idioms ?to carry coals to Newcastle. ?Every dog has his day. ?to let the cat out of the bag. b) Having the meaning peculiar to itself. ? A mare?s nest: a discovery which proves false or worthless; ?grass widow: a wife temporarily separated from her husband; ?on the nail: immediately, without delay or time of credit; ?by hook or by crook: by any means, direct or indirect; 3) Syntactic Inseparability English idioms have the characteristics of syntactic inseparability, i.e. the grammatical meaning belongs to the word-group as a whole. ?in the long holiday (a free phrase ) ?in the long run (an idiom; the part-of-speech meaning belongs to the group as a single whole, syntactically equivalent to single adverbs, i.e. finally, ultimately. ) 9.2 Classification of English Idioms 1.According to the motivation of the unit (from Russian linguists) 1)Phraseological fusions----The meaning of the compo-nents is completely absorbed by the meaning of the whole; e.g.drop the pilot, drive one?s pig to market, pass the hat, catch it… 2)Phraseological unities ----The meaning of the idiom may be understood from the components; e.g. smooth tongue, draw the curtain, show one?s teeth… ?They accused the government of dragging its feet in the matter of increased pensions for the ex-service men. 3)Phraseological combinations---the words of the idiom retain their full semantic independence, though they bare limited in their combinatory power. to take advice, to make a mistake, to keep house… cf. Demotivated Idioms & Motivated Idioms 2. According to source or origins 3. According to morphological structures ④Lexical idioms ④Phraseological idioms ④Sayings and proverbs 4. According to grammatical functions (p. 184) 4.1 Idioms Nominal in Nature: cold shoulder, blue chip; a fly on the wheel, rule of thumb; the lion?s share, cat?s paw; wear and tear, flesh and blood, the pros and cons; brain trust, sheet anchor. 4.2 Adjectival in Nature: high and mighty, free and easy; wide of the mark, as meek as a lamb, etc. 4.3 Verbal in Nature: ?There is no way to black out the news. ?She is always getting at me because I don?t keep the desk tidy. ?He could hardly sit down under that kind of provocation jump the queue, beat about the bush, burn the candle at both ends, fall flat, etc. 4.4 Adverbial in Nature: heart and soul, bag and baggage; behind the scene, by the way; between the devil and the deep blue sea Phrasal Verbs and Phrasal-verb compounds What are phrasal verbs? ?He took in the dog. ?They turned down the suggestion. ?He is relying on our help. ?She believes in your promise. ?The car broke down. ?He was moving about. Characteristics of phrasal verbs ?Dynamic nature ?Polysemantic nature ?Noun-forming nature Right branching ?Their marriage broke up. ?The plane took off. ?The cattle were rounded up. ?The traffic was held up for several hours. ?Left branching ?The disease broke out. ?The water flows over. ?Their enthusiasm surged up like waves. ?New students are being taking in in large numbers. ?High-tech products continued to flow out of the factory. ?Semantic characteristics: ?He got a good send-off. ?There was an obvious slow-down of the economic growth. ?The meeting is going to be a complete write-off. ?Every exam will produce a turn-up or two. ?The drive-in was divided into three parts. ?There was a pull-up at the wayside. ?The suspects were kept in the lock-up overnight. ?show-off; go-between; stowaway 9.3 Use of Idioms 1. Stylistic Features (p. 188) 2. Rhetorical Features 1) Phonetic Manipulation (1) Alliteration (2) Rhyme ?In summer the swallows are swirling in the sky. ?to support with person and purse; ?to share weal and woe; ?to help somebody with might and main; ?the part and parcel of Marxism ?penny wise and pound foolish ?Holofernes: (Love’s Labour’s Lost IV. ii.) I will something affect the letter, for it argues facility. The preyful princess pierc?d and prick?d a pretty pleasing pricket; Some say a sore; but not a sore, till now made sore with shooting. ... Quince: … Anon comes Pyramus, s weet youth and tall, And finds his trusty Thisby?s mantle slain; Whereat, with blade, with bloody blamed blade, He bravely broach?d his boiling bloody breast; And Thisby, tarring in mulberry shade, His dagger drew, and died. … (A midsummer Night’s Dream V. i.) 2) Lexical Manipulation 3) Semantic Manipulation (2) Metaphor: ?Kindness is a golden chain by which society is bound together. (Goethe) ? a stormy applause; a golden opportunity ? a ray of hope; the fountain of youth ?the brow of a hill; the eyes (hand) of the potato (a watch) ?While listening to the story, her heart was melting with sympathetic tenderness. ?It is good to have a little opposition; a kite rises against, not with, the wind.