戴語言學5-semantics

1、 Sema ntics can be simply defi ned as the study of meaning. This defi niti on n aturally leads to the question: what is meaning? Meaning is central to the study of com muni cati on, but the questi on of what mea ning really is is difficult to an swer. Even lin guists do not agree among themselves as

2、 to what meaning is. And what makes the matter even more complicated is th at philosophers, psychologists, and sociologists all claim a deep in terest in the study of meaning, although they differ in their focus of interest. The philosophers are interested in understanding the relations between ling

3、uistic expressions and what they refer to in the real world, and in evaluating the truth value of linguistic expressions. The psychologists focus their interest on un dersta nding the work ings of the huma n mind through Ian guage. This is why it is not surprising to find ten books all bearing the t

4、itle Semantics but talking about different things. In our discussion, we will limit ourselves to the study of meaning from a lin guistic point of view. 5.2 Some views concerning the study of meaning 5.2.1 The naming theory One of the oldest no ti ons concerning meaning, and also the most primitive o

5、ne, was the naming theory proposed by the an cie nt Greek scholar Plato. Accord ing to this theory, the linguistic forms or symbols, in other words, the words used in a Ian guage are simply labels of the objects they sta nd for. So words are just n ames or labels for thin gs. | The limitations of th

6、is theory are obvious. First of all, this theory seems applicable to nouns only, but verbs, adjectives, and adverbs such as th in k, hard, slowly are definitely not labels of objects. | Besides, within the category of nouns, there are nouns which denote things that do not exist i n the real world at

7、 all such as ghost , dragon , and unicorn, and also nouns that do not refer to physical objects, but abstract notions such as joy, im pulse . 5.2.2 The con ceptualist view A more sophisticated and seem in gly more plausible view tha n naming is one that relates words and things through the mediation

8、 of concepts of the mind. This conceptualist view has been held by some philosophers and linguists from ancient times. This view holds that there is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to (i.e. , betwee n Ian guage and the real world); rather, i n the in terpretati on of mean

9、ing they are lin ked through the mediati on of con cepts in the mind. This is best illustrated by the classic semantic triangle or triangle of significance suggested by Ogden | and Richards: SYMBOL/FORM- . REFERENT (直線表示兩者之間有直接聯(lián)系，虛線表示兩者之間無直接聯(lián)系。 ) In the diagram, the SYMBOL or FORM refers to the lin

10、guistic eleme nts (words, phrases), the REFERENT refers to the object in the world of experienee, and THOUGHT or REFERENCE refers to coneept. For example, The word dog is 5.1 What is sema ntics? 5. Sema ntics THOUGHT/REFERENCE directly associated with a certa in con eept in our min d, i.e., what a d

11、og is like, but it is not directly lin ked to that particular dog men ti oned in the sentence The dog over there looks unfrien dly, i.e., the referent in this particular case. Thus, the symbol or a word sig ni fies th in gs by virtue of the con cept associated with the form of the word in the minds

12、of the speaker of the Ian guage; and the con cept looked at from this point of view is the meaning of the word. This theory avoids many of the problems the naming theory has encoun tered, but it also raises a completely new problem of its own. For what is precisely the link | between the symbol and

13、the concept remains unclarified. Some scholars have suggested that the link is simply a psychological one | when we t h i n k of a name, we think of a concept. But this does not answer the question satisfactorily, for it is not clear what exactly is meant by th inking of a con cept. People do not ac

14、tually try to see the image of something in their minds eye every time they come across a linguistic symbol. 5.2.3 Con textualism During the period roughly from 1930 to 1960, linguists gave preeminence to the empirical or observable aspect in stead of the theoretical aspect in their scie ntific inve

15、stigation of meaning. This tendency manifested itself in an attempt to base meaning on con text. It has attracted those lin guists who have bee n worki ng toward the ideal of scientific objectivity. They hold that meaning should be studied in terms of situati on, use, con text eleme nts closely lin

16、ked with Ian guage behaviour. A representative of this approach was J. R. Firth, the leading British linguist of the period. He held the view that We shall know a word by the compa ny it keeps, and that By regard ing words as acts, even ts, habits, we limit our inquiry to what is objective in the gr

17、oup life of our fellows. Firth had bee n in flue need by the works of Mali no wski, a Polish anthropologist and of |Wittgenstein, a German philosopher. They believed respectively that la nguage should be treated as a mode of acti on, not an in strume nt of reflect ion and that For a large class of c

18、ases . the meaning of a word is its use in the Ian guage. The contextualist view of meaning is based on the presumption that one can derive meaning from or reduce meaning to observable con texts. Two kinds of con text are recog ni zed: the situatio nal con text and the lin guistic con text. Every ut

19、teranee occurs in a particular spatiotemporal situation, the main comp onents of which in elude, apart from the place and time of the uttera nee, the speaker and the hearer, the actions they are performing at the time, the various objects and events existe nt in the situati on. The lin guistic con t

20、ext, sometimes known as co-text, is concerned with the probability of a words co-occurre nee or collocati on with ano ther word, which forms part of the mea ning of the word, and also with the part of text that precedes and follows a particular uttera nee. For example, the meaning of the word black

21、differs in the two collocations of black hair and black coffee. And the meaning of the word seal i n the sentence The seal could not be found cannot be determ ined uni ess the con text in which the sentence occurs is restored. 5.2.4 Behaviorism The contextualist view was further strengthened by Bloo

22、mfield, who |drew on behaviorist psychology when trying to define the meaning of linguistic forms. Behaviorists attempted to define the meaning of a Ianguage form as the situation in which the speaker utters it and the response it calls forth in the hearer. (Bloomfield, 1933) This theory, somewhat c

23、lose to contextualism, is linked with psychological interest. This view of meaning proposed by Bloomfield is illustrated by his story about Jack and Jill, represented by the figure below. Bloomfield argued that meaning consists in the relation between speech indicated by the small letters r ? and th

24、e practical events represe nted by the capitalized letters S and R that precede and follow them respectively: Jill Jack S r ? R When Jill sees an apple and wants to have it, she has a physical stimulus, (represented by the capital letter S), which gives rise to a verbal response ( r ) to Jill. For i

25、n sta nee, she might say to Jack Im thirsty. What she says results in a verbal stimulus to Jack (represented by the small letter s ). This stimulus, in its turn, leads to a non-verbal resp onse from Jack, such as pick ing the apple for her. 5.3 Lexical meaning 5.3.1 Sense and reference Sense and ref

26、erence are two terms often encountered in the study of |word meaning. They are two related but differe nt aspects of meaning. Sense is concerned with the in here nt meaning of the lin guistic form. It is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form; it is abstract and de-contextualized.

27、 It is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are interested in. For example, the word dog is given the definition a domesticated canine mammal, occurring in many breeds that show a great variety in size and form. (Collins Dictionary of the English Lan guage, 1979) This does not refer to any par

28、ticular dog that exists 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. (Sense refers to the meaning of a Noun Prase which determines its referent) Referenee means what a linguistic form refers to in the real, ph

29、ysical world; it deals with the relati on ship betwee n the lin guistic eleme nt and the non-li nguistic world of experie nee. If we say The dog is bark in g, we must be talk ing about a certa in dog existe nt in the situati on; the word dog refers to a dog known to both the speaker and the hearer.

30、This is the reference of the word dog in this particular situati on. (Referenee refers to that part of a Noun Prase which is its referent) Obviously, li nguistic forms havi ng the same sense may have differe nt refere nces in different situations. On the other hand, there are also occasions, when li

31、nguistic forms with the same reference might differ in sense. A very good example is the two expressions morning star and evening star. These two differ in sense but as a matter of f a ct, what they refer to is the same: the very same star that we see in the sky. 5.3.2 Major sense relati ons (5 種) 5

32、.3.2.1 Synonymy (two words, same meaning) Synonymy refers to the sameness or close similarity of meaning. Words that| are close in meaning are called synonyms English is rich in synonyms for historical reasons. In the English vocabulary there are two categories of words: native words and borrowed (l

33、oan) words. The native words are those that were originally used in the speech of the native inhabitants of the British Isles, i.e., the Anglo-Saxons, although they were actually migrants from the no rther n part of Europe. Then in its long history of developme nt, the En glish Ian guage has taken i

34、n a large number of words from other Ianguages, mostly European Ianguages, such as French, Latin, Greek, Italian, and German. Most of the borrowed words have been naturalized. Therefore, we often find in English pairs, or triplets of words bearing more or less the same meaning. But because of their

35、differe nt origi ns, there are ofte n subtle differe nces betwee n these synony ms. Complete synony ms, | i.e. synonyms that are mutually substitutable un der all circumstances, are rare. According to the way they differ, synonyms can be divided into the follow ing groups: i. Dialectal synonyms syno

36、nyms used in differe nt regi onal dialects These are words with more or less the same meaning used in differe nt regi onal dialects. British English and American English are the two major geographical varieties of the English Ianguage. It is not difficult to find examples of saying the same thing by

37、 using differe nt words in the two dialects: British En glish America n En glish British En glish America n En glish Autu mn fall Win dscree n wi ndshield Lift elevator Torch flashlight Luggage baggage Picture Movie Lorry truck III Sick Petrol gasoli ne Engine Motor Flat apartme nt Post Mail Then di

38、alectal synonyms can also be found with in British En glish, or America n English itself. For example, girl is called lass or lassie in Scottish dialect, and liquor is called whiskey in Irish dialect. ii. Stylistic synonyms synonyms differi ng in style Words having the same meaning may differ in sty

39、le, or degree of formality. In other words, some words tend to be more formal, others casual, and still others n eutral in style. Here are some examples: old man, daddy, dad, father, male pare nt start, begi n, comme nee kid, child, offspri ng kick the bucket, pop off, die, pass away, decease ask, q

40、uesti on, in terrogate fear, terror, trepidati on gee-gee, horse, steed iii. Synonyms that differ in their emotive or evaluative meaning These are words that bear the same meaning but express differe nt emotio ns of the user, in dicat ing the attitude or bias of the user toward what he is talk ing a

41、bout. For example, the two words collaborator and accomplice are synonym ous in that they share the meaning of a person who helps another, but they differ in that a collaborator helps another in doing something good, while an accomplice helps another in a criminal act. So which word you would use de

42、pends on your evaluation of the nature of the activity the person concerned helps in. iv. Collocati onal synonyms Some synonyms differ in their collocation, i.e., in the words they go together with. This is a matter of usage. For example, whe n we want to say that some one has done something wrong o

43、r even criminal, we can use accuse, charge, rebuke, but they are followed by different prepositions accuse . of, charge . with, rebuke . for. Ano ther example is the word we use to describe food that has gone bad and is not f it for eating. Different adjectives are used for different kinds of food,

44、e.g. rotte n tomatoes, addled eggs, rancid bac on or butter, sour milk. ( A flock of sheep, A pack of wolves, A herd of cows, A swarm of bees, A school of whales ) v. Sema ntically differe nt synonyms These are synonyms that differ slightly in what they mean. For example, the two words amaze and ast

45、ound are very close in meaning to the word surprise, but have very subtle differe nces. While amaze suggests con fusi on and bewilderme nt, asto und suggests difficulty in believi ng. (For example, rage, fury, in dig nati on and wrath are synonym ous to an ger in denoting the emoti onal exciteme nt

46、in duced by intense displeasure. Rage often implies a loss of self- control; fury ” , the strongest word in the group, suggests a rage so viole nt that it may approach madn ess; “ in dig nati on implies an ger because of moral reas on s.) 5.322 Polysemy (one word, differe nt meaning) While differe n

47、t words may have the same or similar meaning, the same one word may have more tha n one meaning. This is what we call polysemy , and such a word is called a polysemic word. There are many polysemic words in En glish. The fact is the more com mon ly used a word is, the more likely it has acquired mor

48、e tha n one meaning. Take the word table for example. It is a very com mon word in En glish. If we look it up in any dict ion ary, we will find that it has at least the follow ing seve n meanin gs: (1) a piece of furn iture (2) all the people seated at a table (3) the food that is put on a table (4)

49、 a thin flat piece of stone, metal, wood, etc. (5) orderly arran geme nt of facts, figures, etc. (6) part of a mach in e-tool on which the work is put to be operated on (7) a level area, a plateau Historically speak ing, polysemy can be un derstood as the growth and developme nt of or cha nge in the

50、 meaning of words. We assume that at first the form table had only one meaning; very likely it referred to a thin piece of stone, or wood. This is called its primary meaning. Later on it gradually came to acquire the other meanings it now represe nts. 5.323 Homonymy (differe nt words, same soun d/sp

51、elli ng) Homonymy refers to the phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form, i. e. , different words are identical in sound or spelling, or in both. When two words are ide ntical in sound, they are homoph ones . When two words are identical in spelling, they are homographs . W

52、hen two words are identical in both sound and spell ing, they are complete homonyms . Below are examples of each kin d: Homoph on es: rai n/reig n ni ght/k ni ght piece/peace leak/leek Homographs: bow v. /bow n. tear v. / tear n. lead v. / lead n wind v. /wind n. Complete homonyms : fast adj. /fast

53、v. scale n. /scale v. At this stage a questi on that readily comes to mi nd is that whe n two forms are iden tical both in sound and spelli ng, how can we tell whether they are two meanings of the same polysemic word, or two complete homonyms? This is an interesting question but difficult to answer.

54、 What we can depend on is the etymology of the words in question. A polysemic word is the result of the evolution of the primary | meaning of the word. The various meanings of the word are related to some degree, as we have seen in the case of table above. Complete homonyms are often brought i nto b

55、eing by coin cide nee. For in sta nee, ball meaning a round object used in games and ball meaning a large formal social eve nt at which people dance are complete homonyms. The word ball bearing the first meaningis a native English word. It originally existed in the Ianguage. |lt so happened that in

56、French there existed a word, spelt in the same way, beari ng the sec ond meaning. And this word somehow found its way into the En glish Ian guage. The result is that in En glish today we have the two complete homonyms ball and ball. (Usually there are three principles to distinguish between polysemy

57、 and homonymy. Etymologically, a polysemic word is the result of the evolution of the primary meaning of the word. Complete homonyms are not etymologically related. They happen to be iden tical in forms. They are differe nt words. Sema ntically, the meanings of a polysemic word are related, but the

58、meanings of complete homonyms are not related at all.) 5.3.2.4 Hypo nymy Hyponymy refers to the sense relation between a more general, more inclusive word and a more specific word. The word which is more general in meaning is called the superord in ate(upper terms) , and the more specific words are

59、called its hyponyms(subordinate/lower terms) . Hyponyms of the same superord in ate are co-hyp onyms to each other, e.g. Superordinate: flower Hypony ms: rose, tulip, earn ati on, lily, morning glory . Superordinate: animal Hyponyms: dog, cat, tiger, lion, wolf, elephant, fox, bear . Superord in ate

60、: furn iture Hypony ms: bed, table, desk, dresser, wardrobe, settee . Hyponymy is a relati on of in clusio n; in terms of meaning, the superord in ate in cludes all its hyp ony ms. 5.325 Antonymy (3 種) The term antonymy is used for oppositeness of meaning; words that are opposite in meaning are anto