英語語義學匯總

1、1. Semantics: is a word derived from Greek stem “seme” which meant sign, first coined by semantique M.Breal in 1893. And it was first cited by British scholar in an English report entitled “ Reflected Meaning : a point in semantics”.2. There is no definite answer to the question “whats the meaning o

2、f meaning”. In order to get the meaning of word, we should depend on the concrete contexts we refer to.Eg: I meant to come early. （ intentional meaning） The real flag means danger. (conventional meaning) The dark cloud means rains.( natural meaning) Calligraphy means beautiful writing. ( linguistic

3、meaning)Study linguistic phenomena within the language system, not outside.Ogden and Richard “ the meaning of meaning” in 1923, listed at list 16 different understandings of meanings.Although different scholars hold different attitudes towards whats the meaning of meaning, they do share something in

4、 common, that is , to explicate linguistic phenomena, the knowledge that language use must have in order to make certain judgment concerning meaning of words and sentences of their language.3. judgment made by language uses(1) ambiguity Polysemous words in the sentenceEg: she cannot bear children (

5、put up with)Certain structures: adj + n in possessive case + N Adj + a series of nouns More/most + adj +n V-ing + nounResulting from elliptical structure Eg; serve meat when thoroughly stewed.Homonymous wordsEg: when does the baker follow his trade? Whenever he needs( kneads) the doughLiaison Eg: a

6、train dear a trained deer a trained ear it rained here,.(2) anomaly Anomaly refers to a phenomenon that various words in certain combination are anomalous. This means the combination violate semantic rules, though in agreement with grammatical or syntactical rules.Eg: grean idears sleep furiously-vi

7、olated semantic rules, unaccepatable combinatione.g. I ate three phonemes for brbeakfast(3) ContradictionContradiction refers to a certain combination that is contradictory.Eg: 你以為咱家有金山銀山啊My brother is the only childColourless green ideas sleep furiously(4) RedundancyRedundancy is very common in lan

8、guage, it is one of the features of language.Eg: I went yerterday你用腦袋好好想一想用鼻子聞一下毫無根據(jù)的誹謗（5）equivalence Equivalence means that the propositions contains in sentences are equivalent, not sentences themselves- it also used in logic, referring to certain sentences are equivalent in truth value.Eg: The te

9、xtbook is on the top of the desk.(6) Entailment Some sentences or propositions logically entail other sentences or propositions.Eg: A: Mary killed spy.B: The spy died.Proposition: a statement is a proposition if it can be judged either T or F. ( one sentence may contain different propositions) ( dif

10、ferent referents express different propositions)Eg: I an a teacher.A: He almost manage to win the election B: He didnt win the electionA entails BA: Now he had a passport again. Bill will be able to leave the countryB: Bill left the country.A: John is a bachelor.B: John is unmarried.Some patternsPer

11、suade sb to do sthPersuade sb thatEg: A: I persuade John to give the first three lecturesB: John gave the first three lectures( not entail)A: I persuade John that he was wrong.B：John accepted that he was wrong.( entail )A: If you don't come before 5 oclock. You dont find him at home. B: You will

12、 find him if you come before 5 oclock.In this case, A doesnt entail B, because “not” in A functions not only a negative mark but also shows different meanings. A means that you nay or may not find him before 5 oclock.4 Various theories of meaning4.1 referential theory of meaningRefrence：（指稱關系）Refren

13、t：（指稱物）Referring expression: (指稱表達式)-the relationship between language and worldAccording to this theory, linguistic expression is what it refers to or stands for. (It is modest, because it has its own significance in the study of meaning, emphasizing relatedness of language to the world. It is too

14、extreme, reducing language to its reference. It is the first theory to explore relation between language and world.)Why is it too extreme?It is not convincing: for example, one-one relationGeorge Bush (linguistic expression): a real person; the president of U.S.( referents)One linguistic expression

15、has more than one referent.Problems: 1. Meanings can not be equivalent with reference.e.g. Venus(金星)/啟明星/長庚星Different expressions may refers to the same thing( one referent), but mean quite differently, even when meaning and referent are identical in the following sentence containing “I”.I attend th

16、e meeting Friday. One-a lot of (relation)2. This theory proves to be invalid, incapable of explaining expressions which do not have referent but intuitively speaking, they are meaningful.e.g. Marilyn Monroe spends a very wonderful life.Your apple is very sweet.The above sentences have no referent at

17、 all.This meaning is invalidated in the theory of meaning.4.2 The ideational theory of meaningAccording to this theory, the meaning of expression is the idea or the concept associated with it in the mind of anyone who knows the expression. (Changeable, flexible, different people may form different p

18、ictures when exposed to the object.)The idea or images called concepts are fleeting (changing), and then ideas are changing. 4.3 Behaviorist theory of meaningAccording to this theory, the meaning of expression is either the stimulus that evokes or the response that it evokes or a combination of both

19、 in particular occasions of an utteranceThe relation between language and stimulus is not one to one, but quite complicated, perhaps one to many.e.g. One girl sees apples on the table and she want an apple. She may express this intention in different ways.a. Look at those apples. I am hungry. Would

20、you please fetch one for me?b. You know I love apples.c. I beg you cannot get that apple with a wooden leg.- These responses are quite different in meaning, not valid to explain meaning.- Each theory has its own contribution to a certain degree in the study of meaning.4.4 The meaning-in-use theoryAc

21、cording to this theory, the meaning of expression is determined by if not in identical ways its use in the language. The language use cannot be separated from contexts, so the use meaning is also contextualism.Problems:a. Meaning shouldnt be taken as use. Meaning is logically prior to use. The use t

22、heory is questioned. b. This theory is too over generalized and doesnt have much actual value, because context itself is not enough for analyzing meaning. c. To equate meaning with context, we can only account for simple instance of language use.d. Context is related with objective world, and knowle

23、dge about word is so much limited, we cannot totally rely on this knowledge to analyze meaning, nor can we extend the scope of semantic study to the study of the world.4.5 The verification theory of meaning -Falsifiability -Truth value theory, truth- conditional theoryLeechs classification of meanin

24、g-This theory is advocated by Vienna Circle ( a group of people in pursuit of empiricism) and Schick is the authority one.- According this theory, the meaning of an expression, if it has one, is determined by verifiability of the sentences or propositions containing the expression.-This theory just

25、provides a criterion of judging whether a proposition is meaningful or not instead of what is meaning. - Schick said that stating the meaning of sentence amounts to stating the rules according to which the sentence is to be used.This is the same as stating the way in which it can be verified or fals

26、ified.Problems:1. It is hard to determine how many observations or statements will be enough to verify a proposition. ( infinite in number )e.g. My brother is bald.For time being, whether or not I have a brother.For time being, whether or not my brother is bald.The meaning of the above sentence is d

27、etermined by a set of observations/ statements and statements are observational statements.They provide the mean for observationally verifying whether the speaker has a brother and for time being whether he is bald. If this statement is verified, the proposition is true or it is false.2. Secondly, o

28、nly deals with the meaning of declarative sentence which make statements.4.6 The true-conditional theory of meaning (logic semantics)- According to this theory, the meaning of expression is contribution to the truth conditions of sentences containing the expression.- Truth conditions are conditions

29、under which propositions prove to be true or false. Chapter 3. Types of MeaningThere is intrinsic connection between meaning and communication in semantics. (Intentional transmission of meaning)In semantics, intentional transmission of communication by means of some established signal system. (Langu

30、age)3.1 classifications of signals1. verbal Grammatical linguistic and lexical linguistic2. non-verbal(1) Linguistic (vocal; intonation; stress)(2) ParalinguisticVocal (loudness, tone of voice, tempo)Non-vocal (eye movement; facial expression, gesture)(3) non-linguistic Vocal: individual voice3 qual

31、ityNon-vocal: blush3.2 classification of meaning 3.2.1 Propositional meaning/conceptual/referential/denotative/According to Herford O Hensley, propositions are things that are true or false. A proposition is that of meaning of the utterance of declarative sentence which describes some states of affa

32、irs. The difference between sentence and proposition:a. Proposition is not the same as a sentence. The same sentence can express different propositions by means of the reference, because a speaker indicates which things or persons in this world are talked about. e.g. here, there, nowb. Because of am

33、biguityThe same sentence may express different propositions.e.g. Vagueness-referent- not clear ( feature of language )Possessive case:This is Jeans picture.The picture taken by Jean. The picture belongs to Jean.The picture of Jean.3.2.2. Social meaning: language is social phenomenon(1) Illocutionary

34、 meaning (2) Speaker/ addressee(3) Stylistic / register(1) Illocutionary meaning-when we utter a sentence, we are performing a certain speech act from the perspective of semantics. It expresses a kind of logical meaning. e.g. Its a nice day! I state it a nice day! - perform a sentence-illocutionary

35、force.Propositional meaning vs. illocutionary meaningSometimes we can have illocutionary meaning without propositional meaning to perform speech act expresses illocutionary forcee.g. Good morning cant be judged true or false.In uttering sentences, we perform speech act under felicity condition.e.g.

36、In the evening, people are going to go asleep, it is not proper to say have a nice day.(2)Speaker/addressee relationshipPower vs. solidarityThe speaker may have the power over the addressee, vice versa.e.g. In Chinese, we have 你and 您, in French we have tu and vous, but in English we dont have this k

37、ind of phenomena. Different pronouns indicate different relationship between speaker and addressee.Solidarity shows the equal relationship between the speaker and hearer.T/V: tu/vous formT T: Tu/Tu formReciprocal vs. non-reciprocalTerms of addressingWhen addressing somebody, you can use different te

38、rms. Different choices of terms in a way may reflect a speaker and addressee relationship.Terms of addressing: the point is under the topic of “power and solidarity”. This point is related to social meaning which we can study in a diachronic way.e.g.We often call some colleagues teacher Wang or teac

39、her Li, which shows that the speaker and the addressee is equal in status. And sometimes we call some of our colleagues XiaoLi or XiaoWang, which shows that the speaker is older than the addressee. In terms of age, the speaker has the power over the addressee.The addressing term may change with the

40、time. We often use “同志” in Chinese, but in English the correspondent word “comrade” has another meaning (gay or homosexual). So English people dont use this word so often. From the 1950s to present, the meaning of “comrade” has been extended and it has derogatory meaning, thus people dont have posit

41、ive association of the word meaning.In the 1970s or 1980s, we have the addressing terms of “師傅” and “徒弟” in the factory. At present, we call the taxi driver “師傅” instead of “comrade” or “driver”, though we dont have the “徒弟” relationship.師傅：master, master worker徒弟：apprentice, follower, discipleThe a

42、ddressing terms change with the time, which shows the changing and development of society have influence on language. The changing of addressing terms reflects the emotional meaning.Two points concerning social meaning in terms of speaker/addressee relationshipT/T form is more common than the T/V fo

43、rm. T/V form is more often used in grammatical system, while in English there is no such kind of grammatical terms to show solidarity and power of speaker and addressee relationship. But we can use titles, such as Mr., Miss, Mrs.e.g. when we say “This is Mr. Smith” which is very formal. We can say “

44、This is Tom” to show the intimate relationship. If we are good friends, we use a given name only, a shortened family name, or even the nickname. Such as Charles, Charli or Chuck.(3) Stylistic/register meaning.These two are related, but not the same, both of them can be defined as the variety of lang

45、uage depending on the use rather than the user.User: dialectsStyle: is defined as situationally distinctive use of a variety of language.(e.g. oral form & written form; formal form & informal form, literary form, colloquial form, technical form) Register: is closely used in linguistics and s

46、ociolinguistics. It is a variety of language defined according to its use in social situation.Their conceptual/propositional meanings are the same, but register/ stylistic meanings are not.e.g.分 analyze the problem (chemist)析 dissect the subject (medical)問 expounded the problem (missionary)題 explain

47、/ make it clear (colloquial form by common people)Three points concerning stylistic/ register meaningformality vs. informalityWhen we talked about register, we talk about formality and informality.e.g. 流汗：informal: sweat, formal: perspire In different context, we use different vinceIt is re

48、ferred to the professional or academic fields.e.g. program: computer program 計算機程序， TV program 電視節(jié)目modeWhen we talk about mode, we talk about writing and speech. Writing is more formal than speech, but not always.Phrasal verbs are less formal than single verbse.g. 提出(理論)：propose, put forward, set fo

49、rth, come up with, advance, initiate, advocate, etc.The point is proposed by Leech: synonyms are used in different contexts, but the conceptual meanings are the same.e.g. Home: formal: domicile/ residence, in poetry: abodee.g. Small: little, tiny, wee(Scottish dialect), diminutive (formal)3.2.3 Emot

50、ive/ indexical meaningIt concerns the use of certain expression through which we can find speakers identity or status. It is not conveyed by linguistic components, but by non-linguistic components, such as voice quality (passive voice or active voice)emotional/ emotive meaning expresses speakers or

51、writers attitude of emotional involvement, it focus on speaker and writer. Sometimes emotional meaning overlaid on propositional meaning.e.g. when the black people were transported to America as slaves, their master often called them “nigger”, later on, they called them “negro” to show their low soc

52、ial status contrary to their master. In the 1960s, they were called “black people” instead of “negro” contrary to the white. Later on, they called them “Afro-American”. Form this we can see the addressing terms change with time, the emotional involvement involved in these terms change with the time.

53、emotional meaning is expressed without propositional meaning through tone of voice, intonation or intonation pattern. This kind of meaning can be judged as true or false as it expresses certain state of affairs.e.g. the baby which/ who you saw this morning.“Which” is acceptable according to grammati

54、cal rule. When we use “which”, it means we treat baby/ the man as something instead of a person, “which” shows the speaker is more separate/ distant from the things involved. “Who” shows more personal feeling with the person or man.3.2.4 Thematic meaningBy thematic meaning, in different sources, the

55、 terms are similar. But different scholars may use different terms: theme vs. rheme; topic vs. comment; given information vs. new information; background vs. focus. All these terms are used to show thematic meaning.Definition given by Leech: thematic meaning derives from theme. It is communicated by

56、 the way in which a speaker or writer organized the message in terms of ordering, focus or emphasis.Thematic meaning may be different according to what the speaker wants to emphasize or highlight. Under this one, we have three points:normally, the propositional meaning must be the same. In this case

57、, we can compare thematic meaning. This kind of meaning can be expressed by either verbal or non-verbal component.Verbal component means the arrangement of words.Non-verbal component means intonation, stress and etc, which are used to accompany verbal signals.Thematic meaning is expressed by voiceNormally, active or passive voice counterparts express the same propositional meaning, but different lies in the thematic meaning.e.g. i. Marry donated the first prize. (The first prize is new information.)ii. The first prize was donated by Marry. (Mary is new information.)For the first se