Chapter Five

1、Chapter Five Semantic ClassificationOf Words 詞的語義分類詞的語義分類 Semantic classification of words (詞的語義分類) means that vocabulary units are classified on the basis of various meaning relations between words. - hyponymy (inclusion) - synonymy (similarities) - antonymy (oppositeness)Semantic RelationsI. Hypon

2、ymy (上下義關(guān)系上下義關(guān)系) As has been stated earlier, some words refer to the genus (類/屬)and others refer to the species(種). The genus is a class of things made up of two or more subordinate classes or species. Hyponymy refers to the relationship which obtains between general and specific lexical items (betw

3、een the genus and the species). The latter is included in the former. e.g. animal cat, dog, donkey, monkey furniture chair, bench, table, sofa I. Hyponymy (上下義關(guān)系上下義關(guān)系)Terms involved: hyponymy: 上下義關(guān)系上下義關(guān)系 （or: semantic inclusion 語義內(nèi)包）語義內(nèi)包） the superordinate: 支配詞或者上義詞支配詞或者上義詞 the subordinate term: 受支配

4、詞或者下義詞受支配詞或者下義詞 ( or: the hyponym: 下義詞下義詞) co-hyponyms: 共下義詞共下義詞 semantic field: 語義場語義場 （Page 333）I. Hyponymy (上下義關(guān)系上下義關(guān)系) food meat vegetable cereal pork, beef celery, carrot bread, cake, cornflakesExample 1I. Hyponymy (上下義關(guān)系上下義關(guān)系)trudge長途跋涉長途跋涉saunter 漫步漫步閑逛閑逛totter/waddle /stagger蹣跚蹣跚stride大步走大步走

5、stroll漫步漫步閑逛閑逛hobble/ limp跛行跛行Example 2amble從容地走從容地走walkI. Hyponymy (上下義關(guān)系上下義關(guān)系) Therefore, the words of the English language are arranged in a hierarchical system of superordinates and subordinates. Usually, general terms suffice for our purpose. Eg. I could walk there within 15 minutes. (There is

6、no need to describe how I walked.) But, general terms used too often can result in vagueness and triteness(陳腐，平凡). I. Hyponymy (上下義關(guān)系上下義關(guān)系) On the other hand, the hyponyms (or specific words) of the same superordinate (or general) terms can be usefully employed to make ones speech or writing more vi

7、vid and precise. For instance, “With a wild rattle and clatter, and an inhuman abandonment of consideration not easily understood in these days, the carriage dashed through the streets and swept round corners, with women screaming before it, and men clutching each other and clutching children out of

8、 its way. At last, swooping at a street corner by a fountain” (Dickens, Charles: A Tale of Two Cities)I. Hyponymy (上下義關(guān)系上下義關(guān)系) In describing the quick motion of the carriage, the author uses to dash, to sweep, to swoop to replace the general word to drive. These specificwords not only add much force

9、 and clarity but also evoke vivid pictures in the readers mind. II. Semantic Field The semantic field theory took the view that the vocabulary of a given language is not simply a listing of independent items, but is organized into areas, or fields, within which words interrelate and define each othe

10、r in various wayse.g. the semantic field of colors: red, green, blue, white, gray, orange, rose, olive, purple, lemon, etc.the semantic field of kinship: father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, etc. the semantic field of distressing emotions: sorrow, grief, anguish, woe, regret, etc.II. Sema

11、ntic Field Features of Semantic Field: Word frequency in the same semantic field varies. e.g. in the semantic field of color, words of high frequency are: white, black, green, blue, red and yellow; the next group is pink, orange, scarlet, crimson (深紅深紅)and violet; words of least frequency are: lemon

12、, emerald（翠綠色）（翠綠色）, sandy（淡茶色）（淡茶色）, and coral（珊瑚色）（珊瑚色）. 1)2) Words of a semantic field are not synonymous, but they are joined together by a common semantic feature such as the concept of color or the concept of kinship. 3) Words in the same semantic field are likely to have a number of collocati

13、ons in common.e.g. pork, beef, and mutton collocate readily with the following words: stew, fry, roast, overdone, raw, and underdone. Such words are semantically interdependent: the meaning of one word in a semantic field is limited by the meaning of its neighbors. As a result, meaning is to a great

14、 extent determined by the position a word occupies in its semantic field. e.g. the word captain (refer to Page 334)II. Semantic Field The semantic field obviously overlap(部分重疊) with hyponymy; both are involved with forming relationship between words in the same general area of meaning. II. Semantic

15、Field How should we distinguish hyponymy from the semantic field ? In the case of hyponymy, one should pay attention to the question of which specific term to use, while in the case of the semantic field, ones attention should be turned toward the highly probable collocations the word of each semant

16、ic field have in common. III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)The word synonym is derived from Greek syn “with, together” and onyma “name”.Synonymy is a term used in semantics to denote a type of sense relation between lexical items. Synonyms are lexical items which have the same meaning but differ in morphemic

17、structure(形形位結(jié)構(gòu)位結(jié)構(gòu)), phonological form(音位形狀音位形狀) and usuage(用法用法). III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)1. Types of synonyms: absolute/perfect synonyms 絕對同義詞絕對同義詞/完全同義詞完全同義詞 relative synonyms 相對同義詞相對同義詞 stylistic synonyms 文體同義詞文體同義詞 phraseological synonyms詞組同義詞詞組同義詞III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)(1) Absolute synonymsTw

18、o words are totally synonymous only if they are fully identical in meaning and interchangeable in any context without the slightest alteration in connotative, affective and stylistic meanings.Absolute synonyms are rare except for some technical terms. e.g. word-building-word-formation in lexicology

19、voiceless consonants-breathed consonants in phonetics fatherland motherlandmother country mother tonguenative languageIII. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)(2) Relative synonymsRelative synonyms are similar in meaning only under some specific conditions. e.g. I cannot stand / bear his such attitude to me.Here sta

20、nd and bear are synonymous only when used in the negative form. Relative synonyms differ from complete synonyms in the following respects： In degree of a certain quality or in shade of meaning:e.g. - small, tiny, diminutive(小的，微小的小的，微小的), minute, microscopic, infinitesimal（無窮小的）（無窮小的） are synonyms,

21、but they denote different degrees of smallness.III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)- anger, rage, fury(狂怒狂怒), indignation（憤慨）（憤慨）, and wrath（激怒）（激怒）are synonymous in denoting the emotional excitement induced by intense displeasure. anger the most general term, suggesting no degree of intensityrage often implyin

22、g a loss of self- controlfury the strongest in the group, suggesting a rage so violent that it may approach madnessindignation denoting anger based on a moral condemnation of something felt to be wrong and unfairwrath now limited in use to literature and figures of speech, suggesting a strong anger

23、directed at some specific person or thing.Please fill in the blanks with the most appropriate word. The insolence of the waiters drove him into a_, and he flung his plate to the floor and stalked out of the restaurant. 2) Mad with _, john pounded his fists on the wall and beat his breast.1)3) Abolit

24、ionists viewed the institution of slavery with _. III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)ragefuryindignationIII. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)4) Tom is easily aroused to _. 5) Natural disasters may be the manifestation of the _ of the gods. b. In affective meaning, and stylistic meaning:e.g. little and small are synonymous,

25、 but if any emotion is assotiated with the designation, we must choose little. So, its unidiomatic for one to exclaim Poor small boy!, because the word small has no affective meaning.angerwrathIII. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系) There are numerous pairs of synonyms having nearly the same denotative meaning but

26、 differing in affective meaning: In stylistic meaning: There are many words which refer to the same thing but belong to different stylistic layers: III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系) It sounds perfectly appropriate for one to say The king chided Sir Lancelot for his unfaithfulness. But one will not be so form

27、al to use this word to express the same meaning to his or her family members. Similarly you will sense the difference in stylistic meaning between the following words, although they have the same referent: man (neutral), chap (colloquial小伙子小伙子), fellow (colloquial), bird(colloquial家伙家伙), guy(slang),

28、 bozo(slang家伙，笨蛋家伙，笨蛋), gent (vulgar or jocular假紳士假紳士)III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)c. In collocation and distribution:e.g. We may say the word has two senses, or the word has two meanings. But we can only say he is a man of sense, and not he is a man of meaning. We say either the English lanuage or Engli

29、sh tongue, but we can only say mother tongue and not mother language.We can only raise a question, and not lift a question. For more, please refer to page 339 of your textbook.III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)(3) Stylistic synonymsSynonyms which differ from one another in stylistic re

30、ference are called stylistic synonyms.e.g. begin (native)-commence (French) (but commence is more formal than begin)In poetry: billowwave; maidgirl; eveevening; mutesilent;Some old words: yonderthere; oftoften; thou, thee, yeyou; thineyour;III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)(4) Phraseological synonymsNot only

31、individual words, but phrases as well, may be synonyms. Phrases or idioms can be interchangeable.e.g. over head and ears inup to the neck in(深陷于.中); to die(neutral) to pass away(euphamism) to kick the bucket(slang蹬腿了); to gain the upper handto win; to be in ones cups to be dead drunk(爛醉如泥)III. Synon

32、ymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)2. Sources of synonyms(1)The origin of synonyms i. Synonyms which originated from the native elements, mostly denoting different shades of meaning.e.g. fastspeedyswift handsomeprettylovely III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)ii. Synonyms which owe their origins to foreign borrowing through crossin

33、g with other languages.（Page335） III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)iii. Synonyms created through the adoption of words from dialects and American English.e.g. From American English (the second element): wirelessradio; trunk callthe long-distance call vest undershirtFrom other dialects: liquorwhiskey (from Iri

34、sh); girllass (from Scottish)charmglamour( from Scottish); ghost bogle (from Scottish and North England) III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)iv. Synonyms derived from euphemism. e.g. poor underprivileged diepass away; go to heaven pregnantin the family way in the interesting way to go to the toilet to answer th

35、e natures call III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)v. Synonyms formed with verbal synonymic phrases. e.g. to choose pick out to abandongive up to continuego on with to telephoneto make a phone callOthers: laugh- to give a laugh; to walk-to take a walk; to smoke-to have a smoke; to love- to fall in love III. Syn

36、onymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)2. Sources of synonyms(2) Two patterns of synonymic sets Anglo-Saxon native words French, Latin, Greek borrowed words/ load words/ loanwords Doublets(兩詞一組同義詞) Triplets(三詞一組同義詞)III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系) Doublets refer to a native word which co-exist with the one borrowed from French, L

37、atin, or Greek. In most cases, the native word is more spontaneous, more informal and unpretentious（謙遜的） while the borrowed word is learned, abstract, or even abstruse(難解釋的）. There may also be emotive differences: the former sounds warmer and more homely than its foreign counterpart.III. Synonymy (同

38、義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)Doublets: III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)Triplets refer to synonyms which consist of native words and words borrowed from French and from Latin or Greek.The native words are simple and stylistically neutral whereas the words borrowed from French are literary(書面詞） and the ones from Latin or Greek ar

39、e learned (學(xué)術(shù)詞或?qū)I(yè)詞).III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)Triplets：III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)Some synonyms are distinguished between British English and American English.III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)4. Four levels of usuage（使用平面）：（使用平面）：Levels of usuage refer to modes of expresson felt to be appropriate to certain types

40、 of social situations.Formal, informal, spoken, written are labels used for levels of usuage. III. Synonymy (同義關(guān)系同義關(guān)系)Look at the different levels of usuage in the following sentences:Penalties for overdue books will be strictly enforced. (written)You have got to pay fines for overdue books. (spoken

41、)They made a decision to abandon the project. (formal)They decided to walk out on the project. (informal) IV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系)antonym = Greek words anti “against” + onyma “name”Antonymy refers to oppositeness of meaning. The words that are in opposition are antonyms. IV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系)Differ

42、ent classifications of antonyms:1. Antonyms classified on the basis of root and derivation(以詞根以詞根和派生為依據(jù)和派生為依據(jù))： root antonyms derivative antonymse.g. big small; up down; inside outside; able unable; help helpless; practical impractical; honest dishonest; approve disapprove More on page 340. IV. Anto

43、nymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系)2. Antonyms classified on the basis of semantic contrast(以語義對比為依據(jù)以語義對比為依據(jù))：(1) Contraries/contrary terms/gradable antonyms (相對反義詞相對反義詞, 可分級反義詞可分級反義詞) Contraries show a type of oppositeness of meaning, illustrated by such pairs as wide and narrow, old and young, rich and poor, heavy an

44、d light, etc. IV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系)Two features of contraries:1）語義歸一性（semantic polarity)和相對性（relativity), 即語義的兩極相比較而存在。2）對立的漸進(jìn)性（gradual)。以hot 和cold 為例 中點中點- hot warm tepid lukewarm cool cold (微熱的) (微溫的) IV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系) Most of the contraries are gradable adjectives, that is they can be han

45、dled in terms of gradability, or in terms of degrees of the quality involved.e.g. rich, very rich, richer heavy, very heavy, heavier deep, very deep, deeper They show gradation of wealth, weight, and depth.IV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系)(2) Complementaries (contradictory terms or binary antonyms or absolute

46、 antonyms) (互互補(bǔ)反義詞補(bǔ)反義詞/矛盾詞矛盾詞/二元反義詞二元反義詞/絕對反義詞絕對反義詞) represent a type of binary semantic opposition which admits no gradability between the items. In a complementary pair the contrast between the two terms is absolute, i.e. they are in such a relationship that “ the assertion of one of the items imp

47、lies the denial of the other”.（非此即彼或非彼即此） IV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系)Complementaries (互補(bǔ)反義詞互補(bǔ)反義詞)Such type of antonyms can be shown in the following diagram: A B-BAIV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系)Complementaries (互補(bǔ)反義詞互補(bǔ)反義詞)e.g. alive / dead; single / married; present / absent; male / female; boy / girl; perfect

48、 / imperfect; true / false; right / wrong; like /dislike If Adam is not alive, he is dead and vice versa. If Mary is married, she is not single any more.英語中這類反義詞常見的一種構(gòu)詞方式是運用前綴dis-, il-, im-,in, ir- 和un-。IV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系) Complementary terms are nongradable. They cannot be modified by adverbs t

49、o convey the degree of its intensity, nor can it be handled in terms of comparison. They admit no intermediate members.Sumamry about Complementaries (互補(bǔ)反義詞互補(bǔ)反義詞)IV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系)(3) Conversives (relational opposites) (換位反換位反義詞義詞/關(guān)系反義詞關(guān)系反義詞) Conversives (converse terms) display a type of opposi

50、teness of meaning. Examples are borrow and lend, husband and wife, buy and sell, parent and child, above and below, etc.e.g. If A sells a book to B, B buys a book from A. If A lends money to B, B borrows money from A. If A is Bs husband, then B is As wife.IV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系) From the above examp

51、les, we can see that the substitution of one member for the other does not change the meaning of a sentence if it is accompanied by an interchange of subject and object. Conversives are in such a relationship, found especially in the definition of reciprocal social roles, spatial relationships and s

52、o on, there is an interdependence of meaning, such that one member of the pair presupposes the other member. (一方的存在以另一方的存在未前提。)IV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系)3. Some relevant points about antonyms (1) Not all words have antonyms. Such words as window, house, forest, thought, book, coal, to see, to drink do

53、not have antonyms.IV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系)(2) A polysemous word may have different antonyms A polysemous word may have different antonyms for its different senses under different situations.e.g. “fast”: =fixed firmly loose / insecure =rapid slow =loyal, steadfast disloyal =abstain from food eatIV. An

54、tonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系)(3) Different collocations bring about different antonyms.e.g. an old man a young man an old house a new or modern house a tall man a short man a tall building a low building a thin slice a thick slice a thin lady a fat ladyIV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系) Sometimes the same word in the same

55、 collocation may have different antonyms, if the meaning of the word is different.e.g. a clever worker =quick in learning and understanding a stupid worker a clever worker =skillful a clumsy worker a powerful man =having great power a powerless man a powerful man =very strong a weak man IV. Antonymy

56、 (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系)(4) Lexical antonymy (反義詞反義詞)VS. syntactic negation(句法否定式句法否定式)Lexical antonymy is often stronger than syntactic negation (by using not).e.g. unhappy not happy; impossible not possible; disloyal not loyal; unfair not fair; to disobey not to obeyExample from Charles Dickens: I am sorry to

57、inform you that we are not at all satisfied with your sister; we are very much dissatisfied with her.IV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系)(5) Antonyms are used to express briefly the opposite of a particular thought to achieve a stylistic purpose or a rhetorical (修辭）修辭）effect. The use of antonyms for stylistic pu

58、rposes is called antithesis or opposition(對立，對照).e.g. More haste, less speed. Sweet as honey, bitter as gall. What is done cannot be undone.IV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系)(6) Marked and unmarked members: tiger tigress （morphologically marked） The unmarked one can frequently be used to subsume the second but

59、 not vice versa. There is a tiger in the cage. (It does not exclude the possibility that it may be a tigress.) There is a tigress in the cage. (specific) The notion can be extended to antonymous pairs in which there is no actual marking by morphemes like -ess. old big wide heavy tall young small nar

60、row light short The first member in each pair is unmarked, and it can always denote the common quality shown in these pairs, as old denoting age, big for size, wide for width, and heavy for weight, tall for height.IV. Antonymy (反義關(guān)系反義關(guān)系) Compare: How old is the baby? How tall is Mary? How short is M