aps審核復(fù)習(xí)可以不看語(yǔ)言學(xué)2semantics

1、Linguistics Wang LijuanTopic 2 Semantics2.1 The definition of semanticsSemantics is the study of the meaning of linguistic units, words and sentences in particular.The term “semantics” is only a little over a hundred years old.The French linguist Michel Bral coined the term “smantique” in 1893. His

2、book Essai de smantique published in 1897. Its English version came out in 1900.2.2 Meanings of “Meaning”The word “meaning” has many different meanings.E.g. 1. a look full of meaning. 2. What is its meaning to you? 3. Dont mistake my meaning. 4. A mischievous meaning was apparent.2.3 Types of meanin

3、gGenerally speaking, meaning can be divided into two types: denotation and connotation.Denotation is the constant, abstract, and basic meaning of a linguistic expression independent of context and situation.(Denotation of a linguistic expression is its dictionary meaning.)e.g. Dog: 4-legged flesh-ea

4、ting animal of many breeds akin to wolf.2.3 Types of meaningConnotation refers to the emotive or affective component of a linguistic expression, which is superimposed upon its basic meaning.e.g. The connotation of the lexical items “January” _ _ _ _ _“green” _ _ _ _ _Three types of connotation (by W

5、en Qiufang)Positive connotationNeutralNegative connotationdetectiveskinnystrong-mindedcorpulentThree types of connotation (by Wen Qiufang)Positive connotationNeutralNegative connotationinvestigatordetectivespyslimthinskinnystrong-mindedfirmpig-headedstoutfatcorpulentLeach (1974) recognizes 7 types o

6、f meaning in his book Semantics.1 Conceptual meaningLogical, cognitive, or denotative content2 Connotative meaningWhat is communicated by virtue of what language refers to.3 Social meaningWhat is communicated of the social circumstances of language use.4 Affective meaningWhat is communicated of the

7、feeling and attitudes of the speaker/writer.5 Reflected meaningWhat is communicated through association with another sense of the same expression.6 Collocative meaningWhat is communicated through association with words which tend to occur in the environment of another word.7 Thematic meaningWhat is

8、communicated by the way in which the message is organized in terms of order and emphasis.2.4 Semantic TriangleOgden and Richards in their book The Meaning of Meaning proposed Semantic Triangle. concept thought/referenceword thing symbol . referentReference is the relation between the linguistic expr

9、ession and the object in extra-linguistic reality to which the expression refers.Referent is the object or state of affairs in extra-linguistic reality or a linguistic element to which the speaker or writer is referring by using a linguistic sign. What is the limitation?1 Some words have no obvious

10、referents. e.g. of, could, if, under (In the case of nouns, the semantic triangle is especially true.)2 Must a word have one referent? e.g. morning star = evening star = Venus2.5 Five elements of meaningA hypothesis proposed by Li Fuyin (2006) in his book An Introduction to Semantics.The following f

11、igure shows the whole process of meaning: B Concept C A Symbol Object D E User ContextAccording to Li Fuyin: Human beings first form concepts via categorizing and conceptualizing great numbers of objects (A). The concepts (B) exist in human thought, are symbolized through all sorts of cognitive proc

12、esses and are converted into linguistic systems (C). And then people (D) apply the linguistic symbols to express the objective reality (A) in particular time and space (E). Therefore, the ordering of the whole process is AB C D E2.6 Componential analysisAlso: Semantic feature analysis.It is based on

13、 the idea that the total meaning of a word may be described in terms of its smaller parts.So we can analyze a word as a set of semantic features or semantic components with the values: plus (+) or minus (-)e.g. man +human +adult +male girl +human -adult -maleComponential analysis of kinship termsIs

14、there any limitation?1 How many numbers of semantic features are necessary to define a word?2 Which value should we select for a possible component? e.g. man +male or -female?3 Which words of parts of speech can be analyzed?2.7 Semantic fieldThe vocabulary of a language is not simply a listing of in

15、dependent items, but is organized in areas, or fields, within which words interrelate and define each other in various ways.e.g. vegetable: tomato, onion, cucumber, eggplant fruit: _ _ _ _ _ _ color: _ _ _ _ _ _The meaning of a word is decided not by the word itself, but by relationships with other

16、words in the same semantic field.2.7 Semantic fieldWords that belong to the same semantic class are in the same semantic field and can be substituted for each other in a sentence.The lexical relations:We should go now. syntagmatic relationsYou may come tomorrow.He can speak next. paradigmatic relati

17、onsThey could leave soon.Topic for next week1 Lexical relations2 Sentential relationsLexical relationsCan you identify the lexical relations of the following word pairs?body armshake shiversea seepage bookbefore - after2.8 Lexical relationsSaeed (2003)identifies 8 lexical relations, which are classi

18、fied into three broad groups: form relation, sense relations and object relations.No.Lexical relationsBroad categories1HomonymyForm relation2PolysemySense relations3Synonymy4Opposite (antonymy)5Hyponymy6MeronymyObject relations7Member-collection8Portion-mass2.8.1 Form relationHomonymy is a type of l

19、exical ambiguity involving two or more different words. When two or more lexical items have the same form but differ in meaning, they are said to be homonymous.Homonymous words often have distinct etymological origins. absolute homonyms (e.g. bank, bear)homonymy homophones (eye/I, too/two) homograph

20、s (bow: /bau/ /bu/ ) Absolute homonymsbank: 1 sloping ground on each side of river 2 a company where money is deposited, withdrawn, and borrowedbear: 1 carry 2 heavy thick-furred mammal Absolute homonyms are the words which are identical both phonologically and orthographically but different

21、semantically.Can you think of more examples?long: 1 measuring much from end to end in space or time 2 have strong wish or desire forswallow: 1 make or let food etc. pass down ones throat 2 migratory swift-flying bird with forked tail date: 1 day of month 2 oval stone fruitfair: 1 just, equitable 2 p

22、eriodic market eye/I too/two sea/seeHomophones are the words which are identical phonologically but different orthographically and semantically.More homophones?ad/add blue/blew dear/deerflower/flour meat/meet pair/pearpiece/peace right/rite threw/throughtail/tale weak/week son/sun Homophones

23、bow: /bau/ /bu/ Homographs are the words which are identical orthographically but different phonologically and semantically.More homographs?sow: /su/ /sau/ wind: /wind/ /waid/ Homographs2.8.2 Sense relationse.g. plain1 clear, evident2 readily understood3 simple4 not beautiful or distinguished

24、-looking PolysemyPolysemy: A linguistic expression has two or more definitions with some common features that are usually derived from a single basic meaning.If a lexical item has a range of different meanings, it is regarded as a polyseme.Most words in a language are polysemes.But every word

25、 is monosemic when it is first coined.How to distinguish absolute homonymes from polysemes ?Criteria: etymology and the closeness of the relationship between the meanings.Meanings are traced to different etymological roots or the same root.Meanings are further apart / unrelated or related to each ot

26、her. Lexical ambiguityWould you please wait for me by the bank? (homonymy)Look at the table, please. (polysemy) SynonymySynonyms: Two or more lexical items are synonyms when they have the same meanings.Synonymy: The relationship between synonyms is one of synonymy.Absolute synonyms: words whi

27、ch are identical in meaning in every respect.It is very rare or even non-existent. (denotative meaning & connotative meaning & collocative meaning & social meaning)famous/notorious salary/wage charge with/accuse of Relative synonyms: Words which are similar or nearly the same in denotation, but have

28、 slight differences in one way or another. AntonymyAntonyms: When two words are opposite in meaning, they are antonyms. The relation between them is antonymy.Complementary antonyms/non-gradable antonyms are mutually exclusive and admit no possibility between them.E.g. A dog is either dead or

29、alive. A man is either married or single.present/absent open/closed asleep/awake true/false same/different boy/girlThe assertion of one means the denial of the other.This type of antonyms cannot be modified by very.Gradable antonyms can be regarded as a continuum with the two opposite terms as two p

30、oints along the continuum.huge/ very big/ big/ medium-sized/ small/ very small/ tinyThe denial of one is not necessarily the assertion of the other.Three distinctive features for gradable antonyms ?1 relativity, no absolute criterion2 They have comparative and superlative degrees3 In the two opposit

31、e words of a gradable antonymous pair, one is marked, the other is unmarked. The unmarked member tends to be usual (more often used), the marked unusual.E.g. How old are you? How deep is the river?big, long, heavy, wideChinese and English are quite similar concerning the markedness of gradable anton

32、yms. But there are exceptions:many/few much/littleHow many people are there in your family?How much water is there on the earth?你家有多少人？ （how few）*你家有多多人？地球上有多少水？（how little）*地球上有多多水？Converse antonymy /relational oppositesIf two words exhibit the reversal of a relationship between each other, they ar

33、e called relational opposites.X is the employer of Y, then Y is the employee of X.This type of antonymy is typically seen in reciprocal social roles, kinship relations, temporal and spatial relations.Examples?husband/wife above/below parent/sonteacher/student before/after host/guest predecessor/succ

34、essor buy/sell borrow/lendHyponymy: a relationship between hyponyms and superordinates. The former is included in the latter. A superordinate usually has several hyponyms.The members of the same class are co-hyponyms. flowerrose tulip lily orchid daisy daffodil snowdrop crocus furniturebed table cha

35、ir dresser wardrobe bookcase cupboard Hyponymy1 A lexical item is likely to be a hyponym as well as a superordinate. cow bull cow calf heifer bullock ox buffalo yak2 Hyponymy may be a hierarchical structure. living things general plant creature bird bug fish human animalsparrow parrot fowl do

36、g horse tiger lion chicken turkey quailhen cock chicken chick specificMeronymy is a term used to describe a part-whole relationship between lexical items.X is part of Y, or Y has X. car wheel engine door window 2.8.3 Object relationsMember-collection: a relationship between the words for a member an

37、d for the collective to which the member belongs.e.g. Linda is a girl in Class 1, Linda and Class 1 form a member-collection relationship.More examples?ship fleet book library bird - flock Portion-mass: The relationship between the words for a portion and for the mass from which the portion is taken

38、.drop of liquidgrain of wheatsheet of paperlump of coal2.9 Sentence meaning 2.9.1 How can we get the meaning of a sentence?(1) The girl likes roses.(2) The girl likes tulips.a. the meanings of individual words enough?(3) * The girl like roses.(4) The girl liked roses.b. grammaticality(5) The man hit

39、 Helen.(6) Helen hit the man.c. the linear order - sufficient?(7) Helen hit the man?d. phonological features like stress and intonation(8) Helen hit the man with an umbrella.ambiguity(8a) Helen hit the man who carried an umbrella.(8b) Helen used an umbrella to hit the man.(8c) SNP AUX VPN Tense V NP

40、 NP PPHelen Past hit the man with an umbrella(8d) SNP AUX VPN Tense V NP PP Det N P NPHelen Past hit the man with an umbrellae. the hierarchical order(9) Tom opened the door with the key.(10) Tom used the key to open the door.f. Thematic roles (主題角色)Thematic roles deal with the meaning of a sentence

41、 by defining the semantic role of a noun phrase in relation to the verb in the sentence.Thematic rolesExplanationExamples1 Agent (施事)the initiator of some action, capable of acting with volitionThe dog ran after the little boy.Jane cooked the fish.2 Patient (受事)the entity undergoing the effect of so

42、me action, or undergoing some changes affected by the actionThe strong wind destroyed some house.The sun melted the ice.3 Theme (主題)the entity which is moved by an action, or whose location is describedBill passed the ball to Tom.The book is in the library.4 Experiencer (經(jīng)歷者)the entity to be aware o

43、f the action or the state described by the verb, but it is not in control of the action or stateMary heard the door shut.Kate felt ill.5 Beneficiary (受益者)the entity for whose benefit the action is performedBob sang the song for his son.Robert bought me a dress.6 Instrument (工具)the means by which an

44、action is performed or something comes aboutShe cleaned the house with a vacuum cleaner.7 Location (方位)the place in which something is situated or takes placeThe monster is in the water.The dog was lying under the tree.8 Goal (目標(biāo))the entity towards which something moves, either literally or metaphor

45、icallyPeter handed his driving license to the policeman.Pat told the joke to his friends.9 Source (來(lái)源)the entity from which something moves, either literally or metaphoricallyI got the book from the library.The plane came back from London.Exercise: Identify the thematic roles1 Mary saw a mosquito on the wall. experiencer theme location2 She borrowed a magazine f