Meaning changes in different ways. Extension the meaning changes from specific to generalized one or cover a broader concept thing-审判大会、政治会议any thing,Chapter 7 Changes in Word Meaning,2) Specialization/narrowing (缩小）,Originally, they mean: garage-安全的地方 poison- 饮料 hospital- 休息娱乐场所,3) Elevation （升格）,贬义/中性义- 褒义（或高级别） Marshall-马夫-元帅 Executive一般执行者-行政官员,4) Degradation （降格）,中性/褒义 贬义 Cunning有学问的-狡猾的 Sly- 熟练的- 偷偷摸摸的；狡猾的,5. Transference(transfer) of Meaning A word used to designate one thing, but later it began to mean something else Paper papyrus(纸莎草)-纸 mainly: (1) Associated Transfer tooth, lip, nose can used to refer to things: the lip of a wound, the nose of a plane,(2) Transfer between abstract and Concrete Meanings Room- space- 房间(concrete) Grasp 抓-understand (abstract) (3) Transfer between Subjective and Objective things Dreadful somethng/sb full of dread something/sb that causes dread Pitiful (4) synesthesia 联觉 (感官词之间) sweet music, warm colors, clear sounding,6. Euphemism 委婉语 Toilet Restroom, bathroom, John, convenience, washroom, comfort room, powder room, ladys, gentlemans, Die,Causes of change: extra-linguistic factors such as historical reason(pen), class reason(revolution, communism.human rights) and psychological reason(garbage collectorsanitation engineer),2) Linguistic factors,(1)Internal factors cause the change gold medal- gold; light bulb bulb (2) Influence of alien words Deerrefers to animal, but “animal”from Latin was later introduced into English, so the meaning of deer was narrowed.,(3) analogy Fruition- 享用,享受- 结果(fruit),实现,Chapter 8 Meaning and Context,The meaning of a word is often decided by where it is used, either in a spoken or written discourse. - context Meaning lives in context,types,Types of Context: Linguistic context, extra(non)-linguistic context Linguistic context may be divided into 2: lexical context and grammatical context. A piece of paper, a term paper, todays paper, examination paper, etc. What context do you think the above belong to?,do ones teeth; do the flowers; do fish; do well(at school) Loot at the following sentences with “become”, which context are they related to to understand its meaning? He became very excited about the final exam.(link verb) The coat doesnt become you at all.( transitive verb),Sometimes the meaning of a word can be decided only after a paragraph, a chapter or even a book is read. For example, “Janet! Donkeys!”,Extra-linguistic Context,Culture, situation, cognition 3 basic elements John is quick(quick-minded; fast, hot-yempered) Look out! Trade union: strong political meaning in the West Aggressive Lover,The role of Context,1)get rid of ambiguity The ball was very attractive. Tom ran the race. They saw her duck. Noun? Verb? 2) help define referents This/that, now/then, etc.,3) provide clues for inferring word-meaning example: Kinesics, the study of body movement, was suggested by Professor Bird-whistell.,Chapter 9 English Idioms,Expressions that are not readily understandable from the literal meanings of individual elements. (set phrases and sort sentences) In a broad sense, they can include colloquialisms, slang expressions, proverbs, etc.,Characteristics:,(1)Semantic Unity,rain cats and dogs; Its a piece of cake. How do you do! (2) Structural Stability lip service out of the question God bless you!,Classification of idioms,Many ways. In this book, grammmatical function is the criterion 1. Idioms nominal in nature-functions as a noun A white elephant, Jack of all trades brain trust(智囊团) 2. Idioms adjectival in nature as poor as a church mouse, cut and dried(常规的、例行的) beyond the pale （ 发疯的）,3. idioms verbal in nature look into get away with make it fall flat let the dog see the rabbit,4. Idioms adverbial in nature heart and soul in nothing flat（ in a very little time) through thick and thin（不顾艰难险阻） tooth and nail (竭尽全力）,如何区分一般短语和习语？,Can you tell us? 可否从字面意义确定意义 已有知识,5) sentential idioms,Nothing succeeds like success. Feed a cold and starve a fever. Nothing venture, nothing have. He laughs best who laughs last. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. ,Use of Idioms,We have to know some characteristics of idioms to use them peoperly in real communication. 1. stylistic features formal, informal(colloquial) 1) colloquialisms Hang in Tom! (Do not give up) She is a big wheel in the community.(influential person),2) slang Cancer stick Hit the sack( go to bed) 3) literary expressions 书面语 Terrible things came to pass last year. Famine followed in the wake of war.,2. Rhetorical Features,1) Phonetic Manipulation A. alliteration might and main （全力以赴 ） part and parcel（most important part) B. rhyme by hook and by crook（千方百计） fair and square (honest) wear and tear 磨损,2） Lexical Manipulation A. reiteration 同义反复 Scream and shout Pick and choose B. Repetition by and by(soon), out and out 彻头彻尾的 neck and neck 并驾齐驱 C. juxtaposition并置（反义词） Rain or shine, here and there, penny wise and pound foolis