English Lexicology Unit 4Word MeaningContentsnThe meaning of words nThe motivation of words 词的理据nClassification of word meaningsnAnalysis of word meaningsThe meaning of wordsnWhat is “meaning”?qphilosophy, logic, linguisticsnWhat is “semantic meaning”?qSentence meaning and word meaningnWhat is “word meaning”?qThree conceptions of word meaningqSemantic triangleWhat is “meaning”?nAn easy question, but hard to answer.q一个有意义的活动 n意义=value, purpose, importanceqWhat is the meaning of this word?nmeaning=the idea or sense that the word representsnThe meaning of “meaning” could be explored from the aspects of philosophy, logic, linguistics, etc, with different aims.Difference between linguistic study and other studies on meaningnThe linguistic approach aims to study the properties of meaning in a systematic and objective way, with reference to as wide a range of utterances and languages as possible, thus broader in scope.nLogicians and philosophers have tended to concentrate on a restricted range of sentences (typically, statements, or propositions) within a single language.Ogden earthquake: starquakeClassification of word meanings -Geoffrey N. Leechnconceptual meaning 概念意义nconnotative meaning内涵意义nsocial meaning 社会意义naffective meaning 情感意义nreflective meaning 联想意义ncollocative meaning 搭配意义nthematic meaning 主题意义Conceptual meaning-DenotationnThe denotative meaning is also called the conceptual meaning. It is the denotative in that it is concerned with the relationship between a word and the thing it denotes, or refers to. The linguistic symbol: HOUSE,房子，caseThe referent:The thing is the denotation of the wordConnotationnThe connotative meaning refers to the emotional association a word carries. For example, mother, denoting a female parent, is often associated with love, care, tenderness, warmth, support, etc. These connotation are not given in the dictionary, but associated with the word in the mind of readers or speakers. The denotation of a word is the thing in the real world the word is linked to. The connotation of a word refers to the emotional associations that a word may carry. Denotation and ConnotationThe denotation of home is a place where one lives.The connotation of home: Where we love is home, a place where our feet may leave, but never our heart.words that carry emotionnhonesty, courage, traitor, deceitnlove, hate, fear, joy, sorrow, damn, shit nsincere, hypocritical, wonderful, skinnywords that do not carry emotionnin, on, at, withinnso, but, since, because, thoughna, an, thenhe, she, my, minenbook, lamp, desk, window, doornadd, subtract, swim, run, readWords with/without EmotionConnotative meaningNegative There are 2,000 vagrants in the city. Neutral There are 2,000 people with no fixed addresses in the city. Positive There are 2,000 homeless in the city.All three of these expressions refer to the same people, but they will invoke different emotive associations in the readers mind: a vagrant is a public nuisance, while a homeless person is a worthy object of pity and charity. Social or Stylistic MeaningnSocial meaning is that which a piece of language conveys about the social circumstance of its use. nUnder different social circumstances, we have different styles. nMartin Joos (1967) recognized five different styles using the criterion of formalityqFrozen，Formal，Consultative，Casual，IntimateStylistic MeaningnThe frozen and formal styles occur in written report. nConsultative, casual, and intimate styles occur in everyday use. qConsultative style is a polite and fairly neutral style, used when we are talking to a person whom we do not know well. qCasual and intimate styles are used in conversation between friends.nWe can simplify the styles into three levels: formal, neutral, and informalAffective MeaningnAffective meaning is concerned with the attitudes of the speaker or writer. nIn English, some words can express the speakers approval or disapproval of the persons or things he is talking about. qWords that show speakers approval are purr words. qWords that show speakers disapproval are snarl words. Affective MeaningnSnarl words are marked derog. (=derogatory).nPurr words are marked apprec.(=appreciatory).snarl words purr words snarl words purr wordsstupid innocentnotoriousfamouscunningcleverpoliticianstatesmanskinnyslendercomplacencyconfidentmiserlythriftynosycuriousdiepass awayfatplumpReflective meaningnReflective meaning is the meaning which arises in cases of multiple conceptual meanings, when one sense of a word forms part of our response to another sense. It is the product of peoples recognition and imagination. Thus:qTaboo words (禁忌词) avoidedqEuphemism (委婉语) needed.npass away, bathroom, senior citizensCollocative meaningnCollocative meaning consists of the associations a word acquires on account of the meaning of words which tend to occur in its environment. qpretty: girl, boy, woman, flower, garden, color, villageqhandsome: