Week 7Sandy 1教育教学Outline 1.Word Meaning词义2.Motivations of meaning 词的理据词的意义究竟指什么？这个词为什么是这个意思？关于词义的一些基本理论和基本概念1.words defined as things2.words defined as reference1 words defined as thingsWord meaning can be defined as a reciprocal relation between name and meaning. Meaning is what the form stands for. 意义指的是它代表的内容。e.g.desk: something you sit at and you do your work.所指关系relationship between language and the world; between words and the things, actions, events, and qualities they stand for. By means of reference, a speaker indicates which things in the world (including persons) are being talked about. For example, the word tree refers to the object tree.2 words defined as reference1.In other words, only when a connection has been established between the linguistic sign（语言符号） and a referent（所指物）, i.e., an object, a phenomenon, a person, etc. does the sign become meaningful.2.The reference of a word to a thing outside the language is arbitrary （随意的）and conventional（约定俗成的）. This connection is the result of generalization（归纳） and abstraction（抽象）.Semantic Triangle 语义三角意义（概念）意义（概念）Meaning (Concept)词词Word形式形式Form所指对象所指对象Referenttree What is concept? It is the general idea or meaning which is associated with a word or symbol in a persons mind. 指词或符号在人脑中的大致印象或意义。Tree Meaning and Concept：difference closely connected but not identical（关系密切、并不相同）They are both related directly to referents and are notions of the words but belong to different categories.Concept, which is beyond language, is the result of human cognition, reflecting the objective world in the human mind. Concept is universal to all men alike regardless of culture, race, language and so on. But meaning belongs to language, so is restricted to language use. A concept can have as many referring expressions as there are languages in the world. Even in the same language, the same concept can be expressed in different words.概念属于人类认知领域思维领域；意义属于语言领域。Words and Referents1.专有名词无词义，有所指对象；不同的专有名词指同一个对象；2.少数词有词义，无所指对象；proper names typically have only one referenceBarack Hussein Obama but it has little linguistic meaningSometimes two different proper names have the same referent.Mark TwainSamuel Langhorne ClemenshobbitsunicornHarry PotterSome words just dont have referents in real world, but they make sense, but,what is sense?有些词虽然在现实世界中没有具体对象，但它们却有意义。什么是意义？Sense 语义词或句子本身所表示的语言本身的意义。即，词义和句义。每个有词义的词都有语义，但不一定有所指称的事物（reference）。reference & sense: differenceSense denotes the relationships inside the language. Reference denotes the relationship between words and the things, actions, events, and qualities they stand for. Every word that has meaning has sense but not every word has reference. e.g: but, almost. These grammatical words do not refer to anything. And words like God, dragon and phoenix refer to imaginary things.Limitations of Reference Theory1.Many words have no real-world referents. Yet speakers do know the meanings of these expressions.2.Similarly, function words have no real-world entities to refer to.Concepts related 1.Word Meaning 词义2.Sense 语义3.Reference 所指4.Referent 所指物5.Concept 概念2 Motivation of Word Meaning1.What is motivation理据?It refers to the connection between the linguistic symbol and its meaning.理据解释语言符号与意义之间的关系。Motivation of Word Meaning1.onamatopoeia motivation 拟声2.morphologic motivation 形态3.semantic motivation 语义4.etymologic motivation 词源1. Onomatopoeic Motivation拟声理据It means the imitation of sounds by sounds.（语言对声音的模仿）Words coined in imitation of the sounds associated with the things named are called onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeic Motivation1.Primary onomatopoeiaPrimary onomatopoeia means the imitation of sounds by sounds.ApesBears Bulls CatsEaglesFrogsGoatsgibbergrowlbellowmew ( purr)scream.croak.bleat.Hens cluck. Larks warbleLions roar Magpies chatter.Mice squeak Owls hoot (screech)pigeons coo. Pigs squeal.Snakes hiss. Wolves howl.Turkeys gobble.Sound made by metal：clash, clank, ting, tinkle, clang, jangle, ding-dong, tick-tackSound by liquid：splash, bubble, sizz, sizzle, splish-splosh, drip-drop2.Secondary OnomatopoeiaIt means that certain sounds and sound sequences are associated with certain senses in an expressive relationship.Sn-1)breath-noise: sniff, snuff, snore, snort2)quick separation or movement: snip, snap, snatch3)creeping: snake, snail, sneak, snoopSl-1)slippery: slide, slip, slither, slush, sluice, sludge2) pejorative sense: slattern, slut, slang, sly, sloppy, slovenlySk-: 与表面接触：skate, skim, skin, skid, skimp-ump: 表示圆形体：plump, chump, rump, hump, stump, dump, mump/h/表示猛烈使劲时的气喘声：heavy, haste, hurry, hit, heave, hoarse, hurl等Wh-表示“剧烈”的拟声词：wham, whang, whap, whop, wheeze, whicker, whinny, whomp, whoopWords which were formed by means of morphological structure belong to the category of motivation by morphology. Compounds and derived words are multi-morphemic words and the meanings of many of them are the sum total of the morphemes combined.2. Morphological motivation形态理据1.When we talked about derivational affixes, we said most of them have a specific meaning, and when added to a root, they derive a new word. 2.If one knows the meaning of the affix and the root, say able and read, then one can immediately tell that the meaning of the word readable is “that can be read” . 3.We say the word is morphologically motivated, for a direct connection can be observed between the morphemic structure of the word and its meaning.lCompound words may be morphologically motivated too. The meaning of words like good-looking, headache, daydream and many others derive from the combined meaning of the component parts. lHowever, not all compounds are motivated. We cannot infer the meaning of words like bigwig, egghead from their component parts.It refers to the mental associations 联想意义 suggested by the conceptual meaning 概念意义 of a word. It explains the connection between the literal sense 字面意义 and figurative sense 比喻意义 of the word. 3. Semantic Motivation语义理据1.Metonymy2.Analogy1)use a persons name to refer to the things related;He read Shakespeare.2)use a container to refer to what is inside;The kettle is boiling.He is addicted to the bottle.Please drink a cup.Metonymy 借代3) use part of body organs to refer to their functions:an ear for musicDont let your heart rule your head.4) use the place name to refer to the product produced there.I could do with a cup of canary.Canary is a place where this kind of grape wine is produce.5) use prominent features to refer to the person concernedThe blue eyes walked into the room.2 AnalogyWords are created in imitation of other words:telethon, talkathon: from marathon1 Colour analogy类比black list, white list, gray listblue-collar workers, white collar workers gray-collar workers2 Number Analogy1.First lady2.First Mother3.First Family4.the Fourth world3 Place and Space Analogylandscape: moonscape, marscapesunrise: earthriseearthquake: starquakeSynonymous Analogy Gap 1missile 2production 3development 4credibility 5generation Pollution1.environmental 2.visual/ eye 3.noise/ sound 4.Cultural 5.Graffiti lIt denotes that the origins of words often throw light on their meanings.lE.g.: Pen originally refers to a heavy quill or feather. Today the writing tool is still “pen”, but a meaning is not exactly the same as what it used to mean.lProper nouns, once they become common nouns, can be explained by their origins only.lFor example: a laconic answer4. Etymological motivation词源理据Laconic 源于Lakon ， 意为“一个拉哥尼亚人”， 它是希腊的一个地区名，斯巴达是其首府。以好战和纪律严明闻名的斯巴达人也同样因为言简意赅而闻名，laconic 这个词从1589年起被发现有言简意赅的意思起直到今天仍然被英国作家用来表示这一意思。a laconic answer 简洁的回答词源理据：典故性与词义性u典故性:人名/物名u(commonization of proper names)tantalize(Tantalus)/siren (Siren)/boycott(Charles Boycott)Watt(James Watt)/volt(Alexadro Volta)/ohm(Georg Simon Ohm)u词义性（词源）v英语词语的词源词义主要是两种语言的互借中产生lMushroom is not a room.(Fr. moucheron)lSirloin 爵士腰肉？Surlonge谢 谢 !52教育教学