meaning

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对于meaning的理解论文

篇一：英语词汇学论文Meaning_changes_in_English

OntheChangeinWordMeaning

uction

Withtheflyingdevelopmentofhumansociety,

languagesastoolsforpeopletoexpressandmunicate

vocabularyisthemostunstableelementoflanguageasit

isundergoingconstantchangesbothincontentandform.

Ofcour,somemeaningsremainmuchthesameforalong

timebecauthereferentstowhichtheydirectusdonot

ntly,anoldformorwordsarepresdinto

wordlositsoldmeaningandestorefertosomething

different,

ofmeaningreferstothealternationofthemeaningof

existingwords,aswellastheadditionofnewmeaningto

aparticularword.

fmeaningchanges

2.1ExtensionofMeaning

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Itisaprocessbywhichawordwhichoriginallyhad

aspecializedmeaninghasnowbeegeneralizedorhas

extendedtocoverabroaderandoftenlessdefinite

e,?lady”originallymeanshostess(women

ofhou)whileitsprentmeaningisanywomenin

saleslady、cleaninglady、ladies?room.

Salarywas(Original)asumofmoneygiventoRoman

soldierstoenablethemtobuysalt;andis(prent)

fixedpaymentmadebyemployeratregularintervalsto

employees.

ExtensionofMeaningisnotonlyudinnonebut

alsoincludedverb、e,

“carry”originallymeans“transportbycart”(a

verb).butnowitisjustmeans“tansport”.theadjective

“bullish”originalfrombullmarket(causingor

associatedwithariinpri),andnowtheword?s

meaningextendedto“optimistic”.

2.2NarrowingofMeaning

Itisaprocessbywhichawordofwidemeaning

rwords,a

wordwhichudtohaveamoregeneralnbees

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restrictedinitsapplicationandconveysaspecial

followingchartprovidesusdefinitedemonstration.

Inaword,bothextensionandnarrowingofmeaning

wewilltalkaboutthechangesinassociativemeaning.

2.3ElevationofMeaning

Elevationistheprocessbywhichwordsrifrom

ion

ofmeaningisoneofthetendenciesofmeaning

change,whichchangesthemeaningofalinguisticsfrom

“low”to“high”.Somewordarlyintheirhistory

signifysomethingquiteloworhumble,butchangeastime

goesbytodesignatesomethingagreeableorpleasant.

Forexle,theword?inn”originallymeans

“auberge”especiallythopoorequipmenthousin

tsprentmeaningis

“holidayinn”.Obviously,themeaningof“inn”is

elevation.“minister”originallymeans“arvantof

master”toprently“headofadepartmentina

nation”.

2.4DegradationofMeaning

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Itisaprocesswherebywordsofgoodoriginor

affectiveneutralityfallintoillreputationoretobe

tance,the

word”silly“meant”happyandfortunate“inold

leEnglishperioditmeant

“innocentandharmless”whichexpresdamanwith

r,nowthemeaning

oftheworddegeneratedto”foolishandimbecile&;.

Therearestillsomeotherexles:

Sad:full,satisfied,contented-----calm------

rious----sorrowful

Cunning:knowing,skillful-----sly,crafty

Wench:girl,youngwomen-----dissolutewomen,

prostitute

sion:

Takingintoaccountwhathasbeendiscusdabove,a

conclusioncanbedrawnthatthewordsmeaninginEnglish

ngesare

gradual,Itisimportantforthelanguagelearnerstobe

acquaintedwiththechangingprinciplesandupdatetheir

vocabulary,whenstudentsstudyalanguage,theycan?t

justlearnitsgrammarorvocabulary,studentsshould

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knowsomethingmore,likehowdidthi,howwouldthis

is

attitudecanmakeusbemoreprofessionalonourmajor

subject.

篇二：MeaningChangesinEnglish论文

MeaningChangesinEnglish

Abstract:Asotherlanguagesintheworld,English

hformedanddeveloped

ngthe

changingprinciplesofwordsofEnglishwouldhelpus

acquirefurtherawarenessofEnglishlexiconanddogood

toourlanguageacquirement.

Keywords:Meaningchanges,Caus,Types

uction

Vocabularyisthemostunstableelementoflanguage

asitisundergoingconstantchangesbothincontentand

,somemeaningsremainmuchthesamefora

longtimebecauthe

referentstowhichtheydirectusdonotchange.

Frequently,anoldformorwordsarepresdintonew

ord

lositsoldmeaningandestorefertosomething

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different,

ofmeaningreferstothe

alternationofthemeaningofexistingwords,aswell

astheadditionofnewmeaningtoaparticularword.

fChangesinWordMeaning

Therearegenerallytwomajorfactorsthatcau

changesinmeaning.

-linguisticFactors

2.11HistoricalReason

Awordisretainedforanamethoughthemeaninghas

is

fromLatinwordmeaning—alittletailorafinebrush,

likeourChinepen,later,whenitwasmadeofwoodand

graphite,itwasstillcalleda“pencil”.

2.12ClassReason

Languagerecordsthespeechandattitudeofdifferent

socialclass,sodifferentsocialvarietiesoflanguage

haveeintobeing.

Theattitudeofclasshasmadeioadsintolexical

meaning,particularlyinthecaofelevationand

degradation.

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Quiteanumberofwordsthatdenotedifferentsorts

ofworkingpeopleortheiroccupationshavedeteriorated

andnowhavetakenonapejorativen.

“ill-mannedorbadpeople”.

2.13PsychologyReason[1]

Theassociatedtransferofmeaningandeuphemistic

uofwords,nduetopsychologicalfactors.

Ittakesthreeforms(a)euphemism(b)grandiloquence(c)

cynicism.

Peoplechangewordmeaningowingtovarious

psychologicalmotives:love,respect,courtesy,

suspicious,pessimism,sarcasm,irony,contempt,hatred,

etc.

Thefactthatsomelow,humbleanddespid

occupationsoftentakeonmoreappealingnamesisalldue

topsychologicalreasons.

Religiousinfluenceisanotherkindofpsychological

need.

2.2LinguisticFactors

Theinternalfactorswithinthelanguagesystem

consistof:

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①Onetypeofsuchchangeoccurswhenaphrais

shortenedtoonewordwhichretainsthemeaningofthe

whole.（English=theEnglishLanguage）

②Theinfluxofborrowingshascaudsomewordsto

changeinmeaning.(deer,animal,beast)

,villain,hussy,wenchwhichwere

originallyneutralincolorhavebeendown-gradedas

③Thepetitionofnativewordventuallyyieldsthe

manticdivision.

④Thechangeofmeaningisbroughtaboutbyanalogy.

fChanges

3.1ExtensionofMeaning

Itisaprocessbywhichawordwhichoriginallyhad

aspecializedmeaninghasnowbeegeneralizedorhas

extendedtocoverabroaderandoftenlessdefinite

concept.[2]

Forexle,salarywas(Original)asumofmoneygiven

toRomansoldierstoenablethemtobuysalt;andis

(prent)fixedpaymentmadebyemployeratregular

intervalstoemployees.

Alargeproportionofpolymicwordsofmodern

Englishhavetheirmeaningxtendedsometimeinthe

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rdsaregeneralizedtosuch

adegreethattheycanmeanalmosteverything.E.g:

thing,business,respect

3.2NarrowingofMeaning

Itisaprocessbywhichawordofwidemeaning

rwords,a

wordwhichudtohaveamoregeneralnbees

restrictedinitsapplicationandconveysaspecial

conceptinprent-dayEnglish.

E.g:wife---woman---marriedwomanmeat---food---

fleshofanimals

3.3ElevationofMeaning

Itistheprocessbywhichwordsrifromhumble

rdarly

intheirhistorysignifysomethingquiteloworhumble,

butchangeastimegoesbytodesignatesomething

agreeableorpleasant.[3]

E.g:Nice(ignorant---foolish---delightful,

pleasant)

Fond(foolish---affectionate)

Awesome(terrible---terrific)

3.4DegradationofMeaning

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Itisaprocesswherebywordsofgoodoriginor

affectiveneutralityfallintoillreputationoretobe

udinaderogatoryn.

E.g:Silly:blesdandhappy---innocent----simple

orsimple-minded----foolish

Sad:full,satisfied,contented-----calm------

rious----sorrowful

3.5TransferenceofMeaning

Somewordswhichwereudtodesignateonethingbut

laterchangedtomeansomethingelhaveexperiencedthe

processofmantictransfer,knownastransferenceor

transferofmeaning.

3.51AssociatedTransfer

Twoobjectshavesomesimilaritiesthatenablepeople

toassociateonetotheother.

E.g：thelipofawound;thetonguesoffire

3.52TransferbetweenAbstractandConcreteMeanings

①Abstracttoconcretemeaning

E.g:Roomformerlymeant“space”,nowithas

developedaconcrete“rooms”.

②Concretetoabstractmeaning

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E.g:Grasp(original)afirmholdwiththehandsand

arms

(prent)thepowerorabilitytounderstand

3.53TransferbetweenSubjectiveandObjective

Meanings

Somewordswereformerlyudsubjectivelybutlater

shiftedtoanobjectiveu,andthesubjectivemeaning

wastotallylost.

E.g:pitiful---fullofpity---dervingpity

3.54Synesthesia

Thiskindoftransfertakesplacebetweenwordsof

,wordsusuallyassociatedwithone

nareudtodescribeanothern.

E.g:Clear-sounding(fromsighttohearing)

Warmcolors(fromtouchtosight)

3.6Euphemism

Whenpeopleueuphemismsthereisamanticchange

involvedastheexpressionsudoftenhavelittletodo

withthereferents.

Forexle,restroom,bathroom,lounge,John,

convenience,fortsroomandpowderroomareall

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euphemistictermsfor“toilet”whichitlfisa

euphemisticterm.[4]

sion:

Sobyreadingtheparts,weofcourreachthe

conclusionthatthewordsinEnglishisincessantly

ngesinmeaningare

gradual,andwordsarenotchangedinaday.“Changing

wordmeaninghasneverceadsincethebeginningofthe

languageandwillcontinueinthefuture.”Itis

importantforthelanguagelearnerstobeacquaintedwith

thechangingprinciplesandupdatetheirvocabulary.

References:

[1]吴秀芳.现代英语词义变化与外部原因[M].河南职技师院

学报（社会科学版）2000.6

[2]申开敏.词义的演变课件，海南师范大学外国语学院，百

度文库

[3]杨鑫南.当代英语变迁[M].北京外语教学与研究出版

社.20xx

[4]吴松华.英语新词的构成及修辞手段[M].武汉理工大学

学报（社会科学版）20xx.10

篇三：英语词汇学论文Meaning_changes_in_English

MeaningchangesinEnglish

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Abstract:Asotherlanguagesintheworld,English

hformedanddeveloped

ngthe

changingprinciplesofwordsofEnglishwouldhelpus

acquirefurtherawarenessofEnglishlexiconanddogood

toourlanguageacquirement.

Keywords:meaningchangestypescaus

uction

Vocabularyisthemostunstableelementoflanguage

asitisundergoingconstantchangesbothincontentand

,somemeaningsremainmuchthesamefora

longtimebecauthereferentstowhichtheydirectus

ntly,anoldformorwordsare

presdintonewrvicewhenanewlinguisticneedis

ordlositsoldmeaningandestorefer

tosomethingdifferent,theresultisachangeinword

ofmeaningreferstothealternationof

themeaningofexistingwords,aswellastheadditionof

newmeaningtoaparticularword.

fmeaningchanges

2.1ExtensionofMeaning/GeneralizationofMeaning

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Itisaprocessbywhichawordwhichoriginallyhad

aspecializedmeaninghasnowbeegeneralizedorhas

extendedtocoverabroaderandoftenlessdefinite

e，Manuscriptoriginallymeans

handwriting(writingbyhandonly)whileitsprent

meaningisanyauthor?swritingwhetherwrittenbyhand

was(Original)asumofmoneygiventoRomansoldiersto

enablethemtobuysalt;andis(prent)fixedpayment

madebyemployeratregularintervalstoemployees.

Alargeproportionofpolymouswordsofmodern

Englishhavetheirmeaningxtendedsometimeinthe

rdsaregeneralizedtosuch

adegreethattheycanmeanalmosteverything.

(1)Sheissuchaprettylittlething.

(2)Ihavetopackmythingsforthejourney.

(3)ThereisanotherthingIwanttoaskyouabout.

(4)Thatonlymakesthingswor.

(5)Thethingis,canwefinishthejobintime?

Intheaboventences,“Thing”whichudtomean

“apublicasmbly”or“acouncil”inAnglo-Saxon

times,ningisso

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general,andwesometimescallthisnouna?light

noun?.ly

inhabitantsoftheislandwenowcallEnglandwere

Britons,butinfactalltheracesweretheinvaderscame

knowsverymuchaboutBritainbefore

theRomanscameduringthefirstcenturyBC,butthere

st

ofthewasbyadark-hairedMediterraneanracecalled

ertwowerebyCeltictribes:oneis

Gaels,whodescendantsarethemodernScotsandIrish;

anotheristheBritons,whogavetheirnametothewhole

erethepeoplewhomtheRomans

ansgavetheBritonsagooddealof

thebeginningofthefifth

centuryBritainwasinvadedbythreetribesfromthe

northernEurope:theAngles,theSaxons,andtheJutes.

Thethreetribesmergedintoonepeople,andthethree

dialectstheyspokenaturallygrewintoasinglelanguage,

theEnglishlanguage.

2.2NarrowingofMeaning

Itisaprocessbywhichawordofwidemeaning

acquiresanarroworspecialized

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rwords,awordwhichudtohavea

moregeneralnbeesrestrictedinitsapplicationand

followingchartprovidesusdefinitedemonstration.

conceptualmeaning.

Nextwewilltalkaboutthechangesinassociative

meaning.

2.3ElevationofMeaning

Itistheprocessbywhichwordsrifromhumble

rdarly

intheirhistorysignifysomethingquiteloworhumble,

butchangeastimegoesbytodesignatesomething

iletheterritorial

expansionoftheEnglishempireinthisperiodresulted

,there

aremanywordsflowintoEnglishvocabulary,which

includesAmericanIndianwords,Mexicanwords,Peruwords,

Brazilwords,enthand

twentiethcenturiesareaperiodofrapidexpansionfor

theEnglishvocabularyinthehistoryoftheEnglish

periodmanychangeshavetakenplace.

Especiallythegreatdevelopmentofscienceand

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s,

thegreatchangesinindustry,inpoliticalandsocial

lives,insportsandamumentsallhavecontributeda

heSecond

WorldWartheEnglishvocabularyhasbeenaffected

powerfullybysocial,political,economic,especially

lish

vocabularynotonlychanges,butalsochangesquicklyin

ndsofnewwordsareadded,existing

w,

theEnglishvocabularyisstillchanging,someword

d,associetyisconstantly

inastateofdevelopment,y

ety

developsnewobjectsarecreatedthatrequirethe

ore,the

changingofEnglishvocabularyisanendlesschanging

process

Nice:ignorant---foolish---delightful,pleasant

Marshal:akeeperofhors---ahighrankingarmy

officer

Constable:akeeperofhors---apoliceman

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2.4DegradationofMeaning

Itisaprocesswherebywordsofgoodoriginor

affectiveneutralityfallintoillreputationoretobe

tance,

Silly:blesdandhappy---innocent----simpleor

simple-minded----foolishSad:full,satisfied,contented

-----calm------rious----sorrowful

2.5TransferenceofMeaning

Somewordswhichwereudtodesignateonethingbut

laterchangedtomeansomethingelhaveexperiencedthe

processofmantictransfer,knownastransferenceor

esoftransferenceinclude

AssociatedTransfer,TransferbetweenAbstractand

ConcreteMeanings,TransferbetweenSubjectiveand

ObjectiveMeaningsandSynesthesia.

ExlesforAssociatedTransfer:thelipofawound;

thetonguesoffire;or

TransferbetweenAbstractandConcreteMeanings:Room

formerlymeant“space”asin“Thereisnoroominthe

car”.Nowithas

developedaconcretemeaningasin“Thisflathas

threerooms”.Inaddition,graspwas(original)afirm

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holdwiththehandsandarms;andis(prent)thepower

orabilitytounderstand.

2.6Euphemism

Whenpeopleueuphemismsthereisamanticchange

involvedastheexpressionsudoftenhavelittletodo

e,restroom,bathroom,lounge,

John,convenience,fortsroomandpowderroomareall

euphemistictermsfor“toilet”whichitlfisa

ly,euphemistictermsarefound

udineveryaspectofsociety.

ofthechanges

Thoaremainlydividedintotwoaspects:Extra-

-

linguisticfactorsincludehistoricalreason,class

icalreasoncanbe

illustratedbythefollowingexles:

Awordisretainedforanamethoughthemeaninghas

changedbecauthereferenthaschanged.()

Increadscientificknowledgeanddiscoveryisalso

animportantfactorthatunderliesthechangeofword

meaning.()

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Asforclassreason,languagerecordsthespeechand

attitudeofdifferentsocialclass,sodifferentsocial

itudeof

classhasmadeioadsintolexicalmeaning,particularly

number

ofwordsthatdenotedifferentsortsofworkingpeopleor

theiroccupationshavedeterioratedandnowhavetakenon

,villain,hussy,wench

whichwereoriginallyneutralincolorhavebeendown-

gradedas“ill-mannedorbadpeople”.

Besides,theassociatedtransferofmeaningand

euphemisticuofwords,ndueto

changewordmeaningowing

tovariouspsychologicalmotives:love,respect,courtesy,

suspicious,pessimism,sarcasm,irony,contempt,hatred,

tthatsomelow,humbleanddespid

occupationsoftentakeonmoreappealingnamesisalldue

ousinfluence