语⾔学第五章Semantics
Chapter Five Semantics
Teaching Focus
1. What is mantics
2. Meanings of “meaning”
whale是什么意思
3. Sen and reference
4. Sen relations
5. Componential analysis --- a way to analyze lexical meaning
6. Predication analysis --- a way to analyze ntence meaning
少儿动画故事1. What is mantics?
Semantics is the study of meaning in language.
Or specifically, it is the study of the meaning of linguistic units, words and ntences in particular.
Different focus of the study in mantics:
Logical mantics/philosophical mantics: Logicians and philosophers have tended to concentrate on a restricted range of ntences (typically, statements, or …propositions?) within a single language.
Linguistic mantics: The linguistic approach is broader in scope, aiming 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.
2. Meanings of “Meaning”
The word “meaning” has different meanings.
It has been studied for thousands of years by philosophers, logicians and linguists.
The naming theory: Plato & Aristotle
Words are just names or labels for things.
Can you show the limitations of this theory
The mantic triangle: C. K. Ogden & I. A. Richards (1923) → The Meaning of Meaning.
There is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to. In the interpretation of meaning they are linked through the mediation of concepts in the mind. ?thought/reference (concept)
symbolizes refers to
symbol/form referent
(word, phra) stands for(object)
Geoffrey Leech (1974, 1981). Semantics: The Study of Meaning. Seven types of meaning:
Conceptual meaning
Connotative meaning
Social meaning
Affective meaning associative meaning
Reflected and meaning
Collocative meaninggrapevine
Thematic meaning
(1) Conceptual meaning
It makes the central part of meaning.
Refers to logical, cognitive or denotative content.
乌鲁木齐教育网Concerned with the relationship between a word and the thing it denotes, or refers to.
(2) Connotative meaning
The communicative value an expression has by virtue of what it refers to, over and above its purely conceptual content.
A multitude of additional, non-criterial properties, including not only physical characteristics but also psychological and social properties, as well as typical features. ?Involving the …real world? experien
ce one associates with an expression when one us or hears it.
Unstable: they vary considerably according to culture, historical period, and the experience of the individual.
徐思宁
Any characteristic of the referent, identified subjectively or objectively, may contribute to the connotative meaning of the expression which denotes it.
(3) Social meaning
国际和平日What a piece of language conveys about the social circumstances of its u.
Dialect: the language of a geographical region or of a social class.
Time: the language of the 18th c., etc.
Province: language of law, of science, of advertising, etc.
Status: polite, colloquial, slang, etc.
Modality: language of memoranda, lectures, jokes, etc.
webworkSingularity: the style of Dickens, etc.
domicile: very formal, official steed: poetic
residence: formal hor: general
abode: poetic nag: slang
home: general gee-gee: baby language (4) Affective meaning
Reflecting the personal feelings of the speaker, including his attitude to the listener, or his attitude to something he is talking about.
Youre a vicious tyrant and a villainous reprobate, and I hate you for it!
Im terribly sorry to interrupt, but I wonder if you would be so kind as to lower your voices a little. or
Will you belt up.
(5) Reflected meaning
Aris in cas of multiple conceptual meaning, when one n of a word forms part of our respon to another n. When you hear …click the mou twice, you think of Gerry being hit twice by Tom so you feel excited.
Many taboo terms are result of this.
(6) Collocative meaning
The associations a word acquires on account of the meanings of words which tend to occur in its environment.
pretty: girl, boy, woman, flower, garden, colour, village, etc.
handsome: boy, man, car, vesl, overcoat, airliner, typewriter, etc.
(7) Thematic meaning
What is communicated by the way in which a speaker or writer organizes the message, in terms of ordering, focus, and emphasis.
Mrs Bessie Smith donated the first prize.
The first prize was donated by Mrs Bessie Smith.
They stopped at the end of the corridor.
At the end of the corridor, they stopped.
3. Sen and reference
Sen and reference are two terms often encountered in the study of word meaning. They are two related but different aspects of meaning.
Sen is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form. It is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form; it is abstract and de-contextualized. It is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are interested in.
Reference means what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience.
Every word has a n, but not every word has a reference.
Grammatical words like but, if ,and do not refer to anything. And words like God, ghost and dragon refer to imaginary things. Therefore it is suggested that we should study meaning in terms of n rather than reference.
4. Sen relations
Synonymy
gradable
Antonymy complementary
conver
Hyponymy
Polymy
4.1 Synonymy
Synonymy refers to the sameness or clo similarity of meaning. Words that are clo in meaning ar
e called synonyms. Complete synonyms are rare. According to the way they differ, synonyms can be divided into the following groups:
i. Dialectal synonyms --- ud in different regional dialects
British English American English
autumn fall
乔其纱
lift elevator
flat apartment
tube underground
ii. Stylistic synonyms --- differing in style
kid, child, offspring
kick the bucket, pop off, die, pass away, decea
iii. Synonyms that differ in their emotive or evaluative meaning
collaborator, accomplice
iv. Collocational synonyms
accu, charge
v. Semantically different synonyms
surpri, amaze, astound
4.2 Antonymy
The term antonymy is ud for oppositeness of meaning. Words that are opposite in meaning are antonyms.
There are three types of antonyms.
i. Gradable: Can be modified by adverbs of degree like very; Can have comparative forms; Can be asked with how. good, bad
young, old
hot, cold
ii. Complementary: the denial of one member of the pair implies the asrtion of the other.
alive, dead
male, female
prent, abnt
iii. Conver or relational: exhibit the reversal of a relationship between the pair; one presuppos the other. husband, wife
buy, ll
before, after
4.3 Hyponymy
Hyponymy refers to the n relation between a more general word and a more specific word. It is a kind of inclusiveness. Superordinate: the more general word
Hyponyms: the more specific words
Co-hyponyms: hyponyms of the same superordinate
flower, ro, lily
animal, cat, dog
furniture, bed, desk
4.4 Polymy
Polymy refers to the n relation that the same one word has more than one meaning. Such a word is called a polymic word.
table: a piece of furniture; orderly arrangement of facts, figures
5. Componential analysis---a way to analyze lexical meaning
Componential analysis is a way propod by the structural manticists to analyze word meaning.metrology
The approach is bad upon the belief that the meaning of a word can be discted into meaning components, called
mantic features.
HUMAN
man (ADULT, MALE)
woman (ADULT, FEMALE)
boy (NON-ADULT, MALE)
girl (NON-ADULT, FEMALE)
father: PARENT (x, y) & MALE (x)
x is a parent of y, and x is male.
take: CAUSE (x, (HA VE (x, y)))
x caus x to have y.
give: CAUSE (x, (~HA VE (x, y)))
x caus x not to have y.
Componential analysis provides an insight into the meaning of words and a way to study the relationships between words that are related in meaning.
6. Predication analysis --- a way to analyze ntence meaning
The meaning of a ntence is obviously related to the meanings of the words ud in it, but it is also obvious that ntence meaning is not simply the sum total of the words.
Predication analysis: propod by the British linguist G. Leech
The basic unit in this method is called prediction. It is the abstraction of the meaning of a ntence.
A predication consists of argument(s) and predicate.
An argument is logical participant in a predication, largely identical with the nominal element(s) in a ntence.
A predicate is something said about an argument or it states the logical relation linking the arguments in a ntence. Tom smokes.
Tom is smoking.
Tom has been smoking. TOM (SMOKE)
动名词作表语Does Tom smoking
Tom does not smoke. argument predicate
Kids like apples. → KID, APPLE (LIKE)
It is hot. → (BE HOT)
Assignments
How can words opposite in meaning be classified To which category does each of the following pairs of antonyms belong?
north/south vacant/occupied
literate/illiterate above/below
doctor/patient wide/narrow
poor/rich father/daughter
honest/dishonest normal/abnormal
