【语言学】Chapter-5-Semantics

1ChapterFiveMeaning2TheStudyofMeaningSemanticsisthestudyofthemeaningoflinguisticunits,wordsandsentencesinparticular.Meaninghasbeenstudiedforthousandsofyearsbyphilosophers,logiciansandlinguists.E.g.Plato&Aristotle.3TheStudyofMeaningSemantics:Themeaningofwords:LexicalsemanticsThemeaningofsentences:Compositionalmeaning/PropositionalmeaningLinguisticsemanticsvs.Logicalsemantics/philosophicalsemanticsPragmatics:Themeaningofutterances41.Meaningsof“MEANING”C.K.Ogden&I.A.Richards(1923).TheMeaningofMeaning.《意义的意义》Johnmeanstowrite.Agreenlightmeanstogo.5Healthmeanseverything.Hislookwasfullofmeaning.（怀有某种深意的，意味深长的）6Whatisthemeaningoflife?7Whatdoes‘capitalist’meantoyou?8GeoffreyLeech(1974,1981).Semantics:TheStudyofMeaning.Seventypesofmeaning:ConceptualmeaningConnotativemeaningSocialmeaningAffectivemeaningReflectedmeaningCollocativemeaningThematicmeaningAssociativeMeaning9(1)Conceptualmeaning概念意义Alsocalled‘denotative’or‘cognitive’meaning.Concernedwiththerelationshipbetweenawordandthethingitdenotes,orrefersto.OverlapstoalargeextentwiththenotionofREFERENCE指称.10(2)Connotativemeaning内涵意义Someadditional,especiallyemotive,meaning.Involvingthe‘realworld’experienceoneassociateswithanexpressionwhenoneusesorhearsit.Forexample:stepmother11Stepmother1213(3)Socialmeaning社会意义Whatapieceoflanguageconveysaboutthesocialcircumstancesofitsuse.Dialect:thelanguageofageographicalregionorofasocialclass.Time:thelanguageofthe18thc.,etc.Province（领域）:languageoflaw,ofscience,ofadvertising,etc.Status:polite,colloquial,slang,etc.Modality:（方式）languageofmemoranda,lectures,jokes,etc.Singularity（特点）:thestyleofDickens,etc.14domicile:veryformal,officialresidence:formalabode:poetichome:generalsteed:poetichorse:generalnag:slanggee-gee:babylanguage15(4)Affectivemeaning感情意义Reflectingthepersonalfeelingsofthespeaker,includinghisattitudetothelistener,orhisattitudetosomethingheistalkingabout.You’reavicioustyrantandavillainous（邪恶的）reprobate,andIhateyouforit!I’mterriblysorrytointerrupt,butIwonderifyouwouldbesokindastoloweryourvoicesalittle.Willyoubeltup.16‘Colorful’meaningCommendatorytough-mindedresolute,firmshrewdchildlikewisemanmanofusualtalentportly,stout,solid,plumslender,slimDerogatoryruthlessobstinatesly,craftychildishwiseguyfreakfleshy,fat,tubbylean,skinny,lanky,weedy,scraggy17(5)Reflectedmeaning反射意义Whatiscommunicatedthroughassociationwithanothersenseofthesameexpression.Whenyouhear‘clickthemousetwice’,youthinkofGerrybeinghittwicebyTomsoyoufeelexcited.18(6)Collocativemeaning搭配意义Theassociationsawordacquiresonaccountofthemeaningsofwordswhichtendtooccurinitsenvironment.pretty:girl,boy,woman,flower,garden,colour,village,etc.handsome:boy,man,car,vessel,overcoat,airliner,typewriter,etc.19(7)Thematicmeaning主位意义Whatiscommunicatedbythewayinwhichaspeakerorwriterorganizesthemessage,intermsofordering,focus,andemphasis.Mrs.BessieSmithdonatedthefirstprize.ThefirstprizewasdonatedbyMrs.BessieSmith.Theystoppedattheendofthecorridor.Attheendofthecorridor,theystopped.202.TheTheoryofReference指称论Thetheoryofmeaningwhichrelatesthemeaningofawordtothethingitrefersto,orstandfor,isknownastheREFERENTIALTHEORY.Words→Meaning:Words‘name’or‘referto’things--Platonic212.TheTheoryofReference指称论Initssimplestformthistheorywouldclaimthatreferencepicksoutelementsintherealworld:Propernamesdenoteindividuals.Commonnamesdenotesetsofindividuals.Verbsdenoteactions.Adjectivesdenotepropertiesofindividuals.Adverbsdenotepropertiesofactions.However,thereareanumberofproblems.222.TheTheoryofReference指称论•Firstly,itseemstopredictthatmanywordshavenomeanings,foritisverydifficulttofindarealworldreferentforgrammaticalwordslikeso,not,very,but,ofetc.•Asecondproblemisthatmanynominalexpressionsusedbyspeakersdonothaveareferentthatexistsorhaseverexisted,astheelementsinboldinbelow:232.TheTheoryofReference指称论•Inthepaintingaunicornisignoringamaiden.•WorldWarThreemightbeginintheBalkans.•Batmanisawimp.242.TheTheoryofReference指称论Thirdly,thistheoryrunsintoseriousproblemswithcommonnouns.Thisisbecauseofthevariationinimagesthatdifferentspeakersmighthaveofacommonnounlikecarorhousedependingontheirexperience.Thereismoretomeaningthanreference.Itissomethingabstractbehindtheconcretethingwecansee,whichhasnoexistenceinthematerialworldandcanonlybesensedbyourminds.ThisabstractthingisusuallycalledCONCEPT.25SemanticTriangle语义三角Atheorywhichexplicitlyemploysthenotion“concept”isthesemantictriangleproposedbyOgdenandRichardsinTheMeaningofMeaning.Theyarguethattherelationbetweenawordandathingitreferstoisnotdirect.Itismediatedbyconcept.26SemanticTriangle语义三角27airplaneSemanticTriangle语义三角28SemanticTriangle语义三角这个三角形说明以下几点:Concept(概念)是和Referent(所指物)相联系的,这种联系是直接的联系.“概念”是在客观事物的基础上概括而成的;换句话说,概念是客观事物在头脑中的反映.因此,在这个三角形中,Concept(概念)是和Referent(所指物)之间划上了一条实线,表示:AConceptreferstoaThing.(概念是反映客观事物的.)Concept与Symbol/Word之间也有直接联系.概念是抽象的东西,它要通过词才能表达出来;换句话说,词是用来表达概念的.因此,概念与符号/词之间也划上了一条实线,表示:AWordsymbolizesaConcept.(词是表示概念的.)29SemanticTriangle语义三角Symbol/Word与Referent之间没有直接的、必然的联系;也就是