英语语言学第五章semantics
chapter5 语言学
Chapter 5 Semantics⏹5.1 Semantics⏹----the study of language meaning.⏹Meaning is central to the study of communication.⏹What is meaning?Scholars under different scientific backgrounds have different understandings of language meaning.5.2 Some ViewsConcerning the Study of Meaning⏹Naming Theory (Plato)⏹The Conceptualist view⏹Contextualism (Bloomfield)⏹BehaviorismNaming Theory (Plato)⏹Words are names or labels for things.⏹Limitations:1) Applicable to nouns only.2) There are nouns which denote things that do not exist in the real world, e.g. ghost, dragon, unicorn, phoenix…3) There are nouns that do not refer to physical objects but abstract notions, e.g. joy, impulse, hatred，idea, limitation…The Conceptualist View⏹The conceptualist view holds that there is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to (i.e. between language and the real world); rather, in the interpretation of meaning they are linked through the mediation(调节) of concepts in the mind.Ogden and Richards: Semantic TriangleOgden and Richards: Semantic Triangle⏹The symbol or form refers to the linguistic elements (words and phrases);⏹The referent refers to the object in the world of experience;⏹Thought or reference refers to concept.⏹The symbol or a word signifies things by virtue of the concept associated with the form of the word in the minds of the speaker; and the concept looked at from this point of view is the meaning of the word.The Contextualism⏹Meaning should be studied in terms of situation, use, context—elements closely linked with language behavior.⏹Two types of contexts are recognized:⏹Situational context: spatiotemporal situation⏹Linguistic context: the probability of a word‟s co-occurrence or collocation.⏹For example, “black” in black hair & black coffee, or black sheep differs in meaning; “The president of the United States” can mean either the president or presidency in different situation.⏹他把自行车修好了。
戴炜栋英语语言学概论Chapter 5
The naming theory
Proposed by the ancient Greek scholar Plato. According to this theory, words are just names or labels for things. Limitations: 1) It‘s applicable to nouns only; 2) Even within the category of nouns, there are still some nouns can not be named by physical objects.
Semantic triangle or triangle of significance (语义三角或意义三角)
THOUGHT/ REFERENCE (ept)
SYMBOL/ FORM…….. REFERENT (所指)
Linguistic element (words, phrases)
grammatical meaning (语法意义): grammaticality (语法性), which is governed by the grammatical rules of the language. semantic meaning (语义意义): is governed by rules called selectional restrictions (选择 限制), i. e. , constraints on what lexical items can go with what others (即对词汇项搭
X entails Y. (Y is an entailment of X.) X 蕴含 Y (Y是 X的一个含义) e.g. X: He has been to France. Y: He has been to Europe. ―He has been to France‖ entails ―He has been to Europe‖ 或者 “He has been to Europe‖ is entailed by ―He has been to France‖. If X is true, Y is necessarily true. If X is false, Y may be true or false. 如果X为真,那么Y必定为假，如果X为假, 那么Y可 能为真也可能为假.
语言学_Chapter 5_Semantics
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天亮前后，东方地平线上有时会看到一颗 特别 明亮的“晨星”，人们叫它“启明 星”；而在 黄昏时分，西方余辉中有时会 出现一颗非常明 亮的“昏星”，人们叫它 “长庚星”。这两颗 星其实是一颗，即金 星．在中国民间称它为 “太白”或“太白 金星”。古代神话中，“太 白金星”是一 位天神。古希腊人称金星为“阿 佛洛狄 忒”，是代表爱与美的女神。而罗马人 把 这位女神称为“维纳斯”，于是金星也被 称 为维纳斯了
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M is conventional
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What is meaning? M is conventional
A green light means ...
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What is meaning?
Pavlov (巴甫洛夫) Meaning is Stimulus-response
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M is flexible and imitational
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4. Problems with the naming theory
1. The theory seems applicable to nouns only. 2. There are nouns which denote things that do not exist in the real world at all. 3. There are nouns that do not refer to physical objects, but abstract notions. 4. Some words may have different meanings in different contexts. 5. The same reference may have different names.
语言学整理的资料Chapter 5 semantics
Chapter 51.Semantics:自测： __________ can be defined as the study of meaning.术语：Semantics 语义学解释：语义学可以简单的定义为对意义的研究。
术语：semantics is the study of meaning of linguistics units, words and sentences in particular.语义学是对语言单位尤其是词和句子的意义的研究。
解释：Semantics is defined as the study of meaning. However, it is not the only linguistic discipline that studies meaning. Semantics answers the question “what does this sentence mean”. In other words, it is the analysis of conventional meanings in words and sentences out of context. 语义学被定义为对意义的研究，然而，却不仅仅是对语言的意义研究。
语义学回答了“这句话有什么意义”这样的问题。
换句话说，它研究语境外词语和句子的传统意义。
2.Sense:自测：Which of the following is NOT true?A. Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form.B. Sense is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form.C. Sense is abstract and decontextualized.D. Sense is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are not interested in.术语：Sense 涵义解释：涵义指一个实体的抽象属性。
语言学第五章
• • • • • • • •
domicile: very formal, official residence: formal abode: poetic home: general steed: poetic horse: general nag: slang gee-gee: baby language
‘Colorful’ meaning
• Commendatory • tough-minded • resolute, firm • shrewd • childlike • wiseman man of unusual talent • portly, stout, solid, plum • slender, slim • • • • • • • • • Derogatory ruthless obstinate sly, crafty childish wiseguy freak fleshy, fat, tubby lean, skinny, lanky, weedy, scraggy
(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. – You’re a vicious tyrant and a villainous reprobate, and I hate you for it! – I’m 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.
胡壮麟语言学课件Chapter 5_semantics
3. The meaning of meaning
C. K. Ogden & I. A. Richards (1923). The Meaning of Meaning.John means to write.A green light means to go.Health means everything.His look was full of meaning.What is the meaning of life?What does ‘capitalist’ mean to you?What does ‘cornea’ mean?
domicile: very formal, officialresidence: formalabode: poetichome: generalsteed: poetichorse: generalnag: slanggee-gee: baby language
Hale Waihona Puke 3.4 Affective meaning
3.2 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.
语言学第五章Semantics
Chapter Five SemanticsTeaching Focus▪1. What is semantics?▪2. Meanings of “meaning”▪3. Sense and reference▪4. Sense relations▪5. Componential analysis --- a way to analyze lexical meaning▪6. Predication analysis --- a way to analyze sentence meaning1. What is semantics?▪Semantics is the study of meaning in language.▪Or specifically, it is the study of the meaning of linguistic units, words and sentences in particular.✦Different focus of the study in semantics:▪Logical semantics/philosophical semantics: Logicians and philosophers have tended to concentrate on a restricted range of sentences (typically, statements, or …propositions‟) within a single language.▪Linguistic semantics: 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 semantic 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 tosymbol/form referent(word, phrase) 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 meaning✦Thematic meaning(1) Conceptual meaning▪It makes the central part of meaning.✦Refers to logical, cognitive or denotative content.✦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‟ experience one associates with an expression when one uses or hears it.✦Unstable: they vary considerably according to culture, historical period, and the experience of the individual.▪Any characteristic of the referent, identified subjectively or objectively, may contribute to the connotative meaning of the expression which denotes it.(3) Social meaning▪What a piece of language conveys about the social circumstances of its use.✦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.✦Singularity: the style of Dickens, etc.▪domicile: very formal, official steed: poetic▪residence: formal horse: 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.✦You‟re a vicious tyrant and a villainous reprobate, and I hate you for it!✦I‟m 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▪Arises in cases of multiple conceptual meaning, when one sense of a word forms part of our response to another sense.✦When you hear …click the mouse 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, vessel, 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. Sense and reference▪Sense and reference are two terms often encountered in the study of word meaning. They are two related but different aspects of meaning.✦Sense 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 sense, 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 sense rather than reference.4. Sense relations▪Synonymygradable▪Antonymy complementaryconverse▪Hyponymy▪Polysemy4.1 Synonymy▪Synonymy refers to the sameness or close similarity of meaning. Words that are close in meaning are called synonyms.▪Complete synonyms are rare. According to the way they differ, synonyms can be divided into the following groups:▪i. Dialectal synonyms --- used in different regional dialects✦British English American English✦autumn fall✦lift elevator✦flat apartment✦tube underground▪ii. Stylistic synonyms --- differing in style✦kid, child, offspring✦kick the bucket, pop off, die, pass away, decease▪iii. Synonyms that differ in their emotive or evaluative meaning✦collaborator, accomplice▪iv. Collocational synonyms✦accuse, charge▪v. Semantically different synonyms✦surprise, amaze, astound4.2 Antonymy▪The term antonymy is used 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 assertion of the other.✦alive, dead✦male, female✦present, absent▪iii. Converse or relational: exhibit the reversal of a relationship between the pair; one presupposes the other.✦husband, wife✦buy, sell✦before, after4.3 Hyponymy▪Hyponymy refers to the sense 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, rose, lily✦animal, cat, dog✦furniture, bed, desk4.4 Polysemy▪Polysemy refers to the sense relation that the same one word has more than one meaning. Such a word is called a polysemic word.✦table: a piece of furniture; orderly arrangement of facts, figures5. Componential analysis---a way to analyze lexical meaning▪Componential analysis is a way proposed by the structural semanticists to analyze word meaning.▪The approach is based upon the belief that the meaning of a word can be dissected into meaning components, called semantic 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 causes x to have y.▪give: CAUSE (x, (~HA VE (x, y)))✦x causes 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 sentence meaning▪The meaning of a sentence is obviously related to the meanings of the words used in it, but it is also obvious that sentence meaning is not simply the sum total of the words.▪Predication analysis: proposed by the British linguist G. Leech▪The basic unit in this method is called prediction. It is the abstraction of the meaning of a sentence.▪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 sentence.✦A predicate is something said about an argument or it states the logical relation linking the arguments in a sentence.▪Tom smokes.▪Tom is smoking.▪Tom has been smoking. TOM (SMOKE)▪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/abnormalExercises▪I. Multiple choice.▪1. The naming theory seems applicable to ___ only.▪A. verbs B. adjectives C. adverbs D. nouns▪2. Hyponyms of the superordinate “flower” do not include “___”.▪A. wardrobe B. tulip C. lily D. rose▪3. Predication analysis is a way to analyze ___ meaning.▪A. phoneme B. word C. phrase D. sentence▪II. Make judgments (true or false)▪1. In the diagram of the classic semantic triangle, the word “symbol” refers to the object in the world of experience.▪2. When the same one word has more than one meaning we call it a polysemic word. ▪3. Complete synonyms, i.e. synonyms that are mutually substitutable under all circumstances, are rare in English.。
语言学 Chapter 5
Meaning
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ቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱ
5.3 Sense relations (含义关系) (See P163-170) Implicature
We use the term IMPLICATURE to refer to the relation between the following two sentences: (a) Few men marry blonde heiresses. (b) Some men marry blonde heiresses. It is also a relation of implication because we can say that from Sentence (a) we can conclude Sentence (b). However, this is generally understood to be a relation of pragmatic implication, defined in terms of the speaker's and the hearer's assumptions and beliefs.
(a) John married a blonde heiress. (b) John married a blonde. ENTAILMENT can be illustrated by the above two sentences with sentence (a) entailing sentence (b). In terms of truth value, the following relationships exist between these two sentences: When (a) is true, (b) is necessarily true. When (b) is false, (a) is false. When (a) is false, (b) may be true or false. When (b) is true, (a) may be true or false.
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6.3 Complementary antonymy
The members of a pair complementary to each other. They divide the whole of a semantic field completely. The assertion of one means the denial of the other and the denial of one means the assertion of the other. There is no intermediate ground between the two. Distinction between gradable and complementary contrary and contradictory
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3.2 Connotative meaning
the emotional association which a word or a phrase suggests in one’s mind. It is the supplementary value added to the purely denotative meaning of a word. Mother a female parent connotes love, care and tenderness. Dogs have different connotative meaning between Chinese and English.
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3.7 Thematic meaning
determined by the order of the words and the different prominence they each receive.
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.
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5. Sense and reference
Sense is the relationship inside the language. By the sense of a word we meaning its place in the system of relationships with other words in the vocabulary. It is concerned only with intralingusitic relations. Reference is the relationship between language and the world. It deals with the relationship between the linguistic elements and the nonlinguistic world of experience.
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Connotation and denotation Connotation refers to the properties of an entity and denotation refers to the concrete entities having these properties. Sense matches connotation and reference denotation.
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Animal bird fish insect animal human animal tiger lion elephant ...
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7. Componential Analysis
An approach to the study of meaning which analyzes a word into a set of meaning components or semantic features. Semantic features constitute the meaning of words. Semantic features are established on the basis of binary features. HUMAN man (ADULT, MALE , HUMAN) woman (ADULT, -MALE, HUMAN)
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4. The Theory of Reference
Words → Meaning: referential theory Words→Concepts→Things: Ogden & Richards thought/concept/image
symbolizes
refers to
symbol -------------------------------------- referent (word) stands for (object)
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6.2 Gradable antonymy
Oppositeness relation The members of a pair differ in degree. There is an intermediate ground between the two. Graded against different norms. There is no absolute criterion by which we say sth is big or small. One member of the pair ,usu the term of the higher degree serves as the cover term.
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The norm of this type is absolute. It doesn’t vary with the thing a word is applied to. E.g. the criterion for separating males from females is the same with humans and animals. There is no cover term for the two members of a pair.
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A superordinate can be a superordinate to itself. A co-hyponym of human. A co-hyponym of bird fish and superordinate to animal and human. A cohyponym of plant and superordnate to bird fish and animal indicating mammal.
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3.3 Social meaning
What a piece of language conveys about the social circumstances of its use. Dialect: the language of a geographical region or of a social class.
Inclusiveness or class membership A is included in / a kind of B. Cf.: chair and furniture, rose and flower Superordinate/hypernym: the more general term Hyponym: the more specific term Co-hyponyms: members of the same class
Associative Meaning
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3.1 Conceptual meaning
Also called ‘denotative’ or ‘cognitive’ meaning. Refers to logical, cognitive or denotative content. Concerned with the relationship between a word and the thing it denotes, or refers to.
you would be so kind as to lower your voices a little. or Will you belt up.
3.5Reflected meaning
Associated with another sense of the same expression. Reflected meaning culture oriented. In English lily reflects purity and chastity. Love and happiness in Chinese. So paint the lily 画蛇添足 Dragon symbolizes royalty and power while in English evil.
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6.4 Converse antonymy
Showing the reversal of a relationship between two entities. Relational opposites. One presupposes the other.