英语词汇学--词义的变化
词义的变化
(2)联想意义/关联意义associative meaning 词的关联意义又叫联想意义，是词的附带 意义，包括词的感情色彩，文体意义等，这 种意义不稳定，变化大。 Woman一词，让我们联想到“妈妈”， “养儿育女”，“温柔”，“持家”“脆 弱”。
词的关联意义可分为: 内涵意义 connotative meaning 社会意义 social meaning 情感意义 affective meaning 反映意义 reflected meaning 搭配意义 collocated meaning
小结 1.概念意义 2.内涵意义 3.社会意义 4.情感意义 5.反映意义
6.搭配意义
7.主题意义
逻辑、认知或外延的内容 通过语言所指事物来传递的意义 关于语言运用的社会环境意义 关于言者/作者的感情和态度意义 通过同一个词语的另一意义的联想 来传递的意义。 通过与倾向于出现在另一个词的环境 中出现的词的联想来传递的意义 通过组织信息的方式（语序、强调） 所传递的意义。
词义变化的基础
词义的变化（change of meaning）指的是词 义的改变和新义的产生。由于有的事物之间 在功能、形状、动作等特征方面存在着某些 相似之处，词可从一种事物、现象、行为的 名称转指另一种事物、现象、行为的名称， 如隐喻、借代、提喻等。这是词义的改变和 新义产生的基础。
I.词义的组成 (语法意义和词汇意义)
Hale Waihona Puke (2.2)社会意义social meaning 指关于语言运用的社会环境的意义，主要代表是 “文体/风格”意义stylistic meaning. 一类词的概念意义相同,风格意义不一定相同. 如： a. horse 一般用语, steed 诗歌用语, nag 俚语, geegee 儿语 b. father 中性, male parent 书卷气，专业术语, daddy 口语，儿语
第9章 词义演变的原因和过程-词义演变的原因
(一)、社会原因
社会发展与词义变化 2) 专门术语和普通词汇之间经常交叉使用， 也使词义发生了演变 Salt：食盐；(化)盐，盐类 Appendix：附录；(生理)阑尾
1.
Scene(戏剧)一场，一景；场景，布景；场
面，场所
(一)、社会原因
社会环境与词义变化 社会上发生的事件往往会使词的意义发生 变化： Abdication：退位 可以特指英王爱 德华八世1936年为能与沃利斯· 辛普森夫人 结婚而正式放弃王位 Accession Day：登基日 现在英国特指 1952.2.6伊丽莎白二世登基之日
(一)、社会原因
种族情绪与词义变化 正式场合，又创造了Afro-Americans和 African Americans来称呼黑人 Native Americans是对印第安人(Indians) 的称呼 Mexican American是对墨西哥人 (Mexicans)的称呼
5.
3.
(一)、社会原因
民族情绪与词义变化 民族之间的感情也会影响词义的褒贬 因此，英语中一些坏事前面往往加上其他 民族的名称。如：take French leave不辞 而别 Italian hand干涉、干预、狡诈 Spanish athlete胡说八道，吹牛 Irish bull荒诞可笑的说法
7.
(一)、社会原因
6.
(一)、社会原因
6.
性别差异与词义变化
本来是“像家里一样的、善主家务 的”，所以，在英国英语里，You are the homeliest woman I have ever met.是对 女主人的夸奖。 但在美国英语里，homely 是“相貌平平的” 意思，词义降格了。
英语词汇学--词义的变化
Narcissus 水仙花
Munchausen
说大话的人
He was a German s o l d i e r. A f t e r h i s retirement from his service in the Russian Army against the Turks, he told exaggerated stories of his c a m p a i g n i n g adventures,thus the meaning:a person who boasts;exaggerated .
Sandwich: It now denotes a popular fast food. It originates from John Montague, Fourth earl of Sandwich in 18th -century England. He was so fond of gambling that he often forgot his meals. He often ordered slices of bread with thick pieces of roast beef stuffed between them be brought to him so he could eat while playing. Later, people used his name to refer to all similar food.
专有名词普通化与特定的历史事件有关： “Watergate”源指美国华盛顿特区综合大 厦。1972年6月17日夜间，共和党争取 总统连任委员会有关人员潜入大厦内 民主党全国委员会总部而被捕，暴露 了共和党政府在总统竞选中的非法活 动，导致美国历史上首次总统辞职， 现泛指“丑闻”。
英语词汇学论文---词义的变化
英语词汇学论文---词义的变化The Causes of Changes in Word Meaning Abstract:Key words: historical; social; psychological; linguistic; semanticDo you know when Juliet tells Romeo, “I am too fond”, she is not claiming she likes Romeo too much? She means “I am too foolish” Do you know when Horatio says to Hamlet, “Season your admiration for a while…”, he is not telling Hamlet “to increase his respect( the current meaning of admiration) for something”?In fact, he means “ to moderate his astonishment.”Don?t be surprised, because, as Quirk asserts, almost every word we use today has slightly different meaning from the one is had a century ago; and a century ago it had a slight different meaning from the one it had a century before that. When a word loses its old meaning and comes to refer to something altogether different, the result is a change of word meaning.As nonnative English learners, learning the causes of changes in word meaning can help us deepen the understanding of the meaning of lexicology, vocabulary, semantic field and culture background. By learning this, we can use vocabulary in a more precise way and avoid mistake or embarrassment when communicating with native speakers.The causes of changes in word meaning can be divided into linguistic cause and extra-linguistic cause. Extra-linguistic cause can also divide into historical cause, social cause and psychology cause.Linguistic causeChange of meaning is frequently brought about by two tendencies in a linguistic system: towards ellipsis and towardsanalogy. Some linguists think foreign influence should subordinate linguistic cause.Ellipsis occurs when a phrase is shortened to one word which retains the meaning of the whole, so it often occurs in habitual collocations, such as adjective + noun or attributive noun + noun. Private, daily, duplicate are all adjectives, but they are used as nouns. Private means a soldier of the lowest rank, daily means daily newspaper, and duplicate means duplicate copy. Under such circumstances, whatever is left, whether a noun or an adjective, is all used as a noun assuming the original meaning. Naturally, the association became so close that the first element could alone carry the meaning of the whole phrase.Besides, there is a change of grammatical function as well, as when adjectives assumethe roles of nouns. Unlike the above examples, whose sense of one word has been transferred to another simple because the two occur together habitually, in some cases, it is the second or “headword”of the phrase that remains. For example, (stream) engine, (coal) gas and (light) bulb.The analogical tendency means new meanings developed in one part of speech are passed on to other parts of speech from the same lexical bas e. Fortuitous formerly denoted …happening by chance?, …accidental?, and later took on the meaning …fortunate?probably by analogy because the two words look similar in shape. Another interesting example is fruition, originally from a Latin word fruitio meaning enjoyment. But now, its meaning is given as “fulfillment of (plans, desired results, aims, etc.),”possibly from connection with the word fruit.Foreign influencesA particularly important cause of change of meaning inwords has been the influence of foreign words. For example, the native word stool originally meant any kind of seat for one person, and could even be used for a king?s seat. It got its humble meaning because the French word chair was adopted to denote a more comfortable piece of furniture. Other example is dream. Dream meant “joy” in OE; it gets its modern sense from the related Scandinavian word draumr.Historical causeIt often happens that though a word retains its original form, its meaning has changed because the object which it denotes has changed. This is the historical cause of semantic change.The well-known semanticist Ullmann notes, “It often happens that language is more conservative than civilization, material as well as moral. Objects, institutions, ideas, scientific concepts change in the course of time; yet in many cases the name is retained and thus helps to ensure a sense of tradition and continuity.”(Ullmann 1997:198)Indeed, it often happens that a word is retained for a name though the meaning has changed because the referent has changed. Take pen for example, it donated …feather?, which was used in the West as pen in old times. Now, the time when …feather? served as pen is long gone, and people are using hall-point pens and fountain pens, yet the name is still kept. This change has also occurred to computer, which designated a …person who computes? in the past. At present, when we talk about computer, people, people would think of an …electronic machine? rather than a person.There are also many scientific concepts which have retained their original forms, although their meanings have changed as a result of new scientific discoveries and increased knowledge. Forinstance, before Copernicus, the sun was thought to be …the luminous celestial body that in the Plolemaic system is one of the seven planets revolving around the earth? and this meaning is retained in “The sun rises and sets.”The Copernician theory tried to change the historical point of view and now everyone knows that the sun is a …star around which the earth a nd other planets revolve…?Social causeWe are going to discuss social cause of the changes of words?meanings in five aspects.A. Social developmentChange in word meaning resulting from a constant verbal traffic between common word and various technical words is referred to as social cause of semantic change. (Ullmann 1997:199-200) As a result, some technical words have lost their specialized meanings and have come to be used in more general senses, which connect with electricity, physics, chemistry, medicine, mathematics, etc. For instance, feedback means “response” in common use, as in “The teacher likes to have feedback from his students.”Dimension: as a common word, it means “extent in a particular aspect”, as in “This problem has a new dimension.”B. Social environmentBig events in society will change the meaning of some words. The simple words cold and hot have changed their meanings in the field of politics, as in “cold war” and “hot war”. In England, Abdication can mean King Edward VIII abdicated for marrying a divorced American woman, Ms Simpson. In these cases, nonnative speakers should try to memorize.C. Social classVillain means bad people, but its original meaning is villager.Because the aristocrat looks down upon the low social status villagers, the meaning of villain changed. It is a kind of degeneration of meaning. More examples are clown, boor, knave, and churl. Thus, if a word has something to do with low social status, it will have derogatory sense, vice versa.D National sentimentNational sentiment influences the meaning of word deeply. In English, some bad things will have connection with other nations. For instance, to take French leave means leaving without saying goodbye. Italian hand means interfere. Spanish athlete means a person who says nonsense.The most obvious nation, to which English shows great prejudice, is Netherlands, because these two countries always fought each other in 17century. Dutch act means commit suicide. Dutch comfort means comfort of no help. Dutch widow means prostitute. Dutch uncle means strict critic. Dutch treat means a party that you should pay for yourself. Dutch bargain means a deal made when you are drunk. I amDutched means I am cheated. Double Dutch means words that are rather baffling. I’m a Dutch man if …E. SexismThere are some words with sexism in English, but the number is minor. For example, “Man is a rational animal; men are born equal.”The man in there refers to human being. Recent years, thanks to feminist movement, more and more words are created to refer to women, such as businessperson, draftsperson, poetess, heroine, spokeswoman etc.Psychological causePsychological cause is also constantly at work in bringing about changes in word meaning. Psychological factors play abasic part in meaning change, which leads to the elevation or degradation of word meanings. It takes three forms: euphemism, grandiloquence and cynicism.A.EuphemismPeople change word-meaning owing to various psychological motives: love, respect, courtesy, suspicion, pessimism, irony, contempt, hatred, etc. People tend to use mild, agreeable language when speaking of an unpleasant or embarrassing fact and taboo subjects.Death and things related to death are one of the most common objects of euphemism. “To pass away,”“to brea the one?s last,”“to cease to think,”“to fall asleep,”“to kick the bucket,”“to be no more,”“to go west,” all refer to death.Toilet is another example. Rest room, lounge, convenience, comfort station and powder room are just some of its euphemism. Pregnant can be said “big,”“big with child,”“expectant,”“heavy with child,”“laden,”“anticipating,”“in the family way,”and “in an interesting condition.”B.GrandiloquenceGrandiloquence refers to the use of long, important-sounding words for effect. The desire to upgrade or raise the social status of a position, occupation, or institution by changing its common name to one felt to confer greater dignity or importance is another psychological factor in the change of word meaning.In American English, there are so many words of grandiloquence used in unpopular jobs. Garbage collector is sanitation engineer, servant is domestic engineer, mortician is funeral director and gardener is landscape architect.In a sense, grandiloquence is a form of euphemism, too. So some linguists consider grandiloquence subordinate the Euphemism.C.CynicismCynicism is the desire to sneer and to be sarcastic. For instance, the word pious may mean “hypocritically virtuous” in addition to its primary meaning, “having, showing deep devotion to religion.” The present meaning of sanctimonious is “pretending to be very holy or pious”, while it once meant “devout, holy or sacred”. Fanatic, a Latin synonym for enthusiastic, means “unreasonably enthusiastic, almost approaching to madness.”ConclusionChange in word meaning is commonplace and fundamental in a living language, for it is one of the simplest and most convenient ways of meeting peoples? need for new manes to refer to new things, ideas, processes, etc. Broadly speaking, change of meaning refers to the alteration of the meaning of existing words, as well as the addiction of new meaning to established words.The causes of semantic change are historical, social, psychological or purely linguistic. As nonnative English learners, we need to pay more attention to the changes of word meanings, for we are not familiar with their own history, their culture background and psychological situation. Only by learning these causes can we get a better understanding of lexicology, vocabulary, semantic field and context. Only by learning these causes can we know which words should be used and which words should be avoided, so that we can express our meaning more specific in communication with others.Bibliography:Jackson Howard (2000), Words, Meaning and V ocabulary, Trowbridge: The Cromwell PressJavier E Diaz Verd (2004), Lexicography, Semantics and Lexicology in English Historical Linguistics, Netherlands: Rodopi 汪榕培（2000），《英语词汇学研究》，上海：上海外语教育出版社汪榕培& 卢晓娟（2006），《英语词汇学教程》，上海：上海外语教育出版社杨艳华& 张树凡（2007），《现代英语词汇学》，：冶金工业出版社张维友（1997），《英语词汇学教程》，武汉：华中师范大学出版社张韵斐（2012），《现代英语词汇学概论》，北京：北京师范大学出版社。
英语词义的变化
目录引言 (3)1、英语词义演进与退化 (3)2、英语词义的缩小与扩大 (5)3、英语词义的弱化与加强 (7)4、英语词义功能的转变 (7)结束语 (8)参考文献 (9)英语词义的变化摘要：语言作为人类交流思想和传递信息的工具，总是随着人类社会的进步而发生着变化。
英语作为一种语言，已经有1500年的历史，其变化巨大也是可想而知的。
英语词义的变化主要表现在词义的演进与退化、词义的缩小与扩大、词义的弱化与加强以及词义功能的转变等方面【1】。
关键词：英语；词义；变化The changes of lexical meanings of English wordsAbstract: The language as tools of human thought and communicate information, is always changing with the progress of humansociety. English as a language, having1500 years of history,the change is palpable. English word meaning changes in wordmeaning evolution and degeneration, narrowing of the meaningand expand, the weakening and strengthening as well as themeaning of the word function transformation, etc.Key word：English；meaning；change引言随着社会的发展，时代的变迁，英语像汉语一样，一些新词出现，旧词消失，一些词义退化演进，词义的功能也在发生转变。
词义的变化从时间上可以分为文艺复兴时期、资产阶级革命时期、殖民地开拓时期【2】。
词汇学 词义变化类型
• 一个原本具有特殊意义的单词的词 义被延伸，范围扩大，可以用来指 代一种更普遍的词义
a general = a general officer an editorial = an editorial article
a private=a private soldier
Some material nouns are used to refer to objects made of them and thus have a more specific sense.
• person names：newton（牛顿），ampere （安培），farad（法拉），joule（焦耳）， pascal（帕斯卡），watt（瓦特），ohm（欧 姆），volt（伏特）
• place names:champagne（香槟酒--法国地 名），gin（杜松子酒，产自日内瓦，是 Geneva一词的缩写）
英语061 符娜娜
• Extension of Meaning • Narrowing of Meaning • Elevation of Meaning • Degradation of Meaning • Transference of Meaning • Euphemism
Extension of Meaning
• cunning---knowing,skillful---sly
• gay---happy---homosexual
词义的变化
词义是一个历史范畴，随着社会生活的变化和人的认识的深化，就会变化化和演化。
（一)词义变化的原因(1）社会生活的发展。
新事物的出现及旧事物的消亡都要影响到词义。
比如“飞”原来只指鸟、虫鼓动翅膀离开地面前进，而现在可以指利用机械比如螺旋桨、喷气等在空中飞行，包拾飞机、飞船等离开地面甚至地球球飞行。
(2)人的思想意识的改变。
比如“云”、古人以为是“山川气也”。
这个词义反映了当时人们对“云”的认识，而现在我们知道，‘‘云”是由水滴、冰晶聚集而形成的悬浮在空中的物体。
现在的认识要比过去更加深刻，更为科学。
(3)语言内部因素的相互作用。
比如语音的变化可以分化词义，在汉语中在一些单音节的名词、形容词中增加一个去声读音，就可以表示相关的动作，从而导致词义变化。
比如：种——种，好——好。
(二)词义变化的类型大致有以下四个方面，分属词义本身的变化和语素义的衍化这两类。
1．深化与精确词义的深化和精确，是指词的理性义所反映的对象没有变化，但人的认识改变了，所以词义也变了。
这大都是些常用的事物和现象o 比如·‘人”，《说文》的解释是：天地之性最贵者。
直到1915年出版的旧《辞源》的解释还是“动物之最灵者”。
而现在的认识是：能够制造并能使用工具进行劳动的高等动物。
显然是大大深化了。
再比如“电”，《说文》的解释是：阴阳激越。
《康熙字典》的解释是；盖阴阳暴格分争，激射；有火生焉，其光为电，其声为雷。
表明“电”本来就是闪电。
而现在知道，电是有电荷存在和电荷变化的现象，是一种重要的能源，广泛运用于生产和生活各个方面。
精确与深化有着密切联系，认识深化了，词义也就精确了。
比如“土”《说文》：地之吐生物者也。
这个解释实际上只指出了”土”的一种功能特征，并不确切。
而现在的认识是：地球表面的一层疏松的物质，由各种颗粒状矿物质、有机物质、水分、空气、微生物组成，能生长植物。
这个解释才指出了“土”的本质，不仅指出了土的功用，更主要的是说明了土的组成。
浅析英语词汇意义变化的方式和原因
浅析英语词汇意义变化的方式和原因英语词汇意义的变化可以通过以下几种方式来进行分析：1. 同义词演化：同一个词在不同的时代或语境下可能具有不同的意义。
例如，英语中的“nice”最初是指“愚蠢”，现在却表示“好的”或“友善的”。
2. 词义扩展：词语的原始意义逐渐扩展到包含更广泛的含义或概念。
这可能是因为词语在使用过程中逐渐被赋予新的解释。
例如，英语中的“mouse”最初只指小鼠，而现在也可用于形容计算机的输入设备。
3. 词义缩小：相反地，一个词的原始意义可以逐渐缩小，只指特定的对象或概念。
例如，英语中的“deer”最初是指各种动物，现在只用来指代鹿科的动物。
4. 词义转移：一个词的原始意义可以转移到不相关的领域或词语上。
这可能是由于人们在表达时使用了类比或隐喻。
例如，英语中的“mobile”最初是指“可移动的”，而如今也可用来形容智能手机。
词汇意义变化的原因可以是以下几个方面：1.文化和社会变化：随着社会的发展和变化，词语的意义也会随之变化。
新兴技术和社会变革会带来新的概念和需求，从而推动词汇意义的变化。
2.变化的语言使用情境：词语意义的变化可能与其在特定语境中的使用相关。
人们在特定语境中使用词语，会赋予其特定的含义。
随着时间的推移，这种语言使用的变化会导致词语意义的变化。
3.形式与意义的互动：词语的形式和意义之间存在相互影响的关系。
随着语言变化，词形的变化可能会导致词语意义的变化，反之亦然。
总结起来，英语词汇意义变化的方式和原因主要包括同义词演化、词义扩展、词义缩小和词义转移。
这些变化可能是由于文化和社会变化、语言使用情境的变化以及形式与意义的互动引起的。
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the use of a proper noun to convey a general idea
a
12
Sandwich: It now denotes a popular fast food. It
originates from John Montague, Fourth earl of
Sandwich in 18th -century England. He was so
第五章 词义的变化 Change of Meaning
外语学院 徐红新
a
1
❖ When a word loses its old meaning and comes to refer to something altogether different, the result is a change of word meaning.
used his name to refer to all similar food.
a
13
Tantalize 挑逗 Tantalus
Greek Myth: a king punished for his
misdeeds by having to stand in water
that recedes when he tries to drink it
_________ Quirk 1963:123-124
a
ห้องสมุดไป่ตู้
2
❖ Causes of changes in word meaning
❖ 1. the world is changing
❖ 社会是语言的外部因素（索绪尔，1980：43），但是社会 又不是一般的外部因素，而是客体世界中最重要的外部因 素， 因为语言是特殊的社会现象，语言跟社会诸因素有千 丝万缕的关系。
❖ 2.1 认识水平在提高 heart,brain
❖ 2.2 思想观念的更新 天堂、老板、演员、士兵
❖ 2.3心理感情因素
❖ 求新： 净面、洗脸、飚客、粉丝, 闪族
❖ 求美：春风、教室
❖ 求省：机票、机场、机群、客机、班机
❖
gold metal
❖ 求雅：euphemism 下岗、老、战略性撤退、穷
❖
红白赤
a
5
词义的变化
a.Extension of meaning b.Restriction of meaning
c.Degeneration of meaning
d.Elevation of meaning
e.Transformation of meaning
a
6
Extension of Meaning
fond of gambling that he often forgot his meals.
He often ordered slices of bread with thick pieces
of roast beef stuffed between them be brought to
him so he could eat while playing. Later, people
circumlocution lie\steal\lazy
❖ 感情因素（移情）：冤家
a
4
❖ 3.The language is changing ❖ 3.1 semantic reason ❖ harvest\autumn motor 左右 ❖ 3.2 grammatical reason ❖ 廉颇老矣，尚能饭否？ ❖ 3.3 pragmatic reason ❖斗闻
It is also called widening of meaning or generalization. It’s a process by which a word which originally had a specialized meaning
has now become generalized.
a
8
A. From specific to general 从特指到泛指 Example
Picture: originally: a painting or drawing
a
9
The present meaning
a photograph
a cinematic picture
an x-ray picture
a
7
Four kinds of extension A. From specific to general
B. From proper nouns to common nouns C.From concrete to abstract D.From technical terms to general words
❖ “… Change of meaning is a commonplace, and indeed it would appear to be fundamental in living language, …… almost every word we use today has a slightly different meaning from the one it had a century ago: and a century ago it had a slightly different meaning from the one it had a century before that.”
a TV picture
a radio-telescope picture
any pictaure
10
More Examples rubbish
Originally: rubble (碎石）
a
Now: anything worthless
11
B. From proper nouns to common nouns Antonomasia 换称
❖ 1.1 旧词添新义 car\ship
❖ 1.2 科技发展 光环
❖ 1.3 普通义位与科技义位间的转变 menu, window
❖ 1.4 社会集团社会地位的变化 governor, lord
❖ 1.5 经济的发展 狗、马
❖ 1.6 民族或种族矛盾的原因 Dutch
a
3
❖ 2. Human being is changing