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1、English Lexicology,Lecture IXMeaning Change,Readings Task VIII Check,Chapter 5&6of A Survey of English LexicologyKey points in the book will be discussed next week,Lecture IX Meaning Change,1.Change of Meaning 2.Types of ChangeMeaning Extension Meaning NarrowingMeaning ElevationMeaning DegradationMe
2、aning Transference3.Motivations of Change Internal linguistic factors external linguistic factors,Do you think the following two words are related or not?In what way are they related?salt salaryholyholidayaweawesomeawful(awesome/awful day?)fondfoolishnice know ne(Latin:not)+scire(Latin:know)ladyloaf
3、 loaf+kneader(lady)lordloaf lo(af+wa)rd(lord),Meaning Is Changing,Meaning Is Changing,When a word loses its old meaning and comes to refer to something different,the result is a change in word meaning.Change of meaning refers to the alternation of the meaning of existing words,as well as the additio
4、n of new meaning to a particular word.,Meaning Is Changing,Changing word meaning has never ceased since the beginning of the language and will continue in the future.The changes in meaning are gradual,and words are not changed in a day.,Types of Change:Meaning Extension,Meaning extension is a proces
5、s by which a word which originally had a specialized meaning has now become generalized or has extended to cover a broader concept.Its also called Generalization of Meaning.,Examples:salary(original)a sum of money given to Roman soldiers to enable them to buy salt(present)fixed payment made by emplo
6、yer at regular intervals to employees holiday(original)holy day,a day of religious significance(present)day of festivity or recreation,Meaning Extension,A large proportion of polysemous words of modern English have their meanings extended sometime in the course of development.Some words are generali
7、zed to such a degree that they can mean almost everything.,Meaning Extension,Example:She is such a pretty little thing.I have to pack my things for the journey.There is another thing I want to ask you about.That only makes things worse.The thing is,can we finish the job in time?“Thing”which used to
8、mean“a public assembly”or“a council”in Anglo-Saxon times,now has become an all-purpose word.Its meaning is so general,and we sometimes call this noun a light noun.,Meaning Extension,Generalization of meaning is also found in many technical terms,which are confined to specialized use.allergic(origina
9、l)too sensitive to medicine(present)averse or disinclined to,Meaning Extension,alibi(original)a legal term signifying“the plea that the accused is not at the place when the crime is committed”(present)excuse,Meaning Extension,Types of Change:Meaning Narrowing,Meaning narrowing is a process by which
10、a word of wide meaning acquires a narrow or specialized sense.In other words,a word which used to have a more general sense becomes restricted in its application and conveys a special concept in present-day English.Its also called specialization or restriction of meaning.,Meaning Narrowing,Meaning N
11、arrowing,For economy,some phrases are shortened and only one element of the original,usually an adjective,is left to retain the meaning of the whole.Such adjectives have thus taken on specialized meanings.a general=a general officeran editorial=an editorial article,Meaning Narrowing,Some material no
12、uns are used to refer to objects made of them and thus have a more specific sense.glass a cup-like container or a mirroriron device for smoothing clothes,Types of Change:Meaning Elevation,Meaning elevation is the process by which words rise from humble beginnings to positions of importance.Some word
13、s early in their history signify something quite low or humble,but change to designate something agreeable or pleasant.Its also called amelioration of meaning.,Meaning Elevation,niceignorant-foolish-delightful,pleasantfondfoolish-affectionateawesometerrible-terrific marshala keeper of horses-a high
14、ranking army officerconstablea keeper of horses-a policeman,Terrific headacheTerrific party,Types of Change:Meaning Degradation,Meaning degradation is a process by which words with appreciatory or neutral affective meaning fall into ill reputation or come to be used in a derogatory sense.Its also ca
15、lled degeneration or pejoration of meaning.,Meaning Degradation,Examples sillyblessed and happy innocent simple or simple-minded foolishsadfull,satisfied,contented calm serious sorrowful,Types of Change:Meaning Transference,Some words which were used to designate one thing but later changed to mean
16、something else have experienced the process of semantic transfer,known as transference of meaning.,Meaning Transference,e.g.the lip of a wound the tongues of fire the foot of a mountain,Motivations of Change,Internal linguistic factors EllipsisBorrowingAnalogy FigurationMetaphorMetonymExternal lingu
17、istic factors Historical reasonSocial reasonPsychological reason,Motivations:Internal linguistic factors,The change of meaning may be caused by the internal factors within the language system,such as ellipsis,borrowing,analogy,figurative use of a word,etc.,Internal Linguistic Factors:Ellipsis,The me
18、aning of a word may change when a phrase is shortened to one word which retains the meaning of the whole.This is called ellipsis.gold:gold medaldaily:daily newspaper,The meaning of the word“gold”has changed from material to refer to the whole phrase“gold medal”.This kind of change often occurs in ha
19、bitual collocations.,Internal Linguistic Factors:Borrowing,The influx of borrowings has caused some words to change in meaning.For example,deer(original)a wild animal of any sort from a lion to a mouse.In Middle Ages,the French word beste(=beast)became the general word.In 16th century,the Latin word
20、 animal was also adopted into the English vocabulary.Today deer can only refer to a particular kind of animal.,Internal Linguistic Factors:Analogy,If an adjective develops a new meaning,the derived noun from the adjective will have a corresponding new meaning by analogy.The process can be applied to
21、 a word of any word class.Its the power of analogy.,Internal Linguistic Factors:Analogy,diplomatic(original)skillful in dealing with international relations(present)skillful in dealing with any kind of relations,diplomacy(original)the art of dealing with international relations(present)?,Analogy,For
22、 example:diplomatic&diplomacy,Internal Linguistic Factors:Figuration,Change in word meaning may result from the figurative use of the language.Metaphor and metonymy are two important figures of speech.,Figuration:Metaphor,Metaphor is a figure of speech containing an implied comparison based on simil
23、arity.A cunning person may be referred to as a fox.Here“fox”means something other than its literal meaning.The word“fox”gets the figurative meaning of“a cunning person”.,Figuration:Metaphor,This is also a horse,but a metaphorical horse.,Figuration:Metaphor,foot1.The lower extremity of the vertebrate
24、 leg that is in direct contact with the ground in standing or walking.2.The lowest part;the bottomthe foot of a mountainthe foot of a page,Figuration:Metonymy,Metonymy is another important factor in semantic change.It is a figure of speech by which an object or an idea is described by the name of so
25、mething else closely related to it.,Figuration:Metonymy,seat Its sense is extended to the right to sit as a member of a committee,such as the House of Commons.e.g.He lost his seat in House of Commons.,Figuration:Metonymy,Cradle1.A small low bed for an infant,often furnished with rockers 2.The earlie
26、st period of life;infancyfrom the cradle to the grave3.A place of origin;a birthplacethe cradle of civilization.,External Linguistic Factors:Historical,A word is retained its original form,though its meaning has changed because the referent has changed.pen car,External Linguistic Factors:Social,Lang
27、uage records the speech and attitude of different social classes,so different social varieties of language have come into being.The attitude of classes have penetrated into lexical meaning,particularly in the case of elevation and degradation.,External Linguistic Factors:Social,Quite a number of wor
28、ds that denote different sorts of working people or their occupations have taken on a pejorative sense.churl,hussy,villain which were originally neutral have been down-graded as“ill-manned or bad people”.,External Linguistic Factors:Psychological,The associated transfer of meaning and euphemistic us
29、e of words,etc.are often due to psychological factors.People change word meaning owing to various psychological motives:love,respect,courtesy,suspicion,pessimism,sarcasm,irony,contempt,hatred,avoidance of embarrassment,etc.,External Linguistic Factors:Psychological,Some words or expressions shows th
30、e national psychology,especially a feeling of dislike,contempt,irony towards other nationalities.e.g.to take French leave Spanish athlete Dutch bargaine.g.An American will go to hell for a bag of coffee.,External Linguistic Factors:Psychological,More examples:BlackBlack EnglishNegroAfrican Americans
31、,Afro-AmericansNative Americans(Indians),External Linguistic Factors:Psychological,More examples:man:chairman,salesman,spacemanperson:chairperson,businessperson,draftspersonstudent-girl studentnovelist-lady novelistdoctor-woman doctorpresident-female presidentpoet-poetesshero-heroine,External Lingui
32、stic Factors:Psychological,Its polite to substitute a mild,indirect,or vague expression for one that may be offensive,disagreeable,harsh,or blunt.old people-senior citizens,mature people,pensionerMore examples:garbage collector:sanitation engineergardener:landscape architectservant:domestic engineerhairdresser:beauticianwar:conflict,Readings Task IX,Chapters 7&8of A Survey of English LexicologyKey points in the book will be discussed next week,
