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1、Chapter 5 Semantics,Semantics-the study of language meaning.What is meaning?-Scholars under different scientific backgrounds have different understandings of language meaning.,Some views concerning the study of meaning,Naming theory(Plato)（命名论）The conceptualist view（概念观）Contextualism(Bloomfield)（语境论
2、）Behaviorism（行为主义）,Naming 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,phoenix 3)There are nouns that do not refer to physical objects but abstract notions,e.g.joy,
3、impulse,hatred,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（对概念的综合理解及分析）of concepts in the mind.,
4、Ogden:gdn and Richards:semantic triangle,Symbol/form:words/phrases/sentences,Referent（指示物）:object in the world of experience,Thought/reference(所指):concepts in mind,The symbol or a word signifies things by virtue of（依靠）the concept associated with the form of the word in the minds of the speaker;and t
5、he concept looked at from this point of view is the meaning of the word.,The contextualism（语境理论）,Meaning should be studied in terms of situation,use,contextelements closely linked with language behavior.Two types of contexts are recognized:Situational context:spatiotemporal（时空的）situation.Linguistic
6、context:the probability of a words co-occurrence or collocation.For example,“black”in black hair“the president of the United States”can mean either the president or presidency in different situation.,Behaviorism,Behaviorists attempted to define meaning as“the situation in which the speaker utters it
7、 and the response it calls forth（引出）in the hearer”.The story of Jack and Jill:Jill Jack S_r-s_R(physical stimulus)(verbal response)(verbal stimulus)(non-verbal response)(wants the apple)(speaks to Jack)(hears)(gives Jill),Lexical meaning,Sense and reference are both concerned with the study of word
8、meaning.They are two related but different aspects of meaning.Sense(意义)reference(语义),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 compile
9、rs are interested in.For example,the word“dog”is given the definition“a domesticated(驯化的)canine（犬牙）mammal,occurring in many breeds(一胎多仔）that show a great variety in size and form”.This doesnt refer to any particular dog that exist in the real world,but applies to any animal that meets the features d
10、escribed in the definition.So this is the sense of the word“dog”.,Reference-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.If we say“The dog is barking”,we must be talking about a ce
11、rtain dog existent in the situation;the word“dog”refers to a dog known to both the speaker and the hearer.This is the reference of the word“dog”in this particular situation.,Note,Linguistic forms having the same sense may have different references in different situations;on the other hand,there are
12、also occasions,when linguistic forms with the same reference might differ in sense,e.g.the morning star and the evening star,rising sun in the morning and the sunset at dusk.*Venus 金星 在西边时是evening star 长庚星 在东边时是morning star 启明星,Major sense relations,Synonymy snnm(同义现象)Antonymy nt,nmi（反义现象）Polysemy p
13、l,sim（多义现象）Homonymy homnm（同音/形异义现象）Hyponymy haipnimi（下义关系）,Synonymysnnm,Synonymy refers to the sameness or close similarity of meaning.Words that are close in meaning are called synonyms.1)Dialectal synonymssn,nm-synonyms used in different regional dialects,e.g.autumn-fall,biscuit-cracker,petrol gas
14、oline 2)Stylistic synonyms-synonyms differing in style,e.g.kid,child,offspring;start,begin,commence;,3)Synonyms that differ in their emotive or evaluative meaning,（合作者）accomplice（帮凶）,4)Collocational（搭配的）synonyms,e.g.accuseof（控告）,chargewith,rebuke（谴责）for;5)Semantically different synonyms,e.g.amaze（su
15、ggesting confusing and bewilderment）,astound(suggesting difficulty in believing),Antonymy nt,nm,Gradable（分级）antonyms-there are often intermediate forms between the two members of a pair,e.g.old-young,hot-cold,tall-short,Complementary（互补）antonyms-the denial of one member of the pair implies the asser
16、tion of the other,e.g.alive-dead,male-female,Relational（关系）opposites-exhibits the reversal of the relationship between the two items,e.g.husband-wife,father-son,doctor-patient,buy-sell,let-rent,employer-employee,give-receive,above-below,Polysemy pl,sim,Polysemy-the same one word may have more than o
17、ne meaning,e.g.“table”may mean:A piece of furniture（餐桌）All the people seated at a table（坐同一桌的人）The food that is put on a table（餐食，伙食）A thin flat piece of stone,metal,wood,etc.（板）Orderly arrangement of facts,figures,etc.（表格）,Homonymy homnm,Homonymy-the phenomenon that words having different meanings
18、have the same form,e.g.different words are identical in sound or spelling,or in both.Homophone（同音词）-when two words are identical in sound,e.g.rain-reign,night/knight,Homogragh（同形词）-when two words are identical in spelling,e.g.tear(n.)-tear(v.),lead(n.)-lead(v.),Complete homonym（同音/形词）-when two words
19、 are identical in both sound and spelling,e.g.means,ball,bank,watch,scale,fast,Note:,A polymeric（聚合的）word is the result of the evolution of the primary meaning of the word(the etymology（语源学）of the word)e.g.table;while complete homonyms are often brought into being by coincidence（巧合）,e.g.ball（球）-ball
20、（舞会）.,*Ambiguity&Punning,Ambiguity refers to expressions having more than one meaning which occur without any special intention.Punning is to play on words for a witty or humorous effect by using homonyms(同音同形异义词),homophones(同音异形异义词)or Polysems（多义词）.,Ambiguity,1.The students complained to everyone t
21、hat they couldnt understand.2.The dog is too hot to eat.3.Flying planes can be dangerous.4.The fat managers wife is fond of shopping5.He did not leave home because he was afraid of his wife.,1.The students complained to everyone that they couldnt understand.a.学生向所有人抱怨他们无法理解b.学生向所有无法理解的人抱怨 2.The dog
22、is too hot to eat.a.狗热到吃不下东西.b.狗肉太热让人没办法吃3.Flying planes can be dangerous.a.正在飞的飞机很危险b.飞飞机会很危险（开飞机或飞纸飞机）4.The fat managers wife is fond of shoppinga.那个胖经理的妻子爱购物（经理胖）b.那个胖胖的经理夫人爱购物（经理夫人胖）5.He did not leave home because he was afraid of his wife.a.他不是因为怕媳妇儿才离开的家b.他因为怕媳妇儿，不敢离开家,1.这份报告，我写不好。a.这份报告，我没能力写
23、好。b.这份报告，我来写不适合。2.大家对护林员揭发林业局带头偷运木料的问题，普遍感到非常气愤。a.大家对护林员揭发感到非常气愤。b.大家对林业局带头偷运木料普遍感到非常气愤。3.无鱼肉亦可无鸡鸭亦可唯青菜萝卜不可少不得一分工钱。无鱼，肉亦可；无鸡，鸭亦可；唯青菜萝卜不可。少不得一分工钱。无鱼肉亦可，无鸡鸭亦可，唯青菜萝卜不可少。不得一分工钱。,Punning,1.It was lunchtime and the only officer on duty was a fortyish black man with short,pressed hair,a pencil mustache and
24、 a neatly pressed brown suit.Everything about him suggested a carefully dressed authority.(B1 L4 The Boy and the Bank Officer)-to dress:1)to put on clothes;2)to make up(做头发、梳理);2.Ben Battle was a warrior bold,And used to wars alarms:But a Cannon-ball took off his legs,So he laid down his arms.(part
25、of the body;weapon)(the use of homonyms)(Thomas Hood Faithless Nelly Grey),3.We have courses to make grown men young and young men groan.(the use of homophones)4.Reds black white-collar goods.(the use of Polysems)1.宝钗笑道：“原来这叫负荆请罪！你们通今博古，才知道负荆请罪，我不知什么叫负荆请罪。”红楼梦 2.不写情词不写诗，一方素帕记心知；心知接到颠倒看，横也丝来竖也丝。这般心事有
26、谁知？素帕,Hyponymy haipnimi（下义关系）,Hyponymy-the sense relation between a more general,more inclusive word and a more specific word.Superordinate（上坐标词）:the word which is more general in meaning.Hyponyms:the word which is more specific in meaning.Co-hyponyms:hyponyms of the same superordinate.,Hyponymy,Sup
27、erordinate:flowerHyponyms:rose,tulip,lily,chrysanthemum（菊花）,peony（牡丹花）,narcissus（水仙花）,Superordinate:furnitureHyponyms:bed,table,desk,dresser（梳妆台）,wardrobe（衣橱）,sofa,Sense relations between sentences,(1)X is synonymous（近似）with Y(2)X is inconsistent（不一致）with Y(3)X entails Y（包含）(4)X presupposes Y（预示）(5)
28、X is a contradiction（矛盾）(6)X is semantically anomalous nmls（反常的）,X is synonymous with Y,X:He was a bachelor all his life.Y:He never got married all his life.X:The boy killed the cat.Y:The cat was killed by the boy.If X is true,Y is true;if X is false,Y is false.,X is inconsistent with Y,X:He is sing
29、le.Y:He has a wife.X:This is my first visit to Beijing.Y:I have been to Beijing twice.If X is true,Y is false;if X is false,Y is true.,X entails Y,X:John married a blond heiress.Y:John married a blond.X:Marry has been to Beijing.Y:Marry has been to China.Entailment is a relation of inclusion.If X en
30、tails Y,then the meaning of X is included in Y.If X is true,Y is necessarily true;if X is false,Y may be true or false.,X presupposes Y,X:His bike needs repairing.Y:He has a bike.Paul has given up smoking.Paul once smoked.If X is true,Y must be true;If X is false,Y is still true.,X is a contradictio
31、n,*My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor.*The orphans parents are pretty well-off.,X is semantically anomalous,*The man is pregnant.*The table has bad intentions.*Sincerity shakes hands with the black apple.,Analysis of meaning,Componential analysis（成分分析）Predication analysis（述谓结构分析）,Component
32、ial analysis,Componential analysis-a way to analyze lexical meaning.The approach is based on the belief that the meaning of a word can be dissected(切开,分析)into meaning components,called semantic features.For example,Man:+HUMAN,+ADULT,+ANIMATE有生命的,+MALEBoy:+HUMAN,-ADULT,+ANIMATE,+MALEWoman:+HUMAN,+ADU
33、LT,+ANIMATE,-MALEGirl:+HUMAN,-ADULT,+ANIMATE,-MALE,Predication analysis,1)The meaning of a sentence is not to be worked out by adding up all the meanings of its component words,e.g.The dog bites the man.The man bites the dog.*semantically different while components exactly the same.2)There are two a
34、spects to sentence meaning:grammatical meaning and semantic meaning,e.g.Green clouds are sleeping furiously.Sincerity shook hands with the black apple.*Whether a sentence is semantically meaningful is governed by rules called selectional restrictions（选择限制）-constraints on what lexical items can go wi
35、th what others.,Predication analysis-a way to analyze sentence meaning(British G.Leech).Predication-the abstraction of the meaning of a sentence.A predication consists of argument(s)（变元）and predicate（谓词）.An argument is a logical participant in a predication,largely identical with the nominal element
36、s(名词性成分)in a sentence.A predicate is something said about an argument or it states the logical relation linking the arguments in a sentence.,e.g.Tom smokes.TOM(SMOKE)Tom smokes.Tom is smoking.Tom has been smoking.Tom,smoke!Does Tom smoke?Tom does not smoke.The tree grows well.TREE(GROW)The kids like
37、 apples.KID,APPLE(LIKE)I sent him a letter.I,HIM,LETTER(SEND)It is hot.(BE HOT),According to the number of arguments contained in a predication,we may classify the predications into the following types:One-place predication（一位述位结构）:smoke,grow,rise,run,(He smokes.)Two-place predication:like,love,save,bite,beat,(I like it.)Three-place predication:give,sent,promise,call,(She gives him a book.)No-place predication:It is hot.,
