Chapter SixPolysemy & HomonymMain Contents1.Polysemy–Definition–Two approaches to polysemy–Two processes leading to polysemy2. Homonymy–Definition–Types of homonyms–Sources of homonyms3. The stylistic value of polysemy and homonymy1. PolysemyDefinition⏹The word Polysemy is of Greek origin (GK polys, much + sema, meaning).⏹Polysemy is a term used in semantic analysis to refer to a lexical item which has a range of different meanings.⏹Polysemy means a single word having several or many meanings.Two approaches to polysemy (diachronic and synchronic )（历时角度和共时角度）–Diachronically, study the growth or change in the semantic structure of a word , or how the semantic structure of a word has developed from a primary meaning to the present polysemic state.–Synchronically, we are interested in the comparative value of individual meanings and interrelated between the central meaning and secondary.Two processes leading to polysemy⏹Radiation词义的辐射is a term used to refer to a process of sense-shift in which the original meaning of a word is to be considered as the central and the other meanings are derived from it.⏹In other words, radiation is a semantic process in which the primary/central meaning stands at the center and the derived meanings proceed out of it in every direction like rays.⏹Each of them is independent of all the rest and may be traced back to the primary/central meaning. e.g.⏹…实施/施行‟ …外科手术‟ …作战/演习‟⏹operation⏹…某种动作/活动‟⏹…运算‟ …操作‟ …经营‟☐Concatenation词义的连锁is a term to refer to another process of sense-shift in which the meaning of a word moves gradually away from its first sense by the successive shifts of meanings until there is not a shadow of connection between the final developed and the primary meaning.☐In other words, the original meaning of a word may be lost.☐candidate pen⏹Press →To push firmly and steadily against sth.→To make sth. by pressing⏹→To print by pressing →Newspapers and magazines in general →Newspaper writers in general⏹…压‟ →…用压的方法制造‟ →…压印‟（…印刷‟）→…印刷品‟（报纸、杂志等）→…报界‟（…新闻界‟）⏹In fact radiation and concatenation are two related processes of words. Usually the first stage of sense-shift of a word is radiation, and the second is concatenation. For example, the sense-shift of the word …board‟:⏹饭桌伙食⏹⏹会议桌委员会委员⏹木板类似桌子梳妆台⏹的东西⏹木制舞台当演员⏹在火车上⏹木制甲板在船上在飞机上⏹The semantic relations among polysemic words:⏹1)primary meaning and derivative meaning⏹2)general meaning and special meaning⏹3)abstract meaning and concrete meaning⏹4)literally meaning and figurative meaning.1)Primary meaning & derivative meaning⏹The first meaning of a word that can be found through etymology 词源学study is the primary meaning of the word, and the rest meanings of the word are derivative meanings. e.g. ⏹board: …a long thin flat piece of cut wood‟ （primary meaning）⏹(derivative meanings): a) (the cost of) meals b) committee c) to be in a ship, a train, etc.⏹The primary meaning of some words completely disappeared, and the derivative meanings of them are used more than the primary meaning.⏹e.g. candidate , harvest, pen2) General meaning & special meaning⏹This is often the case with him. (general)⏹This is the case of bird flu. (special)⏹artist gas fire3)Abstract meaning & concrete meaning⏹Beauty is but skin deep.⏹(abstract 美貌只是外表罢了.)⏹She is a real beauty. (concrete她真是个美人)⏹government---the act of government (abstract) 治理国家⏹---the government of the People‟s Republic of China (concrete)政府⏹eye---organ of sight (concrete)眼睛⏹---observation (abstract)眼光:He has an eye for the beauty.他有审美能力4)Literal meaning & figurative meaning⏹A mirror reflect s light. (literal反射)⏹Their actions reflect their thought. (fig.反映)⏹to put another blanket on the bed (lit.羊毛毯)⏹a blanket of snow (fig.像羊毛毯的东西，一片白雪)⏹a cool breeze (lit.凉的）⏹a cool reception (fig.不热情，冷冰冰的）⏹a flaw in a china vase (lit.裂隙）⏹a flaw in a person‟s character (fig.缺点，缺陷）⏹People dare not eat raw meat. (lit.)⏹This is a mistake made by a very raw reporter. (fig. inexperienced)⏹This light is too poor to read by. (lit.)⏹A soft light came into her eyes as she looked at him. (fig. expression她望着他，眼中闪露柔情）2. Homonym同形异义⏹Definition⏹Homonyms are generally defined as words different in meaning, but either identical both in sound and spelling or identical only in sound or spelling.同音/同形异义词⏹e.g. lie/lie, pear/pair, lead/leadTypes of homonyms⏹1)Perfect homonyms完全同形同音异义词⏹---words identical both in sound and spelling but different in meaning⏹bear (n) a large heavy animal⏹bear (v) put up with⏹ball (n) a round object used in play⏹ball (n) a large formal occasion for social dancing⏹last (adj.) following all the rest⏹last (v) to go on, to continue⏹last (n) a piece of wood or metal shaped like a human foot, used by shoemakers and shoe repairer鞋楦头⏹date (n) the number of the day, month, and the year⏹date (n) a small brown sweet fruit with a long stone⏹date (n) meeting with a person of opposite sex⏹*Homoforms⏹---words quite different in meaning but identical in some of their grammatical forms⏹found---the past tense and the past participle of the verb …find‟⏹found---v. to establish⏹provided---the past tense and the past participle of the verb …provide‟⏹provided--- conj. if and only if, on condition that2)Partial homonyms部分同音同形异义词⏹a) Homophones同音异义词⏹---words identical only in sound but different in spelling and meaning⏹dear/deer air/heir sun/son⏹meat/meet/mete(边界)⏹right/write/rite(仪式)/wright (用以构成复合词)工人⏹There are more homophones than other two kinds of homonyms in English.⏹b) Homographs同形异音异义词⏹---words identical only in spelling, but different in sound and meaning⏹close (adj. [kləus], v. [kləuz])⏹Numerous pairs of homographs are produced by a charge of stress and of pronunciation.⏹export, import, increase, insult, object, present, rebel, record, subject, survey, suspect, etc.⏹More refer to P116-117Sources of homonyms (4 causes)1）Phonetic convergence音变的汇合2）Semantic divergence 词义分化3）Foreign influence 外语影响4）Shortening 缩短法1) Phonetic convergence音变的汇合⏹Converging sound development is the most common cause of homonymy, or to be more exact, of homophones.⏹These homonyms came from different origins in the early part of the development of the language. They sounded different. Then they became identical in sound but different in meaning.(P117-118)2)Semantic divergence词义分化⏹Homonyms can be brought about through diverging sense development.⏹If two or more meanings of the same word drift apart in the course of the development of the English vocabulary, we may say that one word has split into two, that is, homonymy happens because there is no connection between them.⏹e.g. flower/flour⏹originally: flour---the flower (the finest part of the wheat) f OF flor, flour, f L flos, a flower )3) Foreign influence⏹Words introduced from abroad have increased the number of homonyms in English.⏹mail (the postal system) from Old French …male‟⏹male (of the sex that does not give birth to young) from Old French …ma(s)le‟⏹straight (in a straight line) from ME …stregt‟⏹strai t (narrow) from Old French …estreit‟4) Shortening⏹Homonyms may also be created by the word-formation process of clipping.⏹pop---popular music⏹pop---to thrust, to push (up)开枪打, 抛出⏹hood---hoodlum sl. a violent and/ or criminal person 强盗/海盗/阿飞⏹hood ---a covering for the whole of the head and neck头巾3. The Stylistic Value of Polysemy and Homonymy⏹Polysemy and homonymy are often used for stylistic purposes. One of the most common verbal devices is punning, which is employed to achieve humour and create riddles. e.g.⏹Better late than the late. (a warning on a freeway/thruway in America)⏹To China for china, China with china, Dinner on china.⏹7 days, without 7-Up, makes one weak (week).⏹Patient: Well, doctor, my nose runs and my feet smell.⏹Doctor: Hummm, that‟s awkward. You‟ve built upside-down.⏹First Frenchman: I once heard someone shout “look out!” I put my head out of a window at once and a bucketful of water fell on me.⏹Second Frenchman:I was once on a ship and heard the captain shout “All hands on deck.” I put hands on the deck immediately and someone walked on them…⏹Lady: My pet is sick. Can you recommend a good animal doctor?⏹Nurse: I‟m sorry, lady, the doctors I know are all people.⏹English Learner: I‟m sorry.⏹Foreigner: I‟m sorry, too.⏹E Learn er: I‟m sorry three.⏹Foreigner: But what are you sorry for?⏹E Learner: I‟m sorry five.⏹“Waiter!”⏹“Yes?”⏹“What‟s this?”⏹“It‟s bean soup, sir.”⏹“No matter what it has been, what is it now?”⏹Father: “Do you know what happens to the liars when they die?”⏹John: “Yes, sir, they lie still.”⏹People who do things that count never stop to count them.从事有意义工作的人从不停下来数数干了多少。
chapter6Semantics. chapter6 SemanticsⅠ.Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False:1. Sense is concerned with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience, while the reference deals with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form.2. Linguistic forms having the same sense may have different references in different situations.3. In semantics, meaning of language is considered as the intrinsic and inherent relation to the physical world of experience.4. Contextualism is based on the presumption that one can derive meaning from or reduce meaning to observable contexts.5. Behaviourists attempted to define the meaning of a language form as the situation in which the speaker utters it and the response it calls forth in the hearer.6. The meaning of a sentence is the sum total of the meanings of all its components.7. Most languages have sets of lexical items similar in meaning but ranked differently according to their degree of formality.8. In grammatical analysis, the sentence is taken to be the basic unit, but in semantic analysis of a sentence, the basic unit is predication, which is the abstraction of the meaning of a sentence.II. Fill in each of the following blanks with one word which begins with the letter given:1. S________ can be defined as the study of meaning.2. The conceptualist view holds that there is no d______ link between a linguistic form and what it refers to.3. R______ 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.4. Words that are close in meaning are called s________.5. When two words are identical in sound, but different in spelling and meaning, they are called h__________.6.R_________ opposites are pairs of words that exhibit the reversal ofa relationship between the two items.7. C ____ analysis is based upon the belief that the meaning of a word can be divided into meaning components.8. According to the n ____ theory of meaning, the words in a lan-guage are taken to be labels of the objects they stand for.III. There are four choices following each statement. Mark the choice that can best complete the statement:1. The naming theory is advanced by ________.A. PlatoB. BloomfieldC. Geoffrey LeechD. Firth2. “We shall know a word by the company it keeps.” This statement represents _______.A. the conceptualist viewB. contexutalismC. the naming theoryD.behaviourism3. Which of the following is not true ?A. Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of thelinguistic form.B. Sense is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form.C. Sense is abstract and de-contextualized.D. Sense is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are not interested in.6. “alive” and “dead” are ______________.A. gradable antonymsB. relational oppositesC. complementary antonymsD. None of the above7. _________ deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience.A. ReferenceB. ConceptC. SemanticsD. Sense8. ___________ refers to the phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form.A. PolysemyB. SynonymyC. HomonymyD. Hyponymy9. Words that are close in meaning are called ______________.A. homonymsB. polysemyC. hyponymsD. synonymsIV. Define the following terms:1. semantics2. sense3 . reference 4. synonymy5. polysemy6. homonymy7. homophones 8. Homographs9. complete homonyms 10. hyponymy 11.antonymy。
IV. Chines e Transl ation of Paragr aphs1. 旅行好比私通：人总受到背叛自己国家的诱惑。
拥有想象力，必定意味着对自己生活的地方不再满意。
男人都有一种离心倾向，我们渴望旅行，恰似那些寻欢的情人。
2. 也只有在旅行之时，我们才赞赏古旧之物。
在国内——至少对美国人而言，所有东西都必须得是新近的。
但是我们走出国门的时候，却只对古老的东西感兴趣，因为我们想看看那些历经时间侵袭而保存下来的遗迹。
3. 我们旅行的时候，会放下戒备和忧虑，渴望回归过去；我们是向后倒退而非向前迈进；我们培养着自己的歇斯底里。
4. 我们旅行的时候会呈现出自己最好的一面，正如我们穿上自己最漂亮的衣服出行一般，只有我们的护照才会提醒我们，实际上自己是多么平淡无奇！我们出国去认识我们那个陌生的自己，那个诞生在飞机上且令人激动的陌生人。
我们去欧洲观赏那些借便利之名已经从我们的文化中废掉或剔除的一切：宗教、皇室、古雅、差异以及激情。
我们深信其他国家的人民比我们更加热情奔放。
5. 我们每个人都在伪装——不然缘何我们会戴上墨镜并在谈吐举止中尽力模仿另一个地方的本土居民呢？在家里，我们才做回自己；出国后，我们则尽力成为自己始终想做的人。
尽管最近大家都在谈论有关根的话题，但我们中的许多人都厌倦了自己的根，而这根本身也可能入土很浅，于是我们四处旅行，寻找无根的感觉。
6. 人变得好奇起来，旅行也就开始了。
教会的影响力、传统的生活方式、缺乏钱财、难得闲暇, 都制约了人们的好奇心。
直到17世纪，在科学发现的促进之下，物质世界的大门才被撬开。
也只有那时，人们才开始旅行，寻求世俗的快慰。
7. 旅行可增长见识，可洞悉本国或异域的文化，可造就现代人的厌倦感。
