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。

chapter5semantics语言学语义学是对语言单位，尤其是词和句子意义的研究。

1.“意义”的意义G.Leech提出7种意义：概念意义，内涵意义，社会意义，感情意义，反射意义，搭配意义，主题意义。

G.Leech的概念意义包括两个方面：涵义和指称。

涵义和指称的区别类似内涵与外延：前者指一个实体的抽象属性，后者指拥有这些属性的具体实体。

每个单词都有涵义，即概念意义，否则他们无法使用或理解，但并非每个单词都有指称。

2.指称论（命名论）：该理论把词语意义与词所指或词所代表的事物联系起来。

该理论对于解释专有名词或在现实中有所指的名词时很有效。

但其无法指称抽象概念。

有时同一东西会有不同词语的表达。

3.概念论。

代表是语义三角说。

该理论认为，词和所指事物之间没有直接关系，而是以抽象的概念为中介。

4，语境论认为应该在具体语境中研究词的意义. 语境包括情景语境和上下文两种。

5.行为主义理论认为词的意义是说话者说话得情景及听话人的反应6.意义关系词语词之间的主要意义关系：相同关系，相反关系，包含关系a.同义关系。

完全同义关系很少，所谓的同一都依赖语境，并总在某方面不同。

（方言，内涵，文体等）b.反义关系主要包括：等级反义关系，互补反义关系，关系反义关系。

1）等级反义的特点：第一，否定一方并不必然是肯定另一方，还有中间状态；第二，没有绝对评判标准，标准随对象而改变。

第三，通常用其中表示较高程度的词来覆盖整个量级。

覆盖性词被称为“无标记的”，即一般性的；被覆盖词被称为“有标记的”，即特殊的。

一般使用覆盖性词语。

一旦使用被覆盖词语，表示有某种特殊的、不一般的情况。

第四，可用very修饰，可有比较级最高级2）互补反义关系，第一，肯定一方意味着否定另一方。

反之亦然。

第二，不用very修饰，没有比较级最高级。

第三，评判标准绝对。

没有覆盖性词语3）关系（反向）反义关系，表现两个实体间的一种反向关系，不构成肯否定对立。

一个预设着另一个的存在。

Chapter 5 Meaning(semantics)Semantics•Definition: Semantics is the study of meaning in language.•Meaning has been studied for thousands of years by philosophers, logicians and linguists. E.g. Plato & Aristotle.5.1 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‟ me an?•The transparent, convex, anterior portion of the outer fibrous coat of the eyeball that covers the iris and the pupil and is continuous with the sclera.•Geoffrey Leech (1974, 1981). Semantics: The Study of Meaning. Seven types of meaning:–Conceptual meaning → Denotation–Connotative meaning → Connotation–Social meaning–Affective meaning–Reflected meaning–Collocative meaning–Thematic meaning(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.(2) Connotative meaning•What is communicated by virtue of what language refers to.•Involving the …real world‟ experience one associates with an expres sion when one uses or hears it. •Unstable: they vary considerably according to culture, historical period, and the experience of the individual.Step motherDenotation & Connotation•Denotation: the core sense of a word or a phrase that relates it to phenomena in real world. •Connotation:the properties of the entity a word connote, it‟s a term in contrast with denotation.•E.g.1 words with the same denotation, but differ in the connotative meanings:politician (derogatory) statesman ( favorable)•E.g. 2•color words Denotation Connotationwhite the color of white purityred the color of red passion, blood, happynessblue the color of blue sadnessMr. Smith is a white man. He was looking rather green the other day. He has been feeling blue today. When I saw him, he was in brown mood. I hope he‟ll soon be in the pink again. (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.–Status: polite, colloquial, slang, etc.Such as:•abode: poetic•home: general•steed: poetic•horse: general•nag: slang•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. Such as–Y ou‟re a vicious tyrant and a villainous reprobate, and I hate you for it!–I‟m terribly sorry to interru pt, but I wonder if you would be so kind as to lower your voices a little. or–Will you belt up.…Colorful‟ meaningCommendatory•tough-minded•resolute, firm•shrewd•childlike•wiseman•man of usual talent•stout, solid, plum•slender, slimDerogatory•ruthless•obstinate•sly, crafty•childish•wiseguy•freak•fleshy, fat, tubby•lean, skinny, lanky, weedy, scraggy(5) Reflected meaning•What is communicated through association with another sense of the same expression. Such as, 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. Such as,–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.5.2 The Referential Theory•Referential theory: the theory of meaning which relates the meaning of a word to the thing it refers to, or stand for.•Leech‟s conceptual meaning has 2 sides:Sense (Connotation): the abstract properties of an entity;Reference (Denotation): the concrete entities having those properties.Concept: the abstract thing which has no existence in the material word and can only be sensed in our mind.•Note: every word has a sense, but not every word has a reference. Eg. “but ” “if” “God” “dragon”… So we should study meaning in terms of sense rather than reference.•Words→Concepts →Things: Ogden & Richards in The Meaning of Meaning5.3 Sense Relations•Synonymy(sameness relation)•Antonymy(oppositeness relation)•Hyponymy(inclusiveness relation)5.3.1 Synonymy•buy/purchase•thrifty/economical/stingy•autumn/fall•flat/apartment•tube/underground5.3.2 Antonymy(1) Gradable antonymy•good ----------------------- bad•long ----------------------- short•big ----------------------- small–Can be modified by adverbs of degree like very.–Can have comparative forms.–Can be asked with how.•NOTE:•1) They are gradable, the denial of one is not necessarily the assertion of the other.good – bad (so-so, average, etc.)hot – cold (warm, cool, etc.)•2)they are graded against different norms.a big car < a small car•3) one member of the pair (usually the higher grade) serves as the cover terms.how old are you? (both old and young)length, depth, width, etc.(2) Complementary antonymyNot A = B; not B= A•alive : dead•male : female•present : absent•innocent : guilty•complementary gradable(3) Converse antonymy•buy : sell•lend : borrow•give : receive•parent : child•husband : wife5.3.3 Hyponymy•Inclusiveness•A is included in / a kind of B.•Cf.: chair and furniture, rose and flower–Superordinate: the more general term–Hyponym: the more specific term–Co-hyponyms: members of the same classAnimalbird fish insect animalhuman animaltiger lion elephant ...Animal : auto-hyponym 自动下义词（是其本身的下义词）•Note:•A superordinate may be missing. Eg.“Color” is not the superordinate of “green, white, red, yellow…”“Beard, moustuch, whisker” have no superordinate.b. Hyponyms may be missing. E.g.uncle, rice in English in contrast to chinese 叔叔，伯伯，舅舅，稻，谷，米，饭5.4. Componential Analysis•The modern approach to the study of meaning, using semantic feature or semantic component to analyze the meaning of words.•E.g.–boy [HUMAN, YOUNG, MALE]–girl [HUMAN, YOUNG, FEMALE]–man [HUMAN, ADULT, MALE]–woman [HUMAN, ADULT, FEMALE]ADULT→ [+ADULT]YOUNG→ [-ADULT]FEMALE→ [-MALE]–boy [-ADULT, +MALE]–girl [-ADULT, -MALE]–man [+ADULT, +MALE]–woman [+ADULT, -MALE]Note:•a. Two words or expressions which have the same semantic components will be synonymous. E.g.Bachelor & unmarried man: [+adult, +male,+ unmarried]•b. Words which have a contrasting components are antonyms. E.g.Man & woman; boy & girl•c. words which have all the semantic components of another are hyponyms. E.g.Boy, girl → child : [+human, -adult]This componential analysis also explains the sense relations of sentences.•1. The following sentences are self-contradicted sentences as the words or expressions have contradictory semantic components.a. John killed Bill, but Bill did not die.b. John murdered Bill without intending to.•2. Entailment: the truth of the second sentence necessarily follows from the truth of the first while the falsity of the second follows from the falsity of the first. E.g.a. John killed Bill.b. Bill died.a. John is a bachelor.b. John is unmarried.(Because (a) sentences contain words which have all the semantic components of a word in (b).)5.5 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.•The cat is chasing the mouse.•The mouse is chasing the cat.•I have read that book.•That book I have read.•T he daughter of Queen Elizabeth‟s son is the son of Queen Elizabeth‟s daughter.。

语言学Chapters5Units 5 SemanticsI. Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False.1. Dialectal synonyms can often be found in different regional dialects such as British English and American English but cannot be found within the variety itself, for example, within British English or American English.F2. 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.F3. Linguistic forms having the same sense may have different references in different situations.T4. In semantics, meaning of language is considered as the intrinsic and inherent relation to the physical world of experience.F5. Contextuallism is based on the presumption that one can derive meaning from or reduce meaning to observable contexts.T6. Behaviorists 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.T7. The meaning of a sentence is the sum total of the meaning of all its components.F8. Most languages have sets of lexical items similar in meaning but ranked differently according to their degree of formality.T9. “it is hot.” is a no-place predication because it contains no argument.T10. In grammatical analysis, the sentence is taken to be basic unit, but in semantic analysis of a sentence, the basic unit is predication, which is the abstraction of the meaning of a sentence.TII. Fill in each of the following blanks with one word which begins with the letter given.1. S emantics_______ can be defined as the study of meaning.2. The conceptualist view holds that there is no d_irect______ link between a linguistic form and what it refers to.3. R __eference______ 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_ynonyms________.5. When two words are identical in sound, but different in spelling and meaning, they are called h__omophones________.6. R _elational________ opposites are pairs of words that exhibit the reversal of a relationship between the two items.7. C_omponential________ analysis is based on the belief that the meaning of a word can be divided into meaning components.8. Whether a sentence is semantically meaningful is governed by rules called s_electional______ restrictions, which are constrains on what lexical items can go with what others.9. An a _rgument_______ is a logical participant in a predication, largely identical with the nominal element(s) in a sentence.10. According to the n_aming_________ theory of meaning,the words in a language are taken to be labels of the objects they stand for.III. Multiple Choice1. Which of the following is NOT the concern of “sense”?BA. It is the study of the inherent meaning of the linguistic form.B. It is the study of what a linguistic form refers to in the real physical world.C. It is the aspect of meaning dictionary compliers are interested in.D. It is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form.2. The meaning relationship between the two words “sheep”and “ewe”is __C______.A. AntonymyB. HomonymyC. HyponymyD. Polysemy3. X: They are going to have another baby.Y: They have a child.The relationship of X and Y is ___D__________.A. synonymousB. inconsistentC. X entailing YD. X presupposing Y4. According to the componential analysis, the words “girl” and “woman” differ in the feature of _______D_____.A. HUMANB. ANIMATEC. MALED. ADULT5. According to predication analysis, the predication of the sentence “It is hot.” is a _____A____.A. no-place predicationB. one-place predicationC. two-place predicationD. three-place predication6. The relationship between “voilet” and “tulip” is _A_______.A. co-hyponymsB. superordinateC. hyponymsD. antonyms7. The relationship between “begin” and “commence” is _B_________.A. Dialectal synonymsB. Stylistic synonymsC. Collocational synonymsD. Semantically different synonyms8. Predication analysis is a way to analyze __D____ meaning.A. phonemeB. wordC. phraseD. sentence9. What is the relationship between the words “color” and “red”? DA. SynonymyB. AntonymyC. PolysemyD. Hyponymy.10. “Fall” and “autumn” are ____A_____ synonyms.A. dialectalB. stylisticC. evaluatively differentD. semantically different11. The four major modes of semantic change are __A______.A. extension, narrowing, elevation and degradationB. extension, generalization, elevation and degradationC. extension, narrowing, specialization and degradationD. extension, elevation, amelioration and degradation12. The semantic features of the word “girl” can be expressed as ___D___.A. + animate, -human, + adult, + male.B. + animate, + human, -adult, + male.C. +animate, + human, + adult, -male.D. + animate, + human, -adult, -male.13. What is the sentential relation between “He likes skating.” And “ He likes sports.”? BA. Presupposition.B. Entailment.C. Contradiction.D. Hyponymy.14. The pair of words “borrow/lend” is called _A______.A. relational oppositeB. synonymsC. complementaryD. gradable opposites15. “Yellow”has different meanings to Chinese or to western people, that is its ____C_____.A. conceptual meaningB. cognitive meaningC. associative meaningD. stylistic meaning16. X: He has been to France.Y: He has been to Europe.The relationship of X and Y is ___C________.A. synonymousB. insonsistentC. X entailing YD. X presupposing Y17. The ambiguity in “ pass the port” is caused by ___D________.A. lexical itemsB. a grammatical structureC. homonymyD. polysemy18. Componential analysis is a method in the field of ____C___.A. phoneticsB. syntaxC. semanticsD. pragmatics19. “ Big” and “small” are a pair of __B____ opposites.A. complementaryB. gradableC. completeD. converse20. We call the relation between “ animal” and “ horse” as ___D____.A. synonymyB. polysemyC. homonymyD. hyponymy21. The word “pen”originally meant “feather used for writing with ink”. Now it refers to any devise used for writing with ink. This is an example of B________.A. degradation of meaningB. broadening of meaningC. narrowing of meaningD. elevation of meaning22. “ Buy” and “sell” form a pair of ____A______.A. converse antonymsB. gradable antonymsC. complementary antonymsD. marked antonyms23. For Bloomfield, linguistics is a branch of psychology and specifically of the brand of psychology known as ______A____.A. behaviorismB. structuralismC. competenceD. performance24. _____B____ deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and non-linguistic world of experience.A. SenseB. ReferenceC. SymbolD. Thought25. Knight originally meant youth, but now it means a medieval gentlemen soldier. BA. broadeningB. narrowingC. meaning shiftD. class shift26. The classic semantic triangle or triangle of significance mainly illustrates the view of __A________.A. conceptualismB. contextualismC. behaviorismD. structuralism27. The words “rain” and “reign” are _____C______.A. homographsB. complete homonymsC. homophonesD. allophones28. Sense and reference are two terms often encountered in the study of ____B____.A. word functionB. word meaningC. word formationD. word system29. _A______ is the major concern of semantics.A. MeaningB. wordsC. Sentence structuresD. Phrase structure rules30. The contexualist view of meaning is based on the presumption that one can derive meaning from _______B____.A. functionB. contextC. instinctD. observation31. The naming theory is advanced by _____A_______.A. PlatoB. BloomfieldC. Geoffrey LeechD. Firth32. “We shall know a word by the company it keeps.”This statement represents _______B______.A. the conceptualist viewB. contexutalismC. the naming theoryD. behaviorism33. Which of the following is NOT true? DA. 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 de-contextualized.D. Sense is the aspect of meaning dictionary compliers are not interested in.34. X: Can I borrow your bike?Y: You have a bike.The relationship between X and Y is that _________D__.A. X is synonymous with YB. X is inconsistent with YC. X entails YD. X presupposes Y35. ____B_____ is a way in which the meaning of a word can be dissected into meaning components, called semantic features.A. Predication analysisB. Componential analysisC. Phonemic analysisD. Grammatical analysis36. “ alive” and “dead” are ____C________.A. gradable antonymsB. relational oppositesC. complementary antonymsD. None of the above37. __C________refers to the phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form.A. PolysemyB. SynonymyC. HomonymyD. Hyponymy38. Words that are close in meaning are called _____D_____.A. homonymsB. polysemyC. hyponymsD. synonyms39. The grammaticality of a sentence is governed by _____A_______.A. grammatical rulesB. selectional restrictionsC. semantic rulesD. semantic features40. What essentially distinguishes semantics and pragmatics is the notion of__D__________.A. referenceB. meaningC. antonymyD. contextIV. Define the following terms1. semantics2. sense3. reference4. synonymy5. homonymy6. homographs7. hyponymy8. antonymy9. componential analysis10. argumentV. Answer the following questions1. Why do we say that a meaning of a sentence is not the sum total of the meanings of all its components?2. What is componential analysis? Illustrate it with examples.3. How do you distinguish between entailment and presupposition in terms of truth values?4. How do you account for such sense relations between sentences as synonymousrelation, inconsistent relation in terms of truth values?5. What are the major views concerning the study of meaning? How they differ?I. 1-5 FFTFT 6-10 TFTTTII. 1. Semantics 2. Direct 3. reference 4. synonyms 5. homophones 6. relational 7. Componential 8. selectional 9. argument 10 namingII. 1---5 BCDDA 6-10 ABDDA 11-15 ADBAC 16-20 CDCBD21-25 BAABB 26-30 ACBAB 31-35 ABDDB 36-40 CCDAD。