chapter 5 meaning.ppt

Chapter 5 Semantics Semantic MeaningnSemantics is the study of the meaning of linguistic units, words and sentences in particular.nMeaning has been studied for thousands of years by Plato, Aristotle, Lao Zi.nSemantics remains the least known area in linguistics, compared with phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax.nGeoffrey Leech (1974, 1981). Semantics: The Study of Meaning. Seven types of meaning:nConceptual meaning概念意义nConnotative meaning内涵意义nSocial meaning社会意义nAffective meaning感情意义nReflected and meaning反射意义nCollocative meaning搭配意义nThematic meaning主位意义AssociativeMeaning联想意义1. Conceptual meaning概念意义nAlso called denotative or cognitive meaning.nRefers to logical, cognitive or denotative content.nConcerned with the relationship between a word and the thing it denotes, or refers to.e. g. mothera female parent of a child2. Connotative meaning内涵意义nWhat is communicated by virtue of what language refers to.Connotative meaning Denotative meaningnPolitician（derogatory） a person whose business is politics. nStatesman（commendatory）a political or government leader.Unstable: they vary considerably according to culture, historical period, and the experience of the individual.3. Social meaning社会意义nWhat a piece of language conveys about the social circumstances of its use.ndomicile: very formal, officialnresidence: formalnabode: poeticnhome: generalnsteed: poeticnhorse: generalnnag: slangngee-gee: baby language4. Affective meaning感情意义nReflecting the personal feelings of the speaker, including his attitude to the listener, or his attitude to something he is talking about.nJane is angel of a girl. That fellow is an ass .5. Reflected meaning反射意义nWhat is communicated through association with another sense of the same expression.nBottoms up! / Cheers! 6. Collocative meaning搭配意义The associations with words which tend to occur in its environment of another word.npretty: girl, womannhandsome: boy, mannaccuseofnchargewithnrebukefor7. Thematic meaning主位意义nWhat is communicated by the way in which a speaker or writer organizes the message, in terms of ordering, focus, and emphasis.nMrs Smith donated the first prize. (What did Smith donated？)nThe first prize was donated by Mrs Smith. (Who donated the first prize？)nThey stopped at the end of the corridor.nAt the end of the corridor, they stopped.Different ways to explain the meaning of a wordHow to explain the meaning of word “desk”n1) pointing to the object.n2) a piece of furniture with a flat top and four legs, at which one reads and writes.n3) a desk is a kind of table, which has drawers.n4) give its Chinese equivalence “书桌 ” The Referential Theory（指称论） The theory of meaning which relates the meaning of a word to the thing it refers to, or stands for, is known as the referential theory. nProblems with this theory: the meaning of desk. when we explain the meaning of desk by pointing to the thing it refers to, we do not mean a desk must be of the particular size, shape, color and material as the desk at the moment of speaking. We are using this particular desk as an example, an instance, of something more general.nThere is something behind the concrete thing we can see with our eyes. And that something is abstract, which has no existence in the material world and can only be sensed in our minds. This abstract thing is usually called concept(概念)The Referential Theory（指称论） A theory which explicitly employs the notion “concept” is the Semantic Triangle proposed by Ogden and Richards. thought/conceptsymbolizes refers tosymbol - referent/object(word) stands for (thing)The relation between a word and a thing it refers to is not direct, it is mediated by concept.Weakpoints ?This theory raises a new problem. That is, people dont actually try to see the image of something in their minds eye every time they utter a word. For example, what is precisely the link between the symbol and concept? nLeech uses sense (系统意义）as a briefer term for his conceptual meaning. “Sense” may be used in the same way as “connotation” is used in philosophy. It may refer to the properties an entity has. In this sense, “sense” is equivalent to “concept”. The definition of desk may also be called the sense of desk. nThe distinction between “sense” （系统意义）and “reference”（指称意义） is comparable to that between “connotation” and “denotation”. The former refers to the abstract properties of an entity, while the later refers to the concrete entities having these properties.nIn other words, Leechs conceptual meaning has two sides: sense and reference.Sense （系统意义）nSense is wholly internal to the language system. Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form.nIt is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form.nIt is abstract and de-contextualized.nIt is the aspect of meaning that dictionary compilers are interested in. e. g. a domesticated canine mammal, occurring in many breeds that show a great variety in size and form - dognReference is concerned with the relation between a word and the th。