Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Chapter 5 Word meaning
5.1 The meanings of ‘meaning’ Reference; Concept; Sense
5.2 Motivation Onomatopoeic; Morphological; Semantic;
Etymological 5.3 Types of meaning
Grammatical vs. Lexical Conceptual vs. Associative
5.1 The meanings of ‘meaning’
5.1.1 Reference In linguistics, we use the triangle of the triangle of
referencereference to explain how words convey meaning.
Reference is the relationship between language and the world.
the triangle of reference
The triangle of reference says that a word suggests an idea in the mind of the hearer. The idea connects to a real-world object.
Hurford and Heasley 1983:25 By means of reference, a speaker
indicates which things in the world (including persons) are being talked about. (My son) is in (the beech tree).
Identifies persons Identifies things
The reference of a word to a thing outside the language is arbitrary and conventional.
cat
Although reference is a kind of abstraction, yet with the help of context, it can refer to something specific.
Jean forgot to feed her cat yesterday evening.
Therefore, meaning can be pinned down by the user, time, place, etc. (context)
The same thing can have different referring expressions without causing any confusion.
1.animal2.my dear3.Jassy 4.this5.She6. ...
5.1.2 Concept
concept
Linking words
Concept vs. Meaning
Meaning and concept are closely related;
They are both related directly to referents and are notions of words.
Concept vs. Meaning
Concept, reflecting the objective world in the human mind, is universal to all men alike regardless of culture, race, language, etc. [i.e. concept is beyond language.]
However, meaning belongs to language, so is restricted to language use.
鸟
새 Vogel
oiseau
bird
Concept vs. Meaning A concept may
have as many referring expressions as there are languages in the world.
Concept vs. Meaning
Even in the same language, the same concept can be expressed in different words. much and many have the same
concept, but collocate with different words. much time/money/water many people/ books/ buildings
Concept vs. Meaning
The same concept, the different words/socio-cultural (stylistic) values die-pass away ask-question quarrel-argue …
meaning vs. sense vs. reference
Every word that has meaning has sense, but not every word has reference. probably, nearly, and, if, but, yes… All have meanings; All have senses; None refers to anything in the world
(reference).
5.1.3 Sense
Sense denotes the relationship inside the language. The sense of an expression is its place in
a system of semantic relationships with other expressions in the language.
meaning vs. sense vs. reference
Expressions in different dialects have the same sense. pavement (BrE.) pal sidewalk (AmE.) chum
5.2 Motivation
Word form vs. meaning arbitrary (no logical relationship) and
conventional (following accepted customs): non-motivated
motivated (the connection between form and meaning can be explained) Onomatopoeic motivation; Morphological motivation; Semantic motivation; Etymological motivation
5.2.1 Onomatopoeic Motivation Words are created by imitating the natur
al sounds or noises. bow-wow bang ping-pong miaow cuckoo tick-tuck ha ha
Can you guess which animal produces each of the following sounds?
crow [kr ] əʊ quack [kwæk] trumpet ['tr mp t] ʌ ɪ buzz [b z] ʌ croak [kr k] əʊ squeak [skwi k] ː neigh [ne ] ɪ bleat [bli t] ː hiss [h s] ɪ roar [r :]ɔ
crows or cocks ducks elephants bees or flies frogs mice horses goats snakes lions
5.2.2 Morphological Motivation If a word is morphologically motivated, a direct
connection can be observed between the morphological structure of the word and its meaning.
If one knows the meaning of each morpheme, one can figure out the meaning of the whole word. airmail (mail by air) reading lamp (lamp for reading) miniskirt (small skirt) hopeless (without hope)
5.2.2 Morphological Motivation However, not all words are
morphologically motivated. black market
illegal selling and buying greenhorn
a newcomer
5.2.3 Semantic Motivation Semantic Motivation means that
motivation is based on semantic factors. It is a kind of mental association; it
explains the connection between the literal sense and figurative sense of the word. mouth (of a river); foot (of a mountain) His is fond of the bottle. The pen is mightier than the sword.
5.2.4 Etymological Motivation It deals with the source of the word name an
d its sense, e.g pen
Now: a writing tool Originally: ‘feather’-before modern pens were cre
ated, feathers were used for writing. laconic
‘brief’ or ‘short’ Derived from “Lacons”-a tribe of people who were
known for their brevity of speech and for their habit of never using more words than necessary.
5.2.4 Etymological Motivation It deals with the source of the word name an
d its sense, e.g Braille
a system of printing for blind people is derived from the inventor of braille, Louis Braille;
walkman a small cassette player with headphones which peo
ple carry around so that they can listen to music, for example, while they are travelling
comes from the brand Walkman.
5.3 Types of meaning
Grammatical meaning Part of speech Singular/plural Tenses Inflectional forms
of verbs The dog is chasing
a cat.
Different lexical meanings, but the same grammatical meaning tables; men; oxen;
potatoes taught; worked;
forgave
5.3.1 Grammatical vs. Lexical meaning
5.3 Types of meaning
Grammatical meaning Part of speech Singular/plural Tenses Inflectional forms
of verbs The dog is chasing
a cat.
The same lexical meaning, but different grammatical meanings forget; forgets;
forgot; forgotten; forgetting
5.3.1 Grammatical vs. Lexical meaning
5.3 Types of meaning
The meaning given in dictionary; denotative meaning
Constant and relative stable the sun
The secondary meaning supplemented to the conceptual meaning Connotative m. Stylistic m. Affective m. Collocative m.
5.3.2 Conceptual vs. Associative
1. Connotative meaning
mother denotative meaning: female parent connotative meaning: love, care,
tenderness, forgiving… home
DM: a dwelling place CM: family, friends, warmth, safety, love,
convenience… (East or west, home is best. There is no place like home.)
2. Stylistic meaning
formal; informal; literary; archaic; slang pregnant expecting (informal) knocking up (slang) in the club (slang)
Five degrees of formality
1. Frozen: e.g., charger 2. Formal: e.g., steed 3. Consultative: e.g., horse 4. Casual: e.g., nag 5. Intimate: e.g., plug
formalformal
informal
neutral
3. Affective meaning
appreciative(showing
appreciation) famous determined slim/slender black
pejorative 경멸적(showing contempt) notorious pigheaded skinny nigger
Appreciative or pejorative?
He is bright and ambitious. Knowledge of inequality has
stimulated envy, ambition and greed.
The reactionary’s chief ambition is to become the emperor.
One who is filled with ambition usually works hard.
4. Collocative meaningpretty girl boy woman flower garden color village
handsome boy man car woman overcoat airline typewriter
=Good looking=
4. Collocative meaningtremble
tremble with fear
quiver
quiver with excitement
=shake involuntarily=
4. Collocative meaninggreen green color
green green on the job
(immature; inexperienced)
green fruit (raw fruit; not yet ripe )
green with envy green-eyed
monster (=envy; jealousy)
