Chapter7

ChangesinWordMeaning

詞義的演變

學習目標：了解詞義變化的必然性，詞義變化的主要方式和原因。考核要求：

本章共有兩節1.詞義變化的方式/種類識記以下術語的基本概念：詞義的擴大、詞義的縮小、詞義的升華、詞義的降格領會：四種變化方式在英語詞匯發展中的作用。2.詞義變化的原因領會：詞義演變的原因語言外部原因：歷史原因、階級原因、心理原因。語言內部原因：縮略、借用、類推。

Alllanguageschangethroughtime——historicchange,hence

diachronicstudiesoflanguage.ModernEnglish—MiddleEnglish—OldEnglish現代漢語—近代漢語—古代漢語:比如，佛教中的“南無阿彌陀佛”,南無二字的語音變化nan’wuornamo?Languagechange：allpartsofgrammarmaychange:Soundchange

南無…morphologicalchange莫須有。theesyntacticchange

不知何適？vocabularychange

additionofnewwordslossofwords

changeinthemeaningofwordsl

Soundchange

stan

stone;ham,home;mice/i:/,mice/ai/;mouse/u://au/;broke/br哦ken/；l

morphologicalchange：thee——you;l

syntacticchange

Ilovetheenot→Idonotloveyou.Hesawyounot→Hedidn’tseeyou.l

vocabularychange

Vocabularyisthemostunstableelementofalanguageasitisundergoingconstantchangesbothinformandcontent.

7.1FourmajorTypesofChanges詞義變化的四種類型識記基本概念：7.1.1Extension/generalization語義擴展Extensionreferstothewideningofwordmeaningthemeaningofawordbecomesbroader.e.g.

tailoncereferredto“thetailofahorse”,butnowitisusedtomean“thetailofanyanimal”.holidayoriginallymeantholyday,i.e.,adayofreligioussignificance.Today,thiswordsignifiesanydayonwhichwedon’thavetowork.So,tailandholidayhavewidenedtheirmeaning,fromspecifictogeneral.

7.1.2Narrowing:isalsocalledspecialization語義變窄/專業化Narrowingisaprocessbywhichawordofwidemeaningacquiresanarrowerorspecializedsense.Inthecourseofseveralgenerations,semanticchangehasnarrowedthemeaningofawordtowhatitisinModernEnglish.Forinstance,“hound”,whichusedtobethegeneraltermfor“dog”,hasbeennarrowedtoaspecialkindofdog.Otherexamplesaredeer

anyanimal→aparticularspecies

meat

food→ediblepartofananimalcorn

grain→aparticulargrainwife

woman→amarriedwomangirl

youngpersonofeithersex→femaleyoungperson

7.1.3Elevation語義提升

Elevationreferstotheprocessbywhichwordsrisefromhumblebeginningstopositionsofimportance,i.e.,changestheirmeaningfromloworhumbletosomethingagreeable,pleasant.

e.g.themeaningofnice,originallymeant“ignorant”,then“foolish”,nowelevatedtomean“delightful,pleasant”.

Otherexamplesare:

angel

messenger→messengerofGod

fond

foolish→affectionate

governor

pilot→headofastate

minister

servant→headofaministry

success

result→goodresultmarshal&constable

keeperofhorses→highrankingarmyofficer/policeman

7.1.4Degradation語義降格

Degradationorpejorationofmeaningistheoppositeofsemanticelevation.Itisaprocessinwhichwordsofgoodoriginfallintoillreputationornon-affectivewordscometobeusedinderogatorysense.

e.g.

boor

peasant→rude,ill-manneredperson

wench

countrygirl→aprostitute

villain

personwhoworkedinavilla→evilorwickedperson

silly

happy→foolishcriticize

appraise→findfaultwith

另外，常見的語義變化還有：Transfer語義轉換Semantictransfer(P140):wordswhichwereusedtodesignateonethingbutlaterchangedtomeansth.elsehaveexperiencedtheprocessofsemanticchange.4類語義轉換l

Associatedtransfer聯想轉換themeaningistransferredthroughassociation.e.g.pursefor‘money’,dishfor‘food’,glassfor‘cup’.腰包鼓起來了嗎？把好處裝入自己的腰包

今年暑假我妹妹揀了個大皮夾子（股市、房市）。l

Transferbetweenabstractandconcretemeanings.concrete→abstract:具體向抽象轉換e.g.aftermath:secondcropofgrassaftermowing→consequence,result

threat:crowd,army人群、軍隊→威脅

apprehend:takeholdof,arrest抓住、逮捕→understand理解、領悟

grasp抓住→understand掌握、領會

nitpick從身上挑虱子→挑剔、找小毛病

abstract→concrete抽象向具體轉換e.g.hope→Tomisthehopeofhismother.Heistheprideoftheschool.Thegovernmentissuedanorderforderequisitionoftransportation.政府發布一項條令，發放原來被征用的車輛。（抽象→具體）

l

Transferbetweensubjectiveandobjectivemeanings.主觀與客觀之間的轉換e.g.pitiful‘fullofpity’(subjective)→deservingpity(objective)hateful:充滿仇恨的、有敵意的（主觀意義）→可恨的、討厭的（modernEnglish:客觀意義）painful:painstaking,laborious苦干的、勤勞的（17st）apainfulpreacher（acomplimentaryphrase）→objectivemeaning:使痛苦的、傷腦筋的l

Transferofsensations感官感覺的轉換

suchasclear-sounding(sight-hearing),loudcolors(hearingtosight),sweetmusic(tastetohearing).l

TransferofPropernounstocommonnouns專有名詞轉化為普通名詞e.g.DonJuan：alegendaryfigureinSpain,anoblewhointentionallyplayaround→aDonJuan一個調戲女性的人（aphilanderer）Epicurus伊壁鳩魯(aphilosopherofancientGreece，著名的無神論者，其人生觀就是人生在世就是為了追求享受)。→Epicurean:享樂者、講究飲食的人Sandwich：earl伯爵.賭棍gamester,tosavetime

7.2

Causesofchanges詞義變化的原因要求領會Lexicalmeaningischangedtomeetthefunctionalneedsoflanguageusers.Twomajorcauses

Extra-linguisticfactors

Linguisticfactors

7.2.1Extra-linguisticfactors語外因素：歷史、階級和心理因素

historicalreason，Classreason，Psychologicalreasonl

historicalreason:ensuretraditionandcontinuityUllman(1977:198):languageismoreconservativethancivilization,marterialaswellasmoral.Itisoftenthecasethatawordisretainedforanamethoughthemeaninghaschangedforthereferenthaschanged.

e.g.pen

car戰爭中使用的馬拉的四輪馬車→汽車automobile

computer:apersonwhocomputes→electronicmachineIncreasedscientificknowledgeanddiscoveryalsocontributetothechangeofwordmeaning.

l

Classreason:theattitudesofclasseshavemadeinroadsintolexicalmeaninginthecaseofelevationordegradation.

l

Psychologicalreason:theassociatedtransferofmeaningandeuphemisticuseofwordsareoftenduetopsychologicalfactors.Peoplechangewordmeaningowingtovariouspsychologicalmotives:love,respect,courtesy,suspicion,pessimism,sarcasm,irony,contempt,hatred,etc.

b.LinguisticfactorsThechangeofmeaningmaybecausedbyinternalfactorswithinthelanguagesystem.Fourtypes:Aphraseshortenedasonewordretainingthemeaningofthewhole.Theinfluxofborrowingscausesmeaningchangeofsomewords.Thecompetitionofnativewordsresultsinsemanticdivision.Analogyalsocausessemanticchange.l

Ashortenedwordretainsthemeaningofthewhole.e.g.gold→goldmedalgas→coalgasbulb→lightbulbprivate→privatesoldier列兵（thelowestrankinarmy）l

Borrowingscausemeaningchangeofsomewords.l

competitionofnativewordsl

AnalogyExercises:

P146-7

Chapter8MeaningandContext

意義與語境(WordsinContext)RevisionofChapter7Fourmodesofword-meaningchangeare_____,____,___,and___.Majorcausesofword-meaningchangeare____and____.

學習目標：了解兩種不同的語境，語境對詞義的重要作用，能運用語境爭取理解詞義并猜測新詞的意義。考核要求：

本章共有兩節1.

語境的種類識記：非語言語境和兩種語言語境領會：語境對詞義的影響。2.

語境的作用領會：語境如何消除歧義，限定所指和提供線索。運用：利用語境知識猜測詞義。

Majorpointsinthischapterl

TypesofcontextExtra-linguisticcontextLinguisticcontextl

TheroleofcontextEliminationofambiguityIndicationofreferentsProvidingcluesforinferringword-meaning

Meaningandcontextaretwomainconceptsandresearchtopicsinpragmatics.Therefore,wecanseethatlexicologyiscloselyrelatedtoalmostallbranchesoflinguistics,includingpragmatics.Pragmaticsisconcernedwiththestudyofmeaningascommunicatedbyaspeaker(orwriter)andinterpretedbyalistener(orreader)(Yule1996:3).Runtheegg-and-spoonraceRunforthedoctorRunforone’slifeRunfromdanger

8.1

Typesofcontext

語境的類型Inanarrowsense,contextreferstothewords,clauses,sentencesinwhichawordappears.Thisislinguisticcontext.語言語境，又稱為上下文。狹義上來講，語境指的是某特定的詞所出現的上下文，即它所在的句子、段落或更大的語篇單位。但是，使用語言離不開一定的客觀條件和背景，語言活動總是在特定的時間、特定的空間、特定的情景、特定的人之間進行的。這種語言外的因素就是語外語境。這是從廣義上來說的。e.g.Hewasbornheretwentyyearsago.Whodoes“he”referto?

Inabroadsense,contextincludesalsothephysicalsituation,i.e.extra-linguisticornon-linguisticcontext,whichembracesthepeople,time,place,andeventhewholeculturalbackground.語外語境、非語言語境e.g.,1.A:Howishe?B:Acoupleofpillswillcurehim.2.A:How’she?

B:Hewillbehospitalized.3.A:How’she?

B:Anambulancemustbesentforatonce.(basedonbackgroundinformation,threeresponsesareallpropriate.)e.g.4.A:YouspeakbeautifulEnglish.

B:Thankyou.Ihadverygoodteachersintheuniversity.5.A:YouspeakbeautifulEnglish.

B:No,no.MyEnglishisverypoor.

(culturalbackground)

8.1.1

Extra-linguisticcontext語外語境Non-linguisticcontext,contextofsituation,canhavegreatereffectonthemeaningofwords.情景語境e.g.,P150.e.g.,2.Dickens“DavidCopperfield”:MissTrotwood(toJanet,theservantofherfamily):Janet!Donkeys!

That’swhyitiscommontodifferentiatesentence-meaningandutterance-meaning.e.g.,“Dog!”a.

Thereisadogatthegate.We’dbetterkeepaway.b.

There’sadog!c.

Iorderyoutofire!

Extra-linguisticcontextalsoincludesculturalbackground,whichalsoinfluenceswordmeaning.語外語境包括文化背景，后者對詞語的意義也有影響。Membersofdifferentcultureslookdifferentlyattheworldaroundthem.Somebelievethatthephysicalworldisreal.Othersbelievethatitisjustanillusion.Somebelieveeverythingaroundthemispermanentwhileotherssayitistransient.Realityisnotthesameforallpeople.e.g.differentmeaningof“飯”innorthernandsouthernpartofChina米飯.Asuccessfulinterculturalcommunicationappreciatessimilaritiesandacceptsdifference.

→interculturalcommunicationToavoidmisunderstanding

8.1.2Linguisticcontext

Thesecondfactorofthechangeofmeaningisfrominternallinguisticsystem.Linguisticcontextcanbesubdividedintolexicalcontextandgrammaticalcontext.語言語境包括：詞匯語境和語法語境8.1.2.1LexicalcontextThisreferstothewordsthatoccurtogetherwiththewordinquestion.Themeaningofthewordisoftenaffectedanddefinedbytheneighbouringwords.Inasinglesentence,awordusuallyhasonemeaning,forinstance:a.

adropofwaterb.

Ifyouwantmorewine,there’sadropleft.c.

Withoutevenadropofmercyd.

AbigdropinthevalueoftheU.S.dollar.e.

Hisreputationtookarapiddrop.f.

Adropof100meters.(落差)g.

Apeachdrop(桃樹上落下來的桃子)

8.1.2.2GrammaticalcontextInsomecases,themeaningsofawordmaybeinfluencedbythestructureinwhichitoccurs.Thisisgrammaticalcontext.

8.2Theroleofcontext語境的作用8.2.1EliminationofambiguityAmbiguityarisesduetopolysemyandhomonymy.Whenawordwithmultiplemeaningsisusedininadequatecontext,itcreatesambiguity.Johnrantheeggandspoonrace.Johnrantheeggandspoonraceandwonsecondplace.Homonymyalsocausesambiguityfortwoseparatewordssharethesameform.Theysawherduck.Theballwasattractive.Grammaticalstructurecana