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1、语义学初探- 从传统语言学的角度本次课的主要内容n介绍几种传统的语义观n词汇意义n句子意义n传统语义学有关词汇分析的方法1. What is semantics?nSimply defined as the study of meaningnNo agreement among linguistsnPhilosophers, psychologists, and sociologists all claim a deep interest philosophers are interested in understanding the relations between linguistic
2、expressions and what they refer to in the real world, and in evaluating the truth value of linguistic expressions; psychologists focus their interest on understanding the workings of the human mind through language.2. Some views concerning the study of meaningn2.1 the naming theory (命名论) the words (
3、or linguistic forms, symbols) used in a language are simply labels of the objects they stand for, therefore, words are just names or labels for things.nLimitations: a. applicable to nouns only; b. within the category of nouns, there are nouns which denote things that do not exist in the real world a
4、t all such as ghost, dragon, and also nouns that do not refer to physical objects, but abstract notions such as joy, impulse etc. c. explanation of concept DESK.n“指称论”(referential theory)对于说明具体事物或事件的意义是有一定道理的，特别对于人类初民来说，语言主要是为了指称外物或有关动作的，但难以解释抽象名词或不存在的事物，也难以说明形容词、介词、连接词等词语的意义。有时一个词可指称多个对象，多个词又可指称同一对
5、象，这就给指称论带来了困惑。n2.2 the conceptualist view (观念论) THOUGHT/REFERENCE (concept) . SYMBOL / FORM (word) REFERENT (thing) 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 th
6、e mediation of concepts in the mind.nLimitation This theory avoids many of the problems the naming theory has encountered, but it also raises a completely new problem of its own. For what is precisely the link between the symbol and the concept remains unclarified. n “观念论”是Frege在批判指称论的基础上提出来的，认为在词语和
7、事物之间还存在一个“涵意”(sense)或“观念”(concept)，从而开启了关注三元要素的语义研究方向，这就是我们常说的“语义三角”(semantic triangle)。n 该理论的问题是，我们在使用词语时头脑中不一定会呈现什么“观念”，而可能仅是一个简单的“指称行为”；“观念”本身就是一个虚幻莫测的东西，又何以用来界定意义？Frege所说的sense具有客观性、镜像性，完全忽视了人的主观因素，因而认知语言学家将其划归为“客观主义”，并对之作出了严厉批判。n2.3 contextualism Background: During the period roughly from 1930
8、to 1960, linguists gave preeminence to the empirical or observable aspect instead of the theoretical aspect in their scientific investigation of meaning. This tendency manifested itself in an attempt to base meaning on context. It has attracted those linguists who have been working toward the ideal
9、of scientific objectivity. They hold that meaning should be studied in terms of situation, use, context elements closely linked with language behavior. The contextualist view of meaning is based on the presumption that one can derive meaning from or reduce meaning to observable contexts. Two kinds o
10、f context are recognized: the situational context and the linguistic context. Every utterance occurs in a particular spatiotemporal situation, the main components of which include, apart from the place and time of the utterance, the speaker and the hearer, the actions they are performing at the time
11、, the various objects and events existent in the situation. The linguistic context, sometimes known as co-text, is concerned with the probability of a words co-occurrence or collocation with another word, which forms part of the “meaning” of the word, and also with the part of text that precedes and
12、 follows a particular utterance. For example, the meaning of the word “black” differs in the two collocations of “black hair” and “black coffee”. And the meaning of the word “seal” in the sentence “The seal could not be found” cannot be determined unless the context in which the sentence occurs is r
13、estored.n2.4 behaviorism (行为主义) 20世纪初心理学领域开始转向用客观主义的方法来研究人和动物对刺激作出可观察到的反应或行为，反对讨论意识问题，提出“刺激反应”模式，并认为意义就是言语活动所引发的行为。主要代表有Watson、Skinner等，Bloomfiled率先将其引入语言学中。 a. strengthened version of contextualist view b. draw on behaviorist psychology when trying to define the meaning of linguistic forms. c. beha
14、viorists attempted to define the meaning of language form as the “situation in which the speaker utters it and the response it calls forth in the hearer.” This theory, somewhat close to contextualism, is linked with psychological interest.nBloomfields story about Jack and Jill: Jill Jack S_rs_R When
15、 Jill sees an apple and wants to have it, she has a physical stimulus, (represented by the capital letter S), which give rise to a verbal response (r) to Jill. For instance, she might say to Jack “Im thirsty”. What she says results in a verbal stimulus to jack (represented by the small letter s ). T
16、his stimulus, in its turn, leads to a non-verbal response from Jack, such as picking the apple for her. Bloomfield argued that meaning consists in the relation between speech indicated by the small letters rs and the practical events represented by the capitalized letters S and R that precede and fo
17、llow them repectively. 3. Lexical meaningn3.1 sense and reference (涵义和指称义) 语义学在阐释MEANING这一概念时常常将“涵义”(sense)与 “指称义” (reference)对举。“指称义”被视为“语言外”(extralinguistic)的词语代表的外部世界的实体(entities)、事态(states of affairs)等。而“涵义”则指语言内部的关系系统(涵义关系sense relations)，即一个词项与其他词项相联系，形成“同义关系”(SYNONYMY)、反义关系 (ANTONYMY)等 “聚合关系”
18、(paradigmatic relation)和搭配的组合关系(syntagmatic relationship of collocation)。nNOTE “聚合关系”(paradigmatic relation)是语言学的一个基本术语，指在一特定上下文里，一个语言单位具有的与其他单位的一组替换关系，比如： _ cake a the this “组合关系”(syntagmatic relation)指将言语视为（有时但不总是）以线性(linear)次序排列的组构成分语符列(string of constitutes)时言语的序列特性(sequential characteristics)。比
19、如，英语音系学中/p/的功能可归纳为它与其他成分的组合关系(例如p-it, ni-p, a-p-t)和聚合关系(例如p-it, b-it, n-it)。 sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form: a. it is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form; b. it is abstract and decontextualized; c. it is the aspect of meaning dictionary comp
20、ilers are interested in. For example, the word “dog” is given the definition “a domesticated canine mammal, occurring in many breeds that show a great variety in size and form”. This does not refer to any particular dog that exists in the real world, but applies to any animal that meets the features
21、 described in the definition. So this is the sense of the word “dog”. reference 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. If we say “the dog is barking”, we must be tal
22、king about a certain dog existent in the situation; the word “dog” refers to a dog known to both the speaker and the hearer. This is the reference of the word “dog” in this particular situation.nAnother difference between sense and reference: we can say, to some degree, every word has a sense, i.e.
23、some conceptual content, otherwise we will not be able to use it or understand it. But not every word has a reference. Grammatical words like but, if, and do not refer to anything. And words like God, ghost, and dragon refer to imaginary things, which do not exist in reality. whats more, it is not c
24、onvenient to explain the meaning of a word in terms of the thing it refers to. The thing a word stand for may not always be at hand at the time of speaking. Even when it is nearby, it may take the listener some time to work out its main features.n3.2 major sense relations 3.2.1 synonymy It refers to
25、 the sameness or close similarity of meaning. Words that are close in meaning are called synonyms. English is rich in synonyms for historical reasons. native words borrowed (loan) words Note: complete synonyms are rare.a.Dialectal synonyms synonyms used in different regional dialects British English
26、 American English autumn fall lift elevator luggage baggage lorry truck petrol gasoline torch flashlightn1. Pavement sidewalkn2. Rubbish trashn3. Football soccern4. Biscuit cookien5. Sweets candyn6. Tube subwayn7. Full stop periodn8. Flat apartmentn9. Chips friesn10. Motorway highwayn11. Jam jellyn1
27、2. Cinema movie theatren13. Trousers pantsn14. Car park parking lotn15. Jumper sweatern16. Holiday vacationn17. Post code zip codeb. Stylistic synonyms synonyms differing in style words having the same meaning may differ in style, or degree of formality. In other words, some words tend to be more fo
28、rmal, others casual, and still others neutral in style. Here are some example: old man, daddy, dad, father, male parent start, begin, commence kid, child, offspring kick the bucket, pop off, die, pass away, deceasec. Synonyms that differ in their emotive or evaluative meaning these are words that be
29、ar the same meaning but express different emotions of the user, indicating the attitude or bias of the user toward what he is talking about. collaborator accompliced. Collocational synonyms some synonyms differ in their collocation, i.e., in the words they go together with, this is a matter of usage
30、. accuse of charge with rebuke fore. Semantically different synonyms there are synonyms that differ slightly in what they mean. For example, the two words “amaze” and “astound” are very close in meaning to the word “surprise”, but have very subtle differences. While “amaze” suggests confusion and be
31、wilderment, “astound” suggests difficulty in believing. 3.2.2 polysemy the same one word may have more than one meaning. table:nA piece of furniturenAll the people seated at a tablenThe food that is put on a tablenA thin flat piece of stone, metal, wood, etc.nOrderly arrangement of facts, figures,et
32、c.nPart of a machine-tool on which the work is put to be operated onnA level area, a plateaun3.2.3 homonymy(同音形异义) It refers to the phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form, i.e. different words are identical in sound or spelling, or in both. when two words are identical in
33、 sound, they are homophones; when two word are identical in spelling, they are homographs; when two words are identical in both sound and spelling, they are complete homonyms. homophones: night/knight piece/peace homographs: tear (v.) / tear (n.) complete homonyms: fast (adj.) / fast (v.斋戒)nWhen two
34、 forms are identical both in sound and spelling, how can we tell whether they are two meanings of the same polysemic word, or two complete homonyms?nInteresting question but hard to answernDepend on etymology of the words in question a. a polysemic word is the result of the evolution of the primary
35、meaning of the word. b. complete homonyms are often brought into being by coincidence. e.g. ball vs balln3.2.4 Hyponymy(上下义关系) it refers to the sense relation between a more general, more inclusive word and a more specific word. The word which is more general in meaning is called the superordinate,
36、and the specific words are called its hyponyms. Hyponyms of the same superordinate are co-hyponyms(并列下义词) to each other. flowerrose tulip carnation lily morning gloryNote: hyponymy is a relation of inclusion; in terms of meaning, the superordinate includes all its hyponyms. n3.2.5 antonymy the term
37、antonymy is used for oppositeness of meaning; words that are opposite in meaning are antonyms. We should not be misled into thinking that words contrast each other only on a single dimension; in fact, oppositeness can be found on different dimensions and different kinds of antonymys have been recogn
38、ized.na. gradable antonyms some antonyms are gradable because there are often intermediate forms between the two members of a pair. So it is a matter of degree. old vs young hot vs cold n3 characteristics: a. the members of a pair differ in terms of degree (the denial of one is not necessarily the a
39、ssertion of the other) b. antonyms of this kind are graded against different norms (there is no absolute criterion by which we may say something is good or bad or to say, the criterion varies with the object described) c. one member of a pair, usually the term for the higher degree, serves as the co
40、ver term. e.g. In How old are you?, old is used to cover both young and old. Technically, the cover term is called “unmarked” (usual), the covered “marked” (unusual).nNOTE: 有标记和无标记是语言的组织原则之一。相互对立的一对概念或者语法范畴，语言往往采用标记一方而不标记一方的方式加以区别。无标记的一方往往是常见的，基本的；有标记的一方则是相对少见的，有特殊意义或者功能的。比如，英语的复数标记为-s，而单数则是无标记的。 Ly
41、ons (1977)把“标记” (markedness)概念用于语义的分析之中。他指的是在一对具有反义关系的形容词中，其中一方在特定的句式中语义中性化，可以表达相对立的一方的语义范围。比如How high is it?是一个客观的询问，照顾到了任何高度，即包括了相对的low的语义范围。然而low则没有这个用法，How low is it?只有在假定所问物体相当低的时候才会这样问。 此外，一对反义形容词在分布(distribution)上也有明显差别，无标记的一方的分布往往比有标记的一方自由，即无标记的一方(量大的)可以出现在更多的句法环境中。比如，无标记的一方可以被各种数量词修饰，而有标记(量
42、小的)的则不能被数量词修饰： He is 1.8 meters tall. *He is 1.8 meters short. The well is 8 feet deep. *The well is 8 feet shallow. 无标记的(量大的)一方具有固定的名词形式，表示客观的量度，而有标记的(量小的)一方则没有这种用法。例如： highheight widewidth deepdepth longlength 量小的一方如low、narrow、shallow、short只能加上高度能产的名词后缀-ness而转化为名词，而且只能表达自身的语义范围，也就是说它们的语义是有标记的。b. C
43、omplementary antonyms the denial of one member of the pair implies the assertion of the other. In other words, it is not a matter of degree between two extremes, but a matter of either one or the other, there is no third possibility. dead vs alive male vs femalenMajor differences as to GA: a.b ab a
44、b. the norm in this type is absolute. e.g. the death of a man is the same as that of an elephant, or even a tree, in the sense that there is no longer any life in the entity. c. there is no cover terms for the two members of a pair. If you dont know the sex of a baby, you ask “ Is it a boy or a girl
45、?” but not “How male is it?”True VS FalseHow true is this story? truth very truec. Relational opposites (converse antonymy) pairs of words that exhibit the reversal of a relationship between the two items are called relational opposites. IF A IS THE XXX OF B, THEN B IS THE XXX OF A. husband vs wife
46、buy vs sell This is a special type of antonymy in that the members of a pair do not constitute a positive-negative opposition. They show the reversal of a relationship between two entities. They are typically seen in reciprocal social roles, kinship relations, temporal and spatial relations, it is i
47、n this sense that they are called RELATIONAL OPPOSITES.nMajor differences: there are always two entities involved, and one presupposes the other.4. Sense relations between sentencesnX is synonymous with Y X: The boy killed the dog. Y: The dog was killed by the boy. In terms of truth condition, if X
48、is true, and if X is false, Y is false.nX is inconsistent with Y X: John is married. Y: John is a bachelor. In terms of truth condition, if X is true, Y is false, and if X is false, Y is true.nX entails Y (Y is an entailment of X) X: He has been to France. Y: He has been to Europe. If X is true, Y i
49、s necessarily true. If X is false, Y may be true or false.nX presupposes Y X: Johns bike needs repairing. Y: John has a bike. If X is true, Y must be true. If X is false, Y is still true.nX is a contradiction (invariably false) My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor.nX is semantically anomalou
50、s The table has bad intentions. when X is semantically anomalous, it is absurd in the sense that it presupposes a contradiction. The sentence above presupposes “A table can have intentions”, which is obviously absurd.5. Analysis of meaningnComponential analysis a way to analyze lexical meaning CA is
51、 a way proposed by the structural semanticists to analyze word meaning. The approach is based upon the belief that the meaning of a word can be dissected into meaning components, called semantic features. Plus and minus signs are used to indicate whether a certain semantic feature is present or abse
52、nt in the meaning of a word, and these feature symbols are usually written in capitalized letters. For example: “man” +HUMAN, +ADULT, +ANIMATE, +MALE“woman” +HUMAN, +ADULT, +ANIMATE, -MALE“child” +HUMAN, -ADULT, +ANIMATE, +MALEadvantages of CA:nBy specifying the semantic features of certain words, i
53、t will be possible to show how these words are related in meaning.nIt provides an insight into the meaning of words and a way to study the relationships between words that are related in meaning.Disadvantage?nWhat if the word is polysemous?nWhat if there is a word whose semantic components are difficult to assertain?THANK YOU!
