英语语义学 Semantics

Semantics

Semantics

?

Semantics

is

the

study

of

the

meaning

of

linguistic

units,

words

and

sentences

in

particular.

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Semantics = Theory of Meaning

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Its goal is to reveal how language are matched with their proper meanings by the speakers

of that language.

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Lexical semantics

—

the study of word meanings. it

deals not only with the meanings of

individual words but also the relationship between the meanings of different words.

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Compositional

semantics

—

is

concerned

exclusively

with

the

meanings

of

phrases

and

sentences.

History of Semantics

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1893 -

French linguist Breal coined ―semantique‖.

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1897

–

Breal first use it as the science of meaning.

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1900

–

Its English version came out.

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1980s

–

semantics began to be introduced into China.

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One of the most famous books on semantics is

The Meaning of Meaning

(1923).

Semantic Triangle

语义三角

Concept

meaning

）

refers to

symbolizes

Symbol

Thing

（

word

）

（

referent

）

stands for

The Referential Theory

指称论

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Concept (Meaning): the

mental image

, the

abstraction

or

generalization

of objects of

the same kind.

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Referent

(Thing):

the

physical

entity

or

actual

object,

event,

idea

or

whatever

if

denoted by a word, phrase or expression.

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Concept VS. Referent (Thing)

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A referent may exist in the physical world.

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The concept is abstracted from the referent and labeled by a word.

Sense

语义

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Sense is the inherent meaning of the linguistic form independent of situational context.

It’s abstract and de

-contextualized.

Sense Relations

Sense relations between words

Words are in different sense relations with each other.

There are generally 5 kinds of sense relations:

1) synonymy

同义

2) antonymy

反义

3) hyponymy

上下义

4) polysemy

一词多义

5) homonymy

同音同形异义

1. Synonymy

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It is the sameness or close similarity of meaning.

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Words that are close in meaning are called synonyms.

Definition

BrE

AmE

the area next to a street where pedestrians walk

place from where goods are bought

payment in a restaurant

Formal

gentleman

Pass away

Common

man

die

pavement

shop

bill

sidewalk

store

check

Casual

chap

Pop off

2. Antonymy

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It is the oppositeness of meaning.

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Words that are opposite in meaning are antonyms.

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Oppositeness can be found on different dimensions:

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Gradable antonymy

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Complementary antonymy

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Converse antonymy (relational opposites)

Gradable antonymy

分级反义词

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good/ bad,

long /short, narrow/ wide

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The members of a pair differ in

terms of degree

. The denial of one is not necessarily the

assertion of the other. There are often

intermediate forms

between them.

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Not good

≠

bad

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Hot ---warm--- cool---cold

Complementary antonymy

互补反义词