语言学 SEMANTICS.pptVIP

Chapter 5 SEMANTICS Review 1. What is semantics? 2. The major views concerning the study of meaning 3. Lexical meaning 4. Sense relations between sentences 5. Analysis of meaning  Semantics is the study of meaning. (the study of the meaning of linguistic units, words and sentences in particular) Some views concerning the study of meaning Naming theory (Plato)命名说 Words are just names or labels for things. 词语只是代表物体的名字或标记。 Limitations: 1) Applicable to nouns only. 2) There are nouns which denote things that do not exist in the real world, e.g. ghost, dragon, unicorn, phenix… 3) There are nouns that do not refer to physical objects but abstract notions, e.g. joy, impulse, hatred… The conceptualist view 概念论 Definition： one concerning meaning. It is also called ideational theory（观念论）. Contextualism (语境论) Definition: Meaning should be studied in terms of situation, use, context .Two types of contexts are recognized: (1)Situational context场景语境 (2) linguistic situation语言语境 Behaviorism (行为主义论) Definition: a view which draws on behaviorist psychology when trying to define the meaning of linguistic forms. Bloomfield（布龙菲尔德）：意义就是讲话人的刺激和听话人的反应。（meaning as speaker’s stimulus and hearer’s response The story of Jack and Jill: Jill Jack S_________r--------s_________R S = Jill sees an apple. r = Jill says “I’m thirsty”. s = Jack hears Jill says “I’m thirsty”. R = Jack picks the apple for Jill. 3.Lexical meaning Sense and reference(系统意义和指称意义） Sense: is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form. It is abstract and de-contextualized. Reference: means what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world. Differences 1. 系统意义具有相对的稳定性、明确性；而外指意义回因人、时、地而异，具有变化性、模糊性。 2. 一般说来，系统意义是抽象化了的定义，多具有非物质化特征；而外指意义会具有物质化的特征。 3. 有意义的词语都有系统意义，但不一定有外指意义。 Synonymy（同义现象) Definition: refer to the sameness or close similarity