(词汇学)Word_Meaning.pptVIP

Ⅱ. Word Meaning (Ⅰ).Definition: Meaning is a notion in semantics classically defined as having two components: reference, anything in the referential realm denoted by a word or expression, and sense, the system of paradigmatic and syntagmatic relationships between a lexical unit and other lexical units in a language. The English linguist, Eric Partridge, says:“Words have no meaning; people have meaning for them.”（词本无义，人赋予之。） I say:“Words are words, because they are meaningful.” A complete word:   meaning (房子) form --------------- referent (house)  这个图形表示: 第一 ,词有两个方向—“形式” 和“意义(概念)” . “形式”指的是拼写;与此相对的是词的 “意义(概念)”,也就是词的内容.每个词都有一定的形式和意义,这两方面缺一不可. 第二,词义与所指对象连接在一起.一方面,词义在客观世界中是有所指的;另一方面,词义又是客观世界的某一(或某些)事物在语言中的反映. 第三,在“语义三角” 中, “形式”和“所指对象”间不是实线,而是用虚线连接起来的,说明它们两者之间没有必然的直接关系.也就是说,house 和　　　　　之间没有必然联系，它们之间是约定俗成的． Why do we name a “house”  There is no way to explain “why”.  However, there is some way to explain “house” in “It houses us.” or “We are housed.”  So, words may have two natures: “conventionality” and “motivation”.  (Ⅱ).Natures of Word Meaning:  1. Conventionality　（约定俗成） Most English words are conventional，arbitrary symbols; consequently, there is no intrinsic relation between the symbol and its sense. There is no way to explain why this or that symbol has this or that meaning.  2. Motivation: （理据形成） Motivation refers to the connection between word symbol and its sense. From the point of view of motivation, the great majority of English words are conventional. However, there is a small group of words that can be described as motivated, that is, a direct connection between the symbol and its sense can be really observed.  Motivation can arise in three major ways:(1).Phonetic motivation: (onomatopoeic words)(2).Morphological motivation: