Transcript Semantic relations

Chapter 3
Lecture 3
Semantic relations
(p83-102)
Lectured by
XU Yiliang
2010/10
Objectives:
• To discuss the main sense relations among
words;
• To explain semantic field.
Teaching focus:
• Polysemy 一词多义关系
• Homonymy 同形同音异义关系
• Synonymy 同义关系
• Antonymy 反义关系
• Semantic Field 语义场
• Hyponymy 上下义关系
outline
1. Polysemy 一词多义关系
2. Homonymy 同形同音异义关系
3. Synonymy 同义关系
4. Antonymy 反义关系
5. Semantic Field 语义场
6. Hyponymy 上下义关系
7. Some thoughts几点思考
1. Polysemy
一词多义关系p93-96
• The word polysemy is of Greek origin (polys,
much+sema, meaning), meaning the coexistence
of many possible meanings of a word or phrase.
• According to Crystal(1980:274), a polysemic word
refers to a lexical item which has a variety of
meanings used in semantic analysis.
• Polysemy means that one single word has two or more
senses at the same time.
• 它是指一个单独的词同时有两个或更多的意义。
• The bulk of English words are polysemantic; one–
meaning words are rare and are mainly scientific terms
such as hydrogen, molecule, SARS, H1N1 and AV.
1.1. Two approaches to polysemy
Diachronic approach历时研究方法
• It is assumed to be the result of growth
and development of the semantic structure
of one and same word.一词多义是同一个
词的语义结构历史发展的结果。
• The first meaning is the primary meaning
原始意义. Later meanings are called
derived meanings派生意义.
Synchronic approach共时研究方法
• Synchronically, polysemy is viewed as the
coexistence of various meanings of the
same word in a historical period of time. 从
共时的角度看，在同一个历史时期，同一
个词可以拥有许多不同的意义。
• The basic meaning of a word is called the
central meaning 中心意义. The derived
meanings are secondary in comparison.
1.2.
Three processes of sense-shift
p94
• Sense-shift is also called sense
development. There are three processes
of sense-shift:
• 1) Radiation辐射型p94
• 2) Concatenation连锁型p95
• 3) Proliferation增殖
1) Radiation辐射型p94
• Semantically, radiation is the process which the
primary or central meaning stands at the center
while secondary meanings radiate from it in
every direction like rays. 从语义学上讲，辐射型
是这样一种过程，在此过程中，本义（也称中心
意义）处在中心位置，次要意义从此处象光线一
样朝各个方向辐射。
• All the meanings are independent of one another,
but can all be traced back to the central meaning.
这些次要词义之间相互独立，但均可追溯到中心
义。
Take head for example:
the head of the school,
six pence per head,
the head of a page,
to come to a head时机成熟, 濒临危急关头,
to lose one’s head失去理智,
six head of cattle
Though these senses have little in common, they all
derive from special application of the central idea
of head as a part of the body.
2) Concatenation连锁型p95
• Concatenation is a semantic process in which
the meaning of a word moves gradually away
from its first sense by successive shifts until
there is no connection between the sense that is
finally developed and the primary meaning.连锁
型是一种语义过程，在此过程中，一个词的意义
象链条一样，通过连续的改变，逐渐从本义移开，
直至最后发展出来的意义和本义没有了任何关系。
• 例1 board：木板→伙食→会议桌→董事会
• 例2 candidate：
穿白袍的人a person in white →
身着白袍申请职位的人a white-robed
seeker for office→
候选人an applicant for office or a
person taking an exam.
3) Proliferation增殖
• Proliferation in fact is a comprehensive
process in which a single primary
meaning of a word developed to
polysemic by means of radiation and
concatenation
or
by
extension,
narrowing or transference. Take the
word “face” for example:
• Face
A: the front of the head from the top of the forehead
to the bottom of the chin, and from ear to ear
B: appearance(extension)
C: surface, front(extension)
D: expression, look(narrowing)
E: reputation(transference)
F: the surface of anything(extension and
transference)
1.3. Sources of Polysemy
• (1) Changes in application
• (2) Specialization in a social milieu
• (3) Figurative language
2. Homonymy 同形同音异义关系p96
* Homonyms同形同音异义词are generally
defined as words different in meaning but
either identical both in sound and spelling
or identical only in sound or spelling. 同形
同音异义词是意义不同、而发音与拼写皆
相同或只有拼写或只有发音相同的词。
* Homonymy refers to the relations
between words of homonyms.
2.1 Types of homonyms
Perfect homonyms:p96
• 1) Perfect/absolute homonyms完全同形同音异义
词
Partial homonyms:
• 2) Homophones 同音异形异义词
• 3) Homographs/Heteronyms 同形异音异义词
Of the three types, homophones constitute the
largest number and are most common.
1) Perfect Homonyms完全同形同音异义词
• Words identical in sound and
spelling, but different in
meaning are called perfect
homonyms.
• A Riddle: Why is a book as
noble as a lord?
Key:
It has a title and many
pages, too.
• TITLE: (1) name of a book, picture,
etc. (2) word used to show a
person’s rank, occupation, status,
etc.
• PAGE: (1)one side of a leaf of a
paper in a book, periodical, etc. (2)
boy servant, usu. in uniform, in a
hotel, club, etc.
More Riddles:
A. What month do soldiers hate?
B. Why is an empty purse always the same?
C. How do we know the ocean is friendly?
Key A: March(三月，行军)
Key B: There is no change(零钱，变化) in it.
Key C: It waves.(起波浪，挥手致意)
More Examples:
POP: popular music
POP: short, sharp, explosive sound
POP: abbreviation for poppa=papa
SOUND: healthy, in good condition
SOUND: that which is or can be heard
SOUND: make sth. produce sound
SOUND: test the depth of (the sea, etc)
by letting down a weighted line
SOUND: narrow passage of water joining
two
larger areas of water, strait
2) Homophones同音异形异义词
Words identical in sound but
different in spelling and meaning
are called homophones.
dear
deer
meet
mete
meat
right
write
wright
rite
3) Homographs/Heteronyms
同形异音异义词
Words identical in spelling but different
in sound and meaning are called
homographs.
TEAR: n. drop of salty water coming
from the eye
TEAR: v. pull sharply apart or to pieces
MINUTE: the sixtieth part of an hour
MINUTE: very small
More Examples: p98
close : v.
close: adj.
sow: v.
sow: adj. or n
lead: n.
lead: v.
2.2 Sources of Homonymy (p99)
(1) Diverging
(p100)
sense-Development含义背道而驰
It refers to the split of polysemy.
Different meanings of the same word
move so far away from each other that
they come to be regarded as two
separate words, e.g. “flower” and “flour”
originally were one word—homonyms.
(flour in OF flor: “flower”; G. flos: “the finest
part of wheat” )
(2) Convergent Sound Development语音发展的一致
It refers to the process by which two or
more words which were once different in
origin and phonetically have come to
coincide in sound by chance, e.g. I ＜OE
ic—eye ＜OE eage). (P99)
(3) Abbreviation省略
Abbreviation
has
created
many
homonyms accidentally, e.g. pop( a
clipped form of popular music)—pop( an
explosive sound); rock(shortened form
for rock’n’roll) —rock(a large piece of
stone forming a peak or cliff)
(4)Foreign influence（p100）
gate--
2.3 Problem of Polysemy and
Homonymy (思考1)
• Since both polysemy and homonymy are
confusing , they can bring about lexical
ambiguity in isolated sentences.
• A lexical ambiguity arises because some word
has more than one interpretation, e.g. He is a
bachelor. In this sentence, bachelor is a
polysemic, meaning (1) a man who is not and
has never been married; (2) a person who holds
a first degree from a university or other
academic institution. The two senses are
relatively close, traditionally denoting “a young
person”.
2.4 Stylistic/ Rhetoric Value of Polysemy and
Homonymy (思考2)
• It is the possibility of ambiguity caused by polysemy
and homonymy that leads to playing on words, which
can achieve stylistic purposes such as pun, irony and
humor, or can heighten dramatic effect.
• See to the following two English riddles whose humorous
keys contain phonetic pun, the use of homophones:
Riddle1: Why is the bell the most obedient thing in the
world?
Key 1: Because it never speaks till it is told/tolled.
• Riddle 2: What trees come in two’s?
• Key 2: Pear/Pair trees.
• In the following sentences, polysemy and homonymy
are employed to create semantic pun:
•
(1) The young sow wild oats(野生燕麦，纵情欢乐), the
old grow sage(鼠尾草，圣人).
•
(2)We must all hang(紧紧团结在一起) together, or we
shall hang(被绞死) separately. (Benjamin Franklin)
• (3) A man sits down at a table in a restaurant and asks,
“Do you serve(供应，出售) crabs here?”
•
The waiter says, “Sure, we serve(为……服务)
anybody.”
More Examples:
• (1) “Waiter”
•
“Yes, sir”
•
“what’s this”
•
“It’s bean soup, sir.”
•
“No matter what it’s been, what is it now?”
• (2) Why should a man never tell his secrets in a cornfield?
•
Because it has so many ears.
• (3) Why is the Middle Ages also called the Dark Ages?
•
Because there were so many Knights.
From the above examples, we can see that homonyms are
often employed to create puns for desired effect of
humor or irony for stylistic purposes.
3. Synonymy 同义关系(p83)
• Synonym is derived from GK, “sy” means
“together”, “onym” means “meaning”. It is
used to mean the sameness of meaning.
Therefore, Synonymy means the relation between
words with the sameness of meaning.
• Synonyms are words different in sound and spelling but
most nearly alike or exactly the same in meaning.同义词
是发音和拼写不同但在意义上极为相似或完全相同的词。
• Synonyms share a likeness in denotation as well as
part of speech, for a verb cannot have an adjective as
its synonym.同义词在外延意义和词性上要具有相似性。
3.1 Types of synonyms(p86)
•
•
1）Absolute synonyms绝对同义词(p86)
Absolute synonyms are words whose meaning is fully
identical in any context so that one can always be
substituted for the other without the slightest change
in meaning.
• This kind of synonyms are rare and may be found in
special terminology such as compounding and
composition in lexicology, malnutrition and
undernourishment in medicine.
• 2）Relative synonyms相对同义词(p86)
•
Synonyms which denote different shades of
meaning or different degrees of a given quality are
called relative synonyms, they are also called as Quasisynonyms/Semi-synonyms.
They differ from complete synonyms
in the following respects (6 points)
A. in degree of a given quality or in shade/nuance of meaning
微妙差异
B. different in affective and stylistic meanings or register使用
域
C. different in collocation and distribution搭配
( D. American English and British English)
A. in degree of a given quality or in
shade/nuance of meaning微妙差异
• Some synonyms have the same denotative
sense with differences in degree of
intensity, e.g.
• Tiny, small, diminutive, minute, microscopic,
infinitesimal;
---denote different degrees of smallness;
• decline, refuse, reject, turn down;
• watch, glance, stare, gaze, peep；
---differ in shade of meaning.
B. different in affective and stylistic
meanings or register(使用域)
• Commendatory
thrifty/frugal
bravery
firm
intellectual
Derogatory
niggardly/miserly
hardiness
pigheaded
egghead
Synonyms can be distinguished in
terms of formal/ literary, neutral,
informal/ colloquial;
or in terms of frozen/oratorical,
formal/deliberate,
consultative,
casual, intimate proposed by Martin
Joos(1967), e.g.
责备
chide(literary)
berate(neutral)
scold(neutral)
blame(neural)
carpet(colloq.)
tell off(colloq.)
bawl out (AmE sl.)
See to more examples:
人
man(neutral)
chap(colloq.)
fellow(colloq.)
bird(colloq.) 马
guy(sl.)
bozo(sl.)
gent(sl.)
horse(neutral)
steed(poetic)
charger(poetic)
courser(poetic)
palfrey(archai
c)
nag(colloq.)
plug(colloq.)
C. different in collocation and
distribution: e.g.
•
•
•
•
native language √
mother tongue √
mother language ×
native tongue ×
Collocate pretty and handsome
with the following words:
boy girl child man flower car
table garden color raincoat
airline village cottage income
pretty
girl
boy
child
man
flower
car
garden handsome
table
color
overcoat
village
airline
cottage
income
“一群……” in different collocations:
a crowd/throng of
a flock of
a herd of
a drove of
a school/shoal of
a swarm of
a pride of
a crash of
a smother of
an exaltation of
people
sheep
cattle/elephants
cattle/sheep/people
whales/fish
bees/ants
lions/peacocks
rhinoceroses
spiders
larks
3.2 Sources of synonyms(p84—p85)
1). Native origins
• fast—speedy—swift; handsome—pretty—lovely.
2). Borrowing (p84)
English is a sponge, which has absorbed many other
languages. The richness of English synonyms is due
to the loans from Greek, Latin and French and the
variants of English itself.
Loans are more academic and sophisticated.
3). Dialects and regional English (p85)
• child—bairn (Scot.); ghost—bole (Scot.); dark—murk (Old
Norse);Tally—TV (AmE.);
• money—beans, bucks (AmE.); liquor—whisky (Irish); trick—gimmick
(AmE.)
4).Figurative and euphemistic use of words
business—biz; to spend—to blow in;
an unemployed man—a forgotten man
(euphemism); to scold—to call down
(euphemism)
5).Coincidence with idiomatic expressions
decide—make up ones mind;
hesitate—be in two minds.
3.3 Notes(思考3)
(1) Some words or phrases look
opposite in form, but they are
synonyms, e.g.
unloose/unfasten (解开)
flammable/inflammable (易燃地)
valuable/invaluable (有价值的)
shameful/shameless (可耻的)
heritable/inheritable (可继承的)
More examples:
• fill in/fill out (填空)
• to best one’s opponent/to worst
one’s opponent (大胜对手)
• a good scare/a bad scare (吓了一
大跳)
• a slim/fat chance (成功的可能性不
大)
• quite a lot/few (很多)
(2) Although Some words look
different in form and sound, they
are not synonyms, but lexical
variants(词汇变体).
e.g.
whatever/whatsoever(无论什么),
whoever/whosoever(不论是谁),
toward/towards, sere/sear(干枯的),
egoism/egotism(利己主义),
hippie/hippy,
whisky/whiskey
3.4. Discrimination of synonyms
同义词的区别
• To sum up, the differences between
synonyms may boil down to three areas:
denotation, connotation, and application.
• Difference in range and intensity of
meaning语义范围与强度的不同
• Difference in stylistic features
• Difference in emotive colouring
• Difference in application
4. Antonymy 反义关系(p89-93)
• Antonymy deals with semantic opposition.
反义关系研究的是语义上的对立。
• What are antonyms? Antonyms can be
defined as words which are opposite in
meaning. 反义词可被定义为意义上对立的
词。(p89)
4.1. Types of Antonyms 反义词的种类
*Antonyms can be divided into three types
according to semantics (p90-92)
1) Complementaries 互补反义词
2) Contraries 相对反义词
3) Converses 逆反反义词
Antonyms can be divided into two types according
to morphology: (omitted)
1) root antonyms: large—small
2) Derivative antonyms: polite—impolite
1) Complementaries 互补反义词
•
Complementaries are forms of antonyms which
truly represent oppositeness of meaning. 互
补反义词是真正反映意义对立的反义词形式。
E.g.
• Adj.: dead — alive, present — absent,
male — female,
true — false,
same — different, perfect — imperfect,
single — married
• Noun: boy — girl, man — woman
Features of complementaries
互补反义词的特点
• (1) They are so opposed to each other that they
are mutually exclusive and admit no possibility
between them. The assertion of one is the
denial of the other or vice versa. 它们互相完全
对立，互相排斥，之间不允许有任何可能项。肯
定一方就等于否定另一方，反之也一样。
• (2) Another distinctive feature of this category is
that such antonyms are nongradable. 这类反义
词的另一个显著特征是这种反义词是非等级的。
(we cannot use more than or how to modify
them.)
2) Contraries 相对反义词
• Contraries are best envisaged in terms of a
scale running between two poles or extremes.
相对反义词最好被想像为处于两极之间的一个标
尺。
• Words such as rich--poor, old--young, big--small
represent two points at both ends of the pole.
The existence of one is in relation to the
other. …This shows what is called semantic
relativity. 像富—穷、老—少、大—小这样的词
表示了一根杆子的两端。一方的存在与另一方有
关。…… 这就是所谓的语义相对性。
Characteristics:
Examples:
• (1) poor —— rich, good —— bad
•
cold —— hot, old —— young
• (2) rich, very rich, richer, richest
Characteristics:
• 1)Antonyms of this kind are characteristic of semantic
polarity. These antonyms form part of a scale of values
between two poles and can accommodate a middle
ground belonging neither to one pole nor to the other. 这
种反义词的特点是语义二极性。这些反义词形成了处于两
极之间的一支等值尺，并可以提供不属于两端的中间地带。
• 2)They are gradable -- can be used in comparative
degrees, and can be modified by very and how.
3) Converses 逆反反义词
• Converses consist of relational opposites such
as parent—child, husband—wife, predecessor—
successor, employer—employee.
• The pairs of words indicate such a reciprocal
social relationship that one of them cannot be
used without suggesting the other. 逆反反义词
包含了像父母—孩子、丈夫—妻子、前任—后任、
雇主—雇员 这样的关系对立词。这些成对的词表
明了一种相互的社会关系，即使用一个词必然会
提起另一个。
And Converses consist of Reverse terms 反
向词.
• Reverse terms comprise adjectives,
adverbs signifying a quality, verbs and
nouns signifying an act or state,which
reverse or undo the quality, action or state
of the other. 反向词包括表示性质的形容词
和副词和表示行为或状态的动词和名词，这
些性质、行为和状态与另一个词的性质、行
为和状态相反。
4.2
Characteristics of antonyms(思考4)
1). Antonyms must belong to the same
semantic field.
• e.g. My only love sprung from my only
hate!
• Too early seen unknown, and known too
late.
(Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act I Scene V)
• You and I
Moving in the dark,
Bodies close but souls apart,
Shadowed smiles, secrets unrevealed.
(Song, The color of the night)
•
•
祸兮福所倚，福兮祸所伏。
忧喜同门兮，吉凶同域。
(汉：贾谊《服鸟赋》)
2). Not all notions can be opposed to one
another, not all words have antonyms.
For instance, in Chinese, 飞机—高射炮，are
not taken as opposites although there are some
contrasting elements between them.
Antonyms are primarily found in words
expressing qualities, hence in adjectives of
quality. Next come verbs denoting action or
activity. Nouns express quality and state, beauty
– ugliness, love – hatred. And lastly in adverbs,
up – down; forwards – backwards, quickly –
slowly, etc.
3).A word which has more than one meaning
can have more than one antonym. e.g. (p92)
• Fresh: fresh bread – stale bread
fresh air – stuffy air
fresh flowers – faded flowers
He looked fresh – He looked tired.
• Old: an old man – a young man
An old house – a new house
• Further, the same word in the same
combination may have different antonyms, that
is to say, antonyms can be studied with
reference to a context. e.g.
• Clever: a clever boy (intellectually brilliant) – a
stupid boy.
A clever boy (bright in conversation) – a dull
boy.
• Powerful: a powerful man (position) – a
powerless man
A powerful man (strength) – a sick man
• 4) Antonyms can be studied according to the
theory of markedness. One of the antonymous
pairs, usually the one with general meaning is
unmarked, the other with specific meaning is
marked. e.g.
• unmarked
marked
• author
authoress
• actor
actress
• hero
heroine
• heir
heiress
• doctor
lady doctor
• athlete
woman athlete
• nurse
male nurse
• tiger
tigress
• # form: markedness is carried by an extra
or a different form.
• # distributional: the marked term is
distributionally more limited.
e.g. He who laughs best laughs last.
*She who laughs best laughs last.
• Everybody must do his/their duty.
*Everybody must do her duty.
• As to antonymic/antonymous terms, one is
unmarked, and the other is marked. In many
cases, the meaning of the specific is included
in that of the general, this is called semantic
inclusion. For instance:
• There is no man on the island. Man signifies
“human being”, naturally including woman.
• Freedom of man. * Freedom of woman.
• “快瞧小脚呀！”“我瞧见小脚啦！”“多大？多
小？”
（冯骥才《三寸金莲》）
4.3 The use of antonyms (p92)
• 1) Antonyms are useful in defining the meanings
of words. “Fresh” above is an example (fresh
bread – stale bread; fresh air – stuffy air; fresh
flowers – faded flowers; He looked fresh – He
looked tired). For another:
• Unlike her gregarious sister, Jane is a shy,
unsociable person.
• 2) Antonyms are often used to form antithesis对
照 to achieve emphasis by putting contrasting
ideas together. e.g.:
• Easy come, easy go.
• United we stand, divided we fall.
• Penny wise, pound foolish贪小便宜吃大亏 .
• Drunkenness reveals what soberness conceals.
• He who laughs at crooked man, should walk
very straight.
• A joke never gains an enemy, but often loses a
friend.
• Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
• When false is taken for true, true becomes
false;
• If non-being turns into being, being
becomes non-being. (A dream of red
mansions)
• 3) A pair of antonyms can form a compounding
term, usually the one conveying positive
meaning or unmarked initials the compounded
word. (思考5)
• e.g. big and small, good or bad, more or less,
father and son, mother and daughter, man and
wife, day and night, body and soul.
• 多少，大小，高低，善恶，买卖，胜败，快慢，
美丑，真假，进退，先后，粗细，
• （也有相反的情形：死活，贫富，呼吸，虚实）
• 4) Asymmetrical非对称的in use for most
antonyms, e.g. (思考6)
• 这块布三尺长。*这块布三尺短。
• 这条河二米深。*这条河二米浅。
• 这条鱼一斤重。*这条鱼一斤轻。
• 左撇子。
*右撇子。
5. Semantic Field 语义场
Semantic Fields:
Jost Trier first proposed semantic field theory
in Europe in the 1930s.
According to Crystal(1980: 316), the theory
took the view that the vocabulary of a given
language is not simply a listing of independent
items, but is organized into areas, or fields,
within which words interrelate and define each
other in various ways.
• e.g. the words blue, red, yellow, white, etc. may
be described as making up the semantic field of
color; and apple, pear, grape, lemon, orange,
strawberry, watermelon, etc. can compose the
semantic field of fruit.
6. Hyponymy 上下义关系(p100-102)
Hyponymy refers to the relationship
which obtains between generic 属的/类的
and specific lexical items (between the
genus类and the species种). The generic
lexical item used to designate标明/指明a
whole class of specific instances is
called the superordinate上位词, and the
specific item the subordinate下位詞.
Food
meat
beef
pork
mutton
…
vegetables
fruits
cereals
bread
apple
cabbage
cornflakes
persimmon
spinach
radish… lime…
cake…
The set of terms which are hyponyms of
the same hypernym are called cohyponyms, which are also known as
semantic fields.
Broadly speaking, a semantic field is
an area of meaning covered by a set of
related lexical items. (McCarthy, 1990:
159) Therefore, a semantic field is
retained by hyponymy, including
meronymy 整体-部分关系 , troponymy 下位关系 in
broader sense.
• Meronymy整体-部分关系is partwhole relation, e.g. “oar” is a
meronym of the holonym整体词
“boat”. (McCarthy, 1990:158)
• Meronym下位关系is the name of the
part; holonym整体词is the name of
the whole.
7. Some thoughts几点思考
•
•
•
•
•
1)pun, irony, euphemism ---polysemy
2)riddle-guessing
----homonym
3) antonym非对称(Asymmetrical)用法
4)看似反义词的synonym 问题
5) unmarkedness 的泛指性