现代英语词汇学概论6polysemyandhomonymy.ppt
Session 6,Chapter V Polysemy and Homonymy,Review chapter 4,I.Motivation of meaningOnomatopoeic MotivationDucks quack.Morphological motivationHopefulSemantic MotivationTabula(木板)-tableEtymological motivationArgus-eyed professorArgus 百眼巨人目光敏锐的,II.Components of meaninggrammatical meaning vs.lexical meaningforget:forgets;forgotconceptual meaning vs.associative meaninghomesmall,littlebegin,commencepretty,handsome,associative meaningconnotative meaningdragon,motherstylistic meaningbrotherly,fraternalaffective meaningfamous,notoriouscollocative meaningThe torch flashes.The stars twinkle.The sun shines.,Ex.9 P.133,Lead-in,A man who was involved in a serious motorcycle accident was unable to speak when he first regained consciousness.Whishing to know how long he had been unconscious,he took a piece of paper and a pencil from the bedside and,after writing“date?”on it,gave it to his nurse.She handed it back to him after she had written the word“Married”on it.,Teaching focus,I.PolysemyII.HomonymyIII.How to distinguish the two forms?IV.ContextV.Ambiguity and vagueness,I.Polysemy一词多义,1.1 polysemytwo processes of development1.2 sense relations of polysemy1.2.1 original meaning vs.extended meaning1.2.2 universal meaning vs.particular meaning1.2.3 abstract meaning vs.concrete meaning1.2.4 literal meaning vs.figurative meaning,1.1 Polysemymeans that one single word has two or more senses at the same time.Eg.government:治理国家；政府blanket:羊毛毯；给盖羊毛毯“get”:150 meanings“cut”:120 meanings,Two processes of developmenta)Radiation辐射型：It is the semantic process in which the primary meaning stands at the centre and the secondary meaning radiates out of it.Though all the secondary meanings are independent of one another,they can all be traced back to the primary meaning.,the head of the school,six pence per head,the head of a page,to lose ones head,six head of cattle,a head of cabbage,at the head of a list,Two heads are better than one.,to discuss a question under five heads,use you head,b)Concatenation连锁型:It is the semantic process in which the meaning of a word moves gradually away from its primary meaning in succession so that the present meaning seems to have no connection to the primary meaning.,E.g.candidate：1)white-roped2)office seeker in white gowns3)a person who seeks an office4)a person proposed for a place,award,etc.1)2)3)4),How to master the different meanings of a polysemic word?relations between senses,1.2 sense relations of polysemy,1.2.1 original meaning vs.extended meaning 原始意义vs.引申意义1.2.2 universal meaning vs.particular meaning 普遍意义vs.特殊意义1.2.3 abstract meaning vs.concrete meaning 抽象意vs.特殊意义1.2.4 literal meaning vs.figurative meaning字面意义vs.比喻意义,1.2.1 original meaning vs.extended meaning,Etymologyoriginal meaning:no practical useextended meaning:in useE.g.Original extendedCandidate 穿白衣服的人 Pen 羽毛,More examples:climate 原始意义引申意义 Greek“klimax”=slope The Greeks thought that the earth sloped toward the north and that this affected the weather.,1.2.2 universal meaning vs.specific meaning,E.g.“disease”a)The business of doctors is to prevent and cure disease.b)Measles and flu are common diseases.a)泛指“疾病”b)特指“某种疾病”More examplesFishFruit,1.2.3 abstract meaning vs.concrete meaning,E.g.“envy”a)He was filled with envy of me.a)中,envy 有“妒嫉、羡慕”的抽象意义b)His splendid new car was the envy of all his friends.b)中,envy 则指“羡慕的对象”这一具体意义entry“进入”“入口”beauty“美丽”“美人”Pride“骄傲”“一个使人引以为骄的人”,1.2.4 literal meaning vs.figurative meaning,Eg.“mirror”His diary is a mirror of the times he lived in.“反映真象之物”“fragrant”fragrant flowers“芳香的”fragrant memories“愉快的,甜蜜的”,II.Homonymy同形异义,Homonyms(同行异义词)are different words with the same form(spelling or pronunciation)E.g.light（光）light（轻的）；bark（吠）bark（树皮）；flower（花）flour（面粉）；vain（徒劳的）vein（静脉）vane（风向标）；tear（眼泪）tear（撕）；lead（率领）lead（铅）等。,Three types of homonyms2.1 Perfect homonyms完全同形同音异义词 2.2 Homophones同音异义词 2.3 homograph/heteronym同形异音异义词 Of the three types,homophones constitute the largest number and are most common.,2.1 perfect homonym,They are different words identical both in sound and spelling,though different in meaning.E.g.1)poppop p p/n 流行歌曲 popp pn爸爸 popp pn砰的一声2)lastlast la:sta最后的 lastla:stv持续 lastla:stn鞋楦头,3).scalescaleskeiln鱼鳞 scaleskeiln天平 scaleskeiln标度 scaleskeilv攀登4)meanmean mi:nv意指 meanmi:na卑鄙的 meanmi:na中间的5)tensetense tensn时态 tensetensa拉紧的,2.2 homophone,They are different words identical in sound but different in spelling and meaning.E.G:capital;capitoldew;duedie;dyedual;duel cheap;cheep 在英语的同形异义词中,同音异义词数量最多。,More examples,WeakWayWaitWaistVeinWaiveWoodTail,WeekWeighWeightWasteVainWaveWouldTale,FleeFlourFoulFluFeetFlairHealHearHairHeardhoarse,FleaFlowerFowlFlewFeatFlareHeelHereHareHerdhorse,Activity:give the homophones to the words on the left,PrayPrincipalProfitRainRoadRapRingReadSailSeeseen,PreyPrincipleProphetRein;reignRodeWrapWringReedSaleSeescene,SeeSewSeamSonStealSearSightSoarSomestair,SeaSoSeemSunSteelSeerSiteSoreSumstare,2.3 homograph/heteronym 同形异义词,Homographs/heteronyms are different words identical in spelling,but different in sound or meaning.Eg.BowShe wears a bow in her hair.Bow to the audience at the end.,closePlease close the door.She sat close to him.contentThe content of the talk is simple.I am content to just stay home.convertShe is a convert to exercise.She will convert the machine.digestYou will digest your food in time.I never read Readers Digest.,2.4 Rhetoric features of homonyms 修辞特征,As homonyms are identical in sound or spelling,particularly homophones,they are often employed to create puns for desired effect of,say,humor,sarcasm or ridicule.,1)King：my cousin Hamlet，and my son，how is it that theclouds still hang on you？Hamlet：Not so，my lord，I am too much in the sunShakespeare：(Hamlet）国王：侄儿哈姆雷特，我的儿啊怎么回事，你还是满脸阴霾？哈姆雷特：不见得，陛下，我是阳光晒得够了。son（儿子）和sun（太阳）是同音词。Hamlet对叔父称自己为儿子极为反感，但他又不能锋芒毕露，回答“too much in the sun（son）”，既可以表示“阳光（sun）晒得足够”，又可暗示“屈作儿子（son）太久”。此处的双关语表现了他压抑已久的愤懑。,2)“Mine is a long and a sad tale！”said the Mouse，turning to Alice and sighing“It is a long tail，certainly，”said Alice，looking down with wonder at the Mouses tail；“but why do you call it sad？”（LCaroll：Alices Adventures in Wonderland）,3)Youre not eating your fish,the waitress said to him.Anything wrong with it?Long time no sea,the man replied.Criticize in a humorous way the bad quality of the sea food4)On Sunday they pray for you and on Monday they prey on you.a sardonic tonePrey:plunder or rob,here refers to exploit the working people like ferocious animals preying on their victims,III.How to differentiate polysemy from perfect homonymy?,The fundamental difference between homonyms and polysemants lies in the fact that:Homonyms refer to different lexemes(词位)which have the same form.Polysemants refer to the one and same lexeme which has several distinguishable meanings.,Two criterion:a)“etymology”Homonyms are descendants of different sources A polysemant is a word of the same source which has acquired different meanings in the course of development.,b)“semantic relatedness”Meanings of different homonyms have nothing to do with one another.The several meanings of a single polysemous lexeme are related and can be traced back to one central meaning.In dictionary,a polysemant has its meanings all listed under one headword whereas homonyms are listed as separate entries.,Etymological doublets:同源对似词have the same etymological root but different in form and meaningE.g.frail and fragile(which share the Latin root,fragilis):a fragile tea cup a frail old woman?a frail tea cup?fragile old woman,Activities,1).Complete the following table,using letter“d”for“different”and“s”for“same”.,2)Look up the meanings of the following two words in your dictionary:beartear,IV.Context,How to make sure the meaning of a polysemy or homonymy?Eg.They found hospitals and charitable institutions.found:foundfind-found5.1 linguistic context,co-context5.2 extra-context,non-linguistic context,ambiguity:partly lexical,partly grammatical,5.1 linguistic context,co-context,In a narrow sense,it refers to the words,clauses,sentences in which a word appears.This is know as linguistic context or co-text,which may extend to embrace a paragraph,a whole chapter and even the entire book.,Linguistic context can be subdivided into lexical context and grammatical context.a)lexical context:refers to the lexemes that co-occur with the word in question.The meaning of the word is often affected and defined by the neighbouring lexemes.b)grammatical context:In some cases,the meanings of a polysemant may be influenced by the structure in which it occurs.,a)lexical contextE.g“paper”a sheet of papera white paper a term papertodays paperexamination paper,“paper”a sheet of paper:thin flat sheets of substance for writing,printing,decorating walls,etc.a white paper:government documenta term paper:essay written at the end of the termtodays paper:newspaperexamination paper:a set of questions used as an examination,Eg.“do”do a sum do ones teethdo the flowersdo fishdo science at schooldo a museum/a city/a country A car can do 80 miles an hour.John is doing well in school.,“do”do a sum:work out the answer to a math questiondo ones teeth:brushdo the flowers:arrangedo fish:cookdo science at school:studydo a museum/a city/a country:visitA car can do 80 miles an hour.:runJohn is doing well in school.:learning,b)grammatical contextE.g.“become”become+adj./n.(used as predicative),meaning begin to bebecome+pron./n.(used as object),meaning suit,befitbecome+of,meaning happen to,often in a bad way,Daydreams have become realities.This sort of behavior hardly becomes a person in your position.I dont know what will become of us if the company goes bankrupt.“make”P.148,5.2 extra-context,non-linguistic context,In a broad sense,context includes the physical situation where a word is employed.This is called extra-linguistic or non-linguistic context,covering the participants(addresser and addressee),time,place and even the whole cultural background.,E.g.look outLook outside.Be watchful.LandlordAmerican:neutralChina:pejorative,V.Ambiguity and vagueness,Ambiguity 歧义Syntactic or grammatical ambiguityA married man or womanI like Mary more than Jean.Lexical ambiguityAre you engaged?un-lockable:not able to be lockedunlock-able:able to be unlockedan English teacher,Vagueness含混referential vagueness指称含混town vs.city;forest vs.wood;tall vs.shortindeterminacy of meaning 词义不确定Johns trainlack of specification词义缺乏确指neighborDisjunction词义的析取 The applicants for the job are required to have either a first class degree or some teaching experience.3 种人All competitors must either be male or wear one-piece swimming suit.2种人,练习二 P.156,单词 actaccountadventurecablecallcaptaindeficiency icelabellight,特殊意义戏剧一幕报账投机活动电报电话船长亏空冰制食品绰号灯,普遍意义 行为说明冒险缆绳喊首领缺乏冰标签光,Ex.P.156,单词 affinityburyjudgepastereligiontonesoletongue verseworld,特殊意义姻亲关系埋葬审判面团宗教乐音鞋底舌头诗地球,普遍意义 密切关系掩盖下判断糊状物信仰音调底部舌状物韵文世界,练习三 P.157,单词abilityaccomplishmentagencydemocracydiplomacyexchangefallhelpstandtuition,具体意义才能 成就经理处民主政体外交手腕交易所瀑布助手看台学费,抽象意义 能力完成代理民主外交交换堕落帮助立场讲授,单词backbroweyefacefieldhandheadpicturesapscreen,具体意义背脊眉眼睛脸田地手头画树液屏风,抽象意义后面容貌实力面貌领域手艺智力情景元气掩护,练习四 P.158,单词babebarbercarrotdimEdenfinalgoldgulfhardlamb,比喻意义缺经验的人话多之人空洞的政治承诺模糊的、智力迟钝的乐园决定性的财富鸿沟困难的天真的孩子,字面意义婴儿理发师胡萝卜暗淡的伊甸园最后的黄金海湾硬的羔羊,单词lionnestlingoceanrawredsoftthroatuglywebwing,比喻意义勇敢的男士婴儿大量无经验的赤字温柔的出入口讨厌的织物机翼,字面意义 狮子雏鸟海洋生的红色柔软的咽喉丑陋的网翅膀,
