英语词汇学-词义的变化.ppt

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1、第五章 词义的变化Change of Meaning,外语学院 徐红新,When a word loses its old meaning and comes to refer to something altogether different,the result is a change of word meaning.“Change of meaning is a commonplace,and indeed it would appear to be fundamental in living language,almost every word we use today has a s

2、lightly different meaning from the one it had a century ago:and a century ago it had a slightly different meaning from the one it had a century before that.”_ Quirk 1963:123-124,Causes of changes in word meaning1.the world is changing社会是语言的外部因素（索绪尔，1980：43），但是社会又不是一般的外部因素，而是客体世界中最重要的外部因素，因为语言是特殊的社会现

3、象，语言跟社会诸因素有千丝万缕的关系。1.1 旧词添新义 carship1.2 科技发展 光环1.3 普通义位与科技义位间的转变 menu,window1.4 社会集团社会地位的变化 governor,lord1.5 经济的发展 狗、马1.6 民族或种族矛盾的原因 Dutch,2.Human being is changing2.1 认识水平在提高 heart,brain2.2 思想观念的更新 天堂、老板、演员、士兵2.3心理感情因素 求新：净面、洗脸、飚客、粉丝,闪族 求美：春风、教室 求省：机票、机场、机群、客机、班机 gold metal 求雅：euphemism 下岗、老、战略性撤退、

4、穷 circumlocution liesteallazy 感情因素（移情）：冤家,3.The language is changing3.1 semantic reason harvestautumn motor 左右 红白赤3.2 grammatical reason 廉颇老矣，尚能饭否？3.3 pragmatic reason斗 闻,2,a.Extension of meaning,b.Restriction of meaning,c.Degeneration of meaning,d.Elevation of meaninge.Transformation of meaning,词义的

5、变化,Extension of Meaning,It is also called widening of meaning or generalization.Its a process by which a word which originally had a specialized meaning has now become generalized.,Four kinds of extensionA.From specific to general,B.From proper nouns to common nouns,C.From concrete to abstract,D.Fro

6、m technical terms to general words,A.From specific to general 从特指到泛指,Example,Picture:originally:a painting or drawing,The present meaning,a photograph a cinematic picturean x-ray picture a TV picturea radio-telescope pictureany picture,More Examples,rubbish,Originally:rubble(碎石）,Now:anything worthle

7、ss,B.From proper nouns to common nouns,Antonomasia 换称,the use of a proper noun to convey a general idea,Example,Sandwich:It now denotes a popular fast food.It originates from John Montague,Fourth earl of Sandwich in 18th-century England.He was so fond of gambling that he often forgot his meals.He of

8、ten ordered slices of bread with thick pieces of roast beef stuffed between them be brought to him so he could eat while playing.Later,people used his name to refer to all similar food.,Greek Myth:a king punished for his misdeeds by having to stand in waterthat recedes when he tries to drink itand u

9、nder fruit that moves awayas he reaches for it.,Tantalus,Tantalize 挑逗,Argus百眼巨人,Greek myth:a giant with 100 eyes.After he was killed,hiseyes were transferred to the Peacocks tail,Argus-eyed:keen-sighted;Observant明察秋毫的,Example:We have decided it is impossible to cheat when that Argus-eyed pro-fessor

10、gives anexam,Narcissus水仙花,Narcissus:Greek myth:a beautiful youth who fell in love with his ref-lection in a pool,hence the word:narcissism and the meaning:an interest in or admiration for oneself.,Munchausen说大话的人,He was a German soldier.After his retirement from his service in the Russian Army again

11、st the Turks,he told exaggerated stories of his campaigning adventures,thus the meaning:a person who boasts;exaggerated.,Pinchbeck冒牌货,Christopher Pinchbeck was an British jeweler.He invented an alloy of copper,zinc formerly used for cheap jewelery,hence the meaning:specious似是而非的 and spurious伪造的 good

12、s.,Frankenstein,Frankenstein is a character in the novel written by famous British woman writer Mary W.Shelley.He is a medical researcher,who created a robot monster,brought it to life and finally was killed by the monster.,“Watergate”源指美国华盛顿特区综合大厦。1972年6月17日夜间，共和党争取总统连任委员会有关人员潜入大厦内民主党全国委员会总部而被捕，暴露了

13、共和党政府在总统竞选中的非法活动，导致美国历史上首次总统辞职，现泛指“丑闻”。,专有名词普通化与特定的历史事件有关：,Louis Pasteur is a French chemist and biologist.His researches showing that the fermentation发酵 of milk and wine was due to the multiplication of bacteria and other microorganisms led to the discovery of the role of microorganism in human and

14、 animal disease.From these findings he developed immunization by inoculation免疫接种 of attenuated microbes微生物,and the process of pasteurization巴氏消毒法.,专有名词普通话与特定的科技事件有关：,Pasteurization is a process which renders milk free of disease-producing bacteria and help to prevent it from spoiling without destroy

15、ing the vitamins or changing the taste.It involves heating the milk to 1450-168F for 30 minutes.To pasteurize is to sterilize by pasteurization.,James Watt（瓦特）is a Scottish engineer who made fundamental improvements to the Newcomen steam engine,leading to the widespread use of steam power in mines,f

16、actories etc.In partnership with Mathew Boulton,Watt built may engines at their foundry铸造车间 in Birmingham.The unit of power is named after him.,Words of this group also include ampere（安培）,farad（法拉）,ohm（欧姆）,volt（伏特）,watt（瓦特）from French physicist Ampere,British physicist Faraday,German physicist Ohm,I

17、talian physicist Volta and Scottish inventor Watt respectively,这类专有名词常为商标专有名。Walkman原来是Sony公司“随身听”的注册商标，在激烈的商业活动竞争中脱颖而出成为名牌。由于它家喻户晓，使它在人们心目中失去了一种专利商标，被用户作为“随身听”的代名词去泛指一切“随身听”产品。,与经济活动有关：,Words like nylon（尼龙）,orlon（奥纶）,dacron（涤纶）,rayon（人造丝）were originally tradenames and are now used to denote the fou

18、r types of fabric.,生活节奏的加快，生活竞争的加剧使得体育专业术语大量被用于日常生活之中：,与体育活动有关：,cover the bases:补垒:可泛指“仔细考虑问题、建议、事情等每一个细节以确保万无一失”。,be out in left field:棒球术语：左外场，位于外场防卫位置，语义泛化后指：“失去理智的”，“错误的”等。,strike out:棒球术语，“三击未中，击球员出局”，现可指“努力失败”。load the bases:跑满垒：形容“任务即将被完成”。hit a home run:本垒打：泛指“取 得巨大成功”。,throw a curve ball:打出

19、曲线球，这种球在接手接球一刹那会拐弯飞出：形容“采用欺骗手段使某人大吃一惊”。call the play:作裁判：形容“承担有决定权的职责”。,run with it:带球向得分点跑去：形容“开始实施一个计划或开始着手某个事务”等。,touchdown:攻方持球触地，按照规定，攻方在对方端区持球触地可得6分，现在可用来形容“辉煌的成就”。,Svengali(斯文加利)系英语小说家George du Maurier所著小说Trilby中的音乐家。He is a person who controls anothers mind,usually with sinister intentions.,

20、专有名词充当普通动词，例如：,He svengalied us into accepting his opinions.,他采用斯文加利式的骗术使我们接受了他的观点。,The United States is raising a Frankenstein by providing hardware to that country.（美国向那个国家提供军事武器，到头来只会作法自毙。）Frankenstein是英国作家 Mary Wollstonecraft-Shelley 于1818年所著小说中的生理学研究专家。他创造了一个怪物，结果被这个怪物所毁灭。,英语普通化专有名词的常见特征：专有名词充当

21、普通名词使用，例如：,Gerrymander:to divide the constituencies（选区）of a voting area so as to give one party an unfair advantage;to manipulate or adapt to ones advantage.,专有名词与普通名词拼缀构成动词，例如：,Californias Republican legislature gerrymandered（为己党利益擅改选区）the 26thto make it overwhelmingly Democratic and turn four adjo

22、ining districts into Republican strongholds.,“Gerrymander”comes from Elbridge Gerry,a U.S.politician+(sala)mander(蝾螈；）;from the salamander-like outline of an electoral district reshaped for political purposes while Gerry was governor of Massachusetts,Hooverize:vt 节约（粮食等）由Hoover+ize 派生而来。,专有名词与动词词缀连用

23、构成派生动词,?,Herbert Clark Hoover was a U.s.Statesman,31st president of the U.S.He organized relief for Europe during and after World War I.As president he made great efforts to reduce government expenses and lost favour after his failure to alleviate the effects of the Depression.,When proper nouns are

24、 commonized,many of them have lost their original identity:the initial letter may not be capitalized as already shown;these words can take suffixes ic,ian,-al,-ist,-ese,-ish,-esque to form different words.,这类专有名词转为普通动词在科技英语中尤为常见，尤其是商品名牌商标的动词化，例如：,“Hoover”,“Whiteout”,“Mace”are the trademarks respecti

25、vely for a type of vacuum cleaner“真空吸尘器”，a white correcting fluid“白色涂改液”，and a liquid causing tears and nausea,used as a spray for riot control,“梅斯催泪毒气”,to mace demonstrators 向游行示威者喷射梅斯气,to hoover a floor 用真空吸尘器吸地板上的灰尘,to white out a mistake 用白色涂改液涂改错误,专有名词通过转类法转为普通形容词:,Mickey Mouse:the name of a ca

26、rtoon character created by Walter Disney,known for his simple-minded attitudes,hence the meaning:ineffective,trivial and insignificant,例如：Two days for a 226-mile race is Mickey Mouse.两天跑完226英里的赛程是轻而易举的事。,a mickey mouse college course 一门容易学的大学课程,专有名词的普通化现象在现代英语中层出不穷。这种普通化现象在经济领域会带来一系列的司法纠纷。在政治领域也会带来一

27、些消极的后果。,在美国，“Coke”,“Kleenex”（可丽舒面巾纸）,“Xerox”（施乐影印）,“Jell-o”（吉露果冻）“Scotch Tape（透明胶封口）”为阻止商标名的普通化先后诉诸法庭，如果说以上商标名通过法律途径在一定的程度上保护了自己的产品名的“专有”。,正因如此，越来越多的厂家开始在商标名的设计上标新立异。从语言形式上试图杜绝自己商品名的语义泛化现象。从商标名的专有名词普通化分析结果来看，有以下三种情况：,1）专有名词商标名具有浓厚的描绘性特征：Dry Ice:干冰，固态二氧化碳Shredded Wheat:脆麦面条Mineral Oil:矿物油Corn Flakes:

28、玉米片,2）专有名词具有半描绘性特征：Cellophane:塞璐玢；玻璃纸Escalator:电梯Zipper:拉链,节约原则是指人们用商标名作为产品的代名词。人们之所以这样做是因为商标名相对于产品名，前者可能更简便，且易上口。长此以往，导致商标名失去专有名词特征。,3）节约原则,如：Sanka牌的“decaffeinated（脱去咖啡因的）coffee”;Teflon牌的“Polytetrafluoroethylene 聚四氟乙烯coating”。商标名“Sanka”以及“Teflon”在语符系统上比较简单，前者代替后者不可避免,为了防止专有名词普通化，生产厂家采取了一系列措施保护商标名的专

29、一性。,一是在拼写上采取反常规形式，在不该大写的地方使用大写形式，如：TelePrompter(电子提词机)；,二是使其商标名作为专有形容词使用，如：Jell-o gelatin(果冻胶)。,这些措施也很难有效保护这些专有名词的普通化趋势，因为语言使用者只要对这些专有名词稍加改动便可以使它们至少在形式上类似普通词。现在，字典已收入了“teleprompter提词装置”以及“jello凝胶物”便是很好的例子。,C.From Concrete to AbstractGrasp抓住、掌握Place 广场、地位Thing 集会、,Matter:originally meant timber,the h

30、ard part of a tree,Now it has a lot of abstract meanings.,1)The world is made of matter.,Substance(s)of which the physical thing is made,2)The matter in your essay is good.,Material for thought or expression,3)This is a matter I know little about.,Something in which attention is given,It made no mat

31、ter to him that his brother lost all his money.,Of importance,D.From technical terms to general words:,Countdown:the counting aloud of numbers in reverse order before sth.happens,esp.Before a spacecraft is launched.,Now:emergency situation十分危急的情况；行将摊牌的局面,That would lead to a countdown in Cambodia柬埔寨

32、.,Feedback:it occurs in a machine or system when part of the power,sound or information produced goes back into the machine or system.,Now:response,The reader feedback was generally favourable.,Fallout:the radiation that affects a place after a nuclear explosion:放射性尘埃,Now:consequence,He predicted th

33、at the fallout from Watergate would hit both parties.,Fire storm:It takes place when a bomb explodes;strong winds rush into it to take the place of the hot air that is rising,causing the blaze to burn uncontrollably.核弹引起的大火暴,Now:strong reaction,The revelations about the CIAs activities in Chile brok

34、e in the press just as the fire storm over the Nixon pardon put an abrupt end to Congresss honey-moon with Gerald ford.,报界揭发了中央情报局在智利的活动，与此同时，赦免尼克松所引起的强烈反应使得国会同杰拉德。福特的蜜月猝然终止。,Restriction of Meaning,Examples,liquor,Old Meaning,Specialized meaning,liquid,alcoholic drink,example,meat,Old Meaning,Specia

35、lized Meaning,food,Flesh of animals,word,Old meaning,Specialization,disease,discomfort,illness,poison,drink,Poisonous drink,wife,woman,married woman,accident,event,unlucky event,girl,A child,A female child,word,Old meaning,Specialization,starve,die,Die of hunger,stink,Any smell,Bad smell,success,Res

36、ult,a good result,corpse,a human oranimal body living or dead,a dead bodyesp.of a human being,现代英语中把日常生活用语转用到科技方面，这也是词义缩小的一种现象。,A clean room 和 a white room均为日常生活用语，现指用于精密零件制造的“绝尘室”,“A clean room”or“a white room”,increasingly becomes shop talk.,清洁室或称白室正日益变成专家们的行话。,Elevation of Meaning,Words often ris

37、e from a humble beginning to a position of greater importance.This change is called elevation of meaning.,Pioneer:foot soldier who cleared the way for any army by falling trees,etc.,A person who goes before,preparing the way for others,as a scientist doing exploratory work,Fond:foolish,Tender and af

38、fectionate,minister,Old:an attendantNew:a person at the head of a department of a state.,marshall,Originally:A horse tender,Present Meaning:Officer of highest rank,craftsman,Old:a person good at cheatingNow:a man who does a skilled job,usu,with hands,shrewd,Old meaning:wicked;malicious,Now:keen-witt

39、ed;clever or sharp in practical affairs,nimble,Old meaning:quick at stealingpresent meaning:quick of comprehension,见125页 Elevation of Meaning,Degradation of meaning,Words with a commendatory meaning may become ones with a derogatory sense.This is called degradation of meaning or deterioration,Four K

40、inds of Degradation of Meaning,A.A word falls into disrepute because of social prejudice,Example,Villain old meaning:a farmerpresent Meaning:a man guilty of evil deeds,clown,Old meaning:a peasantpresent Meaning:a man who is clumsy and behaves stupidly,wench,Old meaning:a country girlpresent meaning:

41、a girl of loose character,boor,Old meaning:a farmhand,present meaning:one who is rough,impolite and clumsy,churl,Old meaning:a farmhandpresent meaning:one who is rude and unfriendly,B.A word becomes less respectable because of euphemism,Examples 见127页,C.Middle terms which are neutral in meaning and

42、take on favorable or unfavorable meaning according to context,Examples见128页,Fortune,is a middle term,because it may be either good or bad but the adjective fortunate has a positive value.So with the word luck.The word refers to good or bad luck,especially to good luck.But the adjective lucky only de

43、notes“having or bringing good luck”.,D.Sometimes a word shows deterioration in some of its uses,but maintain itself in others.,execute,To kill sb.as a lawful punishment,To carry out an order,a plan,a piece of work,4-2-3Semantic Changes from the Literal Use of words to Their Figurative Use,1.Metaphor

44、,We know that words are used in two ways:literally and figuratively.When used literally,they have their natural and usual meaning.When used figuratively,they have a suggested meaning.,!,A simile is a figure of speech which makes a comparison between two unlike elements,having at least one point of r

45、esemblance in appearance,quality,action or effect.,A metaphor,like a simile,also makes a comparison between two unlike elements,but unlike a simile,this comparison is implied rather than stated.,Metaphor?,There are three major groups of metaphors according to function and character:,A.Anthropomorphi

46、c metaphors,B.Animal metaphors,C.Synaesthetic metaphors,A.Anthropomorphic metaphors,Many inanimate objects are compared to the parts of the human body.,the eye of a needle 针眼,the eye of a potato马铃薯的芽眼,the eye of the hurricane 风眼,the eye of a flower 花心,the eye of a peacocks tail孔雀翎斑,the eye of the re

47、volution 革命中心,参见p.32 for More Examples,B.Animal metaphors,A great many inanimate objects,including various instruments,machines and parts of machines are called after an animal.,Cat-o-nine-tails;九尾鞭；香蒲,Cat-ice:thin ice unsupported by water 薄冰,Catmint or catnip 猫薄荷,Catlap:slops,tea,etc.稀薄饮料,Another l

48、arge group of animal names can be transferred into words indicating persons.,An ass:a stupid foolish person,A pig:a dirty,greedy or ill-mannered person,A mouse:a person,esp.A woman,who is quiet and timid,A goose:a silly person,esp.female,A cat:a nasty person,A rat:a low worthless disloyal man,A lion

49、:a famous and important person,A fox:a person who deceives others by means of clever tricks,A tiger:a person like such an animal in fierceness,courage,etc.,An owl:a wise-looking dullard.,A mule:a stupid or obstinate person,A dark horse:a person whose abilities are hidden,A mule:a stupid or obstinate

50、 person,An ape:a person who copies the behaviour of others,A monkey:a child who is full of annoying playfulness and trick,A parrot:a person who repeats,often without understanding,the words or actions of another,C.Synaesthetic metaphors,They are metaphors used to refer to direct association between