词汇学第四节.ppt

Chapter 5 Changes in word meaning
词义的变化
why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, But when I wind up this essay, I end it.
do people recite at a play, and play at a recital(独奏)?
I. Polysemy(一词多义)
II. Types of semantic change (词义变化的方式)
I. Polysemy(一词多义)
Polysemy - Greek origin: Polys: much;
sema: meaning
The same word may have two or more different meanings.
Most English words are polysemic. A sign of the superiority of that language.
meaning(原始意义;基本意义) and derived meaning(派生意义)
Primary meaning refers to what a word originally meant; derived meaning refers to the meaning springing from the original meaning(词在语言发展过程中形成的).
Eg. Harvest 秋天(autumn)
Pain (惩罚),此义仅用于下列词组:
Pains and penalties刑法
On/under pain of (death)违者处(死)
2. Central meaning(中心意义) and secondary meaning(次要意义)
Central meaning equals Primary meaning
Radiation词义的辐射: the process in which the primary or central meaning stands at the center while secondary meanings radiate from it in every direction like rays. Each of the secondary meanings is independent of all the rest, and may be traced back to the central meaning.
Hand (手)
I’m only interested in the birds in my hands.
(拥有)
He set his hands to the contract.
(签字)
My son write a good hand.
(字)
We gave the singer a big hand
(鼓掌)
We need 20 more hands.
(人手)
Concatenation连锁联结
The process where the later meaning is related to the proceeding one only, just like a chain. Though the latest sense can be traced back to the original, there is no direct connection between the two.
:cheater: 其原意为“an officer who attended to escheats”即,看管领主的土地的官吏。后因这种人常常损公肥私成为不老实的人(a dishonest person),现在作“骗子”解。此义与原义已失去联系。
candidate 源自拉丁语candidatus (white-robbed 穿白衣的),原义指“穿白衣的人”(a person dressed in white),后用来指“穿白衣的谋求公职的人”(a white-robbed seeker for office)。这与古罗马的风俗有关,当时凡候选人参加选举时均需穿上白衣。随着语言的发展,“穿白衣的”的原始意义丧失,只保留“候选人”(a seeker for office) 一义。显然,此义与原义已经分离。
II. Types of semantic change (词义变化的方式)
Causes of Semantic Change:
cause:It refers that a