语言学导论.ppt

Chapter 7From Meaning to FunctionIcon of PeaceNatural IndexSymbolic SystemlA.Natural Symbols.They are part of natural phenomena,e.g.lightning in the thunderstorm.lB.Artificial Symbols.They are mental representations of entities.What is semantics?lThe study of meaning communicated through language.lCf.Other sciences that study meanings:philosophy:study of the meaning of the universe,nature and human life psychology:study of the meaning of human mind semiotics:study of the meaning of symbolsProblems in finding out the meaninglYet study from different aspects of language cannot fully solve all the problems in meaning:The“cargo”remains a messy largely unstructured intellectual no-mans land on the fringes of linguistics.-G.Leech e.g.Theta roles:thematic roles difficult to tell;Word meaning differs from place to place,from time to time.The Meaning of“Meaning”l(1)What is the meaning of“sesquipedalian”?l(2)I did not meant to hurt you.l(3)He never says what he means.l(4)She rarely means what she says.l(5)Life without faith has no meaning.l(6)What do you mean by the word“concept”?l(7)He means well,but he is rather clumsy.l(8)Fame and riches mean nothing to the true scholar.l(9)It was John I meant not Harry.l (Lyons 1977:1-3)l(2)(3)(4)(6)(7)-intentionl(5)&(8)-valuel(1)&(9)-referlMetalanguage:is used to describe language.(reflexivity)l用来分析和描写另一种语言（被观察的语言或目的语Object language的语言或一套符号 Seven Theories of Semanticsl(I)The referential theoryl(II)The ideational theoryl(III)The behaviorist theoryl(IV)The meaning-is-use theoryl(V)The verificationist theoryl(VI)The truth-conditional theoryl(VII)Semantic triangularSaussurean Arbitrariness An association of concepts with abstract An association of concepts with abstract representations of soundrepresentations of sound Arbitrary Relation between Sounds and MeaningThere are only a small number of words whose relation can be explained,but whose pronunciation still cannot be uniform among languages.e.g.onomatopoeia(echo words):cuckoo (English),coucou(French),Kuckuck(German)Kakuk(Hungarian)Kokkyx(Greek)bugu(Chinese)Language is a symbolic system in which the relation between signs(signified)and sounds(signifier)is arbitrary.Arbitrariness comes from having to code a whole universe of meanings.Semantics 语义学 The study of meaning communicated through language.Ogden&Richards Semantic Triangle Semantic TriangleSemantic TriangleReferentConceptRefers tosymbolevokesStands forThere is not a direct link between the sound of the word dog and the object it refers to.What is called the signified is not actually what we have been shown but an abstract concept formed in our mind.Semiotics 符号学 The study of the relationships between a sign and the object it represents.Pierces Semiotic Triangle What Is a Sign?lA sign is a pattern of data which,when perceived,brings to mind something other than itself.lAlthough this definition appears simple on the surface,it has complex implications.Please pause to look at the following picture for a moment.A Semiotic SystemlAt the beginning of the exercise,did this sign:,bring to your mind a large,African or Indian animal?lOr memories of a trip to the zoo?lOr images recalled from a favorite book read as a child,or a television show,or a movie.?Pierces Semiotic TrianglelEach of the lines in the Semiotic Triangle represents a two-way negotiation,i.e.lPerception-the ongoing group of bodily processes by which human beings receive data about their environments;lExperience-the memory of previous perceptions and concepts,which is constantly being altered or updated by new experience;lConvention-the constantly changing social rules of meaning that unify groups of people within their communication environments.Floating signifierlMale voice:Should I put more fire into my poems?lFemale voice:You should put more of your poems into the fire.lQuestion:What does the man mean?Semantic featureslSemantic features are defined as a class of theoretical constructs developed in analogy to the distinctive features of phonology they are considered to be the smallest semantic units for the description of linguistic expressions and their semantic relations.Matrix of semantic features for some nounsmanwomanboygirlcowHUMAN+-ADULT+-+MALE+-+-Matrix of semantic features for some verbswalk march run limpNATURAL+-HURRIED-+-FORWARD+ONE FOOT ALWAYS ON GROUND+-+Problems cant be solved by the mechanical method above 1.It is difficult and even impossible to exhaust all the semantic features of every word 2.Meaning in context For example:She was the only man in her cabinet.“She”refers to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi “man”:metaphor,connotative meaningSHE WAS THE ONLY MAN IN HER CABINETlConnotation A concept in an individuals mind is mostly the connotative meaning,formed through ones perception of some features of the object a sign refers to.lDenotation The denotative meaning is not necessarily generated in such a process,but has long been an agreement among all the people in a community.Denotation and Connotationldenotation:“common sense”meaning(arise from social convention)lconnotation:“Subjective”meaning(arise from ones own perception)le.g.camel:1.denotative:light brown,ruminant animal,two humps,dry climate 2.connotative:concept of the shape of camel,camel-like mountain Connotative meaning changes over time,because peoples subjective perception and experience is always changing.Even denotative meaning changes over time,because the conventional meaning of a sign is always under renegotiation.For example,gay Chomsky on Meaning(2000)lSuppose the library has two copies of Tolstoys War and Peace,Peter takes out one,and John the other.lDid Peter and John take out the same book,or different books?If we attend to the material factor of the lexical item,they took out different books.if we focus on its abstract component,they took out the same book.The book that he is planning will weigh at least five pounds if he ever writes it.We attend to both material and abstract factors simultaneouslyChomskys Conclusion lThe semantic properties of words are used to think and talk about the world in terms of the perspectives made available by the resources of the mind.I-meaninglHe knocked at the window.lHe jumped out of the window.lThe morning light was stealing through the window.lThe window is material.lThe window is abstract.lThe window can either be material or abstract.Internal Semantic Knowledge a)The following sentences describe the same situation:l You cant imagine how I miss you.l You can imagine how I miss you.SynonymyInternal Semantic Knowledgeb)Noticing that the following sentences contradict each other:l My father has just come from Paris.l My father has never been to Paris.ContradictionInternal Semantic Knowledgec)Judging that of the following two sentences,the first entails the second:l The anarchist assassinated the Emperor.l The Emperor is dead.EntailmentInternal Semantic Knowledged)Deciding that of the following two sentences,the first presupposes the second:l The Mayor of London is a tall man.l There is a Mayor of London.PresuppositionInternal Semantic Knowledgee)Noticing that the sentence below has more than one possible meaning:l If Im a priest,Ill marry you.AmbiguityInternal Semantic Knowledgef)Discovering that lets is different from let us in the sentence below because the latter does not involve the addressee:l Lets beg the monster to let us go.Inclusive-exclusive DistinctionInternal Semantic Knowledgeg)understanding the metaphoric expression in the sentences below:l He is a storehouse of repartee.l Sally is a block of ice.Metaphorical InterpretationInternal Semantic Knowledgeh)Feel infelicity in the following sentence:I promise to forget my name.InfelicityMeaning versus Function/UseThatll be John.He calls everyday at this time.You have been going all day.You must be tired.He should be here somewhere.He said he was coming.Youll pick up your room now!You must take better care of yourself.Hes shy.You should ask him out.from Dr.Diane Larsen-FreemanScope of SemanticslThe real meaning in communication is contextual meaning.Without context,a sentence conveys only literal information.l Researches related to context pertain to another discipline pragmatics.lSemanticists tend to confine their work to an arena away from context.What they are interested in is the logic of meaning.