简明语言学教程5.docVIP

Semantics 1 What is semantics P68/62 2 Some views concerning the study of meaning 1) The Referential Theory / The Naming Theory P68/62 According to this theory, the meaning of a word or expression is the thing it refers to or stands for in the outside world, since words or expressions are used to refer to or name things. (既然词语是用来指称事物，为事物命名的，那么词语的意义就是它所指称的对象) 指称理论的核心是一个词语的意义就是它所指向的客观世界的事物，所以“李白”和“天安门”指向特定的人和物，而“演员”和“电冰箱”则指向一类人和物；“红色”“圆形”那样的词语则指向一个或类物体的性质。 意义---所指 weakpoints: a) Sometimes meaning is not equal to reference, e.g Morning star----Evening star b) The meanings of many words or expressions have no reference in the world. fairy, ghost, World War Three 王母娘娘 （无所指） 2) The conceptual theory P68/63 According to this theory, there is no direct association between words and the things in the real world (a linguistic form and what it refers to). Their association is realized by means of “concept”. In other words, the meaning of a word is the image/concept which is created by the word in the speaker’s or hearer’s mind. (词语的意义是词语在说话人和听话人头脑中所产生的形象或概念) Weakpoints: a) It is too concrete to regard meanings as images, for the same word may create different images, e.g He scratched his head. He is the head of the college. b) Some words, especially functional words, such as if, or, so, do not create images in people’s mind, but they do have meanings, e.g. if, the 3) contextualism P69 4) Behaviorism P70-71 3. Sense and Reference P71-72 / 65-66 Sense and reference are the two terms we often come across in the study of meaning. They are two related but different aspects of meaning. Sense refers to the inherent meaning of the ling form. It is the collection of all the features of the ling form. It is abstract and de-contextualized. For example, the word “desk” is defined as “ a piece of furniture with a flat top and four legs, at which one reads and writes”. This meaning is called the sense of the word “desk”.