Chapter_semantics.ppt

Chapter Five Semantics 1. A brief introduction Semantics: The meaning of words: Lexical semantics The meaning of sentences: Propositional meaning, compositional meaning Linguistic semantics vs. Logical semantics/philosophical semantics 2. Meaning  John means to write. A green light means to go. Health means everything. His look was full of meaning. What does ‘capitalist’ mean to you? C. K. Ogden I. A. Richards (1923). The Meaning of Meaning listed 22 definitions. 2.1 Theories of meaning  命名论 概念论 语境论 工具论 行为主义论 2.1.1 The naming theory  (meaning as naming) Or the Referential Theory the meaning of an expression is what it refers to, or names. a linguistic sign derives its meaning from that which refers to something in the reality (referent). words are names or labels for things in our mind or in our experience. Disadvantages of the naming theory The word tree can stand for a particular tree or any tree in the world We linguistic signs whose referents are imaginative such as ghost, god; Some hypothesized entities or concepts which may be contrary to the actual reality, e.g. the king of France is bald. Only applicable to concrete nouns. 2.1.2 The conceptualist theory Semantic triangle theory Words → Things: Words ‘name’ or ‘refer to’ things -- Platonic Words→Concepts→Things: Ogden Richards (1923) thought/reference symbolizes refers to symbol (words) stand for referent (object) “symbol” : linguistic element; “referent”: the object in the world of experience. “thought”: concept. There is no direct link between symbol and referent, that is, between language and world. The link is via thought, the concept in our minds. the classification of objects need not be natural or universal, but only conceptual. 意义从语言符号和所指事物的直接联系变成间接联系，从外部世界进入内部世界，能弥补命名论的缺陷，却无法说明语言符号和象征概念之间的联系。语境论则认为，意义不在内部世界和外部世界，而在所使用的语境中。 2.1.3 Contextualism (1) I was near that bank yesterday. (2) a. I don’t like her. She’s tall