英语词汇学5-1.ppt

Chapter Five Word Meaning Questions: Why meaning is so elusive? What does meaning actually mean? What are the different meanings of the word meaning? What is the relationship of form and meaning? Is meaning motivated or arbitrary? Word meaning The conceptualist holds that there is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to (i.e. between language and the real world); they are linked through the mediation of concepts in the mind. Put it another, any sound-image is psychologically associated with a particular concept, a general idea derived or inferred from specific instances or occurrences. Any one who knows a sound-image can call up the corresponding concept in his mind. This can be illustrated by the classic “semantic triangle” Triangle of significance（词义三角） The picture shows that the symbol, i.e. a word, signifies things, referents, through the mediation of the correspondent concept in the mind of language users. There is no direct association between a word and the referent, as is shown by the dotted line between them. The abstract concept looked at from this perspective is the meaning of the word. 5.1Conventionality and Motivation There are two schools of thought concerning the relationship between form (pronunciation and spelling) and meaning. One school represented by Saussure maintains there is no a natural/intrinsic connection between form and meaning. Their relationship is arbitrary and conventional.  5.1.1 Conventionality Most English words are conventional, arbitrary symbols; consequently, there is no intrinsic relation between the sound-symbol and its sense. Conventionality: the arbitrariness between a sound and its meaning. Whats in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet. (Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet) Most words in any human language are conventional. e.g. English house French mansion Chinese fang zi R