Chapter 9 meaning and context 意义和语境概要1.ppt

Chapter 9 Meaning and Context Contents of today’s lecture: Types of context Role of context 9.1 Types of Context It is used in different (narrow and broad) senses: 9.1.1 Extra-linguistic context Brown and Yule invented two situations to illustrate the effect of non-linguistic context on the meaning of the word quick. Examples: Landlord: Chinese: one who owned a lot of land and collected money by renting out land without working. It used to be associated with exploitation naturally carrying a negative value. Look out: A: ready to pour water out of the window (to warn the people outside to go away so as to avoid the water coming down) B: stretched his head out of the window just in time to receive the water. 9.1.2 Linguistic context 2 main types: Lexical context Grammatical context 9.1.2.1 Lexical context This refers to the lexemes that co-occur with the word in question. Example: Paper has a lot of meanings in the dictionary, yet in each of the following context, it conveys only one concept. 9.1.2.2 Grammatical context In some cases, the meanings of a polysemant may be influenced by the structure in which it occurs. 9.2 The role of context(语境的作用) 9.2.1 Eliminating ambiguities(消除歧义) Example: Man must change in a changing world. The visitor sent his man for the luggage. They are man and wife. Examples: Learn to read and write. Always do what is right and honorable. 9.2.2 Indicating referents(限定所指) In conversation, in order to avoid repetition, pronouns (I, you, he, this, that)are often used instead of a noun or noun phrase; Another example: 1)Betty told Mary that Alice was angry. 9.2.3 Provision of clues for inference of word meaning (提供线索以猜测词义) Context clues: 1) Definition(下定义) Example Perhaps the most startling theory to come out of kinesics, the study of body movement, was suggested by Professor Bird-whistell. 2) Explanation (说明) It’s just one more incredible result of the development of microprocessors—those tiny parts of a computer commonly kno