语言学第五章要点.pdfVIP

Chapter 5 Semantics 语义学 1. What is semantics ？什么是语义学？ Semantics can be simply defined as the study of meaning in language. 语义学可定义为对语言意义的研究。 2. Some views concerning the study of meaning 语义研究的几种主要理论 1) The naming theory 命名论 It was proposed by the ancient Greek scholar Plato. According to this theory, the linguistic forms or symbols, in other words, the words used in a language are taken to be labels of the objects they stand for. So words are just names or labels for things. 命名论是最原始的语义理论，是古希腊学者柏 图提出的。该理 论把词看作是该词所指事物的名称或标记。 2) The conceptualist view 意念论 The conceptualist view holds that there is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to; rather, in the interpretation of meaning they are linked through the mediation of concepts in the mind. 意念论认为，语言形式及其所代表的对象之间（即语言与现实世界 之间）没有直接联系；确切地说，在理解语义时，是通过大脑中存在意 念这一中介物来联系的。 3) Contextualism 语境论 Contextualism is based on the presumption that one can derive meaning from or reduce meaning to observable contexts. Two kinds of context are recognized: the situational context and the linguistic context. 语境论以这样的假设为基础 ：人们可以从显而易见的语境中推知 或归纳出语义。语境有两种：情景语境和语言语境。 语境论认为语言的意义离不开使用语言的语境，语义不是抽象的， 它存在于语境之中，它来自语境，取决于语境。 4) Behaviorism 行为主义论 Behaviorists attempted to define the meaning of a language form as the “situation in which the speaker utters it and the response it calls forth in the hearer.” This theory, somewhat close to contextualism, is linked with psychological interest. 语义的行为主义论和语义的语境论有相似之处，它也把语义放到 语境中去研究，但它更注重人的心理活 ，认为语言的意义存在于语 言使用者在交际过程中对听到话语的反应。 3. Sense and reference 意义和所指 They are two related but different aspects of meaning. 它们是词汇意义的既相互联系