新编简明英语语言学教程第二戴炜栋Semantics 课件.pptVIP

Chapter 5 Semantics ? Semantics----the study of language meaning. ? What is meaning?---- Scholars under different scientific backgrounds have different understandings of language meaning. Some views concerning the study of meaning ? Naming theory (Plato) （命名论） ? The conceptualist view （概念观） ? Contextualism (Bloomfield) （语境论） ? Behaviorism （行为主义） Naming theory (Plato) ? Words are names or labels for things. ? Limitations: 1) Applicable to nouns only. 2) There are nouns which denote things that do not exist in the real world, e.g. ghost, dragon, phoenix… 3) There are nouns that do not refer to physical objects but abstract notions, e.g. joy, impulse, hatred… The conceptualist view ? The conceptualist view holds that there is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to (i.e. between language and the real world); rather, in the interpretation of meaning they are linked through the mediation （对概念的综合理解 及分析） of concepts in the mind. Ogden [?:gd?n] and Richards: semantic triangle Symbol/form: words/phrases/sentences Referent （ 指 示 物 ） : object in the world of experience Thought/reference( 所指 ):concepts in mind ? The symbol or a word signifies things by virtue of （依靠） the concept associated with the form of the word in the minds of the speaker; and the concept looked at from this point of view is the meaning of the word. The contextualism （语境理论） ? Meaning should be studied in terms of situation, use, context — elements closely linked with language behavior. Two types of contexts are recognized: ? Situational context: spatiotemporal （ 时 空 的 ） situation. ? Linguistic context: the probability of a words co-occurrence or collocation. ? For example, “black” in black hair black sheep （害 群之马） differs in meaning; “the president of the United States” can mean either the president or presidency in different situation. Behaviorism ? Behaviorists attempted to define meaning as “the situation in which the speaker utters it and the respon