2021年英语语言学概论笔记汇总.docxVIP

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研究。 2. Some views concerning the study of meaning 语义研究几种重要理论 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. 命名论是最原始语义理论，是古希腊学者柏拉图提出。该理论把词看作是该词所指事物名 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. 意念论以为，语言形式及其所代表对象之间(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，是通过大脑中存在乎念这一中介物来联系。 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. 语境论以这样假设为基本：人们可以从显而易见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。 语境论以为语言意义离不开使用语言语境，语义不是抽象，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. 语义行为主义论和语义语境论有相似之处，它也把语义放到语境中去研究，但它更注重人 心理活动，以为语言意义存在于语言使用者在交际过程中对听到话语反映。 3. Sense and reference 意义和所指 They are two related but different aspects of meaning. 它们是词汇意义既互相联系又有所不同两个方面。 1) Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form. It is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form；it is abstract and de-contextualized. It is the aspect of meaning dictionary compliers are interested in. 意义关怀是语言形式内在乎义。它是语言形式所有特性总和，它是抽象且脱离语境。它是 词典编写者们所感兴趣语义方面。 简朴地说，意义是词汇内在，抽象，游离于语境之外意义。 2) Reference means what a linguistic form ref