詞匯學(xué)第四節(jié)

Chapter5

Changesinwordmeaning詞義的變化1.Andwhy,whenIwindupmywatch,Istartit,ButwhenIwindupthisessay,Iendit.2.Whydopeoplereciteataplay,andplayatarecital(獨(dú)奏)?

I.Polysemy(一詞多義)II.Typesofsemanticchange（詞義變化的方式）I.Polysemy(一詞多義)

Polysemy

-Greekorigin:Polys:much;

sema:meaning

Thesamewordmayhavetwoormoredifferentmeanings.MostEnglishwordsarepolysemic.Asignofthesuperiorityofthatlanguage.1.Primarymeaning(原始意義；基本意義)andderivedmeaning（派生意義）Primarymeaningreferstowhatawordoriginallymeant;derivedmeaningreferstothemeaningspringingfromtheoriginalmeaning(詞在語言發(fā)展過程中形成的).Eg.Harvest秋天（autumn）Pain(懲罰)，此義僅用于下列詞組：Painsandpenalties刑法On/underpainof(death)違者處（死）2.Centralmeaning(中心意義)andsecondarymeaning（次要意義）CentralmeaningequalsPrimarymeaningRadiation詞義的輻射:theprocessinwhichtheprimaryorcentralmeaningstandsatthecenterwhilesecondarymeaningsradiatefromitineverydirectionlikerays.Eachofthesecondarymeaningsisindependentofalltherest,andmaybetracedbacktothecentralmeaning.Hand(手)I’monlyinterestedinthebirdsinmyhands.（擁有）Hesethishandstothecontract.(簽字）Mysonwriteagoodhand.（字）Wegavethesingerabighand（鼓掌）Weneed20morehands.（人手）Concatenation連鎖聯(lián)結(jié)Theprocesswherethelatermeaningisrelatedtotheproceedingoneonly,justlikeachain.Thoughthelatestsensecanbetracedbacktotheoriginal,thereisnodirectconnectionbetweenthetwo.E.g：cheater:其原意為“anofficerwhoattendedtoescheats”即，看管領(lǐng)主的土地的官吏。后因這種人常常損公肥私成為不老實(shí)的人(adishonestperson)，現(xiàn)在作“騙子”解。此義與原義已失去聯(lián)系。

candidate

源自拉丁語candidatus(white-robbed穿白衣的)，原義指“穿白衣的人”(apersondressedinwhite)，后用來指“穿白衣的謀求公職的人”(awhite-robbedseekerforoffice)。這與古羅馬的風(fēng)俗有關(guān)，當(dāng)時(shí)凡候選人參加選舉時(shí)均需穿上白衣。隨著語言的發(fā)展，“穿白衣的”的原始意義喪失，只保留“候選人”(aseekerforoffice)一義。顯然，此義與原義已經(jīng)分離。II.Typesofsemanticchange（詞義變化的方式）CausesofSemanticChange：1.Historicalcause：Itrefersthatawordretrains(抑制；束縛)itsoriginalform,butitsmeaninghaschangedbecausetheobjectwhichitdenoteshaschanged.e.g.carmeanstwo-wheeledfromLatin,nowitmeansamoderntransport.2.Socialcause：Itrefersthatchangeinwordmeaningresultingfromaconstantverbaltransferbetweencommonwordsandvarioustechnicalwords.e.g.Feedback(微分反饋;微分反應(yīng)

)originallyisanelectricityword,nowchangedtoacommonwordmeans“respond”.

3.Foreigninfluences：Itrefersthattheinfluencesofforeignwordscausethewordmeaningchanged.e.g.pigmeansakindofanimalanditsmeatorginally,butaftertheNormanconquest,thiswordmeansakindofanimalonly,porkisusedtomeanitsmeat。4.Psychologicalcause：1）Euphemism（委婉詞）：Itrefersthatthewordchangedafterpeopleusemild,agreeablelanguagewhenspeakingofanunpleasantorembarrasingfactandoftaboosubjects.Suchasdeathcanbeusedas“gowest”.2)Cynicism（挖苦語）：Itrefersthatthedesiretosneerandtobesarcasticcausethesemanticchange.e.g.sanctimoniousmeans‘’devote,holy‘’andnowmeans‘’pretendingtobeveryholyorpious(虔誠的)'‘;eg.Besanctimonious.道貌岸然1.Extensionofmeaning詞義的擴(kuò)展2.Specializationofmeaning詞義的縮小4.Degenerationofmeaning詞義的降格5.Transformationofmeaning詞義的轉(zhuǎn)移詞義的變化3.Elevationofmeaning詞義的升格2ExtensionofMeaningItisalsocalledwideningofmeaningorgeneralization.It’saprocessbywhichawordwhichoriginallyhadaspecializedmeaninghasnowbecomegeneralized.

FourkindsofextensionA.Fromspecifictogeneral從特指到泛指

B.Frompropernounstocommonnouns從專有名詞到普通名詞C.Fromconcretetoabstract從具體到抽象D.Fromtechnicaltermstogeneralwords術(shù)語到普通詞匯A.Fromspecifictogeneral從特指到泛指ExamplePicture:originally:apaintingordrawingThepresentmeaningaphotographacinematicpicture電影畫面anx-raypictureX光片

aTVpictureanypictureMoreExamplesrubbishOriginally:rubble(碎石）Now:anythingworthlessB.FrompropernounstocommonnounsAntonomasia[?nt?n?'me?z??]換稱theuseofapropernountoconveyageneralidea

tantalize逗弄;致命的誘惑GreekMyth:akingpunishedforhismisdeedsbyhavingtostandinwaterthatrecedeswhenhetriestodrinkitandunderfruitthatmovesawayashereachesforit.【希臘神話】坦塔羅斯(呂狄亞王，因犯有罪孽被罰站在冥界齊頸的水中，頭上有果樹，但他卻不能喝到水、吃到果子)TantalusArgus百眼巨人Greekmyth:agiantwith100eyes.Afterhewaskilled,hiseyesweretransferredtothePeacock’s(孔雀)tailArgus-eyed:keen-sighted;Observant明察秋毫的Example:ItisimpossibletocheatwhenthatArgus-eyedprofessorgivesanExam.Narcissus

水仙花Narcissus:Greekmyth:abeautifulyouthwhofellinlovewithhisreflectioninapool,hencetheword:narcissismandthemeaning:aninterestinoradmirationforoneself.

（源于希臘神話中一個(gè)叫Narcissus那喀索斯的青年，只對(duì)自己的水中倒影愛慕不已，最終在顧影自憐中抑郁死去，死后變成了花，人們稱之為水仙花。）Pinchbeck冒牌貨ChristopherPinchbeckwasanBritishjeweler.He

inventedanalloy（合金）

ofcopper,zincusedforcheapjewelry,hencethemeaning:specious似是而非的

andspurious偽造的

goods.FrankensteinFrankensteinisacharacterinthenovel.Heisamedicalresearcher,whocreatedarobotmonster,broughtittolifeandfinallywaskilledbythemonster.Presentmeaning:作法自斃者，被自己的創(chuàng)造物所毀者“Watergate”源指美國華盛頓特區(qū)綜合大廈。1972年6月17日夜間，共和黨爭取總統(tǒng)連任委員會(huì)有關(guān)人員潛入大廈內(nèi)民主黨全國委員會(huì)總部而被捕，暴露了共和黨政府在總統(tǒng)競(jìng)選中的非法活動(dòng)，導(dǎo)致美國歷史上首次總統(tǒng)辭職，現(xiàn)泛指“丑聞”。專有名詞普通化與特定的歷史事件有關(guān)：

這類專有名詞常為商標(biāo)專有名。Walkman原來是Sony公司“隨身聽”的注冊(cè)商標(biāo)，在激烈的商業(yè)活動(dòng)競(jìng)爭中脫穎而出成為名牌。由于它家喻戶曉，使它在人們心目中失去了一種專利商標(biāo)，被用戶作為“隨身聽”的代名詞去泛指一切“隨身聽”產(chǎn)品。與經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)有關(guān)：生活節(jié)奏的加快，生活競(jìng)爭的加劇使得體育專業(yè)術(shù)語大量被用于日常生活之中：與體育活動(dòng)有關(guān)：coverthebases:

補(bǔ)壘:可泛指“仔細(xì)考慮問題、建議、事情等每一個(gè)細(xì)節(jié)以確保萬無一失”。beoutinleftfield:

棒球術(shù)語：左外場(chǎng)，位于外場(chǎng)防衛(wèi)位置，語義泛化后指：“失去理智的”，“錯(cuò)誤的”等。

strikeout:

棒球術(shù)語，“三擊未中，擊球員出局”，現(xiàn)可指“努力失敗”。loadthebases:

跑滿壘：形容“任務(wù)即將被完成”。hitahomerun:

本壘打：泛指“取得巨大成功”。throwacurveball:

打出曲線球，這種球在接手接球一剎那會(huì)拐彎飛出：形容“采用欺騙手段使某人大吃一驚”。runwithit:帶球向得分點(diǎn)跑去：形容“開始實(shí)施一個(gè)計(jì)劃或開始著手某個(gè)事務(wù)”等。

Svengali(斯文加利)

是英國小說家喬治?杜?莫利耶小說《爵士帽》中通過催眠術(shù)控制女主人公的邪惡音樂家.專有名詞充當(dāng)普通動(dòng)詞，例如：Hesvengaliedusintoacceptinghisopinions.他采用斯文加利式的騙術(shù)使我們接受了他的觀點(diǎn)。

TheUnitedStatesisraisingaFrankensteinbyprovidinghardwaretothatcountry.

（美國向那個(gè)國家提供軍事武器，到頭來只會(huì)作法自斃。）英語普通化專有名詞的常見特征：專有名詞充當(dāng)普通名詞使用，例如：這類專有名詞轉(zhuǎn)為普通動(dòng)詞在科技英語中尤為常見，尤其是商品名牌商標(biāo)的動(dòng)詞化，例如：“Hoover”,“Whiteout”,“Mace”arethetrademarksrespectivelyforatypeofvacuumcleaner“真空吸塵器”，awhitecorrectingfluid“白色涂改液”，andaliquidcausingtearsandnausea,usedasasprayforriotcontrol,“梅斯催淚毒氣”tomacedemonstrators

向游行示威者噴射梅斯氣tohooverafloor

用真空吸塵器吸地板上的灰塵towhiteoutamistake

用白色涂改液涂改錯(cuò)誤專有名詞通過轉(zhuǎn)類法轉(zhuǎn)為普通形容詞:MickeyMouse:thenameofacartooncharactercreatedbyWalterDisney,knownforhissimple-mindedattitudes,hencethemeaning:ineffective不必要的事,trivial瑣碎的不重要的;微不足道andinsignificant無關(guān)緊要的

例如：

Twodaysfora226-mileraceisMickeyMouse.

兩天跑完226英里的賽程是輕而易舉的事。amickeymousecollegecourse一門容易學(xué)的大學(xué)課程C.FromConcretetoAbstractGrasp抓住、掌握Place廣場(chǎng)、地位Matter:originallymeanttimber木材，木料,thehardpartofatreeNowithasalotofabstractmeanings.1)Theworldismadeofmatter.Substance(s)ofwhichthephysicalthingismade2)Thematterinyouressayisgood.Materialforthoughtorexpression3)ThisisamatterIknowlittleabout.SomethinginwhichattentionisgivenItmadenomattertohimthathisbrotherlostallhismoney.OfimportanceD.Fromtechnicaltermstogeneralwords:Countdown:thecountingaloudofnumbersinreverseorderbeforesth.happens倒計(jì)時(shí)

Now:emergencysituation十分危急的情況；行將攤牌的局面ThatwouldleadtoacountdowninCambodia柬埔寨.SpecializationofMeaning

examplemeatOldMeaningSpecializedMeaningfoodFleshofanimalswordOldmeaningSpecializationdiseasediscomfortillnesswifewomanmarriedwomanaccidenteventunluckyeventgirlAchildAfemalechild

ElevationofMeaning詞義的升格Wordsoftenrisefromahumblebeginningtoapositionofgreaterimportance.Thischangeiscalledelevationofmeaning.Pioneer:footsoldierwhoclearedthewayforanyarmybyfallingtrees,etc.拓荒者

Apersonwhogoesbefore,preparingthewayforothers,asascientistdoingexploratorywork先驅(qū)者；先鋒ministerOld:anattendant仆人，侍從New:apersonattheheadofadepartmentofastate.部長；大臣

Degradationofmeaning詞義的降格Wordswithacommendatory褒義

meaningmaybecomeoneswithaderogatorysense.ThisiscalleddegradationofmeaningordeteriorationExampleVillainoldmeaning:afarmerpresentMeaning:amanguiltyofevildeedsclownOldmeaning:apeasantpresentMeaning:amanwhoisclumsyandbehavesstupidlyboorOldmeaning:afarmhandpresentmeaning:onewhoisrough,impoliteandclumsychurlOldmeaning:afarmhandpresentmeaning:onewhoisrudeandunfriendlySemanticShift/MeaningTransfer（詞義的轉(zhuǎn)移）Wordswhichwereusedtodesignateonethingbutlaterchangedtomeansomethingelsehaveexperiencedtheprocessofsemantictransfer.Mainlyreferstothefactthatawordmayswitchfromitsobjectivemeaningtoasubjectiveone,ortheotherwayround.

1.原先具有主客觀意義的詞現(xiàn)在僅保留了客觀意義Hateful：feelingorshowing