9.Word Meaning and__ Motivation

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

Word Meaning and Motivation

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

Semantics and MeaningDefinition of Semantics Semantics is a major branch of linguistics devoted to the study of meaning. The term semantics was first used by the French linguist Michael Breal in the nineteenth century. At that time the term, borrowed from Greek, was not used simply to deal with meaning but with the development and change of meaning.

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

Meaning can be defined as a reciprocal relation between name and sense.

How to explain some sentences with a semantic theory?

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

1) His typewriter has bad intentions.(anomalousness) 2) My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor. (contradiction) 3) John was looking for the glasses. (ambiguity) 4) (a) The needle is too short. (b) The needle is not long enough. (synonymous)

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

5) (a) Many of the students were unable to answer your question. (b) Only a few students grasped your question. (interdependence) 6) (a) How long did Archibald remain in Monte Carlo? (implication of the second one) (b) Archibald remained in Monte Carlo for some time.”

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

anomalousness, contradiction, ambiguity interdependence of sentences

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

Relationship between Meaning and the ObjectAccording to the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure the linguistic sign consists of a signifier (修饰语 能指) 修饰语/能指 修饰语 能指) and a signified(修饰事物 所指), that is, 所指) (修饰事物/所指 a sound image and a concept. This is called the sign theory of de Saussure(索 ( 绪尔的符号理论) 绪尔的符号理论).

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

Thought or Reference (concept)

----------------------------------------Symbol (Word, Sentence) Referent (Object)

(Ogden & Richards’ the semiotic triangle 语义三角理论) 语义三角理论

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

a word a concept the meaning of a word

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

Meaning and MotivationMotivation is the connection between the linguistic symbol and its meaning. As the relationship between the wordform and meaning is conventional and arbitrary, the connection of the sign and meaning in most words does not have a logical explanation. Only a few words could be recognized as being motivated to a certain extent.

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

The Naturalists (Pope) (自然派 who 自然派), 自然派 believed that the origin of language lies in onomatopoeia, that people began talking by creating iconic signs to imitate the sounds heard around them in nature, that there was an intrinsic connection between sound and sense, The Conventionalists (Shakespeare) (习 习 惯派), 惯派 who held that the relations between sound and meaning are conventional and arbitrary.

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

Three Kinds of Motivation1. Phonetic Motivation (Onomatopoeic 拟声理据) motivation )(语音 拟声理据) (语音/拟声理据Phonetic Motivation or Onomatopoeic motivation explains the words whose sounds suggest their meaning, because these words were created by imitating the natural sounds or noise.

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

2. Morphological Motivation (grammatical motivation) 形态理据It concerns the words whose morphological structures suggest

the meaning, for generally speaking, the meaning of a derived word or a compound is based on the meaning of the word-building. motherland writer

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

3. Semantic MotivationSemantic motivation is the mental associations based on the conceptual meaning of a word, i.e. the figurative sense of a word suggested by the literal sense.

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

Bottleneck: 1. the neck of a bottle. 2. a narrow strip of road, between two wide parts, where traffic is slowed down or held up. 3. a manufacturing process, where production is slowed down, for instance, by shortage of materials.

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

4. Etymological motivationEtymological motivation explains the words whose meanings are closely associated with their origins, i.e. the meanings of the words suggested by their sources.

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

Main Types of Word MeaningWord meaning can also be classified according to different perspectives.

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

Main Types of Word MeaningMeaning ↓ Grammatical meaning and lexical meaning ↓ Denotative meaning and associated meaning ↓ Connotative meaning ↓ Stylistic meaning & Affective meaning

Word Meaning and__ Motivation

Word Meaning and ContextThe context generally shows in what sense the word is used, in its primary sense or its figurative sense. When used literally, words have their original meaning; when used figuratively, words have symbolic meaning.