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1、词义的演变 change of meaning,Presented by: LI Huifeng,Teaching Objectives Let students understand and master types of changes in word meaning and know the causes of changes Teaching focus Causes of changes Types of changes: extension, narrowing, degradation, elevation transference of meaning, euphemism.
2、Extra-linguistic factors: historical reason, class reason, psychological reason Linguistic factors: shortening, redivision from borrowing, analogy,Vocabulary is the most unstable element of a language as it is undergoing constant changes both in form and content. Comparatively, the content is even m
3、ore unstable than the form. This chapter will deal with the major patterns that changes in meaning follow and the causes of changes,almost every word we use today has a slightly different meaning from the one it had a century ago (Quirk) Shakespeare is perhaps more difficult to understand than more
4、recent writings because many of his words were used in different sense from what they have now in contemporary dictionaries. eg.: “the rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.” (partner) “How pregnant sometimes his replies are.” (meaningful),1. Polysemy,Definition: the same word may have two or more
5、 different meanings,1) Source of polysemy,a. Shifts in application Words have a number of different aspects according to the context in which they are used. b. Specialization in a social milieu (背景) Polysemy often arises through a kind of verbal shorthand. For example, “action” means “legal action”
6、for a lawyer; a military operation for a soldier. Namely, the same word may acquire a number of specialized senses, only one of which will be applicable in a given milieu. c. Figurative language A word can be given one or more figurative senses without losing its original meaning. For example, the b
7、ed of a river, a saddle in the mountains (based on metaphor).,2) Primary meaning & derivative meaning,Primary meaning refers to what a word originally meant and the derivative meaning refers to the meaning springing form the original meaning. For example, place,3) Central meaning & secondary meaning
8、,Radiation: an important process by which words extend their meaning. The primary or central meaning appears at the center in the form of a hub and secondary meanings radiate out from it like the spoke of a wheel. Each of the secondary meaning is independent of all the rest, and may be traced back t
9、o the central signification. For example: power (ability to act)- Control over ones subordinate; Delegated authority; Physical strength; Concatenation: opposed to radiation, means a word moves gradually away from its original sense as a result of successive semantic changes until there is not a trac
10、e of connection between the sense that is finally developed and the primary sense. For example, candidate.,2. Types of semantic change,A. Generalization/ Extension of meaning B. Specialization / Restriction of meaning C. Elevation / Amelioration of meaning D. Degradation / Degeneration of meaning,1)
11、 Extension of Meaning 词义的扩大,It is also called widening of meaning or generalization. It is a process by which a word which originally had a specialized meaning has now become generalized or has extended to cover a broader and often less definite concept. 一个原本具有特殊意义的单词的词义被延伸，范围扩大，从而指代一种普遍意义语义变化过程。,Fo
12、ur kinds of extension,A. from specific to general B. from technical terms to general words C. from concrete to abstract D. from proper nouns to common nouns,A. from specific to general,Example: Picture originally : a painting or drawing Present meaning: a photograph- a cinematic picture - an X-ray p
13、icture - a TV picture - a radio-telescope picture- any picture Rubbish Originally: rubble (碎石) Now: anything worthless,B. from technical terms to general words,Countdown: the counting aloud of numbers in reverse order before sth. happens, esp. before a spacecraft is launched. Now: emergency situatio
14、n 十分危急的情况;行将摊牌的局面 Eg.: That would lead to a countdown in Cambodia. Feedback: it occurs in a machine or system when part of the power, sound or information produced goes back into the machine or system. Now: response Eg.: The reader feedback was generally favorable. Fallout: the radiation that affect
15、s a place after a nuclear explosion: 放射性尘埃 Now: consequence Eg.: He predicted that the fallout from Watergate would hit both parties.,Firestorm: It takes place when a bomb explodes; strong winds rush into it to take the place of the hot air that is rising, causing the blaze to burn uncontrollably. 核
16、弹引起的大火暴 Now: strong reaction Eg.: The revelations about the CIAs activities in Chile broke in the press just as the fire storm over the Nixon pardon put an abrupt end to Congresss honey-moon with Gerald ford. 报界揭发了中央情报局在智利的活动, 与此同时,赦免尼克松所引起的强烈反应使得国会同杰拉德.福特的蜜月猝然终止.,C. from concrete to abstract,Matter
17、: Originally: timber, the hard part of a tree Now: has a lot of abstract meanings. Eg.: The world is made of matter. (substances of which the physical thing is made) The matter in your essay is good. (material for thought or expression) This is a matter I know little about. (something in which atten
18、tion is given) It made no matter to him that his brother lost all his money. (of importance),D. from proper nouns to common nouns,Antonomasia: the use of a proper noun to convey a general idea Eg.: sandwich It now denotes a popular fast food. It originates from John Montague, Fourth earl of Sandwich
19、 in 18th century England. He was so fond of gambling that he often forgot his meals. He often ordered slices of bread with thick pieces of roast beef stuffed between them be brought to his so he could eat while playing. Later, people used his name to refer to all similar food. Tantalize- Tantalus- G
20、reek Myth: a king punished for his misdeeds by having to stand in water that recedes when he tries to drink it and under fruit that moves away as he reaches for it. Argus - Greek myth: a giant with 100 eyes. After he was killed, his eyes were transferred to the Peacocks tail - argus-eyed: keen-sight
21、ed; observant Eg.: We have decided it is impossible to cheat when that Argus-eyed professor gives a exam.,Narcissus Greek myth: a beautiful youth who fell in love with his reflection in a pool Meaning: an interest in or admiration for oneself. Munchausen: He was a German soldier. After his retiremen
22、t from his service in the Russian Army against the Turks, he told exaggerated stories of his campaigning adventures. Meaning: a person who boasts; exaggerated. Pinchbeck: Christopher Pinchbeck was a British Jeweler. He invented an alloy of copper, zinc formerly used for cheap jewellery. Meaning: spe
23、cious and spurious goods.,Frankenstein: is a character in the novel written by famous British woman writer Mary W. Shelley. He is a medical researcher, who created a robot monster, brought it to life and finally was killed by the monster. Frankenstein 是英国作家 Mary Wollstonecraft-Shelley于1818年所著小说中的生理学
24、研究专家.他创造了一个怪物,节果被这个怪物所毁灭. Eg.: The United States is raising a Frankenstein by providing hardware to that country. 美国向那个国家提供军事武器,到头来只会作法自毙.,专有名词普通化与特定的历史事件有关 “Watergate”源指美国华盛顿区综合大厦.1972年6月17日夜间,共和党争取总统连任委员会有关人员潜入大厦内民主党全国委员会总部而被捕,暴露了共和党政府在总统竞选中的非法活动,导致美国历史上首次总统辞职,现泛指”丑闻”. 专有名词普通化与特定的科技事件有关 Louis Past
25、eur is a French chemist and biologist. His researches showing that the fermentation of milk and wine was due to the multiplication of bacteria and other microorganisms led to the discovery of the role of microorganism in human and animal disease. From these findings he developed immunization by inoc
26、ulation of attenuated microbes, and the process of pasteurization. Pasteurization: is a process which renders milk free of disease-producing bacteria and help to prevent it from spoiling without destroying the vitamins or changing the taste. It involves heating the milk to 145-168F for 30 minutes. T
27、o pasteurize is to sterilize by pasteurization.,James Watt (瓦特) is a Scottish engineer who made fundamental improvements to the Newcomen steam engine, leading to the widespread use of steam power in mines, factories etc. In partnership with Mathew Boulton, Watt built may engines at their foundry in
28、Birmingham. The unit of power is named after him. Words of this group also include ampere, farad, ohm, volt, watt from French physicist Ampere, British physicist Faraday, German physicist Ohm, Italian physicist Volta and Scottish inventor Watt respectively.,与经济活动有关的 这类专有名词常为商标专有名词. Walkman 原来是 Sony
29、公司 “随身听”的注册商标,在激烈的商业活动竞争中脱颖而出成为名牌.由于它家喻户晓,使它在人们心目中失去了一种专利商标,被用户作为”随身听”的代名词去泛指一切”随身听” 产品. Words like nylon, orlon, dacron, rayon were originally tradenames and are now used to denote the four types of fabric.,与体育活动有关的 生活节奏的加快,生活竞争的加剧使得体育专业术语大量被用于日常生活之中. Eg.: be out in left field: 棒球术语: 在外场,位于外场防卫位置,语
30、义泛化后指: “失去理智的”, “错误的”等. Cover the bases: 补垒: 可泛指”仔细考虑问题,建议,事情等每一个细节以确保万无一失”. Strike out: 棒球术语,”三击未中击球员出局”, 现可指”努力失败”. Load the bases : 跑满垒: 形容”任务即将被完成”. Hit a home run: 本垒打:泛指”取得巨大成功”. Threw a curve ball: 打出曲线球,这种球在接手接球的一刹会拐弯飞出: 形容”采用欺骗手段使某人大吃一惊”. Call the play: 作*/裁判: 形容”承担有决定权的职责”. Get in huddle:
31、在橄榄球比赛前运动员紧紧围在一起商量和决定场上进攻和防守的站位和人员安排,现在形容”举行非正式会议传达有关策略性问题”. Run with it: 带球向得分点跑去; 形容”开始实施一个计划或开始着手某个事务”等. Touch down: 攻方持球触地,按照规定,攻方在对方端区持球触地可得6分,现在可用来形容”辉煌成就”.,When proper nouns are commonized, many of them have lost their original identity: the initial letter may not be capitalized as already sh
32、own; these words can take suffixes ic, -ian, -al, -ist, -ese, -ish, -esque to form different words. Irenic (peace-loving) comes from Irene Stentorian (uncommonly loud) comes from Stentor, whose, whose voice is loud Morphine comes from Morpheus, the god of sleep Solecism comes from Soloi, an Athenian
33、 colony of Cilicia where the inhabitants spoke a corrupt form of Greek.,专有名词充当普通动词 He svengalied us into accepting his opinions. 他采用斯文加利式的骗术使我们接受了他的观点. Svengali (斯文加利)系英语小说家 George du Maurier所著小说Trilby中的音乐家: He is a person who controls anothers mind, usually with sinister intentions.,专有名词与普通名词拼缀构成动词
34、,例如: Californias Republican legislature gerrymandered the 26th to make it overwhelmingly Democratic and turn four adjoining districts into Republican strongholds. Gerrymander: to divide the constituencies of a voting area so as to give one party an unfair advantage; to manipulate or adapt to ones ad
35、vantage. “Gerrymander” comes from Elbridge Gerry, a U.S. politician + (sala) mander (蝾螈) From the salamander-like outline of an electoral district reshaped for political purposes while Gerry was governor of Massachusetts.,专有名词与动词词缀构成派生动词 Hooverize: vt. 节约(粮食等), 由 Hoover + ize 派生而来 Herbert Clark Hoov
36、er was a U.S. Statesman, 31th president of the U.S He organized relief for Europe during and after World War I. As president he made great efforts to reduce government expenses and lost favour after his failure to alleviate the effects of the Depression. 这类专有名词转为普通动词在科技英语中尤为常见,尤其是商品名牌商标的动词化,如: “hoov
37、er”, “Whiteout”, “Mace” - trademarks for: a type of vacuum cleaner“真空吸尘器” a whit correcting fluid “白色涂改液” a liquid causing tears and nausea, used as a spray for riot control “梅斯催泪毒气” to hoover a floor 用真空吸尘器吸地板上的灰尘 to white out a mistake 用白色涂改液涂改错误 to mace demonstrators 向游行示威者喷射梅斯气,专有名词通过类转法与普通名词 Mi
38、ckey Mouse: the name of a cartoon character invented by Walter Disney, known for his simple-minded attitudes. Meaning: ineffective, trivial and insignificant 如: Two days for a 226-mile race is Mickey Mouse. 两天跑完226英里的赛程是轻而易举的事. A mickey mouse college course 一门容易学的大学课程 PS: 专有名词的普通化现象在现代英语中层出不穷.这种普通化现
39、象砸经济领域会带来一系列的司法纠纷.在政治领域也会带来一些消极后果.,在经济领域,商标名的普通化现象尤其常见.商标注册法从法律上保护生产厂家的产品,然而,厂家在提高产品知名度所消耗的人力与财力又会加速这些商标名称的普通化趋势:即由特指某一名牌产品转而泛指各同类产品. 90年代以前,根据美国1946年的 Lantham Act, 在美国专利局注册商标达50万.美国每年用于宣传产品所需金额为50多亿美元. 在美国, “Coke”, “Kleenex”, “Xerox”, “Jell-o”, “Scotch Tape” 为阻止商标名的普通化先后诉诸法庭,如果说以上商标名通过法律途径在一定程度上保护了
40、自己的产品名的 “专有”, 那么 King-Sealy 与Du Pont 两家公司就自己的产品名”Thermos”以及”Cellophane” 普通化一事诉诸法庭要求保护,却遭到了法庭的驳回. 理由是法庭调查结果显示绝大多数消费者认为 “Thermos” 指任何一种”保温瓶”, “Cellophane” 可值任何一种此类产品.,事实上,败诉的不只是”Thermos”和”Cellophane” 两名牌,先后败诉的还有 “Aspirin”, ”Kerosine”, ”Celluloid”, ”Nylon” , “Lanolin”等商品名牌. 正因如此,越来越多的厂家开始在商标名的设计上标新立异.从
41、语言形式上试图杜绝自己商品名的语义泛化现象.从商标名的专有名词普通化分析结果来看,有以下三种情况: 专有名词商标名具有浓厚的描绘性特征: Dry Ice: 干冰,固态二氧化碳 Shredded Wheat: 脆麦面条 Mineral Oil: 矿物油 Corn Flakes: 玉米片,b. 专有名词具有半描绘性特征: Cellophane: 赛路玢; 玻璃纸 Escalator:电梯 Zipper拉链 c. 节约原则 指人们用商标名作为产品的代名词.人们之所以这样做是因为商标名相对于产品名,前者可能更简便,且易上口.长此以往,导致商标名失去专有名词特征. 如: Sanka 牌的 “decaff
42、einated doffee”;Teflon 牌锝”Polytetrafluoroethylenecoating”. 商标名 “Sanka”以及 “Teflon”在语符系统上比较简单,前者代替后者不可避免,为了防止专有名词普通化,生产厂家采取了一系列保护商标名册专一性. 一是在拼写上采取反常规形式,在不该大写的地方使用大写形式,如: TelePrompter (电子提词机); 二是使其商标名作为专有形容词使用,如 Jell-o gelatin (果冻胶) . 这些措施也很难有效保护这些专有名词的普通化趋势,因为语言使用者只要对这些专有名词稍加改动便可以使它们至少在形式上类似普通词.现在,字典已
43、收入了 “teleprompter” 以及 “jello” 便是很好的例子.,e.g. Manuscript (original) handwriting (writing by hand only) （手稿） (present) Any authors writing whether written by hand or typed with a type-writer or a word-processor (原稿) Salary (original) a sum of money given to Roman soldiers to enable them to by salt (政府按
44、时给古罗马军人一些买盐的钱) (present) fixed payment made by employer at regular intervals to employees (薪水),a. A large proportion of Polysemic words of modern English have their meanings extended sometime in the course of development. Some words are generalized to such a degree that they can mean almost everythi
45、ng. She is such a pretty little thing. I have to pack my things for the journey. There is another thing I want to ask you about. That only makes things worse. The thing is, can we finish the job in time? “ Thing” which used to mean “ a public assembly” or “ a council” in Anglo-Saxon times, now has b
46、ecome an all-purpose word.,b. Generalization of meaning is also found in many technical terms, which are confined to specialized use. allergic (original) too sensitive to medicine 患过敏症的 (present) averse or disinclined to 反感的；厌恶的 Alibi (original) a legal term signifying “the plea that the accused is
47、not at the place when the crime is committed” （被告人不在犯罪现场的证明） (present) excuse （借口）,c. Words commonized from proper names have experienced the same process. Sandwich Sandwiched between this door and a window is a giant refrigerator. More examples: lynch, vandal,The changes in meaning are gradual, and
48、 words are not changed in a day. e.g. Lady (the hostess - noblewoman - well cultivated woman - woman) an old lady or elderly lady a sales lady a cleaning lady Ladys room A lady novelist Lady guests,Narrowing of Meaning / Specialization 词义的缩小,It is a process by which a word of wide meaning acquires a
49、 narrow or specialized sense. In other words, a word which sued to have a more general sense becomes restricted in its application and conveys a special concept in present-day English. 把词义范围较广的词义缩小，表示特指，即过去具有普遍意义的词变化后，现在仅仅表达特殊意义。,a. When a common word is turned into a proper noun, the meaning is narrowed accordingly. e.g. “ the City” means “the business center of London”. “ the Prophet” stands for “ Mohammed”.,b. For economy, some phrases are shortened and only one element of the original, usually an adjective, is left to retain