Chapter3PARTONE课程.ppt

Preview I. Words: the unity of sound and meaning II. Meaning and Motivation III. Classifications of Words IV. Main Types of Word Meaning I. Words: the unity of sound and meaning 1) What Is a Word? According to Leonard Bloomfield a word is a minimum free form, that is to say, a word is the smallest form that may appear in isolation. 1) What Is a Word? There are two types of linguistic forms: the bound form, and the free form. A free form is one which can occur as a separate word. A bound form is one which cannot occur on its own as a separate word, such as “anti-”, “-ize”, “-tion” and “-ous”. 1) What Is a Word? Besides, words have a close relation with both the concepts in our minds and the objects in the world of experience. Referent: objects in the world of experience 2) Two Aspects of a Word Every word has two aspects: the external aspect — sound, and the internal aspect — meaning. It should be a unity of sound and meaning. 2) Two Aspects of a Word Question: What is the relation between sound and meaning of a word? The relation between the meaning of a word and its sound is arbitrary or conventional. The majority of the words in the vocabulary of any language are conventional symbols. Task Two: Discuss in groups and try to explain the meanings of following words. hiss, sizzle, quack, moo, woof, meow , purr, baa, pitter-patter, Houyhnhnm,… From the above words we can find that in the English language, there are quite a few onomatopoeias which imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to. II. Meaning and Motivation ① What Is Motivation Motivation is the relationship between the structure of a word and its meaning. As we know, the relationship between the word-form and meaning is conventional and arbitrary, and most words can be said to be non-motivated or opaque, i.e., the connection of sign and meaning does not have a logical explanation. ① What Is Motivation Nevertheless, English does have words whose meaning