英语语言学概论第五章笔记.doc

Chapter 5 Semantics 语义学 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的研究。 Some views concerning the study of meaning 语义研究的几种主要理论 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. 命名论是最原始的语义理论，是古希腊学者柏拉图提出的。该理论把词看作是该词所指事物的名称或标记。 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. 意念论认为，语言形式及其所代表的对象之间（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，是通过大脑中存在意念这一中介物来联系的。 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. 语境论以这样的假设为基础：人们可以从显而易见的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。 语境论认为语言的意义离不开使用语言的语境，语义不是抽象的，它存在于语境之中，它来自语境，取决于语境。 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. 语义的行为主义论和语义的语境论有相似之处，它也把语义放到语境中去研究，但它更注重人的心理活动，认为语言的意义存在于语言使用者在交际过程中对听到话语的反应。 Sense and reference 意义和所指 They are two related but different aspects of meaning. 它们是词汇意义的既相互联系又有所不同的两个方面。 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. 意义关心的是语言形式的内在意义。它是语言形式所有特征的总和，它是抽象且脱离语境的。它是词典编写者们所感兴趣的语义方面。 简单地说，意义是词汇内在的，抽象的，游离于语境之外的意义。 Reference means what a linguistic for