英语词汇学教案下.pdf

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1、Chapter 2Chapter 2Semantic ChangesSemantic Changes1)Take each manscensurecensure,but reserve thy judgment.2)He received a public censurecensure for his dishonorable behavior.Change of meaning is a commonplacecommonplace,and indeed it would appear to be fundamentalfundamental in livinglanguage almost

2、 everyevery wordword we use today has a slightlydifferentdifferent meaning from the one it had acentury ago.-QuirkContentsContentsTendenciesGeneralizationSpecializationElevationDegradation1.Generalization1.GeneralizationExtension of meaning,the stretching of meaning,refers to the widening of a words

3、 sense until itcovers much more than what it originally conveyed.GeneralizationGeneralizationPolysemic wordsPolysemic wordsProper namesProper namesPolysemic wordsPolysemic wordsTechnical termsTechnical termsbullishbullish1)Its impossible to reason with such a bullish man.2)Perhaps both the factors c

4、oincided to encourage the stock market to take abullish view./bearishview.3)We are verybullish about the future.defusedefuse1)Ten Iraqi soldiers including 2 pipeline security officers were killed as they attempted todefusedefuse abomb attached to an oil pipeline.2)Youdefusedefuse a dangerous situati

5、on by treating it like a bomb and removing its fuse.cookbookcookbook1)Acookbookcookbook is a book that contains information on cooking,and a list of recipes.2)Here is a short cookbookcookbook showing you the steps you can follow in writing and organizingyourown tests.laymanlayman1)Alaymanlayman chal

6、lenges a priest on his teachings.2)He implies that it is impossible for a laymanlayman(like me!)to hold any opinion on matters scientific.Proper namesProper names1)If you find your kids borrowing money from friends,co-workers or from you unusually frequently,you should better be argus-eyedargus-eyed

7、.2)Since narcissismnarcissism is universally inherent in all of us-and we are almost always unconscious ofit-it affects nearly everything we do.3)The WatergateWatergate scandalsscandals were a series of political scandals during the presidency of RichardNixon that resulted in the indictment（控告）of se

8、veral of Nixons closest advisors and ultimatelyhis resignation.4)The United States is raising a FrankensteinFrankenstein by providing hardware to that country.1Technical termsTechnical termsalibi:alibi:1)In the Latin language alibi means somewhere else.2)An alibialibi is the plea or mode of defense

9、under which a person on trial for a crime proves orattempts to prove that he was in another place when the crime occurred.3)No one would alibialibi or lie for them.allergicallergic1)Are you allergic to penicillin?2)Ben is allergic to pollen.More examplesMore exampleswordwordOriginal meaningOriginal

10、meaningWidened meaningWidened meaningmanuscriptfabulousquarantinemillbonfirehandwritingresembling a fableforty days isolationplace for grindingfire on boneswritings written by hand or typedwith a type-writerincredible;marvelousisolation timeplace where things are madea fire in the open made byburnin

11、g anything2.Specialization2.SpecializationSpecialization refers toshrinking of meaning.When a word isequally applicable to a number ofdifferent objects which resemble each other in some respects,or to a vague or general category ofideas,it may at any time become specialized by being used to name one

12、 of those objects or to expressone of the ideas.spinsterspinster1)That evening,the lawyer was at home telling his wife about the eccentric spinster and her weirdrequest.2)Originally,being a spinster meant that you spun yarn.However,in the 1700s spinster became thelegal term for unmarried women past

13、their prime.This was because the best spinners werealways unmarried.shroudshroudYoull have no pockets in your shroud.stinkstinkWhy do feet stink?Sometimes your feet smell much worse than at other times-it all has to dowith how much you sweat.So,since foot odor iscaused by bacteria digesting sweat,th

14、ere are twomain ways to reduce the stink.More examplesMore examplesExample wordsExample wordsOriginal meaningOriginal meaningNarrowed meaningNarrowed meaninghoundstarvegeneral term for dogto diea special kind of dogto die of hanger3.3.ElevationElevationElevation refers to the process by which words

15、rise from humblehumble beginnings to a more favorablefavorablepositions of importance.marshall/marshalmarshall/marshal1)MarshalMarshal meant originally a keeper of horses.2)Peking announced that MarshalMarshal Lin Piao had succeeded Marshal Peng Teh-huai as defenceminister.2Cf.The MarshallMarshall P

16、lan,it should be noted,benefited the American economy as well.shrewdshrewd1)Is Frank shrewdshrewd,evil,or a combination of the two?2)His skill in negotiating earned him a reputation as a shrewdshrewd tactician.cf.Read Shakespeares The Taming of the Shrew Shrew free online!nimblenimble1)In the Thief,

17、Gen was a witty,nimblenimble thief,always on his toes.2)NimbleNimble fingers keep ladies in stitches.3)3)One need a nimblenimble mind to solve puzzles.More examplesMore examplesExample wordsExample wordsOriginal meaningOriginal meaningElevated meaningElevated meaningangelministermessengerservantmess

18、enger of Godhead of a ministry4.Degradation4.DegradationDegradation refers to a process whereby words of good origin or affective neutrality fall into illreputation or come to be used in a derogatoryderogatory sense.1)The villainsvillains are the bad guys or the characters who strive against the her

19、o.2)I dont intend to marry aboorboor!She nursed her pride and slept alone.Time passed;and when ayear or two had flown,and no more suitors came to court her,the girl began to wonder whetherlife might not be more amusing for a wife.3)Agossipgossip betrays a confidence,but a trustworthy man keeps a sec

20、ret.Background KnowledgeBackground KnowledgeArgusArgusArgus was a giant with 100 eyes.Argus(or Argos)was a monster.With his multiple sets of eyes,thereseems to be no way of escaping him,for even when he slept,fifty of his eyes remain open and lookaround threateningly.Hera,the Queen of the Olympian g

21、ods and goddesses,commanded Argus towatch over Io.Io was a woman with whom Zeus-the ruler of the Olympians-had conducted apassionate love affair.However,in order to protect his mistress from the wrath of his wife,Zeus hadtransformed Io into a heifer.Hera asked Argus to guard her rival Io.Zeus sent t

22、he god Hermes todispatch the monster.Hermes lulled Argus to sleep before killing him.After his death,Hera sethiseyes in tail of the peacock,which became her symbol.NarcissismNarcissismNarcissism describes the trait of excessive self-love,based on self-image or ego.The term is derived from the Greek

23、mythology of Narcissus.Narcissus was a handsome Greek youthwho rejected the desperate advances of the nymph Echo.As punishment,he was doomed to fall in lovewith his own reflection in a pool of water.Unable to consummate his love,Narcissus pined away andchanged into the flower that bears his name,the

24、 narcissus.IrangateIrangateIn late 1986 President Ronald Reagan became embroiled in what became known as the IrangateScandal.It was discovered that the Reagan administration had been selling arms to the Islamicfundamentalist government in Iran in order to gain the release of American hostages in the

25、 Lebanon.The scandal was damaging to Reagan because he had told the American public he would never yieldto terrorist blackmail.As a result of the scandal,the White House chief of staff,Donald Regan and hisNational Security Adviser,John Poindexter,were forced to resign.Reagan survived but the casedam

26、aged his image and gave the impression that he was not in full-control of his administration.Chapter 3Chapter 3Semantic RelationsSemantic RelationsWords do not exist in isolation.Their meanings are defined through their relations to other words,andit is through understanding these connections that w

27、e arrive at our understanding of words.Richards3(1985)1.Polysemy1.Polysemy1.1 Definition1.1 DefinitionPolysemy means that one single word has two or more senses at the same time.The bulk of Englishwords are polysemantic,such as albatross;one-meaning words are rare and are mainly scientific terms,suc

28、h as hydrogen.hydrogenhydrogenHoward Morland wrote a magazine article explaining how an H-Bomb-or thermonuclear bomb-is made,using only publicly available information.AlbatrossAlbatross1)Another study done by Henri Weimerskirch concluded that there are only two ways to protectalbatrossalbatross from

29、 extinction.2)Three years on,it and the questionable legality of the war are still hanging round Blairs neck likean albatrossalbatross.3)The project is an economic albatrossalbatross from the start.1.2 processes of development1.2 processes of developmentThe development of word meaning from monosemy

30、to polysemy follows two courses which are calledradiation(辐射型)and Concatenation(连锁型）.RadiationRadiationSemantically,radiation is the process in which the primary or centralprimary or central meaning stands at the centerwhile secondary secondary meanings radiate from it in every direction like rays.E

31、ach of the secondary meaningsmight have developed from the central meaning without regard to any of the others.headhead11)from head to foot22)the head of the river3)five head of cattlehead4)to count heads365)the head of a delegation6)use your head547)lose ones headConcatenationConcatenationConcatena

32、tion is a semantic processsemantic process in which the meaning of a word moves gradually away from itsfirst sense by successive shifts until there is no connectionno connection between the sense that is finally developedand the primary meaning.candidatecandidate1)White-robed2)Office seeker in white

33、 gowns3)A person who seeks an office4)A person proposed for a place,award,etc.boardboard1)The notice board is designed to help you find information that facilitates your life and study.2)A host family provides love,support and council as well as board and lodging,just as for their ownchildren.cf.A c

34、upboard is a type of cabinet,often made of wood,used indoors to store household objects,suchas food and pottery.1.3 Polysemy and context1.3 Polysemy and contextPolysemy does not create much confusion in daily use because the contextgenerally reveals whichmeaning out of all its possible meanings is t

35、o be attached to the word.manman1)He tipped the chessboard,dumping the men to the floor.42)The visitor sent hisman for the luggage.3)Man the language lab.Exercise:Exercise:Try to pin down the meaning of the following italicized words according to the context.1)Turn on the light,please.2)This box is

36、verylight.3)Can youlight my cigarette for me?4)The water islight blue.5)He had a light attack of measles.6)This is alight wine.7)Light travels at 300,000 km/s.2.Hyponymy2.HyponymyfoodmeatvegetablefruitbeefmuttonceleryspinachpeachpineappleFrom the above diagram,we can see the word food is a generalte

37、rm,linguisticallycalledasuperordinate term,i.e.,it includes all the other terms listed underneath it.Meat,vegetable,and fruitarespecific termsand theyareallhyponyms/subordinate termsof food.The relationshipbetweenspecific words and general words are called hyponymy,so it is a relationship of inclusi

38、on.2.1 Functions2.1 Functionsa)Hyponymy serves as an effective way to enlarge your vocabulary.pigssowsboarspigletsb)Hyponymy,avoiding simple repetition,makes a discourse more coherent.There was a finerocking-chair that his father used to sit in,adesk where he wrote letters,a nestof small tables and

39、dark,imposing bookcase.Now all thisfurniture was to be sold,and with it hisown past.c)The hyponyms(or specific words)can make our speech and writing morevividvivid and expressiveexpressive,while using too much general terms can result in vagueness and triteness.1)Fido is the most lovablecreature I k

40、now.2)Fido is the onlyanimal I have ever killed.3)Fido is one of our threedogs.4)Fido is the fastesthound Ive ever seen.5)We have two hounds:agreyhound named Mick and a basset named Fido.Tip:Tip:A good piece of writing often involves both superordinates and subordinatesworking mutually toachieve the

41、 desired effect.3.Synonymy3.SynonymyWords which have the same or nearly the same meanings as other words are calledsynomymssynomyms and therelationship between them is one ofsynomymy.synomymy.1)He hid he money under the bed.2)He concealed the money under the bed.3.1 Synonymous Patterns3.1 Synonymous

42、 Patterns53.1.1 DoubletsIn English,there are countless pairs of synonyms in which a native term coexists with the oneborrowed from French,Latin or Greek.Exercise 1:identify the counterparts of the following underlined native terms.Exercise 1:identify the counterparts of the following underlined nati

43、ve terms.1)To each and every one of you we give aheartyhearty hug and thanks.Having given her a cordial hug,Mr.Price observed that his daughter has grown into a woman.2)MotherlyMotherly love is unconditional and never expects reciprocation.Maternal affection was likely to be lacking after delivery i

44、f the mother had experienced a painfuland unpleasant labour.3)Our foesfoes have declared this very intention,and have been caught seeking these terrible weapons.The sight of this doubled his anger,and he struck at his enemy with such fury that the Knightreeled twice,and seemed likely to fall.4)I lis

45、tened to this innerinner voice and decided that I would follow my heart;I would continue doingsomething I loved.Your interior thoughts can be mingled with exterior thoughts.3.1.2 Triplets3.1.2 TripletsExercise:Match the native terms with their counterparts.Exercise:Match the native terms with their

46、counterparts.NativeNativeFrenchFrenchLatin/GreekLatin/GreekbeginmountepochrisestomachinterrogatetimequestioninitiatebellyageascendaskcommenceabdomenIn this pattern,native,French,and Latin or Greek words co-exist.3.1.3 BrE.and AmE.Pattern3.1.3 BrE.and AmE.PatternBritish EnglishBritish EnglishAmerican

47、 EnglishAmerican Englishservanthelpliftelevatorpetrolgasoline3.2 Discrimination of synonyms3.2 Discrimination of synonyms1)Difference in range and intensity of meaning1)Difference in range and intensity of meaningextend,increase,expand The company has decided toincreaseits sales by ten per cent next

48、 year.The owner of the restaurant is going toextendthe kitchen.The metal willexpandif heated.work,toilwork,toil The work was not hard and she soon learned to do it well.The wealth of industrial society could only come from the toil of the masses.2)Difference in stylistic features2)Difference in styl

49、istic features The price of meat has been declining alarmingly.(written)The price of meat has been going down steeply.(spoken)They approved of the plan for the development of the inner city.(formal)6 They agreed to the plan for the development of the inner city.(informal)3)3)Difference in emotive co

50、loringDifference in emotive coloring Look at that lovely littlelittle boy.Look at that smallsmall boy.Look at that tinytiny boy.4)Difference in collocation4)Difference in collocationaccuse,charge,denounce,blameaccuse,charge,denounce,blame The writer accused the critic of failing to do justice to his