1、English Lexicology Unit 5,Pragmatic Meaning of Words,Content,Pragmatic Meaning: an introduction Characteristics of Pragmatic Meaning Classification of Pragmatic Meaning Communicative Function of Pragmatic Meaning,Pragmatic Meaning: an introduction,Semantic meaning Vs pragmatic meaning Context the ba
2、sis for the production of pragmatic meanings,Semantic meaning Vs pragmatic meaning,Semantic meaning is a conventionalised form of meaning. words mean certain things by generally accepted convention. eg. dog- a certain kind of animal Pragmatic meaning is distinctly non-conventional in nature. (meanin
3、g in use) “What did you say?” - the speaker did not hear. (semantic meaning) - a challenge to repeat sth. that will not find favour. (pragmatic meaning),Context,Ungerer & Schimid (2001): context is the linguistic material proceeding and following a word or sentence. (Purely linguistic point of view)
4、 Searl (1979): the set of background assumptions that are necessary for an utterance to be intelligible. Halliday (1989): both the context of culture and the context of situation are necessary for a proper understanding of an utterance or text.,Two types of contexts,The meanings of words, especially
5、 those of polysemous words may be viewed as determined either by linguistic (verbal) contexts or extra-linguistic (non-verbal) contexts. Linguistic (verbal) context (言语) words, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, or whole books in which a word appears. Extra-linguistic (non-verbal) context (非言语） a parti
6、cular time, space, or culture in which a word appears.,Linguistic context,Linguistic context can be further divided into Lexical context Grammatical context Lexical context: the lexemes that co-occur with the word in question. The meaning of the word is affected or determined by the neighboring lexe
7、mes.,Example: paper,The word “paper” has a number of meanings in the dictionary, but in each of the following context, it conveys only one meaning. a sheet of paper a white paper a term paper todays paper examination paper,It is obvious that the main reason for bringing out this or that meaning of t
8、he word “paper” is the specific words which the word “paper” is combined with.,Grammatical context,In some cases, the meaning of a polysemous word may be determined by the grammatical structure (not specific words) in which it occurs. get+NP: get a big apple; get an interestingbook get+AP: get very
9、angry; get incredibly coldgetto do: I got him to do the job.,receive,become,cause,Extra-linguistic context,Extra-linguistic context is the actual speech situation in which a word is used. Example: Johns really quick. John is a runner. The teacher told a joke, and then all the students but John laugh
10、ed. Then John laughed. Then one of the students says: Johns really quick. (quick is used ironically to mean the opposite slow).,Extra-linguistic context,The extra-linguistic context may extend to include the entire cultural background. Notice on the door of a butchers shop: “Sorry, no dogs”. Custome
11、rs are not allowed to take dogs into the shop. (Western culture) The butcher apologizes for having run out of dog meat. (Chinese culture),The importance of context in eliminating ambiguity,Ambiguity refers to a word, a phrase, a sentence with more than one possible meaning. Ambiguity may be caused b
12、y Polysemy (一词多义). He painted a tree. Homonymy (同音/同形异义). The ball was attractive. Grammatical structure. Visiting relatives may be boring. 鸡不吃了。/ 约翰拔了三颗蛀牙。,Characteristics of Pragmatic Meaning,Etymological subsidiarity原词附属性 Subjective experientiality 主观体验性 Meaning uncertainty 意义不确定性 Conceptual temp
13、orality 概念临时性 Contextual interdependency 语境共生性,Etymological subsidiarity原词附属性,The pragmatic meaning of a word is closely related to its original meaning. Ambition is the mother of destruction as well as of evil. (mother: origin / a female parent) H-beam （工字梁）、 O-ring （环形圈）、 T-shirt （短袖圆领衫）、 U-steel（
14、槽钢）、V-belt（三角皮带）、Y-curve（叉型曲线）。,Subjective experientiality 主观体验性,Pragmatic meaning carries strong personal feeling because of different individuals personal experience. pumpkin (Chinese: intolerable hungry days in the past; Americans: joyful “Thanksgiving Day”) a. We admired her for her bravery afte
15、r she saved the children from the fire. (钦佩) b. We felt ashamed for your bravery in the fight with your classmate. (讽刺),Meaning uncertainty 意义不确定性,Pragmatic meaning is uncertain when factors such as age, nationality, time, place, etc. are involved. e.g. “小姐” narrowing At Christmas, the bird was deli
16、cious. (turkey) broadening approximation This coat cost 1,000 dollars. (about 1,000) metaphorical extension Federer is the new Sampras. (gifted tennis player),Conceptual temporality 概念临时性,We can buy favor with flattery, but we cant buy happiness with money. (obtain/exchange) She opened the door and
17、her heart to the homeless boy. (Zeugma 共轭搭配),Contextual interdependency 语境共生性,a. Words pay no debts.（空话） b. He is the mouth of the House in its relations with the Crown.（发言人）,Classification of Pragmatic Meaning,Imitative meaning 仿义型 Opposite meaning 反义型 Broadened or narrowed meaning 增减型 Distortional
18、 meaning 畸变型,Imitative meaning 仿义型,The country not agreeing with her, she returned to England. (水土不服) A cat has nine lives. Every life has its roses and thorns.,Opposite meaning 反义型,Its very considerate of you to sing so loudly while I was asleep. The cheque fluttered to the floor like a bird with a
19、 broken wing. Slowly the old lady stooped to pick it up. Her present, her lovely present. With trembling fingers she tore it into little bits.,Broadened or narrowed meaning 增减型,All doctors drink. I have a temperature The earth is flat.,Distortional meaning 畸变型,What does that lawyer do after he dies?
20、 Lie still. Why is a marathoner a good student? Because education pays off in the long run. Vietnamese War was a drain on American resources.,Communicative Function of Pragmatic Meaning,Constructing rhetorical devices 构造修辞手段 Explaining anomalous phenomenon 解释逻辑和语法不通现象 Expressing individual feelings
21、表现个体情感,Constructing rhetorical devices,Personification 拟人 Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered. There was no one there. The leaves danced in the breeze. Euphemism 委婉 Would you offer money to help the needy? Do you usually travel business class? Pun 双关 Seven days without water makes one weak. Whi
22、ch lager can claim to be truly German? This can. (Beer ad.),Constructing rhetorical devices,Metaphor 隐喻 The rain came down in long knitting needles. Mens words are bullets that their enemies take up and make use of against them. Hyperbole 夸张 The water is boiling. This sounded so tasty that I made en
23、ough for an army! Metonymy 借代 The White House has issued a statement.,Explaining anomalous phenomenon,Dog for sale: eats anything and is fond of children. Illiterate? Write today for free help.,Expressing individual feelings,beautify American invasion close air support (近距离空中支援=air strike) collateral damage (附带损伤=civilian casualties) ground operation (地面行动=ground war) attack(=pacify the area绥靖) target of opportunity (=random bombing) economic recession (= e. crisis) capital punishment (=death penalty),The End,
