词汇学7Word文档格式.docx
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词汇学7Word文档格式.docx
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,jumpmeans‘just’asin‘Thustwicebefore,andjumpatthisdeadhour’;
vulgarsignifies‘common’asin‘ascommonasanythemostvulgarthingtosense;
censuresignifies‘opinion’asin‘Takeeachman’scensure,butreservethyjudgment’;
fonddesignates‘foolish’asin‘I’llwipeawayalltrivialfondrecords’;
pregnantdesignates‘meaningful’asin‘Howpregnantsometimeshisrepliesare’andsoon.Exampleslikethesearenumerous.
Changinginwordmeaninghasneverceasedsincethelanguagecameintobeingandwillcontinueinthefuture.Yetnoonehasbeenabletosystemizethewaysinwhichchangesoccur.However,thereareafewpatternsthatchangesfollow.Thischapterwilldiscussinsomedetailthemajorpatternsandthecausesofchanges.
7.1TypesofChanges
Word-meaningchangesbymodesofextension,narrowing,degradation,elevation,andtransfer.Ofthese,extensionandnarrowingarebyfarthemostcommon.
7.1.1Extension
1.Extensionofmeaning,alsoknownasgeneralization,isthenamegiventothewideningofmeaningwhichsomewordsundergo.Itisaprocessbywhichawordwhichoriginallyhadaspecializedmeaninghasnowbecomegeneralized.Inotherwords,thetermhasextendedtocoverabroaderandoftenlessdefiniteconcept.Agoodexampleisthewordmanuscript,whichnowmeans‘anyauthor’swritingwhetherwrittenbyhandortypedwithatype-writeroraword-processor,butitsoriginalmeaningwas‘handwriting’only,i.e.writingbyhand.Fabulousbeganwiththemeaningof‘resemblingafable’or‘basedonafable’,butlatercametomean‘incredible’or‘marvelous’,sincetheincredibleandmarvelouswereoftenfoundinfables.Barnwasonce‘aplaceforstoringonlybarley’,butnowhasextendedtomeana‘storeroom.’Thiskindofextensionisalsoreflectedinthewordpicture,whichoriginallydenotedmere‘paining’,butnowhascometoinclude‘drawings’andevenphotographs’.Moreexamples:
Mill-placeforgrindinggraininto
flour
placewherethingsaremade
Journal-dailypaper
periodical
Bonfire-fireonbonesafireintheopenmadebyanything
Butcher-onewhokillsgoats
onewhokillsanimals
Companion-onewhosharesbreadacompany
2.Extensionofmeaningisalsofoundinmanytechnicalterms,whichasthetermsuggestsareconfinedtospecializeduse.Forinstance,alibi,alegaltermsignifying‘pleathattheaccusedisnotattheplacewhenthecrimeiscommitted’,hasnowcomeintocommonuse,meaning‘excuse’.Itisthesamewithallergic,amedicalterminthesenseof‘toosensitivetomedicine’.Butnowithasextendedtomean‘averseordisinclinedto’.Feedback,atermincomputerscience,isgeneralizedtomean‘response’.
3.Wordscommonizedfrompropernounshaveexperiencedthesamesemanticchange.Forexample,lynchusedasaverbmeaningkillwithoutlawfultrial’originatesfromWilliamLynch(1742-1820),memberofavigilancecommitteeinPittsylvania,Virginia,whomadethelawknownastheLynch‘sLaw.Sandwichcomesfromagambler’snametodenoteakindoffastfood,andnowcanbeusedasaverbmeaning‘placeorsqueezebetween’asin‘Sandwichedbetweenthisdoorandawindowisagiantrefrigerator.’AVandalwasamemberofanEastGermanictribethatravagedGaul,Spain,andNorthAfricaandsackedRomein455A.D.andwasnotedformaliciousdestructionofthings.Consequently,thetermwasusedtodenoteapersonofsuchbehaviour.Nowfromthiswordarederivedverbvandalize,adjectivesvandalicandvandalistic,andnounsvandalizationandvandalism(SeeWordsfromProperNames).
7.1.2Narrowing
1.Narrowingofmeaning,alsocalledspecialization,istheoppositeofwideningmeaning.Itisaprocessbywhichawordofwidemeaningacquiresanarrowerorspecializedsense.Inotherwords,awordwhichusedtohaveamoregeneralsensebecomesrestrictedinitsapplicationandconveysaspecialmeaninginpresent-dayEnglish.Deerisatypicalexample.InShakespeareanline‘ratsandmiceandsuchsmalldeer’,deerobviouslydesignates‘animal’ingeneral.Cornoncemeant‘grain’inBritishEnglish,butnowisusedformaizeonlyinAmericanEnglish.WhengaragewasfirstborrowedfromFrench,itmeantsimply‘anysafeplace’butnow‘aplaceforstoringcars’.Otherexamples:
WordOldM.SpecializedM.
liquorliquidalcoholicdrink
meatfoodfleshofanimals
diseasediscomfortillness
poisondrinkpoisonousdrink
wifewomanamarriedwomanaccidenteventunfortunateevent
girlyoungpersonofeithersex
femaleyoungperson
2.Whenacommonwordisturnedintoapropernoun,themeaningisnarrowedaccordinglysuchastheCity,whichmeansthe‘businesscenterofLondon’;
thePeninsula,whichreferstothe‘IberianPeninsula’andtheProphetswhichstandsforMohammed.’
3.Foreconomy,somephrasesareshortenedandonlyoneelementoftheoriginal,usuallyanadjective,islefttoretainthemeaningofthewhole.Suchadjectiveshavethustakenonspecializedmeanings,
e.g.
aprivate=aprivatesoldier
ageneral=ageneralofficer
aneditorial=aneditorialarticle
Thesameistrueofmaterialnouns,whichareusedtorefertoobjectsmadeofthemandthushaveamorespecificsense.Forexample,silverisusedfor‘silverdollar’,glassfora‘cup-likecontainer’ora‘mirror’,andironfora‘deviceforsmoothingclothes’,etc.
7.1.3Elevation
Elevationorameliorationreferstotheprocessbywhichwordsrisefromhumblebeginningstopositionsofimportance.Somewordsearlyintheirhistorysignifiedsomethingquiteloworhumble,butchangedastimewentbytodesignatesomethingagreeableorpleasant.Takeacommontermniceforexample.Itsoriginalmeaningwas‘ignorant’,thenchangedto‘foolish’andnowelevatedtomeandelightful,pleasant’.Marshalandconstablemeanta‘keeperofhorses’,butnowhaverisentoa‘high-rankingarmyofficer’and‘policeman’respectively.Moreexamples:
WordOldM.ElevatedM.
angelmessengermessengerofGod
knightservantrankbelowbaronet
earlmancount
governorpilotheadofastate
fondfoolishaffectionate
ministerservantheadofaministry
Noonetodaywouldresentbeingdescribedasshrewdornimble,yetthesewordswereatonetimehighlypejorative.Ashrewdpersonusedtobeassociatedwith‘evil’or‘wickedness’,andanimbleonewasthoughttobegoodattakingthingswithoutpermission.Chamberlain,nowa‘highofficialofroyalcourts’,wasformerlyaservant.Similarly,successinitsearlypastjustmeant‘result
7.1.4Degradation
Degradationorpejorationofmeaningistheoppositeofsemanticelevation.Itisaprocesswherebywordsofgoodoriginfallintoillreputationornon-affectivewordscometobeusedinderogatorysense.Observationshowsthatitismuchmorecommonforwordmeaningstochangeindenotationfromneutraltopejorativethanitisforthemtogotheotherway.ManywordswhichwereoncenamesforthecommonpeopleintheMiddleAgeshavetakenonbadmeanings.Aboorwasmerelya‘peasant’andhasnowdegradedtoa‘rude,ill-manneredperson’.Churlusedtobea‘peasant’or‘freeman’hascometodenote‘uncultivatedormeanperson’.Awenchwasa‘countrygirl’andnowmeans‘prostitute’.Hussyformerlymerelya‘housewife’havebeendowngradedintoa‘womanoflowmorals’,andvillaina‘personwhoworkedinavilla’hasbecomean‘evilorwickedpersonorscoundrel’.Thewordsthatfollowhaveundergonethesameprocess.
WordOldM.DegradedM.
Sillyhappyfoolish
Knaveboydishonestperson
lewdignorantlecherous
criticizeappraisefindfaultwith
lustpleasuresexualdesire
7.1.5Transfer
Apartfromthefourmajormodesofsemanticchange,thereisoneothertypewhichneedsmentioning,i.e.transfer.
1.semantictransfer.Wordswhichwereusedtodesignateonethingbutlaterchangedtomeansomethingelsehaveexperiencedtheprocessofsemantictransfer.Paperservesasanexample.ThiswordformerlydenotedanAfricanplantpapyrus,whichwasonceusedtomakepaper.Inmoderntimes,paperismadefromrags,wood,strawandthelike,buttheproducthasretainedthesamename.
2.associatedtransfer.Thereisassociatedtransfer,forexample,thelipofawound;
thetongueofabell;
thenoseofaplane,inwhichthemeaningistransferredthroughassociation.Pursefor‘money’,dishfor‘food’,glassfor‘cup’etc.areallinstancesofassociatedtransfer.
3.Transfermayalsooccurbetweenabstractandconcretemeanings.Forinstance,aftermathusedtorefertoa‘secondcropofgrassaftermowing’,aconcretemeaning,butithasnowacquiredanotherabstractmeaningconsequenceor‘result’.Conversely,hope,whichhasanabstractmeaning,canbeusedinaconcretesenseasin‘Clintonisthehopeofthefamily
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