词汇学7Word文档格式.docx

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