English Morphology and Lexicology Shaoguangqinggmail com www windofspring

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English Morphology and Lexicology Shaoguangqing@gmail. com www. windofspring. weebly. com

English Morphology and Lexicology Shaoguangqing@gmail. com www. windofspring. weebly. com

Chapter 8 Meaning and Context o 8. 1 Types of context n n o

Chapter 8 Meaning and Context o 8. 1 Types of context n n o 1)Extra-linguistic context 2)Liguistic context 8. 2 The role of context n n n 1)Elimination of ambiguity 2)Indication of referents 3)Provision of clues for inferring wordmeaning

Warm-up o o o Mother: Johnny, go over the road and see how old

Warm-up o o o Mother: Johnny, go over the road and see how old Mrs Jones is. (The boy comes back and says…) Johnny: Mrs Jones says it is none of my business.

Warm-up o o She is looking for a match. The fisherman went to the

Warm-up o o She is looking for a match. The fisherman went to the bank. The chicken is ready to eat. Visiting relatives can be boring.

More … o o o o The lady hit the man with an umbrella.

More … o o o o The lady hit the man with an umbrella. He gave her cat food. The man saw the boy with the binoculars. They are hunting dogs. I told her books were funny. I love hunting dogs. Will will the will to Will?

Warm-up o Context is very important for the understanding of (word-)meaning because the meaning

Warm-up o Context is very important for the understanding of (word-)meaning because the meaning is influenced immediately by the linguistic context, and in many cases by the whole speech situation as well.

8. 1 Types of context o o Linguistic context Extra-linguistic context (non-linguistic context)

8. 1 Types of context o o Linguistic context Extra-linguistic context (non-linguistic context)

1) Extra-linguistic context o I do think Adam’s quick. n n o Quick in

1) Extra-linguistic context o I do think Adam’s quick. n n o Quick in developing Quick to understand/react/see the joke “Look out!” n n Look outside Be careful Context: speaker; hearer; place; time Situational context

1) Extra-linguistic context o trade union n n o Cultural contexts landlord n n

1) Extra-linguistic context o trade union n n o Cultural contexts landlord n n o Western countries China Chinese culture Western culture weekend n n Western weekend Chinese weekend (before May 1, 1995)

2) Linguistic context o Lexical context n paper o o o (a sheet of)

2) Linguistic context o Lexical context n paper o o o (a sheet of) paper (a white) paper (a term) paper (today’s) paper (examination) paper

2) Linguistic context o Lexical context n do o o o do do do

2) Linguistic context o Lexical context n do o o o do do do (a sum) (one’s teeth) (the flowers) (fish) (science at school) (a museum/a city/a country)

2) Linguistic context o Grammatical context n become o o o become+adj. /n. (begin

2) Linguistic context o Grammatical context n become o o o become+adj. /n. (begin to be) Become+pron/n. (suit; befit) become of (happen to, often in a bad way)

2) Linguistic context o However, there are cases where the meaning of a word

2) Linguistic context o However, there are cases where the meaning of a word may remain a puzzle until a whole paragraph, a chapter or even a whole book is covered. n n “Janet! Donkeys!” “THE? ”

8. 2 The role of context o He is a hard businessman. n n

8. 2 The role of context o He is a hard businessman. n n n o Context 1: hard-working Context 2: difficult He is a hard businessman to deal with. Elimination of ambiguity n John ran the egg and spoon race. o o n Participate in Organize John ran the egg and spoon race and won second place.

8. 2 The role of context o They saw her duck. n n n

8. 2 The role of context o They saw her duck. n n n o Context 1: n. Context 2: v. They saw her duck swimming in the river. The ball was attractive. n n n Context 1: Context 2: The ball was attractive with nice music and a lot of people.

8. 2 The role of context o The fish is ready to eat. n

8. 2 The role of context o The fish is ready to eat. n n n o Context 1: Context 2: What a nice smell! The fish is ready to eat. I like Mary better than Jean. n n Context 1: Context 2: I like Mary better than Jean does. I like Mary better than I do Jean.

8. 2 The role of context Indication of referents o Teddie never argues with

8. 2 The role of context Indication of referents o Teddie never argues with his father when he’s drunk. o He introduced me to the pilot. He looked after him when he was in hospital. He really did a fine job, and nothing was too much trouble for him.

8. 2 The role of context Indication of referents o When Teddie is drunk,

8. 2 The role of context Indication of referents o When Teddie is drunk, he never argues with his father. o He introduced me to the pilot whom he had looked after in hospital. He really did a fine job, and nothing was too much trouble for him.

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o Definition n Perhaps the most startling theory to come out of kinesics, the study of body movement, was suggested by Professor Bird-whistell.

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o Explanation n It is just one more incredible result of the development of microprocessors— those tiny parts of a computer commonly known as ‘silicon chips’.

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o Example n Many United Nations employees are polyglots. Mary, for example, speaks five languages.

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o Synonymy n Their greatest fear was of a conflagration, since fire would destroy their flimsy wooden settlement before help could arrive.

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o Antonymy n As the fighting on all fronts reached its peak, the economy neared its nadir.

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o Hyponymy n The village had most of the usual amenities; a pub, a library, a post office, a village hall, a medical centre, and a school.

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o Relative details n ‘Do get me a clop, ’ she said, smacking her lips, but her brother, with a scornful glance up at the branches, said that there were none ripe yet.

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o

8. 2 The role of context Provision of clues for inferring word -meaning o Word structure n Copernicus believed in a heliocentric universe, rather than the geocentric theory.