Lecture V

Semantic Structure

Meaning—one of the most controversial terms in the theory of language. The scientific definition of meaning just as the definition of some other basic linguistic terms (w-d, sentence, etc.) has been the issue of interminable discussions. There is no universally accepted def-n of meaning. There are broadly speaking 2 schools of thought in present-day linguistics representing the main approaches to this problem: I the referential school (approach), II the functional school.

(I) seeks to formulate the essence of meaning by establishing the interdependence between w-d, referent (things, objects denoted by the w-d) & concept (Rus: отношения между означающим(w-d), означаемым(concept и обозначаемым(referent).

Referent —that part of reality, extralinguistic element, ~ is pointed out by the w-d.

Generalizing function is peculiar to the w-d, as it (w-d) denotes not only a separate, concrete object of reality & ~ is easily identified by means of gesture but the whole multitude of objects, phenomena, characteristics united by definite properties.

Concept —a category of human cognition, the thought of the object that singles out its essential features. C-t—abstract & reflects the most common & typical features of the different objects & phenomena of the world.

Criticism:

1) Meaning of such w-s as abstract, verbs, adjectives, numerals is impossible to define by means of pointing out their referents.

2) Pointing to one & the same object, one can give it different names: This is a tulip. This is a flower. This is a plant. This is an object. W-s: tulip, flower, plant, object—different in their meanings, but the theory, that defines the meaning of the w-d as an object, substituted for the w-d, doesn’t explain this difference.

(II) studies the functions of a w-d in speech—the meaning of a w-d c.b. studied only through its relation to other w-s (not through its relation to either concept or referent), i.e. through the context or the surrounding of the w-d:

~ move & movement —the meaning is different, ‘cause they function in speech differently, the w-s occupy different positions in relation to other w-s

(we) Pron. + move + N (chair) ≠ (slow) Adj. + movement + Prep. (of)

~ different meanings of one & the same w-d. Analyzing the function of a w-d in linguistics contexts & comparing these contexts, we conclude that meanings are different (or the same)

get: get back, get behind, get down, get on(садиться на, делать успехи), get off(сойти, отбывать, начинать), get together, get round(обмануть), get under(гасить, тушить).

Criticism: But it’s impossible to identify the meaning with the usage, as a w-d has the meaning out of the context too. The possibility of pointing the meaning of the w-d by means of its definition before its usage testifies to this fact. Different surroundings of the w-d help listeners to understand the meaning of the utterance correctly but without the correlation of the w-d with the referent its impossible to learn its meaning, as it’s not always clear from the situation what the speech is about.

Conclusion: It is >/< universally recognized that w-d-meaning isn’t homogeneous, but it is made up of various components the combination & the interrelation of which determine to a great extend the inner facet of the w-d (if to consider linguistic units as 2

facet units: the inner facet (meaning) & external facet, ~ is indispensable for the existence of the meaning & mutual communication. These components are usually described as types of meaning. The 2 main types of meaning: lexical & grammatical.

Lexical meaning—the component of meaning expressing the content proper only to the given w-d & distinguishing it from other w-s & recurrent in all its forms & distributions

Write, wrote, has written, am writing, have been writing —1 & the same semantic component “the process of making marks that represent letters/w-s by using a pen/pencil on paper”—seme.

Grammatical meaning—the component of the meaning expressing the general, uniting individual forms of different w-s in identical sets—variable(переменное), adding the lexical meaning, complicating it; the component of the meaning recurrent in identical sets of individual forms of different w-s: the tense mean. in the w-d-forms of verbs (asked, walked, prepared); the case mean. in the w-d-forms of various nouns (girl’s, merchant’s, night’s).

The lex. mean. & grammat. mean. form a close, integrated unity in the w-d. Neither can exist without the other. Their opposition according to the way of expression brings in different lang-es to cases when grammatically expressed meanings in 1 lang-e finds the lexical correspondence in another & vice versa: Rus. Sg Past ڤ,ڤ,ڤ—E. pronouns are used to express the same meaning: He has written a letter. She has written a letter. Continuous actions in E.: aspect-tense forms of Cont. tenses (is writing, has been writing, will be writing) are expressed grammatically & in Rus. The same is expressed by lex. units: Я пишу сейчас. Я пишу уже два часа. Or the context is indispensable, ~ explains when the action takes place. The system of declension in Rus. & meaning expressed by it corresponds to the system of form-w-s in E.

The lexical meaning—a complex structural formation. It includes denotational & connotational components.

The denotational comp.—that comp. of the lex. mean. ~ makes communication possible

It expresses the conceptional content of a w-d.

speak—make use of a language in an ordinary, not a singing voice;

theatre—performance of plays for dramatic spectacles;

town—a centre of population larger than a village.

Ю.С.Степанов:«В содержании человеческой речи, кроме основной информации—мысли, почти всегда можно найти также социальную информацию, указание на социальное положение говорящего и…информацию эмоциональную.»

The connotational component—that comp. of the lex. mean. ~ expresses the emotive (эмотивное) attitude of the subject(субъект) of the speech towards the denotatum (обозначаемое). The emotive attitude includes the emotive charge & the stylistic value of the w-d.

The emotive charge—one of the objective semantic features proper to w-s as linguistic units. It comprises the emotional & evaluative comp-s. The emotional one expresses different emotions: gladness, sorrow, grief, admiration, tenderness—both positive & negative emotions.

The evaluative component expresses/ conveys the speaker’s attitude towards the referent, labeling it as good / bad: respect, scorn, irony, disrespect, loathing, hatred, disregard(пренебреж.)

hovel —лачуга, хибара. It denotes “a small house/cottage” & besides implies that it is a miserable dwelling place, dirty, in bad repair & in general unpleasant to live in.

large & tremendous

love, like, worship } differ in the emotive charge, & is stronger in “ tremendous”,

girl, girlie “worship”, “girlie”

celebrated & notorious: the denotational comp. —“widely known”, the connotational comp. — positive evaluation for special achievement in science, art; negative evaluation —for criminal acts or bad traits of character.

The emotive charge varies in different word-classes(p/speech). It prevails in interjections, whereas in conjunctions it is as a rule practically non-existent.

Words differ not only in their emotive charge but also in their stylistic reference. Stylistically w-s c.b. roughly subdivided into literary, neutral, colloquial, vulgar, poetic layers. While the denotational comp. makes possible the process of human communication, the connot. comp. expresses human emotions & evaluations of things/objects & shows the position of a w-d in the stylistic stratification(разнесение слов по рубрикам) of the vocabulary.

mere —stands for poetical “ sea ”, woe —stands for poetical “ grief ”

goose —простофиля, дурак corps-provider —прен. хирург

stinky —a person who smells strong & unpleasant

to speechify —ирон. разглагольствовать, витийствовать

potato-trap —vulg. Рот

the stylistic reference & the emotive charge of a w-d are closely connected & to a certain degree interdependent. (It is one of the debatable problems in semasiology. Some linguists go so far as to claim that the stylistic reference of the w-d lies outside the scope of the meaning.) As a rule styl-ly coloured w-s are observed to possess a considerable emotive charge. The coll. w-s “ daddy ”, “ mammy ” are more emotional than the neutral “ father ”, “ mother”

W-s of neutral style, however may also differ in the degree of emotive charge: large, big, tremendous —equally neutral as to their styl. ref-ce, & are not identical as far as their emotive charge is concerned.

The lexical mean. may combine either the both types of meanings—denotational & connotational, either limit itself to one of them. The considerable № of w-s—connotationally neutral, only the denotation. comp. of the content with the definite inner structure is observed(present) in their meanings: water, salt, take, run, green, strong etc. These w-s by themselves are not connected with the expression of emotionally-evaluative relations, though in definite contexts they may get definite emot.-evaluative colour (pragmatic colour). But it isn’t a part of their own meaning, it is the result of the usage of the w-d in the definite speech situation.

A great many w-s combine both the denot-l & connot-l components in their lexical meanings, & what’s more one of them m. appear dominating. E.g.: upstart(выскочка), cad(грубиян, невежа), monster(урод)—the pragmatic component is dominating. The w-s of the type “anarchist”, “coward”, “informer”(осведомитель) contain the denot. comp.., but the type of people & their activity named by them (w-s) arouses the definite emotions & evaluation. The content of the emotive comp-t of the meaning varies considerably. 2 or more w-s, having one & the same denot-l meaning,may differ in the emotive charge: brat:: baby, kid:: child—the same denot-l comp-t, but left-sided w-s—with the emotive charge, while right-sided—neutral.

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