The Extended and Affective Meaning of Words Lecture Seven The Extended and Affective Meaning of Words 词义的引申与褒贬
Extension of word meaning 1. Reasons for the extension of word meaning English proverb: Words do not have meanings; people have meanings for words. Humpty Dumpty: When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less. [Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll]
Types 1)From specific to general/abstract (generalization) 2)From general to specific (specification) ●About the extension (外延) and intension (内涵) of a concept
Extension. The set of all things to which a word or phrase refers; also known as "denotation." The extension of "U.S. automotive producer" is "Chrysler, Ford, General Motors." Intension. The set of qualities of a thing that make a given word or phrase refer to it; also know as "sense" (and not to be confused with intention, what someone means to say or do). The intension of "U.S. automobile producer" is "a company engaged in manufacturing automobiles, with its corporate headquarters in the United States.
Translation methods 1)Generalizaion/abstracting: From specific to general/abstract Examples: (1) There were times when emigration bottleneck was extremely rigid and nobody was allowed to leave the country out of his personal preference . 过去有过这种情况,移民限制十分严格,不许任何人出于个人目的/考虑而迁居他国。 (2) Brain drain has been Egypt’s Number one concern –as a matter of fact it has become an epidemic in that area of the world . 人才外流一直以来不仅是埃及的首要问题,而且是世界那一地区很普遍、严重的问题。
(3) Their lifestyle could seem Spartan to a city family with their assets . 他们的生活对城市里的殷实人家来说似乎过于严朴。 (4) Now you can meet good Samaritans again ,here ,there and everywhere. 现在你又可以处处见到乐于助人的人了。
2)Specification: From general to specific Examples: (1) When we go on a Sunday outing , it is to do Musee du Louvre : 如果星期天出门我们就去逛罗浮宫。 (2) The Democratic Party is the party of longest continuous existence . 民主党则是的党史最长且其间从未中断过的政党。
(3) Saudi Arabia has had problems with Iraq and South Yamen but tried hard to remain in touch with leaders of both states . 沙特阿拉伯与伊拉克和南也门之间早就有纠葛但他仍竭尽全力与两国领导人保持接触。 (4) He is a valuable acquisition to the team . 他是该队不可多得的新队员。 (5) There is more to their life than political and social and economic problems; more than transient everydayness. 他们的生活远不止那些政治的、社会的和经济的问题,远不止一时的基本的柴米油盐问题。
Assignment 1. She sailed into the room 2. We must keep our powder dry. 3. He was a tough proposition. 4. The Great wall is a must for most foreign visitors to Beijing. 5. There is no one alive who is youer than you.
Slanting words and their affective meaning Types of meaning Geoffrey Leech (1981): seven types of meaning Conceptual meaning 概念意义 Connotative meaning 内涵意义 Stylistic meaning 风格意义 Affective meaning 情感意义
Reflected meaning 反映意义 Collocative meaning 搭配意义 Thematic meaning 主题意义
● Defintion of affective meaning The meaning which is pertaining to or exciting emotion; affectional; emotional. Or what is communicated of the feelings and attitudes of the writer or speaker towards the reader.
●Types of affective meaning positive, neutral and derogatory e.g.: Portly, overweight, obese Slender/slim, underweight, skinny Senior, old man/woman, fossile
Compare the affective meanings Famous/notorious Statesman/politician Publicity/propaganda Resolute/stubborn/obstinate To tell a white lie/to tell a ruddy lie
情感意义是用来表达说话者的感情,以及他对交际对象和所谈事物的态度的。语言中的感叹词如Oh , Ah , Dear me , Goodness 等,它们没有概念意义,直接表达情感意义。情感意义基本上是依附性的,也就是说,它不是一种独立的意义,而是要通过概念意义、内涵意义或风格意义等手段表现出来。例如:
1) The old bitch had to do it herself . (通过bitch 的概念意义) 2) Tom is a pig. (通过pig 的内涵意义) 有些概念意义相同的词,其情感意义可能相差甚远。small 和little 表达的概念基本一样,但它们的情感意义却有差异,She is a small girl. 和She is a little girl. 表达出说话人对所谈论的对象的两种不同的情感和态度。语言中有些成对的含有褒贬意义的词语如slender/ skinny , statesman/ politician , scholar/ bookworm 等都带有较强的情感意义。
Examples: Favorable Neutral Unfavorable replica (艺术)复制品/copy复制品 /counterfeit 伪造物,赝品 wit风趣的人/comic喜剧演员/buffoon小丑,愚蠢的人 literary artist文学家 / writer作家/hack=ghost writer雇佣文人 community 公众/people人们/mob暴徒,乌合之众 svelte=slender=slim窈窕/thin瘦的/skinny皮包骨的
unique独一无二的/unusual不寻常的/bizarre离奇的 penetrating深刻的/sharp尖锐的/caustic刻薄的 time-tested久经考验的/old旧的/out-of-date过时的 man Friday忠仆 /servant仆人/lackey走狗,奴才 bachelor girl单身女子 /spinster老处女 beauty美化/prettify过分粉饰 indoctrination /brainwashing venerable古老的/superannuated被淘汰的 frugal 节俭的 penurious 吝啬的
1) Joan has a mind of her own and an enquiring attitude 1) Joan has a mind of her own and an enquiring attitude .She shows some originality and thinks for herself .She may develop valuable qualities of leadership . 琼有主见,好询问,有一定的创造性,能独立思考,具有潜在的可贵的领导素质。
2) Joan is very cheeky and questions the decisions of those in authority. She is argumentative and apt to be perverse .She is beginning to have bad influence on her classmates. 琼厚颜无耻,怀疑权威,好争辩,刚愎自用,开始对同学起坏影响了.
翻译实践 原文: 心魔 一名僧人与一名妇人同舟,忍不住多看几眼。 妇人嫌其无礼,怒命随从打之。 僧人只好闭目。及至岸边,妇人又命打。 僧人问:「如今何罪?」
妇人说:「你现在闭了眼睛,正可以肆无忌惮的想我﹗」 其实该打的不是那僧人,而是那妇人。 心中有鬼,见人都是鬼;心中有魔,见人都是魔﹗ - 恨能挑起争端,爱能遮掩一切过错。
参考译文: The Devil of the Heart A monk was in the same ship with a woman and could not help staring at her. The woman ordered her follower to beat the monk because of his rudeness. So the monk closed his eyes. After they landed, the woman ordered beating the monk again.
The monk then asked, " What's wrong with me?" The woman said, " You can think of me indulgently and recklessly with your eyes closed!" In fact, it was the woman but not the monk who deserved the beating. The devil in your heart will make everyone in your eyes turn into a devil too! -Resentment provokes quarrels, but love can hide all faults.
翻译讲评 1、“忍不住多看几眼 ” 译文一: He could not resist looking at her several more times. 译文二: He could not stop casting a few more glances at her.
2、“你现在闭了眼睛,正可以肆无忌惮的想我﹗ ” 译文一: Now that you have closed your eyes, you can think of me freely in your evil heart. 译文二: You can think of me indulgently and recklessly with your eyes closed.
3、“其实该打的不是那僧人,而是那妇人 ” 译文一: In fact, the one who deserves beating is not the monk but the woman. 译文二: In fact, it is the woman but not the monk who should be beaten.
4、“心中有鬼,见人都是鬼 ” 译文一: If there is a ghost in your heart, everyone you see is a ghost. 译文二: A ghost in your heart turns everyone into a ghost.
Questions and tasks Do Exercises 1 and 2 the textbook (p. 32). Do Exercises 3 and 4 in the textbook (p. 36).