Chapter 6    Sense Relations

    Words are arbitrary symbols and are independent identities so far as their outer facet — orthographical form, is concerned. But semantically, these lexemes are all related in one way or another. A lexeme which is related to other lexemes is related to them in sense, hence sense relations. The subjects that have long held the interest and attention of semanticists in the field of sense relations are polysemy, homonymy, synonymy, antonymy and hyponymy. Naturally, this chapter will discuss these relations. Moreover, as part of the meaning study, the discussion will also cover semantic field, which is commonly felt to be an integral part of sense relations.

6.1   Polysemy

    Polysemy is a common feature peculiar to all natural languages. This is particularly true of highly developed languages like English. In modern English, an overwhelming majority of words are polysemous. A casual glance of any pages of any English dictionary will justify(证明) the fact. There are words that have two or three senses, and the most commonly used ones can have as many senses as over a hundred. However, when a word is first coined, it is always monosemic(单义的) . But in the course of development, the same symbol may be employed to express new meanings as it is impossible to have one symbol in a language to denote one thing in the world. The result is polysemy. But how does a word acquire new meanings? In what way are the meanings related to one another?

 

   1. Two Approaches to Polysemy

    The problem of interrelation and interdependence of the various meanings of the same word can be approached from two different angles: diachronic approach(历时方法) and synchronic approach (共时方法) .

 

   1) Diachronic Approach

    From the diachronic point of view, polysemy is assumed to be the result of growth and development of the semantic structure of one and same word. At the time when the word was created, it was endowed with(被赋予)  only one meaning. This first meaning is the primary meaning(原始意义) . With the advance of time and the development of language, more and more meanings were attributed to it. These later meanings are called derived meanings(派生意义)  as they are all derived from the primary meaning. Take the word face for example (based on WNWD) :

(1)  the front of the head

(2)  the expression of the countenance(表情) 

(3)  a surface of a thing

(4)  the side or surface that is marked , as of a clock, playing card, domino(多米诺骨牌) , etc.

(5)  the appearance; outward aspect; resemblance(相似) 

(6)  (CH idiom) dignity; self-respect; prestige(威信) , as in lose/ save face

(7)  the topography(地形，地势)  (of an area)

(8)  the functional and striking surface (of a tool, golf club, etc.)

(9)  (Colloq) effrontery(厚颜无耻；傲慢无礼) ; audacity(放肆；胆大妄为)

(10)   what is shown by the language of a document, without explanation and addition

(11)  (Mining) the end of a tunnel, drift(水平巷道，平巷) , etc. where work is being done

(12)  ( Typography印刷术) the type surface on which a letter is cut 铅字字模面

Of the twelve meanings spelled out(详细地说明)  above, (1) is the primary meaning, i.e. the basic meaning of the word face. All the rest are derived later on from the primary meaning. At the first sight, one may get the impression that some of the derived meanings have little to do with the first meaning. A closer look will reveal various relations between the first meaning and each of the rest, i.e. the senses could be obtained by extension, narrowing, analogy(类推) , transfer(转移) , etc. . In fact, the derived meanings all come from the primary one.

    There are also many instances in which the primary meaning gave birth to new meanings, and as a result the primary meaning per se became either obsolete()  or disappeared altogether. For example, the basic sense of the word harvest was 'time of cutting'; now the word is used in the sense of 'reaping and gathering the crops' or 'a season's yield of grain or fruit, etc. '. The primary meaning is no longer in common use. Another good example is pain, whose original meaning was ' penalty(刑罚) or punishment', now preserved only in such phrases as pains and penalty(惩罚)  and upon / under pain of(违者以…论处) , the derived meanings 'suffering', 'great discomfort of the body or mind' have become prevalent(流行的；普遍的) . Examples of such can multiply in numbers.

 

    2) Synchronic Approach

    Synchronically, polysemy is viewed as the coexistence of various meanings of the same word in a historical period of time, say, Modern English. Along this line, the basic meaning of a word is considered to be the core of word meaning, called the central meaning. The derived meanings, no matter how numerous, are secondary in comparison. Therefore, for the word face, (1) is the central meaning and all the rest are minor ones. This does not necessarily mean that the secondary meanings are secondary in importance, though it is true in many cases. There are cases where the central meaning has gradually diminished in currency with the changes that have taken place in culture and society, and one of the derived meanings has become dominant(占主导地位的) . This can be exemplified by the word gay. The word used to mean (1) joyous and lively, merry, happy; (2) bright, brilliant; (3) given to social life and pleasure; (4) wanton(放荡的) , licentious(淫荡的) ; (5) homosexual (WNWD). The order of the senses shows the development, the first meaning being the basic and primary and the last the latest. But in usage and currency, the opposite is true. In both CCELD and LDCE (second edition), sense (5) is arranged as No. 1 because it is rated as the most frequently used meaning.             

 

2. Two Processes of Development

The development of word meaning from monosemy to polysemy follows two courses which are called radiation(辐射型模式)  and concatenation(连锁型模式) . 

1) Radiation

    Radiation is a semantic process in which the primary meaning stands at the center and the secondary meanings proceed out of it in every direction like rays. All the meanings are independent of one another , but can all be traced back to the central meaning. If we give a graphic(简图的) description of the meanings of face, it would look very much like a wheel of a bicycle.

    The word neck offers another good example of radiation. The primary meaning is (1) that part of man or animal joining the head to the body; from this are derived (2) that part of the garment(衣服) ; (3) the neck of an animal used as food, e. g. neck of lamb; (4) a narrow part between the head and body or base of any object, e. g. the neck of a violin ; (5) the narrowest part of anything: bottle, land, strait or channel. Though the referent of each of the five may not be the same, yet they are all related to the central meaning. Meaning ( 2 ) is an instance of meaning transfer, (3) an instance of specialization(具体化) , and (4) and (5) are instances of extension(扩展) .

 

    2) Concatenation [英] [kɔnˌkætɪˈneɪʃɵn

    Concatenation, literally meaning 'linking together', is the semantic process in which the meaning of a word moves gradually away from its first signification by successive shifts of meanings until, in many cases, there is not a shadow of connection between the sense that is finally developed and that which the term had in it at the outset (Rayevskaya 1957). Concatenation involves shifts of meaning. The meaning reached by the first shift may be shifted a second time, and so on until in the end the original meaning is totally lost. The word treacle is an illustrative example (WNWD):

(1)  wild beast

(2)  remedy for bites of venomous(有毒的；分泌毒液的)  beasts

(3)  antidote(解毒剂)  for poison or remedy for poison

(4)  any effective remedy

(5)  (BrE) molasses(糖浆) 

    Unlike radiation where each of the derived meanings is directly connected to the primary meaning, concatenation describes a process where each of the later meaning is related only to the preceding one like chains. Though the latest sense can be traced back to the original, there is no direct connection in between. Now for the word treacle, senses (1) and (2) are entirely lost; (3) and (4) are obsolete(废弃不用的) , and only (5) remains in currency. Without a knowledge of etymology of the word, no one can make any connection between sense (1) and sense (5). The same can be said of candidate:

(1)  white-robed

(2)  office seeker in white gowns(袍子) 

(3)  a person who seeks an office

(4)  a person proposed for a place, award, etc.  (ibid)

Radiation and concatenation are closely related, being different stages of the development leading to polysemy. Generally, radiation precedes concatenation. In many cases, the two processes work together as complementary to each other.