The linguistic term-meaning
. A number of stylistic devices are based on the peculiar use of lexical meanings. Therefore it seems to be necessary to define with precision the types of meanings words may have which we meet in stylistic devices.
Words can be approached from multifarious aspects, some of which go beyond the boundaries of pure linguistics, though they are deeply rooted in the texture of the language. The most common and acceptable definition of a word is the following. A word is a language sign that expresses a concept by its forms and meanings. By concept is meant an abstract or general idea of some phenomenon of objective reality including the subjective feelings and emotions of human beings. The forms of a word show its relation to the other words in a sentence. The meaning of a word is the means by which the concept is materialized. The meaning will always direct the mind to the object or objects we think of. The forms of a word will direct the mind to the correlation between the words in a sentence.
The forms of a word are also said to have meanings. Therefore we distinguish between lexical meaning and grammatical meaning, the former referring to the phenomena of objective reality and the latter to the correlation between the words in a sentence.
Polysemanticism
This means that a word may have a number of meanings. So here we meet the first contradiction in terms. On the one hand a word expresses a concept by its meanings. On the other hand each meaning may denote a separate concept. The contradiction is to some extent removed by introducing the notion of progress in language. The meanings are liable to change. When there is an obvious connection between different meanings, we call them shades of meaning, nuances of meaning and even separate meanings, the latter being on the verge of becoming separate words. When the process of breaking away from the basic meaning has gone so far that we scarcely feel any connection between the meanings, we say that the word has split into two different words which in this case become homonyms. The meanings of a word are the only means of materializing a concept in language, though some concepts may be materialized not by means of the signs of language but by other signs — by gestures, mimicry, music, painting, sculpture and the other fine arts.
Дата добавления: 2016-01-04; просмотров: 140; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы! |
Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!