资源描述:
《英语教材 应用文体学-Chapter III 文体学 (3)》由会员上传分享,免费在线阅读,更多相关内容在行业资料-天天文库。
1、IIISynonymy(samenessofmeaning)IthasoftenbeensuggestedthatEnglishisparticularlyrichinsynonymsforthehistoricalreasonthatitsvocabularyhascomefromtwodifferentsources,fromAnglo-Saxonontheonehand,andfromFrench,LatinandGreekontheother.SinceEnglishisconsideredtobeaGermaniclanguagefrom
2、ahistoricalpointofview,withAnglo-Saxonasanearlierstageofdevelopment,the“Anglo-Saxon”wordsareoftenconsideredtobe“native”whilethosefromFrench,LatinorGreekare“foreign”.Thuswehavebrotherlyandfraternal,buyandpurchase,worldanduniverseasdoublets,andmanyothers(doublescalepattern).Then
3、ativewordsareoftenshorterandlesslearned;four-letterwordsaremostlyfromAnglo-Saxonorigin.Therearealsoexamplesoftriplets,onenative,onefromFrenchandonedirectlyfromLatin:kingly,royalandregal(triplescalepattern)Itisatruismthatabsolutesynonymsareextremelyrare---atleastasarelationbetw
4、eenlexemesinnaturallanguages(Itisnotrareasarelationbetweenlexicallycompositeexpressions).Indeeditwouldseemunlikelythattwowordswithexactlythesamemeaningwouldsurviveinalanguageatthesametime.Thevastmajorityofsynonymsarerelativesynonyms.Whenwetalkaboutsynonyms,generallywerefertore
5、lativesynonyms:twoormorewordsofthesamelanguageandofthesamegrammaticalcategoryhavingthesameessentialorgenericmeaninganddifferonlyinconnotation,application,oridiomaticuse:twoormorewordshavingessentiallyidenticaldefinitions..1.Generally,synonymsareidenticalindenotation(denotative
6、/conceptual/descriptivemeaning),buttheyaredifferentin:1)Indegreeofagivenqualityorinshadeofmeaning,e.g.:Small,tiny,diminutive,minute,microscopicandinfinitesimalaresynonyms,buttheydenotedifferentdegreesofsmallness.Anger(acommonword),rage(greatanger),fury(greatestanger),indignati
7、onandwratharedifferentindegreeofintensity:ToflyintoarageTheinsolence(傲慢;无礼)ofthewaitersdrovehimintoarage,andheflunghisplatetothefloorandstalkedoutoftherestaurant.Madwithfury,Johnpoundedhisfistsonthewallandbeathisbreast.Indignationdenotesangerbasedonamoralcondemnationofsomethin
8、gfelttobewrongandunfair:Abolitionistsviewedtheinstitutionofsl