1、 重庆南方翻译学院 本科毕业论文 中文题目： 浅谈中学英语教学活动中同形异义词和 多义词的区分问题的学习要领 外文题目： An Analysis on the Learning Principles of Distinctions Between Homonymy and Polysemy in Middle School English Teaching 院 系 英语语言学院 专 业 英语 (教育 ) 年 级 2007 级 学 号 071500440121 学 生 严元媛 指导教师 王昊灿 结稿日期 2011 年 4 月 30日 四川外语学院重庆南方翻译学院教务处制 2011 年 4 月 3
2、0 日填 i 浅谈中学英语教学活动中同形异义词和多义词的区分问题的学习要领 摘要： 人们历来重视对同形异 义词的研究。但是词汇演变的情况十分复杂，同形异义词在演变过程中与多义词往往有交叉现象。某些词兼有同形异义词和多义词的内容，稍不注意，就可能混淆，因此很有必要掌握二者的区分问题。 同形异义词和多义词是语义学领域里面一对难以分认清楚的概念。特别是在中学英语教学活动中，两者的区分问题给许多英语学习者在理解单词的确切意思上带来了麻烦。 论文首先 从理论的角度 阐述了同形异义词与 多义词的定义。随后作者谈到了同形异义词与多义词的来源和区别。然后，本文 分析出中学英语教学活动中 ，学生 对学习两类词汇
3、所存在的问题。最后 ，作者 针对 存 在的问题，通过 老师和同学 两个方面，分别 提出对策。 通过本文的写作， 笔者希望本文的浅析 能 帮助 中学英语学习者解决英语学习过程中学习和掌握同形异义词和多义词的区分问题，提高学生 学习 英语的 兴趣。 关键词： 同形异义词；多义词；中学英语教学；学习要领 ii An Analysis on the Learning Principles of Distinctions Between Homonymy and Polysemy in Middle School English Teaching Abstract People have always
4、thought highly of researching homonymy. However, the evolution of vocabulary is extremely complicated. During the procedure of evolution, there are cross connections between homonymy and polysemy. Some words contain contents both with homonymy and polysemy. It is easy for English learners to be conf
5、ounded through an oversight. Therefore, it is quite essential to master the distinctions between homonymy and polysemy. The concepts of homonymy and polysemy often get muddied in Semantics. In the middle school English teaching, especially, distinctions of the two pose a lot of difficulties to Engli
6、sh learners on the understanding of the exact meanings. In the first part of the paper, the author theoretically elaborates the definitions of homonymy and polysemy. Then, the author explains the origins and distinctions between homonymy and polysemy. After that the author analyses the problems for
7、middle school students in studying the two words in middle schools. Lastly, the author puts forward the related solutions based on the previous problems for teachers and students. In this paper, the author expresses her wish to solve the problems of studying the distinctions between homonymy and pol
8、ysemy in middle school English studying and foster these English learners with interest in learning. Key words: homonymy; polysemy; middle school English teaching; learning principle iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor, Lecturer Wa
9、ng, both for her intellectual guidance and for her warm and constant encouragement during the process of writing this paper. With patience and prudence, she labored through drafts of this paper and pointed out defects in my theorizing. Therefore, I owe all the merits in this paper, if any, to her, t
10、hough I am fully aware that the paper might still contain some mistakes, for which I bear the whole responsibility. My cordial and sincere thanks go to all the teachers in the Department of English, whos interesting and informative courses have benefited me a lot during my college years. The profit
11、that I gained from their profound knowledge, remarkable expertise and intellectual ingenuity will be of everlasting significance to my future life and career. I am also very grateful to my classmates, who have given me a lot of help and courage during my stay in the college and throughout the proces
12、s of writing this paper. Last but not the least， big thanks go to my family who have shared with me my worries, frustrations, and hopefully my ultimate happiness in eventually finishing this paper. 1 Contents 中文摘要 . Abstract Acknowledgements . . Introduction .1 . Understandings of Homonymy and Polys
13、emy 2 A. Definitions of Homonymy and Polysemy .2 B. Origins of Homonymy and Polysemy .4 C. Distinctions between Homonymy and Polysemy .5 . Problems of Studying the Two Types of Words in Middle School English 8 A. Problem of Pronunciation .8 B. Problem of Remembrance .9 C. Problem of Knowing the Cult
14、ural Differences 10 . Solutions of Studying the Two Types of Words in Middle School English.12 A. Amelioration in Teaching Methods of Teachers .12 B. Enhancement in Abilities of Students .17 Conclusion .23 Notes 24 Bibliography 251 An Analysis on the Learning Principles of Distinctions Between Homon
15、ymy and Polysemy in Middle School English Teaching Introduction In our country, English study is always the problem for middle school students. And the vocabulary is one of the three core elements of English and foundation of English learning. With the higher requirement of English learning ability
16、for students, they may find that English is become more and more difficult to learn. It is also a hard nut to crack for the English vocabulary of homonymy and polysemy. And the concepts of homonymy and polysemy often get muddied in Semantics. In the middle school English teaching, especially, distin
17、ctions of the two pose a lot of difficulties to English learners on the understanding of the exact meanings. This paper is aimed at putting forward some learning principles of distinctions between homonymy and polysemy in middle school English teaching. In order to analyze the learning principles of
18、 the two type words, the first and foremost step is to have an all-round understanding of homonymy and polysemy. With the knowledge of the definitions, origins and differences of homonymy and polysemy, the next step is to find out the problems in learning English. Then, it is easier for readers to g
19、et familiar with the exact present problems in middle school English learning. And after that, the reader can look for the correct solutions put forward in the third part. The roles of learning the homonymy and polysemy are essential in English study. These solutions which mentioned in this paper is
20、 aimed at making the distinctions clear, helping middle school students in English learning and assisting teachers in English teaching. 2 . Understandings of Homonymy and Polysemy A. Definitions of Homonymy and Polysemy The study of polysemy and homonymy has a long history on the philosophy of langu
21、age, linguistics, psychology, and literature. The complex relation between meanings and words were first noted by Stoics. They observed that one word could carry different meanings. Through the subsequent research into the issue of polysemy and homonymy, it is found that there is an extensive grey a
22、rea between them. How to distinguish the two is an important issue lying in front of the researchers. Polysemy and homonymy are rarely a problem in language use because of the adoption of contextual cues. They are sometimes used as a source of puns to achieve stylistic value such as humor and irony
23、and to heighten dramatic power, which embody the richness and coincidence of language. Homonymy refers to the phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form, i.e., different words are identical in sound or spelling, or in both. Homonymy is usually viewed to hold between words for
24、ms whose senses are completely unrelated. A word with at least two entirely distinct meanings yet sharing a lexical form is said to be homonymous. One of the most commonly cited examples of homonymous words is “bank”, which has a financial institution sense and an edge of a river sense. These senses
25、 seem clearly unrelated, and the fact that they are associated with the same word form seems purely accidental. Homonyms can be categorized into three types： When two words are identical in sound, they are homophones. When two words are identical in spelling, they are homographs. 3 When two words ar
26、e identical in both sound and spelling, they are complete homonyms. Below are examples of each kind: Homophones: rain/ reign, night/ knight, piece/ peace, leak/ leek Homographs: bow (v.) / bow (n.) tear (v.) / tear (n.), lead (v.) / lead (n.) Complete homonyms: fast (adj.) / fast (v.), scale (n.) /
27、scale (v.)1 At this stage a question that readily comes to mind is that when two forms are identical both in sound and spelling, how can we tell whether they are two meanings of the same polysemic word, or two complete homonyms? This is an interesting question but difficult to answer. What we can de
28、pend on is the etymology of the words in question. A polysemic word, i.e., a word with several meanings, is the result of the evolution of the primary meaning of the word, such as the word “table”. The various meanings of the word are related to some degree. Complete homonyms are often brought into
29、being by coincidence. For instance, “ball” meaning “a round object used in games” and “ball” meaning “a large formal social event at which people dance” are complete homonyms. The word “ball” bearing the first meaning is a native English word. It so happened that in French there is a word, spelt in
30、the same way, bearing the second meaning. And this word somehow found its way into the English language. The result is that in English today we have two complete homonyms “ball” and “ball”. The coexistence of several meanings in a word is called polysemy. The word polysemy comes from Neo- Latin poly
31、semia (polymany, sema-sign), that is, having or characterized by many meanings for a single word or phrase. Polysemy seems to be motivated by metaphoric thought, that is, the relation between two polysemies seems to be the result of a certain underlying metaphor for shape, size, position, outward ap
32、pearance, function and so on: While different words may have the same or similar meaning, 4 the same one word may have more than one meaning. This is what we call Polysemy, and such a word is called a polysemic word. There are many polysemic words in English. The fact is the more commonly used a wor
33、d is, the more likely it has acquired more than one meaning. Take the word “table” for example. It is a very common word in English. If we look it up in any dictionary, we will find that it has at least the following seven meanings: A piece of furniture All the people seated at a table The food that
34、 is put on a table A thin flat piece of stone, metal, wood, etc. Orderly arrangement of facts, figures, etc. Part of a machine-tool on which the work is put to be operated on A level area, a plateau2 Historically, Polysemy can be understood as the growth and development of, or change in, the meaning
35、 of words. We assume that the original meaning of “table” had only one meaning referred to as a thin piece of stone, or wood. This is called its primary meaning. Later on it gradually came to acquire the other meanings it now represents. We can probably guess that when people learned to make a piece
36、 of furniture with wood, the furniture thus made was given the name “table”. This is the sense in which the word “table” is used most often while its primary meaning has become less common. B. Origins of Homonymy and Polysemy There are various sources of homonyms: change in sound and spelling, borro
37、wing, etc.: 5 Change in sound and spelling. Some homonyms are native by origin, derived from different earlier forms in Old English. The change in sound and spelling gradually made them identical in modern English. Borrowing As a result of heavy borrowing from other languages, many words of foreign
38、origin coincide in sound and/or spelling with those of native origin or with those of other foreign origin. Shortening many shortened forms of words happen to be identical with other words in spelling or sound.3 Based on the sources of homonyms, the origins of homonymy can be divided into seven part
39、s:“ one, the converging sound-development; two, the diverging sense-development; three, the foreign influence; four, the zero derivation; five, the abbreviation of words; six, the use of euphemism; seven, the different dialects and varieties.”4 The origins of polysemy are sum up into six big parts:
40、one, shift in application; two, specialization in a social milieu; three, homonyms reinterpreted; four, Radiation; five, Concatenation; six, Foreign influence. C. Distinctions Between Homonymy and Polysemy In fact, polysemy is very similar to homonymy. Two words can be polysemous when their senses a
41、re somehow related, as long as they are not equal while homonymy is usually viewed to hold between word forms whose senses are completely unrelated. Given that we have a written form with different meanings, are we to say it is one word with different meanings (polysemy) or two different words with the same shape (homonymy)? What are the criteria that enable us to distinguish between polysemy and homonymy?
