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Abstract:in the understanding of word meaning, two current semantic theories are popular: one is the referential approach, the other is the representational approach. Logogen model is one of the models used to comprehend lexicon both by sensory input and by contextual information. Under certain context, four types of lexical repetition exist: simple lexical repetition, complex lexical repetition, simple paraphrase, complex paraphrase. How these different repetition patterns are comprehended is our main concern. According to our analysis, they go under different process in the course of comprehension.
Key words:referential approach representational approach Logogen model repetition pattern
1 Two theories of word meaning
A word’s meaning includes both sense and reference. Sense refers to a word’s relationships with other words, whereas reference pertains to the relationships between a word and an object or event in the world.
Two of these are particularly important in current semantic theories: one is the referential approach; the other is the representational approach. A theory of meaning can be called referential (or denotational) When its basic premise is that we can give the meaning of words by showing how they relate to situations. Nouns, for example, are meaningful because they denote entities in the world and sentences because they denote situations and events. A theory of meaning can be called representational when their emphasis is on the way that our reports about reality are influenced by the conceptual structures conventionalized in our language. See the following example:
(1) I saw Michael Jackson on television last night
Where Michael Jackson is name allowing us to refer to a certain person. In semantics this action of picking out or identifying with words is often called referring or denoting. Denote is used for the relationship between a linguistic expression and the world, while refer is used for the action of a speaker in picking out entities in the world. Another difference which follows from these definitions is that denotation is a stable relationship in a language which is not dependent on any one use of a word.
(2) You have a cold.(English)
(3) Hargab baa ku haya(Somali)
a cold FOCUS you has
A cold has you.' i. e.You have a cold'
This is the situation viewed as possession: in English the person possesses the disease; in Somali the disease possesses the person. The point here is that different conceptualizations influence the description of the real world situations.
The two approaches focus on different aspects of the same process: talking about the world. In referential theory, meaning derives from language being attached to in reality. In representational approach, meaning derives from language being a reflection of our conceptual structures.
2 Logogen model
Logogen model is one of the earliest activation models proposed by Morton (1969). In Morton’s model, each word (or morpheme) in the lexicon is represented as a logogen, which specifies the word’s various attributes (semantic, orthographic, phonological, and so on).
The logogen is activated in either of two ways: by sensory input and by contextual information. Consider first the sensory route. As orthographic or phonological features of the input stimulus are detected, they are matched to the logogen. The logogen functions as a scoreboard or counter; when the counter rises above a predesignated threshold, the item is recognized.
With regard to contextual information, the semantic and syntactic structure of a sentence may influence the activation of the logogen for a given word. Take the following sentence as an example:
(4) Her closest relative was appointed as her legal guardian.
The activation of the earlier words influences the logogen for the final word, temporarily lowering its threshold. Thus, it is easier to recognize guardian in this context than if presented in isolation ( Tulving, Mandler,& Baumal 1964). In the original version of the logogen model ( Morton,1969), the information about the associations between different words is not contained in the logogen system itself but rather in a separate cognitive system that feeds back to the logogen.
In the logogen model, these two routes are assumed to work in parallel: sensory and contextual matches increase the same counter. Thus, when many sensory features are detected (as when the word is presented loudly), the corresponding word will be activated even if it is somewhat unexpected. Similarly, an expected word will be activated even if presented in dim light. If both sensory and contextual features are detected, then the word is easily detected.
3 Different repetition patterns
1.Simple lexical repetition
The simplest form of repetition is also the simplest kind of lexical relation, namely the link that may exist between two tokens of a type. Simple lexical repetition occurs when a lexical item that has already occurred in a text is repeated with no greater alternation than is entirely explicable in terms of a closed grammatical paradigm. Only open-set lexical items can enter into such a link.
2.Complex lexical repetition
Complex lexical repetition is closely related to simple lexical repetition. It occurs either when two lexical items share a lexical morpheme or when they are formally identical, but have different grammatical functions. Although Stotsky's view that complex repetition is not true repetition, in that one would expect items in true repetition to have similar collocational profiles.
3.Simple paraphrase
Paraphrase can also serve the function of repeating .Simple paraphrase occurs whenever a lexical item may substitute for another in context without loss or gain in specificity and with no discernible change in meaning. These conditions are open to the objection that they involve subjective judgement. The above mentioned repetition patterns are embodied in the following passage:
(5) DRUG-CRAZED GRIZZLIES
A drug known to produce violent reactions in humans has been used for sedating grizzly bears Ursus arctos in Montana,USA, according to a report in The New York Times.
After one bear, known to be a peaceable animal, entists discovered it had been tranquillized eleven times with phencyclidine, of‘angel dust’, which causes hallucinations and sometimes gives the user an irrational feeling of destructive power.
Many wild bears have become‘garbage junkies’, feeding from dumps around human developments.
To avoid potentially dangerous clashes between them and humans, scientists are trying to rehabilitate the animals by drugging them and releasing them in uninhabited areas.
Although some biologists deny that the mind-altering drug was responsible for uncharacteristic behavior of this particular bear, no research has been done into the effects of giving grizzly bears of other mammals repeated doses of phencyclidine.
Bears and bear in sentence are simple lexical repetitions of bears in sentence, the only variation between them being entirely explicable in terms of the singular or plural paradigm. In accordance with the logogen model, the semantic and syntactic structure of a sentence may influence the activation of the logogen for a given word. As far as the above context is concerned, readers can comprehend the meaning and syntactic relation of bear and bears with least effort, one is identical to bears in sentence both in form and in meaning, and the other its singular form.
Drug in sentence and drugging in sentence ; humans in sentence and human in sentence are both Complex lexical repetitions. Actually the second pair is a marginal case; if human is assumed to be an adjective, then it is indeed in complex lexical repetition with humans. If it is deemed to be a noun-modifier, then it is in simple repetition with humans, since nouns are capable of appearing in noun-modifier position and this is not a different grammatical function. Each pair forms a relationship of complex lexical repetition because they can be paraphrased in the context in which they appear in such a way as to ensure that the paraphrase of one includes the other. It will be noticed that this criterion does not require one to accept the possibility of exact paraphrase; it simply assumes close approximation in a context.
Examples of simple paraphrase in the above text are produce in sentence and causes in sentence ; and sedating in sentence , tranquillized in sentence , and drugging in sentence .The same qualification regarding grammatical paradigms applies to paraphrase as to lexical repetition. A paraphrase link is simple if an alternation needed to substitute one item for another in context is necessitated by a grammatical paradigm. Thus readers have to know the change of sedating to sedated and tranquillized to tranquillizing when they substitute for each other is occasioned solely by a different syntactic choice from the verb-form paradigm.
4.Complex paraphrase
In a broad sense, Complex paraphrase may be said to occur when two lexical items are definable such that one of the items includes the other, although they share no lexical morpheme. It relates vast numbers of lexical items. The first type which relates to the coverage is antonymy, for example, happy, unhappy; audible, inaudible. But there are some antonyms that do not share a morpheme (for example, hot/cold and dry/wet). This is because morphologically dissimilar antonyms are a relatively permanent feature of English lexis and are not normally felt to be different in kind from the morphologically related antonyms, though it should be remembered that all antonyms, morphologically related or otherwise,have to be realized in a particular text; they are an instantial relation like all other lexical links.The second situation in which complex paraphrase may be recognized occurs when the item under attention is a complex repetition of another item (for example, writer and writings) and also a simple paraphrase (or an antonym) of a third ( for example, writer and author). This relationship is shown in the following triangle:
figure 1.1 the created link triangle
In other words, the presence of two types of link creates a third. To take an example involving antonymy, imagine that we have three words in a text, hot, cold, and heat: then if hot and heat form a complex repetition link, and hot and cold form an antonymous complex repetition link, then cold and heat will form a complex paraphrase.
A word's meaning includes both sense and reference. Sense refers to a word's relationships with other words, whereas reference pertains to the relationships between a word and an object or event in the world. In accordance with logogen model, the earlier words influences the logogen for the final word. Lexical repetition of earlier words in context also affects readers' comprehension of the later contain and the whole text. What all types of repetition link have in common is that they allow readers to know something new may be added. At the same time, they form different links in context so as to make the whole passage more cohesive.
Reference:
[1]David W. Carroll.psychology of LanguageBrooks/Cole/Thomson Learning Asia.2003.
[2]Halliday, M.A.K. & Hasan. R.Cohesion in English, Longman, 1976.
[3]Hoey, Michael. Patterns of Lexis in Text[M].上海:上海外语教育出版社,2001.
[4]John L Saeed. Semantics Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2000.
[5]黄国文.语篇分析的理论与实践.上海:上海外语教育出版社,2001.
Key words:referential approach representational approach Logogen model repetition pattern
1 Two theories of word meaning
A word’s meaning includes both sense and reference. Sense refers to a word’s relationships with other words, whereas reference pertains to the relationships between a word and an object or event in the world.
Two of these are particularly important in current semantic theories: one is the referential approach; the other is the representational approach. A theory of meaning can be called referential (or denotational) When its basic premise is that we can give the meaning of words by showing how they relate to situations. Nouns, for example, are meaningful because they denote entities in the world and sentences because they denote situations and events. A theory of meaning can be called representational when their emphasis is on the way that our reports about reality are influenced by the conceptual structures conventionalized in our language. See the following example:
(1) I saw Michael Jackson on television last night
Where Michael Jackson is name allowing us to refer to a certain person. In semantics this action of picking out or identifying with words is often called referring or denoting. Denote is used for the relationship between a linguistic expression and the world, while refer is used for the action of a speaker in picking out entities in the world. Another difference which follows from these definitions is that denotation is a stable relationship in a language which is not dependent on any one use of a word.
(2) You have a cold.(English)
(3) Hargab baa ku haya(Somali)
a cold FOCUS you has
A cold has you.' i. e.You have a cold'
This is the situation viewed as possession: in English the person possesses the disease; in Somali the disease possesses the person. The point here is that different conceptualizations influence the description of the real world situations.
The two approaches focus on different aspects of the same process: talking about the world. In referential theory, meaning derives from language being attached to in reality. In representational approach, meaning derives from language being a reflection of our conceptual structures.
2 Logogen model
Logogen model is one of the earliest activation models proposed by Morton (1969). In Morton’s model, each word (or morpheme) in the lexicon is represented as a logogen, which specifies the word’s various attributes (semantic, orthographic, phonological, and so on).
The logogen is activated in either of two ways: by sensory input and by contextual information. Consider first the sensory route. As orthographic or phonological features of the input stimulus are detected, they are matched to the logogen. The logogen functions as a scoreboard or counter; when the counter rises above a predesignated threshold, the item is recognized.
With regard to contextual information, the semantic and syntactic structure of a sentence may influence the activation of the logogen for a given word. Take the following sentence as an example:
(4) Her closest relative was appointed as her legal guardian.
The activation of the earlier words influences the logogen for the final word, temporarily lowering its threshold. Thus, it is easier to recognize guardian in this context than if presented in isolation ( Tulving, Mandler,& Baumal 1964). In the original version of the logogen model ( Morton,1969), the information about the associations between different words is not contained in the logogen system itself but rather in a separate cognitive system that feeds back to the logogen.
In the logogen model, these two routes are assumed to work in parallel: sensory and contextual matches increase the same counter. Thus, when many sensory features are detected (as when the word is presented loudly), the corresponding word will be activated even if it is somewhat unexpected. Similarly, an expected word will be activated even if presented in dim light. If both sensory and contextual features are detected, then the word is easily detected.
3 Different repetition patterns
1.Simple lexical repetition
The simplest form of repetition is also the simplest kind of lexical relation, namely the link that may exist between two tokens of a type. Simple lexical repetition occurs when a lexical item that has already occurred in a text is repeated with no greater alternation than is entirely explicable in terms of a closed grammatical paradigm. Only open-set lexical items can enter into such a link.
2.Complex lexical repetition
Complex lexical repetition is closely related to simple lexical repetition. It occurs either when two lexical items share a lexical morpheme or when they are formally identical, but have different grammatical functions. Although Stotsky's view that complex repetition is not true repetition, in that one would expect items in true repetition to have similar collocational profiles.
3.Simple paraphrase
Paraphrase can also serve the function of repeating .Simple paraphrase occurs whenever a lexical item may substitute for another in context without loss or gain in specificity and with no discernible change in meaning. These conditions are open to the objection that they involve subjective judgement. The above mentioned repetition patterns are embodied in the following passage:
(5) DRUG-CRAZED GRIZZLIES
A drug known to produce violent reactions in humans has been used for sedating grizzly bears Ursus arctos in Montana,USA, according to a report in The New York Times.
After one bear, known to be a peaceable animal, entists discovered it had been tranquillized eleven times with phencyclidine, of‘angel dust’, which causes hallucinations and sometimes gives the user an irrational feeling of destructive power.
Many wild bears have become‘garbage junkies’, feeding from dumps around human developments.
To avoid potentially dangerous clashes between them and humans, scientists are trying to rehabilitate the animals by drugging them and releasing them in uninhabited areas.
Although some biologists deny that the mind-altering drug was responsible for uncharacteristic behavior of this particular bear, no research has been done into the effects of giving grizzly bears of other mammals repeated doses of phencyclidine.
Bears and bear in sentence are simple lexical repetitions of bears in sentence, the only variation between them being entirely explicable in terms of the singular or plural paradigm. In accordance with the logogen model, the semantic and syntactic structure of a sentence may influence the activation of the logogen for a given word. As far as the above context is concerned, readers can comprehend the meaning and syntactic relation of bear and bears with least effort, one is identical to bears in sentence both in form and in meaning, and the other its singular form.
Drug in sentence and drugging in sentence ; humans in sentence and human in sentence are both Complex lexical repetitions. Actually the second pair is a marginal case; if human is assumed to be an adjective, then it is indeed in complex lexical repetition with humans. If it is deemed to be a noun-modifier, then it is in simple repetition with humans, since nouns are capable of appearing in noun-modifier position and this is not a different grammatical function. Each pair forms a relationship of complex lexical repetition because they can be paraphrased in the context in which they appear in such a way as to ensure that the paraphrase of one includes the other. It will be noticed that this criterion does not require one to accept the possibility of exact paraphrase; it simply assumes close approximation in a context.
Examples of simple paraphrase in the above text are produce in sentence and causes in sentence ; and sedating in sentence , tranquillized in sentence , and drugging in sentence .The same qualification regarding grammatical paradigms applies to paraphrase as to lexical repetition. A paraphrase link is simple if an alternation needed to substitute one item for another in context is necessitated by a grammatical paradigm. Thus readers have to know the change of sedating to sedated and tranquillized to tranquillizing when they substitute for each other is occasioned solely by a different syntactic choice from the verb-form paradigm.
4.Complex paraphrase
In a broad sense, Complex paraphrase may be said to occur when two lexical items are definable such that one of the items includes the other, although they share no lexical morpheme. It relates vast numbers of lexical items. The first type which relates to the coverage is antonymy, for example, happy, unhappy; audible, inaudible. But there are some antonyms that do not share a morpheme (for example, hot/cold and dry/wet). This is because morphologically dissimilar antonyms are a relatively permanent feature of English lexis and are not normally felt to be different in kind from the morphologically related antonyms, though it should be remembered that all antonyms, morphologically related or otherwise,have to be realized in a particular text; they are an instantial relation like all other lexical links.The second situation in which complex paraphrase may be recognized occurs when the item under attention is a complex repetition of another item (for example, writer and writings) and also a simple paraphrase (or an antonym) of a third ( for example, writer and author). This relationship is shown in the following triangle:
figure 1.1 the created link triangle
In other words, the presence of two types of link creates a third. To take an example involving antonymy, imagine that we have three words in a text, hot, cold, and heat: then if hot and heat form a complex repetition link, and hot and cold form an antonymous complex repetition link, then cold and heat will form a complex paraphrase.
A word's meaning includes both sense and reference. Sense refers to a word's relationships with other words, whereas reference pertains to the relationships between a word and an object or event in the world. In accordance with logogen model, the earlier words influences the logogen for the final word. Lexical repetition of earlier words in context also affects readers' comprehension of the later contain and the whole text. What all types of repetition link have in common is that they allow readers to know something new may be added. At the same time, they form different links in context so as to make the whole passage more cohesive.
Reference:
[1]David W. Carroll.psychology of LanguageBrooks/Cole/Thomson Learning Asia.2003.
[2]Halliday, M.A.K. & Hasan. R.Cohesion in English, Longman, 1976.
[3]Hoey, Michael. Patterns of Lexis in Text[M].上海:上海外语教育出版社,2001.
[4]John L Saeed. Semantics Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2000.
[5]黄国文.语篇分析的理论与实践.上海:上海外语教育出版社,2001.