第六章
1. Polysemy（识记） —polysemy is a common feature peculiar to all natural languages. When a words is first coined， it always monosemic， but tin the course of development ， the same word may have two or more different meanings.
e.g. The word “flight” may mean “passing through the air”， “power of flying”， “air of journey”， etc.
Two approaches（识记）
Diachronic approach – Diachronically， polysemy is assumed to be the result of growth and development of the semantic structure of one and same word. This first meaning is the primary meaning. With the advance of time and the development of language， it took on more and more meanings. These latter meanings are called derived meanings. E.g. face
The primary meaning gave birth to new meaning.
The primary meaning become either absolute or disappeared altogether
E.g. harvest time of cutting reaping and gathering the crops
a season’s yield of grain or fruit
Pain penalty or punishment pains and penalty
upon/under pain of suffering
Synchronic approach – synchronically， polysemy is viewed as the coexistent of various meaning of the same word in a certain historical period of time. The basic meaning of a word is the core of word meaning. The core of word meaning called the central meaning （secondary meaning）.
The central meaning has gradually dimished in currency with the changes and one of the derived meanings has become dominant. E.g. gay
Two process of development（领会）
Radiation – a semantic process which shows that the primary meaning stands at the center and each of the derived meanings proceed out of in every direction like rays.
The meanings are independent of one another， but can all be tracked back to the central meaning.
e.g. Neck
1） That part of a man or animal jointing the head to the body
2） That part of the garments
3） The neck of an animal used as food
4） A narrow part between the head and body or base of any object
5） The part of anything
Of the 5 meanings 1） is the primary and all the rest are derived but each of the other four is directly related to 1）. Therefore， we say neck has developed through the process of radiation.
Concatenation – meaning “linking together”， is the semantic process in which the meaning of a word moves gradually away from its first sense by successive shifts until， in many cases， there is not a sign of connection between the sense that is finally developed and that which the tern had at the begining.
e.g. candidate
1） White-robed
2） Office seeker in white gouns
3） A person who seeks an office
4） A person proposed for a place， award， etc.
Of the 4 meanings， 1） is the primary meaning and the other three are derived， but each of the derived meaning is only directly related to the preceding one and there is no direct connection between 1） and 4）. Therefore， we say candidate has developed through the process of concatenation.
Difference
Radiation is concatenation is closely related， being different stages of the development leading to polysemy.
Radiation， each of the derived meaning is directly connected to the primary meaning.
Concatenation， each of the later meaning is related only to the preceding one like chains. Though the latest sense can be tracked to the original， there’s no direct connection in between.
The two processes work together， complementing each other.
Radiation precedes concatenation.
2.Homonyms——are generally defined as words different in meaning but either identical both in sound and spelling or identical only in sound or spelling.
Perfect Homonyms——are words identical both in sound and spelling， but different in meaning.
e.g. bank/bank
bear/bear
date/date
Homographs——are words identical only in spelling but different in sound and meaning.
e.g. Bow/bow
Sow/sow
Homophones （most common）——are words identical only in sound but different in spelling and meaning.
e.g. Dear/dear
Right/rite
Son/sun
Origins of Homonyms （识记）
1. Change in sound and spelling （homonyms are native by origin， derived from different earlier forms in Old English. The change in sound and spelling gradually made then identical in modern English.）
e.g. ear/ear
long/long
2. Borrowing （many words of foreign origin coincide in sound and/or spelling with those of native origin with those of other foreign origin.）
e.g. fair/fair
ball/ball
3. Shortening （many shortened forms of words happen to be identical with other words in spelling or sound）
e.g. ad/add
rock/rock
NOW/now
Differentiation of Homonyms and polysemants （领会）
Perfect homonyms and polysemants are fully identical regard to spelling and pronunciation.
Homonyms refer to different word， which happen to share the same forms. Polysemant is the one and some word， which has several meanings.
One important criterion is to see their etymology. Homonyms are from different sources. A polysemant is from the same source， which has acquired different meaning in the course of development.
The second principle is semantic relatedness. The various meanings of a polysemant are correlated and connected to some central meaning to a greater or less degree. Meanings of different homonyms have nothing to do with one another.
Rhetoric feature
They create puns for desired effect of， say， humour， sarcasm or ridicule.
3.Synonyms—are words different in sound and spelling but most nearly alike or exactly the same in meaning. Synonyms share a likeness in denotation and in part of speech.
Types of Synonyms
1.Absolute （Complete） Synonyms——are words， which are identical in meaning in all its aspects， i.e. both in grammatical meaning and lexical meaning， including conceptual and associative meanings. Absolute （Complete） Synonyms are restricted to high-specialized vocabulary.
For instance， composition / compounding. They have the perfect same meaning in Lexicology.
2.Relative （Near） synonyms——are similar or nearly the same in denotation but embrace different shades of meaning or different degrees of a given quality.
e.g. Change/alter/vary
Take stagger/reel/totter for example.
Stagger implies unsteady movement characterized by a loss of balance and failure to maintain a fixed course. E.g. stagger under a heavy load；
Reel suggests a swaying or lurching so as to appear on the verge of falling. E.g. The drunken man reeled down the hall；
Totter indicates the uncertain， faltering steps of a feeble old person or of an infant learning to walk.
Sources of Synonyms
。 Borrowing： （the most important source）
Native ForeignRoom chamberFoe enemyHelp aidLeave departWise sageBodily corporalEarthly terrestrialWarlike bellicoseBuy purchase Native French LatinAsk question interrogateFast firm secureFire flame conflagrationFear terror trepidationHoly sacred consecratedGoodness virtue probityTime age epoch
。 Dialects and regional English：
Railway （BrE） railroad （AmE）
Mother （BrE） minny （ScotE）
Charm （BrE） glamour （ScotE）
Ranch （AmE） run （AusE）
Job （StandE） gig （BlackE）
Jim （BlachE） mal person （StandE）
。 Figurative「a. 比喻的，象征的」 and euphemistic 「a.委婉的」use of words：
Occupation walk of life （fig.）
Dreamer star-gazer （fig.）
Drunk elevated （euph.）
Lie distort the fact （euph.）
。 Coincidence with idiomatic expressions：
Win gain the upper hand
Decide make up one’s mind
Finish get through
Hesitate be in two minds
Help lend one a hand
Discrimination of Synonyms （运用）
1） Difference in denotation： differ in the range and intensity of meaning.
Range （some words have a wider range of meaning than others）
e.g. timid——timorous
Timid is applied to the state of minds in which a person may happen to be at the moment， ant to the habitual disposition.
Timorous is only to the disposition.
Comprehend/ understand
extend—increase—expand
The owner of the restaurant is going to extend the kitchen by ten feet this year.
The company has decided to increase its sales by ten percent next year.
The metal will expand if heated.
Extent increase expand
Differ in degree of intensity
e.g. wealth—rich
The wealth person is to posses more money and property than a rich man.
work – toil
Work is a general term having no special implications as ’light’ or ’heavy’， and ’mental’ or ’ physical’。
Toil suggests ’heavy and tiring work’， associated with more with manual than mental labor.
want—wish—desire
Want is the most general and has the widest range of meaning.
Wish and desire are much narrow in sense.
2） Difference in connotation： differ in the stylistic and emotive coloring.
Some words share the same denotation but differ in their stylistic appropriateness.
E.g.
The words borrowed from French and Latin are more formal than native words.
These borrowings are more appropriate formal and technical writing.
policeman – constable – bobby – cop
policeman（neutral） – constable（neutral） – bobby（colloquial） – cop（slangy）
ask —— beg —— request
ask （neutral）； beg （colloquial）； request （formal）
archaic and poetic， which are self-suggestive.
e.g. ire/anger， bliss/happiness，forlorn/distressed，dire/dreadful，list/listen，enow/enough，save/expect，mere/lake and such like are all synonyms， but in each the second is standard in usage whereas the first one is old-fashioned and archaic， only found in poetry， earlier writing， etc.
Many synonyms have clear affective values
result – consequence
result（neutral ） – consequence（negative implication）
big – great
big（the bigness of size， volume and so on， without any emotive coloring） – great（suggest distinguished， eminent， outstanding）
little – small – tiny
little （attractiveness， pleasantness）– small（not big） – tiny（abnormal growth of the child）
3） Difference in application： differ in usage.
Many words are synonyms in meaning but different in usage in simple terms. They form different collocations and fit into different sentence patterns.
E.g.
allow – let
allow sb to so sth. – let sb. do sth.
answer – reply
answer（transitive v.） the letter – reply（intransitive v.） to the letter
sense – meaning
He is a man of sense.
empty —— vacant
empty box/street/room （no one or nothing inside） ； vacant seat/chair/apartment（not occupied）
lump – slice – chunk – sheet –cake
a lump sugar– a slice of meat – a chunk of wood – a sheet of paper –a cake of soap
4.Antonymy——is concerned with semantic opposition.
Antonyms——are words which are opposite in meaning.
Types of Antonyms （according to the semantic opposition ）
1） Contradictory terms – these antonyms are truly represent oppositeness of meaning. They are so opposed to each other that they are mutually exclusive and admit no possibility between them. They assertion of one is the denial of the other.
E.g. alive—dead， present——absent， male – female， boy – girl， true – false， same – different， imperfect – perfect
Such antonyms are non-gradable. They can not be used in comparative degrees and do not allow adverbs like “very” to qualify them. Single/married
特点：对立的/不可分级
2） Contrary terms —— a scale running between two poles or extremes. The two opposites are gradable and one exists in comparison with the other.
E.g. rich——（well-to-do）——poor； old – （middle-aged） —— young， open – （ajar）—close， beautiful – （good-looking） –（plain） – ugly，
hot——（warm， cool）——cold
verbs. E.g. love – （attachment） – （liking） – （indifferent） – （antipathy） —— hate
3） Relative terms – consist of relational oppositeness. The pairs of words indicate such a social relationship that one of them can not be used without suggesting the other， the type is also reverse terms. The two words of each pair interdependent.
E.g. parent——child； husband——wife； predecessor – successor， employer —— employee
sell—buy， give –receive，
方位词
difference between relative terms and contradictory terms
there is an absolute opposite between relative terms and contradictory terms. In the case of relative terms， the opposition is only relational.
contradictory terms – e.g. if the adult is not a man， then the adult must be a woman.
relative terms – the opposition is relational.
the characteristics of antonyms
1）. Antonyms are classified on the basis of semantic opposition.
形容词 （most） —— 动词 – 名词（least）
There are a great many more synonyms than antonyms.
Words denoting nature， quality or state of things have many antonyms. This accounts for the large number of antonyms are adjectives.
2）. A word which has more than one meaning can have more than one antonym.
e.g. fast – firm/secure loose
quick slow
pleasure-seeking/wild sober
bull —— boring interesting
She became dull and silent during the last part of the journey. lively
dull weather sunny
dull noise sharp
dull pain acute
these factors affect both intelligent and dull children. Intelligent
3） Antonyms differ in semantic inclusion.
Pairs of antonyms are seen as marked and unmarked terms. One member is more specific than the other and the meaning of the specific is included in that of the general.
e.g. man – woman
There has been no man in the island. （man signifies human being， including women， but not vice versa）.
dog ——娃哈哈
male/ female dog
tall—short
How tall is his brother？ （includes the meaning of next one）
How short is his brother？ （more restricted in sense）
4）. Contrary terms are gradable antonyms， differing in degree of intensity， so each has its own corresponding opposition.
e.g. hot – cold， warm – cool， rich – poor， destitute – opulent
Some words can have two different types of antonyms at the same time， one being negative and the other opposite.
e.g. happy—unhappy-sad
productive—unproductive—destructive
free——unfree-enslaved
the use of antonyms
。 Antonyms have various practical uses and have long proved helpful and valuable in defining the meanings of words.
fresh bread – stale bread， fresh air – stuff air， fresh flower – faded flower， fresh look – tired look
。 Antonyms are useful to express economically the opposition of a particular thought， often for the sake of contrast. They look neat and pleasant， and sound rhythmic.
。 Many idioms are formed with antonyms. They look neat and pleasant， and sound rhythmic.
Rain and shine无论如何Here and there到处Weal and woe祸福Friend and foe敌友 Now or never机不可失Thick and thin不顾艰难，险阻High and low到处Give an take互让，平等
Antonyms are often used to form antithesis to achieve emphasis by putting contrasting idea together.
Easy come， easy go. 来的易，去得快。
More haste， less speed. 欲速则不达。
United we stand， divided we fall.团结则存，分裂则亡。
5.Hyponymy——deals with the relationship of semantic inclusion. That is， the meaning of a more specific word is included in that of another more general word. These specific words are known as hyponyms（下义词）. For instance， tulip and rose are hyponyms of flower. The general word flower is the superordinate term（上义词） and the specific ones tulip and rose are the subordinate terms（下义词）.
Hyponymy can be descried in terms of tree-like graph， with higher-order superordinates above the lower subordinates.
The sense relation of hyponymy is very helpful in both receptive and productive processing of language. In reading comprehension， coherence by hyponymy is an important key.
In production， knowing the semantic features of the hyponyms and their superordinates can help us achieve vividness， exactness， and concreteness.
The status either as superordinate and sobordinate is relative to other terms.
6. semantic field
我觉得在背名词解释的同时，不要忘了记住一些例子。考试的时候，经常会有这样的题目。
自考《英语词汇学》复习资料第七章
第七章
Vocabulary is the most unstable element of a language as it is under-going constant changes both in form and content.
The content is even more unstable than the forms.
Word-meaning changes by modes if extension， narrowing， degradation， elevation and transfer. of these， extension and narrowing are by far the most common.
1.Extension （generalization）——is a term referring to the widening of meaning. It is a process by which a word， which originally had a specialized meaning， has now become generalized.
Word old meaning now meaning
Manuscript handwriting any author’s writing whether written by hand or typed
with a type-writer or a word-processor
Fabulous resembling a fable incredible， marvelous
Barn a place for storing only barley storeroom
Picture painting include “drawings” and even “photographs”。
Mill place for grinding into flour place where things are made
Journal daily paper periodical
Butcher one who kills goats one who kills animals
Companion one who shares bread a company
。 A large proportion of polysemic words of modern English have their meanings extended sometimes in the course of development. Some words are generalized to such an extent that they can mean almost anything.
Word old meaning now meaning
Thing a public assembly or a council anything
Business， concern， condition， matter， article， circumstance
。 Technical terms
Word old meaning now meaning
Alibi （a legal term） plea that the accused is not at the place excuse
When the crime is committed
Allergic （a medical term） too sensitive to medicine averse or disinclined to
Feedback （computer term） response
。 From proper nouns
Word old meaning now meaning
Lynch the Lynch’s Law kill without lawful trial
Sandwish a gambler’s name to denote a kind of fast place or squeeze between
Food
Vandal a member of an East Germanic tribe malicious destruction of a thing
A person of such behaviour
V. vandalize
Adj. Vandalic/vandalistic
n. vandalization/vandalism
2. Narrowing （specialization） ——is a term referring to the shrinking of meaning. It is a process by which a word of wide meaning acquires a narrower or specialized sense.
Word old meaning now meaning
Deer animal
Corn grain maize
Garage any safe place a place for storing cars
Liquor liquid alcoholic drink
Disease discomfort illness
Poison drink poisonous drink
Wife woman a married woman
Accident event unfortunate event
Girl young person of either sex female young person
。 Turn into a proper nouns
The City business center of London
The Peninsula Iberian Peninsula
The Prophet Mohammed
。 For economy， some phrases are shortened and only one element of the original is left to retain the meaning of the whole.
e.g. a private = a private solider
a general = a general officer
an editorial = an editorial article
。 Material nouns
Word old meaning now meaning
Silver silver dollars
Glass cup-like container or mirror
Iron device for smoothing clothes
3.Elevation or amelioration——refers to the process by which words rise from humble beginnings to positions of importance.
Word old meaning now meaning
Nice ignorant —— foolish delightful， pleasant
Marshal / constable keeper of horses high-ranking army officer / policemen
Angle messenger messenger of God
Knight servant rank below baronet
Earl men count
Governor pilot head of a state
Fond foolish affectionate
Minister servant head of ministry
Shrewd evil， wickedness smart
Nimble be good at taking things without permission smart
Chamberlain servant high official of royal courts
Success result
4. Degradation or pejoration of meaning ——It is a process whereby words of good origin fall into ill reputation or non-affective words come to be used in derogatory sense.
Word old meaning now meaning
Boor peasant rude， ill-mannered person
Churl peasant / free man uncultivated or mean person
Wench country girl prostitute
Hussy housewife woman of low morals
Villain person who worked in a villa evil or wicked person or scoundrel
Silly happy foolish
Knave boy dishonest person
Lewd ignorant lecherous
Criticize appraise find fault with
Lust pleasure sexual desire
5. Transfer —— words which were used to designate on thing but later changed to mean something else.
Word old meaning now meaning
Paper an African plant papyrus
。 Associated transfer
E.g. the lip of a wound
The tongue of a bell
The nose of a plane
Purse for money， dish for food， glass for cup
。 Between abstract and concrete meaning
Word old meaning now meaning
Aftermath second crop of grass after mowing consequence， result
Hope e.g. Clinton is the hope of the family.
。 Between subject and objective meaning
Word old meaning now meaning
Pitiful full of pity deserving pity
Dreadful / hateful subject meaning objective meaning
Fearful/ doubtful / suspicious subject and objective meaning
。 Transfer of sensations
E.g. clear-sounding （from sight to hearing）
Loud colours （from hearing to sight）
Sweet music （from taste to hearing）
6. Extra-linguistic Factors
1. Historical reason
。 A word is retained for a name though the meaning has changed because the reference has changed.
Word old meaning now meaning
Pen feather
Car two-wheel cart drown by horses and used automobile
in war
Computer person who computes electronic machine
。 Increased scientific knowledge and discovery are also important factors
Word old meaning now meaning
Sun the luminous heavenly body-one of the star around which the earth and other planets revolve
seven planets revolving around the earth
Atom any of the indivisible particles not the smallest and can be divided into even smaller
particles
2. Class reason. Language is just like a mirror， reflecting everything that exists in human society. It records the speech and attitude of different social classes. As a result， different social varieties of language have come into being.
Word old meaning now meaning
Churl， hussy， wench， villain ill-mannered or bad people
Democracy， revolution， liberalism， human rights， communism different meaning in different societies and to different
People
3. Psychological reason. The associated transfer of meaning and euphemistic use of words are often due to psychological factors. people change word-meaning owing to various psychological. Religious influence is another kind psychological need.
Word old meaning now meaning
Copperhead a venomous snake
7. Linguistic factors
1. Shortening
Gold for gold medal
Gas for coal gas
Bulb for light bulb
Private for private solider
2. Borrowing
Deer / animal / beast
Pig / pork， sheep / mutton， cattle / beef
Bird / fowl， dog / hound， boy / knave， chair / stool
3. Analogy
Fortuitous happening by chance， accident fortunate
Fruition a pleasure obtaining from using or possessing something
词汇学并不是很难过，至少是比较死的东西，背背书就可以了。但要是想pass的话，整本书看是芍药看过三遍。否则不可能过的。
看书的过程中会有新的知识点出现，千万不要漏记哦！
自考《英语词汇学》复习资料第八章
Chapter 8
Context is very important for the understanding of word-meaning because the meaning is influenced immediately by the linguistic context， and in many cases by the whole speech situation as well.
Types of context
In a narrow sense， it refers to the words， clauses， sentences in which a word appears.
This is known as languished context with may cover a paragraph， a whole chapter and even the entire book.
In a broad sense， it includes the physical situation as whole. this is called extra-linguistic or non-linguistic context， which embrace the people， place， and even the whole culture background.
The extra-linguistic context may extend to embrace the entire culture background.
trade union in western countries/in China
Landlord in Chinese/in western country weekend
Linguistic context can be subdivided into lexical context and grammatical context
Lexical Context – refers to the words occur together with the word in question. The meaning of the word is often affected and defined by the neighboring word.
Grammatical context – The meanings of a word may be inflected by the structure in which it occurs.
Generally speaking， the immediate verbal context， either lexical or grammatical， will suffice for interpreting meaning of a word
As indicated. however， there are cases where the meaning of a word may remain a puzzle until a whole paragraph， a chapter or even a whole book covered.
the role of context content has three major function
elimination of ambiguity
Ambiguity often arises due to polysemy and homonymy. When a word with multiple meanings used in inadequate context， it creates ambiguity.
He is a hard businessman.
Jone ran the egg and spoon race.
John ran the egg and spoon race and won second place.
Homonymy is another cause of ambiguity as tow separate words share the same form.
Grammatical structure can also lead to ambiguity.
indication of referents
English has a large number of words used to refer directly to people， time， place， etc. without clear context， the reference can be very confusing
provision of clues for inferring word meaning
1. definition
2. explanation
3. example
4. synonym
5. antonym
6. hyponym
7. relevant details
8. word structure
Chapter 9
1.Idiom—idioms consist of set phrases and short sentences， which are peculiar to the language in question and loaded with the native cultures and ideas. Strictly speaking， idioms are expressions that are not readily understandable from their literal meanings of individual elements. In a broad sense， idioms may include colloquialisms， catchphrases， slang expressions， proverbs，etc.
2.Characteristics of idioms
a. Semantic unity - Idioms each consist of more than one word， but each is a semantic unity. Though the various words which make up the idiom have their respective literal meanings， in the idiom they have lost their individual meaning. Their meanings are not often recognizable in the meaning of the whole idiom. The part of speech of each element in no longer important. Quite often the idiom functions as one word.
E.g. till the cows come home forever
The relationship between the literal meaning of each word and the meaning of the idiom is illogical. Many idioms are semantically inexplicable.
E.g. How do you do
Wear one’s heart upon one’s sleeve show one’s feeling plainly
Rain cats and dogs
b. Structural Stability – the structure of an idiom is to a large extent unchangeable.
1.The constituents of idioms cannot be replaced. The structure is fixed.
E.g. in a brown study deep in thought
lip service support only in words， not in fact
kick the bucket die
bury the hatched （come to friendly or peaceful terms）
2.The word order cannot be inverted or changed.
E.g. by two and threes 三三两两
tit for tat 针锋相对
the lion’s share 最大的分额
3.The constituents of idioms cannot be deleted or added to， not even an article.
E.g. out of the question impossible
out of question no question
in question being considered
4.Many idioms are grammatically unanalysable.
e.g. diamond cut diamond two parties are equally matched
like cures like 以毒攻毒
（as） sure as eggs is eggs quite certain
the idomaticity of idioms is gradable and may best be thought in terms of scale.
True idioms – the meaning of the idiom cannot be deduced from those of the individual constituents.
E.g. step up improve or enhance
In the raw naked
Regular combination – the speaker of the regular collocations， the meaning of the idiom can be understood from the literal meaning of the constitute.
E.g. make friends with
break silence
Semi-idioms – the meanings are in a way related to the meanings of the constitute but are not themselves explicit.
E.g. turn over anew leaf begin a new life
as cool as a cucumber 泰然自若
draw the curtain end or conceal
The fixity （固定性） of idioms depends on the idiomaticity （习用性）.
The more idiomatic the idioms， the more fixed the structure.
Classification of idioms
The criterion of ’grammatical function’
1. Idioms nominal in nature （名词性） – have a noun as the key word and function as a noun.
E.g. white elephant sth. useless and unwanted but big and costly
brain trust a group of people with special knowledge who answer questions or give advice
flesh and blood relatives or family
an apple of discord cause of disagreement or argument
Jack of all trades a person who can so many different kinds of work but may not good at any of them
fly in the ointment sth. that spoils the perfection of sth.
2.Idioms adjective in nature （形容词性）- function as adjectives but the constituents are not necessary adjectives.
E.g. cut and dried already settles and unlikely to be changed
as poor as a church mouse having， or earning， barely enough money for one’s needs
wide of the mark not at all suitable
beyond the pale beyond the limit of proper behavior
up in the air uncertain
3.Idioms verbal in nature（动词性） – this is the largest group.
Phrasal verbs – idioms which are composed of a verb plus a prep and/or a particle.
E.g. look into investigate
go on continue
put off
turn on
get away with do sth. Wrong without being punished
put down to state that sth. is caused or explained by
Verb phrases – the phrases that serve as verb
make it arrive in time， succeed
follow one’s nose go straight ahead， go in the same direction
fall flat fail completely
give sb. the bag fire sb.
sing a different tune change one’s opinion
call it a day decide to stop temporarily or for good
chop and change keep changing one’s opinion
swim against the stream do the opposite of what most people want to do
come back to earth stop dreaming
make ends meet earn what it costs to live
keep the pot boiling earn enough to maintain an adequate standard of living， keep a situation active
let the dog see the rabbit do not get the way of another who wishes to see or so sth.
bite the hand that feeds one repay kindness with wrong
4. Idioms adverbial in nature （副词性）
E.g. tooth and nail with great violence and determination
in nothing flat soon
through thick and thin through all difficulties
5.Sentence Idioms – are mainly proverbs and sayings including colloquialisms and catchphrases. Each function as a sentence.
The forms and functions of idioms are not necessarily identical.
E.g. pepper and salt
His hair is pepper and salt.
Use of idioms- we need to be aware of the rhetoric characteristics of idioms such as stylistic features， Rhetorical features and their occasional variations.
Stylistic features （语体色彩）
1.Colloquialisms
2.Slang
3. Literary expressions
The same idioms may show stylistic difference when it is assigned different meanings.
E.g. screw up make sb. nervous， tense——informal
Mishandle， mess up —— slang
Slang expressions are often peculiar to social or regional varieties.
Rhetorical features
1. Phonetic manipulation
I. Alliteration
II. Rhyme
2. Lexical manipulation
I. Reiteration
II. Repetition
III. Juxtaposition （of antonyms）
Figure of speech
1.Simile
2.Metaphor「n.隐喻」——is a figure of speech containing an implied comparison， in which a word or phase ordinarily and primarily used of one thing is applied to another.
I. Animal to refer to people
e.g. back sheep
a dark horse
grey mare
snake in the grass
II. Inanimate things to refer to people
III. Things to refer to sth. else
IIII. Actions， state to refer to abstract ideas or other actions， state
3.Metonymy「n.借代」——is the device in which we name something by one of its attributes， as in crown for king， the White House for the President. The kettle is boiling. （kettle for water in the kettle）
4.Synecdoche「n.提喻法」——means using a part for a whole， an individual for a class a material for a thing or the reverse of any of these.
For example， bread for food， the army for a soldier. He is a poor creature. ——creature for man.
5.Personification （拟人）
6.Euphemism （委婉）
Some idioms are used in a humorous way
Variation of idioms
1.Replacement – a constituent may be replaced by a word of the same part of speech， resulting in synonymous or antonymous idioms.
2.Addition or deletion – some constituent can be added or deleted without any change of meaning
3.Position-shifting – the position of certain constituent is some idioms can be shifted without any change of meaning
4.Shorting – in proverbs and sayings， where only a part of them is used instead of the whole
5.Dismembering – breaking up the idioms into pieces， an unusual case of idioms particular in literature or popular press to achieve special effect.
我看差不多就结束了。我想只要你能把以上的内容都背下来，应该就可以了。
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