英语动物名词动用的语义分析和理解

以英语动物名词作为个案研究对象,采用在线词典数据库Wordnet,检索并分析发现:表示类属的动物名词动用的可能性较大,且啮齿类、低等动物、食肉动物、家禽类和鸟类动物名词动用的比例最高。英语动物名词动用的可能性遵循"特征优先"的原则,其动词具有繁衍后代、动作性格特点或外形姿势特征等语义成分。名词动用是基于转喻和隐喻认知方式的多义词词义扩展过程,而名词动用的理解则是语用推理的过程。

A Semantic Analysis and Comprehension of English Denominal Verbs from Animal Names

This article is a case study of English denominal verbs from animal names based on the online corpus Wordnet.The findings are:(1) names of animals denoting categories are more likely to be converted into verbs and names of rodent and invertebrate animals,predators,domestic birds and birds take up the highest percentage of converted verbs;(2) the possibility of converting animal names into verbs follows the principle of "feature priority" and verbs take the semantic characteristics of giving birth to N,behaving or doing like N,being like N,etc.(3) the conversion of English denominal verbs from animal names is a semantic expansion process of polysemic words based on metaphor and metonymy and the comprehension of converted verbs involves pragmatic inference.