Тема 3 (1): word meaning and motivation

The term motivation is used to denote the relationship between structural pattern of the word and its meaning. There are three main types of motivation: phonetical motivation, morphological motivation and semantic motivation.

Phonetical motivation is described as a direct connection between the phonetic structure of the word and its meaning. Words like hiss or whistle are motivated by a certain similarity between the sound-clusters that make them up and the sounds referred to by the meanings of the words. Onomatopoeic, imitative or echoic words such as the English cuckoo, swish, sizzle, buzz, bang, boom, flap, flip, flop, flutter, flitter, glitter, flimmer, glimmer involve phonetic symbolism.

Some linguists argue that speech sounds may suggest spatial and visual dimensions, shape and size. Experiments carried out by a group of linguists showed that back open vowels are suggestive of big size, heavy weight, dark colour. Native speakers were asked to listen to pairs of antonyms from an unfarmiliar or non-existent language unrelated to English, e.g. ching - chung, and then to try to find the English equivalents, e.g. light - heavy, big - small. About 90% of English speakers felt that ching is the equivalent of the English light / small and chung of its antonym heavy / large.

It is also suggested that sounds themselves may be emotinally expressive, e.g. initial [s] and [p] are felt as expressing scorn, contempt, disapproval or disgust which can be illustrated by words pooh! fiddle-sticks and the like. The sound-cluster [IN] is imitative of sound or swift movement as can be seen in words ring, sing, swing, fling. The sound-cluster [fl] is associated with quick movement, the sound-cluster [gl] with light and fire, the sound-cluster [sl] with mud, e.g. flash, flicker, glitter, glow, sleet, slush, and the sound-cluster [kw] with the idea of shaking and trembling, e.g. quagmire, quaver, quiver. The sound-cluster [skr] express the sense of loud outcry, e.g. screak, scream, screech. The consonant p at the end of words suggests a sound or movement abruptly stopped, as in clap, clip, flap, snap, snip, whip. Words ending in mp (bump, dump, slump,thump) convey the sense of a duller and heavier sound, stopped in silence but more slowly.

Phonetical motivation is not universally recognized in modern linguistic science. Even onomatopoeic words seem to be conventional (cf. кукареку and cock-a-doodle-do). Initial [f] and [p] are found in the words that do not express contempt or disapproval, e.g. fine, pleasant. The sound-cluster [IN] in thing, king is not imitative of sound or swift movement. The sound-cluster [fl] in flat, floor and flour is not associated with quick or any other movement. The sound-cluster [sl] in slim, slender or slow is not associated with mud, etc. Thus phonetical motivation seems to require verification.

Morphological motivation implies a direct connection between the lexical meaning of the component morphemes, the pattern of their arrangement and the meaning of the word. The derived word rethink is motivated as its morphological structure suggests the idea of thinking again (reassess, rebuild, remake). The morphological structure of derivatives oversleep and overact suggests the idea of excess. The derived word dancer is motivated as its morphological structure suggests the idea of a doer of an action (builder, designer, singer). The compound words bookshelf and hairpin are motivated as they denote ‘a shelf for keeping books on’ and ‘a pin used to hold one’s hair in position’.

The degree of morphological motivation may be different varying from complete motivation to lack of motivation. The word hopeful is completely motivated as both the lexical meaning of the component morphemes and the meaning of the pattern is transparent. One-morpheme words are by definition non-motivated. There exist various grades of partial motivation.The word cranberry is only partially motivated because of the absence of the lexical meaning in the morpheme cran-.

Morphological motivation (and its degree) is a changeable category due to historical changeability of structural patterns. In OE husbonda was a compound word which meant хозяин дома, in MnE husband is a simple and hence non-motivated word.

Semantic motivation is based on the co-existence of direct and figurative meaning within the same semantic structure of the word. It implies a direct connection between the central and marginal meanings of the word. This connection may be regarded as a metaphoric extension of the central meaning based on the similarity of different classes of referents denoted by the word. The central meaning of the word mouth ‘a part of the human face’ is non-motivated. Its figurative meaning ‘any opening and outlet’ (the mouth of the river) is semantically motivated. The compound eyewash ‘a lotion for the eyes’ is motivated morphologically, in its figurative meaning ‘something said or done to deceive a person so that he thinks what he sees is good, though in fact it is not’ it is semantically motivated.

The problem of semantic motivation will be treated in more detail in the following paragraphs: Change of Meaning and Meaning and Polysemy.