Unit 8

Social Meaning

Social meaning is that which a piece of language conveys about the social circumstances of its use. In part, we decode the social meaning of a text through our recognition of different dimensions and levels of style within the same language.

connotative

affective

associative meaning reflected

social

collocative

We recognize some words or pronunciations as being dialectal, i.e. as telling us something of the geographical or social origin of the speaker.

Other features of language tell us something of the social relationship between the speaker and hearer; we have a scale of status usage, for example, descending from formal and literary English at one end to colloquial, familiar, and eventually slang English at the other.

Variation according to:

Dialect (the language of geographical region or of a social class)Time (the language of the eighteenth century, etc.)

Province (language of law, of science, of advertising, etc.)

Status (polite, colloquial, slang, etc. )

Singularity (the style of Dickens, of Hemingway, etc.)

Variation according to Dialect: 不同的词汇表示同种语义： British English Singapore EnglishMajority Ground Hit BoxHoliday OffSwitch off CloseTurn on OpenChaffing dish SteamboatStamp ChopDecorator Contractor

Porridge: Singapore English: A bowl of plain or savoury rice gruel, which can be cooked with small pieces of meat or fish

British English: a thick, sticky food made from oats cooked in water or milk, or to which sugar is added

Mutton chop

Singapore English: Chopped-up lumps of meat with no boneBritish English: Pieces of bone with meat attached

duck’s egg

Singapore English: zero mark for an academic work

British English: the egg laid by ducks

ButlerSingapore English: Stewards or stewardessesBritish English: a male housekeeperInterchangeSingapore English: bus terminalsBritish English: a junction where a motorway meets a main road, etc.

仅在新加坡使用的词汇与表达法，但还未被上层语言所接受，例如：Singapore English Meanings

sayang a mixed feeling of pity, love, regret for sth. precious that is losttamby office attendant; office boykaypoh greedy; interfering in others’ affairskayu stupid; dullkiasu a feeling of fearing failure on inferiority to others

Singapore English Meanings

Aksy AffectedAng-moh red-hair; a person of European ancestryBoleh tahan tolerably goodchap chye a mixture of everything

新加坡英语的典型特征之一表现在对 “ la ” 的使用上。(1) 表达一种“显而易见”的事实，例如： No need to count la. There are 30 students la.(2) 表达一种委婉的建议，例如： You tell him la! I’m so scared of him.(3) 在作出某种解释时，用于缓和语气，避免粗鲁，例如： I was absent, because I was ill la.

le (1) 表示说话人不赞成某件事情的发生 ,例如 :

You can’t walk there, very far le.Hoh (1) 把直陈语气转为疑问句式，例如： This is not true, hoh?

(2) 蕴有一种“劝说”的话语功能，例如：

You wait for me here, hoh.

感叹词

(1) Ay yaaah! 常在说话人生气时使用，例如： Ay yaaah! You made the same mistake again!

(2) Ay yor! 常用来表示“痛苦”、“惊讶”等，例如： Ay yor! How can you do such a foolish thing ?

(3) Ayyer! 常用于对不愉快的事或不是预料中的行为所作的感叹，例如： Ayyer! What a mess!

(4) Che! 常用于对不愉快事情的发生表示“恼怒”或“遗憾”，例如： Che! Don’t interrupt me !

(5) allamah 常用来表示说话人对自己的言语、行为错误等的不满，例如： Allamah! I forgot to shut the door!

Variation according to:

Time (the language of the eighteenth century, etc.)

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet:

jump just

censure opinion

vulgar common

fond stupid

pregnant meaningful

gossip female friends

Structures:

OSV

Saxons the victory won.

Him man not gave.

SOV:

He him saw

VSO

Then sent they home a messenger

Then sent the king the dish.

Negation form:

I deny it not.

Forbid him not.

I love thee not

He saw you not.

Words lost:

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet:

beseem be suitable

wot know

gyve fetter

Words that only preserved in poetry, etc.

The boy is fair, of female favour.

(W. Shakespeared: As you like it)

favour: looks, contenance.

P.112

What is freedom? Ye can tell

That which slavery is, too well.

Ye : you

It’s deuced kind of you.

Deuced: extremely

More examples:

ere (before); oft(often);

albeit (although) thither( there)

theretofore (up to that time)

save (except) perchance ( perhaps)

Province (language of law, of science, of advertising, etc.) in the field of language of law:

General Specialist theft larceny beat assault burning arson crime felony

(language of science) General Specialist

hole orifice/cavity speed velocity force intensity

(language of advertising)account ：雇佣广告公司为其商品等作广告的公司和人。ad ：指报刊或杂志上的印刷性广告以区别于广播、电视广告。campaign ：指形式不同，内容相似的某一商品的系列广告。CPM ：指某一广告在某一媒介上传播至每一千人或一千户家庭，刊登广告人所花的费用。

Creative ：指从事广告的实际制作，如： Creative Department

Direct Mail ：指包广告直接投递给潜在的消费者。Editorial Matter ： 对报刊、杂志中非广告性内容的总称。Flier ：单页广告。

GRP ：是“ Gross Rating Point”的缩略语，也用于估量广告中的商品潜在消费者的单位。一个 GRP 等于潜在消费者的百分之一。

Heavy: 广告业中经验丰富，具有成就，身价很高的人。Live Tag ：常常位于事先垆埴好的某一广播、电视商业广告之后，为广告产品的总结性言语。Make Good ：广告免费重播。由于机械故障或操作失误导致某一广告传送受阻，以此作为对客户的补偿。

orange Goods ：具有中等利润的商品。Problem-solution ：一种广告形式。首先提出一个问题，然后推出某一商品作为解决途径。Puffery ：夸张式的商业广告。Red Goods ：利润虽然小，但是十分畅销的商品。

Slice of Life ：非常现实，具有生活气息的商业广告。Spot ：广播、电视为媒介的广告。Talent ：指制作商业广告中演员、歌手、舞蹈人员、播音员、模特的总称。Up-Cutting ：剪切广播或电视节目的一部分内容以便有更多的时间进行广告宣传。Yellow Goods ：利润高的耐用品。

Variation according to Status:

(polite, colloquial, slang, etc. )

Variation according to Singularity: (the style of Dickens, of Hemingway, etc.)

Buffon, a French writer and naturalist of the 18th century once said:

Style, it is the man himself.

Jane Austen saw life in a clear, dry light. She was not without deep human sympathies, but she had a quick eye for vanity, selfishness and vulgarity and she perceived the frequent incongruities between the way people talked and the realities of a situation.

Her style is quiet and level. She never exaggerates, she never, as it were, raises her voice to shout or scream. She is neither pompous, nor sentimental, nor flippant, but always gravely polite, and her writing contains a delicate but sharp edged irony.

Here is a very different way of writing. Charles Dickens is describing Stone Lodge, the home of Mr. Gradgrind, in Hard Times:

To his matter-of-fact home, which was called Stone Lodge, Mr gradgrind directed his steps….A very regular feature on the face of the country, Stone Lodge was. Not the least disguise toned down or shaded off that uncompromising fact in the landscape. A great square house, with a heavy portico darkening the principal windows, as its master’s heavy brows overshadowed his eyes.

A calculated, cast up balanced, and proved house. Six windows on this side of the door six on that side; a total of twelve in this wing, a total of twelve in the other wing; four-and –twenty carried over to the back wings. A lawn and garden and an infant avenue, all ruled straight like a botanical account-book.

Mr. Gradgrind and Stone lodge suggest hardness, cold fact, the absence of tenderness and grace. The description of the house reinforces this point. Notice that the regularity and strict arithmetical proportions of the house are not just mentioned once but repeated again and again.

A calculated, cast up balanced, and proved house. Six windows on this side of the door six on that side; a total of twelve in this wing, a total of twelve in the other wing; four-and –twenty carried over to the back wings

Dickens’s criticism of “the Gradgrind philosophy”, of the utilitarian attitude to life that took account only of facts and statistics and disregarded human feelings, is direct and forceful. Detail is heaped upon detail to create a suitable house for Mr. Gradgrind, a house that hardly resembles an actual house.

Steed (poetic) domicile (very formal,

official)Horse (general) residence (formal)Nag (slang) abode (poetic)Gee-gee home (general)(baby language)

Cast (literary, biblical) diminutive (very formal)Throw (general) tiny (colloquial)Chuck (casual, slang) wee (colloquial, dialectal)

1)They chucked a stone at the cops, and then did a bunk with the loot.

2)After casting a stone at the police, they absconded with the money.