英语自我反义词的起源与分类研究
笔者认为，这类自我反义词的来源不外乎以下两种：一是当英语吸收其他语言——比如拉丁语、德语、希腊语等——中的词根和词缀构成新的单词时，所使用的这些词根和词缀在不同的源语言中就有着不同的含义，因此自这些新词构成之日起便具有双重含义；而是在英语成为一门独立语言后，经过数个世纪的日常使用，一些词汇的褒贬性或者其他功能发生了变化，最终导致其与原始的含义大相径庭。 19204
本文的主要目的，即是在于对以上两种假说分别加以验证，并以实际例证和实验对其提供进一步的佐证。另外，本文还希望能通过对自我反义词的研究，从这个角度进一步了解英语这种语言的发展史，并尝试揭示其中所反映的英国，或其他的英语使用国的社会风貌及思想领域的变迁过程。这将不仅对我们的日常英语学习、词汇学和语言学研究，乃至社会学和历史学都有所裨益。
关键词 自我反义词 词源起源说 词义变迁说
Title A Study of Self-antonyms in English Language----Origins and Categories
Abstract
In English Language, majority of vocabularies carry more than one meaning. Among
those words, there even exists certain amount of vocabularies which conveys opposite
meanings itself. We call them self-antonyms.
The article is based on the belief that these self-antonyms must have originated from
either certain roots or affixes which carry different meanings in various languages
where English words derived from --such as Latin, Greek and German-- which share
similar spellings at the same time, or from the appraisive and functional changes during
daily use over the centuries after English as a autonomous language has been
recognized.
The main purpose of this paper is to verify the two hypotheses mentioned above and
prove them by both examples and researches. Furthermore, this paper also intends to
comprehend and analyze the history and development of English language and then
reveal the progress of changes in social milieu and thoughts in both the United
Kingdom and other English-speaking nations and areas by and from the perspective of
study and research on self-antonyms. This will not only assist study of English and
research on lexicology and linguistics, but also benefit the field of history, sociology
etcetera.
Keywords Self-antonyms，Etymological Origination Theory，Semantic Shift Theory
Table of Contents
Introduction . 1
1.1 Background and Layout 1
1.2 Hypotheses and Objects of Study 2
1.3 Methods of Study 3
2. Literature Review 3
3. Self-antonyms Engendered by Different Source Languages----Etymological Origination
Theory . 6
3.1 Self-antonyms and Formation of Early English 6
3.2 Self-antonyms in the Age of Colonialism . 7
4. Self-antonyms Derived from Daily Use----Semantic Shift Theory 10
4.1 Self-antonyms and Politics 11
4.2 Self-antonyms and The Development of Art . 12
4.3 Self-antonyms and Daily Routines 13
4.4 Evidences of This Hypothesis . 15
Conclusion 17
Acknowledgements . 19
Bibliography . 20
Introduction