English Lexicology_unit 22


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Exercise

What is degradation? Illustrate your point with examples.
　
Answer

Degradation is a change of meaning from appreciative to pejorative from positive to negative, from important to unimportant, from neutral to negative. Take silly and villain for example. Silly used to mean "happy", but now "foolish". Villain originally referred to "a person who works in a villa", but now it was downgraded to mean "a evil or wicked person".
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Study the following words and their meanings, a being the original and b the modern meaning. Give the process that each word has undergone through in terms of extension, narrowing, elevation and degradation.
1. box:
a. container made of boxwood 　　 b. any container
2. layman:
a. one who is not of clergy 　　 b. non-member of any profession
3. voyage:
a. journey 　　 b. journey by water
4. busybody:
a. busy person 　　 b. officious and meddlesome person
5. sergeant:
a. servant 　　 b. non-commissioned officer
6. starve:
a. die 　　 b. die from hunger
7. citizen:
a. city dweller 　　 b. inhabitant of a state or nation
8. brim:
a. water's edge 　　 b. the top edge of a cup, glass, etc. and the rim of any thing
9. girl:
a. young person of both sex 　　 b. female young person
10. doctor:
a. skilled in any learned 　　 b. specialist in medicine profession
11. naughty:
a. wicked, bad, evil 　　 b. not behaving properly
12. notorious:
a. well-known 　　 b. unfavourably well-known
13. mistress:
a. a woman who rules others 　　 b. a married man's lover
14. gossip:
a. Godfather 　　 b. one who repeats idle talk and spreads rumour about
Answer

none!　　　　　　close

1. Understand the concepts of elevation and degradation; 2. Learn the role of these two processes.

Main points

Elevation

Degradation

TOP

Unit 22

●●● Elevation
　　 7.1.3 Elevation
　　 Elevation or amelioration refers to the process by which words rise from humble beginnings to positions of importance. Some words early in their history signified something quite low or humble, but changed as time went by to designate something agreeable or pleasant. Take a common term nice for example. Its original meaning was 'ignorant', then changed to 'foolish' and now elevated to mean 'delightful, pleasant'. Marshal and constable meant a `keeper of horses', but now have risen to a 'high-ranking army officer' and 'policeman' respectively. More examples:
　　 Word 　　　　 Old Meaning 　　　　 Elevated Meaning
　　 angel 　　　?messenger 　　　　 messenger of God
　　 knight 　　　 servant 　　　　　　 rank below baronet
　　 earl 　　　　 man 　　　　　　　 count
　　 governor 　　 pilot 　　　　　　　 head of a state
　　 fond 　　　　 foolish 　　　　　　 affectionate 　　　　
　　 minister 　　 servant 　　　　　　 head of a ministry
　　 No one today would resent being described as shrewd or nimble, yet these words were at one time highly pejorative. A shrewd person used to be associated with 'evil' or 'wickedness', and a nimble one was thought to be good at taking things without permission. Chamberlain, now a 'high official of royal courts', was formerly a 'servant'. Similarly, success in its early past just meant 'result'.
　　 The characteristics of elevation can be summarized as follows: elevation = change from pejorative to appreciative meaning from negative to positive meaning from unimportant to important meaning from negative to neutral meaning.
●●● Degradation
　　 7.1.4 Degradation
　　 Degradation or pejoration of meaning is the opposite of semantic elevation. It is a process whereby words of good origin fall into ill reputation or non-affective words come to be used in derogatory sense. Observation shows that it is much more common for word meanings to change in denotation from neutral to pejorative than it is for them to go the other way. Many words which were once names for the common people in the Middle Ages have taken on bad meanings. A boor was merely a 'peasant' and has now degraded to a 'rude, ill-mannered person'. Churl used to be a 'peasant' or 'free man' has come to denote 'uncultivated or mean person'. A wench was a 'country girl' and now means 'prostitute'. Hussy formerly merely a 'housewife' have been downgraded into a 'woman of low morals', and villain a 'person who worked in a villa' has become an 'evil or wicked person or scoundrel'. The words that follow have undergone the same process.
　　 Word 　　　　 Old Meaning 　　　　 Degraded Meaning
　　 silly 　　　　　happy 　　　　　　　foolish
　　 knave 　　　　 boy 　　　　　　　　 dishonest person
　　 lewd 　　　　 ignorant 　　　　　　　lecherous
　　 criticize 　　　appraise 　　　　　　 find fault with
　　 lust 　　　　 pleasure 　　　　　　　sexual desire
　　 villain 　　　　worker at a villa 　　　　wicked person/scoundrel
　　 cunning 　　　skillful 　　　　　　　sly
　　 queen 　　　　 homosexual 　　　　 wife
　　 The characteristics of degradation are summarized as follows: degradation/pejoration = change from appreciative to pejorative from positive to negative from important to unimportant from neutral to negative.