On the Formation, Division and Identification of Word Meanings by Examining "Jiu"

ZUO Si-min

Abstract: The issue of the formation, division and identification of word meanings is worth of attention. In this regard, the word "jiu" can be used as an example. The division of the meanings of "jiu" in Modern Chinese Dictionary needs to be revised. The meanings of adverb "jiu" can be merged from 8 into 3 since 5 of them are not real meanings of "jiu", but pragmatic implicatures produced by pragmatic inference under the constraints of syntax and sentence meanings. we find that the context which is made up of syntax and sentence meanings plays an important role in the process to determine the meanings of a polysemous word with rather empty meanings. The main difficulty to determine the meanings of a word is how to identify the real meanings of a word when peeling off the tangled pragmatic implicatures. The formation, division, and identification of word meanings are closely relevant to each other. To be short, when we determine the meanings of a word, or decide whether some meanings of a word should be divided or merged, it is necessary to separate pragmatic implicatures from the real word meanings, in order to avoid lowering the definition quality of a dictionary, or hindering the correct understanding of the internal mechanism which controls the compositions, characteristics, and the relationships of meanings that the language units or discourse units carry.

Keywords: word meaning；meanings of a polysemous word；pragmatic；implicature ； "jiu"