英語詞匯中音、形、義關系辨析

邱葆珍

【摘 要】每個字詞都有其詞義和發音，英語中有些單詞，當被用于不同行業時，發音發生變化。這些詞匯的運用，須根據英語句意和上下文內容而定。本文探析這類單詞的習慣用法，歸納單詞的基本詞義和發音，力求在詞義、發音及拼寫對比基礎上，加深對這些詞匯的認識。

【關鍵詞】詞義；語音；對比

0 引言

英語是一種詞匯豐富的語言。詞匯是某種語言里所使用的詞的總稱，單詞和語音是組成語言的基本要素。人們要進行交流，須用言語表達思想和感情，要準確表達主觀抽象思維、正確描述客觀物質世界，須掌握單詞正確發音，掌握詞匯正確用法。

1 拼寫相同，發音、詞義不同的單詞

英語詞匯中有為數不少的單詞，其拼寫形式相同，但發音、和詞義卻完全不同，如：

1）My wife burst into tears when she heard the bad news.

The girl was in tears because she lost her mother.

在這兩句中，tear 作名詞，意為：眼淚。單詞中元音的發音如同 ear。

This material tears easily， so be careful when you wear it.

He couldnt tear himself away from his book.

在這兩句中，tear作動詞，表示離開、撕裂的意思。單詞中元音的發音如同air。

There is a tear in the coat. 名詞：撕裂處

The train passed by at a tear. 名詞：飛奔

2）New sewer pipes have been installed in the city.

sewer 作名詞：下水道。單詞發音可參考 fewer.

The sewer is mending the hole in the coat.

sewer 作名詞：縫紉者。 單詞發音可參考 lower.

3）Its only a few minutes walk from here to the station.

minute 作名詞：分鐘。單詞發音為 /minit /

His handwriting is so minute that its difficult to read.

minute 作形容詞：微小。 單詞發音為 / mainju：t /

4）Everyone bowed as the Queen walked into the room.

We have to bow to fate and accept what cannot be avoided.

bow 作動詞：鞠躬、彎腰、點頭、屈服。單詞發音可參考 how.

常用的詞組有：bow and scrape 巴結、奉承

take a bow 鞠躬答謝

bow the knee to 屈服、低頭

He put his bow on the violin.

She fixed her shoe-laces in a bow.

bow 作名詞：弓、結。單詞發音可參考 low.

常用詞組有：have more than one strings to his bow 有幾種辦法可選擇

draw a bow at a venture 碰運氣

draw not your bow till your arrow is fixed 三思而后行

draw a long bow 夸口、說謊

2 發音相同，拼寫、詞義不同的單詞

這一類單詞發音相同，但拼寫與詞義不同，在聽力方面易引起誤解。

1）The cat has left her lose hairs all over my clothes.

My hair has grown long.

hair 作可數或不可數名詞：毛、發單詞發音可參考air.

常見用法：comb ones hair for sb. 申斥某人

get in ones hair 惹惱某人

lose ones hair 發脾氣

a hair in ones neck 麻煩事

let ones hair down 不拘禮節

make ones hair curl 使人感到驚恐

The hare disappeared in the wood.

He hared off down the road.

hare 作名詞：野兔。 hare 作動詞：飛快地跑。 單詞發音與 hair 相同。

常見用法：as mad as a March hare 像三月的兔子一樣瘋狂

start a hare 討論提出枝節問題

hold with the hare and run with the hounds 兩面討好

make a hare of sb. 愚弄某人

hare brained 輕率的

2）Most people in our country can read and write.endprint

The thermometer reads 33 degrees.

read 作動詞：讀、顯示。

常見用法：read somebody a lesson 教訓某人

read somebody like a book 對某人非常了解

read somebodys thoughts 看出某人的思想活動

They have hidden their boat in the reed marshes.

They cut the reeds to make mats.

reed 作可數和不可數名詞：蘆葦。讀音與 read 相同。

常見用法：broken reed 不可靠的人或物

lean on a reed 依賴不可靠的人或物

3）Life is dear to him.

He is my dear friend.

dear 作形容詞：珍貴的、親密的。發音與 deer 相同。

常見用法：the dearest friend 不共戴天的敵人

The little girl touched the deer tenderly.

The deer are running one after another.

deer 作名詞：鹿。單、復數同形。發音與 dear 相同。

常見用法：small deer 微不足道的人或事物

4）compliment 作名詞和動詞：贊美的話、贊美。發音與 complement相同。

John complimented Jean on her beautiful new dress.

complement 作名詞和動詞：補足物、補足。發音與 compliment 相同。

This wine complements the food perfectly.

常見用法：fish for compliments 沽名釣譽

left-handed compliment 似褒實貶的話語；帶惡意的恭維話

3 拼寫、發音相同，詞義不同的單詞

英語中有些單詞的拼寫、發音完全一致，但用于不同背景時詞義完全不同。

1）The performer practiced on the piano to limber up his fingers.

limber 作動詞：使柔軟、使靈活

The limbers have been pulled to the right position.

limber 名詞：拖帶火炮和彈藥的兩輪車輛 - 前車

2）The birds perched upon the television aerial.

Eaves are ideal perches for birds.

perch 作動詞和名詞：停歇、棲息、棲息地

Perch is a kind of delicious sea food.

perch 作名詞：河鱸

3）They brought me up to do nothing， and here I am in the sear and yellow， getting poorer and poorer every day.

sear 作形容詞：干枯的、凋謝的

常見用法：the sear and yellow leaf 暮年、老境

His soul has been seared by injustice.

sear 作動詞：燒灼。此句是比喻用法，意思是： 使麻木、使冷酷

4）Many people put mint leaves in the water to make tea.

mint 作名詞：薄荷。

The poet minted several words that cant be found in any dictionary.

mint 作動詞：臆造、創造。

拼寫、發音相同，詞義不同的單詞，只有在語句中才能了解其詞義，從以上例句可看出，此類單詞與日常生活關聯較密切。

4 名詞與動詞重音不同的單詞

英語中有些同源單詞，其名詞拼寫形式與動詞拼寫形式完全相同，發音也近相同，只是重音不同，此類詞中，名詞重音傾向于落在第一個音節，動詞重音傾向于落在第二個音節。英語中這一發音現象同中國音韻學的“動靜異音”相符。

1）Armed conflict could start at any time.

There is a possibility of a serious conflict in the two parties.

Do British laws conflict with any international laws？

conflict 作名詞或動詞：沖突。作名詞重音在前，作動詞重音再后。

2）The export of gold is forbidden.

Wool is one of the chief exports of Australia.

They sell their products to the home market but they dont export.endprint

export 作不可數名詞：出口；作可數名詞：出口產品。重音在第一個音節。

export 作動詞：出口。重音在第二個音節。

3）Our shop has made a contract with a clothing firm to buy 100 coats a week.

Never sign a contract until you have read it from beginning to end.

contract 作可數名詞：契約、合同。重音在第一個音節。

A foreign firm has contracted to build a new railway across Africa.

contract 作及物動詞：締結、締約、承辦。重音在第二個音節。

4） That child is a torment to his parents.

torment 作名詞：痛苦、折磨、煩惱。重音在前。

Stop tormenting your poor father with such stupid questions.

torment 作及物動詞：煩惱。 重音在第二音節。

屬于這一類的單詞還有：conduct， digest， permit， desert， object

從以上例子可看出，詞性發生變化時，單詞重音也按“名前動后”變化。

5 結語

語音、詞匯、語法是語言三大要素。詞匯是音、義、形的結合，是交際得以進行的語言能力核心部分之一。詞義差別和發音差別是客觀存在的，即使是最簡單的詞匯，既不像表面顯現的那樣，也不像人們想象的那樣。因此，在使用語言時，須正確的詞匯使用在正確的地方，并注意其正確的發音。

【參考文獻】

[1]Daniel Jones. Everymans English Pronouncing Dictionary[M].London：J.M.Dent & Sons Ltd. New York ： E P. Dutton & Co . Inc，1972.

[2]Jason B. Alter. Contextual Pronunciation[M].外語教學與研究出版社.1981.

[3]John Ellison， Ma， D Phil. The Right Word at the Right Time[M].London. New York. Montreal. Sydney. Cape Town： The Readers Digest Association Limited.

[4]Paul Procter. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English[M].Longman.1978.

[責任編輯：朱麗娜]endprint