6.1 词义的重要性
6.1A 词语错用的缘由
前面4.1A讲到，言语得当，如同衣着得体，是我们在交际中必须追求的目标，Better M. Dietsch也指出怎样才能做到用词得当：
Selecting words is like shopping in an enormous supermarket. But instead of roaming the aisles for groceries, a writer thumbs through the pages of a dictionary or thesaurus, searching for the right words.
（1998：119）
在日常谈话中，我们会听到下面这样的问题：
“Sorry, I don't understand the word. Could you explain it to me?”
“Would you please tell me what you meant by that word?”
这往往是由于在口头或笔头交际中碰到了词语使用错误的情况；而要避免错用词语，有必要把握词语的多重意义。例如：
Teacher: As a freshman, you'd try to learn your way around.
Student: No problem, sir. I know my way quite well. In fact I've got a new map with me and won't lose my way.
看来这个新生还没有完全理解老师的意思。实际上“learning your way around”这个短语可以表示几种不同的含义，除了解校园里办公楼、教室楼以及宿舍楼等的位置以外；还包括了解新开设哪些课程，有哪些授课老师，什么社团正在组建，何处有免费文体活动等；知道哪里可以买到所需要的东西，有些什么样的规定，到哪里了解有关情况，找谁去咨询问题，等等。
6.1B 词语多重意义的类型
在多种词语意义中，我们特别要关注“指示意义”（Denotation）与“隐含意义”（Connotation），“字面意义”（Literal meaning）与“比喻意义”（Figurative meaning），“积极意义”（Positive meaning）与“消极意义”（Negative meaning），“褒义”（Favorable meaning）与“贬义”（Unfavorable meaning）等。
6.2 “指示意义”与“隐含意义”的区别
6.2A “指示意义
”词语的“指示意义”（Denotation / Denotative meaning）指该词语字面的意义，即在词典里明确列出的种种意义，它们之间很少会出现混淆；而“隐含意义”（Connotation / Connotative meaning）则指隐藏于字里行间的人们附加上去的情感意义（Emotional overtones），有时难以直接理解。把握上述两种词语意义对于正确选用词语极为重要。
这里试以“brick”一词为例。该词原指“砖”，“坯”（a rectangular piece of baked or dried clay used for building），属于中性的物质名词，如“a pile of red bricks” （一堆红砖）；“to lay bricks”（砌砖头）；也可指像砖状的东西，如“冰砖”（a brick of ice-cream）等。当“brick”在“bang / bash / beat / hit / knock one's head against a brick wall”（碰壁）中用于“比喻”意义时，也与其本身的特点直接相关。 例如：
You want to get him to do something for the community? Well, that's like banging your head against a brick wall!
（你想要他为社区做点事吗？哎，那简直是白费劲！）
但是当该词用在下面一句中就不是简单地指砖头：
He's really a brick, providing timely help. （他雪中送炭，真够朋友！）
上句中的“brick”指“慷慨或诚实可靠的人” （a generous or trustworthy person），“好朋友”（a good friend）等，含有积极的肯定意义。
6.2B “隐含意义”
“指示意义”比较固定，而“隐含意义”则会不断变化，特别是在积极意义与消极意义之间相互转化。例如“Dear Madam”曾经是公务信函中的一种礼貌称呼，但现在已经过时了，可能是用多了，用俗了，以至于带有某些消极含义；反之，“Ms.”在上世纪70年代还不太流行，但在今天的美国，它已成为对单身或已婚妇女的一种直接称谓，显得很有礼貌。
这里再以“brick”一词为例。2001年秋，美国高盛公司在一份预测报告中说，到2050年，世界经济的主导者，将不仅有现在的美国、欧洲和日本，还将有来自发展中世界的四国，它们是巴西（Brazil）、俄罗斯（Russia）、印度（India）和中国（China）。这四国的英文名字首字母缩写“BRIC”，同“BRICK”的读音一样。高盛的这一说法曾引起众多议论，开始时并不看好，然而事实是这些国家近10年来迅速崛起，在国际上的影响力越来越大，四国都已跻身“20国集团”，因此由“BRIC”代表的四国被人们赋予了积极意义，汉语翻译成“金砖四国”。后加上南非，则成了“金砖五国”。
6.3 积极意义与消极意义
6.3A 积极意义
所谓“积极意义”与“消极意义”（Positive meaning and Negative meaning），或者说“正面意义”与“反面意义”，“肯定意义”与“否定意义”等，都是指人们在表达自己的意思时给对方的印象。记得鲁迅先生在一篇杂文里讲到这样一个故事：某个人家生了一个小孩，亲戚朋友前往祝贺。有的说这个孩子将来一定有福气，有的说这个孩子将来一定大富大贵，有的说这个孩子将来一定漂亮，等等，都是吉利话，唯有一个人说这孩子将来总要死的。虽然说的是句大实话，却让主人很不高兴。原因在于这句实话给人的印象是消极的、反面的和否定的，以致产生了不好的结果，或者说交际失败。其所以如此，是由于那句实话的使用场合不对。
6.3B 消极意义
英语里有句格言：“Tell them what you can do, not what you can't.”无论口头或者笔头交际中，当涉及负面的，令人不快的信息时，往往不宜直接讲出来，最好能用较为正面的词语加以委婉表述。试比较：
（1a） We are out of the Fullmark multistrike ribbons you requested. They will not be available for three days.
（1b） Your Fullmark multistrike ribbons will be here in three days.
（2a） I don't have any paper finished. I had to work seven days last week.
（2b） Professor James, although I worked seven days last week, I do have a typed draft. May I have another day to polish? Or would you prefer the rough draft now?
上述例句表明，不论在生意场合或日常交往中，采用像b句积极正面的表述方式，都会给对方较好的印象，从而取得良好的交际结果。
6.3C 不同意义的相对性
当然，我们也不能把正面的、肯定的表达方式绝对化，即对意义的理解和使用都要注意某种相对性（relativity）。例如，有时某种委婉的否定式同样取得正面的积极效果。几年前我校新游泳馆开张试运行时，有一周时间对全校师生免费开放，我也去了。值班的那位小姐看看我，微笑着对我问道：
— You're not retired, sir?
— Yes.
— Then will you please come next week. This week is supposed to open only for those who're still working.
试想如果那位小姐直接问我退休了吧，并说明本周只对在职人员开放，会令人感到生硬了些，而像她那样用个否定疑问式，似乎带有一种但愿我尚未退休的意味，显得更为客气、得体。
据说上世纪30年代英国大萧条时期，货物供应短缺，人们去购物时往往用否定疑问式，或者any疑问式，因为后者也是由于心中完全没底而发出的一种疑问。例如：
— No milk, sir?
— Any chicken, madam?
6.4 褒义与贬义
6.4A 褒义、贬义与中性意义
“褒义”与“贬义”在英语里除了Favorable和Unfavorable以外，还可以表示为Approving，Disapproving； Complimentary，Derogatory等。前者表示正面的、积极的和肯定的评语，后者则表示反面的、消极的和否定的评论。
本书前面5.3C“引导和感染”部分讲到，英语里的词汇可以分为褒义与贬义外，还有一种是“中性意义”词语（Expressions of neutral meaning）。上述褒义与贬义等的使用目的都是为了让读者或听话人对所述对象产生肯定或否定的印象，而选用“中性意义”的词语则表示处于中间立场，既不“褒”也不“贬”。
6.4B 使用目的与不同意义的选择
“褒义”与“贬义”的使用目的也可以是为了让读者或听话人对写作者/说话人产生较为有利的印象。本书5.3B讲到的使用插入语和把第一人称由单数改为复数等方法都是如此。另外，写作者/说话人也可以通过不同的表达方式来达到目的。例如，在讲到本公司出现财政赤字这一情况时，可以有两种表达方式：
（1） My company is operating in the red for the time being.
（2） My company is at present achieving a programmed deficit.
句1是承认公司由于某种原因陷入财政赤字，句2的意思则指“预算赤字”（a budget deficit），通常是由于业务扩展而出现的暂时的负债。前者给人的印象是公司出现了问题，后者却让人们对公司的进一步发展充满期待。
6.4C “中性意义”表达方式的使用
在涉及某些较为敏感的问题或人物时，如果采用“中性意义”的表达方式，就会给别人以客观、公正的印象。这时除了选用“中性意义”的词语（5.3C2）外，还可以采用一个常见的句型，即“It is said / believed / reported / rumored that ...”该句式给人的印象是说话人 / 写作者如实地转述了别人的意见或看法，不带个人观点，但实际上这往往是说话人 / 写作者的一种表示个人观点的方式。例如：
（1） It is generally believed that the accident was caused by the poor management of the local authorities.
（2） The accident is generally believed to have been caused by ...
6.5 字面意义与比喻意义
6.5A 字面意义与比喻意义的差别
“字面意义”（Literal meaning）与“比喻意义”（Figurative meaning）同前面6.2中讲到的“指示意义”与“隐含意义”有相同之处，前者指词语直接表示的意义，人们一看便知道，而后者则往往需要人们根据上下文加以引申才能理解。例如：
（1）The man was knocked down by an iron bar.
（2） Madame Curie completed her studies in Paris with an iron will.
句1中的“iron”是字面意义，指“铁（棒）”，而句2中的“iron”则为比喻意义，表示“钢铁般的（意志）”的意思。又如：
（3）Just a moment, please. The tea is brewing.
（4） Watch out: there's trouble brewing.
句3中的“brewing”是字面意义，指“沏茶”；而句4中的“brewing”则为比喻意义，表示“（麻烦事）即将发生”的意思。
6.5B 词语意义的细微差别
同样一个词语既有字面意义与比喻意义的不同用法，而且即使用于字面意义，也会出现种种细小的含义区分。试以literal和literally为例：
（1） The literal meaning of the expression “run after sb.” is “to chase sb.”, whereas its extended or figurative meaning is “to seek company of sb.”.
（literal: basic）
（2） Every word of this is literally as the man spoke it.
（literally: exactly）
（3） It's not a good idea to follow a literal approach to the subject. You need imagination and creativity.
（literal: stubborn, old-fashioned）
（4） You need to demonstrate to the examiners that you have more than a literal understanding of the text.
（literal: word for word, basic; a literal understanding = surface impression）
（5） During the World Cup, most of our eyes were literally glued to the television for every round of the competition.
（literally: almost）
（6） Twenty million people are threatened by famine and the food aid required runs quite literally into millions of tons.
（literally: completely, truthfully）
（7） Hurry up, my dear! We had literally ten minutes to catch the first train.
（literally: only, merely）
此外，literal和literally还可以用来强化比喻意义。例如：
（8） The village in the twenties was a literal hotbed of political, artistic, and sexual radicalism.
（literal: indeed）
（9） New York city is literally hanging by its fingernails.
（literally: just）
6.5C 掌握“比喻用法”的关键
掌握“比喻用法”的关键在于分清“What is said”和“What is implied”，即分清“指示意义”与“隐含意义”（见6.2）。请看下面的两句对话：
Harry: Would you like one more piece of cake, Jenny?
Jenny: I'm on a diet.
一般说来，当别人请吃什么东西时，正常的回答有两种；肯定的回答为“Yes, thank you”，否定式为“No, thank you”，但是这里Jenny的话却有点特别。表面看来，似乎是答非所问，实际上是另有其意：说她在控制饮食，就是说她不想再吃啦，等于说“No, thanks”。
日常生活经常会有这样的情况。如果夏天有人来到你的房间，说“It's quite warm here”，其意思不是称赞你的房间里暖和，而是抱怨那里温度太高，需要打开电扇或空调。
一个普通的疑问句也可以不是提出什么问题，而是对听话人提出要求或发出指令。例如妈妈看到厨房里垃圾箱满了，便对孩子说“Have you taken out the garbage?”
英语中的“比喻用法”（Figurative use）十分普遍，引出了各种各样的“辞格”（Figure of speech）。关于辞格，详见本书8－17章，另参见黄任（2012:15）。
练习六 （Exercise Six）
I. Preview Questions:
1. What does the phrase “to learn one's way round” mean?
2. What have you learned about the words “brick” and “BRIC”?
3. Which type of expressions do you prefer in communication, positive or negative?
4. Can you tell the difference between “to operate in the red” and “to achieve a programmed deficit”?
5. What is the key point in interpreting “the figurative use”?
II. Go over the following and fill in the blanks with either “work” or “mow” in their proper forms.
Now imagine the situation of Mr. Smith （1）____________his lawn Saturday morning. Inside the house, Mrs. Smith receives a telephone call from a friend, who asks, “Is your husband still in bed?” “No,” replies Mrs. Smith, “He's already outside, （2）____________in the garden.”
Consider now the same situation, except that we also know that Mr. Smith is a firefighter who is often on duty on Saturdays. A friend of his knows this is the case and is wondering whether Mr. Smith on this particular Saturday might be free to go fishing with him. He therefore calls and asks Mrs. Smith, “Is your husband （3）____________today?” “No,” replies Mrs. Smith, “He is outside （4）____________the lawn.”
III. Go over the following two passages and paraphrase the last sentence “Must you open the window?” in each of them.
Passage One:
Mrs. Smith was watering her garden one afternoon. She saw that the housekeeper was pushing a window open. She didn't understand why he needed to have it open. A bit worried, she went over and politely asked, “Must you open the window?”
Passage Two:
One morning John felt too sick to go to school. The night before he and his friends got very drunk. Then they went swimming in a cold lake. Because of this John caught a bad cold. He was lying in bed when his mother stormed into the room. When she started opening the window, John groaned, “Must you open the window?”
IV. In the following sentences, substitute each of the verbs in parentheses for the italicized one. Jot down the resulting difference in meaning as you find in Exercise V for the verb “look”, consulting a dictionary or synonym book if you wish.
1. When he closed the door, the girl cried out. （shut, banged; screamed, shrieked, yelled）
2. That day I saw them walking along the streets. （noticed, observed, watched, witnessed; doddering along, trudging along, strolling about, trotting along）
3. He fixed it in about two days. （repaired, corrected, mended, remedied）
4. What he had done made his colleagues and friends surprised. （performed, achieved, executed, fished for; alarmed, startled, irritated, baffled）
V. Further reading
Selecting words is rather like shopping in an enormous supermarket. But instead of roaming the aisles for groceries, a writer thumbs through the pages of a dictionary or thesaurus, searching for the right words. Both the shelves and the pages are well stocked; the English language has more words than any other language.Whether a writer wants plain bread-and-butter words, sweet words, tart words, tasteless words, kosher words, gourmet words, or playful words — they are all there for the taking, free of charge. Because there are so many words to choose from, a writer has countless opportunities to be creative, whether writing papers, letters, reports, poetry, or short stories. True, some writing offers more opportunities for creativity than expository writing does, but all rhetorical situations afford leeway in phrasing and sentence structure.
Reading widely and often will help you to become more aware of the nuances and subtle meanings of words.Frequent use of a good thesaurus and dictionary during revision will help you maintain an appropriate tone. Your awareness of the delicate distinctions in words will increase as you study this chapter. Your skill in detecting inappropriate words and in selecting appropriate words will be honed. With regular practice, your writing will become more precise and positive.
（Better M. Dietsch）
