Semantic structure of a synonymic dominant is quite simple: it consists only of denotative component and it has no connotations.

Lecture № 6

SYNONYMS. ANTONYMS. HOMONYMS.

CHANGE OF MEANING

1. Synonyms. Sources of synonymy. Euphemism.

2. Antonyms.

3. Homonyms.

4. Change of meaning.

5. Extension of meaning. Narrowing of meaning.

6. Elevation of meaning. Degradation of meaning.

Key words: denotative and connotative meanings,synonym, euphemism, antonym, homonym, meaning, extension, narrowing, elevation, degradation.

Literature

1. Ніколенко А. Г. Лексикологія англійської мови – теорія і практика. – Вінниця: Нова Книга, 2007. – 528 с.

2. Лексикология английского языка: Учебник для ин-тов и фак. иностр. яз. / Р. 3. Гинзбург, С. С. Хидекель, Г. Ю. Князева и А. А. Санкин. – 2-е изд., испр. и доп. – М.: Высш. школа, 1979. – 269 с, ил., табл.

3. Атрушина Г. Б., Афанасьева О. В., Морозова Н. Н. Лексикология английского языка: Учеб. пособие для студентов. – М.: Дрофа, 1999. – 288с.

4. Арнольд И. В. Лексикология современного английского языка: Учеб. для ин-тов и фак. иностр. яз. – 3-е изд., перераб. и доп. – М.: Высш. шк., 1986. – 295 с., ил. – На англ. яз.

5. Cruse D.A. Lexical semantics (Cambridge textbooks in linguistics). Cambridge University press, 1986.

 

Semasiology – the branch of lexicology which deals with the meaning.

Every word has two aspects: the outer aspect (its sound form) and the inner aspect (its meaning). Sound and meaning do not always constitute a constant unit even in the same language. E.g. one and the same meaning can be expressed by different sound forms, e.g. «pilot», and «airman», «horror» and «terror». In such cases we have synonyms.

The word «temple» may denote «a part of a human head» and «a large church». In such cases we have homonyms. One and the same word can develop different meanings in the course of time, e.g. the adjective «awesome» has changed dramatically in meaning from its origin to today. It started out meaning «inspiring fear or awe». Now it mostly means «great», «amazing», «wonderful». So in this case we can observe the change of meaning from the negative connotation (an association or idea suggested by a word or phrase) to positive. From the point of semantic change this process is called elevation or amelioration. And if we compare historically first and present time meanings then we can call them antonyms.

 

1) Taking up similarity of meaning and contrasts of phonetic shape, we observe that every language has in its vocabulary a variety of words, kindred in meaning but distinct in morphemic composition, phonemic shape and usage, ensuring the expression of most delicate shades of thought, feeling and imagination. The more developed the language, the richer the diversity and therefore the greater the possibilities of lexical choice enhancing the effectiveness and precision of speech.

So synonyms are two or more words belonging to the same part of speech and possessing one or more identical or nearly identical denotational meanings, interchangeable in some contexts. All languages contain synonyms but in English they exist in superabundance. There no two absolutely identical words because connotations, ways of usage, frequency of an occurrence are different. Senses of synonyms are identical in respect of central semantic trades (denotational meaning – the basic meaning of a word) but differ in respect of minor semantic trades (connotational meaning – the emotive charge and the stylistic value of the word) Unlike the denotative meaning, connotations are optional. In each group of synonyms there is a word with the most general meaning, which can substitute any word of the group: to look at – to glance – to stare.

Thus, slay is the synonym of kill but it is elevated and more expressive involving cruelty and violence. The way synonyms function may be seen from the following example: Already in this half-hour of bombardment hundreds upon hundreds of men would have been violently slain, smashed, torn, gouged, crushed, mutilated (Aldington).

The synonymous words smash and crush are semantically very close, they are combined to give a forceful representation of the atrocities (cruelties) of war. Even this preliminary example makes it obvious that the still very common definitions of synonyms as words of the same language having the same meaning or as different words that stand for the same notion are by no means accurate and even in a way misleading. By the very nature of language every word has its own history, its own peculiar motivation, its own typical contexts. And besides there is always some hidden possibility of different connotation and feeling in each of them. Moreover, words of the same meaning would be useless for communication: they would encumber the language, not enrich it. If two words exactly coincide in meaning and use, the natural tendency is for one of them to change its meaning or drop out of the language.

Thus, synonyms are words only similar but not identical in meaning. This definition is correct but vague. E. g. horse and animal are also semantically similar but not synonymous. A more precise linguistic definition should be based on a workable notion of the semantic structure of the word and of the complex nature of every separate meaning in a polysemantic word.

Each separate lexical meaning of a word has been described as consisting of a denotational component identifying the notion or the object and reflecting the essential features of the notion named, shades of meaning reflecting its secondary features, additional connotations resulting from typical contexts in which the word is used, its emotional component and stylistic colouring. Connotations are not necessarily present in every word.

Synonymic dominant is the most general term of its kind potentially containing the specific features rendered by all the other members of the group. For instance, the words face, visage, countenance have a common denotational meaning - the front of the head which makes them close synonyms. Face is the dominant, the most general word; countenance is the same part of the head with the reference to the expression it bears; visage is a formal word, chiefly literary, for face or countenance.

Lecture № 6

SYNONYMS. ANTONYMS. HOMONYMS.

CHANGE OF MEANING

1. Synonyms. Sources of synonymy. Euphemism.

2. Antonyms.

3. Homonyms.

4. Change of meaning.

5. Extension of meaning. Narrowing of meaning.

6. Elevation of meaning. Degradation of meaning.

Key words: denotative and connotative meanings,synonym, euphemism, antonym, homonym, meaning, extension, narrowing, elevation, degradation.

Literature

1. Ніколенко А. Г. Лексикологія англійської мови – теорія і практика. – Вінниця: Нова Книга, 2007. – 528 с.

2. Лексикология английского языка: Учебник для ин-тов и фак. иностр. яз. / Р. 3. Гинзбург, С. С. Хидекель, Г. Ю. Князева и А. А. Санкин. – 2-е изд., испр. и доп. – М.: Высш. школа, 1979. – 269 с, ил., табл.

3. Атрушина Г. Б., Афанасьева О. В., Морозова Н. Н. Лексикология английского языка: Учеб. пособие для студентов. – М.: Дрофа, 1999. – 288с.

4. Арнольд И. В. Лексикология современного английского языка: Учеб. для ин-тов и фак. иностр. яз. – 3-е изд., перераб. и доп. – М.: Высш. шк., 1986. – 295 с., ил. – На англ. яз.

5. Cruse D.A. Lexical semantics (Cambridge textbooks in linguistics). Cambridge University press, 1986.

 

Semasiology – the branch of lexicology which deals with the meaning.

Every word has two aspects: the outer aspect (its sound form) and the inner aspect (its meaning). Sound and meaning do not always constitute a constant unit even in the same language. E.g. one and the same meaning can be expressed by different sound forms, e.g. «pilot», and «airman», «horror» and «terror». In such cases we have synonyms.

The word «temple» may denote «a part of a human head» and «a large church». In such cases we have homonyms. One and the same word can develop different meanings in the course of time, e.g. the adjective «awesome» has changed dramatically in meaning from its origin to today. It started out meaning «inspiring fear or awe». Now it mostly means «great», «amazing», «wonderful». So in this case we can observe the change of meaning from the negative connotation (an association or idea suggested by a word or phrase) to positive. From the point of semantic change this process is called elevation or amelioration. And if we compare historically first and present time meanings then we can call them antonyms.

 

1) Taking up similarity of meaning and contrasts of phonetic shape, we observe that every language has in its vocabulary a variety of words, kindred in meaning but distinct in morphemic composition, phonemic shape and usage, ensuring the expression of most delicate shades of thought, feeling and imagination. The more developed the language, the richer the diversity and therefore the greater the possibilities of lexical choice enhancing the effectiveness and precision of speech.

So synonyms are two or more words belonging to the same part of speech and possessing one or more identical or nearly identical denotational meanings, interchangeable in some contexts. All languages contain synonyms but in English they exist in superabundance. There no two absolutely identical words because connotations, ways of usage, frequency of an occurrence are different. Senses of synonyms are identical in respect of central semantic trades (denotational meaning – the basic meaning of a word) but differ in respect of minor semantic trades (connotational meaning – the emotive charge and the stylistic value of the word) Unlike the denotative meaning, connotations are optional. In each group of synonyms there is a word with the most general meaning, which can substitute any word of the group: to look at – to glance – to stare.

Thus, slay is the synonym of kill but it is elevated and more expressive involving cruelty and violence. The way synonyms function may be seen from the following example: Already in this half-hour of bombardment hundreds upon hundreds of men would have been violently slain, smashed, torn, gouged, crushed, mutilated (Aldington).

The synonymous words smash and crush are semantically very close, they are combined to give a forceful representation of the atrocities (cruelties) of war. Even this preliminary example makes it obvious that the still very common definitions of synonyms as words of the same language having the same meaning or as different words that stand for the same notion are by no means accurate and even in a way misleading. By the very nature of language every word has its own history, its own peculiar motivation, its own typical contexts. And besides there is always some hidden possibility of different connotation and feeling in each of them. Moreover, words of the same meaning would be useless for communication: they would encumber the language, not enrich it. If two words exactly coincide in meaning and use, the natural tendency is for one of them to change its meaning or drop out of the language.

Thus, synonyms are words only similar but not identical in meaning. This definition is correct but vague. E. g. horse and animal are also semantically similar but not synonymous. A more precise linguistic definition should be based on a workable notion of the semantic structure of the word and of the complex nature of every separate meaning in a polysemantic word.

Each separate lexical meaning of a word has been described as consisting of a denotational component identifying the notion or the object and reflecting the essential features of the notion named, shades of meaning reflecting its secondary features, additional connotations resulting from typical contexts in which the word is used, its emotional component and stylistic colouring. Connotations are not necessarily present in every word.

Synonymic dominant is the most general term of its kind potentially containing the specific features rendered by all the other members of the group. For instance, the words face, visage, countenance have a common denotational meaning - the front of the head which makes them close synonyms. Face is the dominant, the most general word; countenance is the same part of the head with the reference to the expression it bears; visage is a formal word, chiefly literary, for face or countenance.

Semantic structure of a synonymic dominant is quite simple: it consists only of denotative component and it has no connotations.

All (or, at least, most) synonymic groups have a "central" word of this kind whose meaning is equal to the denotation common to all the synonymic group, cf.:

To surprise - to astonish - to amaze - to astound.

To shout - to yell - to bellow - to roar.

To shine - to flash - to blaze - to gleam - to glisten - to sparkle - to glitter - to shimmer - to glimmer.

To tremble - to shiver - to shudder - to shake.

To make - to produce - to create - to fabricate - to manufacture.

Fear - terror - horror.

The dominant synonym expresses the notion common to all synonyms of the group in the most general way, without contributing any additional information as to the manner, intensity, duration or any attending feature of the referent. So, any dominant synonym is a typical basic-vocabulary word. Its meaning, which is broad and generalised, more or less covers the meanings of the rest of the synonyms, so that it may be substituted for any of them. It seems that here, at last, the idea of interchangeability of synonyms comes into its own. And yet, each such substitution would mean an irreparable loss of the additional information supplied by connotative components of each synonym. The following characteristic features of the dominant synonym can be underlined:

1) High frequency of usage.

2) Broad combinability, i. e. ability to be used in combinations with various classes of words.

3) Broad general meaning.

4) Lack of connotations. (This goes for stylistic connotations as well, so that neutrality as to style is also a typical feature of the dominant synonym).

The only existing classification system for synonyms was established by Academician V. V. Vinogradov, the famous Russian scholar. In his classification system there are three types of synonyms: ideographic (which he defined as words conveying the same concept but differing in shades of meaning), stylistic (differing in stylistic characteristics) and absolute (coinciding in all their shades of meaning and in all their stylistic characteristics).

Classification:

1. Ideographic synonyms. They bear the same idea but not identical in their referential content, different shades of meaning or degree. BEAUTIFUL – fine, handsome – pretty, to ascent – to mount – to climb.

2. Stylistic synonyms. Different in emotive and stylistic sphere.

child girl neutral

infant maid elevated

kid colloquial

3. Absolute synonyms are rare in the vocabulary and, on the diachronic level, the phenomenon of absolute synonymy is anomalous and consequently temporary: the vocabulary system invariably tends to abolish it either by rejecting one of the absolute synonyms or by developing differentiation characteristics in one or both (or all) of them. Therefore, it does not seem necessary to include absolute synonyms, which are a temporary exception, in the system of classification.