Polysemy and Change of Meaning

A. Points for discussion

1. The system of meanings in polysemantic words and types of polysemantic development.

2. Diachronic and synchronic approach to the study of polysemy. Historic changeability of semantic structure.

3. Extralinguistic and linguistic factors of semantic changes.

4. Results of semantic change: a) specialization and generalization; b) amelioration and deterioration of meaning.

5. Types of semantic change: a) metaphor, b) metonymy; c) other types

Recommended References:

Antrushina et al. Ibid. Chapter 8, pp.147 – 160.

Arnold I.V. Ibid., pp.37-76.

Дубенец Э.М. Ibid., pp. 74 – 82, 125 – 127.

Glossary: polysemy, specialization, generalization, amelioration, deterioration (pejoration), metaphor, metonymy, irony, hyperbole

B. Assignments

Exercise 1. Read the entries for the English word “COURT’ and the Russian “CУД” in English-English and Russian-English dictionaries. Explain the difference in the semantic structure of both words.

Exercise 2. a) Study the meaning of the verbs in the box. Choose the proper verb to fill in the space in each sentence. Sometimes more than one word is possible

shine dazzle flicker flare twinkle glow sparkle flash

Literal meaning

a. ‘__________,________, little star’ is a well-known nursery rhyme. It means the light of the star changes rapidly from bright to faint.

b. If car drives don’t dip their headlights at night, they can ____ you, and you can’t see anything.

c. This what the dying embers of a fire do. _________.

d. Sailors who are in difficulty fire these into the air to attract attention. ______

e. This is what lighting does. ______.

f. This what the sun does. _____.

g. This what diamonds do, or the sea on a bright, clear day. _____ .

h. A candle ______ in a breeze, and casts shadows round a room.

b) Tick the boxes to show the differences between the words to do with light. The first one has been done for you.

	bright	dim	on and off	suddenly	continuously
sparkle	ü		ü
shine
glow
twinkle
flicker
flare
flash

c) Fill in the blanks with the above verbs of light (or their derivatives) in metaphorical meanings. Comment on the type of metaphor

i. The book got a ___________ review in the newspaper, so I went out and bought it.

j. He’s not much good at creative thinking, but he really ______ at anything that requires manual dexterity.

k. People say that just before death, the whole of your life ______ in front of you.

l. He prepared a gourmet meal, totally unassisted, in the ________ of an eye.

m. Violence has ______ up again on the island of Kroana, where the situation is bordering on civil war.

n. As soon as I saw her come on stage, I was ______ both by her beauty and performance.

o. When our eyes met, a _____ of recognition crossed his face, but he made no other sign that he remembered me.

p. The party was alright, but it lacked _____ . There was nothing very exciting or lively about it.

Exercise 3. Identify the type of meaning (direct or figurative) rendered in the following sets of words. Comment on the semantic change in each collocation:

SMART: clothes, answer, house, garden, blow, punishment

STUBBORN: child, look, horse, resistance, fighting, cough, depression;

SOUND: lungs, scholar, tennis player, views, advice, criticism, ship, whipping

ROOT(n) edible r., the r. of the tooth, the r. of the matter, the square r., cube r.

DRINK(v): milk, poison, wine, smb’s health, a toast to smb

SPREAD (v): butter, propaganda, cheese, an epidemic, rumours, jam, disease, gossip, a cloth

Exercise 4. State the development of meaning in the following words. Specify logical and associative ties between the meanings of the following polysemantic words.

1.Big Ben: колокол часов на башне Вестминстера ® часы на башне Вестминстера

2. cockney: лондонец из низов (особкнно уроженец Ист-Энда), кокни ® кокни, лондонское просторечие (преимущественно жителей Ист-Энда)

3. barbecue: рама, на которой жарится туша ® туша, зажаренная на раме ® праздник, во время которого таким образом жарится туша ® пикник

4. Limerick: город в Ирландии ® шуточное стихотворение из пяти строк, в котором рифмуются первая, вторая, пятая и третья и четвертая строки

5. Ampere: французский физик ® единица силы электрического тока

6.tube: труба; трубка ® телевизионная трубка ® телевизор

Exercise 5. Which of the meanings are 1) generalized; 2) specified; 3) metaphoric; 4) metonymic

1. shark: 1) акула; 2) обманщик, вымогатель

2. conversion: 1) превращение; переход из одного состояния в другое; 2) конверсия (способ словообразования)

3. crusade: 1) крестовый поход (ист.) 2) поход с освободительной миссией, борьба за справедливость

4. gold: 1) золото; 2) золотая медаль (a gold)