Broadening (or Generalization) of meaning. Narrowing (or Specialization) of meaning

Sometimes, the process of transference may result in a considerable change in range of meaning. For instance, the verb to arrive (French borrowing) began its life in English in the narrow meaning “to come to shore, to land”. In Modern English it has greatly widened its combinability and developed the general meaning “to come (e.g. to arrive in a village, town, country, at a hotel, college, theatre, place, etc.). The meaning developed through transference based on contiguity, but the range of the second meaning is much broader.

It is interesting to trace the history of the word girl as an example of the changes in the range of meaning in the course of the semantic development of a word.

In Middle English it had the meaning of “a small child of either sex”. Then the word underwent the process of transference based on contiguity and developed the meaning of “a small child of the female sex”, so that the range of meaning was somewhat narrowed. In its further semantic development the word gradually broadened its range of meaning. In modern colloquial English it is practically synonymous to the noun woman (e.g. The old girl must be at least seventy), so that its range of meaning is quite broad.

Here are some examples of narrowing of meaning:

Deer: any beast > a certain kind of beast

Meat: any food > a certain food product

Boy: any young person of the male sex > servant of the male sex

It should be pointed out once more that in all these words the second meaning developed through transference based on contiguity, and that when we speak of them as examples of narrowing of meaning we simply imply that the range of the second meaning is more narrow than that of the original meaning.

6. “Degeneration” (“Degradation”) and “Elevation” of meaning

Let us see what stands behind the examples of change of meaning which illustrate degeneration and elevation of meaning.

I. “Degeneration” of meaning.

Knave: boy >swindler, scoundrel

Gossip: god parent > the one who tells slanderous stories about other people

These examples show that the second meaning, in contrast with the one from which it developed, denotes a person of bad repute or character. The second meaning developed a negative evaluative connotation which was absent in the first meaning.

The same process can be observed in other parts of speech, and not only in nouns.

E.g. Silly: happy > foolish

II. “Elevation” of meaning.

Fond: foolish > loving, affectionate

Nice: foolish > fine, good

In these two cases the situation is reversed: the first meaning has a negative evaluative connotation, and the second meaning has not.

Answer these questions.

1. What causes the development of new meanings? Give examples.

2. What is the basis of development or change of meaning? Explain what we mean by the term transference.

3. What types of transference can you name?

4. What is meant by the widening and the narrowing of meaning?

5. Give exanples of the so-called “degradation” and “elevation” of meaning.

Vocabulary

collideсталкиваться

contiguityсмежность

encompassзаключать, содержать

metaphor –a way of describing something by comparing it to something else that has

similar qualities without using the words `like` or `as`: The sunshine of her smile – is

a metaphor. R. – метафора – перенос наименований, основанный на ассоциации

по сходству (формы, цвета, места и т.д.): дворянское гнездо

monosemyoднозначный

sneakябедничать

metonymyметонимия– перенос, основанный на ассоциации по смежности,

отражающий постоянные реальные связи (временные, пространственные,

причинно-следственные и др.)

transferперенос

transference based on resemblanceперенос, основанный на ассоциации по

сходству

Lecture 10

Homonyms: Words of the Same Form

(pp. 166 – 175)

1. Which words do we call homonyms?

2. The traditional classification of homonyms.

3. The classification of homonyms suggested by Professor A.I.Smirnitsky.

4. Sources of homonyms.

5. Homonymy and polysemy.

1. Homonymsare words which are identical in sound and spelling (or, at least, in one of these aspects), but different in their meaning, e.g.: bank, n. – a shore; bank, n. – an institution for receiving, lending, exchanging money.

If groups of synonyms and pairs of antonyms are created by the vocabulary system and can be regarded as the treasury of the language’s expressive resources, homonyms are accidental creations, and therefore purposeless. In the process of communication they are more of an encumbrance, leading sometimes to confusion and misunderstanding.

2.Homonyms which are the same in sound and spelling are traditionallytermed homonyms proper:spring – весна, spring – пружина, spring – источник, родник.

The second type of homonyms is called homophones– these are words the sameinsound but different in spelling: night – ночь, knight – рыцарь; peace – мир, piece – кусок, right – правый, write – писать, rite – обряд.

The third type of homonyms is called homographs. These are words which arethe same in spelling but different in sound:bow – лук, bow – поклон; tear n –слеза, tear v –рвать; wind n – ветер, wind v – заводить часы.

3.Professor A.I.Smirnitsky classified homonyms into two large classes: I. Full lexical homonyms, II. Partial homonyms.

Full lexical homonymsare words which represent the same category of parts of speech and have the same paradigm, e.g. match, n – a game, a contest; match, n – a short piece of wood used for producing fire.

Partial homonymsare subdivided into three subgroups:

A. Simple lexico-grammatical partial homonymsare words which belong to the same category of parts of speech. Their paradigms have one identical form, but it is never the same form, as will be seen from the examples: (to) found, v - found, v (Past Simple, Past Part. of to find); to lay (класть, положить), v (Past Simple – laid) - lay, v (Past Simple of to lie) – лежать.

B. Complex lexico-grammatical partial homonymsare words of different categories of parts of speech which have one identical form in their paradigms. E.g. rose, n – rose, v (Past Simple of to rise); left, adj. – left, v (Past Simple, Past Part. of to leave)

C. Partial lexical homonymsare words of the same category of parts of speech which are identical only in their corresponding forms. E.g. to lie (lay, lain), v – to lie (lied,lied),v – лгать.

Sources of homonyms

1). One source of homonyms are phonetic changeswhich words undergo in the course of their historical development. As a result of such changes, two or more words which were formely pronounced differently may develop identical sound forms and thus become homonyms. Night (ночь) and knight (рыцарь), for instance, were not homonyms in Old English as the initial k in the second word was pronounced, and not dropped as it is in its modern sound form.

2) Borrowingis another source of homonyms. A borrowed word may duplicate in form either a native word or another borrowing. So, in the group of homonyms rite, n (обряд) – to write, v – right, adj. the second and third words are of native origin whereas rite (обряд) is a Latin borrowing.

3). Word-building also contributes significantly to the growth of homonymy, and the most important type in this respect is conversion.Such pairs of words as comb, n (гребень) – to comb, v (расчёсывать); to make, v (делать) – make, n (работа) are numerous in the vocabulary. Homonyms of this type, which are the same in sound and spelling but refer to different categories of parts of speech, are called lexico-grammatical homonyms.

4). Shorteningis a further type of word-building which increases the number of homonyms. E.g. fan, n in the sense of “an admirer of some kind of sport or of an actor, singer” is a shortening produced from fanatic. Its homonym is a Latin borrowing fan, n which denotes an implement for waving lightly to produce a cool current of air.

5). Words made by sound-imitationcan also form pairs of homonyms with other words: e.g. bang, n (a loud, sudden, explosive noise) – bang, n (a fringe of hair combed over the forehead – чёлка).

The above-described sources of homonyms have one important feature in common. In all the mentioned cases the homonyms developed from two or more different words, and their semilarity is purely accidental. In this respect, conversion presents an exception for in pairs of homonyms formed by conversion one word of the pair is produced from the other: a find < to find.

6). Now we come to a further source of homonyms which differs from all the above cases. Two or more homonyms can originate from different meanings of the same word when the semantic structure of the word breaks into several parts. This type of formation of homonyms is called split polysemy (распад полисемии). The semantic structure of a polysemantic word presents a system within which all its constituent meanings are held together by logical associations. In most cases, the function of the arrangement and the unity is determined by one of the meanings (e.g. the meaning “flame” in the noun fire). If this meaning happens to disappear from the word’s semantic structure, associations between the rest of the meanings may be severed, the semantic structure loses its unity and falls into two or more parts which then become accepted as independent lexical units.

Let us consider the history of three homonyms:

board, n – a long, thin piece of timber

board, n – daily meals provided for pay, e.g. room and board

board, n – an official group of persons who direct or supervise some activity, e.g. a

board of directors.

It is clear that the meanings of these three words are in no way associated with one another. Yet, most larger dictionaries still enter a meaning of board that once held together all these other meanings ”table”. It developed from the meaning “a piece of timber” by transference based on contiguity(association of an object and the material from which it is made). The meanings “meals” and “an official group of persons” developed from the meaning “table”, also by transference based on contiguity: meals are easily associated with a table on which they are served; an official group of people in authority are also likely to discuss their business round a table.

Nowadays, however, the item of furniture, on which meals are served and round which boards of directors meet, is no longer denoted by the word board but by the French Norman borrowing table, and board in this meaning, though still registered by some dictionaries, can be marked as archaic as it is no longer used in common speech. That is why, with the intrusion of the borrowed table, the word board lost its corresponding meaning.

Homonymy and polysemy

It should be stressed, however, that split polysemy as a source of homonyms is not accepted by some scholars. It is really difficult sometimes to decide whether a certain word has or has not been subjected to the split of the semantic structure and whether we are dealing with different meanings of the same word or with homonyms, for the criteria are subjective and imprecise. The imprecision is recodered in the data of different dictionaries which often contradict each other on this very issue, so that board is represented as two homonyms in Müller’s dictionary and as one and the same word in Hornby’s dictionary.

Answer these questions.

1. Which words do we call homonyms?

2. Why can`t homonyms be regarded as expressive means of the language?

3. What is the traditional classification of homonyms? Illustrate your answer with examples.

4. What are the distinctive features of the classification of homonyms suggested by Professor A.I.Smirnitsky?

5. What are the main sources of homonyms? Give examples.

6. In what respect does split polysemy stand apart from other sources of homonyms?

7. Prove that the language units board (“a long and thin piece of timber”) and board (“daily meals”) are two different meanings of one and the same word.

Vocabulary

encumbranceпрепятствие

homographsомографы

homonymомоним

proper homonymsсобственно омонимы, полные омонимы

homophonesомофоны

impreciseнеточный, imprecisionнеточность

implementприбор

intrusionвторжение

severразрывать

split polysemyраспад полисемии

Lecture 11

Synonyms

(pp. 184 – 197)

1. Which words do we call synonyms?

2. Synonyms are one of the language’s most important expressive means.

3. The problem of criteria of synonymy.

4. The dominant synonym. Its characteristic features.

5. Classification system for synonyms established by V.V.Vinogradov.

6. Classification of synonyms based on difference in connotations.

1. Which words do we call synonyms?

Synonymscan be defined in terms of linguistics as two or more words of the same language, belonging to the same part of speech and possessing one or more identical or nearly identical denotational meanings, interchangeable, at least in some contexts, without any considerable alteration in denotational meaning, but differing in morphemic composition, phonetic shape, connotations, affective value, style and idiomatic use.

Synonymy is one of modern linguistics’ most controversial problems. The very existence of words traditionally called synonymsis disputed by some linguists.

Even though one may accept that synonyms in the traditional meaning of the term are somewhat elusive (неясный) and, to some extent, fictitious, it is certain that there are words in any vocabulary which clearly develop regular and distinct relations when used in speech. The verbs like, admire and love, all describe feelings of attraction (привлекательность),approbation (одобрение), fondness (любовь, нежность)

. Yet, each of the three verbs, though they all describe more or less the same feeling of liking, describes it in its own way.

The duality of synonyms is, probably, their most confusing feature: they are somewhat the same, and yet they are most obviously different. Both aspects of their dual characteristics are essential for them to perform their function in speech: revealing different aspects, shades and variations of the same phenomenon.

Synonyms add precision to each detail of description and show how the correct choice of a word from a group of synonyms may colour the whole text.

In the following extract an irritated producer is talking to an ambitious young actor:

“Think you can play Romeo? Romeo should smile, not grin (ухмыляться), walk, not swagger (расхаживать с важным видом); speak his lines, not mumble them.”

Here the second synonym in each pair is quite obviously contrasted and opposed to the first: “…smile, not grin.” Yet, to grin means more or less the same as to smile, only denoting a broader and a rather foolish smile. In the same way to swagger means “to walk”, but to walk in a defiant or insolent manner. Mumbling is also a way of speaking, but of speaking indistinctly or unintelligibly.

2. Synonyms are one of the language’s most important expressive means

The principal function of synonyms is to present the same phenomenon in different aspects, shades and variations.

Let us consider the verb to walk and its three synonyms to stagger (идти шатаясь), to stumble (идти спотыкаясь), to shamble (волочить ноги, тащиться), each of which describes the process of walking in its own way. In contrast to walk the other three words do not merely convey the bare idea of going on foot but connote the manner of walking as well. Stagger means “to sway while walking” and, also, implies a considerable, sometimes painful, effort. Stumble, means “to walk tripping over uneven ground and nearly falling.” Shamble implies dragging one’s feet while walking; a physical effort is also connoted by the word.

A carefully chosen word from a group of synonyms is a great asset not only on the printed page but also in a speaker’s utterance.

The skill to choose the most suitable word in every context and every situation is an essential part of the language learning process.