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11
SEMANTICS
Introduction
Learning a language includes learning the “agreed” meaning of combinations of sounds and learning to
combine these units into larger units that also convey meaning. Of course, we are not free to change the
meanings of these words, for if we did, we would not be able to communicate with anyone. Simply said, we
cannot make words mean what they do not mean. Semantics is the study of the linguistic meaning of words,
phrases and sentences. So it deals with the description of word and sentence meaning.
Semantic relations
Semantic relations occur when we feel that lexemes are somehow related in meaning. If we randomly
choose two lexemes, they are unlikely to have any meaningful relationship to each other. For example, there is
nothing which obviously relates computer and honey, or insane and snow. But lexemes deep and shallow, or
flower and rose will be perceived in a different way, because they are related in meaning. This chapter examines
the main types of semantic relations: homonymy, polysemy, synonymy, antonymy and hyponymy/hyperonymy.
Homonymy and polysemy
When one form has two or more unrelated meanings, we use to call it homonymy. For example bank of the
river and bank as a financial institution. So homonyms are words identical in pronunciation and spelling but
different in meanings. As opposed to polysemy, homonymy does not occur within a single lexeme, it is a
relationship between different lexemes. (Štekauer, 1993). Depending on the kind of formal identity we can
distinguish:
a)
homophones – words different in spelling and meaning that are pronounced the same, for example buy – by
– bye, knight – night, steel – steal;
b) homographs – words different in pronunciation and meaning but accidentally identical in spelling. For
example lead [li:d] – [led]; wind [wind] – [waind];
c)
full homonyms – they have identical sound form and spelling: bear (animal) – bear (tolerate).
Polysemy is a semantic relation arises when several related meanings are associated with the same group of
sounds within one part of speech, for example head as a part of human body and the head of department. Thus
polysemy is the relation among different meanings of one lexeme. Typical example of a polysemantic word is
the verb ‘to have’ (to have a car, to have a headache, to have pins and needles, to have a drink, to have a shower
etc.). Also the meaning of the noun in the following expressions is not the same: big tree – family tree. When we
use the term for a plant, it is a literal usage, and when we use the term to describe our ancestry, it is a figurative
usage. So a lot of words when in combination with other words or in context/situation acquire new meanings which
are in a certain extend related to their primary meaning.
Synonymy
When we explain the meaning of one word by a word with very similar meaning, e. g. cab is a taxi or broad
means wide, we use synonyms. Synonyms are two or more words of the same language, belonging to the same part of
speech and possessing one or more identical or nearly identical meanings, interchangeable at least in some contexts,
but differing in morphemic composition, phonemic shape, shades of meaning, stylistic colouring and idiomatic use. A
lot of synonyms arose due to borrowings from the Scandinavian, Norman or Latin: freedom (Anglo-Saxon) – liberty
(Norman), heaven (Anglo-Saxon) – sky (Scandinavian), lips (Anglo-Saxon) – labial (Latin). However, perfect or
complete synonymy is rare. It is unusual for two lexical items to have exactly the same meanings in all contexts.
Synonymous word pairs usually differ in their connotations (or emotive meanings), such as thin – willowy (positive
connotation), thin – skinny (negative connotation). Sometimes they differ at the level of formality, for instance begin,
child, hearty are neutral, while commence, infant, cordial are formal. According to Crystal (1996), nuances which
distinguish synonyms are:
a)
dialect difference: underground (British English) – tube (American English);
b) stylistic difference: insane (formal) – potty (informal);
c)
collocational difference: rancid and rotten are synonyms, but the former is used only of butter or bacon;
d) emotional difference: youth and youngster are synonymous, but youths are less pleasant than youngsters.
Antonymy
Antonyms are words that are opposite in meaning. The property they do not share is present in one and
absent in the other: beautiful – ugly, short – long, up – down, awake – asleep, etc. Antonymy exists in several forms:
we distinguish between absolute antonyms which are created by root words such as right – wrong, old – new, and
derivational antonyms which are created by means of negative affixes such as moral – immoral, qualify – disqualify,
finished – unfinished, etc.
Some antonyms are capable of comparison because they do not refer to absolute qualities. Forms such as
deep – deeper X shallow – shallower are called gradable antonyms. Some antonyms, however, are complementary
and cannot be used in comparative forms. These are non-gradable antonyms such as dead – alive, absent – present,
single – married, etc.
There are antonyms which are mutually dependent on each other such as over/under, buy/sell, and
wife/husband. We cannot buy something without something being sold. This type of oppositeness, where one item
presupposes the other is called converseness. The lexemes are converse terms. (Crystal, 1996)
Hyponymy/hyperonymy
When the meaning of one form is included in the meaning of another form, this relationship is called
hyponymy (coriander – spice, Yorkshire pudding – dish, armchair – furniture). The meaning of spice is included in
the meaning coriander, or cumin, but not vice versa. Hyponymy is a kind of hierarchical semantic relationship in
which the subordinate lexical item is called hyponym and the superordinate lexical item – the one with broader, more
general meaning – is called hyperonym. Hyponyms which are on the same level of the hierarchy are called cohyponyms (cumin, coriander, curry, pepper).
According to Crystal (1996), hyponymy is particularly important to linguists because it is the core
relationship within a dictionary. The most illuminating way of defining a lexeme is to provide a hyperonym along with
various distinguishing features, e. g. Gorgonzola is a kind of cheese, majorette is a girl who twirls a baton …etc.)
The meaning of sentences
So far, we have dealt only with the meanings of words. But for the most part, we communicate in phrases and
sentences which also have meaning. This meaning depends on both the meaning of its words and how these words are
structurally combined. We comprehend sentences because we know the meaning of individual words and we know the
rules for combining their meanings. (Yule, 1987) Linguistic context or co-text, which is the set of other words use in
the same phrase or sentence, has strong effect on what we think the word means (e. g. She cannot bear children. (give
birth) – She cannot bear children. (tolerate)). An important role in understanding is played by physical context – that
is the location where we hear or read sentences.
Ad 11 LEXICOLOGY
TASK 1 Use negative affixes with the following words:
–
ability
–
justice
–
qualified
–
literate
–
satisfactory
–
sense
–
moral
–
respectful;
TASK 2 Explain the meaning of the following compounds:
–
scarecrow
–
windcheater
–
backwater
–
cure-all
–
stork’s bill
–
rattlesnake
–
wet-nurse
–
blackmail
–
killjoy
–
hurry-scurry;
TASK 3 Decide whether the following words are derivatives or non-derivatives:

business
–
raven

village
–
hunger

wooden
–
flower

return
–
thunder,
TASK 4 Decide whether the following words are compounds or non-compounds:
surface, passport, self-will, husband, kissproof lipstick, almost, car-park; handsome, chairman; murmur
TASK 5 Give the full wording of the expression represented by the following abbreviations:
C.O.D., thks, prs, hdqrs, B.Sc., E.F.S.F., par, prep, opp´n, V.A.T., radar; S.O.S., bldg, govt, dz, abbr, Comp. Ltd.,
pp, P.C.
TASK 6 Check the formation of the following blends:
screamager, slanguage, dictaphone, travelogue, stagflation, Nixonomics, sitcom, sexploitation, kissletoe,
strechno, jazzercise;
Ad 12 SEMANTICS
TASK 1 What is the lexical relation between the following pairs of words?
1.
shallow – deep
5.
jeans – genes
2.
mature – ripe
6.
tear (n.) – tear (v.)
3.
rain – reign
7.
bear (n.) – bear (v.)
4.
odd – even
8.
tree – (family) tree
TASK 2 Explain the essence of the following polysemantic word “go” in the following dialogue between two
women which took place in a bar one night:
A:
What happened between you and Jim?
B:
Well, I wanted to go home, but he goes, ’I want another drink!’,
And I go, ‘If you have another drink I´m gonna go’, and he goes,
‘Well, you go.’ So I go, ‘I will.’
A:
And did you?
B:
I did. I went.
TASK 3 Explain semantic, stylistic or collocational differences of the following synonyms:
1.
autumn – fall
2.
freedom – liberty
7.
rancid – rotten
3.
sandwich – butty
8.
insane – loony
4.
royal – kingly
9.
youth – youngster
5.
start – commence
10.
walk – perambulate
6.
salt – sodium chloride