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meaning is related only to the preceding one like chains. Generally, radiation precedes concatenation. In many cases, the two processes work together, complementing each other.
5 - Homonyms are generally defined as words different in meaning but either identical both in sound and spelling or identical only in sound or spelling. 6 - Based on the degree of similarity, homonyms fall into three classes: perfect homonyms, homographs and homophones.
Perfect homonyms are words identical both in sound and spelling, but different in meaning. Homographs are words identical only in spelling but different in sound and meaning. Homophones are words identical only in sound but different in spelling and meaning. Of the three types, homophones constitute the largest number and are most common.
7 - There are various sources of homonyms: change in sound and spelling, borrowing, etc.
Change in sound and spelling. Some homonyms are native by origin, derived from different earlier forms in Old English. The change in sound and spelling gradually made them identical in modern English.
Borrowing. As a result of heavy borrowing from other languages, many words of foreign origin coincide in sound and/or spelling with those of native origin or with those of other foreign origin.
Shortening. Many shortened forms of words happen to be identical with other words in spelling or sound.
8 - The fundamental difference between homonyms and polysemants lies in the fact that the former refers to different words which happen to share the same form and the latter is the one and same word which has several distinguishable meanings.
One important criterion is to see their etymology. homonyms are from different sources whereas a polysemant is from the same source which has acquired different meanings in the course of development.
The second principal consideration is semantic relatedness. The various meanings of a polysemant are correlated and connected to one central meaning to a greater or lesser degree, On the other hand, meanings of different homonyms have nothing to do with one another.
In dictionaries, a polysemant has its meanings all listed under one headword whereas homonyms are listed as separate entries.
9 - Synonymy is one of the characteristic features of the vocabulary of natural languages. Synonyms can be defined as word different in sound and spelling but most nearly alike or exactly the same in meaning. Synonyms might be defined as ‘one of two or more words in the English language which have the same or very
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nearly the same essential meaning. In other words, synonyms share a likeness in denotation as well as in part of speech.
10 - Synonyms can be classified into two major groups: absolute synonyms and relative synonyms.
Absolute synonyms also known as complete synonyms are words which are identical in meaning in all its aspects. both in grammatical meaning and lexical meaning, including conceptual and associative meanings. It is observed that absolute synonyms are rare in natural languages and some people even hold that such synonyms are non-existent. Absolute synonyms are restricted to highly specialized vocabulary.
Relative synonyms also called near-synonyms are similar or nearly the same in denotation, but embrace different shades of meaning or different degrees of a given quality.
11 - Sources of Synonyms:
Borrowing. Modern English is extremely rich in synonyms, which come from different sources. Dialects and regional English, Figurative and euphemistic use of words, Coincidence with idiomatic expressions
12 - The differences between synonyms boil down to three areas: denotation, connotation, and application.
Difference in denotation. Synonyms may differ in the range and intensity of meaning. Some words have a wider range of meaning than others.
Difference in connotation. By connotation we mean the stylistic and emotive colouring of words. Some words share the same denotation but differ in their stylistic appropriateness.
Difference in application. Many words are synonymous in meaning but different in usage in simple terms. They form different collocations and fit into different sentence patterns.
13 - Antonymy is concerned with semantic opposition. Antonyms can be defined as words which are opposite in meaning.
Contradictory terms. These Antonyms truly represent oppositeness of meaning. They are so opposed to each other that they are mutually exclusive and admit no possibility between them. The assertion of one is the denial of the other. In other words, if one of the pair is true, then the other cannot be.
Contrary terms. Antonyms of this type are best viewed in terms of a scale
running between two poles or extremes. The two opposites are gradable and one exists in comparison with the other.
Relative terms. This third type consists of relational opposites. The pairs of words indicate such a reciprocal social relationship that one of them cannot be used without suggesting the other. This type also includes reverse terms, which
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comprise adjectives and adverbs signifying a quality, or verbs and nouns signifying an act or state that reverse the quality, action or state of the other. 14 - Some of the Characteristics of Antonyms
Antonyms are classified on the basis of semantic opposition. A word which has more than one meaning can have more than one antonym. Antonyms differ in semantic inclusion. Contrary terms are gradable antonyms, differing in degree of intensity, so each has its own corresponding opposite. Some words can have two different types of antonyms at the same time, one being the negative and the other opposite.
15 - The Use of Antonyms
Antonyms have various practical uses and have long proved helpful and valuable in defining the meanings of words. Antonyms are useful in enabling us to express economically the opposite of a particular thought, often for the sake of contrast. Many idioms are formed with antonyms. They look neat and pleasant, and sound rhythmic. Antonyms are often used to form antithesis to achieve emphasis by putting contrasting ideas together.
16 - Hyponymy deals with the relationship of semantic inclusion. That is, the meaning of a more specific word is included in that of another more general word. These specific words are known as hyponyms. superordinate, subordinate 17 - Hyponymy can be described in terms of tree-like graphs, with higher-order superordiates above the lower subordinates. But their status either as superordinate or subordinate is relative to other terms.
Knowing the semantic features of the hyponyms and their superordinates can help us achieve vividness, exactness, and concreteness.
18 - The massive word store of a language like English can be conceived of as composed around a number of meaning areas, some large, such as ‘philosophy’ or ‘ emotions’, others smaller, such as ‘kinship’ or ‘colour’. Viewing the total meaning in this way is the basis of field theory. Chapter 7 Changes in word meaning
1 - Word-meaning changes by modes of extension, narrowing, degradation, elevation, and transfer. Of these, extension and narrowing are by far the most common.
2 - Extension of meaning, also known as generalization, is the name given to the widening of meaning which some words undergo. It is a process by which a word which originally had a specialized meaning has now become generalized. A large proportion of polysemic words of modern English have their meanings extended sometime in the course of development. Extension of meaning is also found in many technical terms, which as the term suggests are confined to
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specialized use. Words commonized from proper nouns have experienced the same semantic change.
3 - Narrowing of meaning, also called specialization, is the opposite of widening meaning. It is a process by which a word of wide meaning acquires a narrower or specialized sense.
When a common word is turned into a proper noun, the meaning is narrowed accordingly. For economy, some phrases are shortened and only one element of the original, usually an adjective, is left to retain the meaning of the whole. The same is true of material nouns, which are used to refer to objects made of them and thus have a more specific sense.
4 - Elevation or amelioration refers to the process by which words rise from humble beginnings to positions of importance.
5 - Degradation or pejoration of meaning is the opposite of semantic elevation. It is a process whereby words of good origin fall into ill reputation or non-affective words come to be used in derogatory sense.
6 - Transfer. Words which were used to designate one thing but later changed to mean something else have experienced, the process of semantic transfer. There is associated transfer, for example, the lip of a wound; the tongue of a bell; the nose of a plane, in which the meaning is transferred through association. 7 - There are gemerally two major factors that cause changes in meaning.
Extra-linguistic facotors: Historical reason. Class reason. Language is just like a mirror, reflecting everything that exists in human society. Naturally, it records the speech and attitude of different social classes. Psychological reason. The
associated transfer of meaning and euphemistic use of words, etc. are often due to psychological factors.
Linguistic Factors: The change of meaning may be caused by internal factors within the language system. The influx of borrowings has caused some words to change in meaning. the change of meaning is brought about by analogy. Chapter 8 Meaning and context
1 - In a narrow sense, it refersto the words, clauses, sentences in which a word appears. This is known as linguistic context which may cover a paragraph, a whole chapter and even the entire book. In a broad sense, it includes the physical situation as well. This is called extra-linguistic or non-linguistic context, which embraces the people, time, place, and even the whole cultural background. 2 - Linguistic context can be subdivided into lexical context and grammatical context.
Lexical context This context refers to the words that occur together with the word in question. The meaning of the word is often affected and defined by the neighbouring words.
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Grammatical context In some cases, the meanings of a word may be influenced by the structure in which it occurs. This is what we call grammatical context. 3 - The Role of Context:
Elimination of Ambiguity, Ambiguity often arises due to polysemy and homonymy.Grammatical structure can also lead to ambiguity. Indication of Referents.
Provision of Clues for Inferring Word meaning: In many cases, when a new word (thought to be) appears for the first time, the author generally manages to give hints which might help the readers to grasp the concept or understand the idea. Context clues vary a great deal but can be summed up as follows:
Definition. Often we find that the author gives formal definition immediately after the new term, e.g.
2) Explanation. If the concept is complicated and must involve technical terms in its definition, the author might explain the idea in simple words. That is, he might make a restatement in known words e.g.
3) Example. In some cases, instead of giving a formal definition or explanation, the author may cite an example which is sufficient to throw light on the meaning of the term, e.g.
4) Synonymy. Synonyms or synonymous expressions are frequently employed by authors to explain new words, e.g.
5) Antonymy. Contrasting words or statements are also commonly used to explain unknown words, e.g.
6) Hyponymy. Superordinates and subordinates often define and explain each other, thus forming an important context clue, e.g.
7) Relevant details. In some contexts, the author provides details relating to the unknown word, such as the functions, characteristics, nature, etc. of the referent, e.g.
8) Word structure. The morphemic structure of words, especially compounds and derived words offers clues for inferring the meanings of unknown words, e.g. Chapter 9 English idioms
Idioms consist of set phrases and short sentences, which are pecliar to the language in question and loaded with the native cultures and ideas.
Idioms are expressions that are not readily understandable from their literal meaning of individual elements. (一) characteristic of Idioms 1. semantic unity
English idioms:Being phrases or sentences,idioms each consist of more than one word ,but each is a semantic unity .
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