Homonyms Homonyms (Gr. homos “similar” + onoma “name”) are words which have identical sound form and/or spelling but are different in their meaning. E.g. bank (n) – a shore (of the river); bank (n) – an institution for receiving, lending, exchanging and safeguarding money

Classification of homonyms (1) Homonyms proper (собственно омонимы): E.g. ball (мяч) – ball (бал); bank (банк) – bank (берег); light, adj. (легкий) – light, n. (свет). Homophones: E.g. piece – peace; air - heir; knight – night; rose (flower) – rose (Past form of rise). Homographs: E.g. bow [bəu] (лук) – bow [bau] (поклон); lead [liːd] (лидерство) – lead [led] (свинец); row [rəu] (ряд) – row [rau] (ссора).

Classification of homonyms (2) The criterion: whether homonyms belong to the same or to different parts of speech. Lexical Lexico-grammatical Grammatical

Lexical homonyms Belong to the same part of speech. The difference is confined to the lexical meaning only: fair (ярмарка) – fare (плата за проезд); bow [bəu] (лук) - bow [bau] (поклон); match (спичка) – match (матч)

Lexico-grammatical homonyms Belong to different parts of speech and differ in lexical meaning: tear [tɪə], n. (слеза) – to tear, v. [tɛə] (рвать); bear, n. [bɛə] (медведь) – to bare [bɛə], v. (носить) – bare [bɛə], adj. (обнаженный).

Grammatical homonyms Belong to different parts of speech but there is a link between their lexical meanings: milk – to milk; practice – to practice.

Classification of homonyms (3) The criterion: whether the paradigms of the homonyms coincide completely or partially. Full homonyms are identical in sound in all their forms and paradigms: match (матч) - match (спичка); ear (ухо) – ear (колос); ball (мяч) – ball (бал) Partial homonyms are identical only in some of the forms: to found (основывать) – found (Past Indefinite, Past Participle of the verb to find); to lie (lied, lied) (красть) – to lie (lay, lain) (лежать); bean, n. (фасоль) – been, v. (Past Part. of the verb to be).

Sources of homonyms phonetic changes: night – knight (OE kniht); write (OE writan) – right (OE reht and riht). borrowings: bank (берег): native origin - bank (банк): Italian; fair (справедливый): native - fair (ярмарка): French.

Sources of homonyms shortening of words: flu (from influenza) - flew (Past Indef. of to fly); fan (from fanatic) -fan (вентилятор). conversion: comb, n. – to comb, v., pale, adj. – to pale, v., to make, v. – make, n. (grammatical homonyms).

Sources of homonyms Split polysemy: spring (n) – “the act of springing, a leap”; spring (n) – “a place where a stream of water comes up out of the earth”; spring (n) – “a season of the year”. The original word: springan - “to jump,” “to leap”

The problem of differentiating between polysemy and homonymy spring is represented as two homonyms in V.K. Müller’s and Hornby’s dictionaries: I. a season of the year, II. a) the act of springing, a leap, b) a place where a stream of water comes up out of the earth. as three homonyms in V.D. Arakin’s dictionary.

Origins of synonyms to begin (native, neutral) – to commence (French, bookish) – to initiate (Latin, bookish) bodily (native, neutral) — corporal (Latin, bookish) brotherly (native, neutral) — fraternal (Latin, bookish).

Definition of synonyms Synonyms are words with the same denotation (or denotative component) but different in connotations (or connotative components). (semantic approach) Methods of studying synonyms: definitional, transformational, componential.

Synonyms of the verb to look to stare: to look + steadily, lastingly + in surprise, curiosity, etc. to glare: to look + steadily, lastingly + in anger, rage, fury to gaze: to look + steadily, lastingly + in tenderness, admiration, wonder to glance: to look + briefly, in passing to peep: to look + steadily, lastingly + by stealth; through an opening or from a concealed location to peer: to look + steadily, lastingly + with difficulty or strain

V.V. Vinogradov’s classification of synonyms Ideographic synonyms are words conveying the same concept but differing in shades of meaning: power — force — energy; beautiful — handsome — pretty. Stylistic synonyms have the same denotational components but differ in stylistic characteristics: hearty (neutr.) – cordial (formal), to imitate (neutr.) – to monkey (inform.), to begin (neutr.) – to commence (formal); to die (neutr.) – to pass away (formal).

V.V. Vinogradov’s classification of synonyms Absolute synonyms coincide in all their shades of meaning and in all their stylistic characteristics: gift - present; homeland – motherland; spirants – fricatives, etc. The phenomenon of absolute synonymy is very rare in the language and very often temporary.

Classification of synonyms based on the types of connotations The connotation of degree or intensity: to surprise – to astonish – to amaze – to astound; to shout – to yell – to bellow – to roar (the rising degree of intensity) The connotation of duration: to stare – to glare – to gaze – to peep - to peer (a lasting look) - to glance (a brief look) The emotive connotation: to stare (to look in surprise, curiosity) – to glare (in anger, rage or fury) – to gaze (in tenderness, admiration or wonder)

Classification of synonyms based on the types of connotations The evaluative connotation (conveys the speaker’s attitude towards the referent): well-known – famous – notorious (-) – celebrated (+) (cf.: a notorious criminal, but a celebrated scientist). The causative connotation: to shiver (because of the frost) – to shudder (with fear, horror). The connotation of manner: to stroll – to stride – to pace – to trot – to swagger

The synonymic dominant (the dominant synonym) the most general word in the group belonging to the basic stock of words stylistically neutral having high frequency of usage, vast combinability, lacking connotations. expresses the notion common to all the members of the group in the most general way without any additional information. to surprise – to astonish – to amaze – to astound; to shout – to yell – to bellow – to roar; to look – to stare – to glare – to gaze – to peer.

Synonyms of a polysemantic word to close – to finish (e.g. to close a discussion) to close – to shut (e.g. to close the door).

Euphemisms Euphemism (Gr. eu “well” + pheme “speaking”) is a substitution for an expression that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the receiver, using instead an agreeable or less offensive expression. E.g. drunk: intoxicated, under the influence (formal), tipsy (colloq.), boiled, tanked, high as a kite (slang), etc.

Targets for euphemistic substitution notions of death, madness, stupidity, drunkenness, certain physiological processes, crimes, etc. E.g. to die: to expire, to pass away, to depart, to join the silent majority, to kick the bucket, to breathe one’s last, to be gathered to one’s fathers etc.

Antonyms Antonyms are words of the same part of speech having common denotative component of meaning but expressing contrasting points of the same notion. wide - narrow, admit - deny, produce -consume, old - young, etc.

Antonyms and parts of speech Adjectives: high – low, strong – weak, bitter – sweet. Verbs: to lose – to find, to live – to die, to open – to close. Nouns: friend – enemy, joy – grief, good – evil.

Antonyms of a polysemantic word E.g. dull: Boring – the deficiency in interest: interesting, amusing, entertaining Stupid - the deficiency in intellect: clever, bright, capable Not active - the deficiency in activity: active

Structural classification of antonyms (V. N. Komissarov Structural classification of antonyms (V.N. Komissarov. Dictionary of English Antonyms) antonyms of the same root: e.g. to do – to undo, cheerful - cheerless; (affixes which help in the formation of antonyms: un-, in-, dis-, -less, etc.) antonyms of different roots: e.g. day – night, rich - poor.

Semantic classification of antonyms Contradictories: dead – alive, singled – married (contradict each other: not dead = alive, not single = married). Contraries are polar members of a gradual opposition which may have intermediate elements: cold – (cool – warm) - hot.