1. Antonymy Hyponymy and Taxonymy
Chapter 8 Part II
Antonymy
Hyponymy and Taxonymy

2. II. Antonymy 2.1 types of antonyms 2.2 characteristics of antonyms
2.3 use of antonyms

3. Definition
Antonymy is concerned with semantic opposition.
Antonyms can be defined as words which are opposite in meaning.
There are a variety of ‘oppositeness’. They can be classified into four major groups.

4. 2.1 Types of antonyms
a) contradictory terms, binary antonyms, complementaries
b) contrary terms, gradable antonyms
c) relational opposites
d) semantic incompatibles

5. a) Contradictory terms
These Antonyms truly represent oppositeness of meaning.
For example, an animal is either dead or alive, and there exists no such a case where the animal is both dead and alive.

6. Features of complementaries
(1) 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 or vice versa. In other words, if one of the pair is true, then the other cannot be.

7. E.g. present/absent, male/female, boy/girl, true/false, same/different
perfect/imperfect
If something is imperfect, no matter how slight the imperfection, the fact remains that the thing cannot be perfect.

8. (2) Another distinctive feature of this category is that such antonyms are non-gradable. They cannot be used in comparative degrees and do not allow adverbs of intensity like very to qualify them.
Take single/married for example. If someone is single, s/he cannot be married. It is incorrect to say ‘S/He is very single, or more single, or extremely single.’

9. One formation of such contradictory synonyms is add un-, im-, in-…
A B B

10. Activity
Read the following examples and discuss whether there is any middle point between the two given words.
large small
open close
right left
medium
ajar
middle
Such antonyms are called contrary antonyms.

11. b)Contrary terms hot warm cool cold
Antonyms of this type are best viewed in terms of a scale running between two poles or extremes. Examples:
hot warm cool cold 中点

12. good --- bad: wet --- dry: excellent-good-bad-terrible
wet-moist-dampish-dry

13. Features of contrary antonyms:
1)The two opposites are gradable and one exists in comparison with the other.
E.g.
rich/poor
A man is rich or very rich; one man is richer than the other.

14. big/small
Sue’s house is big and Mary’s house is small; Sue’s house is bigger than Mary’s. This shows semantic relativity. Sue’s house is relatively big, compared with Mary’s house. Mary’s house may be relatively big now than before, considering the fact that there are fewer people living with her. This is obviously subjective and depends on the speaker’s attitude.

15. 2) Contrary antonyms form part of a scale of values between two poles and can accommodate a middle ground belonging neither to one pole nor to the other as shown below:

16. E.g. huge/very big/big/quite big/medium-sized/quite small/ small/ tiny
old, middle-aged, young
hot, warm, cool, cold
rich, well-to-do, poor
beautiful, good-looking, plain, ugly

17. 3) Apart from adjectives, there are verbs like love/hate, and in between we can add attachment, liking, indifference, antipathy, etc.

18. c) Relational opposites
c) Relational opposites. The pairs of words indicate such a reciprocal social relationship that one of them cannot be used without suggesting the other.
E.g. parent—child
husband—wife
predecessor—successor
employer—employee

19. This type also includes reverse terms, which 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.

20. Take sell/buy for example.
If A sells something to B, then B buys it from A. If B buys something from A, then A sells it to B. It is clear that the two words of the pair are interdependent.
lend: borrow（借出：借入）
give：receive（给：拿）
above：below

21. d) semantic incompatible
North, south, east, west
Spring, summer, autumn, winter
Sunday, Monday…
January, February,…

22. 2.2 Characteristics of Antonyms
a) Contrary terms are gradable antonyms, differing in degree of intensity, so each has its own corresponding opposite.
For example, hot and warm are synonyms. Their difference lies in intensity. Correspondingly, they each have a different antonym. The opposite of hot is cold and that of warm is cool. We cannot regard cool as the antonym of hot or cold as the antonym of warm. It is the same with poor/rich, destitute/opulent. Their positions cannot be exchanged.

23. b) A word which has more than one meaning can have more than one antonym.
For instance
Original word meaning antonym
firm, secure loose
fast quick slow
pleasure-seeking, wild sober

24. c ) Some words can have two different types of antonyms at the same time, one being the negative and the other opposite,
e. g.
happy/ unhappy/ sad,
productive/ unproductive / destructive 
free /unfree / enslaved

25. d) Pairs of antonyms are seen as marked and unmarked terms respectively. In many pairs we find that one member is more specific than the other and the meaning of the specific is included in that of the general.
man/woman
“Woman” is more specific than “man”.
Consider the sentence 'There has been no man on the island.'  In this sentence, man signifies ‘human being’, naturally including woman, but not vice versa.

26. The same is true of tall/short, old/young
The same is true of tall/short, old/young. In each pair, the second term is more restricted in use than the first, e.g.
[a] How tall is his brother? [b] How short is his brother?

27. So far as the meaning is concerned, sentence [ a ] includes the meaning of [b]. The use of tall does not exclude the possibility of his brother being very short. But sentence [b] is much more restricted in sense and is considered semantically abnormal unless the speaker is particularly interested in the ‘shortness’ of his brother or curious enough to find out how short his brother is.

28. 2.3 The Use of Antonyms
1) Antonyms have various practical uses and have long proved helpful and valuable in defining the meanings of words.
Example 1: “fresh”
fresh bread, fresh air, fresh flowers, fresh look
antonyms:
stale bread, stuffy air, faded flowers, tired look.

29. Example 2
Unlike her gregarious sister, Mary is a shy, unsociable person.

30. 2) 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.
e.g. rain or shine           now or never here and there        thick and thin friend or foe           give and take

31. 3) Antonyms are often used to form antithesis to achieve emphasis by putting contrasting ideas together. Proverbs and sayings provide us with good examples: Easy come, easy go. More haste, less speed . United we stands, divided we fall.

32. "We find ourselves rich in goods but ragged in spirit, reaching with magnificent precision for the moon but falling in a raucous discord on earth. We are caught in war wanting peace. We're torn by division wanting unity.”
-- Richard M. Nixon

33. 4) Many great writers are fond of using antonyms to serve their stylistic purpose.
E.g. on P.187

34. Oxymoron: a figure of speech that combines two normally contradictory terms. n.(矛盾修饰手法)
Oxy-: sharp, keen
Moron: foolish
E.g.
living death
Read P. 188

35. III. Hyponymy and Taxonomy
3.1 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.

36. Semantic inclusion: hyponymy
Superordinate term
Human being
baby
Hyponym,
Woman, man, girl, boy:
Co-hyponyms

37. Hyponyms (subordinate terms):
For instance
tulip , rose , flower
lion , elephant, animal
superordinate terms:
the general words flower and animal
Hyponyms (subordinate terms):
the more specific ones tulip, rose, lion, elephant

38. 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.
E.g p.196

39. From the diagram, we can see the word food is a general term, linguistically called a super-ordinate term, i.e., it includes all the other terms listed underneath it. Meat, vegetable, and fruit are specific terms and they are all hyponyms / subordinate terms of food.
What is the relationship between pork, beef and meat?

40. Activity
Can you draw a tree-diagram to illustrate the relationship of these words?
horse, dog, pig
animal
plant
mare, hound , boar
creature
living things
insect
Vegetable, flower, tree
cockroach
cabbage, rose, pine

42. Hyponymy reflects a relationship between culture and language:
英文中carry无下义词
中文：扛，荷，挑，抬，担，背，驮，负，提，拎，挎

43. Hyponymy and synonymy E.g. Hyponymy: semantic inclusion
Synonymy: semantic similarity
E.g.
Go walk, ride, run, fly
Go: advance, move, proceed, progress, rise
Walk: amble, saunter, stride, stroll, strut, swagger, waddle
Run: canter, gallop, jog, lope, pace, race, sprint, trot

44. Role of hyponymy:
The sense relation of hyponymy is very helpful in both receptive and productive processing of language. In reading comprehension, coherence by hyponymy is an important key:

45. E.g.
There was a fine rocking-chair that his father used to sit in, a desk where he wrote letters, a nest of small tables and a dark, imposing bookcase. Now all this furniture was to be sold, and with it his own past.

46. In production, knowing the semantic features of the hyponyms and their superordinates can help us achieve vividness, exactness, and concreteness. Consider the following two pairs of sentences:

47. Trees surround the water near our summer place.
Old elms surround the lake near our summer cabin.
I met a writer who is the relation of a politician.
I met a newspaper reporter who is the brother of Senator Buckley.

48. It is not too difficult to judge that in each pair, sentence [b] is better than sentence [a] , because in [b] the writer uses subordinates, which are concrete and precise, presenting a vivid verbal picture before the reader whereas in [a] the words used are superordinates, which convey only a general and vague idea.

49. 3.2. Taxonomy
Classification:
taxonyms
superordinate
co-taxonyms
co-taxonymy

50. 1) 一种类属关系 “type of”, i.e. X is a type of Y.
3.2.1 Features of taxonomy:
1) 一种类属关系 “type of”, i.e. X is a type of Y.
Rose is a type of flower.

51. 2) 分类关系是一种不超过五个层次的意义关系
E.g.

53. 3) 分类关系是有空缺的意义关系
P.202

54. Types of taxonomy
Perfect taxonomy
Non-perfect taxonomy
P. 202

55. 3.2.3 taxonomy and hyponymy horse & animal queen & woman
Taxonoymy: a type of; 大类与小类
Hyponymy: inclusion 包含
horse & animal
queen & woman