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UNIT 6. SEMANTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ENGLISH
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| UNIT 6. SEMANTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ENGLISH
VOCABULARY § 1. Monosemy and polysemy All the words in a vocabulary fall into two categories: monosemantic and polysemantic words. Monosemantic words are words having only one meaning. Such words are comparatively few in number, these are mainly scientific terms, such as hydrogen, molecule, etc. The bulk of English words are polysemantic , that is to say possess more than one meaning ( polysemy means plurality of meanings). In fact, the commoner the word the more meanings it has. Different meanings of a polysemantic word may come together due to the proximity of notions which they express. E.g. the word blanket has the following meanings ‗ a woolen covering used on beds‘, ‗ a covering for keeping a horse warm‘, ‗ a covering of any kind‘ ( a blanket of snow ). The development of each new meaning is always motivated. In most cases polysemy results from transference of meaning on the basis of similarity (nearness of concepts), exaggeration, revelation of meaning, its extension or narrowing. The original meaning is generally concrete and primitive while the derived ones tend to be more abstract, and complex. e.g. hand 1) a part of a human body 2) skill, art – e.g. He‘s got a hand for carpentry. 3) influence, power – e.g. She keeps him in hand. 4) worker – e.g. He is a factory hand. 5) ship‘s crew (pl.) – e.g. All hands on deck! 6) side, situation – e.g. On the one hand…on the other hand 7) a pointer in a watch/clock – e.g. The hand approached ten. Every polysemantic word has its principal meaning and secondary ones. Apart from some context, in an isolated position, every word is always understood in its central, direct meaning, whereas its secondary meanings are realized only in the context where the meaning is fully determined. The secondary meanings of words are always connected with the central signification. |