Homonyms and polysemy

Download 101,35 Kb.

Sana	21.01.2020
Hajmi	101,35 Kb.
	#36226

Bog'liq
HOMONYMS AND POLYSEMY

HOMONYMS AND POLYSEMY

Polysemy (/pəˈlɪsɪmi/ or /ˈpɒlɪsiːmi/; from Greek: πολύ-, polý-, "many" and σῆμα, sêma, "sign") is the capacity for a word or phrase to have multiple meanings, usually related by contiguity of meaning within a semantic field. Polysemy is thus distinct from homonymy—or homophony—which is an accidental similarity between two words (such as bear the animal, and the verb to bear); while homonymy is often a mere linguistic coincidence, polysemy is not. In deciding between polysemy or homonymy, it might be necessary to look at the history of the word to see if the two meanings are historically related. Dictionary writers list polysemes under the same entry; homonyms are defined separately.

Polysemes

A polyseme is a word or phrase with different, but related senses. Since the test for polysemy is the vague concept of the relatedness, judgments of polysemy can be difficult to make. Because applying pre-existing words to new situations is a natural process of language change, looking at words' etymology is helpful in determining polysemy but not the only solution; as words become lost in etymology, what once was a useful distinction of meaning may no longer be so. Some apparently unrelated words share a common historical origin, however, so etymology is not an infallible test for polysemy, and dictionary writers also often defer to speakers' intuitions to judge polysemy in cases where it contradicts etymology. English has many polysemous words. For example, the verb "to get" can mean "procure" (I'll get the drinks), "become" (she got scared), "understand" (I get it) etc.

In linear or vertical polysemy, one sense of a word is a subset of the other. These are examples of hyponymy and hypernymy, and are sometimes called autohyponyms. For example, 'dog' can be used for 'male dog'. Alan Cruse identifies four types of linear polysemy:

autohyponymy, where the basic sense leads to a specialised sense (from "drinking (anything)" to "drinking (alcohol)")

automeronymy, where the basic sense leads to a subpart sense (from "door (whole structure)" to "door (panel)")

autohyperonymy or autosuperordination, where the basic sense leads to a wider sense (from "(female) cow" to "cow (of either sex)")

autoholonymy, where the basic sense leads to a larger sense (from "leg (thigh and calf)" to "leg (thigh, calf, knee and foot)")

In non-linear polysemy, the original sense of a word is used figuratively to provide a different way of looking at the new subject. Alan Cruse identifies three types of non-linear polysemy:

metonymy, where one sense "stands for" another (from "hands (body part)" to "hands (manual labourers)"

metaphor, where there is a resemblance between senses (from "swallowing (a pill)" to "swallowing (an argument)"

other construals (for example, from "month (of the year)" to "month (four weeks)"

There are several tests for polysemy, but one of them is zeugma: if one word seems to exhibit zeugma when applied in different contexts, it is likely that the contexts bring out different polysemes of the same word. If the two senses of the same word do not seem to fit, yet seem related, then it is likely that they are polysemous. The fact that this test again depends on speakers' judgments about relatedness, however, means that this test for polysemy is not infallible, but is rather merely a helpful conceptual aid.

The difference between homonyms and polysemes is subtle. Lexicographers define polysemes within a single dictionary lemma, numbering different meanings, while homonyms are treated in separate lemmata. Semantic shift can separate a polysemous word into separate homonyms. For example, check as in "bank check" (or Cheque), check in chess, and check meaning "verification" are considered homonyms, while they originated as a single word derived from chess in the 14th century. Psycholinguistic experiments have shown that homonyms and polysemes are represented differently within people's mental lexicon: while the different meanings of homonyms (which are semantically unrelated) tend to interfere or compete with each other during comprehension, this does not usually occur for the polysemes that have semantically related meanings. Results for this contention, however, have been mixed.

For Dick Hebdige polysemy means that, "each text is seen to generate a potentially infinite range of meanings," making, according to Richard Middleton, "any homology, out of the most heterogeneous materials, possible. The idea of signifying practice—texts not as communicating or expressing a pre-existing meaning but as 'positioning subjects' within a process of semiosis—changes the whole basis of creating social meaning".

Charles Fillmore and Beryl Atkins' definition stipulates three elements: (i) the various senses of a polysemous word have a central origin, (ii) the links between these senses form a network, and (iii) understanding the 'inner' one contributes to understanding of the 'outer' one.

One group of polysemes are those in which a word meaning an activity, perhaps derived from a verb, acquires the meanings of those engaged in the activity, or perhaps the results of the activity, or the time or place in which the activity occurs or has occurred. Sometimes only one of those meanings is intended, depending on context, and sometimes multiple meanings are intended at the same time. Other types are derivations from one of the other meanings that leads to a verb or activity.

Examples

Man

The human species (i.e., man vs. other organisms)

Males of the human species (i.e., man vs. woman)

Adult males of the human species (i.e., man vs. boy)

This example shows the specific polysemy where the same word is used at different levels of a taxonomy. Example 1 contains 2, and 2 contains 3.

Mole

a small burrowing mammal

consequently, there are several different entities called moles (see the Mole disambiguation page). Although these refer to different things, their names derive from 1 (e.g. a mole burrows for information hoping to go undetected).

However: other senses of the word – the skin blemish, the breakwater, the unit of measure, and the Mexican sauce – are homonyms, not polysemes, as they are each etymologically distinct.

Bank

a financial institution

the building where a financial institution offers services

a synonym for 'rely upon' (e.g. "I'm your friend, you can bank on me"). It is different, but related, as it derives from the theme of security initiated by 1.

However: 1 is loaned from Italian banco, a money lenders shelf, while a river bank is a native English word. Today they can be considered homonyms with completely different meanings. But originally they were polysemous since Italian loaned the word from a Germanic language. The Proto-Germanic cognate for "shelf" is *bankiz. A river bank is typically visually shelf-like in its flatness, and it collects deposits which a financial bank also does.

Door

the object which swings open to allow entrance, as in "Open the door."

the opening created thereby, as in "Walk through the door."

Book

a bound collection of pages

a text reproduced and distributed (thus, someone who has read the same text on a computer has read the same book as someone who had the actual paper volume)

to make an action or event a matter of record (e.g. "Unable to book a hotel room, a man sneaked into a nearby private residence where police arrested him and later booked him for unlawful entry.")

Newspaper

a company that publishes written news.

a single physical item published by the company.

the newspaper as an edited work in a specific format (e.g. "They changed the layout of the newspaper's front page").

The different meanings can be combined in a single sentence, e.g. "John used to work for the newspaper that you are reading."

Milk

(noun) a secretion, produced by a mammary gland, that functions to provide nutrients to offspring

The verb milk (e.g. "he's milking it for all he can get") derives from the process of obtaining milk.

Wood

the material made from trees

a geographical area with many trees

Crane

a bird with a long neck

a type of construction equipment which looks like it has a long neck

to strain out one's neck

Happiness

joy and similar emotions experienced in the here and now

feeling good about my overall life as-a-whole

Mouse

a small rodent characteristically having a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail and a high breeding rate.

a hand-held pointing device that detects two-dimensional motion relative to a surface, which moves the cursor in accordance with its move.

Related ideas[edit]

A lexical conception of polysemy was developed by B. T. S. Atkins, in the form of lexical implication rules.[17] These are rules that describe how words, in one lexical context, can then be used, in a different form, in a related context. A crude example of such a rule is the pastoral idea of "verbizing one's nouns": that certain nouns, used in certain contexts, can be converted into a verb, conveying a related meaning.

Another clarification of polysemy is the idea of predicate transfer—the reassignment of a property to an object that would not otherwise inherently have that property. Thus, the expression "I am parked out back" conveys the meaning of "parked" from "car" to the property of "I possess a car". This avoids incorrect polysemous interpretations of "parked": that "people can be parked", or that "I am pretending to be a car", or that "I am something that can be parked". This is supported by the morphology: "We are parked out back" does not mean that there are multiple cars; rather, that there are multiple passengers (having the property of being in possession of a car).

For homonyms in scientific nomenclature, see Homonym (biology).

In linguistics, homonyms, broadly defined, are words which sound alike or are spelled alike, but have different meanings. A more restrictive definition sees homonyms as words that are simultaneously homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of their pronunciation) and homophones (words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of their spelling) – that is to say they have identical pronunciation and spelling, whilst maintaining different meanings. The relationship between a set of homonyms is called homonymy. Examples of homonyms are the pair stalk (part of a plant) and stalk (follow/harass a person) and the pair left (past tense of leave) and left (opposite of right). A distinction is sometimes made between true homonyms, which are unrelated in origin, such as skate (glide on ice) and skate (the fish), and polysemous homonyms, or polysemes, which have a shared origin, such as mouth (of a river) and mouth (of an animal).

In non-technical contexts, the term "homonym" may be used (somewhat confusingly) to refer to words that are either homographs or homophones. The words row (propel with oars) and row (argument) and row (a linear arrangement of seating) are considered homographs, while the words read (peruse) and reed (waterside plant) would be considered homophones; under this looser definition, both groups of words represent groups of homonyms.

The adjective homonymous can additionally be used wherever two items share the same name, independent of how close they are or are not related in terms of their meaning or etymology.

Etymology

The word homonym comes from the Greek ὁμώνυμος (homonymos), meaning "having the same name", which is the conjunction of ὁμός (homos), "common, same, similar " and ὄνομα (onoma) meaning "name". Thus, it refers to two or more distinct concepts sharing the "same name" or signifier. Note: for the h sound, see rough breathing and smooth breathing.

Related terms

Term	Meaning	Spelling	Pronunciation
Homonym	Different	Same	Same
Homograph	Different	Same	(No requirement)
Homophone	Different	(No requirement)	Same
Heteronym	Different	Same	Different
Heterograph	Different	Different	Same
Polyseme	Different but related	Same	(No requirement)
Oronym	Different	Different	Same to varying degree
Capitonym	Different when capitalized	Same except for capitalization	(No requirement)
Synonym	Same	Different	Different
Antonym	Opposite	Different	Different
Auto-antonym	Opposite	Same	(No requirement)
Synophone	Different	Different	Similar

Euler diagram showing the relationships between homonyms (between blue and green) and related linguistic concepts.

Several similar linguistic concepts are related to homonymy. These include:

Homographs (literally "same writing") are usually defined as words that share the same spelling, regardless of how they are pronounced.[note 1] If they are pronounced the same then they are also homophones (and homonyms) – for example, bark (the sound of a dog) and bark (the skin of a tree). If they are pronounced differently then they are also heteronyms – for example, bow (the front of a ship) and bow (a ranged weapon).

Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled. If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing"). Homographic examples include rose (flower) and rose (past tense of rise). Heterographic examples include to, too, two, and there, their, they’re. Due to their similar yet non-identical pronunciation in American English, ladder and latter do not qualify as homophones, but rather synophones.

Heteronyms (literally "different name") are the subset of homographs (words that share the same spelling) that have different pronunciations (and meanings). Such words include desert (to abandon) and desert (arid region); tear (to rip) and tear (a drop of moisture formed in one eye); row (to argue or an argument) and row (as in to row a boat or a row of seats - a pair of homophones). Heteronyms are also sometimes called heterophones (literally "different sound").

Polysemes are words with the same spelling and distinct but related meanings. The distinction between polysemy and homonymy is often subtle and subjective, and not all sources consider polysemous words to be homonyms. Words such as mouth, meaning either the orifice on one's face, or the opening of a cave or river, are polysemous and may or may not be considered homonyms.

Capitonyms are words that share the same spelling but have different meanings when capitalized (and may or may not have different pronunciations). Such words include polish (make shiny) and Polish (from Poland); march (walk in step) and March (the third month of the Year) and the pair: reading (using a book) and Reading (towns in, among other places, England).

Further examples

A further example of a homonym, which is both a homophone and a homograph, is fluke. Fluke can mean:

A fish, and a flatworm.

The end parts of an anchor.

The fins on a whale's tail.

A stroke of luck.

These meanings represent at least three etymologically separate lexemes, but share the one form, fluke.* Note that fluke is also a capitonym, in that Fluke Corporation (commonly referred to as simply "Fluke") is a manufacturer of industrial testing equipment.

Similarly, a river bank, a savings bank, a bank of switches, and a bank shot in the game of pool share a common spelling and pronunciation, but differ in meaning.

The words bow and bough are examples where there are two meanings associated with a single pronunciation and spelling (the weapon and the knot); two meanings with two different pronunciations (the knot and the act of bending at the waist), and two distinct meanings sharing the same sound but different spellings (bow, the act of bending at the waist, and bough, the branch of a tree). In addition, it has several related but distinct meanings – a bent line is sometimes called a 'bowed' line, reflecting its similarity to the weapon. Even according to the most restrictive definitions, various pairs of sounds and meanings of bow, Bow and bough are homonyms, homographs, homophones, heteronyms, heterographs, capitonyms and are polysemous.

bow – a long wooden stick with horse hair that is used to play certain string instruments such as the violin

bow – to bend forward at the waist in respect (e.g. "bow down")

bow – the front of the ship (e.g. "bow and stern")

bow – a kind of tied ribbon (e.g. bow on a present, a bowtie)

bow – to bend outward at the sides (e.g. a "bow-legged" cowboy)

Bow – a district in London

bow—a weapon to shoot projectiles with (e.g. a bow and arrow)

The words there, their, and they're are examples of three words that are of a singular pronunciation (in American English), have different spellings and vastly different meanings. These three words are commonly misused (or misspelled if you want to look at it that way) in American English.

there - "The bow shot the arrow there," he said as he pointed. "The bow shot the arrow there," she said as she pointed.

their - "It was their bow and arrow." the Mother said.

they're - They're not going to get to shoot the bow again after puncturing the tire on Daddy's car. (Contraction of They and Are.)

Homonyms in historical linguistics[edit]

Homonymy can lead to communicative conflicts and thus trigger lexical (onomasiological) change.[12] This is known as homonymic conflict.