The uzbekistan state world languages university english english faculty II english theoretical aspects department

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Bog'liq
Homonymy and Polysemy1

Done by
Chapter II: Polysemy as a linguistic phenomenon

^{THE MINISTRY OF HIGHER AND SECONDARY EDUCATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN}
^{THE UZBEKISTAN STATE WORLD LANGUAGES UNIVERSITY ENGLISH}
^{ENGLISH FACULTY II}
^{ENGLISH THEORETICAL ASPECTS DEPARTMENT}^№²

^{COURSE PAPER}
^{The problem of homonymy and polysemy in English}
^{Done by:}
^{Saliyeva Malika}
^Group^:305
^{Scientific adviser:}
^{Albina Bazarbayeva}

^{Tashkent 2022}

¹
^CONTENTS

^Introduction^{……………………………………………………………..}³
^{Chapter I: Homonymy as a linguistic phenomenon}
^{1.1 The linguistic problem of the word and the meaning……………...}⁶
^{1.2 Characteristics of homonyms as lexical units…………………….}¹²
^{1.3 The causes of homonyms emergence……………………………..}¹⁶
^{Chapter II: Polysemy as a linguistic phenomenon}
^{2.1 The notion of polysemy …………………………………………..}²⁶
^{2.2 Types of polysemy ………………………………………………..}³⁸
^Conclusion^{……………………………………………………………...}⁴²
^{Bibliography………………………}^{……………………………………}⁴⁵

²

^INTRODUCTION

^{This course paper is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of homonymy}^and^polysemyⁱⁿ^Modern^English.^Homonymy^is^a^subject^{which has}^been^discussedⁱⁿ^linguistic^literature^since^long^time^ago^and^{was considered}^by^such^scientists^as^Vinogradov^V.V,^Ahmanova^O.S.,^Ginsburg
^{R.S. and others. Their disputes are related to such topics as the essence of homonymy,}^its^originⁱⁿ^the^English^language,^its^useⁱⁿ^{speech, delimitations}^of^homonyms^and^polysemy,^homonymy^and^{polysemy .}^As^{a result,}^we^may^draw^a^conclusion^that^homonymy^presentsⁱⁿ^so^many^{areas that}^it^can^still^be^considered^as^a^relevant^topic^for^linguistic^{investigation.}
^This^course^paper^is^devoted^to^the^study^of^homonyms^{and polysemy .}^The^problem^of^homonyms^and^polysemy^{differentiation}^is^one^of^the^main^problemsⁱⁿ^Semasiology.
^The^topic^of^homonymy^and^polysemy^is^one^of^the^disputable^{themes in}^Modern^English^and^that^is^why^we^consider^our^work^to^be^relevant.
^{The aim of the work}^{is to present an overview of the phenomenon of homonymy}^and^polysemy^and^describe^their^{peculiarities}ⁱⁿ^modern^English.
^The^tasks^of^{investigation}^include^:

^to^reveal^the^definition^of^homonymy^and^{polysemy ;}

^to^describe^{classification}^of^homonyms,^their^sources,^classes^and^{peculiarities}^as^presentedⁱⁿ^{lexicological}^literature;
^to^explain^the^notion^of^{polysemy ,}^its^types^and^how^we^shouldn’t^confuse^{them with homonyms;}
^to^analyze^the^importance^of^using^homonyms^and^{polysemy ,}^to^pay^attention^to^its^correct^usage;

³

^Here^we^have^used^different^methods^,^such^as^descriptive^and^analytical^methods,^as^well^as^some^elements^of^componential^and^contextual^analysis.^The^main^language^material^of^the^work^is^gathered^from^the^{English Dictionaries,}^as^well^as^from^the^textbooks^of^English^Lexicology^{by various}^authors.^Besides,^we^also^used^the^Internet^sources,^and^the^{Internet journals.}^Words,^their^definitions^and^examples^are^taken^from^the^following
^{dictionaries:}

^Dictionary^of^{lexicography;}
^V.^K.^Muller's^and^Hornby's^dictionary;
^Oxford^School^Dictionary;
^An^English^Homophone^Dictionary;
^Webster's^New^World^Dictionary;

^As^well^as^from^the^following^Internet^{dictionaries:}
^-^{http://www.britannica.com}

^{http://www.longman.com}
^{http://www.dictionary.com}
^{http://www.m-}^w.com

^The^theoretical^and^practical^value^of^the^paper^liesⁱⁿ^its^{applicability to}^the^course^of^English^lexicology,^General^Linguistics^and^{practical English classes.}
^The^hypothesis^of^the^work^is^that^close^study^of^homonyms^{and polysemy}^and^their^subtypes^presents^an^opportunity^to^have^a^{deeper insight into the mechanisms of the language functioning and provides better understanding}^of^the^semantic^and^lexical^{peculiarities}^of^the^English^language.
^{The structure}^{of the work consists of the introduction, two chapters, conclusion,}^bibliography^and^appendix.

⁴

^{Introduction describes the theoretical foundation of the work and its}^relevance.^The^main^part^includes^two^chapters,^which^present^the^{problems of}^homonymy^and^polysemy^from^different^angles.
^{Each part has its subdivision onto the specific thematically items. The main}^{part bears two chapters itself which, in their turn, are subdivided onto several specific items. The first chapter it explains the linguistic problem of the word and the meaning (the first item), then causes of appearance of homonyms (the second item).}^{Next part is about common analysis of}^{homonyms in Modern English. Here we analyzed semantic differentiation of homonyms in Modern English, accepted classification of the homonymic units of a language diachronic and synchronic research to the problem studied (third and fourth items). And the main problem of Semasiology was covered in “Polysemy and Homonymy” part (fifth item). The second chapter shows the common analysis of polysemy in Modern English. That chapter in itself is divided into some parts: the notion of polysemy (the first item), then we classified polysemy into some subtypes (the second item).}^{Next part is about mistakes which speakers can make and how to avoid them (third item).}
^{The Conclusion of the course work sums up the ideas discussed in the main part and}^{shows the ways of implying of the course work.}
^Bibliography^includes^the^alphabetical^list^of^the^sources^used^to^{carry out}^the^work^on^the^paper.
^In^appendix^there^is^a^glossary^of^selected^polysemy^and^homonyms^{listed in alphabetical order.}

⁵

^Chapter^One:^HOMONYMY^AS^A^LINGUISTIC^PHENOMENON

^The^linguistic^problem^of^the^word^and^the^meaning

^{The topic of homonymy belongs to the sphere of Lexicology. Lexicology deals with words, word-forming morphemes (derivational affixes) and word- groups or phrases. All these linguistic units may be said to have meaning of some kind:}^they^{are all}^{significant and must}^be^investigated^{both as}^to^form^{and meaning. The branch of Lexicology that is devoted to the study of meaning is known as}^Semasiology.¹
^Semasiology^(or^semantics)^{is a}^branch^of^{linguistics which studies meaning. Semasiology}^is^singled^out^as^an^independent^branch^of^lexicology^alongside^{word- formation, etymology, phraseology and lexicography. At the same time it is often referred to as the central branch of lexicology. The significance of semasiology may be accounted by three main considerations:}

^{Language is the basic human communication system aimed at ensuring the exchange of information between the speakers engaged in conversation, which implies that the semantic side forms the backbone of communication.}

^{By definition lexicology deals with words, morpheme and word-groups. All those linguistic units are two-faced entities having both form and meaning.}
^{Semasiology underlines all other branches of lexicology. Meaning is the object of semasiological study. However, at present there is no universally}^{accepted definition of meaning or rather a definition reflecting all the basic characteristic features of meaning and being operational at the same time. Thus, linguists state that meaning is "one of the most ambiguous and most controversial terms in the theory of language ". Numerous statements on the complexity of the phenomenon}^of^meaning^are^foundⁱⁿ^the^Russian^tradition^as^well^by^such

⁶

^{linguists as А.А.Потебня, И.А.Бодуэн де Куртене, Щерба, Виноградов, А.И. Смирницкий and others. Semasiology is concerned with the meaning of words. It studies the types of meaning, the change of meaning, the semantic structure of words, semantic groupings, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms etc. However, there is no generally accepted definition of the term “meaning of the word”, as different linguists belong to different schools of linguistics, each of them give their own}^definitions.
^{We understand the term “word” as it is presented in the Linguistic Encyclopaedic Dictionary as the main structural and semantic unit of the language serving for nominating objects and their characteristics, phenomena and relations}^of^the^reality,^which^{possesses a}^set^of^semantic,^phonetic^and^{grammatical features relevant for each particular language.}²
^It^should^be^pointed^out^that^just^as^lexicology^is^beginning^to^absorb^a^{major part of the efforts of linguistic scientists}³^{, semasiology is coming to the fore as the central problem of linguistic investigation of all levels of language structure. It is suggested that semasiology has for its subject matter not only the study of lexicon, but also of morphology, syntax and sentential semantics. Words, however, play such a crucial part in the structure of language that when we}^{speak of semasiology without any course , we usually refer to the study of word-meaning proper, although it is in fact very}^{common to explore the semantics of}^{other elements,}^{such as suffixes, prefixes, etc.}
^{Meaning is one of the most controversial terms in the theory of language. At first}^sight^the^{understanding}^of^this^term^{seems to present}^no^difficulty^{at all —}^{it is freely used in teaching, interpreting and translation. The scientific definition of meaning however, just as the definition of some other basic linguistic terms, such as word, sentence, etc., and has been the issue of interminable discussions. Finally, meaning is information conveyed from the speaker to the listener in the process of communication.}^This^definition^applies^both^to^words^and^sentences,^thu^s

⁷

^{overcomes one of the drawbacks of the referential approach. Since there is no universally accepted definition of meaning}⁴^{we shall confine ourselves to the understanding of meaning by outstanding Soviet linguists, who proceed from the basic assumption of the objectivity of language and meaning and understand the linguistic sign as a two-facet unit. They view meaning as “a certain reflection in}^our^mind^of^objects,^phenomena^or^relations^that^makes^part^of^the^linguistic^sign
^{— its so-called inner facet, whereas the sound-form functions as its outer facet.”}⁵^The^outer^facet^of^the^linguistic^sign^is^{indispensable}^to^meaning^{intercommunication.}^Meaning^is^to^be^foundⁱⁿ^all^linguistic^units^and^{together with their sound-form constitutes the linguistic signs studied by linguistic science. Proceeding from the basic assumption of the objectivity of language and from the understanding}^of^linguistic^units^as^two-facet^entities^we^regard^meaning^as^{the inner facet of the word, inseparable from its outer facet which is indispensable to}^{the existence of meaning and to intercommunication.}
^{The two main types of word-meaning are the grammatical and the lexical meanings found in all words. The interrelation of these two types of meaning may be different in different groups of words. Lexical meaning is viewed as possessing denotational and connotational components. The denotational component is actually what makes communication possible. Denotational aspect of lexical meaning is the part of lexical meaning which establishes correlation between the name and the object, phenomenon, process or characteristic feature of concrete reality}^which^is^denoted^by^the^given^word.^Through^the^denotational^meaning^{bulk of information is conveyed in the process of communication. It expresses the notional content of a word.}
^{The connotational component comprises the stylistic reference and the emotive charge proper to the word as a linguistic unit in the given language}^system.^The^subjective^emotive^implications^acquired^by^wordsⁱⁿ^speech^lie
⁸

^{outside the semantic structure of words as they may vary from speaker to speaker but are not proper to words as units of language. Connotational aspect is a part of meaning which reflects the attitude of the speaker towards what he speaks about.}
^{Connotation conveys additional information in the process of communication, where speaker is a key figure.}
^Connotation^includes^the^following^aspects:

^emotive^charge^{(diminishing,}^derogative^suffixes)

^e.g.^daddy,^mommy

^evaluation:^{positive/negative}

^e.g.^a^group^of^people^crowd

^Emotions^are^notⁱⁿ^the^focus^of^the^speaker.
^intensity^{(expressiveness)}

^e.g.^I^love^you^/I^adore^you

^imagery

^e.g.^{to wade (to walk with an effort through the mud);}^{to wade through a book Word-meaning}^is^liable^to^changeⁱⁿ^the^course^of^the^historical^development
^{of language. Changes of lexical meaning may be illustrated by a diachronic semantic analysis of many commonly used English words. The word}^{fond (OE. fond)}^{used to mean ‘foolish’, ‘foolishly credulous’;}^{glad (OE, glaed}^{) had the meaning of ‘bright’, ’shining’ and so on.}
^{Change of meaning has been thoroughly studied and as a matter of fact monopolised the attention of all semanticists whose work up to the early 1930’s was centred almost exclusively on the description and classification of various changes of meaning.}
^{Homonymy in many cases is also due to the change of meaning which can often take a complicated way of discovering the source of the process. Generally speaking, a necessary condition of any semantic change, no matter what its cause, is}^some^connection,^some^association^between^the^old^meaning^and^the^new.^There
⁹

^{are two kinds of association involved as a rule in various semantic changes}^{namely: a) similarity of meanings, and b) contiguity of meanings.}
^{Similarity of meanings or metaphor may be described as a semantic process of associating two referents, one of which in some way resembles the other. The word}^hand,^{e.g., acquired in the 16th century the meaning of ‘a pointer of a clock of a watch’ because of the similarity}^{of one of the functions performed by}^{the hand (to point at something) and the function of the clockpointer. Since metaphor is based on the perception of similarities it is only natural that when an analogy is obvious, it should give rise to a metaphoric meaning. This can be observed in the wide currency of metaphoric meanings of words denoting parts of the human body in various languages (cf. ‘the leg of the table’, ‘the foot of the hill’, etc.). Sometimes it is similarity of form, outline, etc. that underlies the metaphor. The words}^warm^and^cold^{began to denote certain qualities of human voices because of some kind of similarity between these qualities and warm and cold temperature. It is also usual to perceive similarity between colours and emotions.}
^{It has also been observed that in many speech communities colour terms, e.g. the words}^black^and^white,^{have metaphoric meanings in addition to the literal denotation of colours.Contiguity of meanings or metonymy may be described as the semantic process of associating two referents one of which makes part of the other or is closely connected with it. This can be perhaps best illustrated by the use of the word}^tongue^{— ‘the organ of speech’ in the meaning of ‘language’ (as in}^{mother tongue;}^{cf. also}^{L. lingua, Russ. язык).}^{The word}^bench^{acquired the meaning ‘judges, magistrates’ because it was on the}^bench^{that the judges used to sit in law courts, similarly}^{the House}^{acquired the meaning of ‘members of the House’}^{(Parliament).}
^{It is generally understood that metaphor plays a more important role in the change of meaning than metonymy. A more detailed analysis would show that there}^are^some^semantic^changes^that^fit^into^more^than^the^two^groups^discusse^s

¹⁰

^{above. A change of meaning, e.g., may be brought about by the association between the sound-forms of two words. The word}^boon^{, e.g.”, originally meant ‘prayer, petition’, ‘request’, but then came to denote ‘a thing prayed or asked for’. Its current meaning is ‘a blessing, an advantage, a thing to be thanked for.’ The change of meaning was probably due to the similarity to the sound-form of the adjective}^boon^{(an Anglicised form of French}^bon^{denoting ‘good, nice’).}
^{Within metaphoric and metonymic changes we can single out various subgroups. Here, however, we shall confine ourselves to a very general outline of the main types of semantic association as discussed above. A more detailed analysis of the changes of meaning and the nature of such changes belongs to the sphere of Historical Lexicology and lies outside the scope of the present paper.}
^{Semantic changes result as a rule in new meanings being added to the ones already existing in the semantic structure of the word. Some of the old meanings may become obsolete or even disappear, but the bulk of English words tend to an increase in number of meanings. This gives rise to polysemy. Synchronically we understand polysemy as the coexistence of various meanings of the same word at a certain historical period of the development of the English language. In this case the problem of the interrelation and interdependence of individual meanings making up the semantic structure of the word must be investigated along different}^lines.
^{Polysemy is closely related to homonymy, as there are numerous cases of polysemy argued as homonymy, which we will analyse in a separate part in this}^paper.
^{From this part we knew that such phenomenon as homonymy belongs to the sphere of Lexicology. Lexicology deals with words, word-forming morphemes (derivational affixes) and word-groups or phrases. All these linguistic units are all significant and must be investigated both as to form and meaning. The branch of Lexicology}^that^is^devoted^to^the^study^of^meaning^is^known^as^Semasiology.^I^t

¹¹

^studies^the^types^of^meaning,^the^change^of^meaning,^the^semantic^structure^{of words, semantic groupings, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms etc.}

^1.2^{CHARACTERISTICS}^OF^HOMONYMS^AS^LEXICAL^UNITS

^{It is universally recognized that homonyms are two or more words identical in sound and spelling but different in meaning, distribution and (in many cases) origin. The}^term^{is derived from}^Greek^{homonymous (homos}^‘the^{same' and}^onoma^{‘name’) and thus expresses very well the sameness of name combined with the difference in meaning.}⁶
^{E.g. knight [nait]}^{night [nait]}^Sun^[^s^,ⁿ^]^son^[^s^,ⁿ^]^{Knows [nouz]}^nose^[nouz]^Sea^[si:]^see^[si:]
^Eye^[aI]^I^[aI]
^{Modern English is exceptionally rich in homonymous words and word- forms. It is held that languages where short words abound have more homonyms than those where longer words are prevalent. Therefore it is sometimes suggested that abundance of homonyms in Modern English is to be accounted for by the monosyllabic structure of the commonly used English words.}⁷

⁶^{Арнольд}^И.В.^{Лексикология}^{современного}^{английского}^языка,^М.:^Высшая^школа,^1973,^стр.¹⁸³
⁷^Ginzburg^R.^S.^A^Courseⁱⁿ^Modern^English^Lexicology,^M.:^Vyssaja^skola,^1966,^стр.¹³⁹
⁸^{Антрушина}^Г.Б.^{Лексикология}^{английского}^языка,^М.:^Дрофа,^2006,^стр.¹⁶⁶
¹²

^{Many words, especially characterized by a high frequency rating, are not connected with meaning by a one-to-one relationship.}⁸^{Each sign has only one meaning, and each meaning is associated with only one sign. This one-to-one relationship}^is^not^realisedⁱⁿ^natural^languages.^When^several^related^meanings^{are associated with the same group of sounds within one part of speech, the word is called polysemantic, when two or more unrelated meanings are associated with the same form — the words are homonyms, when two or more different forms are associated with the same or nearly the same denotative meanings — the words are}^synonym^s
^{All the possible values of each linguistic sign are listed in dictionaries. It is the duty of lexicographers to define the boundaries of each word, i.e. to differentiate homonyms and to unite variants deciding in each case whether the different meanings belong to the same polysemantic word or whether there are grounds to treat them as two or more separate words identical in form. In speech, however, as a rule only one of all the possible values is determined by the context, so that no ambiguity may normally arise. There is no danger, for instance, that the listener would wish to substitute the meaning 'quick’ into the sentence:}^{It is absurd to have hard and fast rules about anything}^{(Wilde), or think that}^{fast rules}^{here are ‘rules of diet’.}^{Combinations when two or more meanings are possible are either deliberate puns, or result from carelessness. Both meanings of}^liver,^{i.e. ‘a living person’ and ‘the organ that secretes bile’ are, for instance, intentionally present in the following play}^{upon words: “}^{Is life worth living?” “It depends upon the liver.”}^{Сf.: “}^{What do you do with the fruit?” “We eat what we can, and what we can’t eat we can.”}

^bank,^{n. — an institution for receiving, lending, exchanging, and safeguarding}^money.

⁹^“Oxford^School^{Dictionary”}^Mcdonald^F.,^Delahanty.A.

¹³

^{Very seldom can ambiguity of this kind interfere with understanding. The following example}^is^unambiguous,^although^the^words^back^and

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The uzbekistan state world languages university english english faculty II english theoretical aspects department

INTRODUCTION

Chapter One: HOMONYMY AS A LINGUISTIC PHENOMENON

The linguistic problem of the word and the meaning

^INTRODUCTION

^Chapter^One:^HOMONYMY^AS^A^LINGUISTIC^PHENOMENON

^The^linguistic^problem^of^the^word^and^the^meaning