9. Types of semantic relations.

There are 4 basic types of semantic relations:

1. proximity;

2. equivalence;

3. inclusion;

4. opposition.

PROXIMITY

Words very seldom are the same semantically. They are not identical in meaning and show a certain semantic difference as well as similarity. Meaning similarity is seldom complete and is nearly always partial which makes it possible to speak about the semantic proximity of words.

Ex: beautiful, pretty, attractive, striking, handsome.

Semantic proximity implies that 2 or more words however different may enter the semantic relations of proximity if they share certain semantic features.

Ex: the words “red”, “green” share the semantic features of “colour”.

The words can be graded in semantic proximity. A higher degree of semantic proximity helps to single out synonyms while a lower degree of semantic proximity provides for a description of broader and less homogeneous semantic groups.

Ex: the degree of proximity will be much lower in the words “red” and “green” which share the semantic feature of “colour” than is “red” vs “scarlet” or “green” vs “emerald”.

EQUIVALENCE

Semantic equivalence implies full similarity of meaning of 2 or more language units. Being an extreme case of semantic proximity it is qualitatively different from all other cases suggesting the existence of units different in form but having identical meaning, i.e. one and the same content side.

Semantic equivalence is very seldom observed in words and is claimed to be much oftener encountered in case of sentences.

Ex: John is taller than Bill. = Bill is shorter than John.

She lives in Paris. = She lives in the capital of France.

Ex: (in words) 2 phonetic words “stops” and “plosive” both used to denote the English sounds (p-b, t-d, k-g). Both words in the given meaning are semantically identical and may be used interchangeably.

Semantic equivalence in words is highly unstable, it tends to turn into the relation of semantic proximity. This pronounced tendency to semantic differentiation may be viewed as a realization of the economy principle in the language system which “does not need” words different in form and absolutely similar in meaning.

Inclusion. Hyponymic structures.

The relationship of inclusion exists between 2 words if the meaning of one word contains the semantic features constituting the meaning of the other word – hyponymic relations.

Ex: “vehicle” includes “car”, “bus”, “taxi”, “tram”.

The hyponimic relation may be viewed as the hierarchical relationship between meanings of the general and the individual terms.

Ex:

plant (the general term) (the classifier or the hyperonym)

grass bush tree shrub flower (the more specific terms) (hyponym)

pine oak ash maple

white pine yellow pine

The words “tree” and “pine” are both hyperonyms (the classifier) and hyponyms (the members of the group).

OPPOSITION

The contrast of semantic features helps to establish the semantic relations of opposition.

Ex: the meaning of the word “black” is contrasted to that of the word “white”.

The relations of opposition imply the exclusion of the meaning of one word by another, which, in fact, implies that the referential areas of the 2 (or more) words are opposed.

Ex: “black” is opposed to “white” but it is not opposed to either “red” or “yellow”. In the latter case we can speak about contrast of meaning, but not the semantic relations of opposition.

Relation of semantic opposition

polar oppositions relative oppositions

Polar oppositions are based on the semantic feature uniting 2 linguistic units by antonymous relations.

Ex: rich – poor, dead – alive, young – old.

Relative oppositions imply that there are several semantic features on which the opposition rests.

Ex: The verb “to leave” means “to go away from” and its opposite, the verb “to arrive” denotes “reaching a place”.

It’s not just one semantic feature the presence of which in one case accounts for the polarity of meaning, but a whole system of semantic features which underlies the opposition of 2 words in the semantic aspect.