38. Change of word meaning. Figures of speech. Metaphor and metonymy.

Apostrophe = speaking to an inanimate object, or to a person who is absent Example:  Oh, Rain, how long will you fall upon me  Explanation:  Rain is an inanimate object.  It cannot hear nor understand you.  You can talk to it, but it won't respond.Hyperbole = exaggeration to effect an emotional respons    Example:  It'll take me a million years to fix this problem.   Explanation:  It won't really take a million years, but we sometimes exaggerate the truth for affect.Metaphor =  one thing is equated with another (not related, but have some common ground; that common ground is supposed to give understanding)  For Examples:  click here  (I have so many metaphors to teach you!)Personification = an inanimate object or animal is given human qualities  Example:  The night embraced me and the moon smiled down upon me.Metonymy = one thing used to refer to another (related and used for reference, not understanding)     For Example:  click hereSynecdoche = part represents the whole (a kind of metonymy    Example:  God bless the hands which prepared this food. Explanation:  The hands (part) refers to the person (whole) which owns the hands Oxymoron = two contradictory words used together   Example:  Childhood is so bittersweet  Example:  Time can pass so slowly or so quickly.  Example:  I am an idiotic genius.Simile = two things shown to be similar in some way Example:  As sly as a foxExample:  As wise as an owl Example:  Eat like a bird (eat very little) Please visit my Simile Page.MetonymyA metonymy is similar to a metaphor, but different in function. The function of a metaphor is understanding.   The function of a metonymy is reference.

39.Antonyms. Definition. Morphological and semantic classification of antonyms.

Antonymy is a type of paradigmatic relations based on polarity of meaning.

Antonyms (Gr. antí ‘against,’ ónyma ‘name’) are two or more words of the same language belonging to the same part of speech and to the same semantic field, identical in style and nearly identical in distribution, associated and often used together so that their denotative meanings render contrary or contradictory notions.

Morphologically antonyms are classified into:

 root antonyms (absolute antonyms) are antonyms having different roots, e.g. clean – dirty; late – early; day – night;

 derivational antonyms are antonyms having the same root but different affixes, e.g. to fasten – to unfasten; flexible – inflexible; useful – useless.

Semantic Classification of Antonyms

Contradictory antonyms (complementary antonyms) are mutually opposed (exclusive) and deny one another, e.g. male – female; married – single; asleep – awake; same – different. They:

 are not gradable;

 truly represent oppositeness of meaning;

 cannot be used in the comparative or superlative degree;

 the denial of one member of such antonymic opposition always implies the assertion of the other, e.g. not dead – alive.

Conversive antonyms (conversives) are words which denote one and the same situation as viewed from different points of view, with a reversal of the order of participants and their roles, e.g. husband – wife; teacher – pupil; to buy – to sell; to lend – to borrow; to precede – to follow. These antonyms are mutually dependent on each other and one item presupposes the other.

Vectorial antonyms (directional antonyms) are words denoting differently directed actions, features, e.g. to rise – to fall; to arrive – to depart; to marry – to divorce; to learn – to forget; to appear – to disappear.

40.Synonyms. Types of synonyms. Sources of synonyms.

Synonyms (Gr. syn ‘with’, ónyma ‘name’) are two or more words belonging to the same part of speech and possessing a common denotative semantic component, interchangeable at least in some contexts without any considerable alteration in sense, but differing in morphemic composition, phonemic shape, shades of meaning,

connotations, style, valency and idiomatic use. Classification:1. Total synonyms an extremely rare occurence Ulman: “a luxury that language can hardly afford.” M. Breal spoke about a law of distribution in the language (words should be synonyms, were synonyms in the past usually acquire different meanings and are no longer interchangeable). Ex.: бегемот – гиппопотам2. Ideographic synonyms.They bear the same idea but not identical in their referential content. Ex.: to ascent – to mount – to climb To happen – to occur – to befall – to chance Look – appearance – complexion – countenance3. Dialectical synonyms.Ex.: lift – elevator Queue – line Autumn – fall 4. Contextual synonyms.Context can emphasize some certain semantic trades & suppress other semantic trades; words with different meaning can become synonyms in a certain context. Ex.: tasteless – dull Active – curious Curious – responsive Synonyms can reflect social conventions. Ex.:

clever	bright	brainy	intelligent	Dever-clever
neutral	Only speaking about younger people by older people	Is not used by the higher educated people	Positive connotation	Stylistically remarked