5. Semantic structure of English and Ukrainian words .The notion of polysemy and ways of its development.

In linguistics the branch of study concerned with the meaning of words is called semantics.

Linguistic semantics deals with the conventional meaning conveyed by the use of words and sentences of language. Meaning of the word is considered to be one of the most ambiguous and controvertial term in linguistic theory. The followers of Ferdinand de Saussure consider meaning to be the relation between the object and the notion named.

The essential feature of the referential approach to meaning is that it distinguishes between 3 components: - the sound form, - the concept, - the actual referent. 1) By sound form here is meant the word and there is no immediate relation between the word and the referent, it is established only through the concept. The meaning of the word is closely connected with the underlying concept. Concept is a strategy of human cognition. Our concepts reflect the most common and typical features of the different objects and phenomena of the world. The notional content of the words is expressed by denotative meanings(referential). The emotional content of the word is rendered by connotative meaning. Connotation is an emotional, evaluative, or stylistic component of linguistic unit of regular or occasional character. Referential meaning covers those basic, essential components of meaning which are conveyed by the literal use of words.

When we speak about polysemy we mean that the word can be used in different senses, not meaning. Polysemy is a semantic universal inherent in the fundamental structure of language.

When semantic components of meaning are realized in speech they make up the sense of a word. The source of new meaning for a word is in the sense sphere. Every new meaning is an abstraction from the sum of senses taken by the word for fulfilling a ne fynction. Any kind of association is based on a certain type of similarity of images. It gives the possibility of creating a broad area of senses by means of limited number of meanings. The greater the frequency of a word the more polysemantic word is. The frequency of the polysemy depends on cultural progress. The progress makes it necessary not only to form new words but also to add fresh meanings to old ones.

6.The notion of synonymy and homonyms. Types of synonyms and homonyms in En.And Uk.

Synonyms are words belonging to the same part of speech, differing in sound form, and possessing additional shades of meaning or emotive evaluative shade. They are subdivided into:

• Semantic synonyms which denote the same notions but differ in some semantic features. (хуртовина, заметіль, хуга, метелиця)

• Stylistic synonyms which are characterized by the emotional expressive coloring.

• Semantic-stylistic synonyms which are differentiated by both semantic component and stylistic coloring.

Words identical in form but quite different in their meaning and distribution are called homonyms. There are:

• Absolute homonyms which are identical both in sound and spelling, e.g. grave (могила) and grave (серйозний)

• Partial homonyms:

• homographs which are identical in spelling but different in sound, e.g. minute [minit] (хвилина) and minute [mainjut] (дрібний)

• homophones which are identical in sound but different in spelling, e.g. dyed (красити) and died (вмирати)

Words that have directly opposite meanings are called antonyms.