3. Polysemy. The semantic structure of the polysemantic words. Polysemy and homonymy. Types of homonyms.

Polysemy is the ability of words to have several meanings. The words which have 2 or more meanings are called polysemantic(PW). It exists only in language not in speech. PW has such structure:

• Different meanings;

• Semantic components (SC) of each within each separated meanings.

Types of SC:

• Denotative (leading SC, which expresses the conceptual meaning of word)

• Conotative (A connotation is frequently described as either positive or negative, with regards to its pleasing or displeasing emotional connection. For example, a stubborn person may be described as being either strong-willed or pig-headed; although these have the same literal meaning (stubborn), strong-willed connotes admiration for the level of someone's will (a positive connotation), while pig-headed connotes frustration in dealing with someone (a negative connotation).

Homonyms (H) – words which are identical in sound and spelling or, at least, in one of these aspects, but different in their meanings. They can appear not only as of split of polysemy, but also as a result of leveling of grammar inflexions; can occurred by the conversion. Also they can occur accidently , when 2 words coincide in their development.

A useful and pervasive distinction is made between polysemy and homonymy

• In cases of polysemy: a word has multiple, related meanings

e.g. ring (wedding vs. boxing)

• In cases of homonymy: two, unrelated words, have the same form (spelling or sound)

e.g. saw (see vs. tool)

Sources of H:

• Phonetic changes;

• Borrowings;

• Word-building(conversion, shortening);

Types of H (by Walter Skeat):

• Homonyms proper (that is words identical in sound and spelling);

• Homographs (words with the same spelling, but pronounced differently);

• Homophones (words that pronounced identically, but spelled differently).

Types of H (by A.I. Smirnitsky):

• Full H (are words which represent the same category of parts of speech and have the same paradigm);

• Partial H(PH) are subdivided into 3 groups: a) simple lexico-grammatical PH (words which belong to the same category of parts of speech); b) complex L-G PH (words of different categories of parts of speech which have one identical form in their paradigms); c) partial lexical H (words of the same category of parts of speech which are identical only in their corresponding forms)

Types of H (by I.V. Arnold according to lexical meaning (LM), grammatical meaning (GM), basic forms (BF) and paradigms (P)):

• H identical in their GM, BF and P, but different in LM;

• H identical in their GM, BF, but different in LM and P;

• H different in their LM, GM, P, but coinciding in BF;

• H different in their LM, GM, BF, P, but coinciding in one of the forms of P.

4. Denotational and connotational arrangements of lexical meaning. Synonymy as a semantic universal. Sources of synonyms. Classification of synonyms.

Lexical meaning consists of two important parts: denotative meaning (also called referential or extensional) and connotative meaning (also referred to as emotional, intentional or expressive).

The denotative meaning expresses the notional content of the word, i.e. it gives a name to the actually existing object, and may be of two types according to the word’s function in speech: significative and identifying or demonstrative.

Types of SC:

• Denotative (leading SC, which expresses the conceptual meaning of word)

• Conotative (A connotation is frequently described as either positive or negative, with regards to its pleasing or displeasing emotional connection. For example, a stubborn person may be described as being either strong-willed or pig-headed; although these have the same literal meaning (stubborn), strong-willed connotes admiration for the level of someone's will (a positive connotation), while pig-headed connotes frustration in dealing with someone (a negative connotation).