Antonymy

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Antonymy
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Antonymy is a standard technical term used for
oppositeness of meaning between lexemes.
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A) gradable opposites ( contraries)
a. They will show different degrees of a given
quality.
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poor
rich
0 25 50 75 100...
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b. They can be qualified by adverbials of
degree.
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C. Their meanings are relative to each other. One
meaning is determined in reference to the meaning
of the other.
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Since contraries are gradable, the semantic
contrast in a contrary pair is relative i.e.
there are often intermediate terms between the
two opposites.
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Thus we have not just rich and poor, but there
are such gradations as rich,well-to-do, well-off,
moderately wealthy, comfortably off, hard up,
poor.
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d. Since they show different degrees of a given
quality, they will allow a middle ground between
them.
poor
rich
0 50
100...
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e. The negation of one does not mean the
assertion of the other.
He is not rich does not mean he is poor.
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They can be used in the structure
neithernor for example I am neither rich nor
poor.
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F. This kind of antonyms can be analysed in terms
of markedness (??)
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Now the terms marked and unmarked have been
widely used in the analysis of meaning. A word is
unmarked if it is semantically inclusive, or
broader in meaning while a word is marked if it
is semantically narrower.
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Unmarked ( long)
Unmarked (long)
Marked(short)
Length of the scale
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Very often this kind of antonyms are not
symmetric in meaning.
well, badly
A. How well do you speak English?
B. Very well C. Very poorly D. Like a native.
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well, badly
A. How badly do you speak English?
B. Very well C. Very poorly D. Like a native.
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old/young heavy/light Wide /narrow
deep/shallow far/near long/short
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Complementarity
Antonyms which can not be compared to determine
whether they have the same degree of a certain
property are called ungradable opposites.
Complementarities are very often ungradable
opposites.
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The negation of one is the assertion of the other.
For example alive/dead He is not alive means
He is dead.
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They can not be used in the structure
neithernor because they do not allow
possibilities between them for example I am
neither alive nor dead.
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More examples male/female married
/single boy/girl brother/sister
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Relational opposites ( Conversives)?????
They express the reversal of a relationship
between items or a contrast of directions.
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Usually there is an independence of meaning. One
member of the pair presupposes the other
member.Therefore they form a unity of opposites.
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If A sells a watch to B, B buys a watch from A.
If A gives a pen to B, B receives a pen from A.
If A lends money to B, B borrows money from A.
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More examples?
husband/wife fiance/fiancee parent/child above/bel
ow debtor/creditor
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Very often a word is polysemous in nature,
therefore, a word may have different
corresponding antonyms, for example
Fresh bread/stale bread fresh air/stuffy
air fresh flowers/faded flowers
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Polysemy and homonymy
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Homonymy In the English language,
there are many pairs or groups of words, which,
though different in meaning, are pronounced alike
or spelled alike, or both. Such words are called
homonyms
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A. Types of homonyms English
homonyms are classified as follows 1. Perfect
homonyms words identical in sound and spelling
but different in meaning are called perfect
homonyms
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lie vi make a statement that one
knows to be untrue lie vi be, put oneself
flat on a horizontal surface or in
a resting position page n. one
side of a leaf of paper in a
book, periodical, etc. page n. boy servant,
usu. in uniform, in a hotel,
club, etc.
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base n. the thing or part on which
something rests base adj. having or
showing little or no honour,
courage or decency
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2. Homophones Words identical in sound but
different in spelling and meaning are called
homophones.
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air, heir bear,
bare
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pair, pear son, sun
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compliment, complement
principal, principle
stationary, stationery,
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3. Homographs Words identical in spelling but
different in sound and meaning are called
homographs e.g. lead /lid/ v. guide or
take, esp. by going in front,
etc. lead /led/ v. easily melted metal of a
dull bluish-grey colour
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Polysemy
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The word Polysemy is of Greek origin (GK polys,
much sema, meaning). It has been defined as
"...A term used in semantic analysis to refer to
a lexical item which has a range of different
meanings ( Crystal 1980274)."
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The ability of one word to denote several senses
is one of the basic peculiarities of human
speech. A glance at any English dictionary will
give you an idea of how frequent polysemy is.
One -meaning words (monosemic words) are very
rare. They are very often scientific terms (e.g.
oxygen, moonwalk, and earthrise).
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fair (of attitude, behavior ) just and
honest ( of results ) average, quite
good ( of the weather ) clear and sunny
( of amount ) satisfactory, abundant
( of the skin, hair ) pair light in
colour
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Sources of polysemy
A. Shifts in application
Words have a number of different aspects
according to the contexts in which they are used.
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The adjective " handsome", for example, has been
used, in the course of its history, in the
following sense, grouped according to the noun
to which they refer
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Persons a) apt, skilled, clever b) proper,
fitting, decent c) beautiful with
dignity Concretes a) easy to handle b) of fair
size c) beautiful with dignity d) proper, fitting
( of dress )
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Action, speech a) appropriate, apt,
clever Conduct a) fitting, seemly b) gallant,
brave c) generous, magnanimous
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Sizes, sums a) fair, moderately large b) ample,
liberal, munificent
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B. Specialization in a social milieu
Polysemy often arises through a kind of verbal
shorthand. For a lawyer, "action" will naturally
mean legal action for the soldier it will mean a
military operation, without any need for a
qualifying epithet.
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C. Figurative language
Many inanimate objects are compared to the parts
of the human body.
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the eye of a needle ??
the eye of a potato??????
the eye of the hurricane ??
the eye of a flower ??
the eye of a peacocks tail????
the eye of the revolution ????
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A piga dirty, greedy or ill-mannered person
An ass a stupid foolish person
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A mouse a person, esp. A woman, who is quiet and
timid
A goose a silly person, esp. female
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A cat a nasty person
A rat a low worthless disloyal man
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An ape a person who copies the behaviour of
others
A monkey a child who is full of annoying
playfulness and trick
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A parrot a person who repeats, often without
understanding, the words or actions of another