The subject matter of the paper is Wolfgang Müller’s dictionary of antonyms: “Das Gegenwort- Wörterbuch. Ein Kontrastivwörterbuch mit Gebrauchshinweisen”. It predominantly focuses on how the dictionary meets the needs of its users. In this regard, the analysis reveals that Wolfgang Müller’s dictionary shows considerable weaknesses especially in (a) the coverage of the lexis, (b) the provision of antonyms in the case of polysemous lexemes and (c) the quality of information in the microstructure. On the other hand, it is worth noting that the dictionary includes word-forming elements. As their inclusion in the macrostructure enables users to understand items that are not listed in the dictionary, this fact represents the main advantage of Müller’s dictionary. Nonetheless, in terms of price and general value the final product itself can hardly be regarded as a special bargain.
Antonyms - just like synonyms and homonyms - may affect each other's meanings, even though opposition does not have as important a role in meaning specification as synonymy or homonymy does. In forming pairs of opposites, both concrete and abstract ones, an important role is played by derivational suffixes of opposite functions. Denominal privative adjectives in -tlAn denoting 'lacking something' tend to contrast semantically with adjectives carrying the suffix -(V)s meaning 'being supplied with something' and/or with constructions suffixed by -(j)U, closely related to the former. Available definitions of the uses of -(V)s and -(j)U suggest that the privative forms should only contrast semantically with derivatives involving -(V)s, in view of the fact that it is only a 'part-whole' relationship that makes it possible to detach the 'part' from the 'whole'. Indeed, a prerequisite of the use of a privative suffix is that the 'part' should be an alienable part or property of the possessive argument bearing the subject role. The aim of this paper is a presentation and semantic analysis of pairs of antonyms, as well as their classification into categories based on the various notions of opposites (exclusive opposition, converseness, difference in degree) in semiotics. The author gives a detailed account of pairs of words in -tlAn vs. -(V)s derived from the same stem and hence antonymous in terms of the original semantics of their suffixes, noting that such derivatives in some cases have deviated from their original meanings (e.g., csinos 'pretty' - csintalan 'naughty', kedves 'kind' - kedvetlen 'dispirited', szemes 'cute' - szemtelen 'impertinent'), and she devotes special attention to privative doublets (emerging due to semantic fission) and their opposites (e.g., alomtalan 'dreamless' / almatlan 'sleepless' - almos 'sleepy', gondtalan 'carefree' / gondatlan 'careless' - gondos 'careful').
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.