Starting with a brief overview of polysemy issues, the paper focuses on enantiosemy (or autoantonymy). Analysis of a sample of enantiosemy cases reveals that they can be divided into seven distinct groups, six of which exhibit a systematic motivated relation between the enantioseme and another polyseme. Some of the groups are analogous to subtypes of the sense relation of opposition (directionality and converseness). Hence enantiosemy complements the set of word‑internal relations recognized in the literature as holding between polysemes (autohyponymy, automeronymy, and cohyponymy, in addition to semantic shifts, metaphor and metonymy). In concluding the paper discusses the overlap between the word‑internal semantic relations between polysemes and the word‑external sense relations between different lexical items and argues for considering this phenomenon the manifestation of a general cognitive mechanism.
It has been an empirical fact that almost all the words are polysemous. A standard dictionary such as the Petit Robert lists 60,000 entries which correspond to 300,000 meanings. Thus, in this particular dictionary one word is paired with five different senses on average. Moreover, what is being dealt with here is no more than a general reference work, designed for a daily use. It contains only most frequent and general items, but disregards all other available meanings. In what follows, contextual properties will be demonstrated to be able to set apart each instance of polysemy, thus offering an effectual tool likely to do away with ambiguities.
Every grammar of the Swedish language provides information concerning the unit det. The Swedish det can be used both pronominally and adnominally, fulfilling a wide range of functions in the language. However, in traditional grammar one does not pay attention to the links and mutual relations between the individual occurrences of this unit. Thus, within such a framework, the Swedish det can be treated as an extreme example of homonymy. Is that possible in language?The main goal of this article is to show the semantic value of the unit det (in its nominal function) in contemporary Swedish, adopting the perspective of Cognitive Grammar. I shall try to prove that all uses of this unit are linked to each other semantically. Thus, the meaning ascribed to det constitutes a complex network of senses rooted in the prototype, which is a cognitive reference point within the category. The article can be interpreted in a wider context of the research concerning the use of units which are functionally “related” to the Swedish det in various languages, e.g. the English it, the German es, the Polish to etc.
This paper explores the lexicographic representation of a type of polysemy that arises when the meaning of one lexical item can either include or contrast with the meaning of another, as in the case of dog/bitch, shoe/boot, finger/thumb and animal/bird. A survey of how such pairs are represented in monolingual English dictionaries showed that dictionaries mostly represent as explicitly polysemous those lexical items whose broader and narrower readings are more distinctive and clearly separable in definitional terms. They commonly only represented the broader readings for terms that are in fact frequently used in the narrower reading, as shown by data from the British National Corpus.
This article attempts to explain the causes of the formation and preservation of the polysemy of the verb czuć (to feel, to smell, to taste, to see) by using the knowledge of synesthesia from various scientific disciplines. The ambiguity of the verb can be justified by the metaphorical extension of the concrete senses over abstract ones and the preservation of the remains of the original way of sensing when, at a certain stage, the received stimuli and the accompanying emotions or thoughts are not differentiated or specified. D. Buttlerowa clarifies that such a situation is a reflection of the synthetic and sensational perception of the world characterising the old ethne and every human being in infantry and early childhood. The combination of impressions coming from different senses facilitates learn ing, memorising and acquiring language early in life. Giving consideration to research from various disciplines of science permits the discernment of the reasonability to preserve the ambiguity of czuć and understanding of its cause rather than perceiving it as an example of denying the tendency for clarity and precision in language.
The present article discusses polysemy as a way of expressing negatively connoted emotional states in German and Polish. Our attention is focused on linguistic structures, on a specific part of speech, i.e. on those verbs which express a particular kind of verbal interaction, i.e. the emotional state of the speaker is only manifested, as a result of which the reception of their utterance may cause particular difficulties for language learners.
This paper explores the lexicographic representation of a type of polysemy that arises when the meaning of one lexical item can either include or contrast with the meaning of another, as in the case of dog/bitch, shoe/boot, finger/thumb and animal/bird. A survey of how such pairs are represented in monolingual English dictionaries showed that dictionaries mostly represent as explicitly polysemous those lexical items whose broader and narrower readings are more distinctive and clearly separable in definitional terms. They commonly only represented the broader readings for terms that are in fact frequently used in the narrower reading, as shown by data from the British National Corpus.
This article attempts to highlight the problems in teaching and learning of two Portuguese periphrastic modal constructions. The aforementioned problem is related to polysemy of periphrases with dever and supposed synonymy in specific contexts of those periphrases.
Starting with the thesis that Gombrowicz’s unique “linguistic form”, which is a stylistic equivalent of form as an anthropological-philosophical category, we claim that it has become an important point of reference, a kind of stylistic stamp or matrix, used and modified by contemporary Polish authors. Following Olaf Kühl’s suggestions in his Stilistik einer Verdrängung. Zur Prosa von Witold Gombrowicz, we assume that indeterminacy and ambiguity are most characteristic features of Gombrowicz’s style clearly manifested upon the level of semantics (polysemy) and syntax (nominalised construction, retardation syntax). Reading texts by Wojciech Kuczok, Jerzy Pilch, Micha³ Witkowski, and Szczepan Twardoch, we find variously functionalized features of this style on all formal and thematic levels.
This paper presents the comparison of sense discrimination strategies including the structure and organization of a polysemous word entry in five English monolingual learner’s dictionaries with the aim of gaining an insight into the aspects of sense division where the given dictionaries agree and disagree. The final outcome of the analysis is the selection of features contributing to the establishment of the user friendliest sense discrimination system in a pedagogical dictionary
The phraseology of colours is a significant sphere within the diction of Polish and German languages. This results from the fact that colours exist as an inseparable element of human reality. However, the conceptualisation of the names of colours depends on a given language society. The fact is reflected in the phraseological resources of a language. The material for the analysis are the indicated collocations, where the names of colours often gain additional meanings which go beyond the dictionary denotations. The paper describes the special semantic features of the names of colours in collocations: polysemy, translator’s false friends.
PL
Frazeologia kolorów stanowi zauważalną grupę w leksyce języka niemieckiego i polskiego. Wynika to z faktu, iż kolory stanowią nieodłączny element otaczającej nas rzeczywistości. Jednakże konceptualizacja nazw kolorów jest uzależniona od danej społeczności językowej. Fakt ten znajduje odzwierciedlenie w zasobie frazeologicznym danego języka. Przedmiotem analizy są wskazane związki frazeologiczne, w których nazwy barw zyskują dodatkowe znaczenia, wychodzące często poza znaczenia słownikowe. W artykule omówiono szczególne cechy semantyczne nazw barw w użyciu frazeologicznym: polisemia, fałszywi przyjaciele tłumacza.
Polysemy, the phenomenon whereby a linguistic unit exhibits multiple distinct yet related meanings, has always been a topic of great interest for both lexical semanticists and lexicographers. The primary aim of this paper is to investigate what role context plays in the interpretation of the different senses of polysemous lexical items.
The paper focuses on synonymy and polysemy in the language of law in English-speaking countries. The introductory part briefly outlines the process of legal translation and tackle the specificity of bijural translation. Then, traditional understanding of what a term is and its application to legal terminology is considered; three different levels of vocabulary used in legal texts are outlined and their relevance to bijural translation explained. Next, synonyms in the language of law are considered with respect to their intension and distribution, and examples are given to show that most expressions or phrases which are interchangeable synonyms in the general language should be treated carefully in legal translation. Finally, polysemes in legal terminology are discussed and examples given to illustrate problems potentially encountered by translators.
As Kātyāyana emphasizes while commenting on the ekaśeṣa-rules, words apply per object. Consequently, no word should be capable of conveying more than one object. By contrast not only does paronomasia, the so-called śleṣa, break the one-to-one relation between the śabda- and artha-levels of language; there are also grammatical rules which look like deviations from the naturally expected cause-effect relation between word forms and their meanings. The ekaśeṣa-rule represents one of these exceptions, since some parts of the artha are comprehensible, even without employing the word-form denoting them, such as mātṛ in the dual noun pitarau, meaning ‘mother and father’ rather than ‘the two fathers’. P atañjali already mentions an intriguing option in the use of śabdas, when he notes that a word form can merely convey its primary denotation, such as candra denoting the ‘moon’, or can express something that is ‘like something else’, such as candra conveying the sense of a ‘face like a moon’. These exceptions are reconsidered here within the framework of the “yugapad-expression”, which is how Bhartṛhari defines one of the two language options (the other one being kramaḥ ‘sequence’), an option realised when a single word simultaneously conveys more than one meaning, but an option whose use is discouraged. Technical (ritual and grammatical) speculations on simultaneity as an exception to the bi-unique relationship between a cause and its effect date back to the 2nd to 3rd centuries BC. Nonetheless, grammarians insist on excluding these extreme applications of meaning extension; only the late kāvyālaṃkāraśāstra- authors extol the virtues of the phenomenon. The paper focuses on the trajectory that might have been followed in the intervening changes.
The paper focuses on synonymy and polysemy in the language of law in English-speaking countries. The introductory part briefly outlines the process of legal translation and tackle the specificity of bijural translation. Then, traditional understanding of what a term is and its application to legal terminology is considered; three different levels of vocabulary used in legal texts are outlined and their relevance to bijural translation explained. Next, synonyms in the language of law are considered with respect to their intension and distribution, and examples are given to show that most expressions or phrases which are interchangeable synonyms in the general language should be treated carefully in legal translation. Finally, polysemes in legal terminology are discussed and examples given to illustrate problems potentially encountered by translators.
The paper is concerned with shifts of cohesion and coherence in several Polish translations of G. K. Chesterton from the point of view of the procedural approach, in which the choice of particular linguistic/textual devices is indicative of the text producer’s intended meaning. As regards cohesion, the paper touches upon lexical cohesion and conjunction. It discusses the eff ects of replacing repetition with variation, and of disambiguating and explicating conjunctions. As for coherence, an analysis is carried out which shows how the translator’s failure to render a polysemous word adequately detracted from the TT’s coherence. Also, an example is given of coherence being affected by polysemy in the TT. The aim of the paper is to find out what kind of issues and regularities connected with cohesion and coherence emerge in the translation process and how these affect target texts.
In this study, we offer an overview of the main issues addressed by Gaston Gross in his analysis of the adjectival category. Gross’s aim was to create an electronic dictionary of adjectives intended for automatic language processing. His research work focused on the search for criteria for the identification and description of the various subclasses of adjectives, as well as on the accurate description of adjectival meaning using the notion of “emploi”. We will discuss some key concepts of the Théorie des classes d’objets that have been applied to the study of the adjective. These include the notion of adjectival predicate and adjectival use (“emploi”). We will attempt to draw a summary of Gaston Gross’s achievements, while also discussing some critical issues.
FR
Dans cette étude, nous proposons un aperçu des principales questions abordées par Gaston Gross dans ses recherches sur la catégorie adjectivale. L'objectif de Gross était de créer un dictionnaire électronique des adjectifs destiné au traitement automatique du langage. Ses travaux visaient la recherche de critères d'identification et de description des différentes sous-classes d'adjectifs, ainsi que la description précise des signifiés de l'adjectif à l'aide de la notion d'"emploi". Nous aborderons quelques concepts clés de la Théorie des classes d'objets qui ont été appliqués à l'étude de l'adjectif. Il s'agit notamment de la notion de prédicat adjectival et d'emploi de l'adjectif. Nous tenterons de dresser un bilan des résultats obtenus par Gaston Gross, tout en abordant certaines questions critiques.
Swahili kinship terms are highly polysemous and occur in many figurative meanings out of which some are fully conventionalized in language usage. The article focuses on a specific case of such extensions which metaphorically frames an unrelated person as one’s kin. The usage patterns of this “fictive” kinship will be analyzed in various pragmatic contexts demonstrating their illocutionary and perlocutionary effects. In addition, it will be shown that this particular extension, as well as other multiple figurative uses of kinship terms correlate with the Swahili cultural model and the high appreciation of one’s family in the community’s system of values.
The present study aims at analyzing puns from the front page of the newspaper Canard Enchaîné, more precisely the deconstruction of meanings and the reconstruction of new meanings by means of this linguistic process. As it is shown by the specialized literature, the nature of the pun itself actually reveals the lexical or semantic organization of all pre-constructed material. The puns used in our corpus will extend, as we shall see, from polysemy and ambiguity resulting from the multitude of meanings that a word can have, to the construction of portmanteau words: « Pour Standard et Poor’s : Cet accord Mercozy, c’est de la poudre de Berlinpimpin » (Canard enchaîné, 4754), the construction of new words : « Après l’annonce surprise du référendum le choeur des 26 européens : On s’est fait Papandréouter » (Canard enchaîné, 4749), to finally arrive at the use of defrosted structures, as in the example: « Sommet à Bruxelles pour sauver la Grèce et l’euro. L’Europe peine à reprendre du poil de la dette » (Canard enchaîné, 4734).
The article considers such peculiarities of the controlled languages as the choice of lexical units and constraints on their syntax. We review various difficulties that arise during the selection of forms we would like to put in the lexicon of a controlled language. We compare the index of multiple meanings of the words used to form the vocabulary of a controlled language before and after the lexical control and calculate the change in the ambiguity rate of sentences due to the elimination of polysemy. The words allowed in the lexicon of a controlled language usually have a high polysemy index in the standard language. This is evident especially as far as grammatical and non-technical words are concerned. In contrast, technical terms are much more often monosemic. Thus the observation of the “one token = one meaning” principle in the lexicon for the controlled language has a great effect on the decline of ambiguity.
FR
The article considers such peculiarities of the controlled languages as the choice of lexical units and constraints on their syntax. We review various difficulties that arise during the selection of forms we would like to put in the lexicon of a controlled language. We compare the index of multiple meanings of the words used to form the vocabulary of a controlled language before and after the lexical control and calculate the change in the ambiguity rate of sentences due to the elimination of polysemy. The words allowed in the lexicon of a controlled language usually have a high polysemy index in the standard language. This is evident especially as far as grammatical and non-technical words are con- cerned. In contrast, technical terms are much more often monosemic. Thus the observation of the “one token = one meaning” principle in the lexicon for the controlled language has a great effect on the decline of ambiguity.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.