1. Homonyms. Classification of homonyms. W. Skeat (perfect homonyms; homographs; homophones); A.I Smirnitsky (grammatical meaning). I.V. Arnold (homonyms identical in their grammatical meanings, basic forms and paradigms and different in their lexical meanings; homonyms identical in their grammatical meanings and basic forms, different in their lexical meanings and paradigms; homonyms different in their lexical meanings, grammatical meanings, paradigms, but coinciding in their basic forms; homonyms different in their lexical meanings, grammatical meanings, in their basic forms and paradigms, but coinciding in one of the forms of their paradigms). Sources of homonymy.
2. Context: different interpretations. The role of context in the discrimination of the individual meaning of polysemantic words. Extralinguistic and linguistic context. Lexical, syntactical and mixed context. Lexical context of the first and second degree. Connection between a dependent and the indicator.
Exercises to Seminar 7
I. Give words homonymous with the following and say what they mean:
fare, flour, rite, soul, horse, beat, which, plane, gate, break.
II. The following are homographs. How are they pronounced and what do they mean?
Bow bow, desert desert, lead lead, minute minute, row row, rear tear, wind wind.
III. Provide proper contexts for the following pairs of homonyms:
Found found, lay lay, saw saw, pen pen, temple temple, bill bill, spring spring, air heir, team teem, sew sow.
IV. Find the homophones to the following words and say what they mean:
Rain, dye, cent, tale, sea, week, peace, seen, meat, steel, knight, sum, coarse, sight, hare, sail, sell, blue, beach, led.
V. Recollect homonyms for the underlined words in the following sayings and proverbs.
1. None so deaf as those who wont hear.
2. Old birds are not to be caught with chaff.
3. You cannot judge a tree by its bark.
4. Drop by drop the sea is drained.
5. The belly is not filled with fair words.
6. As you sow you shall mow.
7. Little pitchers have long ears.
8. One cannot blow and swallow at the same time.
9. If it were notfor hope, the heart would break.
VI. Establish the type of these homonyms:
a) lexical; b) grammatical; c) lexico-grammatical.
1. friends friends friends
2. ball, n () ball, n ()
3. nit, n () knit, v ()
4. right, adj () right, adj ()
5. said, v (past ind.) said, v (past p.)
6. shy, adj () shy, v ( /, /)
VII. Identify the source of homonymy for the words:
a) divergent meaning development; b) convergent sound development; c) borrowing; d) conversion; e) shortening; f) sound imitation.
1. work, n work, v
2. bang, n (a fringe of hair combed over the forehead) bang, n (a loud, sudden, explosive noise)
3. flower, n flour, n
4. bank, n (a shore) bank, n (a financial institution)
5. add, v ad, n (an advertisement)
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6. comb, n comb, v
7. night, n knight, n
8. rep, n (a kind of fabric) rep, n (a representative)
9. love, n love, v
10. board, n (a long, thin piece of timber) board, n (an official group of persons who direct or supervise some activity)
11. pale, adj pale, v
12. match, n (a game) match, n (a slender short piece of wood used for producing fire)
13. mew, n (a sea gull) mew, n (the sound a cat makes)
14. sea, n - see, v
15. plate, n plate, v
16. fan, n (an implement for waving lightly to produce a cool current of air) fan, n (an enthusiastic admirer of some kind of sport or of an actor, singer, etc.)
VIII. Fill in the blanks choosing the right word.
1. Out of out of mind (cite, site, sight). 2. Do not look a gift in the mouth (horse, hoarse). 3. It never rains, but it (pours, paws). 4. No without sweat (sweet, suite). 5. Do not run with the and hunt with the hounds (hair, hare). 6. All is in love and war (fare, fair). 7. Fame is chiefly a matter of at the right moment (die, dye). 8. When two people ride the , one must ride behind (hoarse, horse).
IX. Are the following underlined words homonyms or meanings of polysemantic words? Motivate your answers.
1. 26 letters of the ABC; to receive letters regularly
2. to propose a toast; an underdone toast
3. a hand of the clock; to hold a pen in ones hand
4. to date back to year 1870; to have a date with sb
5. to make a fire; to sit at the fire (place)
6. the capital of the country; to have a big capital
X. Determine the meaning of the underlined words, analyse the contextual indication, define the type of context.
He accepted the order with the benevolent air.
2. A few minutes later Hyman asked to go up on deck where he said there might be some more air.
3. She arrived by air on Monday afternoon.
4. I move that Mr Last addressed the meeting.
5. David took a step towards him and Adrian could see that he was intensely moved.
6. Shes making some sandwiches and they smell a fair treat.
7. Mrs Hicks probably made him put it in his bath water.
8. Then she started making towards the door.
XI. The following sentences have 2 different meanings due to the ambiguity of the underlined words. Explain the two meanings of each sentence.
1. She was driving on the right side of the road.
2. He is very fair.
3. She was a very funny girl.
4. Half the workers in the factory are idle.
5. They did not recognise the new president.
6. She is a very curious person.
7. It is a very cheap newspaper.
8. They are expected to arrive at seven.
9. My grandfather was a very powerfu l man.
10. I thought he was rather suspicious.
11. She was very jealous of her husbands reputation.
12. She likes to entertain people.
13. John should know the answer.
14. He didnt appeal to me.
15. The Morning News is a popular newspaper.
16. He might have phoned.
17. Im afraid I am not prepared to leave yet.
18. The teacher insisted that his pupils did their homework regularly.
19. He took advantage of his friends knowledge.
Recommended Literature:
I.V. Arnold. The English Word. ., 1986, pp. 164176.
R.S.Ginzburg. A course in Modern English Lexicology. ., 1979, pp. 3950.
G.B.Antrushina. English lexicology. ., 1999, pp. 168173.
