Synonym
Synonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn (σύν) ("with") and onoma (ὄ????) ("name"). The words car and automobile are synonyms. Similarly, if we talk about a long time or an extended time, long and extended become synonyms. In the figurative sense, two words are often said to be synonymous if they have the same connotation:
"a widespread impression that … Hollywood was synonymous with immorality" (Doris Kearns Goodwin)
Synonyms can be any part of speech (e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs or prepositions), as long as both members of the pair are the same part of speech. More examples of English synonyms are:
noun
"student" and "pupil"
"petty crime" and "misdemeanor"
verb
"buy" and "purchase"
adjective
"sick" and "ill"
adverb
"quickly" and "speedily"
preposition
"on" and "upon"
Antonyms
Antonyms are words with opposite or nearly opposite meanings. For example:
short and tall
dead and alive
increase and decrease
add and subtract
Auto-antonyms
An auto-antonym is a word that can have opposite meanings in different contexts or under separate definitions:
enjoin (to prohibit, issue injunction; to order, command)
fast (moving quickly; fixed firmly in place)
cleave (to split; to adhere)
sanction (punishment, prohibition; permission)
stay (remain in a specific place, postpone; guide direction, movement)
A contronym is a word with two meanings. These two meaning are the opposite of each other.
Examples
bolt: secure, run away
He bolted the door, When he got scared, he bolted
fast - quick, unmoving
He ran very fast, He pulled on the rope, but it held fast
left - remaining, departed from
After taking an apple, there were two left, He opened the door and left
off - off, on
He turned the lights off, When the window broke, the alarm went off
rent - buy use of, sell use of
He rented a room to make extra money, She was looking for a house to rent
transparent - invisible, obvious
The glass was transparent, His motives were transparent
sanction - bless, punish
The priest sanctioned the marriage, The US government sanctioned Cuba
seed - to plant seeds, to remove seeds
The children seeded the ground with pumpkin seeds, They seeded the watermelon
before they served it
variety - one type, many types
Granny Smith is a variety of apple, The store sells a variety of produce
cleave - split, adhere
The bow of the boat cleaved the water cleanly,He cleaved to his principles in spite of persecution
Antonyms - words of the same category of parts of speech which have contrasting meanings such as hat - cold, light - dark, happiness - sorrow.
Morphological classification:
· Root words form absolute antonyms.(write - wrong).
· The presence of negative affixes creates - derivational antonyms(happy - unhappy).
Semantical classification:
· Contradictory notions are mutually opposed and denying one another, i.e. alive means “not dead” and impatient means “not patient”.
· Contrary notions are also mutually opposed but they are gradable; e.g. old and young are the most distant elements of a series like: old - middle - aged - young.
· Incompatibles semantic relations of incompatibility exist among the antonyms with the common component of meaning and may be described as the relations of exclusion but not of contradiction: to say “morning” is to say “not afternoon, not evening, not night”.
20) Homonyms, homographs, homophones
Homonyms
Homonyms are words which have the same spelling and pronunciation as each other but different meanings and origins.
Homonyms Jokes
“Waiter, will the pancakes be long?" - "No, sir, round.”
Examples:
Accept, Except: Accept is a verb meaning to receive. Except is usually a preposition meaning excluding. I will accept all the packages except that one. Except is also a verb meaning to exclude. Please except that item from the list.
Affect, Effect: Affect is usually a verb meaning to influence. Effect is usually a noun meaning result. The drug did not affect the disease, and it had several adverse side effects. Effect can also be a verb meaning to bring about. Only the president can effect such a dramatic change.
Capital, Capitol: Capital refers to a city, capitol to a building where lawmakers meet. Capital also refers to wealth or resources. The capitol has undergone extensive renovations. The residents of the state capital protested the development plans.
Emigrate from, Immigrate to: Emigrate means to leave one country or region to settle in another. In 1900, my grandfather emigrated from Russia. Immigrate means to enter another country and reside there. Many Mexicans immigrate to the U.S. to find work.
Emigrate begins with the letter E, as does Exit. When you emigrate, you exit a country. Immigrate begins with the letter I, as does In. When you immigrate, you go into a country
Principle, Principal: Principal is a noun meaning the head of a school or an organization or a sum of money. Principle is a noun meaning a basic truth or law. The principal taught us many important life principles.
Than, Then: Than is a conjunction used in comparisons; then is an adverb denoting time. That pizza is more than I can eat. Tom laughed, and then we recognized him.
There, Their, They're: There is an adverb specifying place; it is also an expletive. Adverb: Sylvia is lying there unconscious. Expletive: There are two plums left. Their is a possessive pronoun. They're is a contraction of they are. Fred and Jane finally washed their car. They're later than usual today.
To, Too, Two: To is a preposition; too is an adverb; two is a number. Too many of your shots slice to the left, but the last two were right on the mark.
Homophones
Homophones are words which have the same pronunciation as each other but different spellings and meanings.
Homographs
Homographs are words which are spelt the same as each other but which have a different pronunciation and meaning.
In addition to homophones (words with the same sound, but different
spellings, meanings, or origins), there are also homographs (words
with the same spellings, but different meanings, origins, or
pronunciations. There are two large subgroups:
Subgroup 1:
These common words have the same spelling and pronunciation, but
very different meanings and/or origins. Common examples:
| homographs | differences* |
| bear (N) bear (V) | bear (N): a kind of animal bear (V): to carry |
| date (N) date (V) | date (N): a kind of fruit; a calendar time date (V): to determine the age; to "go out" |
| fast (Adj) fast (V) | fast (Adj): quick fast (V): to abstain from (choose not to eat) food |
| hide (N) hide (V) | hide (N): animal skin hide (V): to conceal |
| net (N) net (Adj) | net (N): woven trap made of rope or cord net (Adj): amount remaining after deductions |
| pick (N) pick (V) | pick (N): a kind of tool pick (V): to choose |
Subgroup 2:
These words have the same spelling, but different stress. The stress
changes for the noun and verb forms of these words. Examples:
| homographs* | differences |
| áddress (N) addréss (V) | address (N): where one lives address (V): to give a speech; to write an address |
| cómpress (N) compréss (V) | compress (N): medicine put on a cloth and worn next to the skin compress (V): press together |
| éxport (N) expórt (V) | export (N): something that is exported export (V): to send a product outside a country (to be sold) |
| ínsult (N) insúlt (V) | ínsult (N): insulting action or words insúlt (V): to say or do something which is offensive or rude |
| cónvert (N) convért (Adj) | convert (N): someone who has changed from one group (for example, a religion) to another convert (V): to change from one form to another |
| désert (N) desért (V) | desert (N): dry place desert (V): abandon |
There are also homographs with the same spelling, but different
pronunciations and meanings. Here are a few examples:
read (present tense--pronounced [ ríyd ] /
read (past tense--pronounced [ red ]
lead (verb--pronounced [ líyd ] /
lead (noun [Pb]--pronounced [ led ]
do (noun [music]--pronounced [ dóu ] /
do (verb--pronounced [ dúw ]
21) Phraseology as a branch, + examples: phraseological unit, idiom and free word combination, difference between them.
Phraseology. Principals of classification of phraseological units.
Lexicology – is that branch of linguistics which is concerned with the study of words. Lexicology studies meaning and making words, their ways and manners, where they come from, their appearance in the language. As a branch of linguistics, lexicology has four subbranches: 1. semantics or semasiology; 2. etymology; 3. phraseology; 4. lexicography. Phraseology – subbranch, which studies sat expressions and stock phrases. Phraseology is a new linguistics science. Its basic principles were given by academician Vinogradov in the Russian language, which may be also taken in English language. Phraseological expressions may be divided into: 1. ph. combinations; 2. ph. unities; 3. ph. phusions and idioms. Ph. combination (to make a report, to deliver a speech, to take a look) is rather free and not strictly, stable. We may change it a little bit. It does not present a semantic unit. Elements of such expressions are, to a certain degree, independent. We may substitute one part of ph. combination by synonyms. For ex: to deliver a speech, to make a speech, to have a look, to take a look, задеть чувство гордости, затронуть чувство гордости. But these expressions are limited in their combinative power. For ex: to make a report but not to do a report, обдать холодом но не обдать восхищением. Ph. unities (to play the first fiddle, to take the bull by his horns, to skate on thin ice = to risk. In ph. unities, the meaning of the words whole expression differs from the meaning of the words of the group, because it has the figurative meaning. In ph. unities, we may have a homonym. Here we cannot substitute the elements and we cannot change them. Thought it is very difficult, but we can get the meaning of the whole expression. For ex: положить зубы на полку = голодать. Ph. phusions and idioms present the most stable and very complicated relations between the elements. For ex: to show the white feather = струсить, to pull one’s leg = насмехаться, to get a bird = уволить. Ph. phusions form a semantic unit and usually they are equivalents to a word. For ex: to pull one’s leg = to mock. The meaning of an idiom doesn’t grow out of the meanings of the words it consists of. Not a single element may be replaced. Idioms can’t be separated from the point of the syntax. Idioms have no homonyms. It’s necessary to look up the meaning of idioms in the dictionary, otherwise it is impossible to understand them or we must know the history of phusions. Idioms may be taken from different spheres of human activity –history, literature, mythology. Idioms taken from history reflect customs of England. For ex: 1. white elephant = обременительное имущество. A king of England presented a white elephant to that member of the court, whom he wanted to ruin. 2. to carry one’s heart upon one’s sleeve – выставить свои чувства. This expression came from middle ages. The knights had the custom to wear the tokens of their ladies on their sleeves. 3. to ride the high horse = важничать. This expression also came from middle ages, when the distinguished knight rode on high horses. 4. Idioms from literature: to be born with a silver spoon in the mouth = родиться счастливым (from Galthworthy- to “Let”, little John). We also distinguished international idioms, when one and the same notion is expressed by one word in different languages (to burn boat – жечь лодки); when one and the same notion is expressed differently in different languages (to wash dirty linen in public – выносить сор из избы)
