Homonymy – Synonymy - Antonymy

Contents:
1. Homonymy & Homonyms:
Definition – Formation – Classification
2. Synonymy & Synonyms:
Definition – Classification – Dominant synonyms
3. Antonymy & Antonyms:
Definition – Distribution - Classification
 Homonymy & Homonyms - Definitions
 Homonymous (Greek): homos (the same) + onoma (name)

 Homonymy is a linguistic phenomenon in which words have the

same in sound and spelling, or, at least, in one of these aspects,
but different in their meanings.

 Homonyms are words which have the same in sound and

spelling, or, at least, in one of these aspects, but different in their
meanings.

 Homonymy results in homonyms.

Formation/ Sources of homonyms

1. Phonetic changes
2. Borrowing
3. Word-building
4. Split polysemy
 Phonetic changes
(Convergent development of sound form)

 knight – night  The convergent phonetic development

of two or more different lexical units
brings homonyms.

 Two or more words which were

pronounced differently at an earlier
 write – right date may develop identical sound
forms.

 Phonetic changes: loss of affixes,

simplification of conjunct consonants,
loss of syllables, assimilation of sounds.
 Formation of homonyms (cont.)
Borrowing
 bank

 match
 Formation of homonyms (cont.)
Word-building
1. Conversion

2. Shortening

3. Sound imitation
 Split polysemy (the break of polysemy)/
Disintegration
Different meanings of the same word move so far away from each
other that they come to be regarded as separate units.
 Classification of Homonyms

1. Based on classification of Walter Skeat

(traditional method)

2. Based on classification of Prof. A.I. Smirnitsky

 Classification of homonyms
(Walter Skeat)

 Homonyms proper / Full homonyms / Perfect

homonyms: words that are identical in both pronunciation and
spelling, but different in meaning.

 Homophones: words that are the same in sound but different in

spelling and meaning.

 Homographs: words that are the same in spelling but different in

sound and meaning.
 Classification of Homonyms
(Prof. A.I. Smirnitsky)

1. Full homonyms

2. Partial homonyms
a. Simple lexico-grammatical partial homonyms
b. Complex lexico-grammatical partial homonyms
c. Partial lexical homonyms
 Full homonyms (Prof. A.I. Smirnitsky)

 Full homonyms (Full lexical homonyms) are words which:

- represent the same category of parts of speech and have the
same paradigm.
- have the same spelling and pronunciation, but different meanings.
 Partial homonyms (Prof. A.I.Smirnitsky)

1. Simple lexico-grammatical partial homonyms.

2. Complex lexico-grammatical partial homonyms.
3. Partial lexical homonyms.
Partial homonyms (Prof. A.I.Smirnitsky)

1. Simple lexico-grammatical partial homonyms are words

which belong to the same category of parts of speech and they have
one identical form in their paradigms.
 Partial homonyms (Prof. A.I.Smirnitsky)
2. Complex lexico-grammatical partial homonyms are words of
different categories of parts of speech, which have one identical
form in their paradigms.
 Partial homonyms (Prof. A.I.Smirnitsky)

3. Partial lexical homonyms are words of the same category of parts of

speech which are identical only in their original forms.
 Synonymy & Synonyms
Definitions
 Synonymy is a linguistic phenomenon in which words belong to the
same part of speech and possess one or more identical or nearly
identical denotative meanings, interchangeable in some contexts.
 Synonymy results in synonyms.
 Synonyms are words belonging to the same part of speech and
possessing one or more identical or nearly identical denotative
meanings, interchangeable in some contexts.

E.g.: accomplish (v.) – achieve (v.)

admit (v.) – confess (v.)
question (v.) – ask (v.) – interrogate (v.)
 Classification of synonyms

 Ideographic synonyms (Semantic synonyms): words convey the same notion

but different shades of meaning.

 Stylistic synonyms: words are distinguished stylistically.

 Absolute synonyms (Semantico-stylistic synonyms): words coincide in all their

shades of meaning and all their stylistic characteristics.
 Dominant synonyms

stare
manufacture

gaze look glare make

create produce

glance

Dominant synonym is a central word of a group of

synonyms expressing the notion common to all synonyms in
the groups in the most general way.
 Formation of synonyms

1. Borrowing
2. Change of meaning
3. Development of word formation
4. Use of euphemisms
5. Use of dialectical words
Formation of synonyms - Borrowing
Formation of synonyms - Change of meanings

 worker (n.)
hand (n.)

 china (n.)
porcelain (n.)
 Formation of synonyms
Development of word formation

1. Conversion

2. Derivation

3. Compounding

4. Shortening
Formation of synonyms - Euphemisms
Formation of synonyms
Dialectical words
 Antonymy & Antonyms
Definitions

 Antonymy is a linguistic phenomenon in which two (or rarely more)

words of the same language belong to the same part of speech with
contradictory meaning.
 Antonymy results in antonyms.
 Antonyms are two (or rarely more) words of the same language
belonging to the same part of speech with contradictory meaning.

 E.g.: hot – cold

up – down
sad – merrily
 Classification of antonyms
1. Derivational antonyms: are words formed by derivation.

2. Root-word antonyms (Absolute antonyms)

a. Antonyms proper: basing on contrary meanings (polar members).

b. Complementary antonyms: basing on binary opposition.

c. Relational antonyms: basing on reciprocal relationship (subject &

object, family & social relation, space & time relations).
 Distribution of antonyms
1. Antonymic Adj.
wide – narrow
2. Antonymic V.
open – close
3. Antonymic N.
joy – grief
4. Antonymic Adv.
a. Antonymic Adv. derived from Adj.:
loudly – softly
b. Antonymic Adv. Proper:
in – out