One can speak of different degrees of deadness as it were taking for illustration such metaphors as to ruminate (to think), originally applied to a cow's cud chewing or, say, such metaphors as time flies, a cold look which are quite faded. Such adjective metaphors as orange, violet are no longer felt as figurative.
Metonymy is a device in which the name of one thing is changed for that of another to which it is related by association of ideas as having close relationship to one another. The simplest case of metonymy is synecdoche. Synecdoche means giving a part for the whole or vice versa.
e.g.: foot (infantry), town may be applied to the inhabitants of it. The word violin is often used to denote not the instrument but the musician who plays it.
In the Ukrainian language the examples of synecdoche can be represented by the following examples: носа не показувати, роботящі руки, білява куделя оглянулася.
Faded metonymy can be found in the political vocabulary when the place of some establishment is used not only for the establishment itself or its staff but also for its policy: the White House, the Pentagon, Інститут святкує своє десятиріччя.
Other examples of metonymy include:
1. The sign for the thing signified: grey hair (old age).
2. The instrument for the agent: the best pens of the day (the best writers).
Він - перша скрипка.
3. The container for the thing contained: He drank a cup. Чайник закипів.
4. The names of various organs can be used in the same way: head can be used for brains; heart often stands for emotions. Honey tongue, a heart of gall.У неї золоте серце.
5. A part of species substituted for a whole or genus: He manages to earn his bread (the necessaries of life).
6. A whole or genus substitutes for a part or species: He is a poor creature (man). Він - бідне створіння.
7. The name of the material which stands for the thing made of this material: iron, kid, фарфор, фаянс.
Due to a great variety of associations there are a lot of cases where metonymy is disguised.
e.g.: sandwich is named after John Montague, earl of Sandwich, who invented this kind of meal;
champagne - a white sparkling wine made in the province of Champagne (France);
nicotine - a poisonous alkaloid which got its name after Jean Nicot, who introduced tobacco into France.
SYNONYMS. ANTONYMS. HOMONYMS
Synonyms
the definition of synonyms;
classifications of synonyms;
sources of synonymy;
d) criteria of synonymy.
2. Antonyms
the definition of antonyms;
classifications of antonyms;
criteria of antonyms.
Homonyms
the definition of homonyms;
sources of homonymy;
classifications of homonyms.
The Definition of Synonyms
Grouping of words is based upon similarities and contrasts. Taking up similarity of meaning and contrasts of phonetic shape we observe that every language has in its vocabulary a variety of words kindred in meaning but different in morphemic composition, phonemic shape and usage. The more developed the language is, the richer the diversity and therefore the greater the possibilities of lexical choice enhancing the effectiveness and precision of speech.
Synonyms can be defined as two or more words of the same language, belonging to the same part of speech and possessing one or more identical or nearly identical denotational meanings, interchangeable at least in some contexts, without any alteration on the denotational meaning, but differing in the morphemic composition, phonemic shape, shades of meaning, connotations, affective value, style, valency and idiomatic use.
The words to annoy, to vex, to irk, to bother are synonyms. To annoy, to vex may mean both a non-intentional influence and an intentional one. To irk, to bother presuppose only the intentional influence. To annoy is a neutral word. To vex has a stronger shade. To bother presupposes the slightest reaction. The denotational meaning of all these words is the same: to make somebody a little angry by especially repeated acts. As it is seen from the example the synonymic group comprises a dominant element. This is the synonymic dominant, the most general term of its kind potentially containing the specific features rendered by all the other members of the group. Or in the Ukrainian language the word бридкий is a synonymic dominant in the synonymic row: бридкий, огидний, гидкий, потворний, осоружний, негарний.
The majority of English words are polysemantic. The result of it is that one and the same word may belong in its various meanings to several synonymic groups.
e.g.: to appear may have the synonyms, to emerge, to come into sight and to look, to seem.
b) Classifications of Synonyms
Absolute synonyms are very rare in the language. They are mostly different names for one and the same plant, animal, disease etc.
e.g.: luce - pike, compounding - composition, castor - beaver, алфавіт - абетка, буква - літера, процент - відсоток, площа - майдан, нагідки - календула.
In the course of time absolute synonyms come to have either a different shade of meaning or different usage. If two words exactly coincide in meaning and use the natural tendency is for one of them to change its meaning or drop out of the language.
Ideographic synonyms differ from each other in shades of meaning. Synonyms of this kind are very numerous in the English language. In such synonyms we can easily find the general and the particular. The general connects such synonyms into one group, makes them representatives of one concept whereas the particular allows every synonym of the group to stress a certain feature of the concept. Thus all the synonyms express the concept in all its many-sided variety and completeness.
Not all ideographic synonyms are of the same kind. We can distinguish between those which are very close in their meanings (horrible - terrible, screech - shriek), synonyms which differ in meaning considerably. Thus, interpreter and translator denote the same concept of a person rendering the expressions of one language into the expressions of another but the oral side of the work is associated with the interpreter whereas the translator is connected with writing. Both ladder and stairs denote a set of parallel bars used for climbing up but ladder is associated with a rope contrivance or a portable device consisting of two beams crossed by a set of parallel bars while stairs represents a permanent arrangement mostly within a building, of blocks of wood or slabs of marble joined to form a long series of steps, stairway or staircase.
Among verbs we find ideographic synonyms which differ in the manner of the action expressed by the verb: to look (the synonymic dominant), to glance (to look quickly), to gaze (to look with surprise, curiosity), to stare (to look fixedly), to regard (to look attentively), to view (to look searchingly), to eye (to look from head to foot), to peep (to look stealthily).
Synonyms can differ in the degree of a given quality, in the intensity of the action performed or the intensity of the emotions: to want - to desire - to long for; to ask - to beg - to pray; to work - to toil - to slave.
Synonyms can also differ in the emotional colouring: big - great; boy - lad.
Synonyms can differ in the volume of the concept they express: border - frontier. Border is wider in meaning than frontier for the latter means mostly a state border whereas border is any limit, edge, etc. Happy is wider than lucky which implies only happy circumstances attending one's undertakings.
There are synonyms where one expresses continuity of action or state while the other expresses a momentary action of the same nature: to speak - to say; to remember - to memorise.
Ukrainian scholars call such synonyms semantic: хата - дім - будинок, череда - отара - зграя.
Stylistic synonyms do not differ in shades of their common meaning. They differ in usage and style: doctor (official) - doc (familiar); to commence (official) - to begin (neutral). They also show the attitude of the speaker towards the event, object or process described: to die - to depart, to expire - to kick the bucket; говорити - балакати, базікати; ходити - шкандибати, дибати, пхатися, читальний зал - читалка, здібний - кмітливий.
Ukrainian scholars distinguish between semantic-stylistic synonyms: архітектор - зодчий.
Phraseological synonyms are those which do not necessarily differ materially in their meanings or stylistic value. They differ in their combinative power. Thus, in such groups as few - little, many - much we can speak not so much of any immediate difference in the meanings of words as of their difference in application (much time - little water; many children - much air). We say a sunny day, a moonlit night but we should use the solar system, a lunar eclipse.
Phraseological synonyms can replace each other in some combinations but are not interchangeable in others. Use and benefit are synonyms in such expressions as public use, public benefit whereas they are no longer synonyms and cannot replace each other in expressions like I have no use for such books, or He was given the benefit of the doubt. Перед, напередодні cease to be synonyms if they are used in the context: перед мостом, напередодні свята.
Contextual synonyms are similar in meaning only under some specific distributional conditions. The verbs to bear, to suffer and stand are semantically different and not interchangeable except when used in the negative form.
c) Sources of Synonymy
One of the sources of synonymy is borrowings. In Modern English a great number of synonyms serve to differentiate the meanings of words, their colloquial or bookish character. Most of bookish synonyms are of foreign origin, while popular and colloquial words are mostly native. Many native synonyms were either restricted or ousted by foreign terms.
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