LEXICAL MEANING AS A LINGUISTIC CATEGORY

POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
What is meaning?
Semantic structure of the word. Polysemy.
Types of lexical meaning.
The process of development and change of meaning.
Homonymy.

“Meaning is the reverberation in the human consciousness of an object of extralinguistic reality which becomes a fact of language because of constant association with a definite linguistic expression.”
Prof. Olga S. Akhmanova

Meaning
idea
word referent

Polysemy – the existence within one word of several connected meanings as the result of development and changes of its original meaning.

Context -
the linguistic environment of a unit of language which reveals the conditions and the characteristic features of its usage in speech;
the semantically complete passage of written speech sufficient to establish the meaning of a given word

context
Minimum
Ex:
Blind monk
Blind handwriting
Dull pupil
Dull book
Dull weather
Second-degree
Ex:
The man was large.
But his wife was even fatter.

Semantic structure with the main (direct) meaning holding it together
Bar, n
I any kind of barrier
II profession III counter
of a lawyer for drinks

Semantic structure with a common component holding it together
Dull, adj.
A dull book – not interesting
A dull student – not clever implication
A dull day – not bright of
A dull knife – not sharp deficiency
Dull eyes – not seeing well

Diachronic and synchronic approaches towards meaning
quick, adj.
Diachronic:
Etymological
flexible
Archaic
alive (Ex: the quick and the dead)
Synchronic:
Main
fast
Secondary
…

TYPES OF LEXICAL MEANING
Nominative
Nominative-derivative
Linguistically (colligationally and collocationally) bound
Phraseologically bound

The processes of development and change of meaning
Transference based on similarity (linguistic metaphor)
Transference based on contiguity (linguistic metonymy)
Generalization and specialization of meaning
“Degeneration” and “elevation” of meaning

Homonyms – words identical in sound form and spelling (or, at least, in one of these aspects) but different in their meaning

Sources of homonymy
Phonetic changes;
Borrowing;
Word-building:
conversion
shortening
sound-imitation
Split polysemy

Split polysemy
I – board, n – piece of timber
II – board,n – daily meals for pay
III – board, n – an official group of people
I
A piece of furniture
II III

Split polysemy
I – board, n – piece of timber
II – board,n – daily meals for pay
III – board, n – an official group of people
I
II III