POLYSEMY, HOMONYMY, SYNONYMY

Polysemy

the phenomenon where a single lexical item (word or phrase) possesses multiple, distinct but fundamentally related meanings

Homonymic approach

an approach to polysemy where each meaning is treated as a separate word, which was rejected by Potebnya and Shcherba

Invariant approach

an approach where a word has one general meaning and multiple contextual variants, which is influential in grammar but problematic for the lexicon (Jakobson, structuralists)

Systemic (Polysemic) approach

the dominant approach in the Russian tradition where meanings are viewed as autonomous but related units within one word, treating polysemy as a fact of language, not speech

Fact of LANGUAGE

a view of meaning where meanings exist in the mental lexicon before context, the context selects the appropriate meaning, and the speaker chooses while the hearer recognizes

Fact of SPEECH

a view of meaning where meaning is created and shaped in context, and both speaker and hearer negotiate it

Homonyms

two or more words that share the same spoken form (pronunciation) or written form (spelling), but have completely distinct, unrelated meanings

Three Ways to Classify Homonyms

1. By form (homographs vs. homophones), 2. By completeness (full vs. partial), 3. By part of speech / meaning (lexical, lexico-grammatical, or grammatical)

Lexical homonyms

homonyms that belong to the same part of speech and have completely different meanings

Grammatical homonyms

homonyms that belong to different parts of speech but share a related meaning

Lexico-grammatical homonyms

homonyms that belong to different parts of speech and have completely different meanings

Polysemy [the semantic triangle]

a configuration represented as one symbol–one general concept–different referents (e.g., match as game/partner/matchstick sharing the idea of "matching")

Homonymy [the semantic triangle]

a configuration represented as one symbol–different concepts–different referents (e.g., match as a game vs. match as a verb with no shared concept)

Synonymy [the semantic triangle]

a configuration represented as different symbols–one concept–referents may be same or different (e.g., mistake / blunder / lapse / slip sharing the concept of "error")

difference between polysemy and homonymy

Polysemy features meanings that are historically and semantically related, whereas Homonymy features meanings that are completely unrelated, sharing only the same form

Synonymy

the semantic relationship between two or more lexical items (words or phrases) that share the same or highly similar meanings within a given language, sharing a core meaning invariant and being partially interchangeable

Why do we need synonyms?

To give us choice and make language flexible, allowing the expression of emotions, evaluations, connotations, and adaptations to different speakers or situations

Why Synonymy is hard to classify?

Because synonyms are different from thematic groups (e.g., table, chair, sofa) and thesauruses often mix word classes, making semantic analysis and cross-category comparison difficult

Stylistic synonyms

words that share the exact same conceptual meaning (denotation) but belong to different functional styles, communicative registers, or emotional tones (e.g., spouse

Dialectal synonyms

words that share the exact same conceptual meaning (denotation) but are used by speakers in different geographical regions, dialects, or national variants (e.g., beck

Stylistic connotation

the additional communicative, social, or emotional information that a word conveys beyond its literal, objective definition (e.g., die

Connotation

the extra, associative meaning of a word beyond its core denotation

Partial interchangeability

the property of words that share a highly similar core meaning but can only replace one another in specific contexts, combinations, or syntactic structures, protecting synonyms from disappearing

Two functions of synonyms

1. Substitution [Заменяющая функция], 2. Refinement [Дифференцирующая функция]

Substitution

the function of synonyms used to avoid repetition and remove tautology (e.g., exaggerate / overrate)

Refinement

the main function of ideographic (conceptual) synonyms used to choose the precise shade of meaning (e.g., mistake / blunder / lapse / slip)

invariant

the core meaning shared by all members of a synonymous set (e.g., the invariant of mistake, blunder, lapse, slip is "error")

dominant

the specific word that carries the semantic invariant in its purest form and can replace any member of the set, though nuance is lost (e.g., "mistake" is the dominant for the error-set)

Contextual synonyms

words that stand in a synonymous relationship only within the boundaries of a specific utterance or text, without being synonyms in the dictionary