Sense Relations 6 2 Homonymy 6 2 Homonymy

Sense Relations 6. 2 Homonymy

6. 2 Homonymy --- Homonymy: the state or quality of a given word’s having the same spelling and the same sound or pronunciation as another word, but with a different meaning. --- Homonym: words different in meaning but either identical both in sound and spelling or identical only in sound or spelling --- The words which are in the relationship of homonymy are homonyms.

1. Types of homonyms Perfect homonyms Homographs Homophones

Perfect homonyms △ bear n. （large furry animal）[from Old English bera] bear v. （tolerate）[from Old English beran] △ lie vi. （be located somewhere）[from Old English licgan] lie vi. （deliberately say something untrue）[from Old English lyge] △meet vt. （come across somebody）[from Old English metan] meet adj. （appropriate）[from Old English gemaete] △tack n. （small nail）[14 th century. From Old Northern French tague] tack n. （saddles and bridles）[late 18 th century. Shortening of tackle] tack n. （something inferior）[late 20 th century. Back-formation from tacky] tack n. （poor fare）[late 16 th century. Origin unknown]

Homographs △refuse v. （indicate unwillingness） refuse n. （garbage） △sow v. （plant seed） sow n. （female hog） △tear n. （single drop of fluid from the eye） tear v. （pull or come apart） △prayer n. （communication with God or other being） prayer n. （one who prays） △sewer n. （drain for water） sewer n. （medieval servant） sewer n. （one who sews）

Homophones △ dear n. a loved person deer n. a kind of animal △ aero adj. of aircraft arrow n. slender, pointed shaft △ air n. stuff we breathe heir n. one who will inherit △ altar n. raised center of worship alter v. to change △ baron n. minor royalty barren adj. unable to bear children

2. Origins of homonyms • change in sound and spelling Some homonyms are native by origin, derived from different earlier forms in Old English. The change in sound and spelling gradually made them identical in modern English. • borrowing As a result of heavy borrowing from other languages, many words of foreign origin coincide in sound and/or spelling with those of native origin or with those of other foreign origin. • shortening Many shortened forms of words happen to be identical with other words in spelling or sound.

3. Differentiation of homonyms and polysemants perfect homonyms polysemants Similarity spelling and sound Difference fundamental s different lexemes the same form the same lexeme distinguishable meaning source etymology desendants of different sources a words of the same sources semantic relatedness have nothing to do with one another related, can be traced back to one central meaning in dictionaries listed as sepatated entries listed under one headword

Polysemants the same form Perfect Homonyms

• Lexeme: A lexeme is an abstract unit of morphological analysis in linguistics, that roughly corresponds to a set of words that are different forms of "the same word". For example, the English word forms run, runs, ran and running are forms of the same lexeme.

4. Rhetoric Features of Homonyms • As homomyms are considered in sound or spelling, particularly homophones, they are often employed to created puns for desired effect of, say, humour, sarcasm or ridicule.

Examples: --- "'Mine is a long and sad tale!' said the Mouse, turning to Alice, and sighing. --- "'It is a long tail, certainly, ' said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse's tail; 'but why do you call it sad? '" (Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)

• William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet --- Not I, believe me. You have dancing shoes with nimble soles (souls) ; I have a soul（sole）of lead so stakes me to the ground. I cannot move. Notes： nimble（quick, and neat in movement ） sole （the underside of the foot ） stake（to tie, fasten, or tether with or to a stake 译一：我实在不能跳了， 你们都有轻快的舞鞋。 我只有一个像铅一样重的灵魂， 把我的身体紧紧的钉在地上，使我不能动弹。 译二：我实在不能跳了， 你们都有轻快的舞鞋。 我只有一个像铅一样重的舞鞋。 译三：我实在不能跳了， 你们都有舞鞋，且心情轻松 我虽有舞鞋，但心情沉重。