Phonetic coincidence and semantic differentiation of homonyms

 

     CONTENT 

 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………...4 

1. THEORETICAL BASES OF HOMONYM

1. Notion of homonyms ………………………………………………………5
2. History of homonyms ……………………………………………………..11
3. Classification of homonyms……………………………………………….15

 

2. PECULIARITIES OF ENGLISH HOMONYMS

2.1 Phonetic coincidence and semantic differentiation of homonyms………24

2.2 Diachronically approach of homonyms…………………………………...26

2.3 Synchronically approach in studying homonymy………………………..30

2.4 Lexical, grammatical and lexico-grammatical distinctions of

homonyms……………………………………………………………………….35

2.5 Etymological and semantic criteria in polysemy and homonymy………38

2.6 Comparative typological analysis of two linguistic

phenomena in other languages…………………………………………………59 

CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………62 

REFERENCE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

     INTRODUCTION 
 

     The theme of my diploma work sounds as following: “Homonyms in English and their specific features”. This diploma work can be characterized by the following:

     The actuality of this theme. The work could serve as a good source of learning English by young teachers at schools and colleges.

     The object: of the diploma work is Homonyms in English.

     The subject: Investigation of specific features of Homonyms.

     The aim of my diploma work is to research  specific features of homonyms in English, to define the types of homonyms and to teach the usage  of homonyms to English learners.

          The practical value: The given materials help teachers in teaching the students to use easily homonyms in English.

          The theoretical value: Providing additional materials to the information of homonyms and  identifying specific feautures of homonyms in English.

          The structure of the diploma work consists of introduction, two titles, conclusion and references. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

             1. THEORETICAL BASES OF HOMONYM

               1.1 Notion of homonyms  

      In linguistics, a homonym is one of a group of words that share the same spelling or pronunciation (or both) but have different meanings. The state of being a homonym is called homonymy. Examples of homonyms are stalk (which can mean either part of a plant or to follow someone around) and the trio of words to, too and two (actually, to, to, too, too and two, being "for the purpose of" as in "to make it easier", the opposite of "from", also, excessively, and "2", respectively). Some sources state that homonym meanings must be unrelated in origin (rather than just different). Thus right (correct) and right (opposed to left) would be polysemous and not be homonyms. Note that some sources define homonyms as words that are spelled and pronounced alike. There is a similar confusion about the definition of some of the related terms described below. This article explains what appear to be the "standard" meanings, and variant definitions are then summarised under "Terminological confusion". The word "homonym" comes from the conjunction of the Greek prefix homo- (meaning same) and suffix -onym (meaning name). Thus, it refers to two or more distinct words sharing the "same name".

      Language processing considerations have often been used to explain aspects of language structure and evolution. According to Bates and MacWhinney, this view "is a kind of linguistic Darwinism, an argument that languages look the way they do for functional or adaptive reasons". However, as in adaptationist accounts of biological structures and evolution, this approach can lead to the creation of "just so" stories. In order to avoid these problems, case-by-case analyses must be replaced by statistical investigations of linguistic corpora. In addition, independent evidence for the relative "adaptiveness" of certain linguistic structures must be obtained. We will use this approach to study a linguistic phenomenon – homonymy. That seems to be maladaptive both intuitively and empirically and has been frequently subjected to informal adaptationist arguments. A statistical analysis of English homonyms then uncovered a reliable bias against the usage of homonyms from the same grammatical class. A subsequent experiment provided independent evidence that such homonyms are in fact more confusing than those from different grammatical classes.

     In a simple code each sign has only one meaning, and each meaning is associated with only one sign. This one-to-one relationship is not realized in natural languages. When several related meanings are associated with the same group of sounds within one part of speech, the word is called polysemantic, when two or more unrelated meanings are associated with the same form – the words are homonyms.

      The intense development of homonymy in the English language is obviously due not to one single factor but to several interrelated causes, such as the monosyllabic character of English and its analytic structure.

      The abundance of homonyms is also closely connected with such a characteristic feature of the English language as the phonetic identity of word and stem or, in other words, the predominance of free forms among the most frequent roots. It is quite obvious that if the frequency of words stands in some inverse relationship to their length, the monosyllabic words will be the most frequent. Moreover, as the most frequent words are also highly polysemantic, it is only natural that they develop meanings, which in the coarse of time may deviate very far from the central one.

      In general, homonymy is intentionally sought to provoke positive, negative or awkward connotations. Concerning the selection of initials, homonymy with shortened words serves the purpose of manipulation.  The demotivated process of a shortened word hereby leads to re-motivation.  The form is homonymously identical with an already lexicalized linguistic unit, which makes it easier to pronounce or recall, thus standing out from the majority of acronyms.  This homonymous unit has a secondary semantic relation to the linguistic unit.

      Homonymy of names functions as personified metaphor with the result that the homonymous name leads to abstraction.  The resultant new word coincides in its phonological realization with an existing word in English. However, there is no logical connection between the meaning of the acronym and the meaning of the already existing word, which explains a great part of the humor it produces.

      In the coarse of time the number of homonyms on the whole increases, although occasionally the conflict of homonyms ends in word loss [1:88].

List of Homonyms which contains all the Homonyms. 
 
Cache: A hidden store of things 
Cash: Money in coins or notes 
 
Cannon:  
 
1. A large, heavy piece of artillery formerly used in warfare 
2. (Billiards or snooker) A stroke in which the cue ball strikes two balls successfully 
3. Collide with something forcefully or at an angle 
 
Canon:  
 
1. A general rule or principle by which something is judged 
2. The degree or the law of a Church 
3. A collection or the list of sacred books accepted as genuine 
 
Canvas: A strong coarse unbleached cloth used to make sails, tents etc… and as a surface for oil painting 
 
Canvass: 
 
1. Solicit votes from voters 
2. Propose an idea or a plan for discussion 
 
Capital:  
 
1. The most important city or a town of a country or a region, usually the seat of government and administration 
2. Wealth owned by a person or an association or invested, lent or borrowed 
3. A capital letter 
 
4. (Of an offence or charge) Liable to attract the death penalty 
 
Capitol:  
 
1. (In the USA) A building housing a legislative assembly 
2. (The Capitol) The temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill in ancient Rome 
 
Carat: 
 
1. A unit of weight for precious stones and pearls, equivalent to 200 milligrams 
2. (USA spelling of karat) A measure of the purity of Gold, pure gold being 24 carats 
 
Caret:A proofreader’s mark (^) placed below a line of text to indicate a proposed insertion or correction 
 
Carrot: A tapering orange-colored root eaten as a vegetable 
 
Cast: 
 
1. Throw forcefully in a specified direction 
2. Cause (light or shadow) to appear on a surface  
3. Discard 
4. Shape (metal or other material) by pouring into a mould while molten 
5. Register( a vote) 
6. Throw the hooked and baited end of a fishing line into the water 
7. cast a magic spell to take effect 
8. The actors taking part in a play or film 
 
Caste:

1. each of hereditary classes of Hindu society, distinguished by relative degrees of ritual purity or pollution (untouchables) and of social status 
2. (In some social insects) A physically distinct kind of individual with a particular function(Entomology) 
 
Cede: Give up (power or territory) 
 
Seed: A plant’s unit of reproduction through which another plant is capable of growing 
 
Cell:  
 
1. A small room in which a prisoner is kept locked or in which a monk or a nun sleeps 
2. A small group of people forming a nucleus of a political party 
3. A device containing electrodes immersed in electrolyte, used for current generation or electrolysis 
 
Sell: Give or hand over in exchange for money 
 
Censor: An official who examines material that is to be published or a film that is to be screened and deletes or edits parts considered offensive to societal sensibilities or a threat to the security of the society 
 
Sensor: A device which detects or measures a physical property 
 
Cite:  
 
1. Quote (a book or author) as evidence for an argument or belief 
2. Praise for a courageous act in an official dispatch 
 
Sight:

 
1. The faculty or the power of seeing

2. The action or the fact of seeing someone or something 
 
Site: 
 
1. An area of ground on which something is located

2. The place where a particular event or activity is occurring or has occurred 
 
 
Coarse:  
 
1. Rough or harsh in texture, unrefined 
2. (Of a person’s features) Not elegantly formed or well proportioned 
3. (Of a person’s character or his speech) Rude or vulgar 
 
Course:  
 
1. The route or direction followed by a ship, aircraft, road or a river 
2. The way in which something progresses or develops 
3. A dish forming one of the successive parts of meal 
4. A series or lectures or lessons in a particular subject 
5. An area of land prepared for racing, golf or any other sport 
 
 
Complacent: Smug and uncritically satisfied with oneself or one’s achievements, self-satisfied 
 
Complaisant: Willingness to please others or to accept their behavior without protest 
 
 
Complement:  
 
1. A thing that contributes extra features to something else and thereby enhances and improves it 
2. The number or quantity the makes something complete 
 
Compliment: A polite expression of praise or admiration 
 
Conch: A tropical marine mollusk 
 
Conk:  
 
1. (Of a machine) break down  
2. Faint or go to sleep or die 
Coo:  
 
1. (Of a pigeon or dove) Make a softy murmuring sound  
2. (Of a person) To speak in a soft and gentle voice 
 
Coup:  
 
1. A sudden and violent seizure of power from a government 
2. An unexpected and notably successful act [2:89]. 
 

      Homonym conflict arises from the phonetic similarity, or homophony, of two or more homonyms and is frequently associated with at least one of the following features: (a) paradigmatic similarity, i.e. homonyms of the same word class are more likely to conflict, e.g. ME heal and hele (‘to cover, hide’); (b) syntactic confusion, i.e. ‘homonyms’ may be created through phonetic similarity brought about in certain syntactic environments, e.g. ME ear and nere (‘kidney’) conflicting in the syntactic environment of an ear vs a nere; (c) occurrence in the same lexical field or domain, e.g. OFr. *gat (‘cat’ and ‘cock’), both agricultural terms. Homonym conflict may be avoided by (a) differentiation of gender in some languages, e.g. Ger. der/das Band (‘volume’/‘ribbon’); (b) orthographic distinction, e.g. plane vs plain (homography); (c) lexical expansion, e.g. light (in weight)>light-weight vs light (in color)> light-colored; and (d) loss or replacement of one of the conflicting words, e.g. ME quēn (‘queen’) vs (‘harlot’).

      Apparent aversion to homonym conflict is offset by the fact that a language may at any given time have numerous instances of potentially conflicting homonyms, as illustrated by the English homophonic pairs flower: flour and pray: prey [3:64]. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

1.2 History of homonyms 

      The word homonymcomes from a Latin borrowing of Greek homonymon, the neuter of homonymos "homonymous". The Greek word is a combination of homos "same" + onyma "name". The Greek word for "same" comes from a PIE ancestor, *sem-/*som- "together, as one", with that ablaut vowel, sometimes [o], sometimes [e]. It is the same stem that made it to English as same. In Russian it emerged as sam "self", found in words like samovar "self-boiler" from sam + var(it') "to boil". With a suffix -l, it devolved into Latin simul "at the same time", which we see in our borrowing simultaneous. We aren't quite sure why some word-initial Ss became [h] in Greek, but some did [4:136].

      There are a lot of different sources of homonyms in English language, so let’s talk about some of them, which are the most important ones, due to my point of view.

      One source of homonyms is phonetic changes, which words undergo in the coarse of their historical development. As a result of such changes, two or more words, which were formally pronounced differently, may develop identical sound forms and thus become homonyms.

      Night and knight, for instance, were not homonyms in Old English as the initial k in the second word was pronounced, and not dropped as it is in its modern sound form: O.E. kniht (cf. O.E. niht). A more complicated change of form brought together another pair of homonyms: to knead (O.E. cneadan) and to need (O.E. neodian).

     In Old English the verb to write had the form writan, and the adjective right had the forms reht, riht. The noun sea descends from the Old English form sae, and the verb to see – from O.E. seon. The noun work and the verb to work also had different forms in Old English: wyrkean and weork respectively.

      Borrowing is another source of homonyms. A borrowed word may, in the final stage of its phonetic adaptation, duplicate in form either a native word or another borrowing. So, in the group of homonyms rite, noun – to write, verb – right, adjective the second and the third words are of native origin whereas rite is a Latin borrowing (<Lat. ritus). In the pair piece, noun – peace, noun, the first originates from Old French pais, and the second from O.F. (<Gaulish) pettia. Bank, noun ‘a shore’ is a native word, and bank, noun ‘a financial institution’ is an Italian borrowing. Fair, adjective ( as in a fair deal, it’s not fair) is native, and fair, noun ‘a gathering of buyers and sellers’ is a French borrowing. Match, noun ‘a game; a contest of skill, strength’ is native, and match, noun ‘a slender short piece of wood used for producing fire’ is a French borrowing.

      Word building also contributes significantly to the growth of homonymy, and the most important type in this respect is undoubtedly conversion. Such pairs of words as comb, noun – to comb, verb; pale, adjective – to pale, verb; to make, verb – make, noun are numerous in the vocabulary. Homonyms of this type, which are the same in sound and spelling but refer to different categories of parts of speech, are called lexico-grammatical homonyms.

       Shortening is a further type of word building, which increases the number of homonyms. Fan, noun in the sense of ‘enthusiastic admirer of some kind of sport or of an actor, singer, etc.’ is a shortening produced from fanatic. Its homonym is a Latin borrowing fan, nou which denotes an implement for waving lightly to produce a cool current of air. The noun rep, n denoting a kind of fabric (cf. with the Rus. penc) has three homonyms made by shortening: rep, noun (< repertory), rep, noun (< representative), rep, noun (< reputation); all the three are informal words.

       During World War II girls serving in the Women’s Royal Naval Service (an auxiliary of the British Royal Navy) were jokingly nicknamed Wrens (informal). This neologistic formation made by shortening has the homonym wren, noun ‘a small bird with dark brown plumage barred with black’ (Rus. крапивник).