SEMINAR 4

SEMANTIC RELATIONS AND CLASSIFICATIONS OF WORDS

 

1. Intralinguistic Relations of Words.

2. Types of Semantic Relations. Proximity. Equivalence.

3. Inclusion. Hyponimic Structures. Opposition.

4. Semantic Classification of Words. Synonymy.

5. Lexical and Terminological Sets, Lexico-Semantic Groups and Semantic

Fields.

6. Antonymy. Classification of Antonyms.

 

Key words:intralinguistic relations, syntagmatic relations, paradigmatic relations, semantic relations, proximity, equivalence, inclusion, opposition, polar oppositions, relative oppositions, hyponymic relations, classifier, hyperonym, hyponym, synonym, stylistic synonymy, ideographic synonymy, ideographic-stylistic synonymy, synonymic dominant, lexical sets, lexico-semantic groups, semantic fields, antonym

 

 

TASKS

 

1. Compare the meanings of the given words. Define what semantic features are shared by all the members of the group and what semantic properties distinguish them from each other.

 

1)

 

wage	a fixed regular payment, typically paid on a daily or weekly basis, made by an employer to an employee, especially to a manual or unskilled worker
salary	a fixed regular payment, typically paid on a monthly basis but often expressed as an annual sum, made by an employer to an employee, especially a professional or white-collar worker

 

 

pay	the money paid to someone for regular work
fee	a payment made to a professional person (e.g. to a lawyer, writer) or to a professional or public body in exchange for advice or services
income	money received, especially on a regular basis, for work or through investments

 

2)

 

reputation	the general opinion that people have about a person, organization based on what they have heard, read, seen, or experienced
image	the idea or opinion that people have about a person, organization, especially when this has been deliberately made or planned
name	the reputation a person or an organization has because of something they do or because of the quality of what they produce, usually when this is good
prestige	the respect and good reputation a person, organization has because they have a high position in society, are admired by people
stature	a reputation for being very good at something very important or influential that makes people respect you

 

1) common feature:

differentiating features:

 

 

2) common feature:

differentiating features:

 

2. Organize the given words in accordance with their hyponymic relations. Enumerate the general terms (hyperonyms).

 

1) train, light lorry, bicycle, vehicle, cabriolet, car, heavy lorry, estate car, motorcycle, bus, lorry, three-door hatchback, three-way dump truck;

 

2) turtle, mammal, squirrel, animal, reptile, seal, tiger, lizard, leopard, fox, wolf, iguana, bear, snake, feline, panther.

 

3. Group the sentences into pairs so that in one sentence there should be a hyperonym (the more general term) and in the other – the hyponym (the more concrete term).

 

Model:The man was murdered. – The man was poisoned.

 

1. He gave her a ring with five emeralds as a birthday present. 2. The man was poisoned. 3. She looked at him. 4. He heard a nightingale singing. 5. He is an officer.

 

 

6. It‟s an old car. 7. She was wearing a black dress. 8. They built a boat. 9. The man was murdered. 10. She stared at him. 11. He is a colonel. 12. It‟s an old vehicle.

13. He gave her a ring with five precious stones as a birthday present. 14. They bought flowers in the shop. 15. She was wearing a dark dress. 16. She has got a child.

17. They built a yacht. 18. They bought lilacs in the shop. 19. She has got a daughter.

20. He heard a bird singing.

 

4. Give meanings of the following synonyms. State the difference in the connotational aspect of their meaning.

 

Model: love – worship

 

Love – an intense feeling of deep affection

Worship – the feeling of profound reverence and strong adoration

 

Emotive charge and expressiveness

(intensity) are different.

Confidence – assurance; to satisfy – to delight; alone – lonely; to create – to manufacture; to blush – to redden; to tremble – lo shudder.

 

5. State the difference in the pragmatic aspect of meaning of the given synonyms. Consult a dictionary.

 

Model: to see – to behold

The verb to behold is formal, whereas the verb to see is neutral.

 

Car – automobile; refreshment – bite; soldier – warrior; to begin – to commence; face – puss; to leave – to abandon; hearty – cordial, hand – fin; to cry – to weep.

 

6. Look up in a dictionary meanings of the given pairs of synonyms. Classify synonyms into stylistic, ideographic and ideographic-stylistic.

 

Model: mum – mother

The words have the same denotational meaning ‘a female parent’, but they differ in the pragmatic aspect of meaning as the word mum is informal. Thus, this pair of synonyms belongs to the group of stylistic synonyms.

 

Information – data; associate – pal; infectious – contagious; to ask – to interrogate; to meet – to encounter; to reckon – to estimate; mum – mother, faculty – talent; to foretell – to predict; to walk – to promenade; blemish – flaw; heaven – sky; intelligent – smart; affair – business.

 

7. Find the synonymic dominant in the following groups of synonyms.

 

To sob – to weep – to cry; to brood – to reflect – to mediate – to think; to glare – to peep – to look – to stare – to glance; strange – quaint – odd – queer; terror – fear – horror; angry – furious – enraged; to flash – to gleam – to sparkle – to blaze – to shine.

 

 

8. Arrange the following units into two lexical and two terminological sets. Give them corresponding names.

 

Detached house, wire-haired fox terrier, climbing robe, bull terrier, disk, horse (vaulting horse), hardware, multi-storey block of flats, monitor, terraced house, Scottish terrier, mainframe, trampoline, interface, Bedlington terrier, floor, high-rise block of flats, landing mat, Pekinese, asymmetric bars, software, weekend house, springboard, server, cottage, beam, semi-detached house.

 

9. Classify the following words and word-combinations into lexico-semantic groups (1) and semantic fields (2) under the headings ‘education’ and ‘feeling’.

 

Book, to bear malice, displeased, to teach, intelligent, indifference, classmate, to adore, affection, to coach, frustrated, pedagogical, college, hatred, day-student, in a temper, to repeat a year, passion, calm (adj), exercise, reader, satisfaction, to write, wrathful, knowledge, tuition, jealousy, course, to supervise, to infuriate, disciplined, happy, to develop habits, unrest, shock, methodological, to hurt, to smatter of (in), angry.

 

10. Give antonyms to the following words. Group them into antonyms of the same root (a) and antonyms of different roots (b).

 

Model: artistic

The antonym of the word artistic is inartistic. These words belong to the group of antonyms of the same root (group a).

 

Happy (adj), careful (adj), dwarf (adj), obedience (n), criticism (n), above (adv), regular (adj), asleep (adj), back (adv), polite (adj), triumph (n), hope (n), artistic (adj), appear (v), prewar (adj), far (adv), logical (adj), love (n), known (adj).

 

11. Classify antonymous pairs into contradictories, contraries and incompatibles. To prove the division give intermediate members of the antonymous set where it is necessary, or give other members of the group which are excluded in the given antonymous pair.

 

Model: arid – awash

These antonyms refer to the group of contraries as they are polar members of a gradual opposition which has the following intermediate members: dry – wet.

 

Poetry – prose, inch – foot, man – woman, old – young, beautiful – ugly, Monday – Sunday, teacher – pupil, to adore – to loathe, one – thousand, tremendous – tiny, iron – copper, to accept – to reject, round – square, creditor – debtor, immaculate – filthy, boy – man, day – night, clever – stupid, red – brown, arid – awash, inside – outside, open – shut, November – March, evil – good.