There are many types of polysemy, some of which view the polysemous word as having primary meaning and secondary meaning, i.e. the meaning which a word refers to in the external world and what it refers to in the second understanding of the word. Other types of polysemy can be dealt with lexically, i.e. these types view the literal meaning and the figurative meaning of the polysemous word. Accordingly, there is referential polysemy, and lexical polysemy which is subdivided into linear polysemy and subsuming polysemy. 2.6.1 Referential polysemy: It means that the objects can be viewed from a number of points of view, for instance, the word piano can be viewed as a music instrument or as a piece of furniture. This type is called referential polysemy (Cruse, 1995:111). 2.6.2 Lexical polysemy: According to Cruse (1995:111), this type of polysemy occurs when the lexical item refers to objects that we think of as being somehow related. Cruse (1995:111) states that lexical polysemy is of two types: 2.6.2.1 Linear polysemy: …show more content…
For instance, mouse has a literal meaning as in mouse-rodent, where the literal meaning of mouse is the rodent. And it has derived or figurative meaning as in computer-mouse. For example, the literal meaning of mouse is the rodent; a derived meaning is the computer mouse. Another example is the word bed can be used literally as a piece of furniture that you lie on, it is also something flat at the bottom of something else, like a river bed, or a place where something can be found in abundance, like a shellfish bed, or a bed of roses in a figurative way.. According to this point of view, words do possess a literal meaning; all other meanings are merely derived and figurative (Cruse,
5. Symbolism. This is the act of using an object or word to represent and abstract idea.
First, a brief background in the three dimensions of language discussed throughout this paper. The functional, semantic, or thematic dimensions of language as previously mentioned are often used in parallel with each other. Due, to this fact it is important to be able to identify them as they take place and differentiate between these dimensions i...
Archetypes are a common theme in many ancient mythologies across the world, and have become a common characteristic in modern day pop culture. A popular archetype is the Trickster, which has a strong influence in the popular T.V. show Supernatural. The trickster archetype in Supernatural is similar to the tricksters Loki in the Prose Edda and Prometheus in Roman culture because they share similar powers, they experiences a battle of wits with the gods, and the outcomes of the trickster’s deeds lead to their punishment. The trickster in Supernatural is also very similar to the god trickster Loki in the Prose Edda because of their relationship between the other gods.
Fromm, Erich. “The Nature of Symbolic Language.” Class Handout: English 101. Cerro Coso Community College, 2010. 121-26. Print.
What is figurative language? Figurative language is saying something other than what is meant for effect. For example a metaphor, simile, symbol, hyperbole or personification. In the sermon called Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God and the Iroquois Constitution there is a lot of figurative language.
In the book Metaphors We Live By, authors George Lakoff and Mark Johnson address the traditional philosophic view denouncing metaphor's influence on our world and our selves (ix). Using linguistic and sociological evidence, Lakoff and Johnson claim that figurative language performs essential functions beyond those found in poetry, cliché, and elaborate turns of phrase. Metaphor permeates our daily experiences - not only through systems of language, but also in terms of the way we think and act. The key to understanding a metaphor's effect on behavior, relationships, and how we make sense of our environment, can be found in the way humans use metaphorical language. To appreciate the affects of figurative language over even the most mundane details of our daily activity, it is necessary to define the term, "metaphor" and explain its role in defining the thoughts and actions that structure our conceptual system.
In Hollywood today, most films can be categorized according to the genre system. There are action films, horror flicks, Westerns, comedies and the likes. On a broader scope, films are often separated into two categories: Hollywood films, and independent or foreign ‘art house’ films. Yet, this outlook, albeit superficial, was how many viewed films. Celebrity-packed blockbusters filled with action and drama, with the use of seamless top-of-the-line digital editing and special effects were considered ‘Hollywood films’. Films where unconventional themes like existentialism or paranoia, often with excessive violence or sex or a combination of both, with obvious attempts to displace its audiences from the film were often attributed with the generic label of ‘foreign’ or ‘art house’ cinema.
"Iraqi Head Seeks Arms." (Pinker, p. 69) Quiproquo, double entendre, pun. These are instances of finding more than one possible meaning to an event, most often a phrase. We can't read Shakespeare, or Molière, or the works of many other authors if we don't believe that something can have more than one meaning. "There is no topic in philosophy that has received more attention than meaning, in its multifarious manifestations." (Dennett, p. 401) Meaning is one of our most intimate bedfellows – it is always in our minds. In Webster's Third New International Dictionary, meaning is defined as follows;
Let's see what a few dictionaries have to say and how a word could alter and lose its true and actual meaning.
One of the most common ways to enhance suspense is the use of words with cataphoric semantic elements. Cataphora is a trope, which refers to early cues within the narrative, while the opposite trope anaphora means the recall of these clues (cf. Shaul 2012, 39). Cataphora refers to the subsequent information in the text. The subsequent information are cohesive relationships to advance one (Wulff 1996, 2-3). Cataphora helps to create dramatic effect and it builds suspense by keeping the reader to wait for the outcome (Donnelly 1994, 100). Donnelly (1994, 100) notes that generic terms, which start high up the ladder and work to more specific names build suspense e.g. personal pronouns (I, we, you, she), relative pronouns (that, which), demonstrative
A metaphor makes us attend to some likeness, often a novel or surprising likeness, between two or more things (Lycan, 178).
Semantics can be defined as the study of "meaning" of lexical words and expressions independently of context. Where pragmatics is the process of recognising the "invisible meaning" of lexical items and expressions; taking into account the speaker's/ addressee's intention, the status of hearer/ receiver and the actual situation.
There are many abstract terms that are present in the English language that everyone uses every day. These are words that have no concrete meaning, just a meaning that people have given them over time. The meaning of these words might even change depending on the circumstance or the person who is using it. An example of an abstract term would be the word “pain.” Pain is an experience that occasionally is just an inconvenience and people could ignore it shortly after it happened, but pain is usually something that ultimately prevents someone from moving forward in their life.
Meronymy occurs when two lexical items are related as whole to part (or vice versa). Similarly to the hyponymy, the directionality of the relation determines under which category the relations is ranked. To differentiate them, in hyponym, an item is a kind of another item, in meronymy, an item is a part of another item (Eggins, 2004; Emilia, 2014; Halliday and Hasan, 1985). A simple example is taken from The Story of an Hour (Eggins, 2004)
Meaning can be studied in two ways: semantically and pragmatically. Semantics is the study of the meaning of words, phrases and sentences of what the speaker says. The focus is on what the words and sentences conventionally mean. For example, semantic studies are concerned with topics such as metonymy, prototypes and synonyms. However, pragmatics deals with what the writer or speaker of certain words or sentences intends to convey. Leech (1983) defines pragmatics as the study of meanings according to speech situations. Yule (1996) states that pragmatics is the study of what a speaker means of uttering a sentence .In uttering...