Meaning and polysemy
Definition
Polysemy [pəˈlɪsəmi] or [ˈpɒliˌsiːmi]
is the capacity for a sign (e.g. a word, phrase, etc.)
or signs to have multiple meanings
(from the Greek: πολυ-, poly-, "many" and σῆμα, sêma, "sign")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysemy
Definition
Multiplicity of meaning
Mouth 1. part of the face
2. person needing food
3.opening
4.place where a river enters a larger
body of water
5.way of speaking
Are these meaning different or related?
The various meanings are interdependent and interrelated
How?
Association – metonymy
2.Person needing food
The man had many hungry mouths to feed.
3.Way of speaking
Watch your mouth!
Similarity - metaphor
3.Opening
The mouth of the cave was dark.
4.place where a river enters a larger
body of water
They walked around the mouth of the river.
Child
-A young human being who is not yet an adult
When I was a child, I was afraid of the dark .
-A son or daughter of any age
Two of her children are married.
Get
I went to the supermarket to get some milk.
What did you get for your birthday?
When I got the flu, I felt awful.
They told a joke, but I did not get it.
Branch
Semantics is the branch of linguistics that studies the meanings of words.
The bank of Chile opened a new branch near the university.
The new branch of the tree had to be cut by the gardener.
Tongue
The coffee was so hot that I burned my tongue.
He has a sharp tongue
The tongue of one shoe broke, so he had to buy a new pair.
Say two meanings of this word and how they are related
Star
Say how two meanings of this word are related
Arm –part of the body
Arm -the arms of an arm chair
Say how these two meanings are related
Leg- part of the body
Leg – the part of the bed
Find all the meanings of this word and say how they are related
hand
Conclusions
Most native English words are highly polysemantic
All these meanings are related either by similarity or by association
Part of the body
Similarity with this part of the body
Association with this activity done by this part of the body
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