I. Brainstorming

Do you know any lexical sense relations?

II. Lexical sense relations

1. Synonymy 

(1) Definition

Synonyms are words which have different forms but similar meanings. Synonyms are frequently used in speaking and writing as a cohesive device. In order to avoid repetition the writer/speaker needs to use a synonym to replace a word in the previous co-text when he/she wants to continue to address that idea. The synonyms are together function to create cohesion of the text. •

(2) Types of synonymy

• Dialectal synonyms – lift/elevator, flat/apartment

• Synonyms of different styles – gentleman/guy

• Synonyms of different registers – salt/sodium chloride

• Synonyms differing in affective meaning – attract/seduce

• Synonyms differing in collocation – beautiful/handsome, able/capable 

2. Antonymy 

(1) Definition

Antonyms are words which are opposite in meaning. Antonym is frequently utilized as a rhetorical resource in language use. Oxymoron and antithesis based on antonym. Gradable antonyms may give rise to fuzziness. •

(2) Types of antonymy

• Gradable antonyms – pairs of words opposite to each other, but the positive of one word does not necessarily imply the negative of the other, or vice versa. For example, the words hot and cold are a pair of antonyms, but not hot does not necessarily mean cold, maybe warm, mild or cool. Therefore, this pair of antonyms is a pair of gradable antonyms.

• Complementary antonyms – words opposite to each other and the positive of one implies the negative of the other: alive/dead

• Reversal (relational) antonyms – words that denote the same relation or process from one or the other direction: push/pull, up/down, teacher/student.

3. Homonymy 

(1) Definition

Homonyms are words which have the same form, but different meanings. Rhetorically, homonyms are often used as puns.

(2) Types of homonymy •

• Homographs – words which are identical in spelling, but different in meaning and pronunciation: tear [ tεə] (v.)/tear [tiə] (n.)

• Homophones – words which are identical in pronunciation, but different in spelling and meaning: see/sea

• Full homonyms – words which are identical in spelling and pronunciation, but different in meaning: bear (v. to give birth to a baby/to stand)/bear (n. a kind of animal) 

4. Polysemy 

A polysemy is a word which has several related senses. Polysemy is based on the intuition of native speakers as well as the etymology or history of words. •

5. Hyponymy 

• Hyponymy is a relation of inclusion. 

• Tiger, lion, elephant and dog are hyponyms of the word animal. Words like animal are called superordinates. 

• This kind of vertical semantic relation links words in a hierarchical work.

6. Meronymy

• Meronymy refers to the relationship of meaning between part and whole, as in English the words elbow and arm. The words referring to the part is called the “meronym” and the word referring to the whole is called the “holonym”.

• Meronymy can be identified in terms of the predicates “has” and “is part of”, rather than in term of the “is a” relationship that obtains in the case of hyponymy.