V. The causative connotation

to sparkle - to glitter

↑ ↑

with positive with negative ← only in the model "Eyes + Sparkle/Glitter"

emotions emotions

 

to shiver - to shudder

↑ ↑

with cold, with fear,. ← the cause of the act or process of trembling is

from a chill, horror, etc encoded in the SSW

because of

the frost

to blush - to redden

↑ ↑

from modesty, from anger

shame or or indignation

embarrassment

 

VI. The connotation of manner

to strol - to stride - to trot - to pace - to swagger - to stagger - to stumble

denote different ways and types of walking, encoding in their semantic structures the length of pace, tempo, gait and carriage, purposefulness or lack of

 

to peep - to peer

↑ ↑

to look at smb./smth. to look at smb./smth.

furtively, by stealth with difficulty or strain

 

to like — to admire — to love — to adore — to worship

describe a feeling of a different type, and not only of different intensity

 

VII. Connotation of attendant circumstances

to peep - to peer

↑ ↑

at smb./smth. through at smb./smth. in darkness,

a hole, crack or opening, through the fog, through

from behind a screen, glasses or windows, from

a half-closed door, a great distance

a newspaper, a fan, ↑

a curtain, etc. circumstances preventing one from seeing clearly

↑

all regular contexts are reflected in the SSW

VIII. Connotation of attendant features

pretty – handsome – beautiful

↑ ↑ ↑

small delicate features a tall stature, a certain classical features

& a fresh complexion robustness and fine proportions & a perfect figure

IX. Stylistic connotation

Stands apart for 2 reasons:

1) some scholars: stylistic characteristic ≠ connotative component of SSW

2) stylistic connotations → further classification: colloquial, slang, dialect, learned, poetic, terminological, archaic.

=> stylistically marked words from the point of view of synonyms’ frequent differentiation characteristics.

(Meal) - denotation of the synonyms

Snack, bite (coll.), snap (dial.), repast, refreshment, feast (formal)

+ connotations of attendant features.

Snack, bite, snap = frugal meal taken in a hurry;

refreshment = a light meal;

feast = a rich or abundant meal.

 

(Girl) - denotation of the synonyms

Girlie (coll.), lass, lassie (dial.), bird, birdie, jane, fluff, skirt (sl.), maiden (poet.), damsel (arch.)

 

(To leave) - denotation of the synonyms

To be off, to clear out (coll.), to beat it, to hoof it, to take the air (sl.), to depart, to retire, to withdraw (formal).

 

SYNONIMS. EUPHEMISMS. ANTONUMS.

 

Hyponymy

(1) Inclusion is a matter of class membership:

tulip rose lion elephant scarlet

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

flower mammal (or animal) red

 

(2) Lyon: ‘upper’ term - superordinate

‘lower’ term – hyponym

members of a class - co-hyponims

(3) There is not always a superprdinate term:

Classical GreekEnglish

there is a superordinate term there is no superordinate term

to cover a variety of professions to cover a variety of professions

and crafts: and crafts: craftsman doesn’t include:

carpenter doctor

doctor flute player

flute player helmsman

helmsman there is no superordinate term for all

shoemaker colour words as the term coloured

excludes black and white (and grey

too), or else (used to refer to race),

means non-whit

 

(4) The same term may appear in several places in the hierarchy (only if it is polysemic); in one of its meanings it may actually be superprdinate to itself in another meaning (though we should usually avoid using both terms in the same context).

E.g.: animal may be used

1) in contrast with vegetable to include birds, fishes, insects as well as mammals;

2) in the sense of mammals to contrast with birds, fishes and insects, to include both humans and beasts;

3) in the sense of beasts to contrast with humans.

=> it occurs 3 times in the hierarchical classification of nature.

 

(5) superordinate term words

sheep ewe, lamb, ram, etc.

pig sow, boar, piglet

horse stallion, mare, colt, etc.

BUT

dog dogs

↑

also a hyponym as distinct from bitch;

to avoid ambiguity - male dog = hyponym to contrast with bitch

(6) We can also form hyponymous sets where no single-word hyponyms exist in English in a similar way:

e.g.: giraffe, male giraffe, female giraffe, baby giraffe

 

(7)

superordinate term	words included
cattle (only inplural reference) Those are cattle That is a…	Those are cows Those are bulls cow, male cow (= bull)
poultry (only inplural reference) depends on interest and dialect hen or chicken fowl (in some dialects)	cock (or cockerel and, in America, rooster), hen and chick not for male birds male & female birds

The Dominant Synonym

(8) to look - possesses the highest frequency of use compared with its synonyms, plays an important role in communication; presents a kind of centre of the group of synonyms, holding it together; has simple SSW: it consists only of denotative component and it has no connotations => "central" word of the synonymic group = dominant synonym (its meaning = denotation common to all the synonymic group).

 

(9)

dominant synonym	group of synonyms
To surprise	to astonish — to amaze — to astound
To shout	to yell — to bellow — to roar
To shine	to flash — to blaze — to gleam — to glisten — to sparkle — to glitter — to shimmer — to glimmer
To tremble	to shiver — to shudder — to shake
To make	to produce — to create — to fabricate — to manufacture
Angry	furious — enraged. Fear — terror — horror

(10) dominant synonym:

- expresses the notion common to all synonyms of the group in the most general way, without contributing any additional information as to the manner, intensity, duration or any attending feature of the referent;

- is a typical basic-vocabulary word;

- broad and generalised meaning "covers" the meanings of the rest of the synonyms => it may be substituted for any of them ← irreparable loss of the additional information supplied by connotative components of each synonym:

e.g.: using to look instead of to glare, to stare, to peep, to peer we preserve the general sense of the utterance but lose a great deal in precision, expressiveness and colour.

 

(11) Characteristic features of dominant synonym:

I. High frequency of usage.

II. Broad combinability, i. e. ability to be used in combinations with various classes of words.

III. Broad general meaning.

III. Lack of connotations. (+ stylistic connotations => stylistic neutrality = typical feature)

 

Euphemisms

 

(12) There are words in every language which people instinctively avoid because they are considered indecent, indelicate, rude, too direct or impolite. As the "offensive" referents, for which these words stand, must still be alluded to, they are often described in a round-about way, by using substitutes called euphemisms. This device is dictated by social conventions which are sometimes apt to be over-sensitive, see "indecency" where there is none and seek refinement in absurd avoidances and pretentiousness.

lavatory - powder room, washroom, restroom, retiring room, (public)

comfort station, ladies' (room), gentlemen's (room), water-

closet, w.c., public conveniences, Windsor castle (comical phrase

for "deciphering" w.c.)

pregnant - in an interesting condition, in a delicate condition, in the family way,

with a baby coming, (big) with child, expecting

trousers - unmentionables, inexpressibles, indescribables, unwhisperables, you-

mustn't-men-tion 'ems, sit-upons

lodgers - paying guests

 

(13) Fiction writers have often ridiculed pretentious people for their weak attempts to express themselves in a delicate and refined way:

1) "... Mrs. Sunbury never went to bed, she retired, but Mr. Sunbury who was not quite so refined as his wife always said: "Me for Bedford"..."

(From The Kite by W. S. Maugham)

to retire = to go to bed

 

2) Another lady, in Rain by the same author, easily surpasses Mrs. Sunbury in the delicacy of her speech. She says that there are so many mosquitoes on the island where the story is set that at the Governor's parties "all the ladies are given a pillow-slip to put their — their lower extremities in."

lower extremities = legs (cf. with the R. нижние конечности).

The substitution makes her speech pretentious and ridiculous.

 

3) Eating is also regarded as unrefined by some minds. Hence such substitutes as to partake of food (of refreshment), to refresh oneself, to break bread.

 

(14) Words associated with drunkenness are very numerous:

drunk - intoxicated (form.), under the influence (form.), tipsy, mellow, fresh,

high, merry, flustered, overcome, full (coll.), drunk as a lord (coll.),

drunk as an owl (coll.), boiled (sl.), fried (sl.), tanked (sl.), tight (sl.),

stiff (sl.), pickled (sl.), soaked (sl.), three sheets to the wind (sl.), high as

a kite (sl.), half-seas-over (sl.), etc. ← some of them "delicate", but most

comical

+ "Motty was under the surface. Completely sozzled. "

(From Pight-Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse)

 

(15) prison and to imprison:

"Oh, no, he isn't ill," I said, "and as regards accidents, it depends on what you call an accident. He's in chokey. "

"In what?"

"In prison."

"... And now Mr. Sipperley is in the jug... He couldn't come himself, because he was jugged for biffing a cop on Boat-Race Night."

(Ibid.)

 

(16) a liar - does not always strictly tell the truth

a stupid - not exactly brilliant

 

(17) Euphemisms are used to avoid the so-called social taboos.

Superstitious taboos are based on a deeply-rooted subconscious fear; have their roots in the distant past of mankind when people believed that there was a supernatural link between a name and the object or creature it represented => to call things by their proper names ← words denoting evil spirits, dangerous animals, or the powers of nature:

a dangerous animal - the one-lurking-in-the-wood

a mortal disease - the black death

 

(18) Euphemisms - the oldest type of synonyms → the need to describe things in their various aspects or subtle shades caused the appearance of other synonyms.

 

(19) The Christian religion also made certain words taboo:

Speak of the devil and he will appear => devil - the Prince of Darkness, the black one, the evil one, dickens (coll.), deuce (coll.), (Old) Nick (coll.)

God - Good Lord!, By Heavens/, Good Heavens!, (My) goodness!, (My) goodness gracious!, Gracious me!

 

(20) In modern times:

to die - to pass away, to be taken, to breathe one's last, to depart this life, to close one's eyes, to yield (give) up the ghost, to go the way of all flesh, to go West (sl.), to kick off (sl.), to check out (sl.), to kick the bucket (sl.), to take a ride (sl.), to hop the twig (sl.), to join the majority (sl.) ← both solemn and humorous substitutes

mad - insane, mentally unstable, unbalanced, unhinged, not (quite) right (coll.), not all there (coll.), off one's head (coll.), off one's rocker (coll.), wrong in the upper storey (coll.), having bats in one's belfry (coll.), crazy as a bedbug (coll.), cuckoo (sl.), nutty (sl.), off one's nut (sl.), loony (sl.), a mental case, a mental defective, etc.

Writers use them for comical purposes:

"He's gone off his rocker!" shouted one of the fathers, aghast, and the other parents joined in the chorus of frightened shouting.

"He's crazy!" they shouted.

"He's balmy!"

"He's nutty!"

"He's screwy!"

"He's batty!"

"He's dippy!"

"He's dotty!'*

"He's daffy!"

"He's goofy!"

"He's beany!"

"He's buggy!"

"He's wacky!"

"He's loony!"

"No, he is not!" said Grandpa Joe.

(From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by R. Dahl)

... "What did I tell you!" — cried Grandma Georgina. "He's round the twist! He's bogged as a beetle! He's dotty as a dingbat! He's got rats in the roof!..."

(Ibid.)

a clinic for the mad - an asylum, sanitarium, sanatorium, (mental) institution,

a nut house (sl.), booby hatch (sl.), loony bin (sl.), etc.

large private grounds suitable for the charge of nervous or difficult cases (a clinic for the mad, but very rich) = the peak of euphemistic "delicacy" (Evelyn Waugh "Mr. Loveday's Little Outing")

 

(21) Euphemisms are substitutes for their synonyms. Their use and very existence are caused either by social conventions or by certain psychological factors. Most of them have stylistic connotations in their SSW. There is a special euphemistic connotation that can be singled out in the semantic structure of each such word; in formal euphemisms it is different in "flavour" (solemn and delicately evasive) from that in slang euphemistic substitutes (rough and somewhat cynical, reflecting an attempt to laugh off an unpleasant fact).

 

Antonyms

(22) antonyms - words of the same category of parts of speech which have contrasting meanings, usually believed to appear in pairs, but not always:

e.g.: cold — hot (warm)

light — dark

sorrow — happiness (gaiety)

to accept — to reject

up — down

(24) a polysemantic word may have an antonym (or several antonyms) for each of its meanings:

dull = "deficient in interest" - interesting, amusing, entertaining

= "deficient in intellect" - clever, bright, capable

= "deficient in activity" - active.

(25) Antonymy is not evenly distributed among the categories of parts of speech.

1) Most antonyms are adjectives <= qualitative characteristics are easily compared and contrasted:

high — low, wide — narrow, strong — weak, old — young, friendly — hostile.

2) Verbs are fewer in number:

to lose — to find, to live — to die, to open — to close, to weep — to laugh.

3) Nouns are not rich in antonyms:

friend — enemy, joy — grief, good — evil, heaven — earth, love — hatred.

4) Antonymic adverbs → 2 groups:

a) adverbs derived from adjectives: warmly - coldly, merrily - sadly, loudly - softly;

b) adverbs proper: now - then, here - there, ever - never, up - down, in - out.

(26) Not so many years ago: antonymy = purely logical, no reflection in SSW

=> heat - cold; big – small = the contrast of things opposed by their very nature

 

(27) identity & differentiations in synonyms is encoded within their SSW = antonyms ← special antonymic connotation can be singled out:

hot & cold - in the same contexts → hot alone = not cold

full meaning of the word = direct associations + opposition to its antonym

ð SSW of hot ← antonymic connotation of "not cold",

ð SSW of enemy ← connotation of "not a friend".

 

(28) When 2 words frequently occur together in numerous contexts => subtle and complex associations between them, reflected in SSW. Antonymic connotations = special case of such "reflected associations"

 

(29) synonyms + antonyms = the language's important expressive means:

antonyms as a stylistic device of contrast:

1) How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty (wicked, evil) world.

(From Merchant of Venice by W. Shakespeare. Act V, Sc. I)

2) ... But then my soul's imaginary sight Presents thy shadow to my sightless view,

Which like a jewel hung in ghastly night, Makes black night beauteous and her old face new.

(From Sonnet XXVII by W. Shakespeare)

3) Welcome joy, and welcome sorrow,

Lethe's weed and Hermes' feather,

Come to-day, and come to-morrow,

I do love you both together!

I love to mark sad faces in fair weather;

And hear a merry laughter amid the thunder;

Fair and foul I love together.

(From A Song of Opposites by J. Keats)

4) ... The writer should seek his reward in the pleasure of his work and in release from the burden of his thought; and indifferent to aught else, care nothing for praise or censure, failure or success.

(From The Moon and Sixpence by W. S. Maugham)

5) They [the Victorians] were busy erecting, of course; and we have been busy demolishing for so long that now erection seems as ephemeral an activity as bubble-blowing.

(From The French Lieutenant's Woman by J. Fowles)