英语词汇学第六单元测试1

C6 Test-1

I. Each of the statements below is followed by four alterna-tive answers. Choose the one that would best

complete the state-ment.

1. Sense relations include .

A. polysemy, analogy, amelioration, homonymy and hyponymy

B. tautology, analogy, synonymy, antonymy and homonymy

C. polysemy, homonymy, synonymy, antonymy and hyponymy

D. inconsistency, homonymy, synonymy, antonymy and hypon-ymy

2. is a common feature peculiar to all natural languag-es because overwhelming majority of

words have more than one meaning.

A. Polysemy B. Hyponymy

C. Synonymy D. Homonymy

3. The two approaches to polysemy are approach and approach.

A. syntagmatic, paradigmatic B. diachronic, synchronic

C. dichronic, syntagmatic D. synchronic, paradigmatic

4. At the time when the word was created, it was endowed with only one meaning. This first meaning is

the mean-ing.

A. associative B. stylistic

C. primary D. affective

5. The later meanings added to the first meaning of the word are called

meanings.

A. lexical B. conceptual

C. secondary D. derived

6. Synchronically, the basic meaning of a word is the core of word meaning called the

meaning.

A. primary B. secondary

C. central D. derived

7. The development of word meaning from monosemy to polysemy follows two courses, traditionally

called and .

A. elevation, degradation B. extension, narrowing

C. radiation, concatenation D. radiation, extension

8. Radiation is a semantic process in which the mean-ing stands at the center and the

meanings proceed out of it in every direction like rays.

A. secondary, primary B. primary, secondary

C. conceptual, associative D. lexical, grammatical

9. In the derived meanings are directly connected to the meaning.

A. concatenation, central B. radiation, primary

C. radiation, secondary D. concatenation, associative

10. Generally, precedes .

A. concatenation, radiation B. widening, concatenation

C. narrowing, widening D. radiation, concatenation

11. are words different in meaning but either identical both in sound and spelling or identical

only in sound or spelling.

A. Homographs B. Homonyms

C. Perfect homonyms D. Homophones

12. Perfect homonyms are .

A. homographs B. both homophones and homographs

C. homophones D. identical both in sound and spelling, but different in meaning

13. All of the following are the sources of homonyms except .

A. change in sound and spelling B. shortening

C. borrowing D. extension

14. The sources of English synonyms exclude .

A. dialects and regional English

B. figurative and euphemistic use of words

C. extension, narrowing, elevation and degradation of words

D. coincidence with idiomatic expressions

15. The differences between synonyms boil down to three areas: .

A. elevation, connotation, application

B. connotation, elevation, degradation

C. connotation, denotation, application

D. amelioration, deterioration, denotation

16. By connotation we mean the and co-louring of words.

A. derogatory, commendatory

B. stylistic, emotive

C. rhetoric, semantic

D. emotive, collocative

17. “lump”, “slice”, “chunk”, “sheet” and “cake” have the same meaning, “piece”, but they are

different in .

A. conceptual, connotation B. lexical, denotation

C. conceptual, application D. associative, collocation

18. The two features of contradictory terms are and .

A. mutually exclusive, non-gradable B. inclusive, exchangeable

C. relative, interdependent D. relational, interdependent

19. “east/west” are .

A. contrary terms B. contradictory terms

C. relative terms D. co-hyponyms

20. People use antonyms in idioms to .

A. express ideas economically for the sake of contrast

B. form antithesis to achieve emphasis

C. both A and B

D. reach climax

21. Contrary terms are gradable antonyms, differing in degree of .

A. formality B. rhetoric colouring

C. assimilation D. intensity

22. “hate/love” are .

A. contrary terms B. contradictory terms

C. relative terms D. complementary antonyms

23. Least antonyms are found among nouns which are names of .

A. objects B. ideas

C. domains D. all the above

24. “compounding” and “composition” are .

A. absolute synonyms B. relative synonyms

C. stylistic synonyms D. emotive synonyms

25. Homonyms, particularly, are often employed to create for desired effect of, say,

humour, sarcasm or ridicule.

A. homographs, puns

B. homophones, antithesis

C. homophones, puns

D. homographs, antithesis

26. When a word is first coined, it is always .

A. monosemic B. polysemic

C. neutral D. informal

27. A/an has more semantic: components than a/an .

A. superordinate term, subordinate term

B. subordinate term, superordinate term

C. grammatical wont, lexical word

D. native wonl, loan word

28.“teacher” anti “student” are .

A. relative terms B. contrary terms

C. contradictory D. superordinates

29. “piglet ”, “chicken”, “child” and “duckling” share the same semantic component

.

A. animal B. adult

C. male D. young

30. A/an is general and a/an is specific.

A. hyponym, subordinate term

B. superordinate, subordinate term

C. polysemant, monosemant

D. lower term, upper term

31. The differences between synonyms lie in three aspects except .

A. grammatical meaning B. application

C. connotation D. denotation

32. “widow/widower” are .

A. eontradictory antonyms B. relative antonyms

C. contrary antonyms D. not antonyms

33. Absolute synonyms are .

A. numerous B. rare

C. popular D. common

34. Associative meaning comprises several types except .

A. connotative meaning B. stylistic meaning

C. affective meaning D. lexieal meaning

35. Homonyms are generally words different in but ei-ther identical both in or

identical only in .

A. sound; meaning and spelling; meaning or spelling

B. meaning; sound and spelling; sound or spelling

C. spelling; meaning and sound; sound or spelling

D. meaning; sound and spelling; sound

36. Relative synonyms also called near-synonyms are similar or nearly the same in

.

A. affective meaning B. conceptual meaning

C. eollocative meaning D. stylistic meaning

37. The origins of homonyms are .

A. change in sound B. shortening

C. borrowing D. all the above

38. In concatenation, between the latest sense and the original sense, there is in many cases.

A. a sign of connection between them

B. some signs of connection between them

C. not a sign of connection between them

D. many signs of connection between them

39. In diachronic approach, other meanings apart from the pri-mary meaning of a word were acquired

by .

A. extension and transfer B. narrowing

C. analogy D. all the above

40. The most important sources of synonyms is perhaps .

A. dialects and regional English

B. borrowing

C. figurative and euphemistic use of words

D. eoincidence with idiomatic expressions

II. Complete the following statements with proper words or expressions according to the course

book.

1. “some” and “sum” are .

2. “date” and “date” are identical both in sound and spelling, but differ in meaning .They are .

3. From the point of view, polysemy is assumed to be the result of growth and development

of the semantic structure of the one and same word.

4. Synonyms share a likeness in as well as in part of speech.

5. The development of word meaning from monosemy to polysemy follows two courses, traditionally

known as radiation and .

6. Perfect homonyms and polysemants are fully identical with re-gard to spelling and .

7. Synchronically, polyscmy is viewed as the of various meanings of the same word in a

certain historical period of time.

8. Synonyms can be classified into two major types: absolute syn-onyms and

synonyms.

original meaning of “pain” was “ ”.

a word is first coined, it is always .

11. Words are arbitrary symbols and are independent entities so far as their outer facet

——spelling

and , is concerned.

12. Diachronically, the meanings of a polysemant include a pti-mary meaning and

meanings.

13. Synchronically, the meanings of a polysemant include a cen-tral meaning and

meanings.

enation describes a process where each of the later meanings is related only to the preceding one

like .

15. Homophones and homographs are homonyms.

16. Of perfect homonyms, homographs and homophones, constitute the largest number and are

most common.

17. Synonyms are the words which have the same or very nearly the same

meaning.

18. Relative synonyms are different in denotation, and application.

19. Synonyms can be defined as words different in sound and but most nearly alike or exactly

the same in meaning.

20. Difference in connotation between synonyms refers to the dif-ference in

and emotive colouring of words.

21. “policeman” and “constable” are stylistically , yet the former is used both in British English

and Ameri-can English while the latter is only in British English.

22.“big” is generally used to show the bigness of size, volume, extent, weight, number, and so on,

any emotive colouring.

23. Contrary terms are antonyms, differing in degree of intensity, so each has its own

corresponding opposite.

24. In each pair of contradictory terms, the of one is the denial of the other.

25. Contrary terms are best viewed in terms of a scale running be-tween two poles or .

26. With regard to contrary terms, the two opposites are gradable and one exists

the other.

27. There is a/an opposition between contradictory terms.

28. In the case of relative terms, the opposition is only .

29. Semantic is one characteristic of contrary terms.

30. Words denoting nature, quality or state of things have many antonyms. This accounts for the large

number of antonyms among .

31 .The hyponyms under the same superordinate are .

32. On the basis of opposition, antonyms are classified into contradictory terms, contrary terms

and relative terms.

33. “donor/recipient” and “boss/employee” are all terms.

34. Words of language can be classified into semantically sets or .

35 .The semantic field of the same may not have the same members in different languages.

36. “empty” and “vacant” are synonyms, but they are different in .

37. Absolute synonyms are in every way.

38. Absolute synonyms are restricted to highly vocabu-lary.

39. Homonyms are different from polysemants in etymology and .

40. Absolute synonyms are identical in grammatical meaning and lexical meaning, including conceptual

meaning and mean-ing.

III. Match the words or expressions in Column A with those in Column B according to①types of

synonyms;②types of ant-onyms;③types of homonyms;④hyponymy and ⑤sources of syn-onyms.

A B

1. upstairs/downstairs A. contradictory terms

2. mango/fruit B. homophones

3. brother/bug C. stationery/hyponyms

4. cellar/attic D. emotive synonyms/synonyms

differing in emotive values

/leave E. collocative synonyms/

synonyms differing in applica-

tion/co]location

6. leek/leak F. homographs

7. pasty (adj)/pasty (n) G. regional/dialectal symonyms

8. fair(n)/fair(adj )

H. reversives

9. pen, ruler, eraser I. relative terms

10. siren/beautiful J. upper term/lower term

11. scarlatina/scarlet fever K. stylistic synonyms/synonyms differing in style

12. persist/insist L. borrowing

13. sidewalk/pavement M. perfect homonyms

14. creature/animal N. subordinate/superordinate

15. improve/deteriorate ms differing in denotation

16. timid/timorous P. contrary terms

of life (occupation) istic use of words

18. hesitate/be in two minds R. absolute synonyms

19. elevated (: drunk) S. coincidence with idiomatic ex-pressions

20. chamber( = room) T. figurative use of words

IV. Study the following words or expressions and identify ①types of synonyms; ② types of

antonyms; ③ types of homonyms;④hyponymy; ⑤sources of synonyms and ⑥origins of horn-onyms.

1. long(from lang)/long (from langian) ( )

2. write/rite ( )

3. stagger/reel/totter

( )

4. sow(n. )/sow(v. ) ( )

5. ball(OE)/ball(OF) ( )

6. bear(n. )/bear(v. ) ( )

(from rock „n‟roll)/rock ( )

8. dire/dreadful ( )

9. result/consequence ( )

10. empty/vacant/blank ( )

11. railway/railroad ( )

12. star-gazer( = dreamer) ( )

13. boyfriend/girlfriend ( )

14. charge/pay ( )

15. tree/elm ( )

16. hit/miss ( )

the fact(=lie) ( )

18. trepidation( = fear) ( )

19. hound/dog ( )

20. help/lend one a hand ( )

21. hood/hood(from hoodlum) ( )

22. mean ( v )/mean (adj from French) ( )

23. up/down ( )

24. right/wrong ( )

25. caecitis / typhlitis ( )

26. false/true

27. rent/let

28. enemy/foe

29. flat/apartment

30. perfect/imperfect

31. accelerate/decelerate

32. lure/attract

33. ancestor/descendant

34. sound(n.)/sound(adj)

35. read/reed

36. minute(n.)/minute(adj)

, milk, soda

38. rich/wealthy

39. shut/open

40. little/small/tiny

V. Define the following terms.

1. sense relations

2. polysemy

3. diachronic approach

4. primary meaning

5. derived meaning

6. synchronic approach

7. central meaning

8. secondary meaning

9. radiation

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

10. concatenation

11. homonyms

12. perfect homonyms

13. homographs

14. polysemant

15. synonyms

16. absolute/complete synonyms

17. relative synonyms/near-synonyms

18. antonyms

19. contradictory terms

20 contrary terms

21. relative terms

22. hyponymy

23. hyponyms/subordinate terms/lower terms

24. superordinate term/upper term

25. co-hyponyms

26. semantic field

VI. Answer the following questions. Your answers should be clear and short. Write your answers in

the space given.

1. What are the reasons for polysemy?

arc the two approaches to polysemy?

3. What are the two processes of development of polysemy? What are their features?

4. What are the differences between radiation and concatenation?

5. How are homonyms classified7 What are their characteristics7

6. What are the origins of homonyms? How do they become hom-onyms?

7. What are the differences between homonyms and polysemants?

8. How do we classify synonyms? What are their characteristics?

9. How many sources of synonyms are there.? What are they?

do you distinguish relative synonyms? What are their characteristics?

11. How are antonyms classified?

12. What are the characteristics of antonyms?

13. What is the use of homonyms/What are the rhetorical features of homonyms?

14. What are the characteristics of contradictory terms?

15. What are the characteristics of contrary terms?

16. What are the characteristics of relative terms?

17. What is the use of antonyms?

18. What is hyponymy? Use an example to illustrate it.

19. What is semantic field? What are its characteristics?

VI .Analyze and comment on the following. Write your an-swers in the space given below.

1. (1) I met a scientist who is a relation of a journalist.

A B C

(2)I met a biologist who is a brother of a magazine reporter .

A B C

Study the two sentences, and explained the relationship between each corresponding underlined parts in

the two sentences. Which sen-tence is clearer.'? Why?

2. A: She can‟t bear children?

B: What do you mean? Do you mean she can't give birth to babies?

A: Not that ......

Why can‟t speaker B understand what speaker A said? Ex-plain the reasons. How

can speaker A put it clear?

3. A: Look at the crane, John.

B: What, mum?

A: The crane.

B: The crane? Where?

A: There, in the field near the building, the thing with a long neck.

B: Mum, is that a crane? It's quite different from the crane I saw the other day.

Study the dialogue and explain why the two cranes are quite different in the minds of the two speakers.

4. The word “treacle” meant “wild beast” as its primary meaning while its modern meaning is “molasses”.

What process of development does it follow? Why? Then, list the processes of word-meaning devel-opment.

5. lonely/solitary

What kind of synonymy do they belong to? What are the charac-teristics of this kind of synonymy? How

are synonyms classified?

6. (1)How young is he?

(2)How old is he?

Although the above two sentences are both grammatically right, sentence (1) is seldom used. Why? When

is sentence ( 1 ) used?

7. A fair lady's going to the fair to buy a square pear.

What do the two "fairs" mean respectively?

What kind of sense relation do they belong to?

What type of that sense relation do they belong to?

What are their origins?

8. Penny wise, pound foolish.

What antonyms do the two underlined words belong to ? Comment on the use of the pair in the idiom.

答案：

I. Each of the statements below is followed by four

alternative answers. Choose the one that would best

complete the statement.

1.C 2.A 3.B 4.C 5.D

6.C 7.C 8.B 9.B

10.D

11.B 12.D 13.D 14.C

15.C

16.B 17.C 18.A 19.C

20.C

21 .D 22.A 23.D 24.A

25.C

26. A 27. B 28.A 29. D 30.

B

31 .A 32.A 33.B 34.D

35.B

36. B 37. D 38. C 39. D

40. B

II. Complete the following statements with proper words

or expressions according to the course book.

1. homophones 2. perfect

homonyms

3. diachronic 4. denotation

5. concatenation 6. pronunciation

7. coexistence 8. relative

9. penalty or punishment 10. monogenic

11. pronunciation 12. derived

13. secondary 14. chains

15. partial/imperfect 16. homophones

17. essential 18. connotation

19. spelling 20. stylistic

21. neutral 22. without

23. gradable 24. assertion

25. extremes 26. in comparison

with

27. absolutes 28. relational

29. relativity 30. adjectives

31. co-hyponyms 32. semantic

33. relative 34. fields

35. concept 36.

application/collocation

37. interchangeable 38. specialized

39. semantic relatedness 40. associative

III. Match the words or expressions in Column A with

those in Column B according to ① types of synonyms;

② types of antonyms; ③ types of homonyms; ④

hyponymy and ⑤ sources of synonyms.

1. I 2.N 3.K 4.P 5.A

6. B 7.F 8.M 9.C 10.D

11.R 12.E 13.G 14.J 15.H

16.O 17.T 18.S 19.Q 20.L

IV. Study the following words or expressions and

identify ① types of synonyms; ② types of antonyms;

③ types of homonyms; ④ hyponymy; ⑤ sources of

synonyms and ⑥ origins of homonyms.

1. chage in sound and spelling

2. homophones

3. synonyms differing in denotation ( 只答 relative

synonyms 或 near-synonyms 给半分 )

4. homographs

5. borrowing

6. perfect homonyms

7. shortening

8. different in connotation/different in style

9. different in connotation/different in emotive values

10. different in application/collocation

11. regional synonyms/dialectal synonyms

12. figurative use of words

13. relative terms

14. relative terms

l/ specific; superordinate / subordinate; upper

term/lower term

16. contradictory terms

17. euphemistic use of words

18. borrowing/formal

19. hyponym/superordinate; subordinate/ superordinate;

lower term/upper term; specific/general

20. coincidence with idiomatic expressions

21. shortening

22. homophones

23. relative terms

24. contradictory terms

25. perfect homonyms

26. contradictory terms

27. relative terms

28. synonyms differing in style

29. regional synonyms/dialectal synonyms

30. contradictory antonyms

31. relative terms

32. synonyms differing in connotation/in emotive values

33. relative synonyms

34. perfect homonyms

35. homophones

36. homographs

37. co-hyponyms

38. synonyms differing in denotation

39. contrary terms

40. synonyms differing in connotation in emotive

(/affective) values

V . Define the following terms.

1. A word which is related to other words is related to them in sense, hence sense

relations. They include polysemy, homonymy, synonymy, antonymy and hyponymy.

2. Polysemy deals with words of two or more than two meanings.

3. Diachronic approach studies the growth and development of the semantic structure of the one and same word.

4. At the time when the word was created, it was endowed with only one meaning .This first meaning is the primary

meaning.

5. With the advance of time and the development of language, the word took on more and more meanings .These

later meanings are called derived meanings as they are all derived from the primary meaning.

6. Synchronic approach studies the coexistence of various meanings of the same word and how they are related to

each other in a certain historical period of time.

7. In synchronic study, the basic meaning, the core of word-meaning, is called the central meaning.

8. In synchronic study, the meanings derived from the core of the word-meaning, or from the central meaning are

called secondary meaning. Secondary meanings do not necessarily mean that they are secondary in importance. It

only means that secondary meanings appear later than the central meaning.

9. Radiation is a semantic process in which the primary meaning stands at the centre and the secondary meanings

proceed out of it in every direction like rays. The meanings are independent of one another, but can all be traced

back to the central meaning.

10. Concatenation, meaning ' linking together', is the semantic process in which the meaning of a word moves

gradually away from its first sense by successive shifts until, in many cases, there is not a sign of connection

between the sense that is finally developed and that which the term had at the beginning. In plain terms the meaning

reached by the first shift may be shifted a second time, and so on until in the end the original meaning is totally lost.

11. Homonyms are generally defined as words different in meaning but either identical both in sound and spelling or

identical only in sound or spelling.

12. Perfect homonyms are words identical both in sound and spelling, but

different in meaning.

13. Homographs are words identical only in spelling but different in sound and meaning.

14. If a word has two or more than two meanings, the word is called a polysemant.

15. Synonyms can be defined as words different in sound and spelling but most nearly alike or exactly the same in

denotative meaning and share the same grammatical meaning.

16. Absolute synonyms also known as complete synonyms are words identical in all aspects, in grammatical

meaning and lexical meaning, including conceptual and associative meanings. Synonyms of this type are

interchangeable in every way.

17 .Relative synonyms also called near-synonyms are similar or nearly the same in denotation, but embrace different

shades of meaning or different degrees of a given quality.

18. Antonyms can be defined as words which are opposite in meaning.

19. Contradictory terms truly represent oppositeness of meaning. They are so opposed to each other that they are

mutually exclusive and admit no possibility between them. The assertion of one is the denial of the other.

20. Contrary terms are best viewed in terms of a scale running between two poles or extremes. The two opposites

are gradable and one exists in comparison with the other. They allow intermediate members.

21 .Relative terms indicate such a reciprocal relationship that one of them cannot be used without suggesting the

other.

22. Hyponymy deals with the relationship of semantic inclusion. That is, the meaning of a more specific word is

included in that of another more general word.

23. Hyponymy deals with the relationship between a general word and a specific word. The specific words are called

hyponyms, subordinate terms or lower terms.

24. Hyponymy deals with the relationship between a general word and a specific word. The general word is called

the superordinate term or the upper tern.

25. Hyponymy deals with the relationship between a general word and a specific word. Usually a general word

includes many specific words .The specific words under the same general word are called co-hyponyms.

26. Semantic field refers to a set of words which share a similar concept. This set of words form a semantically

related area or field.

VI. Answer the following questions. Your answers should be clear and short. Write your answers in the space given.

1. Polysemy refers to the words that have two or more senses. However, when a word is first coined, it is always

monosemic. But in the course of development, the same symbol must be used to express more meanings, the result

is polysemy.

2. (1) There are two approaches to polysemy: diachronic approach and synchronic approach.

(2) From the diachronic point of view, polysemy is assumed to be the result of growth and development of the

semantic structure of the one and same word.

(3) Synchronically, polysemy is viewed as the coexistence of various meanings of the same word in a certain

historical period of time.

3. (1)The development of word-meaning from monosemy to pol-ysemy follows two courses, traditionally known as

radiation and concatenation.

(2)Radiation is the semantic process in which the primary meaning stands at the centre and the secondary meanings

proceed out of it in every direction like rays. The meanings are independent of one anther, but can all be traced back

to the central meaning.

(3)Concatenation is the semantic process in which the meaning of a word moves gradually away from its first sense

by successive shift until, in many cases, there is not a sign of connection between the sense that is finally developed

and that which the term had at the beginning.

4. Unlike radiation where each of the derived meanings is directly connected to the primary meaning, concatenation

describes a process where each of the later meanings is related only to the preceding one like chains.

5. ( 1 ) Based on the degree of similarity, homonyms fall into three classes:

perfect homonyms, homographs and homophones.

(2) Perfect homonyms are words identical both in sound and spelling, but different in meaning.

(3)homographs are words identical only in spelling but different in sound and meaning.

(4)Homophones are words identical only in sound but different in spelling and meaning.

6. (1)There are various sources of homonyms: change in sound and spelling, borrowing, etc.

(2)Chang in sound and spelling. Some homonyms are native by origin, derived from different earlier forms in old

English. The change in sound and spelling gradually made them identical in modem English.

(3) Borrowing. As a result of heavy borrowing from other languages ,many words of foreign origins coincide in sound

and spelling with those of native origin or with those of other foreign origins.

(4)Shortening. Many shortened forms of words happen to be identical with other words in spelling or sound.

7. ( 1 )The fundamental difference between homonyms and polysemants lies in the fact that the former refers to

different words which share the same form in spelling and sound. One important criterion is to see their etymology,

i .ms are from different sources whereas a polysemant is from the same source which has acquired

different meanings in the course development.

(2) The second principal consideration is semantic relatedness. The various meanings of a polysemant are

correlated and connected to one central meanings to a greater or lesser degree. On the other hand, meanings of

different homonyms have nothing to do with one another. In dictionaries, a polysemant has its meanings all listed

under one headword whereas homonyms are listed as separate entries.

8. (1) Synonyms can be classified into two major groups: absolute synonyms and relative synonyms.

(2) Absolute synonyms also known as complete synonyms are words which are

identical in meaning in all aspects, i.e. both in grammatieal meaning and lexical meaning, including conceptual and

associative meanings. Synonyms of this type are interchangeable in every way.

(3) Relative Synonyms also called near-synonyms are similar or nearly the same in denotation, but embrace different

shades of meaning or different degrees of a given quality.

9. There are four sources of synonyms .They are( 1 )Borrowing.

(2)Dialects and regional English.

(3)Figurative and euphemistic use of words.

(4)Coincidence with idiomatic expressions.

10. The differences between relative synonyms boil down to three areas: denotation, connotation and application.

(1) Difference in denotation. Synonyms may differ in the range and intensity of meaning. Some words have a wider

range of meaning than others. Some are stronger than others in intensity.

(2) Difference in connotation. By connotation we mean the stylistic and emotive colouring of words. Some words

share the same denotation but differ in their stylistic appropriateness and emotive respect.

(3) Difference in application. Many words are synonymous in meaning but different in usage. They form different

collocations and fit into different sentence patterns.

11. Antonyms are classified on the basis of semantic opposition into contradictory terms, contrary terms and relative

terms.

12. (1)Antonyms are classified on the basis of semantic opposition.

(2)A word which has more than one meaning can have more than one antonym.

(3)Antonyms differ in semantic inclusion. Pairs of antonyms are seen as marked and unmarked terms respectively. In

many pairs we find that one member is more specific than the other and the meaning of the specific is included in that

of the general.

(4) Contrary terms are gradable antonyms, differing in degree of intensity, so

each has its own corresponding opposites.

13 .As homonyms are identical in sound or spelling, particularly homophones, they are often employed to create

puns for desired effect of, say, humour, sarcasm or ridicule.

14. These antonyms truly represent oppositeness of meaning. They are so opposed to each other that they are

mutually exclusive and admit no possibility between them. The assertion of one is the denial of the other. In other

words, if one of the pair is true, then the other cannot be. Another distinctive feature of this category is that such

antonyms are non-gradable. They cannot be used in comparative degrees.

15 .Antonyms of this type are best viewed in terms of a scale running between two poles or extremes. They are

relative to each other and gradable.

16. This type consists of relational opposites. The pairs of words indicate such a reciprocal social relationship that

one of them cannot be used without suggesting the other. This type also includes reverse terms, each of which

reverses the action or process of the other.

17. (1)Antonyms are helpful and valuable in defining the meanings of words. Antonyms are useful in enabling us to

express economically the opposite of a particular thought, often for the sake of contrast.

(2)Many idioms are formed with antonyms. They look neat and pleasant, and sound rhythmic. Antonyms are often

used to form antithesis to achieve emphasis by putting contrasting ideas together.

18. Hyponymy deals with the relationship of semantic inclusion. That is, the meaning of a more specific word is

included in that of another more general word. These specific words are known as hyponyms.

For instance, "tulip" and "rose" are hyponyms of "flower". The general word "flower" is the superordinate terms and

more specific ones "tulip", "rose", are the subordinate terms. Hyponymy can be described in terms of tree-like graphs,

with superordinates above subordinates. But their status either as superordinate or subordinate is relative to other

terms.

19. (1)Semantic field refers to a set or a number of words which are semantically

related and share a similar concept.

(2)Words in each field are semantically related and define one another. The meaning of a word depends on its

position in the semantic field.

(3)The semantic field is in constant Change; old items drop out, new items come in, and as the new replace the old,

the internal relations of the whole set alter. Another point is that the semantic field of the same concept may not have

the same members in different languages.

VII. Analyze and comment on the following. Write your answers in the space given below.

1. (1)The relationship between each corresponding underlined parts is hyponymy.

(2) In sentence ① "scientist", "relation" and "journalist" are all superordinates while "biologist", "brother" and

"magazine reporter" are all subordinates in sentence ② compared with the three underlined words in sentence ①

respectively.

(3) Sentence ② is clearer because subordinates are concrete, precise and vivid.

2. (1) "bear" is a polysemant. As a verb, "bear" may mean "give birth to", "put up with" and "carry in arms", which are

possible in the sentence. The polysemy of the word "bear" leads to ambiguity. Speaker B can't understand the

sentence "She can't bear children." because "bear" is a polysemant and is ambiguous in the sentence.

(2)Speaker A can put it clear by saying "She can't give birth to children." or "She can't put up with children." or "She

can't carry children in arms."

3. (1) "crane", which means "a tall, long-legged, long-necked bird", and "crane", which means "a large, tall machine

used for moving heavy objects", are perfect homonyms, words which have the same pronunciation and spelling but

different meanings. The two meanings are both possible in the sentence, "Look at the crane, John. '.

(2)The mother is referring to "a large, tall machine used for moving heavy objects ", but the child thinks that the

"crane" is "a tall, long-legged, long-necked bird ", the mother and the child do not follow each other.

4. ( 1 )The process of meaning development is concatenation.

(2) It is concatenation because the primary meaning of the word, "treacle", is totally lost. There is not any sign of

connection between the sense that is finally developed, "molasses', and that which the word had at the beginning,

"wild beast".

(3)The development of word-meaning follows two courses: radiation and concatenation.

5. (1)They belong to relative synonymy.

(2)This type of synonymy refers to the relationship between the words similar or nearly the same in denotation, but

embraces different shades of meaning or different degrees of a given quality.

(3)Synonymy can be classified into two major groups: absolute synonymy and relative synonymy.

6. ( 1 )Antonyms differ in semantic inclusion. Pairs of antonyms are seen as marked and unmarked terms

respectively. In many pairs we find that one member is more specific than the other and the meaning of the specific is

included in that of the general.

(2) In the pair of antonyms, young/old, "young" is a marked term, which is more specific, and "old" is an unmarked

term, which is more general and inclusive.

(3)So far as the meaning is concerned, sentence(2) includes the meaning of sentence ( 1 ) in normal use, but if the

speaker is interested in or curious about exact young age, he may use sentence(1).

7. ( 1 ) The first "fair" means "attractive", "beautiful" while the second "fair" means "market".

(2)The relationship between the two words is homonymy. They belong to perfect homonymy. They are perfect

homonyms.

(3)The first "fair" is from "fager" in Old English, and the second "fair" is from "feria" in Latin.

8. (1)The two underlined words are contrary terms.

(2)The pair of antonyms enables us to express economically the opposite of a particular set, often for the sake of

contrast. "wise" and "foolish" in the sentence have such a function.

(3)The pair of antonyms is often used to form antithesis to achieve emphasis by putting contrasting ideas together.

"wise" and "foolish'' well serve the purpose in the sentence.