• 38/Change of word meaning. Figures of speech. Metaphor and metonymy.

A figure of speechisfigurative languagein the form of a singlewordorphrase. It can be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or aphrasewith a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words. There are mainly five figures of speech:simile,metaphor,hyperbole,personificationandsynecdoche. Figures of speech often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. However, clarity may also suffer from their use, as any figure of speech introduces an ambiguity between literal and figurative interpretation. A figure of speech is sometimes called arhetorical figureor alocution.

The four fundamental operations, or categories of change, governing the formation of all figures of speech are:-^[1]

• addition (adiectio), also called repetition/expansion/superabundance

• omission (detractio), also called subtraction/abridgement/lack

• transposition (transmutatio), also called transferring

• permutation (immutatio), also called switching/interchange/substitution/transmutation

met·a·phorn.

1. A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in "a sea of troubles" or "All the world's a stage" (Shakespeare).

2. One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol: "Hollywood has always been an irresistible, prefabricated metaphor for the crass, the materialistic, the shallow, and the craven" (Neal Gabler).

metaphor

 (ˈmɛtəfə; -ˌfɔː)

n

1. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action that it does not literally denote in order to imply a resemblance, for example he is a lion in battle. Compare simile

[C16: from Latin, from Greek metaphora, from metapherein to transfer, from meta- + pherein to bear]

metaphoric ˌmetaˈphorical adj ˌmetaˈphorically adv ˌmetaˈphoricalness n

metonymy a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something towhich it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, asin “A mighty fortress is our God.”.

Compare mixed metaphor,simile

Metaphor(drawing asimilaritybetween two things)and metonymy(drawing acontiguitybetween two things) are two fundamental opposite poles along which a discourse withhuman languageis developed.^[1]It has been argued that the two poles of similarity and contiguity are fundamental ones along which the human brain is structured; in the study of human language the two poles have been calledmetaphorandmetonymy, while in the study of theunconsciousthey have been calledcondensationanddisplacement.^[2]

The couple metaphor-metonymy had a prominent role in the renewal of the field of rhetoric in the 1960s.

English vocabulary as a system

• 39/Antonyms. Definition. Morphological and semantic classification of antonyms.

Antonyms are two or rarely more words of the same language belonging to the same part of speech, identical in style and nearly identical in distribution, associated and used together so that their denotative meanings render contrary or contradictory notions.

Antonymy is not evenly distributed among the categories of parts of speech. Most antonyms are adjectives, which seems to be natural because qualitative characteristics are easily compared and contrasted, e.g. high – low, wide — narrow, strong— weak, old—young, friendly – hostile.

Verbs take second place. E.g.to lose – to find, to live – to die, to open – to close, to weep – to laugh.

Nouns are not rich in antonyms, e.g. friend – enemy, joy – grief, good – evil, heaven – earth, love – hatred.

Antonymic adverbs can be subdivided into two 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.

In the semantic structures of all words, which regularly occur in antonymic pairs, a special antonymic connotation can be singled out.

E.g. the semantic structure of hot can be said to include the antonymic connotation of "not cold", the semantic structure of enemy – the connotation of "not a friend".

A careful examination will reveal three kinds of oppositeness of meaning represented by the following pairs of antonyms. Consider: a) narrow – wide, small – large, tall-short; b) alive – dead, male – female, open – shut; c) over – under, receive – give, wife – husband.