38. General characteristics of stylistic semasiology. Semasiology vs onomasiology. Lexical semasiology vs stylistic semasiology. The notion of secondary nomination.

Semasiology – is a branch of linguistics which studies semantics or meaning of linguistic units belonging to different language levels.

Onomasiology, as a part of lexicology, departs from a concept (i.e. an idea, an object, a quality, an activity etc.) and asks for its names. The opposite approach is known as semasiology: here one departs from a word and asks what it means, or what concepts the word refers to. Thus, an onomasiological question is, e.g., "what are the names for long, narrow pieces of potato that have been deep-fried?" (answers: french fries in the US, chips in the UK etc.), while a semasiological question is, e.g., "what is the meaning of the term chips?" (answers: 'long, narrow pieces of potato that have been deep-fried' in the UK, 'slim slices of potatoes deep fried or baked until crisp' in the US).

Stylistic semasiology analyses the semantic relations and changes that create and image and thus form expressive means and stylistic devices.

The subject matter of stylistic semasiology is the so-called renaming an additional meaning of a language unit which is imparted due to several factors:

1. the a-typical denotative reference of words, word-combinations, utterances and texts that further gives ground to the appearance of expressive means.

2. the a-typical distribution of the meaning of these units that contributes to the appearance of stylistic devices.

So we can define expressive means and stylistic devices.

By expressive means we understand figures of substitution, that are different ways of secondary nomination – usage of existing words and word-combinations for naming new phenomena and notions or for new naming of existing, known things.

Principles of secondary nomination:

2. based on similarity or likeness (real or imaginary) of two objects belonging to different areas of reality which are regarded as such due to subjective perception: a chicken – bird – a coward

3. based on contiguity or some logical relations or associations which exists as a rule objectively between two subjects: курица – птица – куриное мясо (metonymy)

39. General characteristics of figures of substitution as semasiological expressive means. Classification of figures of substitution.

Figures of substitutions are a scope of secondary nominations which exist in language or in a ready-made type or which are created in speech on the basis of regular models.

Principles of secondary nomination:

4. based on similarity or likeness (real or imaginary) of two objects: a chicken – bird – a coward

5. based on contiguity which exists as a rule objectively between two subjects: курица – птица – куриное мясо (metonymy)

Secondary nominations usually enter into paradigmatic relations and in a number of cases are stylistically marked. In this aspect this opposition may be created by units of different levels:

1. word – w.-combination (to die – to sleep in a grave)

2. w-combination – utterance (a skeptical man – I’m from Missouri)

3. utterance – utterance (everyone can make a mistake – Homer sometimes nods)

4. text – text

Figures of Substitution		Figures of quality
Hyperbole	Meiosis litotes	Metonymy synecdoche synecdoche euphemism	Metaphor epithet antonomasia personification allegory	Irony