Seminar № 6 English vocabulary as a system

1. Types of homonyms. Different ways of classifying homonyms. Sources of homonyms. Breaking semantic links between certain meanings of a polysemantic word as a source of homonyms. Paronyms.

2. Synonyms in English. grouping synonyms according to the common features characteristic of the giving group. Ideographic and stylistic synonyms. Euphemisms as a specific type of synonyms.

3. Paradigmatic relations of inclusion: hyponyms, hyperonyms, equonyms.

4. Antonyms in English. Morphological and semantic classification of antonyms.

5. The theory of semantic fields. Thematic or ideographic groups.

Literature: [3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 23, 28-30, 34, 36, 37, 46, 47, 52]

Exercises

Ex.1 Give words homophonous with the following:

flour, hair, heel, here, eye, night, peace, sum, sun, week

Ex.2 Find homographs to the following words and transcribe both:

bass, bow, close, desert, minute, polish, wind

Ex.3 Find the absolute homonyms for the following words:

band, can, duck, lime, march, mess, miss, race, school, seal, temple

Ex.4 Define the meaning of the following paronyms:

anterior-interior, canal-channel, career-carrier, cause-course, complement-compliment, physics-physique, popular-populous, wander-wonder

Ex.5 Point to idiographic and stylistic synonyms in the following pairs of words:

bold, valiant; firm, hard; think, deem; clothes, attire; first-rate, ace; revise, recapitulate; vanish, perish; wrong, faulty; inadequate, not up to scratch; chuckle, giggle, extract, deracinate; achievement, accomplishment; explosive, eruptive; latest, with-it; laugh, be in stitches; narcotic, downer; opinion, viewpoint; generous, lavish; to love, to canoodle; merciless, harsh; confusing, misleading; monastery, abbey; notability, celeb(rity); unbiased, bias-free; exhausting, tiring; inventor, creator; inoffensive, harmless; infinite, boundless; infatuation, calf love; rudeness, disrespect;

Ex.6. Offer synonyms for the underlined words in the following sentences:

1. We saw a tiny child. 2. He was praised for his kingly bearing. 3. He hid the news from his mother and father. 4. He was overcome by the nasty effluvium. 5. Indicate the route to my abode. 6. He could not tolerate the noise. 7. He always referred to himself as a labourer. 8. She lit it. 9. He always nods off as soon as he sits by the fire. 10. Please do not meddle with my possessions again.

Ex.7 State what these euphemisms mean:

differently-abled, people of colour, shell shock, copulation, perspire, security breach, mierda de toro, berk, Sunshine Units, pacification, to buy the farm, friendly fire, Number One, Number Two, Queer as Folk, restroom, Civil Amenity, ill-advised, the big C, sanitation worker, depart to the world of shadows, join the majority, garden of remembrance, necropolis, be economic with the truth, embroider the truth, comfort station, retiring room, washroom, chemical dependence, unmotivated, overweight, unattractive, appropriate, detainee, casket.

Ex.8 Supply per three hyponyms to each of the following hyperonyms:

wild animals, zoonemic similes, English poets, educational establishments, winter sports, occupations, film genres, Germanic languages, deadly sins.

Ex.9 Put the following lists into taxonomic hierarchies:

1. rose, plant, tea-rose, dog-rose, flower, daisy.

2. tea, coffee, beverage, milk, black coffee, sugared coffee

3. cold-blooded animals, warm-blooded animals, animals, crocodiles, birds, fish, whales.

Ex.9 Select the most appropriate antonyms for the underlined items in the following sentences:

1. It was the smallest elephant I’ve ever seen. 2. My coffee is cold. 3. My feet are cold. 4. My house is cold. 5. He has dark hair. 6. He gave me a dark look. 7. The sky is becoming very dark. 8. He disappeared. 9. We arrived at noon. 10. It was a very wide river.