SENSE REL ATION
&
SEMANTIC
SEMANTICS
• Study of meanings used to understand human expressions via
language.
• It is the most difficult part of the grammar of a language to learn.
Because meanings in a language are indefinite/undetermined.
Listener cannot presume the intend of speaker.
• Remember, one of the main features of human speech is
arbitrariness. Means there is no logical connections in utterances
and meanings.
SENSE RELATION:
• Sense relation is a relation between words or predicates.
• As we are studying semantics, so sense relation indicates the
connection between the meanings of words and sense of words.
It also meddles with either these senses and meanings are similar
or dissimilar.
6 TYPES OF SENSE RELATIONS:
1. Synonymy
2. Polysemy
3. Hyponymy
4. Homonymy
5. Meronym
6. Antonym
1. SYNONYMY:
• Synonym is the state or phenomenon in which the words that
have different sound, different pronunciation, different phonemes,
but have similar or identical meanings to another word or
phrase.
• E.g.
Incapacitated ----------- Helpless
Holster ----------- Gun pouch
Teacher ----------- Tutor
Linguistics ----------- Glottology
2. POLYSEMY
• Polysemy is the state or phenomenon in that refers to the words
having more than one meanings or multiple meanings
simultaneously.
• For example.
Bank (refers to a building where money is yield for safety)
Bank ( refers to the seashore).
Sheer (not combine with anything else or transparent)
Sheer (change direction suddenly)
Intercourse: sexual/communication
3. HYPONYMY
• Hyponymy is the most generic word that come in one’s mind
after hearing the particular category of objects.
• Eg:
The lexical representation of: Red, Green, Black, Indigo ,
yellow is “color”.
à Thus we can say, “RED” is the hyponymy of the particular
category “Color”.
• Superordinate hyponymy (main figure or Subject as RED)
• Subordinate hyponymy (other subjects or figures belong to
same category as yellow, green, indigo, pink etc.
4. HOMONYMY
• Homo means same/similar.
• Homonymy is the phenomenon that refers to the words having
same pronunciation or spells but carry distinct meanings.
Homonymy can be divided into 2 categories with respect to the
similarities of words. Either it is in written form or spoken form.
• Homo-phones: homo means same and phone means sound. Literally
saying, words having same pronunciation but different meanings.
• E.g: Whole/Hole
flower/flour
whose/who’s
• Homo-graphs:
Grapheme: means letters or symbols used to represent a phoneme.
• words having same spells but carry diverse meanings.
• E.g Intercourse for communication and sexual penetration too.
Mean refers to “intend” and “wretched/nasty” at the same time.
Race: Competition , Race: Genetically defined population group.
5. MERONYM
Meronym is the semantic relation that illustrates the correlation
between a “part” and the “whole” thing.
Eg: Nail is the par of the whole, finger
Finger is the part of the whole, hand.
Hand is the part of the whole, arm.
Arm is the part of the whole, body.
Body is the complete thing.
6. ANTONYM
• Antonym is the phenomenon that refers to the words having
opposite sense relation to each other.
• Eg: Big ------------- Small
Black ------------- White
Midget ------------- Tall
Antonymy is the name for oppositeness relation and there are 5
types of antonymy;
(1) Gradable Antonyms:
• Gradable antonymy is the commonest type of antonymy.
• Eg: The antonym pairs like
hot/cold,
big/small
tall/short
• We can find that they are mainly adjectives
• As the name suggests, they are gradable, that is, the members of a
pair differ in terms of degree: very hot, bigger, worst, faster etc.
(2) Complementary Antonymy
• These antonyms have a choice relation but entirely opposed to
each other.
• Eg: Antonyms like awake/asleep
married/single,
pass/fail,
alive/dead,
white/black,
male/female
• These antonyms cannot be graded into degrees.
(3) Converse Antonymy / Relational antonyms
• The antonyms that show a reversal relationship.
• The antonym pairs like: husband/wife
The antonyms that show a reversal relationship
doctor/patient
teacher/student,
buy/sell
employer/employee
• A is B’s husband ßà B is A’s wife.
• A is B’s doctor ßà B is A’s patient.
• A is B’s teacher ßà B is A’s student. It is also known as relational opposites.
• (4) Antipode Antonyms
• These antonyms particularly used to denote the opposite
directions to each other.
• Eg: up/down,
left/right,
north/south,
ahead/backward,
upward/downward etc.
(5) Reversal antonyms
• As the name own self showing that these antonyms occur but at the
reverse direction. For example, if a person is arrived, he must be
depart.
• Reversal antonym especially illustrates the opposite verbs that are
used in sentences.
• Eg: do/undo,
tie/untie,
reveal/conceal,
arrival/departure.
Synonymy Homonymy Polysemy Hyponymy Antonymy
Definition a word which words which word having a relationship the semantic
has the same are written in two or more between two words, relationship
sense, or the same way closely in which the meaning that exists
nearly the and sound related of one of the words between two
same as alike but meanings includes the meaning (or more)
another word which have of the other word; words that
different one lexeme denotes have opposite
meanings the subclass of the meanings
other
Simplified 2 lexemes = 2 lexemes 1 lexeme= 2 lexemes= similar 2 lexemes=
Definition same meaning (with the multiple meaning because opposite
(1 same same form) = related they belong to the meanings (2
sense) 2 unrelated meaning same segment of a opposite
meanings (2 or more domain (1 similar senses)
(2 unrelated related sense)
senses) senses)
Example small=little cross (cross a dirty floor vehicle(hypernym) alive-dead
big=large the street, a dirty trick àcar(hyponym) male-female
mother and she is cross, color(hypernym) present-
father=parents Jesus on the a dark room àred(hyponym) , absent
politician=stat cross) a dark secret (co-hyponyms) awake-asleep
esman green, blue, purple,
black
EXERCISE
What is the sense relation between each pair of words listed below?
• 1. damp/moist
• 2. deep/shallow
• 3. furniture/table
• 4. married/single
• 5. move/run
• 6. peace/piece
• 7. bark/bark
• 8. take/steal
• 9. spoon/cutlery
• 10. lamb/lamb
EXERCISE
What is the sense relation between each pair of words listed below?
• 1. damp/moist: SYNONYMY
• 2. deep/shallow: ANTONYMY
• 3. furniture/table: HYPONYMY
• 4. married/single: ANTONYMY
• 5. move/run: HYPONYMY
• 6. peace/piece: HOMOPHONY/HOMOPHONES
• 7. bark/bark: HOMONYMY
• 8. take/steal: HYPONYMY
• 9. spoon/cutlery: HYPONYMY
• 10. lamb/lamb: POLYSEMY
• What is the semantic relationship between (or among) the following words? If it is antonymy, specify
the type of antonymy.
a) couch : sofa ___SYNONYMY
b) awake : asleep ANTONYMY: CONTRADICTORY
c) stop : go ANTONYMY: RELATIONAL
d) strong : weak ANTONYMY: GRADABLE
e) (He took the) lead /led/ : lead /li…HOMONYMY
f) mammal : dog, cat, pig, cow HYPONYMY
g) get : obtain, become, buy. POLYSEMY
h) crown : king or queen METONYMY
i) vehicle : car, truck, SUV, bicycle HYPONYMY
j) take : grasp, carry, go (a specific way) POLYSEMY
k) I’ll stand (be on my feet) : (resist) here. HOMONYMY
l) do : undo ANTONYMY: RELATIONAL
m) fast : slow ANTONYMY: GRADABLE
n) alive : dead ANTONYMY: CONTRADICTORY
o) beginning : debut SYNONYMY
p) I saw the spring (season) : (metal coil) HOMONYMY
•Thank You!
–Any Question?
