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Sense Relation in English

Sense relations refer to the various ways in which words are related to each other in terms of
meaning. In English linguistics, sense relations play a crucial role in understanding how words
convey meaning and how they are used in different contexts. Here, we will explore some of the
key sense relations and provide linguistic examples to demonstrate how meaning is derived from
a word's relationships with other words.

These relations help us understand how words are connected and can be categorized into different
types such as antonymy, homonymy, polysemy, hyponymy, meronymy, synonymy, member-
collection, portion-mass, and mytonymy.

Semanticists hypothesize that words can be decomposed into smaller components of meaning
which are combined differently (or lexicalized) to form different related words.

For example: Woman [-Male] [+Adult] [+Human]

Bachelor [+Male] [+Adult] [+Human] [-Married]

Spinster [-Male] [+Adult] [+Human] [-Married]

Wife [-Male] [+Adult] [+Human] [+Married]

In such a way the components help us to identify lexical relations. In the above example for
instance, spinster and wife are Hyponyms of woman because the components (feature
specifications) of spinster or wife include all the components (feature specifications) of woman.
Bachlor and spinster are Antonyms or semantically incompatible because they differ from each
other by one contrasting feature [+ Male].Thus a certain word which is a part of a certain lexical
field holds different sense (meaning) relations with other words in that relation. The commonly
identified sense relations are Antonymy, Homonymy, Polysemy, Hyponymy, Meronymy,
Synonymy, Member-Collection, Portion-Mass and Mytonymy.

1.Antonymy is the technical term for semantic contrast between words.It efers to words that have
opposite meanings, either binary (e.g., dead/alive) or non-binary (e.g., north/south/east/west).
Antonymous pairs contrast in specific meanings. According to Asher (1994) Antony my is not a

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relationship between words but between words in particular meaning. For instance even and odd
are antonymous pairs but only in their meaning divisible and not divisible by two.

Semantic oppositeness could be binary or non-binary

Binary antonyms are predicates which come in pairs and between them exhaust all the relevant
possibilities. If the one predicate is applicable, then the other cannot be, and vice versa. Another
way to view this is to say that apredicate is a binary antonym of another predicate if it entails the
negative of the other predicate. Example true and false are binary antonyms. If a sentence is true,
it cannot be false. If it is false, it cannot be true. Alternatively, if something is true, this entails
that it is not false. If it is false,this entails it is not true.

e.g: binary: dead/ alive

Mortal/ immortal

non-binary: north/ south/ east/ west

hot/ warm/ tepid/ cool/ cold

The fact that someone is dead implies that he is not alive, and vice versa. However, the fact that
the water is hot implies that it is not cold, but the reverse is not true i.e. the water is not cold does
not mean it is hot.

Antonymous pairs can be classified into gradable antonyms (e.g., hot/cold) and complementary
antonyms (e.g., married/single). For example, the words "fast" and "slow" are antonyms,
representing opposite speeds.

2.Homonymy is a term for lexical sense relation between phonologically identical (having the
same pronunciation) words but with unrelated senses, and orthographically identical but
unrelated senses.To put it other way round, it involves words that are phonologically or
orthographically identical but have unrelated meanings (e.g., bank - slope/financial institution).

e.g: bank /bæŋk/ - slope, elevation in sea or river bed

bank /bæŋk/ - financial institution

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Mug (drinking vessel vs gullible person) would also be a clear case of homonymy.

Homonyms can further be categorized into homophones (e.g., flower/flour) and homographs
(e.g., bow - a knot/bow - a weapon). Understanding the context is essential to differentiate
between homonyms.

3.Polysemy refers to semantic multiplicity where a single lexical item has multiple related
senses.

e.g: late /leIt/ a. after the usual expected, or agree time.

b. (happening) near the end of a period or in the recent past.

Mouth (of a river vs of an animal) is also a case of polysemy.The two senses are clearly related
by the concepts of an opening from the interior of some solid mass to the outside, and of a place
of issue at the end of some long narrow channel.

The phenomenon of polysemy can also be observed in words like "light," which can refer to
illumination, weight, or lack of heaviness. Context plays a crucial role in disambiguating the
various meanings of polysemous words

4. Hyponymy is a sense relation of inclusion. A lexical item is a hyponym of another lexical

item if the former includes all the semantic features of the latter. The latter is the more general
item called the superordinate or Hypernym and the former is the more specific item called the
subordinate or Hyponym. Thus Hyponymy shows hierarchical sense relationship as displayed in
the following example.

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 animal

bird dog cat etc

hound poodle spaniel etc

foxhound greyhound bloodhound

Hyponymy relationships can be hierarchical, with hypernyms encompassing multiple hyponyms.

For instance, "fruit" is a hypernym for "apple," "banana," and "orange."

5.Meronymy describes part-whole relationship.

e.g: elbow/ arm

hair/ head

In addition, meronymy relationships can be seen in words like "wheel" being a part of the whole
entity "car." Understanding meronymy helps in comprehending the structure of complex entities.

6.Synonymy is a sense relationship where words of different forms in a partial reading have the
same or nearly the same meaning.

e.g: happy/ glad

small/ little

Synonyms can vary in terms of register, connotation, and usage. For example, "tiny" and
"minuscule" are synonyms, but they may not be interchangeable in all contexts due to their
subtle differences in meaning.

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7. Member- Collection is a semantic relationship between a collection and a unit member of that
collection.

e.g: man/ people

lion/ pride

Furthermore, this relation is evident in words like "team" being a collection of individual
members. Recognizing member-collection relationships aids in understanding group dynamics
and organizational structures.

8.Portion-Mass is a lexical sense relation between a mass noun and its portion

e.g: kilo/ sugar

bar/ soap

So, portion-mass relations are prevalent in quantifying nouns like "slice/bread" or "cup/coffee."
Understanding these relationships is essential for precise communication of quantities.

9.Mytonymy is a metaphysical sense relationship. It involves a transfer of meaning from one

word to the other.

e.g: “The city rose against the president”

In this sentence “City” [-Animate] has a transferred semantic feature [+Animate] to mean
“people of the city” . In other words , mytonymy involves metaphorical extensions of meaning,
as seen in expressions like "the crown jewels of the collection," where "crown jewels"
metaphorically refers to the most valuable items. Recognizing mytonymy enhances one's ability
to grasp figurative language and symbolism.