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05-lexical relationship in psycho

The document discusses various lexical relationships in psycholinguistics, including synonymy, antonymy, converseness, hyponymy, homophony, homonymy, and polysemy, providing definitions and examples for each. It also distinguishes between conceptual meaning, which refers to the literal meaning of a word, and associative meaning, which encompasses the additional connotations associated with a word. These relationships illustrate how words interact and relate to one another in language.

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16 views2 pages

05-lexical relationship in psycho

The document discusses various lexical relationships in psycholinguistics, including synonymy, antonymy, converseness, hyponymy, homophony, homonymy, and polysemy, providing definitions and examples for each. It also distinguishes between conceptual meaning, which refers to the literal meaning of a word, and associative meaning, which encompasses the additional connotations associated with a word. These relationships illustrate how words interact and relate to one another in language.

Uploaded by

dr.mustafa1507
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Lexical Relationships in psycholinguistics

Attempts have been made to come up with a framework as far as the relationship
between words is concerned. Below will follow different kinds of relationships with
exemplification.
1. Synonymy: Two or more forms with very closely related meanings, which are
often intersubstitutable. Examples are : cab - taxi.
2. Antonymy: The basic property of two words that are antonyms is that they share
all but one semantic feature. There are two types of antonyms:
2.1. Gradable antonyms : Pairs such as big-small. For these antonyms:
a. More of one is less of another. More bigness is less smallness.
b. The negative of one does not imply the other, not happy is not necessarily
sad.
c. Comparative constructions are possible, bigger-smaller.
d. One is marked, the other unmarked; the unmarked one is used in questions
of degree. We ask "How high is it?" not "How low is it?"
2.2. Non-gradable antonyms (or" complementary pairs"): They have the
following characteristics:
a. They are not used in comparative constructions. You cannot say "more
dead" or "more alive".
b. The negative of one member DOES imply the other. "Not dead" means
"alive".
3. Converseness (or "Relational opposites"): Pairs such as teacher - student, doctor -
patient, employer - employee, and buyer - seller are examples of this
relationship. In other words, the existence of one pair presupposes the other. If
there is no student, there cannot be any teacher. In fine, if X gives Y to Z, then Z
receives Y from X.
4. Hyponymy: When the meaning of one form is included in the meaning of
another, the relationship is described as hyponymy. The meaning of "animal" is
included in "dog". The specific term, dog, is called a hyponym and the general
term, animal, is called superordinate. Co-hyponyms are two or more hyponyms
which share a superordinate.
5. Homophony: When two or more different (written) forms have the same
pronunciation. Some examples are : pale-pail, flour-flower, and meat-meet.
6. Homonymy: It is used when one form (written and spoken) has two or more
unrelated meanings. Examples are: bank (of a river) - bank (financial institution),
pupil-pupil, mole-mole.
Note : Homonymous words have separate entries in the dictionary.
7. Polysemy: It can be defined as one form (written and spoken) having multiple
meanings which are related by extension.
Examples are :

35
Note: Polysemous words have the same entry in the dictionary.
The last three relationships can be summarized as the following:

relationship Pronunciation spelling meaning


polysemy The same The same related
homonymy The same The same Different (=unrelated)
homophony The same different different

Before we end the discussion, two more terms need elaborations on: conceptual and
associative meanings.
Conceptual meaning covers those basic, essential components of meaning which
are conveyed by the literal use of a word. The equivalent terms are : referential,
denotative, cognitive, and core meanings.
Associative meaning of a word is the total of all meanings a person thinks when
they hear the word. The word, puppy, besides conceptual meaning has the associative (=
connotative) meanings of "young, warm, lively, and kitten".

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