ANTONYMS

The problem of antonymy as the problem of synonymy is treated differently by different linguists. The most debatable question is the definition. Antonyms have traditionally been defined as words of opposite meaning. Antonymy is not evenly distributed among the categories of parts of speech. Most antonyms are adjectives which is only natural because qualitative characteristics are easily compared and contrasted: high-low, wide-narrow, strong-weak, friendly - hostile.

Verbs take second place, so far as antonymy is concerned. Yet, verbal pairs of antonyms are few in number. Here are some of them: to lose - to find; to live -to die; to open - to close; to weep - to laugh.

Nouns are not rich in antonyms, but even so some examples can be given: friend - enemy, joy - grief good -evil, love - hatred.

Antonymic adverb s can be subdivided into two groups: a/ adverbs derived from adjectives: merrily - sadly, loudly - softly; b/ adverbs proper: now - then, here - there, ever - never, up - down, in - out.

Antonyms may be defined as two or more words of the same language belonging to the same part of speech and to the same semantic field, identical in style a nearly identical in distribution, associated and often used together so that their denotative meanings render contradictory or contrary notions.

Contradictory notions are mutually opposed and denying one another, f.e. alive-dead, single-married. The use one of the terms is to contradict (отрицать) the other and to use not before one of them is to make it semantically equival to the other: "alive" means "not dead", "married" means "not single".

Contrary notions are also mutually opposed but they are gradable. Contraries differ from contradictories mainly because contradictories admit of no possibility - between them. One is either single or marred, either dead or alive; whereas contraries admit such possibilities. This may be observed in cold- hot, and cool – warm which seem to be intermediate members. Thus we may regard as antonyms not only cold and hot but also cold and warm. The distinction between the two types is not absolute, as one can say that one is more dead than alive, and thus make these adjectives gradable.

Another classification of antonyms is based on a morphological approach-root words form absolute antonyms: right - wrong; the presence of negative affixes creates derivational antonyms: happy - unhappy; useful -useless; appear -disappear. There are typical affixes and typical patterns that form these derivational antonyms.

But still the definition of antonyms as words characterized by semantic polarity or opposite meaning is open to criticism. If we compare the meaning of the words kind - gentle, friendly, showing love, sympathy

DJ thought for others and cruel - taking Measure in jzivinsjzain to others, without mercy, we see that they denote concepts that are felt as completely opposed to each other. Comparing the adjective kind and unkind we do not find any polarity of meaning as here semantic opposition is confined to simple negation. Unkind may be interpreted as not kind which does not necessarily mean cruel, just as not beautiful does not necessarily mean ugly.

Like synonyms, perfect or absolute a ntonyms are - fairly rare. It is usual to find the relations of antonymy restricted to certain contexts. Thus thick is not only one of the antonyms of thin: a thin slice - a thick slice, another is fat: a thin man - a fat man. Due to polysemy one and the same word may have different antonyms. So, the adjective dull has the antonyms interesting, amusing, entertaining for its meaning of deficient in interest; and clever, bright, capable for its meaning of deficient in intellect, and active for the meaning of deficient (недостаток) in activity. Polysemantic words may have antonyms in some of their meaning and none ~ in the others. When criticism means blame or censure its antonym is praise, when it means writing critical essays dealing with the works of some authors' it can have no antonym.

It must be noted that antonymy of two words may be restricted by their valency, i.e. there power to combine with different words. Thus antonyms tall and low are antonyms only when used in combination with the words denoting inanimate things: a tall tree - a low tree, but the -antonyms of the adjective tall in the phrase - a tall man is the adjective short, as the adjective low has a different valency and cannot be used with nouns denoting living beings. One more example to illustrate the valency: an old house - a new house, an old man - a young man.

There is one more point to be discussed in connection with antonyms. It is observed that in certain antonymic pairs one of members has more generalized or abstract denotational meaning and in some contexts cannot be replaced by the other members of the antonymic pair. The words old and young are antonyms as big and small, short and tall.

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