Polysemy and Context. Types of Context

The term 'context' denotes the minimal stretch of speech determining each individual meaning of the word. Contexts may be two types: linguistic (verbal) and extra-linguistic (non-verbal).

Linguistic contexts may be subdivided into lexical and grammatical. In lexical contexts of primary importance are the groups of lexical items combined with the polysemantic word under consideration.This can be illustrated by the results of the analysis of different lexical contexts in which a polysemantic word is used. For example, the adjective heavy used with the words load, table means 'of great weight'. When combined with the words denoting natural phenomena such as rain, storm, snow, wind the adjective heavy is understood as denoting 'abundant, striking, falling with force'. If used with the words industry, artillery, arms and the like, heavy has the meanining ‘the larger kind of smth'.

It can be easily observed that the main factor in bringing out the individual meanings of the adjective heavy is the lexical meaning of the words with which this adjective is combined. Thus, the meanings of heavy may be analyzed through its collocability with the words weight, safe, table; snow, wind; industry, artillery, etc. The meaning at the level of lexical contexts is sometimes described as meaning by collocation.

In grammatical contexts it is the grammatical (syntactic) structure of the context that serves to determine various individual meanings of polysemantic word. The meaning of the verb to make — 'to force, to induce' is found only in the grammatical context possessing the syntactic structure to make + prn. + verb (to make smb. laugh, to make smb. work, to make smb. sit). Another meaning of this verb — to become' is observed in the context of a different syntactic structure- to make + adj. + noun (to make a good wife, to make a good teacher)

Such meanings are sometimes described as grammatically bound meanings.

There are c ases when the meaning of a word is ultimately determined by the actual speech situation in which the word is used, i.e. by the extra-linguistic context (or context of situation'). In the sentence ‘The bull is large, the meaning of the word bill is clearly ambiguous as it has two ‘ readings" resulting from the two meanings of the word bill. The sentence can however, be 'disambiguated', i.e. one or the other of its two readings can be established if it is extended with... but need not paid. This extension is, of course, possible only with one of the meanings of the word bill. The noun ring in 'to give smb. a ring' may possess the meaning 'a circlet of precious metal' or 'a call on the telephone’ depending on the situation in which the word is used. Another example is the word glasses in the sentence: John was looking for the glasses. This is ambiguous because it might refer to 'spectacles' or to ‘drinking vessels’.So it is possible to state the meaning of the word ‘glasses’ only through the extended context or situation.

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