Sources of homonyms

1. Антрушина, Г.Б. Лексикология английского языка: учебник для студ. пед. ин-тов по спец. № 2103 "Иностр. яз." / Г.Б. Антрушина, О.В. Афанасьева, Н.Н. Морозова; под ред. Г.Б. Антрушиной. — М.: Высш. школа, 1985. — С. 130—134.

2. Лексикология английского языка: учебник для ин-тов и фак-тов иностр. яз. / Р.З. Гинзбург [и др.]; под общ. ред. Р.З. Гинзбург. — 2-е изд., испр. и доп. — М.: Высш. школа, 1979. — С. 42—43.

3. Лещева, Л.М. Слова в английском языке. Курс лексикологии современного английского языка: учебник для студ. фак-в и отдел. английского языка (на англ. яз.) / Л.М. Лещева. — Минск: Академия управления при Президенте Республики Беларусь, 2001. — С. 56—57.

3. Polysemy and homonymy: etymological, semantic, distribution and spelling criteria.

1. Лексикология английского языка: учебник для ин-тов и фак-тов иностр. яз. / Р.З. Гинзбург [и др.]; под общ. ред. Р.З. Гинзбург. — 2-е изд., испр. и доп. — М.: Высш. школа, 1979. — С. 43—45.

2. Лещева, Л.М. Слова в английском языке. Курс лексикологии современного английского языка: учебник для студ. фак-в и отдел. английского языка (на англ. яз.) / Л.М. Лещева. — Минск: Академия управления при Президенте Республики Беларусь, 2001. — С. 58—59.

Key terms: homonyms, perfect homonyms, homographs, homophones, polysemantic words.

Compulsory tasks and exercises:

1. Consider your answers to the following questions:

1. Which words do we call homonyms?

2. Why can't homonyms be regarded as expressive means of the language?

3. What are the main sources of homonymy in English? Give examples.

4. In what respect does split polysemy stand apart from other sources of homonyms?

5. What accounts for the abundance of homonymous words and word-forms in English?

6. Does homonymy exist only among words and word-forms? Can we speak about homonymy of other lexical units? Give examples.

7. What types are homonyms classified into by the type of meaning?

8. What types are homonyms classified into if their sound-form / graphic form is taken into account?

9. What homonyms have related meanings?

10. What is essential difference between homonymy and polysemy?

11. What are the criteria for differentiation between polysemy and homonymy?

12. Why is a semantic criterion not always reliable in differentiating between polysemy and homonymy?

13. Prove that the language units board ("a long and thin piece of timber") and boards ("daily meals") are two different words (homonyms) and not two different meanings of one and the same word. Give some other similar examples.

2. Classify the following homonyms into lexical, lexico-grammatical and grammatical homonyms:

1. Ball 1 (n) — ball 2 (n).

2. Bank 1 (n) — bank 2 (n).

3. Bear (n) — bear (v).

4. Draw (n) — draw (v).

5. Found (v) — found (past of "to find").

6. Ground (n) — ground (past of "to grind").

7. Kind (adj) — kind (n).

8. Left (adj) — left (past of "to leave").

9. Mine (n) — mine (of “my”).

10. Own (adj) — own (v).

11. Page 1 (n) — page 3 (n).

12. Use (n) — use (v).

3. a) Find homonyms proper for the following words; give their Russian equivalents.

1. band — a company of musicians;

2. seal — a warm-blooded, fish-eating sea-animal, found chiefly in cold regions;

3. ear — the grain-bearing spike of a cereal plant, as in corn;

4. cut — the result of cutting;

5. to bore — to make a long round hole, esp. with a pointed tool that is turned round;

6. corn — a hard, horny thickening of the skin, esp. on the foot;

7. fall — the act of falling, dropping or coming down;

8. to hail — to greet, salute, shout an expression of welcome;

9. ray — any of several cartilaginous fishes, as the stingray, skate, etc.;

10. draw — something that attracts attention.

b) Find homophones for the following words, translate them into Russian or explain their meanings in English.

Heir

dye

cent

tale

sea

flower

week

peace

sun

meat

steel

knight

idle

sum

coarse

principal

write

key

fair

plain

sight

reign

hare

weather

c) Find homographs for the following words and transcribe both of them.

1. to bow — to bend the head or body;

2. wind — air in motion;

3. to tear — to pull apart by force;

4. to desert — to go away from a person or place;

5. row — a number of persons or things in a line.

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