Polysemy

Polysem (from Greek πολύς much 'or' more ' and σῆμα ' sign ' ) is in linguistics, a linguistic sign (eg, word, morpheme, or Syntagma ) called, which stands for different meaning contents or terms. The property to be polysemous called polysemy. Polysemous words are ambiguous.

Polysemy is different from the homonymy, especially in the differentiation of a common semantic context.

Polysemy can lead to misunderstandings and wrong conclusions, but are also used word- playful, creative or poetic language.

Definitions

The word is derived from the Greek poly Polysem "a lot" and sema "sign" and is the antonym of monosemy (Greek monos "single" ). The term was introduced in 1897 by Michel Bréal. To be differentiated by the polysemy of homonymy (gr. " Gleichnamentlichkeit ").

The distinction between homonymy and polysemy done differently so that polysemy can mean:

The latter is the main use in language- scientific context.

Polysemy is not limited to words. There are generally polysemy of a character in general, expression, or specifically a morpheme, a lexeme or the syntagm of a sentence.

Occurrence of polysemy

Most words are polysemous, that describe several more or less different situations, which develop from a common context. Polysemy is considered natural language normally and as an expression of linguistic economy principle.

Examples of particularly many polysemous are:

• Runner - According to the Guinness Book of World Records 1997 runners is the German word with the most meanings (24) MSDict -? Wö The large dictionary of the German language, 4th edition Mannheim 2012 [ CD-ROM] only (more) 6 meanings of: Carpet, chess, agriculture, construction, engineering and sport with two sub- meanings a) running and b ) becoming outdated in the foot and hand ball. In the older editions printed partially generous polysemies were differentiated. Below are according to this dictionary, the division into. the extent differentiated - lemmas ( homonyms) and given in their polysemous.
• Bank ( 2 lemmas: Lemma 1 of OHG banc = table, 5 polysemies; Lemma 2 it banco with the two polysemies 1 a. ) Credit companies and b of the same ) Buildings and second instance in gambling; this is obviously in tension with many also comprehensible organizations in textbooks )
• Bridge (8 )
• Atlas (3 lemmas ( homonyms): 1 one of the Titans, 3 first cervical vertebra, and divided into 2 2.1 geographical maps in book form 2.2 illustrations from a field of knowledge and apparently mistakenly 2.3 of the first cervical vertebra. )
• Wing ( 5)
• Shock (16 )
• Train (16, in an earlier edition printed yet 24)
• Spring (5)

Other examples of polysemous: needle, nail, bolt, pulley, screw

Polysemous may arise in different ways. The causes of polysemy are metaphors ( figurative use ), metonymy (not literal use ), Bedeutungsentlehnung (extended use ), elliptical use ( weglassende use ), recovery of archaisms ( resuming border use ), or LSP differentiation of concepts.

Polysemy and homonymy

Taking the main importance to reason, one comes to the following table:

Polysemous have several meanings that are similar to each other. If this is not the case with multiple meanings, as is instead that homonymy. Are considered homonymous words whose meanings are so different that no similarity between them can be seen. However, a clear distinction between polysemy and homonymy is not always possible.

The distinction between polysemy and Homonymität is spread also made ​​so that polysemy exists when a word ( a lexeme ) has several meanings (meaning variants), and homonymy is given when ( at least) two words share the same word body but have different meanings. The difficulty is then, however, to specify when and when more words are present.

Whether polysemy or homonymy exists, is often still recognizable only in -depth etymological knowledge.

• Example: Bank

• Example: Bauer

Against this background, it is doubtful whether the traditional distinction polysemy and homonymy of more than etymological value. It therefore makes sense to either the ( soggy ) of the meaning of polysemy or to speak instead of polysemy / homonymy generalization of ( lexical ) ambiguity, ambiguity or equivocation.

Types of polysemy

Polysemy by specialization

Many polysemous arise from the fact that an expression undergoes a slightly different meaning in a specific context by using. In this way, from a general notion, a new technical term of jargon arise. But the reverse is also possible if a technical language term is used with the time and in general linguistic meaning.

Regular polysemy

A special case of polysemy is the regular polysemy. Regular polysemy is available for groups of lexical sign when regularly a second meaning can be inferred from each one meaning. Thus, in lexical signs which designate institutions to further the members of the institution or the building of this institution is significant importance are closed.

In the following example, the school called an institution, a group of people and a building:

This form of polysemy is not recorded in the dictionary.

The school - example is given by Bierwisch. It is partly interpreted as evidence that an expression is not directly ambiguous and vague. Based on the concept of family resemblance of Wittgenstein could therefore speak of a meaning or concept family.

Correct, it would be to capture the variety of readings as ordinary lexical ambiguity, in which the individual meanings can be derived from each other, among other things by the ratio of analogy. Nor is the expression in healthy " healthy organic food " and " healthy person " vague, just because he in the first case in an analogous meaning ( = healthy " what health receives / gives " ) will be used.

Polysemy of meaning extension

Another form of ambiguity is the meaning extension by transferred use. In the sentence "Peter is a banana " the lexical character banana is not used in a new, personal descriptive meaning. There are only banana typical characteristics, such as to be long and crooked, transferred to Peter. This form of ambiguity is not encoded in dictionaries. If this form of transfer of meaning but solidified in use, it is also registered in dictionaries ( eg Pig in: " Peter is a pig ").

Lexicographic acquisition of polysemy

Polysemy is a linguistic or lexikologisches phenomenon that can not be read directly from the use of a lexical sign.

In the dictionary creation ( lexicography ), the ambiguity is captured by linguistic signs by the fact that in an article about the relevant linguistic signs several semantic comments to every meaning one that will be created. In dictionaries polysemous be treated under a keyword, whereas homonyms under different keywords. Thus one finds only a keyword horse which, inter alia, the meanings " large mammal " and "Turn device", but has two keywords Bank with the meanings of " seating " or "financial institution ".

Polysemous and homonymous lexical characters prove to be a problem when indexing within the documentation, where a situation is to be developed by individual, definable Keywords ( lemmatization ). For this reason, the keywords are separated from each other in a controlled vocabulary.