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Information about Polysemy

Polysemy ([pəˈlɪsəmɪ] or [ˈpɒlɪˌsɛmɪ]) (from the Greek πολυσημεία = "multiple meaning") is the capacity for a sign (e.g. a word, phrase, etc.) or signs to have multiple meanings (sememes, i.e. a large semantic field). This is a pivotal concept within social sciences, such as media studies and linguistics.

Polysemes

A polyseme is a word or phrase with multiple, related meanings. A word is judged to be polysemous if it has two senses of the word whose meanings are related. Since the vague concept of relatedness is the test for polysemy, judgments of polysemy can be very difficult to make. Because applying pre-existing words to new situations is a natural process of language change, looking at words' etymology is helpful in determining polysemy but not the only solution; as words become lost in etymology, what once was a useful distinction of meaning may no longer be so. Some apparently unrelated words share a common historical origin, however, so etymology is not an infallible test for polysemy, and dictionary writers also often defer to speakers' intuitions to judge polysemy in cases where it contradicts etymology.

There are several tests for polysemy, but one of them is zeugma: if one word seems to exhibit zeugma when applied in different contexts, it is likely that the contexts bring out different polysemes of the same word. If the two senses of the same word do not seem to fit, yet seem related, then it is likely that they are polysemous. The fact that this test again depends on speakers' judgments about relatedness, however, means that this test for polysemy is not an infallible test for polysemy, but is rather merely a helpful, conceptual aide.

The difference between homonyms and polysemes is subtle. Lexicographers define polysemes within a single dictionary lemma, numbering different meanings, while homonyms are treated in separate lemmata. Semantic shift can separate a polysemous word into separate homonyms. For example, check as in "bank check"(or Cheque) , check in chess, and check meaning "verification" are considered homonyms, while they originated as a single word derived from chess in the 14th century.

For Dick Hebdige[1] polysemy means that, "each text is seen to generate a potentially infinite range of meanings," making, according to Richard Middleton (musicologist)[2], "any homology, out of the most heterogeneous materials, possible. The idea of signifying practice — texts not as communicating or expressing a pre-existing meaning but as 'positioning subjects' within a process of semiosis — changes the whole basis of creating social meaning".

Examples

  • Mole
  1. a small burrowing mammal
  2. consequently, there are several different entities called moles (see the Mole disambiguation page). Although these refer to different things, their names derive from 1.
    e.g. A Mole (espionage) burrows for information hoping to go undetected.
  • Bank
  1. a financial institution
  2. the building where a financial institution offers services
  3. a synonym for 'rely upon' (e.g. "I'm your friend, you can bank on me"). It is different, but related, as it derives from the theme of security initiated by 1
However: a river bank is a homonym to 1 and 2, as they do not share etymologies. It is a completely different meaning. River bed, though, is polysemous with the beds on which people sleep.
  1. a bound collection of pages
  2. a text reproduced and distributed (thus, someone who has read the same text on a computer has read the same book as someone who had the actual paper volume)
  • Milk
  • The verb milk (e.g. "he's milking it for all he can get") derives from the process of obtaining milk.
  • Wood
  1. a piece of a tree
  2. a geographical area with many trees

See Also

References

1. ^ Hebdige, D (1979). Subculture: The Meaning of Style. New York: Metheun.
2. ^ Middleton, Richard (1990/2002). Studying Popular Music. Philadelphia: Open University Press. ISBN 0-335-15275-9.

Further reading

  • O'Sullivan, et al. (1994) Key Concepts in Communication and Cultural Studies. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-06173-3
Greek}}} 
Writing system: Greek alphabet 
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Official language of:  Greece
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For other uses, see Sign.


In semiotics, a sign is "something that stands for something else, to someone in some capacity"[1]. It may be understood as a discrete unit of meaning, and includes words, images, gestures, scents, tastes,
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Sememe (Greek semaino - mean, signify) - semantical language unit of meaning, correlative to morpheme.

A sememe is a proposed unit of transmitted or intended meaning; it is atomic or indivisible.
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The semantic field of a word is the set of sememes (distinct meanings) expressed by the word. For example, the semantic field of "dog" includes "canine" and "to trail persistently" (also, to hound).
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The social sciences are a group of academic disciplines that study human aspects of the world. They diverge from the arts and humanities in that the social sciences tend to emphasize the use of the scientific method in the study of humanity, including quantitative and qualitative
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Please help recruit one or [ improve this article] yourself. See the talk page for details.
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For the journal, see .
Linguistics is the scientific study of language, which can be theoretical or applied. Someone who engages in this study is called a linguist.
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Etymology is the study of the history of words - when they entered a language, from what source, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.

In languages with a long written history, etymology makes use of philology, the study of how words change from culture to
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Zeugma (from the Greek word "ζεύγμα", meaning "yoke") is a figure of speech describing the joining of two or more parts of a sentence with a single common verb or noun.
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For the specialised use of homonym in scientific nomenclature, see Homonym (botany) and Homonym (zoology).


In linguistics, a homonym
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lemma is the canonical form of a lexeme.

Specifically, in lexicography, "lemma" is a synonym for headword, q.v.

In morphology, a lemma is the canonical form of a lexeme.
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In diachronic (or historical) linguistics, semantic change is a change in one of the meanings of a word. Every word has a variety of senses and connotations which can be added, removed, or altered over time, often to the extent that cognates across space and time have very
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Check may refer to:
  • Cheque (U.S. English: check), an order for transfer of money
  • Bill (payment) in U.S. English
  • Rain check, an agreement to supply a customer in future an item that a merchant has run out of

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Chess is a recreational and competitive game for two players. Sometimes called Western Chess or International Chess to distinguish it from its predecessors and other chess variants, the current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe in the second half of the 15th
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Dick Hebdige (born 1951) is an expatriate British media theorist and sociologist, most commonly associated with the study of subcultures, and its resistance against the mainstream of society. He received his M.A.
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Richard Middleton FBA is Professor of Music at Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne. He is also the founder and co-ordinating editor of the journal Popular Music.
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Semiosis is any form of activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, including the production of meaning. The term was introduced by Charles Sanders Peirce to describe a process that interprets signs as referring to their objects, as described in his theory
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Mole may mean:
  • Mole (animal) (or mouldywarp), a burrowing insectivore in the family Talpidae, with short velvety fur and enlarged front limbs. The origin of several other meanings:

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A mole (also called an informant and in the mafia terms a rat) is a spy who works for an enemy nation and works within his nation's government. A mole differs from a defector in that a mole is a spy before gaining access to classified information, while a defector
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bank is a commercial or state institution that provides financial services , including issuing money in various forms, receiving deposits of money, lending money and processing transactions and the creating of credit.
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For the taxonomical term, see .


Synonyms (in ancient Greek, συν ("syn") = plus and όνομα ("onoma") = name
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A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a sheet is called a page.
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Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals (including monotremes). Mammary glands are highly specialized sweat glands. The female ability to produce milk is one of the defining characteristics of mammals.
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Polyvalent is a synonym for multivalent and denotes something which has many values, meanings or appeals. The metaphoric origin of is derived from valency in chemistry and by metaphoric attribution, may now a "subtle, polyvalent allegory".
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Multivalent may refer to:
  • May refer to ion
  • Multivalent is a synonym for Polyvalent in reference to something which has many values, meanings, or appeals and is related to polysemy.

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Heterosemy is a concept in linguistics.

Heterosemy is a special case of polysemy where the different but related meanings of a given morpheme are associated with distinct grammatical contexts.

Source

Catching language : the standing challenge of grammar writing / ed.
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Dick Hebdige (born 1951) is an expatriate British media theorist and sociologist, most commonly associated with the study of subcultures, and its resistance against the mainstream of society. He received his M.A.
..... Click the link for more information.
Richard Middleton FBA is Professor of Music at Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne. He is also the founder and co-ordinating editor of the journal Popular Music.
..... Click the link for more information.


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