CHAPTER
I
INTRODUCTION
Collocations are partly or fully fixed expressions
that become established through repeated context-dependent use. Such terms as
'crystal clear', 'middle management', 'nuclear family', and 'cosmetic surgery'
are examples of collocated pairs of words. Collocations can be in a syntactic
relation (such as verb–object: 'make' and 'decision'), lexical relation (such
as antonymy), or they can be in no linguistically defined relation. Knowledge
of collocations is vital for the competent use of a language: a grammatically
correct sentence will stand out as awkward if collocational preferences are
violated. This makes collocation an interesting area for language teaching.
CHAPTER
II
DISCUSSION
A.
COLLOCATION
Collocation is
a familiar grouping of words, especially words that habitually appear together
and thereby convey meaning by association.[1]
In corpus linguistics, collocation defines a
sequence of words or terms that co-occur more often than would be expected by
chance. In phraseology, collocation is a sub-type of phraseme. An example of a
phraseological collocation, as propounded by Michael Halliday,[2]
is the expression strong tea. While the same meaning could be conveyed by the
roughly equivalent *powerful tea, this expression is considered incorrect by
English speakers. Conversely, the corresponding expression for computer,
powerful computers is preferred over *strong computers. Phraseological
collocations should not be confused with idioms, where meaning is derived, whereas
collocations are mostly compositional.
B.
IDIOM
1. Definition:
Idiom is a set
expression of two or more words that means something other than the literal
meanings of its individual words.[3]
2. Functions of Idioms
·
People use
idioms to make their language richer and more colorful and to
convey subtle shades of meaning or intention. Idioms are used often to replace
a literal word or expression, and many times the idiom better describes the
full nuance of meaning. Idioms and idiomatic expressions can be more precise
than the literal words, often using fewer words but saying more. For example,
the expression it runs in the family is shorter and more succinct than saying
that a physical or personality trait 'is fairly common throughout one's
extended family and over a number of generations.[4]
If natural language had been designed by a logician, idioms would not exist.[5]
·
Idioms, in
general, are deeply connected to culture, proposes that biculturalism and
bilingualism are two sides of the same coin. Engaged in the intertwined process
of culture change, learners have to understand the full meaning of idioms.[6]
·
Levels of
"Transparency"
Idioms vary in 'transparency', that is, whether
their meaning can be derived from the literal meanings of the individual words.
For example, make up [one's] mind is rather transparent in suggesting the
meaning 'reach a decision,' while kick the bucket is far from transparent in representing
the meaning 'die.[7]
C.
HOMONYM
1. Definition of Homonym
Etymologically,
the word homonym comes from the Greek ὁμώνυμος (homonumos), meaning
"having the same name",[8]
which is the conjunction of ὁμός (homos), "common, same"[9]
and ὄνομα (onoma) meaning "name".[10]
Thus, it refers to two or more distinct concepts sharing the "same
name" or signifier. Note: for the ‘h’ sound, see rough breathing and
smooth breathing. Homonym is two or more words that have the same sound or
spelling but differ in meaning.[11] Generally, the term homonym refers both to homophones (words that are
pronounced the same but have different meanings, such as which and witch) and
to homographs (words that are spelled the same but have different meanings,
such as "bow your head" and "tied in a bow").
Note that some
dictionaries and textbooks define and distinguish these three terms in
different ways. Some equate homonyms only with homophones (words that sound the
same). Others equate homonymns only with homographs (words that look the same).[12]
2. Example of Homonym
The words bow
and bough are interesting because there are two meanings associated with a
single pronunciation and spelling (the weapon and the knot); there are two
meanings with two different pronunciations (the knot and the act of bending at
the waist), and there are two distinct meanings sharing the same sound but
different spellings (bow, the act of bending at the waist, and bough, the
branch of a tree). In addition, it has several related but distinct meanings –
a bent line is sometimes called a 'bowed' line, reflecting its similarity to
the weapon. Thus, even according to the most restrictive definitions, various
pairs of sounds and meanings of bow and bough are homonyms, homographs,
homophones, heterophones, heterographs, and are polysemous.
·
bow – a long
wooden stick with horse hair that is used to play certain string instruments
such as the violin
·
bow – to bend
forward at the waist in respect (e.g. "bow down")
·
bow – the
front of the ship (e.g. "bow and stern")
D.
POLYSEMI
A polyseme is
a word or phrase with different, but related senses. Since the test for
polysemy is the vague concept of relatedness, judgments of polysemy can be
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. English has many words which are polysemous. For example
the verb "to get" can mean "procure" (I'll get the drinks),
"become" (she got scared), "have" (I've got three dollars),
"understand" (I get it) etc.[13]
Polysemi is flexible Patterns of Meaning in Mind and Language,[14]
The association of one word with two or more distinct meanings. A polyseme is a
word or phrase with multiple meanings. Etymologically, Polysemi came from the Greek means "many signs".
Polysemy is a pivotal concept within disciplines such as media studies and
linguistics.
E.
LEXICAL
RELATION
A lexical
relation is a culturally recognized pattern of association that exists between
lexical units in a language.[15]
|
Lexical
relation
|
Example
set
|
Underlying
structure
|
|
synonym
|
A "happy" synonym set: {happy,
joyful, glad}
|
simple set
|
|
measurement
|
A "temperature" set: {cold,
cool, lukewarm, warm, hot}
|
scale
|
|
opposite
|
A "social relation" set:
{(student, teacher), (patient, doctor)}
|
set of pairs
|
|
generic-specific whole-part
|
A "whole-part" tree:
· house
· · roof
· walls
· floor
|
tree
|
CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
Collocation is
a familiar grouping of words, especially words that habitually appear together
and thereby convey meaning by association. Idiom is a set expression of two or
more words that means something other than the literal meanings of its
individual words. Homonym is two or more words that have the same sound or
spelling but differ in meaning. A polyseme is a word or phrase with different,
but related senses. A lexical relation is a culturally recognized pattern of
association that exists between lexical units in a language.
REFERENCES
Douglas Biber et al., Longman Student Grammar
of Spoken and Written English. Pearson, 2002.
Gail Brenner, Webster's New World American
Idioms Handbook. Webster's New World, 2003.
Halliday, M.A.K., 'Lexis as a Linguistic
Level', Journal of Linguistics 2(1) 1966: 57-67
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collocation
Thursday, 14th March, 2013.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homonym
Wednesday, 13th March, 2013.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysemy
Wednesday, 13th March, 2013.
http://grammar.about.com/od/il/g/idiomterm.htm Wednesday, 13th March,
2013.
http://www-01.sil.org/linguistics/glossaryOflinguisticTerms/WhatIsALexicalRelation.htm
Wednesday, 13th March, 2013.
James B. Hobbs , An American Dictionary, 4th
ed, McFarland & Company, 2006.
Philip Johnson-Laird, 1993.
Sam Glucksberg, Understanding Figurative
Language. Oxford Univ. Press, 2001.
Walter de Gruyter, 2003.
ὁμός, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A
Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
ὁμώνυμος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott,
A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library.
ὄνομα, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A
Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
[2] Halliday,
M.A.K., 'Lexis as a Linguistic Level', Journal of Linguistics 2(1) 1966: 57-67.
[4] Gail Brenner, Webster's
New World American Idioms Handbook. Webster's New World, 2003.
[5] Philip
Johnson-Laird, 1993.
[6] Sam
Glucksberg, Understanding Figurative Language. Oxford Univ. Press, 2001.
[7] Douglas Biber
et al., Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Pearson,
2002.
[8] ὁμώνυμος,
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
Digital Library.
[9] ὁμός, Henry
George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
Digital Library
[10] ὄνομα, Henry
George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
Digital Library
[12] James B. Hobbs
, An American Dictionary, 4th ed, McFarland & Company, 2006.
[14] Walter de
Gruyter, 2003.
[15]http://www-01.sil.org/linguistics/glossaryOflinguisticTerms/WhatIsALexicalRelation.htm Wednesday, 13th
March, 2013.
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