HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

**********

FINAL ESSAY OF SEMANTICS

TOPIC: POLYSEMY

By Group 11:

Student’s name MSSV

Cao Thi Minh Anh 20176368

Le Duy Khanh 20176416

Nguyen Thi Tuyen 20176491

Lecturer: Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung

Hà Nội, 7 - 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................1

II. OVERVIEW OF POLYSEMY......................................................................................1

1. Definition of polysemy..................................................................................................1

2. Examples of polysemy..................................................................................................2

3. Types of polysemy.........................................................................................................2

III. POLYSEMYAND HOMONYM..................................................................................4

IV. APPLICATIONS OF POLYSEMY.............................................................................5

1. Polysemy in poems........................................................................................................5

2. Polysemy in movie scripts............................................................................................6

3. Polysemy in advertising................................................................................................7

4. Polysemy in computer terms........................................................................................7

V. PROBLEMS OF POLYSEMY IN TRANSLATION .................................................8

VI. CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................9

REFERENECES ...............................................................................................................11
I. INTRODUCTION

Each language has own characteristics with many special and impressive things. In particular,

English is known as a complicated language with lots of complex structures, pronunciation as

well as vocabulary phenomenons. Some of vocabulary phenomenons consist of homonym,

antonym, synonym, etc. However, the most popular and interesting phenomenon of English is

polysemy because it is estimated that about 40% of English words are polysemous

(esl.fis.edu, n.d.), which means that the words have more than one meaning. That leads many

English learners to have difficulties in studying and using polysemy, which is the main reason

we decide to discuss the topic. Therefore, the purpose of this essay are not only providing

basic knowledge as well as in-depth analysis so as to understand about polysemy easily but

also mentioning some problems of polysemous word in translation that translators are likely

to have trouble in. The essay is divided into four parts. Firstly, it shows about an overview of

polysemy, including definition, examples and two types of polysemy. The second part is to

present differences between polysemy and homonym. Besides, the essay also discusses

applications of polysemy in many fields such as poems, movie scripts, advertising, and

computer terms. Last but not least, problems of polysemy in translations are mentioned in the

last part.

II. OVERVIEW OF POLYSEMY

1. Definition of polysemy

The word polysemy originates from the Greek words "πολυ- (poly-) 'many', and σήµα,

(sêma) 'sign', so “polysemy” means 'having many multiple meanings. (Wikipedia, n.d.)

According to Agustín Vicente and Ingrid L.Falkum (2017), polysemy is characterized as the

phenomenon whereby a single word form is associated with two or several related senses

which distinguish from monosemy -the word form is associated with a single meaning and

homonym - the single word form is associated with more than one meaning without related

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meanings. Simply, polysemy refers to the quality of some words to have several related

meanings. (British Council, n.d.)

2. Examples of polysemy

a. The polysemous word “record”

(1) “ A record of the conversation”

(2) “ Record it”

Record (1) means a piece of information or a description writing on a paper or computer;

record (2) means storing sound. (Cambridge dictionary) Obviously, the relation between (1)

and (2) is storage. Therefore, they are polysemy.

b. The polysemous word “foot”

(1) He hurts his foot.

(2) She is standing at the foot of the stairs.

In this example, foot (1) are the part of the body at the bottom of the leg on which a person or

animal stands, foot (2) means the bottom or lower end of a space or object. (Cambridge

Dictionary) It can be seen that the related meaning between two words “foot” is the lowest

part of something; the base or bottom of something.

c. The polysemous word “flurry”

(1) We might see a snow flurry or two tonight.

(2) They arrived in a flurry of excitement.

For the above example, flurry (1) means a sudden light fall of snow, blown in different

directions by the wind, flurry (2) is a sudden, short period of activity, excitement, or interest.

Both of two meanings show that something happens suddenly or immediately within a short

period of time

3. Types of polysemy

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According to a standard linguistic taxonomy, polysemy can be divided into 2 types: regular

polysemy (systematic where the same relation holds between the meanings for a series of

lexical items) and irregular polysemy (non-systematic where the relation is particular to a

single one) (Apresjan, J.D, 1974).

a. Regular polysemy

According to Apresjan (1974) describes the polysemy of a word (A) with the meanings (ai)

and (aj) as being regular if, in the given language, there exists at least one other word (B) with

the meanings (bi) and (bj), which differ from each other in exactly the same wayas (ai) and

(aj), and if (ai) and (bi), (aj) and (bj) are not synonymous. (Apresjan, J.D1974)

For example, polysemy of word “cherry” with the meaning fruit and colour is regular, if in

given language there exists at least one other word “chestnut”, that also has meaning fruit and

colour.

Cherry Chestnut

(1) She is eating cherries (1) The squirrel likes to eat chestnuts

“Cherry” is a kind of fruit: a small, “Chestnut” is a kind of nut: a large,

round. soft red or black fruit with a brown nut grows on the sweet chestnut

single hard seed in the middle. tree.( Cambridge dictionary)

( Cambridge dictionary)

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 (2) Your hat is cherry (2) My favourite colour is chestnut

“ Chestnut” is reddish-brown colour

( Cambridge dictionary)

“Cherry” is bright red colour

(Cambridge dictionary)

From this example, we can see that cherry (1) and chestnut (1) also has meaning fruit, the

meaning of cherry (2) and chestnut (2) is colour, but they are not synonymous. Therefore,

“cherry” is regular polysemy.

b. Irregular polysemy

One word is irregular if the semantic distinction between (ai) and (aj) is not exemplified in

any other word of given language. (Apresjan, J.D 1974)

For example:

(1) Milk tea is so sweet.

(2) My brother has 10 sweets.

The word “sweet” on that sentence included in irregular polysemy because it has same

meaning or true meaning with other word even it has similar meaning to sugary, honeyed,

candy.

III. POLYSEMY AND HOMONYMY

The study of polysemy has often been associated with the study of homonymy, it is necessary

to draw a clear line between these two phenomena (Dash, as cited in Alnamer, 2017). First of

all, polysemy refer to the existence of two or more meanings within a word or phrase.In

contrast, homonym refers to two or more words that look or sound the same but they have
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different meanings and origins (Hasa, 2016). Secondly, polysemous word may different

meanings, but there is a relation between them (Hasa, 2016). For example, “he fixed his hair”

and “they fixed a date for the wedding”. The word “fixed” originated from the word “fix”

which means “to repair something that is broken or not working properly” (Longman

Dictionary of Contemporary English, n.d.). Homonym, on the contrary, has different and

unrelated meanings (Hasa, 2016). For example, the word “sow” can be “an adult female pig”

or “to plant seeds on the ground” (Hasa, 2016). It can have the same pronunciation, spellings,

and sound but the meanings are totally different. They are homonym proper. Thirdly, the

senses in polysemy are related. For example, the word “face” can be”the front of the head” or

“a surface of a thing”. The two senses are related by the concept of the front part of a person's

head from the forehead to the chin, or the corresponding part in an animal, and the surface of

a thing, especially one that is presented to the view or has a particular function. (Oxford

Dictionary, n.d.) On the other hand, the senses in homonym are unrelated, for example, “too”

and “two”. They are homophones and the origins are different that lead to the different in

sense.

IV. APPLICATIONS OF POLYSEMY

1. Polysemy in poems

A great poem is determined by content but also by the rhetorical measures and the impressive

words that the authors use. The more rhetorical measures and impressive words the writers

apply to their work, the higher artistic effects are. Polysemy also creates success of many

poems such as "The Waste Land" by T.S.Elliot (1922) or “Written by Himself” by Gregory

Pardlo (2015)

In “The Waste Land”, the author writes:

“I have heard the key

Turn in the door once and turn once only

We think of the key, each in his prison

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 Thinking of the key, each confirms a prison”

The polysemous word “key” can hold two distinctive meanings. Firstly, “key” is a piece of

mental that is cut into special shape to open or close the door or stare engine, etc. in this case

it opens an actual prison. The second meaning is that key refers to a metaphorical key

releasing from a mental or emotional prison which are hidden. Obviously, the purpose of

author is to express the desire to be free and escape from prison when using polysemy “key”.

Likewise, in “Written by Himself”, Gregory Pardlo writes:

I was born (1) in minutes in a roadside kitchen a skillet

whispering my name. I was born (2) to rainwater and lye;

I was born (3) across the river where I

...

I was born (4) a fraction and a cipher and a ledger entry;

...

(Pardlo, 2015)

The author uses polysemous word “born” as artistic intentions and repetitive of phase “I was

born” which increase purposes and implications of the author. The poem opens with “I was

born in minutes” showing the physical act of speaker’s birth. In “ I was born to rainwater and

lye”, the author refers to all of things in life was waiting for “I”, which is a difficult and

challenging life. “I was born across the river” expresses the geographically place speaker was

born. “I was born (4) a fraction and a cipher and a ledger entry” describes speaker as a slave

by accounting documents of owners. It is clear that polysemous word “born” with multiple

senses is one of success of author in the poem. It not only presents the contents but also make

rhythm for the poem.

2. Polysemy in movie scripts

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In the movie scripts, writers usually use polysemy as their own literature style. For example,

in the movie scripts “Toy Story” (Ginting, Sabrina, 2018), polysemy is considered as its

features. One of the polysemy is “bank” which are in “A group of toys has been crowded

together in front of the bank (1) box (Scene 1, when toys in Andy‘s bedroom, page 1) and

“Hamm, the piggy bank (2) flips one last penny into his coin slot.” (Scene 4 when toys in

Andy‘s bedroom-continuous, page 3). Bank (1) means saving something, in this case the place

of the toys and bank (2) means saving the money, in this case the place of money that shaped

pig. Obviously, the relation between two meanings is that both of meanings are saving

something.

Another polysemy in “Toy Story” is “heavy”. “Heavy” appears in scene 4, Andy‘s bedroom-

continuous, page 3: “C‘mon, Molly. Oh you‘re getting heavy (1)!” and scene 69 Andy‘s

driveway, page 47: “In heavy (2) rain, woody unlocks the back door of the truck and tries to

lift up the door.” Heavy (1) refers to great weight and it may be so difficult to lift and move

while heavy (2) refers to the rain with great amount and a lot of water. It can be seen that the

related meaning between two heavy is to refer to something which is big or huge.

3. Polysemy in advertising

Besides movies script, polysemy is a useful tool in advertising aimed at creating memorable

messages to attract attention of customers. For example, Guiness, one of the famous drinking

brand in the world, create own special slogan for their beer product:“Guinness is good for

you”. In this slogan, Guinness usess polysemous word “good” with two meanings. The first

meaning is “pleasant, that you enjoy or want”. The second meaning is “healthy effect on

something and someone”. Using polysemy “good”, the advertiser want to show that Guinness

can make people become happy after drinking it or Guinness is a healthy drink despite being

an alcohol drink. Whatever advertisers express, it means positive effects and benefits.

Not only Guinness but also Red Bull expresses their advertising strategy with the slogan “Red

Bull Gives You Wings”. Clearly, “wings” is polysemous word, in this case with different

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meanings. Firstly, wings are “part of body of birds, insects or bats that is used for flying”

(Oxford Dictionary, 8th Edition). Secondly, wings refer to power and energy. Therefore, the

two meanings show strength. The purpose of creator is that drinking Red Bull can give energy

for doing everything, even flying.

4. Polysemy in computer terms

The development of computer and information technology results in the development of word

meanings. Many terms in computer create multiplicity of meanings of the same words such as

“memory”, “firewall” and “client”. In general meaning, memory is “the ability to remember

information, experiences, and people” when memory means “ the part of a computer in

which information or programs are stored either permanently or temporarily, or the amount

of space available on it for storing information” in computer meaning. (Cambridge

Dictionary) It is clear that storing something is the related meaning between two meanings.

For term “firewall”, it refers to a fireproof (or fire-resistant) wall which is designed to prevent

the spread of fire through a building or a vehicle in general meaning. In the computer

meaning, firewall is “a part of a computer system that prevents people from reaching

information without permission, but still allows them to receive information that is sent to

them” (Oxford Dictionary). The related meaning is protection something from hazard.

The term “ client” in computer is an application that is connected to a server (a large central

computer) from which it gets information. A client also refers to someone who pays for goods

or services (Cambridge Dictionary). In general meaning, client is a customer or someone who

receives services. Computer client and client as person both have the same function; they rely

on another party and receive some certain services or actions.

Depending on a number of certain purposes, polysemy is used in different fields; one may

quote in poems, movie scripts, advertising and computer terms.

V. PROBLEMS OF POLYSEMY IN TRANSLATION

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Polysemous words cause many problems in translation when they appear in a sentence. The

translator need to aware of these words and take all consideration to make a reasonable and

correct translation. The use of polysemous word in a sentence can cause ambiguity.

According to Quiroge-clare (2003, as cited in Mater, 2014), “Something is ambiguous when it

can be understood in two or more possible senses or ways”. Thus, if the translator cannot

choose the right meaning among possible meaning of the word the ambiguity may occur. The

aim of translation is to understand the meaning and the message of the other languages, but

the existence of polysemy make it hard to convey the meaning of the word or the sentence to

people. For example, the meaning of the word “bat” can be “a flying mammal” or “an

implement used to hit the ball in cricket” (Naziha, 2008). If the translator isolates the word

“bat” from its context, then it may cause ambiguity and convey the wrong message and

meaning. For instance, we have the word “bat” in “I picked up the bat and swung at the man's

head” (Sentencedict.com, 2020). We can see that that sentence “bat” here mean“an implement

used to hit the ball in cricket”. We can not translate it as a type of animal because it may

sound strange and confuse the listener.

The next problem occur when the translator do not aware of the polysemous word and

consider it as monosemic word having only one meaning (Ghazala, as cited in Hamlaoui,

2009). This may happen when the translators know only one meaning or ignore the other

meaning of the word and always translate into meaning even when the meaning is different in

a specific context. For example, according to Cambridge Dictionary (n.d.) the word “mouse”

can be described as “a small mammal with short fur, a pointed face, and a long tail”, but this

is true in some cases because that word may have others meaning in different situations. For

example, in computer field, a mouse is describe as “a tool to move the cursor in monitor”

(Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.). If the translator do not make a careful research about different

meaning of the word can have, it may cause a serious problem in translating the sentence or

the phrase or the text and the message people try to convey.
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Translating the polysemous words in a sentence is a difficult process. There are many

problems may happen in translating these word such as: the ambiguity, the ignorance in

different meaning of the word, and so on. The translator needs to have a well-prepared in

skills and high cautious spirit when translating polysemous words.

VI. CONCLUSION

The essay presents some basic understanding as well as lots of expanding information about

polysemy. We mention the definition, examples and types of polysemy in part II: Overview

of polysemy. The differences between polysemy and homonym are presented in part III:

Homonym and Polysemy. Part IV: Applications of polysemy refers to usage of polysemy

in many fields such as poems, movie scripts, advertising and computer terms. Last but not

least, the essay discusses the problems of polysemy in translation in Part V: Problems of

polysemy in translation, including the ambiguity, the ignorance in different meaning of the

word. Polysemy is not a really controversial topic but it is still necessary to discuss deepening

of understanding. Our time, knowledge and ability limit the group to some extent to give a

deeper and more thoughtful analysis. Nevertheless, this is always an interesting topic for

English learners to discuss and find out what is still hidden behind.

(Total words: 2859)

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