Language is a multifaceted and multifunctional concept. To determine its essence requires careful consideration of many questions. For example, the structure of the language and the ratio of the elements of its system, the influence of external factors and functions in human society.
Determining portable values
Already from elementary school, everyone knows that the same words can be used in different ways in speech. A direct (main, main) meaning is one that is correlated with objective reality. It does not depend on the context and on the allegory. An example of this is the word "collapse". In medicine, it means a sharp and sudden drop in blood pressure, and in astronomy, it means the rapid contraction of stars under the influence of gravitational forces.
The figurative meaning of words is their second meaning. It arises when the name of a phenomenon is consciously transferred to another due to the similarity of their functions, features, etc. For example, the same"collapse" received a figurative meaning of the word. Examples relate to public life. So, in a figurative sense, "collapse" means the destruction, the collapse of the association of people as a result of the onset of a systemic crisis.
Scientific definition
In linguistics, the figurative meaning of words is their secondary derivative, associated with the main meaning of metaphorical, metonymic dependence or any associative features. At the same time, it arises on the basis of logical, spatial, temporal and other correlation of concepts.
Application in speech
Words with a figurative meaning are used when naming those phenomena that are not an ordinary and permanent object for designation. They approach other concepts through emerging associations that are obvious to speakers.
Words used in a figurative sense can retain figurativeness. For example, dirty insinuations or dirty thoughts. Such figurative meanings are given in explanatory dictionaries. These words differ from the metaphors invented by the writers.
However, in most cases, when meanings are transferred, the imagery is lost. Examples of this are expressions such as the spout of a teapot and the elbow of a pipe, the clock and the tail of a carrot. In such cases, imagery fades in the lexical meaning of words.
Changing the essence of the concept
The figurative meaning of words can be assigned to any action, feature or object. As a result, it goes into the category of main or main. For example, the spine of a book or a doorknob.
Polysemy
The figurative meaning of words is often a phenomenon caused by their ambiguity. In scientific language, it is called "Polysemy". Often a single word has more than one stable meaning. In addition, people who use the language often need to name a new phenomenon that does not yet have a lexical designation. In this case, they use the words they already know.
Questions of polysemy are, as a rule, questions of nomination. In other words, the movement of things with the existing identity of the word. However, not all scientists agree with this. Some of them do not allow more than one meaning of a word. There is another opinion. Many scientists support the idea that the figurative meaning of words is their lexical meaning, realized in various variants.
For example, we say "red tomato". The adjective used in this case is a direct meaning. "Red" can also be said about a person. In this case, it means that he blushed or blushed. Thus, a figurative meaning can always be explained through a direct one. But linguistics cannot give an explanation why red is called red. It's just the name of this color.
In polysemy, there is also the phenomenon of non-equivalence of meanings. For example, the word “flare up” can mean that an object suddenly caught fire, and that a person blushed with shame, and that a quarrel suddenly arose, etc. Some of these expressions are foundmore often in the language. They immediately come to mind when the word is mentioned. Others are used only in special situations and special combinations.
There are semantic connections between some meanings of the word, which make the phenomenon understandable when different properties and objects are called the same.
Trails
The use of a word in a figurative sense can be not only a stable fact of the language. Such usage is sometimes limited, fleeting, and carried out within the framework of only one utterance. In this case, the goal of exaggeration and special expressiveness of what was said is achieved.
Thus, there is an unstable figurative meaning of the word. Examples of this use are found in poetry and literature. For these genres, this is an effective artistic device. For example, in Blok one can recall “the deserted eyes of the wagons” or “the dust swallowed the rain in pills.” What is the figurative meaning of the word in this case? This is a testament to his unlimited ability to explain new concepts.
The emergence of figurative meanings of words of a literary and stylistic type are tropes. In other words, figurative expressions.
Metaphor
In philology, there are a number of different types of transfer of names. One of the most important among them is metaphor. With its help, the name of one phenomenon is transferred to another. Moreover, this is possible only with the similarity of certain signs. Similarity can be external (in color, size, character, shape and movements), andalso internal (according to assessment, sensations and impressions). So, with the help of a metaphor, they talk about black thoughts and a sour face, a calm storm and a cold reception. In this case, the thing is replaced, and the attribute of the concept remains unchanged.
The figurative meaning of words with the help of metaphor takes place with different degrees of similarity. An example of this is a duck (a device in medicine) and a tractor caterpillar. Here, transfer is applied in similar forms. The names given to a person can also carry a metaphorical meaning. For example, Hope, Love, Faith. Sometimes the transfer of meanings is carried out by similarity with sounds. So, the horn was called a siren.
Metonymy
This is also one of the most important types of name transfers. However, when using it, the similarities of internal and external features are not applied. Here there is a contiguity of causal relationships, or, in other words, the contact of things in time or space.
The metonymic figurative meaning of words is a change not only in the subject, but also in the concept itself. When this phenomenon occurs, only the connections of neighboring links of the lexical chain can be explained.
The figurative meanings of words can be based on associations with the material from which the object is made. For example, earth (soil), table (food), etc.
Synecdoche
This concept means the transfer of any part to the whole. Examples of this are the expressions “a child goes after a mother’s skirt”, “a hundred heads of cattle”, etc.
Homonyms
This concept in philology means identical sounds of two or more different words. Homonymy is a sound match of lexical units that are not semantically related to each other.
Distinguish between phonetic and grammatical homonyms. The first case concerns those words that are in the accusative or nominative case, sound the same, but have a different composition of phonemes. For example, "rod" and "pond". Grammatical homonyms arise in cases where both the phoneme and the pronunciation of the words coincide, but the individual forms of the words are different. For example, the number "three" and the verb "three". When the pronunciation changes, such words will not match. For example, “rub”, “three”, etc.
Synonyms
This concept refers to words of the same part of speech that are identical or close in their lexical meaning. The sources of synonymy are foreign language and their own lexical meanings, general literary and dialectal. Such figurative meanings of words also arise thanks to the jargon (“to burst” - “to eat”).
Synonyms are divided into types. Among them:
- absolute, when the meanings of words are exactly the same ("octopus" - "octopus");
- conceptual, differing in shades of lexical meanings ("think" - "think");
- stylistic, which have differences in stylistic coloring ("sleep" - "sleep").
Antonyms
This concept refers to words that belong to the same part of speech, but have opposite concepts. Suchthe type of figurative meanings can have a difference in structure (“take out” - “bring in”) and different roots (“white” - “black”).
Antonymy is observed in those words that express the opposite orientation of signs, states, actions and properties. The purpose of their use is to convey contrasts. This technique is often used in poetic and oratory speech.
