Lexical Relations and Semantic Components Defined

Core Lexical Relationships

Antonymy: Lexical Opposition

A relationship between two words with opposite meanings.

Types of Antonyms:

• Complementary Antonyms: Affirmation of one lexical unit implies the negation of the other (e.g., live – dead).
• Gradual Antonyms: Opposition between two concepts that allow for different degrees or intermediate terms (e.g., large – small).
• Reverse Antonyms: Two words representing the same reality from alternative viewpoints, where the meaning of one implies the other (e.g., father – son).

Polysemy

The plurality of meanings associated with the same word.

Homonymy

The relationship between two words that share the same form (signifier) but have different meanings.

Types of Homonyms:

• Homophones: Aural identity but different spelling (e.g., to, too, two).
• Homographs: Identical spelling and pronunciation (phonetic and graphic identity).

Relations of Inclusion (Hypernymy and Hyponymy)

These relationships define how generic words relate to subordinate words.

• Hypernym: The generic word (the superordinate term).
• Hyponyms: The subordinate or dependent words.
• Co-hyponyms: Hyponyms that share the same hypernym.

Hyperonymy is the relationship of meaning between a word and its hyponyms. Hyponymy is the relationship of a term with respect to its hypernym.

The Components of Lexical Meaning

Meaning

Meaning is a core component of the word structure, alongside the signifier and the referent, forming the linguistic sign. The function by which a word refers to an extra-linguistic reality (or referent) is called designation.

Denotation

The set of basic semantic features of a word; its literal or basic meaning.

Connotation

The set of values or associations that appear in discourse associated with the denotation of a term.

Types of Connotative Meaning:

• Proper Connotative Meaning: Features of meaning attached to a word based on social and cultural values.
• Stylistic Meaning: Linked to the use of a word that makes it part of a specific sociolect, which always involves certain connotations.
• Mood Meaning (Affective Meaning): Subjective associations that reveal the speaker's emotions or feelings attached to their own personal experience.

Word Groupings

Lexical Family (Word Group)

A group of words related by meaning (e.g., blacksmith, rust).

Semantic Field

A set of words related by meaning, often belonging to the same conceptual area (e.g., villa, apartment, house).

Synonymy

The relationship between two words that have distinct signifiers but the same or similar meaning.

Types of Synonymy:

• Absolute Synonymy: When two words have the exact same meaning in all contexts and uses (e.g., restless – fidgety).
• Conceptual or Cognitive Synonymy: A relationship between two words that present a semantic identity in a specific meaning (e.g., moon – mirror, if used metaphorically).
• Referential Synonymy: Two unrelated words that are associated because they refer to the same entity (e.g., Cervantes – the crippled man).
• False Synonymy: Occurs between words whose denotations share similarity, but they are not truly identical in meaning or usage.