polysemy is a linguistic phenomenon characterized by the existence of a termthat has more than one meaning. The word “tongue”, for example, can mean an organ or a language, depending on the context in which it is used. If they are not well contextualized, some polysemic words can generate the ambiguity, which is the double meaning of the statement.
Polysemy also differs from homonymy, which consists of words that have the same pronunciation and/or spelling, but different meanings, such as the words “accent” (graphic sign) and “seat” (place to sit).
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What is polysemy?
Polysemy is the name given to the fact that a termto introducemore than one meaning. Thus, the meaning of the term also depends on the context in which it is used. So if, for example, you say you have the penalty of Camões, without contextualizing your statement, your listener will be in doubt, won't know if you're worth it (writing instrument) that belonged to Camões or if you feel sorry (of) that Camões felt.
examples of polysemy
He suffered a lot when he had to leave and return to your home country.
(leave = leave)
Leandro, be careful not to leave the table.
(break = break)
Got a cat pet named Astrogildo.
(cat = animal)
I think Pierre Batcheff is a cat, but there are those who disagree with me.
(cat = attractive man)
I was so hungry that I burned the tongue with the hot soup.
(tongue = organ)
THE tongue it is alive and constantly changing.
(language = language)
We need to understand what is our paper in all of this.
(role = function)
After reading the letter, he placed the paper on the table and cried.
(paper = place of writing)
I avoid going to Bank, I prefer to pay my bills through the app.
(bank = financial institution)
John sat in the Bank and was admiring the landscape.
(bench = seat)
Bruna didn't know the answer, so kicked.
(kicked = risked or tried to guess an answer)
When she kicked, I knew the goal was right.
(kicked = kicked a ball)
Read too: Paronymy – similar words in pronunciation and writing, but with different meanings
Differences between polysemy and ambiguity
THE polysemy refers to a term that has more than one sense and, therefore, it depends on the enunciation context, because, if it is out of context, it can cause the ambiguity, which consists of the double meaning of a statement.
Note this dialogue:
— Jenival cut the hose.
— What a pity! I liked those sleeves so much.
— I'm talking about the plant watering hose.
— Oh, I thought...
— He made hula hoops for the kids.
Thus, if the enunciator of the speech “Jenival cut the hose” had contextualized the information, would not provoke the confusion of your interlocutor in front of the ambiguous statement. However, the ambiguity, considered a language addiction, is not generated only by decontextualizing a polysemic word. It can also be caused by the inappropriate use of a hyperbatic, that is, the alteration of the direct order (subject, verb, complement or predicative) of a clause:
The son loved the father.
In this statement, there are ambiguity, because we do not know who loved whom, whether the subject is the son or the father, since it is not possible to say whether the prayer is in the direct or reverse order. Thus, if, exceptionally, we change the transitivity of the verb “to love”, we end the ambiguity:
To the son loved his father.
The use of possessive pronouns "your" and "your" also usually generate ambiguity at the Brazilian portuguese, since, in Brazil, the pronouns “teu” and “tua” are rarely used. See the statement:
Pedro, I was trying to calm Maria when they stole the your car.
Here it's hard to know if the stolen car was Pedro's or Maria's.
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Differences between polysemy and homonymy
Polysemy is a linguistic phenomenon that consists in the existence of a term with more than one meaning. already the homonymy is related to words with same pronunciation and/or same spelling; however, with different meanings. The homonyms can be classified as follows:
heterophonic homographs: same spelling and different sounds.
She wasn't a big fan of game playing cards.
(substantive)
When game deck, I forget my problems.
(verb)
heterographic homophones: same sound and different spellings.
This year, I must answer one more census of IBGE.
(census)
People here don't have good sense.
(judgment, discernment)
homographic homophones: same sound and same spelling.
Early my right in your favor.
(verb)
I woke up early to protest.
(adverb)
So, you might be wondering if the word “early”, in addition to being homonymous, is also polysemic. The answer is no. Polysemy refers to just one word with more than one meaning. Homonymy, on the other hand, consists of two or more words that have the same pronunciation and/or the same spelling, but different meanings. Therefore, "early" and "early" are two different words, since one is verb and the other, adverb.
Analyze these statements:
Auriete is a lady, so she didn't give an answer equal to the offense.
Auriete knew that, in chess, the queen is almost as important as the king.
In this case, "lady" is one word only, because in both examples it is a substantive; however, it has different meanings — woman from a noble family (first statement) and chess piece (second statement). So it's a polysemic word.
Read too: Difference between hyperonyms and hyponyms
solved exercises
Question 01 (Enem)
this little
My time is short, her time is spare
My hair is gray, hers is pumpkin color
I'm afraid our novel doesn't last long, but
I'm so happy with her
My day flies and she doesn't wake up
I go to the corner, she wants to go to Florida
I don't even know what she says, but
I don't get tired of looking at her
Like miser, I count my minutes
Every second that goes away
Taking care of her, who walks in another world
She who wastes her hours in the wind, oh
Sometimes she paints her mouth and leaves
Make yourself comfortable, I say, take your time
I feel like I'm still going to pity this little one, but
O blues it was already worth it
CHICO BUARQUE. Available at: www.chicobuarque.com.br. Accessed on: June 31 2012.
The text this little it registers the enunciator's subjective expression, worked in an informal language, common in popular music.
As a mark of the colloquial variety of language present in the text, the use of
a) borrowed words from a foreign language, of unusual use in Portuguese.
b) popular expressions, which reinforce the proximity between the author and the reader.
c) polysemic words, which generate ambiguity.
d) first person pronominal forms.
e) sound repetitions at the end of the verses.
Resolution:
Alternative “b”.
In these lyrics, the lyrical self uses popular expressions, such as “our soap opera”, “day flies”, “walks in another world”, “this little one”, “it was worth it”. There are, in the text, polysemic words, such as “novel”, “fly” and “pen”; however, they are unambiguous.
Question 02 (Enem)
In the creation of the text, cartoonist Iotti creatively uses an intertext: the lines reconstruct a scene from Guernica, panel by Pablo Picasso portraying the horrors and destruction caused by the bombing of a small town in Spain. In the cartoon, published during the Carnival period, the figure of the car is highlighted, an element introduced by Iotti in the intertext. In addition to this figure, verbal language contributes to establishing a dialogue between Picasso's work and cartoon, by exploring
a) a reference to the context, “transit during the holiday”, clarifying the referent of both Iotti's text and Picasso's work.
b) a reference to the present time, with the use of the verb form “é”, highlighting the topicality of the topic addressed by both the Spanish painter and the Brazilian cartoonist.
c) a pejorative term, "traffic", reinforcing the negative image of the chaotic world present in both Guernica as in the cartoon.
d) a temporal reference, "always", referring to the permanence of tragedies portrayed both in Guernica as in the cartoon.
e) a polysemic expression, “dramatic picture”, referring both to the pictorial work and to the context of Brazilian traffic.
Resolution:
Alternative “e”.
There is a dialogue between the work of Picasso and the cartoon, which says that “The transit in the holiday season is always a dramatic picture!”. In this verbal text, polysemy occurs in the expression “dramatic picture”, which can refer as much to a painting as to a dramatic situation.
Question 03 (Enem)
Available at: www.ivancabral.com. Accessed on: Feb 27 2012.
The cartoon's meaning effect is caused by the combination of visual information and linguistic resources. In the context of the illustration, the uttered sentence refers to the
a) polysemy, that is, the multiple meanings of the expression “social network” to convey the idea it intends to convey.
b) irony to give a new meaning to the term “something else”.
c) homonymy to oppose, from the adverb of place, the space of the poor population and the space of the rich population.
d) personification to oppose the poor real world to the rich virtual world.
e) antonymy to compare the world wide web with the family's home rest network.
Resolution:
Alternative “a”.
In the phrase, "social network" can refer to both a site or application regarding the network occupied by family members. So it's a polysemic expression.
by Warley Souza
grammar teacher
