The figurative meaning is. Direct and figurative meaning of the word

The main means of giving a word imagery is the use of it figuratively. The play of direct and figurative meaning generates both aesthetic and expressive effects literary text, makes this text figurative and expressive.

Based on the nominative (nominal) function of a word and its connection with the subject in the process of cognition of reality, a distinction is made between direct (basic, main, primary, initial) and figurative (derived, secondary, indirect) meanings.

In the derivative meaning they combine, coexist the basic, direct meaning and new, indirect, resulting from the transfer of the name from one subject to another. If the word is in direct meaning directly (directly) indicates this or that object, action, property, etc., naming them, then the words in portable meaning, an object is no longer named directly, but through certain comparisons and associations that arise in the minds of native speakers.

AIR– 1) ‘adj. To air (air jet)’;

2) ‘light, weightless ( airy dress)’.

The appearance of figurative meanings in a word allows you to save lexical means language without endlessly expanding vocabulary to designate new phenomena and concepts. If there are some common features between two objects, the name from one, already known, is transferred to another object, newly created, invented or known, which did not have a name before:

DIM– 1) ‘opaque, cloudy ( dim glass)’;

2) ‘matte, not shiny ( dull hairspray, dull hair)’;

3) ‘weak, not bright ( dim light, dull colors)’;

4) ‘lifeless, expressionless ( dull look, dull style)’.

D.N. Shmelev believes that the direct, basic meaning is the one that is not determined by the context (most determined paradigmatically and least syntagmatically):

ROAD– 1) ‘a route of communication, a strip of land intended for movement’;

2) ‘travel, trip’;

3) ‘route’;

4) ‘means achievements of some kind. goals'.

All secondary, figurative meanings depend on the context, on compatibility with other words: to pack('trip'), direct road to success, road to Moscow.

Historically, the relationship between direct, primary and figurative, secondary meaning may change. Thus, in modern Russian the primary meanings for words have not been preserved consume(‘eat, eat’), dense('dormant'), vale('valley'). Word thirst in our time, the main literal meaning is ‘need to drink’ and figurative ‘strong, passionate desire', But Old Russian texts indicate the primacy of the second, more abstract meaning, since the adjective is often used next to it water.

Paths for transferring values

The transfer of meaning can be carried out in two main ways: metaphorical and metonymic.

Metaphor- this is the transfer of names based on the similarity of features and concepts (metaphor - unexpressed comparison): pin stars; what comb won't you comb your head?

Signs metaphorical transfer:

by color similarity ( gold leaves);
by similarity of shape ( ring boulevards);
by similarity of object location ( nose boats, sleeve rivers);
by similarity of actions ( rain drums, wrinkles plow face);
by similarity of sensations, emotional associations ( gold character, velvet voice);
by similarity of functions ( electric candle in the lamp, extinguish/ignite light, wipers in car).

This classification is quite arbitrary. The proof is a transfer based on several criteria: leg chair(form, place); ladle excavator(function, form).

There are other classifications. For example, prof. Galina Al-dr. Cherkasova considers metaphorical transfer in connection with the category of animateness/inanimateness:

the action of an inanimate object is transferred to another inanimate object (fireplace– ‘room stove’ and ‘electric heating device’; wing– ‘birds’, ‘airplane blade, mill’, ‘side extension’);
animate - also on an animate object, but of a different group ( bear, snake);
inanimate - to animate ( she blossomed );
animate - to inanimate ( guard– ‘guard ship’).

The main trends in metaphorical transfer: figurative meanings appear in words that are socially significant in given time. During the Great Patriotic War everyday words were used as metaphors to define military concepts: comb forest, get into boiler . Subsequently, on the contrary, military terms were transferred to other concepts: front work, take on weapons . Sports vocabulary gives many figurative meanings: finish, start, knight's move. With the development of astronautics, metaphors appeared finest hour, escape velocity, dock. Currently big number metaphors associated with the computer sphere: mouse, archive, maternal pay etc.

There are models of metaphorical transfer in language: certain groups of words form certain metaphors.

professional characteristics of a person ( artist, craftsman, philosopher, shoemaker, clown, chemist);
names associated with the disease ( ulcer, plague, cholera, delirium);
names of natural phenomena when they are transferred to human life ( spring life, hail tears);
titles household items (rag, mattress etc.);
transfer of names of animal actions to humans ( bark, moo).

Metonymy(Greek ‘renaming’) is a transfer of name that is based on the contiguity of the characteristics of two or more concepts: paper– ‘document’.

Types of metonymic transfer:

transfer along spatial contiguity ( audience- 'People', Class– ‘children’): (a) transferring the name of the containing to the content ( all village came out city I was all worried embankment, ate plate, read Pushkin ); (b) the name of the material from which the item is made is transferred to the item ( To go to silks, V gold; V scarlet And gold clad woods; dancing gold );
transfer by adjacency O th – transferring the name of the action to the result ( dictation, essay, cookies, jam, embroidery);
synecdoche(a) transferring the name of a part of a whole to a whole ( one hundred goals livestock; behind him eye Yes eye needed; he's seven mouths feeds; he is mine right hand ; heart heart gives the news) – often found in proverbs; (b) whole into parts ( jasmine– ‘bush’ and ‘flowers’; plum– ‘tree’ and ‘fruit’.

This classification does not cover the entire variety of metonymic transfers that exist in the language.

Sometimes when transferring they are used grammatical features words, for example, plural. number: workers hands, relax on yugas, To go to silks . It is believed that the basis of metonymic transfer is nouns.

In addition to common language figurative values, in language fiction portable ones are also observed use words that are characteristic of the work of a particular writer and are one of the means artistic representation. For example, from L. Tolstoy: fair And Kind sky("War and Peace"); at A.P. Chekhov: crumbly ("The Last Mohican") cozy lady(“From the Memoirs of an Idealist”), faded aunties("Hopeless"); in the works of K.G. Paustovsky: shy sky(“Mikhailovskaya Grove”), sleepy dawn("Third Date") molten noon("Romantics") sleepy day("Sea Habit") white-blooded bulb(“Book of Wanderings”); from V. Nabokov: cloudy tense day(“Luzhin’s Defense”), etc.

Like metaphor, metonymy can be individually authored - contextual, i.e. conditioned by the contextual use of the word, outside given context it doesn't exist: – You’re so stupid, brother! - she said reproachfully handset (E. Meek); Redheads trousers sigh and think(A.P. Chekhov); Short fur coats, sheepskin coats crowded...(M. Sholokhov).

Such figurative meanings, as a rule, are not reflected in dictionary interpretations. Dictionaries reflect only regular, productive, generally accepted hyphens fixed by language practice, which continue to arise, playing a large role in enriching the lexical reserves of the language.

IN polysemantic word direct and figurative meanings are distinguished. Direct directly denotes objects and phenomena of reality. The direct meaning is also called main, primary, main, free, nominative (nominative). It least of all depends on the combination of a word with other words in speech; it is most commonly used, usually in first place in dictionaries: tongue - 1. “Organ in the oral cavity in the form of a muscular outgrowth in humans and animals”: mucous membrane of the tongue.

The other meanings of the word are based on the direct meaning - figurative: they are revealed only in context. 2. The tongue will bring it to Kyiv - “the organ of speech that reproduces thought.” 3. Institute of Russian Language named after A. S. Pushkin - `a means of communication between people - sound, grammatical structure`. 4. I love Lermontov’s language - “style, style, manner of expression.” 5. I order you to take the tongue - “prisoner”. 6. ...And every language that is in it will call me, and the proud grandson of the Slavs, and Finn... (P.) - “people, nationality.” This or that participation of the language - the organ in the figurative nominations of the language - speech ability, the language spoken by the nation or its individual representative, determines the connection of figurative meanings with each other and with the direct meaning.

Figurative meaning words denote facts not directly, but through their relationship to the corresponding direct meaning.

The direct meaning of a word cannot always be explained, as is the case with the word language, as well as the words grass, bush, birch and many others. Most often, the direct meaning is primary, i.e. “most ancient,” chronologically the first for a given word. The primary value is called the original value, historical significance. It serves as the basis for the emergence and development of other, figurative meanings. The primary meaning of the word hand is “gathering” - from the Slavic root renkti - “to collect”. Figurative meanings of this word: 1) work activity(experienced hands); 2) blow (raise your hand); 3) help (this is to his advantage); 4) handwriting (I didn’t know his hand); 5) symbol of power (pass into other hands); 6) condition (under a cheerful hand); 7) marriage (marriage proposal), etc.

Modern Russian literary language/ Ed. P. A. Lekanta - M., 2009

Language is a multifaceted and multifunctional concept. Determining its essence requires careful consideration of many issues. For example, the structure of the language and the relationship between the elements of its system, influence from external factors and functions in human society.

Defining figurative values

Already from junior classes In school, everyone knows that the same words can be used differently in speech. Direct (main, basic) meaning is one that is correlated with objective reality. It does not depend on the context or 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 compression 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, characteristics, etc. For example, the same “collapse” received Examples concern public life. Thus, in a figurative sense, “collapse” means destruction, the collapse of the unification 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 by metaphorical, metonymic dependence or any associative features. At the same time, it arises on the basis of logical, spatial, temporal and other correlations of concepts.

Application in speech

Words with a figurative meaning are used when naming those phenomena that are not the usual and permanent object of designation. They come close to other concepts through emerging associations that are obvious to speakers.

Words used figuratively can retain imagery. For example, dirty insinuations or dirty thoughts. Such figurative meanings are given in explanatory dictionaries. These words are different from the metaphors invented by writers.
However, in most cases, when a transfer of meaning occurs, the imagery is lost. An example of this is such expressions as the spout of a teapot and the elbow of a pipe, the passage of a clock and the tail of a carrot. In such cases, there is a fading of imagery in

Changing the essence of a concept

The figurative meaning of words can be assigned to any action, sign or object. As a result, it moves into the category of main or basic. For example, the spine of a book or a door handle.

Polysemy

The figurative meaning of words is often a phenomenon caused by their polysemy. IN scientific language it is called "Polysemy". Often one word has more than one stable value. In addition, people who use language often have a need to name a new phenomenon that does not yet have a lexical designation. In this case, they use words that are already familiar to them.

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 for 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”. Used in in this case the adjective is the 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. That's just the name of this color.

In polysemy, there is also the phenomenon of unequal meanings. For example, the word “flare up” can mean that an object suddenly caught fire, or that a person blushed with shame, or that a quarrel suddenly arose, etc. Some of these expressions are more common in the language. They immediately come to mind when given word mentioned. Others are used only in special situations and special combinations.

There are semantic connections between some meanings of a word, which make understandable the phenomenon when various properties and objects are named the same.

Trails

The use of a word in a figurative meaning can be not only a stable fact of language. Such use is sometimes limited, fleeting and within the scope of only one utterance. In this case, the goal of exaggeration and special expressiveness of what is said is achieved.

Thus, there is an unstable figurative meaning of the word. Examples given use exists in poetry and literature. For these genres it is effective artistic technique. For example, in Blok one can recall “the deserted eyes of the carriages” or “the dust swallowed the rain in pills.” What is the figurative meaning of the word in this case? This is evidence of his unlimited ability to explain new concepts.

The emergence of figurative meanings of words of a literary-stylistic type are tropes. In other words,

Metaphor

In philology there are a number of various types 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 only possible if certain characteristics are similar. Similarity can be external (in color, size, character, shape and movements), as well as internal (in assessment, sensations and impressions). So, with the help of metaphor they talk about dark thoughts and a sour face, a calming storm and a cold reception. In this case, the thing is replaced, but the attribute of the concept remains unchanged.

The figurative meaning of words with the help of metaphor occurs with varying degrees of similarity. An example of this is a duck (a device in medicine) and a tractor caterpillar. The transfer using similar forms is used here. The names given to a person can also carry a metaphorical meaning. For example, Hope, Love, Faith. Sometimes meanings are transferred based on similarity to sounds. So, the horn was called a siren.

Metonymy

This is also one of the most important types transfer of names. However, when using it, the similarities between internal and external signs. Here there is a contiguity of cause-and-effect relationships or, in other words, the contact of things in time or space.

The metonymic figurative meaning of words is a change not only of the subject, but also of the concept itself. Whenever this phenomenon Only connections between 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. An example of this is the expression “a child follows his mother’s skirt”, “a hundred head of cattle”, etc.

Homonyms

This concept in philology means identical sounds of two or more different words. Homonymy is a sound coincidence lexical units, which are not semantically related to each other.

There are phonetic and grammatical homonyms. The first case concerns those words that are in the accusative or sound the same, but at the same time have different composition phonemes. For example, “twig” and “pond”. Grammatical homonyms arise in cases where both the phoneme and pronunciation of the words are the same, but the individual words are different. For example, the number “three” and the verb “three”. If the pronunciations of such words change, they will not be the same. For example, “rub”, “three”, etc.

Synonyms

This concept refers to words of the same part of speech, identical or similar in their lexical meaning. The origins of synonymy are foreign language and its own lexical meanings, general literary and dialect. Such figurative meanings of words also arise thanks to jargon (“to burst” - “to eat”).

Synonyms are divided into types. Among them:

absolute, when the meanings of words completely coincide (“octopus” - “octopus”);
conceptual, differing in shades lexical meanings(“to reflect” - “to 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. This type of figurative meaning may have a difference in structure (“to take out” - “to bring in”) and different roots (“white” - “black”).
Antonymy is observed in those words that express the opposing orientation of characteristics, states, actions and properties. The purpose of their use is to convey contrasts. This technique is often used in poetic and

The main means of giving a word imagery is the use of it figuratively. The play of direct and figurative meaning gives rise to both aesthetic and expressive effects of a literary text, making this text figurative and expressive.

In the derivative meaning, the main, direct meaning and the new, indirect meaning, which appeared as a result of the transfer of the name from one object to another, are combined and coexist. If the word is in direct meaning directly (directly) indicates this or that object, action, property, etc., naming them, then the words in portable meaning, an object is no longer named directly, but through certain comparisons and associations that arise in the minds of native speakers.

AIR– 1) ‘adj. To air (air jet)’;

2) ‘light, weightless ( airy dress)’.

The appearance of figurative meanings in a word makes it possible to save the lexical means of the language without endlessly expanding the vocabulary to denote new phenomena and concepts. If there are some common features between two objects, the name from one, already known, is transferred to another object, newly created, invented or known, which did not have a name before:

DIM– 1) ‘opaque, cloudy ( dim glass)’;

2) ‘matte, not shiny ( dull hairspray, dull hair)’;

3) ‘weak, not bright ( dim light, dull colors)’;

4) ‘lifeless, expressionless ( dull look, dull style)’.

D.N. Shmelev believes that the direct, basic meaning is the one that is not determined by the context (most determined paradigmatically and least syntagmatically):

ROAD– 1) ‘a route of communication, a strip of land intended for movement’;

2) ‘travel, trip’;

3) ‘route’;

4) ‘means of achieving something. goals'.

All secondary, figurative meanings depend on the context, on compatibility with other words: to pack('trip'), direct road to success, road to Moscow.

Historically, the relationship between direct, primary and figurative, secondary meaning may change. Thus, in modern Russian the primary meanings for words have not been preserved consume(‘eat, eat’), dense('dormant'), vale('valley'). Word thirst in our time, it has the main direct meaning of ‘need to drink’ and figurative ‘strong, passionate desire’, but ancient Russian texts indicate the primacy of the second, more abstract meaning, since the adjective is often used next to it water.

Paths for transferring values

The transfer of meaning can be carried out in two main ways: metaphorical and metonymic.

Metaphor- this is the transfer of names based on the similarity of features and concepts (metaphor - unexpressed comparison): pin stars; what comb won't you comb your head?

Signs of metaphorical transfer:

by color similarity ( gold leaves);
by similarity of shape ( ring boulevards);
by similarity of object location ( nose boats, sleeve rivers);
by similarity of actions ( rain drums, wrinkles plow face);
by similarity of sensations, emotional associations ( gold character, velvet voice);
by similarity of functions ( electric candle in the lamp, extinguish/ignite light, wipers in car).

This classification is quite arbitrary. The proof is a transfer based on several criteria: leg chair(form, place); ladle excavator(function, form).

There are other classifications. For example, prof. Galina Al-dr. Cherkasova considers metaphorical transfer in connection with the category of animateness/inanimateness:

the action of an inanimate object is transferred to another inanimate object ( fireplace– ‘room stove’ and ‘electric heating device’; wing– ‘birds’, ‘airplane blade, mill’, ‘side extension’);
animate - also on an animate object, but of a different group ( bear, snake);
inanimate - to animate ( she blossomed );
animate - to inanimate ( guard– ‘guard ship’).

The main trends in metaphorical transfer: figurative meanings appear in words that are socially significant at a given time. During the Great Patriotic War, everyday words were used as metaphors to define military concepts: comb forest, get into boiler . Subsequently, on the contrary, military terms were transferred to other concepts: front work, take on weapons . Sports vocabulary gives many figurative meanings: finish, start, knight's move. With the development of astronautics, metaphors appeared finest hour, escape velocity, dock. Currently, a large number of metaphors are associated with the computer sphere: mouse, archive, maternal pay etc.

There are models of metaphorical transfer in language: certain groups of words form certain metaphors.

professional characteristics of a person ( artist, craftsman, philosopher, shoemaker, clown, chemist);
names associated with the disease ( ulcer, plague, cholera, delirium);
names of natural phenomena when they are transferred to human life ( spring life, hail tears);
names of household items ( rag, mattress etc.);
transfer of names of animal actions to humans ( bark, moo).

Metonymy(Greek ‘renaming’) is a transfer of name that is based on the contiguity of the characteristics of two or more concepts: paper– ‘document’.

Types of metonymic transfer:

transfer along spatial contiguity ( audience- 'People', Class– ‘children’): (a) transferring the name of the containing to the content ( all village came out city I was all worried embankment, ate plate, read Pushkin ); (b) the name of the material from which the item is made is transferred to the item ( To go to silks, V gold; V scarlet And gold clad woods; dancing gold );
transfer by adjacency O th – transferring the name of the action to the result ( dictation, essay, cookies, jam, embroidery);
synecdoche(a) transferring the name of a part of a whole to a whole ( one hundred goals livestock; behind him eye Yes eye needed; he's seven mouths feeds; he is mine right hand; heart heart gives the news) – often found in proverbs; (b) whole into parts ( jasmine– ‘bush’ and ‘flowers’; plum– ‘tree’ and ‘fruit’.

This classification does not cover the entire variety of metonymic transfers that exist in the language.

Sometimes when transferring, the grammatical features of a word are used, for example, plural. number: workers hands, relax on yugas, To go to silks . It is believed that the basis of metonymic transfer is nouns.

In addition to common language figurative values, in the language of fiction there are also figurative use words that are characteristic of the work of a particular writer and are one of the means of artistic representation. For example, from L. Tolstoy: fair And Kind sky("War and Peace"); at A.P. Chekhov: crumbly ("The Last Mohican") cozy lady(“From the Memoirs of an Idealist”), faded aunties("Hopeless"); in the works of K.G. Paustovsky: shy sky(“Mikhailovskaya Grove”), sleepy dawn("Third Date") molten noon("Romantics") sleepy day("Sea Habit") white-blooded bulb(“Book of Wanderings”); from V. Nabokov: cloudy tense day(“Luzhin’s Defense”), etc.

Like metaphor, metonymy can be individually authored - contextual, i.e. conditioned by the contextual use of the word, it does not exist outside of this context: – You’re so stupid, brother! - she said reproachfully handset (E. Meek); Redheads trousers sigh and think(A.P. Chekhov); Short fur coats, sheepskin coats crowded...(M. Sholokhov).