Class Inclusion Semantic Field

HotCold FastSlow HappySad The meaning of adjectives in gradable pairs is related to the object they modify. The words themselves do not provide an absolute scale. Thus we know that “a small elephant” is much bigger than “a large mouse”. Fast is faster when we applied to an airplane than to a car. With gradable pairs, the negative of one word is not synonymous with the other. For example, someone who is not happy is not necessarily sad. It is also true of gradable antonyms that more of one is less of another. More bigness is less smallness; wider is less narrow; taller is less short . Gradable antonyms are often found among sets of words that partition a continuum: Tiny-small-medium-large-huge-gargantuan- euphoric-elated-happy-sad- gloomy-despondent. Antonym or opposites is a relation between words that are contrary or opposite meaning. 33 The terms “antonym” is used to opposite meaning in lexical class, such as hot with cold, is called standard antonym, because between hot and cold, there are still other words like warmandlukewarm stiff . 33 Kushartanti, et.al., 2005, op.cit.p.118. This sentence such as “I do not want to bathe with cold water” does not mean “I want to bathe with hot water” because it may mean “I want to bathe with warm water ” it is called complementary antonym. 34

4. Homonymy

Homonymy is different words that are pronounced the same, but may or may not be spelled the same. 35 To, too, and two are homonyms despite their spelling differences. Homonym can create ambiguity. A word or a sentence is ambiguous if it can be understood or interpreted in more than one way. The sentence: I‟ll meet you by the bank The sentences may mean I’ll meet you by the financial situation” or “I’ll meet you by the riverside”. The ambiguity is due to the two words bank with two different meanings. Sometimes additional context can helps disambiguate the sentence: I‟ll meet you by the bank, in front of the automated teller machine. I‟ll meet you by the bank. We can go skinny-dipping. Homonymy are good candidates for humor as well as for confusion. “How is bread made?” 34 Ibid. 35 Victoria Fromkin and Robert Rodman 2003, op.cit..p.179.