Human beings have the wonderful ability to communicate with other people in their environment. In fact, he is capable of striking up a conversation with a stranger, simply by finding a topic of common interest.
Communication gives us the opportunity to be aware of what the other’s thoughts and feelings are, but it also allows us to express our own. This communication can occur orally, in writing, through gestures and signs, among other ways of doing it.
However, for it to be successful, it is necessary that both people speak the same language, otherwise they will not be able to understand each other and communication will be interrupted. Likewise, they must use a vocabulary that allows them to have an interaction between them.
If one uses technical or highly sophisticated words and the other does not have the same language skills, it is unlikely that the message can be decoded correctly. This example helps us see how rich our language is.
In it we can find different words to name the same object or to refer to the same situation. These words have a semantic relationship, which allows one to be substituted for the other, depending on the context and other factors.
Now, this is closely related to hyponyms, do you know what they are? Would you like to know? If you are a lover of language and its constitution, you may be very interested in knowing what it is about. This will give you the opportunity to enrich your vocabulary and to know which word is more appropriate to use, depending on the situation in which you find yourself.
On the other hand, you will have the opportunity to explore our language more deeply, which is so rich and varied, a characteristic that makes it one of the most complex to learn and master.
Instructions
The term Hyponym comes from the Greek and is the result of the sum of two of its lexical components, the prefix “ Hypo ”, which means below or under, and the noun “Onoma”, from which the word “ Name ” is derived.
From this, we can say that a hyponym is a term with a meaning that is associated with that of another. That is to say, it has all the semantic features of another more general notion, which is known by the name of hyperonym. But, in addition to that, it has other characteristics that make it possible for there to be a differentiation between them.
It is a word that has a semantic field that is included within another word. It is a more specialized and specific word.
However, if the subject of language is a bit difficult for you, it is unlikely that you are understanding what it is about, since there are words whose meaning may seem foreign to you. One of them is semantics. Therefore, before proceeding further, the best thing we can do is clarify those doubts and see what the term “semantics” refers to. Let’s see it.
What is semantics?
It is the study of the meaning of words. But, we must not confuse it with etymology, since it is in charge of studying the meaning of a word when its action refers to a function or an object, which is part of a visible and understandable context.
It is the interpretation, analysis and correct functioning of the meaning of words, with the purpose of using them. However, this can not only be done in writing, it is also possible in speech and reading, since it is a communication interpretation tool.
Study the lexical structure and the different contexts of speech, to provide an interpretation. It is nothing more than the meaning of a word, which can be applied to different contexts.
Taking this concept as a starting point, we find what semantic relationships are, do you know what they are?
Semantic relationships
This term refers to the relationship that exists between the meanings of words, phrases or sentences. At the word level, we find:
- Synonymy: is the semantic relationship that exists between two or more words, which have the same meaning and, therefore, belong to the same line of speech, but their pronunciation turns out to be different. Words that have this semantic relationship are known as synonyms. Such is the case of: hair and hair, house and home, vehicle and automobile, among many others.
- Antonymy: it is also a semantic relationship between two or more words, but, in this case, their meanings are opposite. In general, they are usually within the same grammatical category, that is, both will be nouns, adjectives or verbs. These types of words are known as antonyms and some examples are: black and white, tall and short, fat and skinny, etc.
- Homonymy: is the relationship between two or more words that are within the same grammatical category. They have the same spelling and even the same pronunciation, but their meanings are different. For example: wine (from the verb to come) and wine (alcoholic beverage), bank (bank) and bank (place of seat), capital (the city of a country) and capital (amount of money), among others.
- Polysemy: is the relationship between a word and multiple conceptual meanings that are historically linked to each other. For example: shake and move, canine and dog, helmet and hat, etc.
- Metonymy: it is about the relationship that exists between two or more words, or a word and an expression. However, one of these words is used metaphorically to substitute for the other. For example: “we are going to visit the museum of contemporary art, because there is a Picasso there”.
Now that we know what semantic relationships are. We will be mentioning some examples of hyponyms, so that you can better identify them.
What do you need:
The word Gato is the eponym of Feline. Also, Felino would be the hyperonym of Gato. Taking this case, the term Cat encompasses the meaning of Feline, given that all cats are felines. However, we cannot say the same in the opposite sense, not all felines are cats.
Among the cats are cats, but there are also lions, jaguars, tigers, leopards, among other animals. In other words, the hypernym is the broad set where its more specific hyponyms are.
A second example is that of the words Apple, Orange, Grape and Watermelon, which are hyponyms of the word Fruit. Which means that Fruit would be the hyperonym of these other words, which share the same semantic features that are included in Fruit. However, it should be noted that each of them has other more specific features.
Other examples are the following:
- Blue, yellow, red, green, violet, and orange are hyponyms for Color.
- Earth, Mars, Venus, Neptune are hyponyms for Planets.
- Man, Old Man, Child, Woman are considered hyponyms of the word Person.
- Poem, novel, story are hyponyms of literature.
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday of days.
- Soccer, volleyball, swimming, fencing correspond to hyponyms of the word sport.
- Table, chair, wardrobe, sofa, chest of drawers, desk are furniture hyponyms.
- Monkey, dolphin, dog, cat of animal and also of mammal.
Using these examples gives us the opportunity to bring the theory into everyday reality, into our everyday speech, making them much easier to identify. Now, what are the main characteristics of hyponyms ?
Her CARACTERISTICS
Hyponyms do not necessarily have to be nouns. They can also become other parts of speech. For example: roast, bake, boil, sauté, are hyponyms of the word cook, which is a verb.
On the other hand, not all hyponyms possess a hypernym. For example, the word uncles can refer to both uncles and aunts, regardless of gender.
When any redaction is to be performed, the object to be referenced needs to be set. This is achieved by using a hyponym, that is, a much more specific noun, which alludes to the subject being talked about.
Now, as we have been able to notice throughout this article, a word that is closely related to hyponyms is hyperonym, do you know what it refers to? What is the definition of this word? This is what we will be looking at right now.
Tips
A hypernym is a term that is used to encompass others that are more specific. It is the extensive way of referring to something. This is done with the aim of being able to make yourself understood in conversations or to explain more fully.
It is a linguistic technicality, which belongs to structural semantics and which arose in the middle of the 20th century. Despite the fact that, by then, its use and concept were already understood, it was not until that date that it was called that way.
Taking into account its etymological origin, we can say that hypernyms are the names that are above others, which it covers as if it were a large umbrella. The names that are below are the hyponyms, of which we have talked so much.
They give the opportunity to be understood more easily when expressing something. In particular, when the recipient does not have a large bank of words. So they also allow you to easily capture what you want to transmit.
These words have some peculiarities that must be taken into account in order to use them correctly. Some of them are the following:
- All of its distinctive features are contained in its hyponyms.
- It allows unnecessary anaphoras to be saved, since this is a literary resource that is used with the aim of achieving a certain rhythm in compositions of poetic origin.
- They help to have a better communication and cognitive performance. They are a key piece in the development of the communicational supremacy of each person.
- It can become a hyponym at the same time. For example, the word fruit is a hyperonym, since it includes all fruits, such as apples, melons, grapes, blackberries, etc. But, at the same time, it is a hyponym of the word food.
- Its starting point is always a signified, which later becomes a signifier. Of course, it must be taken into account that since Spanish has a great variety of dialects, many times there will not be an entirely reliable correspondence between the signified and the signifier, given that the communicative context is highly relevant.
They are conditioned by the context. This plays a fundamental role. For example, if the words are used by a person with a colloquial jargon, there will be other words that will be related to the hypernym in question.