On Monosemy: A Study in Linguistic Semantics

Author:   Charles Ruhl
Publisher:   State University of New York Press
ISBN:  

9780887069468


Pages:   299
Publication Date:   17 July 1989
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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On Monosemy: A Study in Linguistic Semantics


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Overview

"In this book, the author argues that words should be presumed initially to be monosemic: having a single, highly abstract meaning. Semantic research should first seek a unitary meaning, resorting to polysemy, homonymy or idiomaticity only when an extended attempt fails. Utilizing a large data base, this book shows that some supposed ""lexical"" semantic meaning is actually pragmatic or extralinguistic. Included are extensive treatments of the verbs bear, hit, kick and slap, the phrase take off, and the noun ice. Ruhl studies linguistic research methods and theory, most directly relevant to the fields of semantics and pragmatics, and also to lexicography, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence. The hypothesis of monosemy implies significant changes of perspective and application for all fields which deal in lexical definition."

Full Product Details

Author:   Charles Ruhl
Publisher:   State University of New York Press
Imprint:   State University of New York Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.590kg
ISBN:  

9780887069468


ISBN 10:   0887069460
Pages:   299
Publication Date:   17 July 1989
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

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Reviews

Many of the themes of the book are new and innovative. The value of the book is in its principles of semantic analysis and its fresh perspectives. The book is critical of current work without being hostile or polemical like much of recent work in linguistic semantics. Ruhl's positions are well-argued and supported by sentence data from actual texts rather than from made-up sentences. The book continues a tone of theory development that Ruhl has been following in published articles during the last 15 years or so. It will have a definite impact on the field of semantic analysis and move linguistic semantics closer to the interpretations of meaning in the other social sciences. For example, work on metaphor, work on discourse, and work on emergent grammar. This topic is especially current right now and it is very central to the on-going controversy involving semantic interpretation, either as multiple meaning or unified meaning of words. I would like to underscore the importance of the book and its insights. I think it is a really good book. - James Copeland, Rice University


Author Information

Charles Ruhl is Associate Professor of English at Old Dominion University.

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