CONDITIONS FOR THE FUNCTIONING OF POLYSEMANTIC WORDS AND LEXICAL HOMONYMS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Abstract

The study presents an analysis of speech conditions of lexical homonyms functioning. The problem of determining the criteria for distinguishing polysemy and homonymy is beyond the scope of his problems. But contextual observations of homonyms are also of interest from the point of view of this problem, since they provide an answer to the question of the possibility of using functional criteria in this case. It is noted that the English language is characterized by fixing the preposition for certain verbs. The combination with the addition with the help of this preposition contributes to the realization of one of the meanings of such verb, in another meaning, the same verb can be combined with the addition with the help of another preposition. The formation of homonyms is not always accompanied by difference in word-formation series, different word-formation series can have not only homonyms, but also homonymous words in their various meanings. The speech conditions for the functioning of lexical homonyms and polysemantic words do not have fundamental differences. This allows to conclude that the differences between lexical homonymy and polysemy do not appear in speech. Lexical homonymy from the point of view of synchrony is only a special form of polysemy.