One of the noteworthy properties of the Russian languageis its ability to use words in a figurative sense. The transfer is a direct consequence of the many-valuedness. Words in the language can be single-valued and multivalued. Multivalence refers to the ability of one word to designate various objects or phenomena. Values of multivalued words have a common semantic core and a connection between themselves. In many-valued words there is an initial, or primary, meaning, and a series of derivatives formed later.
Formation of new values becomes possiblethanks to the phenomenon of transfer. Linguists have established 2 types of transfer of names. The first is a transfer by contiguity, or metonymy. Metonymy is characterized by transfers of names, replacement of a part with an integer or vice versa. Let's consider examples.
Portable word meaning | Direct value |
wife in sables | wears a fur coat |
gold championship | gold medal |
class left after class | all students are left |
blue collars | workers |
Beijing sent a note | Government of China |
hold your tongue | stop saying it |
The second type is transfer by similarity, or metaphor.Two objects or phenomena have a common feature. Such a sign can be color, size, shape, human perception, functional purpose. Imagine the direct and figurative meaning of the word. Examples for comparison are given in the table below.
Direct value | Figurative meaning |
the heart is beating | the army is beating |
hair band | road tape |
sharp needle | keen mind |
musician drums | the rain drums |
Wolf Pack | wolfish look |
snow-covered mountain | mountain of suitcases |
sawing pine | spouse |
bitters | bitter fate |
the milk boiled | he boiled with anger |
mixture cake | sediment after conversation |
In colloquial speech, people often useportable meaning of the word to enhance expressiveness, brightness of communication. The names of animals can be used: the fox is cunning, the ram is stubborn, the elephant is clumsy, the ant is hardworking, the eagle is proud. It is not uncommon for portable values to lose their imagery over time and become perceived as direct. The portable meaning of the word has already been lost in phrases like: mushroom head, nail head, boat nose, chair leg. In modern dictionaries, these values are assigned to words and are indicated as functional direct values.
Perhaps in the appearance of the transfer a certain roleplayed a saving factor - a person inherent in facilitating his own life, and, taking as a basis the already existing word, he sought in the surrounding world a new phenomenon that could describe this word. Perhaps in this phenomenon the human imagination is to blame. Once, having received a round piece of cheese from sheep's milk, the landlady rightly remarked that its shape is extremely similar to the head.
The portable meaning of a word is peculiar not onlyRussian language. This phenomenon is inherent in many European languages. In English, for example, this language feature presents a real challenge for students beginning to learn it. Often to understand the meaning of the word is possible only in context, since the word can act as different parts of speech. Nevertheless, transfer enriches any language, makes it imaginative, lively and juicy.
