Lexical and semantic errors can be found quite often, especially in colloquial speech or correspondence. Such errors also occur when translating from one language to another. They are also called semantic, because they arise from the incorrect use of words and phrases in the context of what is written.
Classification
The concept of “semantic errors” (or “lexical-semantic errors”) covers several groups of semantic errors. The first group combines the wrong word in the sentence. The second is related to the use of words in a meaning that is unusual for them (here we are talking about the incorrect selection of existing synonyms). The third group - errors that arose due to the lexical incompatibility of the phrase. The fourth group consists of incorrectly chosen paronyms (words similar in spelling, but with different lexical meanings).
Wrong word
Such semantic errors often arise due to an inaccurate understanding of the meaning of the word. For example, in the sentence “For a month we consumed one hundred kilovolts of electricity” there is an inappropriate use of the word “kilovolts”, because electricity is measured in kilowatts. Another example of such a mistake: "Shoppers became involuntary spectators of this incident." When reading such a proposal, it is generally clear what is being discussed, but instead of the word “spectators,” which in modern Russian means viewing a theater performance, sporting event or film show, it would be more appropriate to use the word “witnesses” meaning presence during any event. To avoid such errors, it is better not to use words in conversation and in the text of the words in the meaning of which there are doubts, or it is worthwhile to compare your knowledge with the dictionary. Very often, such errors are found in school essays, so it is especially important for students to study the exact meanings of various words.
Synonyms Errors
In the Russian language, there are many synonyms with a similar meaning, but different lexical meaning. For example, a trophy and a prize, brave and courageous, role and function. Due to the use of an incorrectly selected word from similar synonyms, semantic errors arise. Examples of such errors: “The athlete honestly won his trophy”, “This idea was very brave”, “In my life, this phenomenon played a role.” In these sentences, it is clearly seen that the wrong word from the pair is used. In the first example, it would be logical to use the word “prize”, because it has the meaning of a certain value that is won, won in the competition. The word "trophy" is inappropriate here: it means something related to conquest. For example, a hunting trophy. In the second example, the word “bold” should be used, because it denotes not only an external manifestation, but also a certain internal property of a person (his thoughts or ideas may be bold), while the word “brave” is usually referred to behavior in a specific situation . In the third example, it was necessary to use the word “role” instead of “function”, because the word “role” means that they are playing or depicting, including in a figurative sense, and “function” - that which is fulfilling, interacts.
Inconsistency
Semantic errors of this type arise due to an incorrect combination of words in a sentence. Often they appear at the time of writing a text quickly without further verification. For example, the mistake of this group is in the sentence "The hero was in misfortune." Of course, instead of the word "misfortune", it would be appropriate to use the word "trouble" here. Although these words are similar in meaning, in this sentence the word "misfortune" is not combined with the rest of the construction. It is possible to use this very word if you rebuild the rest of the sentence: "Misfortune happened to the hero."
Another example of this type of error is: “More insecure people are often alone.” In this sentence, it would be correct to use the following phrases: "Less confident people are often alone" or "More timid people are often alone." Indeed, the very phrase “more uncertain” is lexically unjustified: the first word implies a greater degree of quality, and the second - denial of quality. Although the general meaning of such sentences is usually clear, such errors should be avoided.
Errors due to incorrect selection of paronyms
This group of semantic errors is associated with the choice of the wrong word from existing for designating a phenomenon or subject of paronyms. Most often, paronyms are cognate words that are similar in meaning, but at the same time mean different concepts. These are, for example, such pairs of words as “high-altitude”, “far-distant”, “logical-logical”, “economic-economical”, “short-short”, etc. For example, in the sentence “At the movie” completely logical ending ”, the pair name was incorrectly chosen: instead of the word“ logical ”, the word“ logical ”had to be used. After all, the word “logical” is used only to denote a phenomenon based on the laws of logic, and the word “logical”, in addition to this, also means a certain sequence or pattern, and it is precisely this meaning that fits the sentence from the example.
Another example of a sentence where there is a similar semantic error: "The value of this parameter indicates good economic efficiency." In this case, it was a question of economic efficiency, that is, an indicator related to the economy, and in the proposal the wrong paronym was chosen: “economical”. This word means economic benefits and is not suitable for this proposal.
Semantic translation errors
An author who writes in his native language is faced with problems of the appearance of semantic errors much less often than a translator. Indeed, the translator in the process of his work is faced with the fact that it is necessary to clearly know not only the grammar and rules of constructing sentences for both languages, but also to understand what meaning each word has in the meaning in which it is used. It is very important to understand the lexical compatibility of words in sentences in order to prevent semantic mistakes.
In the language from which the translation is carried out, many stable expressions can be used, which in the sequential translation of each word completely lose their meaning. Typically, such expressions are easily seen by an experienced translator, but a beginner, even the most literate one, will not always be able to recognize them. Therefore, after the translation of any scientific article or literary work, the resulting result is submitted for verification to the editor, who will be able to evaluate the quality of the translation and, if necessary, make amendments. Of course, it happens that the human factor is triggered, and the error goes unnoticed by the editor.
Translation error example
Semantic mistake occurs in the translation of I. Kashkin's work “Lord of Ballantre” by R. Stevenson: “The only thing I achieve is to protect myself from slander, and my house from your invasion.” In this sentence it would be appropriate to use the numeral "singular" instead of the adverb "singular".
In literature
Semantic errors are found in literary works. In most cases, this is due to the fact that the meanings of certain words, as well as the rules for their spelling and use, change over time. For example, in one of the works of A. S. Pushkin you can find the following phrase: "Rumyantsev took him to test Peter." From the context, it becomes clear that the word "approbation" at that time had the meaning of "approval, approval." Then this word changed both in spelling (it began to be used with one "p"), and in meaning: it began to denote the statement after the test. Therefore, today the above expression is perceived as erroneous.
Another example is the phrase from B. Polevoy’s novel “Deep Rear”: “The Big Half of the Factory”. In this case, the word “half” is mistakenly used, meaning an equal part, ½ of the whole. Half cannot be greater or less, so this combination of words is a mistake. However, similar expressions can be found in other works, as well as in periodicals.