Among the common mistakes encountered in speech and associated with ignorance of lexical norms and meanings of words, one should especially emphasize paronymy, that is, situations where interlocutors incorrectly use paronymic words in their speech. Examples of this error can be found in the speech of any of us. This is the wrong use of words to put on and put on, wonderful and wonderful, painting and signature . Knowing the meaning of words, as well as understanding the phenomenon of paronymy and the reasons for its occurrence, will help to avoid these errors.
Paronymy
Paronymy is a fairly common linguistic phenomenon in which two or more words have similarities in pronunciation and belong to one part of speech. Often such words contain one common root, but their meaning does not coincide. Situations in which people, when communicating, whether written or verbal, confuse the meanings of paronymic words, replacing one word with another, is called paronymy.
This type of error is lexical and is associated primarily with ignorance of the meanings of certain words, the rules for their use in speech. True, in some cases sentences with paronyms are used in the literature to create paronomasia and puns.
Paronyms
The term "paronym" comes from two Greek words: para - "near" and Ăłnyma - "name". Paronyms are words similar in sound, but not identical, often root words. They belong to the same grammatical category, that is, they belong to one part of speech, but at the same time they have different lexical meanings.
Paronyms are not interchangeable in speech, since this only leads to a distortion of the statement. Often, paronymic pairs are combined with different words. So, the pair “full” - “full” is combined with different nouns. A hearty dinner and a well-fed child.
The similarity of paronyms can lead to unfortunate mistakes, so you should pay attention to their true meaning and choose the right pair. For this it is necessary to know the meaning of the word. Paronyms can also have a similar meaning and differ only in shade.
The misuse of such words is a fairly common lexical mistake.
In some cases, paronyms can also be synonyms. For example, “romantic” and “romantic”, “ironic” and “ironic” (smile or remark), “melodic” or “melodic” sound, “patriotic” and “patriotic” act.
The main groups of paronyms are represented by adjectives and verbs, less nouns and adverbs.
Often a pair is formed either with native Russian words, for example, “swampy” and “swampy”, or with words borrowed - “leasing” and “listing”.
Types of Paronyms
There are several classifications of such words. By origin, root, affixal, etymological paronymic words are distinguished. We meet examples of them every day.
Root paronyms have different, but somewhat similar in appearance roots. For example, "excavator" and "escalator", they do not have a common semantic connection.
Affix paronyms have a common root and are united by a common semantic connection, but have different meanings due to the use of prefixes and suffixes. For example, “subscriber” - “subscription”, “economical” - “economical”.
Etymological are formed when the same word is borrowed by language in different ways. So, the word “project” is learned from Latin, “project” - from the French language.
Also distinguish types of paronyms for word formation:
1. Distinguishing prefixes:
2. Different suffixes:
- unrequited - irresponsible.
3. Distinguishing the basis, that is, having a derivative and non-derivative basis:
- growth - age;
- load - load.
By semantics, paronyms are distinguished, having the same meaning, but different semantic nuances. For example, “long” - “long”, “vital” - “worldly”. Paronyms are also distinguished, which have completely different semantics: “nest” - “nesting”, “turn” - “stained glass”, “minced” - “farce”.
Commonly Used Paronyms
Note the most commonly used paronymic pairs.
Quite a well-known paronymic pair can be considered the words “dress” - “put on”. It should be remembered that you can dress someone, and wear something.
Quite often there are sentences with the synonyms "painting" and "signature". Mural - a written list of something, wall painting, recording. A signature is a surname at the end of a document.
Destination and addressee. Addressee - the person to whom the parcel or letter is addressed, the addressee - the person who sent it.
Archaic and archaic. Archaic - characteristic of antiquity, archaic - obsolete.
Democratic and democratic is another couple of words. Democratic is one that refers to democracy. Something that is characteristic of democracy is called democratic.
Another interesting pair of words is “friendly” and “friendly”. Friendly - related to friends, friendly - based on friendship.
Logical and logical. Logical - correct, faithful, consistent. Logical is related to logic.
It is important to pay attention to the use of paronymic words and to avoid errors associated with their use.
Causes of Paronymy
The main reasons why mistakes are made in speech related to the use of paronyms are four:
1. Insufficient knowledge of the meanings of a word or even a few.
2. The incompetence of the speaker in the field of activity to which the word refers.
3. Banal illiteracy and lack of vocabulary.
4. Reservations in speech.
Paronomasia
Paronomasia is a means of enhancing the expressiveness of speech, a stylistic figure that consists in the deliberate use of consonant words. Most often, the words paronyms are used to create paronomasia. Examples of this phenomenon can be seen in such sentences:
To serve would be glad - to be sick nauseously.
He is not a wonderful guy, but a wonderful one.
Paronomasia is a pun intended to be appreciated by readers with a good linguistic instinct and sense of humor. It is often based on not only sound, but also semantic harmony. Paronomasia is also used as headings to attract the attention of readers, for example: “Self-government or arbitrariness?”.
Dictionaries of Synonyms
Avoid annoying mistakes in speech using literature. So, you can find out the meaning of paronyms using thematic dictionaries. They alphabetically list the paronymic pairs. Moreover, each word in a pair has its own lexical meaning, as well as examples of normative use in speech.
Today you can use the following dictionaries:
1. "Dictionary of Russian language paronyms" edited by N. P. Kolesnikov. It was published in 1971.
2. "Dictionary of Russian language paronyms" edited by O. V. Vishnyak. The book was released in 1984.
3. In 1994, under the editorship of Yu. A. Belchikov and M. S. Panyushev, another Dictionary of Russian Language Paronyms was published. It was reissued in 2007.
These books will help you get acquainted with the main paronymic series, the meaning of the words included in them.
conclusions
Paronyms are words that are similar in sound but have different semantic meanings. In some situations, they may also be synonymous. Each of us periodically uses paronymic words in our speech. Examples of their use: painting and signature, wear and dress.
In speech, the abuse of words from paronymic pairs should be avoided. You need to choose the one that is suitable in this situation. The normative use of paronyms is a sign of education and a high culture of speech.