Semantic-paradigmatic relations of polysemy and homonymy

The article is devoted to the study of the phenomena of homonymy and polysemy, namely their demarcation. Among the numerous issues related to the problem of homonymy, the issue of distinguishing the phenomena of polysemy and homonymy is currently the most difficult, namely, the identification of lexical homonyms that arose as a result of disintegration of polysemy. Modern lexicographical practice points to the difficulty of distinguishing the studied phenomena and the difficulty of their clear, consistent differentiation. Many words that are presented as polysemous in one dictionary are considered in another as different words, homonymous with each other. The problem of distinguishing homonymy and polysemy may arise when homonyms appear as a result of semantic splitting of a polysemous word. At the same time, other words are formed based on different meanings of one word. On the basis of the analysis of existing linguistic concepts, the definition of polysemy is presented, the similarities and differences of individual fragments of related languages are systematized, and the main regularities of the occurrence of polysemy are studied. In the linguistic literature, there is no unity of opinion on the phenomenon of homonymy and on distinguishing it from polysemy. Some scientists recognize as homonyms only such lexical units that have the same sound, which initially differed in form and only in the process of historical development acquired the same sound due to various phonetic or other reasons. All other cases, when the same material, sound shell acquires a different meaning, are called the phenomenon of polysemy, word polysemy, others – words that, due to historical reasons, coincide in sound, are called homonyms, as well as those cases when different meanings of a polysemous lexical unit diverge so much that new (two or more) words arise. Whether it is possible to consider polysemy as a source of homonymy, or not to recognize the existence of homonyms, which are the result of the historical development of multiple meanings of the word, and how to distinguish between these two phenomena are the main questions that are considered in the article.