1. Lesson 11
Tuesday 20/11

2. Word-meaning relations
Synonimy
Homophony
Polysemy
Ambiguity: it occurs when it is not possible, judging on the wording of an utterance, to decide which of two meanings is intended
Kicking baby considered to be healthy (newspaper article headline)
However, the context and background knowledge help

3. Polysemy and homonymy
Polysemy: one word with different meanings (all related to some extent)
The newspaper got wet in the rain
The newspaper fired some of its editorial staff
Homonymy: two words with the same form (with no meaning relation)
My dog barks at the mailman
The tree’s bark was a rusty brown
(Laviosa, Linking wor(l)ds. Liguori)

4. Translation problems
in polysemous words, one synonym/antonym for each propositional meaning
E.g. light (adjective)
Meaning well lit (a light room) not bright (light colours)
Synonym bright pale
Antonym dark bright

5. A light room
Una stanza luminosa

6. (Dressed in) light colours
Colori pastello

7. How would you translate this in Italian?
antonym
Rough surface even
Rough skin smooth
Rough sea calm
Rough voice soft
Rough crowd polite
Rough work skilful
Rough estimate exact

10. Ambiguity
Polysemy and homonymy are often exploited for witticism (wordplay or pun),
This poses problems for translation as different languages may have different extents of polysemy for equivalent words, and homonyms may not correspond as well.

11. Exploiting ambiguity.
To understand these texts you need to spot ambiguity
Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana
I still miss my ex-husband. But my aim is improving
[notice in a field] The farmer allows walkers to cross the field for free, but the bull charges.

12. Troops grill Rumsfeld over Iraq
Bird flu found in Turkey
Shop names p. 67

13. Exploiting ambiguity Curl up and dye Literal:
Idiomatic: I just wanted to curl up and die when I spilled coffee on their new carpet.
to feel very ashamed and sorry
Making waves:
Idiomatic: to be very active so that people notice you, often in a way that intentionally causes trouble

14. A salt ‘n battered

15. “Germany’s Bright Idea”
Every night at 11 p.m., the village of Dörentrup in central Germany is thrown into total darkness. Strapped for cash for the past few years, the local council has taken to switching off all the streetlights. But while the scheme saves money, it left residents like Dieter Grote and his wife worrying about their children coming home in the dark. "My wife has all the good ideas," says Grote, who runs an advertising agency. "I discussed the problem with her and we thought it must be possible to have the lights available on demand." Grote got in touch with the local utility company Lemgo and noodled a solution: How about turning on the village lights with a simple telephone call? A few months later, Lemgo had developed a special modem and software and, together with Grote, launched Dial4Light — billed as the first project of its kind in Europe.

16. Master Stroke. Swimming, Nicola Keegan’s debut novel, understands that life is most interesting at the deep end
If you've ever wondered what deep thought might pass through the mind of a champion swimmer being honored as SPORTS ILLUSTRATED's female athlete of the year, flip to page 220 of Nicola Keegan's novel Swimming (Knopf; 305 pages), on which Philomena (Pip) Ash, fictitious Olympic gold medalist and the novel's heroine, observes that "it will be the only night in my life where I will dine almost entirely surrounded by people taller than myself."

17. key “Germany’s Bright Idea”
Homonym, double meaning of “bright”:
1. Full of light
2. Clever
“Master Stroke”, homonym, double meaning of ‘stroke’
Masterstroke is a skilful action or plan which results in complete success (colpo da maestro)
“stroke” repeated arms movement made when swimming (bracciata)

18. More on puns. Series Little Britain Fat fighters meeting
Group leader: Marjory taking a class in America
Marjory : yes, What’s your name?
First man: Phil
Marjory: you took that literally, didn’t you?