Definition: "polysemy"
po·ly·se·my /päˈlisəmē/ noun
"The coexistence of many possible meanings for a word or phrase."
(Source:
Oxford online dictionary.)
__________________
An ASL teacher asks:
Dear Dr. Bill,
I am wondering if it is correct (that that one sign can convey more
than one meaning and a person would know by context which meaning
was intended (as is the case with so many words in the English
language)?
- Thanks!
____________
Dear _____,
Yes, certainly one sign can have several different meanings.
A word or sign having more than one meaning is known as "polysemy."
A word or sign that has more than one meaning is referred to as being
"polysemous."
A few examples of ASL signs would include:
1. CONGRESS,
COUNCIL, COMMITTEE.
2. SINGLE, SOMETHING, SOMEONE
3. N AKED, N UDE, AVAILABLE, EMPTY, SPACE
ASL signs have just as much right to
be polysemous as English words do.
___________________
Consider the sign: COUNT
Context: "John is currently in the San Diego jail on one count of
..."
The sign COUNT (which can be used to mean "to count numbers") has been observed
being used in a very popular ASL newscast (the Daily Moth) by a very skilled
signer to mean "a separate charge in an indictment."
https://youtu.be/wH3lJm0Typ0?t=259
I point this out because all too often "experts" (note the quotes) try to tell
others that you can't use some particular sign to mean "some specific meaning."
While I appreciate and agree that it is important to use signs how they should
be used -- I find that some people are overzealous in their limiting of the
range of meanings for certain signs.
Just because the sign COUNT typically or traditionally has been used to refer to
the counting of numbers doesn't mean that we Deaf (and other signers) can't also
use it to refer to "a separate charge in a indictment" in a legal setting.
Notes:
See: COUNT
Also see: POLYSEMOUS
Notes: