On the semantic and stylistic possibilities of antonyms in speech: amphithesis (based on the Kabardino-Cherkes language)

This article explores the semantic and stylistic potential of antonyms in speech. It is known that, in addition to the basic function of realizing the semantics of contrast (antithesis), antonyms in speech can also express other types of relationships that lack the semantics of opposition. Particular attention in the work is given to the description of the features and conditions of the implementation of amphithetic relations, the essence of which lies in the coverage of the whole by combining and affirming opposite signs or phenomena. It is shown that amphithesis in the Kabardino-Circassian language is constructed as a pair or a series of antonymous homogeneous members of a sentence, connected most often by a repeating coordinating suffix -и…-и, less often by adding the suffix -рэ to one member of the antonymic opposition, and the conjunction -и to the other in combination with the case formative -уэ (-уи).

Based on an analysis of literary texts, the types of antonyms that most regularly convey the unification of opposites within a single entity were identified. The main functions of amphitheses in literary discourse were characterized.

The works of Kabardian and Circassian writers served as the empirical basis for the study.

The study utilized methods of linguistic observation and description, contextual analysis, and oppositional analysis. The relevance of the study stems from the fact that the semantic essence of antonyms, as well as the potential for their stylistic use in speech, remains understudied in Adyghe linguistics.

The obtained results can be used in further studies of the lexical-semantic system of the Kabardino-Circassian language, in the analysis of artistic speech, as well as in the development of programs and manuals for students of the Kabardino-Circassian language. They are of practical importance for lexicographers in creating a dictionary of antonyms of the Kabardino-Circassian language, the compilation of which remains one of the important tasks of Adyghe linguistics.

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