Lexical Parallels: Definition, Types, Examples (Russian, German, English, Spanish)

Abstract

This paper is devoted to different types of Lexical Parallels, mainly in Russian and German, with some additional examples from English and French. A classical Lexical Parallel (LP) in two or more languages is an n-tuple of lexical items, one from each of these languages, with similar (phonetic and/or graphic) forms and partial or full identity/non-identity of meanings. For two languages, more complex Lexical Parallels comprise homonyms and paronyms in one or both of these languages. In comparison to former publications of the authors, this paper offers a precise and enlarged view of Lexical Parallels and contains some corre ctions made in the context of recent publications of the Moscow Semantic School.