The semantic field “Song” in Pindar's early lyrics

Abstract

The present paper features a classifcation of lexical items that belong to the semantic feld “Song” in Pindar's early lyrics. Our analysis is based on the principle of the New explanatory thesaurus of the Russian language. It is possible to draw the following conclusions regarding the properties of this feld: 1) it has developed paradigmatic relations: derivation, synonymy, meronymy, conversion, antonyms; 2) this feld has no clearly pronounced dominant, this role is equally claimed by the tokens ἀοιδά and ὕμνος, although the former has a more neutral area of use and a wider range of derivation. However, with such scanty material, it is premature to make more defnitive conclusions; 3) the vocabulary of sound prevails over the vocabulary of dance; 4) there is a tendency to metonymic transitions from sound to a word flled with semantic content; 5) this feld includes vocabulary of different styles; 6) general and abstract concepts are expressed through myth or metaphor.