Лекции по теоретической грамматике английского языка. Тивьяева И.В. - 8 стр.

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(Eg. [ï: - i – e - ae] form a quaternary opposition by the degree of their
openness)
The equipollent opposition is formed by a contrastive pair or group in
which the members are distinguished by different positive features. (eg. [m] – [b],
both bilabial consonants, form an equipollent opposition, [m] being sonorous
nasalized, [b] being plosive.)
Any opposition can be reformulated in privative terms. Any positive feature
distinguishing an oppositionally characterized element is absent in the
oppositionally correlated element, so that considered from the point of view of
this feature alone, the opposition, by definition, becomes privative.
The most important type of opposition in morphology is the binary
privative opposition. The privative morphological opposition is based on a
morphological differential feature which is present in its strong member and
absent in its weak member (eg. present – past).
Speaking about morphological oppositions we need to keep in mind the fact
that members of morphological oppositions unlike those of phonological
oppositions possess both the plane of expression and the plane of content (eg. cat
– cats). The meaning of the weak member is more general and abstract as
compared with the meaning of the strong member, which is more particular and
specific. Due to this difference in meaning, the unmarked member is used in a
wider range of contexts than the marked member. For example, the present tense
form of the verb, as different from the past tense, is used to render meanings
much broader than those directly implied by the corresponding time-plane.
Equipollent oppositions in the system of English morphology constitute a
minor type and are mostly confined to formal relations only (eg. am – are – is).
Gradual oppositions in morphology are not generally recognized. They can
be identified as a minor type at the semantic level only (eg. strong – stronger –
strongest).