THE SPEECH EFFECT OF POLYSEMY IN ENGLISH

This article examines the speech effect of polysemy in English and its role in shaping interpretation, expressiveness, and communicative impact. Polysemy, defined as the coexistence of several related meanings within a single lexical unit, allows speakers to convey information economically while simultaneously activating associative and emotional responses in the listener. The study analyzes examples from conversational discourse, media language, and literary texts to determine how semantic multiplicity functions in real communication. The findings show that polysemous words enhance fluency in everyday interaction, strengthen persuasion in public discourse, and create imagery and symbolic depth in literary contexts. They also contribute to humor through semantic contrast and increase memorability by engaging cognitive processing. However, polysemy may lead to misunderstanding when contextual knowledge is insufficient, particularly in second-language communication. The research concludes that polysemy operates as a dynamic interface between semantics, pragmatics, and cognition, serving as an important mechanism for linguistic economy and expressive richness in English speech.