Interlingual homonymy as a way of expressing formal content asymmetry

We analyze Slavic interlingual cognate-homonyms in terms of content. The aim of the study is to explore the process of semantic deviations of modern words with initially common etymon and to reveal the reasons of such deviations. The main methods of linguistic research are comparative, comparative-historical and component analysis. The problem of Slavic interlanguage homonymy is connected, on the one hand, with the globalization of communication, as the result of which the importance of linguistic comparative analysis is increased in modern language study, and, on the other hand, it is connected with the division of the Slavic world, which makes the revival of the Slavic historical roots urgent. The novelty of the research is due to the systematic approach to the study of cognate-homonyms. The optimal system for studying homogeneous homonyms is the diachronic field. We reveal that the foundation of the diachronic fields’ evolution, which supplied the material of Slavic interlingual cognate-homonyms, is continual generating of polysemants, the consecutive one being modeled on the basis of the prototype generated by the previous. We substantiate that semantic deviation in modern words with a common etymon and consequently the formation of homonyms is determined by the split of a polysemant in the process of breaking classificational and associative connections which define its integrity, and subsequent actualization of polysemantic complexes (fragments) and separate meanings. We conclude that it is possible to use the study results in etymological research in the reconstruction of prototypes and original polysemy as a source of late homonymy.