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ENGLISH LEXICOLOGY

AND LEXICOGRAPHY

LEXICOLOGY

as a LINGUISTIC DISCIPLINE

Chapter 1

Lexicology is a branch of linguistics.

Lexicon is a term used in linguistics to indicate the archive of lexemes. Lexemes are abstract, minimal units in a language that link related forms of a word together. For example, the words fly, flight, flew, flying, and so on, are all morphologic variations of the lexeme fly.

General lexicology

General

lexicology

is a part of General linguistics. It is concerned with the general study of words and vocabulary irrespective of the specific features of any particular language.

Special lexicology

devotes its attention to the description of the

characteristic peculiarities in the vocabulary of a particular language

(Russian, Kazakh, German, French, etc.).

Special lexicology

1. Branches of Linguistics

Lexicology is linked with general linguistic

- Phonetics investigates the phonetic structure of a language

- Grammar is the study of the grammatical structure or grammatical system of a language.

- The History of the English language covers the main events in the historical development of the language

- Stylistics studies many problems treated in lexicology,

- Sociolinguistics investigates the social reasons of the changes in the vocabulary of a language which is directly and immediately reacts to developing and changes in social life.

The main unit of the lexical system of a language resulting from the association of a group of sounds with a meaning is a word. This unit

is used in grammatical functions characteristic of it. It is the smallest basic language unit which can stand alone as a complete utterance.

2. Lexical Units

Having analyzed the lexical units of the English language we can say that morphemes are arranged according to certain rules, The arrangement of morpheme components underlies the classifi cation of words into different types and enables one to understand how new words appear in the language

WORD-FORMATION

Chapter 2

Word-building is one of the main ways of enriching vocabulary. English word-formation is the system of derivative types of words and the process of creating new words from material available in the language after certain structural and semantic formulas and patterns.

The main distinction is made between two basic types of word formation: word-derivation and word-composition.

Word Formation

The scheme of word-building is presented on the diagram

Word-Composition or compounding is one of the productive ways of word-building when a new word is formed by joining two or more stems. Compound words are inseparable vocabulary units that are structurally and semantically based on the relationship between their components through which they are motivated.

Word-composition

-The structural unity of a compound word depends upon

- The unity of stress where compounds have three stress patterns: a) a high or uniting stress on the first component

 -Solid or hyphenated spelling. Generally many compound words

 -The semantic unity of a compound word is often very strong.

 -Unity of morphological and syntactical functioning

Classification of compounds

Classifications of English compounds

Conversion is a characteristic feature of the English word-building system. The term “conversion” fi rst appeared in the book by Henry Sweet “New English Grammar” in 1891. Conversion is treated

differently by different scientists.

Conversion

Shortening or (ABBREVIATION)

There are also linguistic causes of shortening words and word groups, such as the demand of rhythm, which is satisfied in English by monosyllabic words. When borrowings from other languages are assimilated in English they are shortened. Here we have modification of form on the basis of analogy, e.g. the Latin borrowing «fanaticus» is shortened to «fan» on the analogy with native words: man, pan, tan etc. Shortening of words consists in substituting a part for a whole.

Blendings or Blends – words are combined from two words

or synonyms including the letters and sounds which are formed as common connecting element. This process of formation of a new word can be also called telescoping, because the words seem to slide into one another like of a telescope. In blends two ways of word-building are combined: abbreviation and composition.

Blendings

-Sound interchange is the way of word-building when some

-Sounds are changed to form new words which are differentiated

-Stress interchange can be mostly met in verbs and nouns.

-In Reduplication new words are made by doubling a stem.

-Sound imitation or Onomatopoeia is the naming of an action or thing by more or less reproduction of sounds.

-Back formation or Reversion is the way of word-building when a word is formed by dropping the final morpheme to form a new word.

Non-productive ways of Word-building

ETYMOLOGY

OF ENGLISH WORDS

Chapter 3

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and how their form and meaning have changed over time.

“Etymological theory recognizes that words originate through a limited number of basic mechanisms, the most important of which are

borrowings” [Smirnitsky, 1976:110].

Borrowings are taken over from another language and modified in sounding, spelling, and paradigm or meaning according to the standards of the English language. According to many linguists, the

percentage of borrowings in English is up to 70 %, and 30 % of the words are native.

Borrowings in the English Language

The borrowed words can be classified into the following groups:

> phonetic borrowings,

> translation loans,

> semantic borrowings,

> morphemic borrowings,

> International words.

Classification of Borrowings

SEMASIOLOGY

Chapter 4

Semasiology is the branch of Linguistics which studies the meaning of words, called semantics. The name comes from the Greek sēmasiā ‘signifi cation’ (from sēma ‘sign’ sēmantikos ‘signifi cant’ and logos ‘learning’).

The causes of semantic changes can be extra-linguistic and

linguistic.

By extra-linguistic causes we mean various changes in the life

of the speech community, changes in economic and social structure,

scientific concepts and other spheres of human activities as reflected in

word meaning. For example, the change of the lexical meaning of the

noun «pen» was due to extra-linguistic causes.

The Causes of Semantic Changes

One and the same word in different syntactical relations can develop

different meanings, e.g. the verb treat in sentences:

 The wood is treated with chemicals.

 She was treated for minor injuries.

 They treated me to sweets.

 He treats his son cruelly.

 These payments will be treated as income.

 He treated my words as a joke.

Semantic Structure of English Words

Metaphor

- A metaphor is a transfer of the meaning based on comparison and an association of similarity of two objects, phenomena.

Metonymy

Metonymy is a transfer of the meaning on the basis of contiguity. It is a change of names between things that are known to be in some

way and associating two referents, one of which can have resembles the other.

Nature of Semantic Changes

The Main Semantic Aspects of Compounds

The structural meaning of compounds is formed on the base of the meaning of their distributional pattern which is understood as the order and arrangement of the constituents of a compound word.

A change in the order and arrangement of the same components of the word gives us the compounds with different lexical meanings.

TYPES

OF SEMANTIC RELATIONS

Chapter 5

1. SYNONYMS

Synonyms are one of the language’s most important expressive means. The principal function of synonyms is to represent the same phenomenon in different aspects, shades and variations. Eg.: Sandy was there, looking gorgeous as usual.

Stunning – very impressive or beautiful, for example, a stunning dress.

2. THE DOMINANT SYNONYM

All synonymic groups have a “central” word whose meaning is equal to the denotation common to all synonymic groups. This word is called the dominant synonym.

Synonyms are words different in their outer aspects, but identical or similar in their inner aspects.

1. Ideographic

2. Stylistic

3. Absolute

3. CLASSIFICATION OF SYNONYMS

Antonyms are words belonging to the same category of parts of speech and expressing contrary or contradictory notions.

Antonyms form mostly pairs, not groups like synonyms: above – below, absent – present, alike – different, bad – good.

4. ANTONYMS

The word “euphemism” comes from the Greek word euphemo, meaning “auspicious/good/fortunate speech/kind” which in turn is derived from the Greek root-words eu (ευ), “good/well” + pheme

(φήμη) “speech/speaking”.

5. EUPHEMISM

ENGLISH VOCABULARY

AS A SYSTEM

1. HOMONYMS

Homonyms are words different in meaning but identical in sound or spelling, or both in sound and spelling. E.g.: bank, n. – a shore;

bank, n. – an institution for receiving, lending, exchanging money.

Chapter 6

Homonyms are distinguished into three types:

1. Homonyms proper

2. Homophones

3. Homographs

2. CLASSIFICATION OF HOMONYMS

Words can be classifi ed according to the period of their life in the language. The number of new words in a language is always larger than

the number of words which come out of active usage. Accordingly we can have archaisms, that words which have come out of active usage.

3. Archaisms

The rapid progress and development of technology, science and Internet required “new words and terms” which have appeared in the English language. This process is called as neologisms and especially used in nomination not only new objects, inventions but also the naming of new concepts which have taken on а new cultural context

4. NEOLOGISMS

PHRASEOLOGY

1. PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS OR IDIOMS

The vocabulary of a language is enriched not only by words but also by phraseological units.

Chapter 7

3.Semantic Classification of Phraseological Units

Phraseological units can be classified according to the degree of motivation of their meaning. This classification was suggested by Academician V.V. Vinogradov for Russian phraseological units.

Prof. A.I. Smirnitsky worked out structural classification of phraseological units, comparing them with words.

Among one-top units he points out three structural types;

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a) units of the type «to give up» (verb + postposition type), e.g. to

art up, to back up, to drop out, to nose out, to buy into, to sandwich

in etc.;

b) units of the type «to be tired» . Some of these units remind the

Passive Voice in their structure but they have different prepositions with

them, while in the Passive Voice we can have only prepositions «by»

or «with», e.g. to be tired of, to be interested in, to be surprised at etc.

c) prepositional – nominal phraseological units. These units are

equivalents of unchangeable words: prepositions, conjunctions,

adverbs, that is why they have no grammar centre, their semantic

centre is the nominal part, e.g. on the doorstep (quite near), on the

nose (exactly), in the course of, on the stroke of, on time, in time, on

the point of etc.

4. Structural Classification of Phraseological Units

2. Principles of Classification

The idioms can be classified on the basis of different principles. The traditional and the oldest principle for classification is based on their original content and it might be termed as thematic. On this principle they are classified according to their sources of origin, referring to different spheres of human activity, life of nature, natural phenomena etc.

Phraseological units can be classified as parts of speech. This classification was suggested by I.V. Arnold.

Here we have the following groups:

a) noun-phraseologisms denoting an object, a person, a living

being, e.g., a dog’s life, a big shot, redbrick university, Green Beret;

b) verb-phraseologisms denoting an action, a state, a feeling, e.g.

to break the log-jam, to rain cats and dogs, to be on the beam, to nose

out , to make headlines;

c) adjective-phraseologisms denoting a quality, e.g. loose as a

goose, safe and sound, as thin as a rail, high and mighty;

d) adverb phraseological units, such as: with a bump, in the soup,

like a dream, like a dog with two tails;

e) preposition phraseological units, e.g. in the course of, on the

stroke of;

f) interjection phraseological units, e.g. Catch me!, Well, I never!

Take it easy, etc.

In I.V.Arnold’s classifi cation there are also sentence equivalents,

proverbs, sayings and quotations, e.g. The sky is the limit, What makes

him tick, I am easy.

5. Parts of Speech Classification of Phraseological Units

The classification system of phraseological units suggested by Russian professor A.V. Koonin is the latest outstanding achievement in the theory of phraseology.

6. The Structural-Semantic Classification of PU

THE BRITISH AND

AMERICAN VARIANTS OF ENGLISH

Chapter 8

There are some differences between British and American usage in spelling.

So many words ending in -bre, -tre in Britain ( metre, fi bre) are

spelled -er in the US (meter, fi ber). Words ending in -our in Britain

(colour, labour) are usually spelled -or in the US (color, labor).

2. Differences in Spelling

The first distinctive feature is the use of the auxiliary verb will in the first person singular and plural of Future Indefi nite Tense, in contrast to the British normative shall. In American English the simple past can be used with already, just and yet. In British English the present perfect is used:

 I have already given her the present. (BrE)

 I already gave her the present. (AmE.)

 I’ve just seen her. (BrE)

 I just saw her (AmE.)

3. Grammar System of American English

The variety of English spoken in the USA has received the name of American English which has distinctive features of its own.

1. Differences in Pronunciation

FORMAL AND INFORMAL

STYLES OF SPEECH

Chapter 9

Informal Style of speech is usually used in the circle of family, relatives, friends.

Informal Style is relaxed, free-and-easy, familiar speech. It may be informal talk of well-educated people considerably differs from the special language.

2. Informal Styles of Speech

3. English Dialects in Great Britain

In Great Britain there are fi ve main groups of dialects: Northern, Midland, Eastern, Western and Southern. It retains many old Scandinavian words, such as bairn for child, and not only keeps its r’s, but often rolls them. The most outstanding version is Geordie, the dialect of the Newcastle area.

-er > /æ/, so father > /fædhæ/.

/ou/ > /o:’/,

so that boat sounds like each letter is pronounced.

talk > /ta:k/

work > /work/

book > /bu:k/

my > me

me > us

our > wor

you plural > youse

4. The Dialects of the United States

(with approximate areas):

Northern

 Northern New England (Maine and New Hampshire)

 Boston area (eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island)

 Northeastern (Connecticut, western Massachusetts, Vermont,

upstate New York, lower Michigan, northern Illinois.

 New York City area (including most of Long Island and

northern New Jersey)

 North central (upper Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the

Dakotas).

Northern midland

 Philadelphia area (inc. eastern Pennsylvania, southern New

Jersey, Delaware, and the Baltimore area).

 Pittsburgh area (western Pennsylvania)

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 Ohio-Plains (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri,

Nebraska, Kansas).

Southern midland

Appalachia (western Virginia, eastern Kentucky, eastern

Tennessee). Arkansas-Oklahoma.

Southern

 Virginia (eastern), North Carolina (eastern), South Carolina,

Georgia-Florida.

 Mississippi-Gulf (including Alabama, Louisiana, western

Tennessee, eastern Texas, western Kentucky

Western (Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, New

Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California), western Texas.

1. Formal Styles of Speech

It is known that people in different situations of speech communication choose different kinds of words and structures to express their thoughts. Formal Style is restricted to formal situations. In general, formal words fall into two main groups: words associated with professional communication and a group of learned-words.

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