COURSE IN ENGLISH LEXICOLOGY

Сourse Literature• Верба Л.Г. Порівняльна лексикологія англійської та української

мови. – Вінниця: Нова книга, 2003

• Korunets I. Сontrastive Typology of the English and Ukrainian Languages. – Vinnytsya: Nova Knyha Publishers, 2003, pp. 118-178

• Арбекова Т. Пракический курс лексикологии английского языка. – М.: Просвещение, 1981

• Minayeva L.V. English Lexicology and Lexicography. – M.: Астрель, 2007

What is Lexicology?

Lexicology is a branch of linguistics major in the studies of the vocabulary of language and the property of words as the main units of the language.

Lexicon is a whole set of words in the particular language.

Object of lexicology: lexical system

Subject of lexicology: word

What is Word?

WORD isthe basic unit of any language resulting from the association of the particular meaning with a particular group of sounds capable of a particular grammatical employment

A /ei/ noun 1. the first letter of an alphabet

2. the highest mark in educational institutions

Water /'wɔːtə/ noun 1. a colourless, transparent, odourless, liquid which forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms

2. a solution of a specified substance in water

verb. 1. pour or sprinkle water over (a plant or area) in order to encourage plant growth

2. fill with tears

3. dilute or adulterate (a drink, typically an alcoholic one) with water

Lexicology and Other Fields of Linguistics

LEXICOLOGY

Phonetics Word-Formation Morphology

Syntax

Sociolinguistics

Paralinguistics

Psycholinguistics

Stylistics

Cognitive Linguistics

Applied Linguistics

Computational Linguistics

Translation Studies Lexicography

Branches of Lexicology

LEXICOLOGY

Semasiology

SemanticsHistorical Lexicology

Phraseology Cognitive Lexicology

Descriptive Lexicology

What is Lexicon?

LEXICON 1. a whole set of the words existing in

a particular language

2. vocabulary of an individual person or specific field of human activity

3. dictionary (archaic meaning) or an alphabetic list of the words

What is Lexical System?

LEXICAL SYSTEM

sum of total English words, a set of elements associated and functioning together in accordance with the inner laws of the language

Types of Relationship in the Lexical System

Types of relationship in the Lexical

System

Syntagmatic (Linear)

Connection of a word with other words in a syntagm that forms a

context to distinguish a specific meaning of this

word

Make – робитиShe is making her

bedВона прибирає

ліжко

Paradigmatic (Contrastive)

Connection of a word with the all other words

that can be used in a given context and can be compared with this

word

She is making her bed – verb

The making is important – verbal

nounMaking harm is bad. –

gerund

Lexical Opposition Semantically relevant relationship of partial

difference between two partially similar words

Doubt-doubtful

Extra-LinguisticThe connections of words with

the elements of objective reality they serve to denote and their dependence on the

social, mental and cultural development of the language

community

Boxing-Day, Halloween, Queen’s Speech, to box

the compass etc.

What are Semasiology and Semantics?

SEMASIOLOGY is a field of lexicology dealing with the meaning of the lexical units

SEMANTICS is a science major in studying the components and meanings of the language signs

WORD As a Basic Unit of the Lexicology

WORD is the smallest meaningful unit of the lexical system, characterized by positional mobility, morphological interruptability and semantic integrity

Structure of the Word

INTERNAL

Lexical meaning:

• Motivation

• Denotative Component

• Significant Component

EXTERNAL

• Morphemic components

• Grammatical paradigms

• Syntactical valency

Motivation of the Word

Phonetic

• a similarity between the sound image of the word and its meaning

•E.g. hush, bark, pee-wee

Semantic

• the combinations of direct and figurative meanings of the same word

• E.g. Everest was a shop at the highest floor of the mall

Morphological

• the relationship between morphemes

• E.g. law-lawful-lawfulness-unlawful

Non-motivated words

• the connection between the form and meaning is conventional

•E.g. What is greener than the grass? – Envy is greener than the grass

Semantic Triangle

Symbol (name) i.e. the sound set with a fixed meaning /'teɪbl/

Referent, or denotative component (table)

Significant component, i.e the generalization of the peculiar referent’s indications (a piece of furniture with a

flat top and one or more legs, providing a level surface for eating)

Lexical Meaning of the Word

LEXICAL MEANING

is a meaning proper to the given lexical unit and all its forms.

I.e. cat (a mammal animal that catches mice) – cats (2 and more of such animals) – cat’s (smth. belongs to this animal) – cats’ (smth. belongs to 2 and more of such animals)

Cat n. a wild animal of the cat family (Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford University Press, 2010)• Seme - animal

• Sememe – of the family

• Semanteme1 – a wild (to animal)

• Semanteme2 – cat (to family)

SEME

SEMEME

SEMANTEME

Types of MeaningImplicational Implied information associated with the word. i.e. what the word refers to and what the speaker knows about the notion itself

Grammatical a relationship between words based on contrastive features of arrangements in which they occur

Lexico-Grammatical common denominator of all the meanings of words belonging to a certain lexico-grammatical class

Denotative conceptualizes and classifies our experience and names the object spoken about

Connotational implied, additional meaning

Figurative naming of the object in and at the same time characterizing it through its similarity with another object

Direct nomination of the referent without the help of a context , in isolation

Main meaning possessing the highest frequency at the present stage of the vocabulary development

General meaning that appears in different contexts

Particular appears only in some special texts

Primarily meaning that is the first in a dictionary

What is Connotation?

CONNOTATION

is the interaction of the denotative meaning and its pragmatic counterpart; what the word conveys about the speakers attitude to the social circumstances, functional style, approval or disapproval of the object, his emotions and degree of intensity

Types of Connotation

Stylistic

(description of the situation in conversation, relations between speakers, the type and purpose of communication)

Evaluative

expression of approval or

disapproval of the

phenomenon or some situation

Connotationexaggregating smth.

Expressive Emotionalassociation of referent named with emotions

Changing of the Lexical Meaning

Types of the Lexical Meaning Changes

Development

coexistence in the semantic

structure of the word a new

meaning and the original one

Change

replacement of the old

meaning by the new one

Transference

process of developing the new meaning or change of the meaning

Extension

application of the word to a wider

range of references (a new notion is wider than the original one)

Narrowing

a case when a word which representing

a notion of a boarder scope has come to render a

notion of a narrower scope

Pejoration

a lowering in a social scale

connected with the appearance

of a degradatory shade of meaning

Amelioration

process reverse to pejoration, the first

meaning has a negative evaluating connotation and the second meaning has

not

Changes of the Lexical Meaning or Stylistic Tropes

Metaphor •transfer based on associating two objects due to their outward similarity•as cunning as a fox, as dead as a doornail, head of the board•The detective listened to her tales with a wooden face.•She was fairly certain that life was a fashion show.•The typical teenage boy’s room is a disaster area.

Irony•expression of one’s meaning by words of opposite sense for the purpose of disparagement or ridicule•He’s a man-know-all, for he cannot even tell where he hid his socks. •Titanic was promoted as being 100% unsinkable; but, in 1912 the ship sank on its maiden voyage.•In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Romeo finds Juliet in a drugged state and he thinks she is dead•At a party a lady tells Winston Churchhill he is drunk to which Churchhill said "My dear, you are ugly...but tomorrow I shall be sober."

Metonymy •transfer based on contiguity; a shift of names between things that are known to be in some way connected in reality or the substitution of name of a thing by its part or feature•Water boils, train departs and she cannot find her card to pass•The cup is quite tasty.•The Pentagon will be revealing the decision later on in the morning.•The restaurant has been acting quite rude lately.•Learn how to use your eyes properly!•The library has been very helpful to the students this morning.•That individual is quite the silver fox.•Can you please give me a hand carrying this box up the stairs?•The United States will be delivering the new product to us very soon.

Euphemism

•substitution of the unpleasant or forbidden to mention things with softer forms of expression•What is worse than a woman was? – Clootie’s worse than a woman was. (he had clooties of a pig or a sheep, i.e. he was a devil himself)•Passed away instead of died•Correctional facility instead of jail•Departed instead of died•Differently-abled instead of handicapped or disabled•Break wind instead of pass gas•Economical with the truth instead of liar•Powder your nose instead of use the rest room•The birds and the bees instead of sex•Bit the big one instead of died•Bit the farm instead of died•Cement shoes instead of dead•Bit the dust instead of died

Hyperbole

•exaggerated statement not meant to be understood literary but expressing intensely emotional attitude of the speaker to what he is speaking about•They ran like greased lightning. Army size corn flakes (advert.), Oh, no! I’m all pixelated and shifty I don’t even have any legs! (advert.)•I have a million things to do.•I had to walk 15 miles to school in the snow, uphill.•I had a ton of homework.•If I can’t buy that new game, I will die.•He is as skinny as a toothpick.•“Well now, one winter it was so cold that all the geese flew backward and all the fish moved south and even the snow turned blue. Late at night, it got so frigid that all spoken words froze solid afore they could be heard. People had to wait until sunup to find out what folks were talking about the night before.”

Litote•way of expressing the affirmative by the negative of its contrary•"Oh, you think you're so special because you get to play Picture Pages up there? Well, my five year old daughter could do that and let me tell you, she's not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed."(Allison Janney as Bren in Juno, 2007)"Keep an eye on your mother whom we both know doesn't have both oars in the water."(Jim Harrison, The Road Home. Grove Press, 1999)