- •1.The subject-matter of lexicology and its main problems
- •2.English vocabulary as a system
- •3. The classification of the English vocabulary
- •Idiographic groups
- •4.Moderrn methods of lexicological research
- •5.Etymological composition of the English Word- Stock
- •6.Causes and ways of borrowing into English. Etymological doublets.
- •7. Mechanism of borrowing
- •1)True loan words
- •3) Semantic loans
- •8. Criteria and assimilation of borrowings
- •9. International Words. Translator’s false friends. Culturally oriented words. Popular (false) etymology
- •10. The morpheme. Its types of meaning. The allomorph
- •11. Ic method. Morphemic and word-formation analysis
- •Ic method
- •12. Affixation. The classification of affixes. Semi-affixes. Hybrids.
- •13. Productivity of word-formation means. Conversion. Main types oа semantic relations between the members of a conversion pair.
- •14. Composition. Structural and semantic types of compounds. Compound words and word combinations.
- •15. Shortening(clipping, abbreviation, blending)
- •16. Minor Types of Modern Word-Building.
- •17.Word-meaning as a controversial linguistic problem
- •18. Types of word meaning
- •19. Polysemy. Meaning and context. Types of context.
- •20. The fundamentals of the componential analysis
- •21. Semantic change. Linguistic & extra-linguistic causes
- •22. Linguistic metaphor and metonymy. Types of semantic change
- •23. Definitions and criteria of synonyms. Main sources of synonymy. Synonymic dominant versus generic term.
- •24. The classification of synonyms.
- •25.Euphemisms as a specific type of synonyms
- •26. Antonyms: definition and criteria. The classification of antonyms.
- •27. Definition and sources of homonymy
- •28.The classification of homonyms
- •29. Phraseological units versus free word-groups.
- •30. Classification of phraseological units
- •31. Proverbs, familiar quotation and clichés
- •32. Standard English and local varieties of the English Language on the British Isles.
- •34. Functional varieties of the English vocabulary
- •35. Lexicography. Main lexicographical problems.
- •36. Types of dictionaries. The arrangement of entries in a dictionary.
9. International Words. Translator’s false friends. Culturally oriented words. Popular (false) etymology
International words – words of identical origin occurring in several languages as a result of simultaneous or successive borrowing from one ultimate source.
It is often the case that a word is borrowed by several languages, and not just by one. Such words usually convey concepts which are significant in the field of communication.
Many of them are of Latin and Greek origin. Most names of sciences are international, e. g. philosophy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, linguistics, lexicology. There are also numerous terms of art in this group: music, theatre, drama, tragedy, comedy, artist, primadonna.
It is quite natural that political terms frequently occur in the international group of borrowings: politics, policy, revolution, progress, democracy, communism, anti-militarism.
The English language also contributed a considerable number of international words to world languages. Among them the sports terms occupy a prominent position: football, volley-ball, baseball, hockey, cricket, rugby, tennis, golf, etc.
Fruits and foodstuffs imported from exotic countries often transport their names too and, being simultaneously imported to many countries, become international: coffee, cocoa, chocolate, coca-cola, banana, mango, avocado, grapefruit.
It is important to note that international words are mainly borrowings. The outward similarity of such words as the E. son, the Germ. Sohn and the R. сын should not lead one to the quite false conclusion that they are international words. They represent the Indo-Euroреаn group of the native element in each respective language and are cognates, i. e. words of the same etymological root, and not borrowings.
International words should not be mixed with words of the common Indo-European stock. This layer is of great importance for the foreign language teacher because he must know the most efficient ways of showing the points of similarity and difference between such words as control : : контроль; general : : генерал; industry : : индустрия or magazine : : магазин, etc. usually called ‘translator’s false friends’. False friends - words that have the same or similar form in two or more languages but different meanings in each. Popular (folk) etymology - false modification of an unknown word according to the known pattern without considering its true origin. The words like gillyflower or sparrow-grass are not actually compounds at all, they are cases of false-etymology, an attempt to find motivation for a borrowed word: gillyflower from OFr giroflé, crayfish (small lobster-like fresh-water crustacean, a spiny lobster) from OFr crevice, and sparrow-grass from Latin asparagus.
May-day (sometimes capitalised May Day) is an international radio signal used as a call for help from a ship or plane, and it has nothing to do with the name of the month, but is a distortion of the French m'aidez ‘help me’ and so is not a compound at all.