- •L.M. Takumbetоvа english lexicology preface
- •1. Morphological and Derivational Structure of Words.........................................57
- •Abbreviations and symbols
- •Introduction lexicology as a branch of linguistics.
- •Its subject matter and objectives
- •1. The Subject Matter of Lexicology.
- •2. The Theoretical and Practical Value of Lexicology
- •Questions and Tasks
- •2. The Problem of Word Definition
- •3. Types of Nomination and Motivation of Lexical Units
- •4. The Notion of Lexeme. Variants of Words
- •Questions and Tasks
- •Chapter 2 semasiology. The problem of meaning
- •1. Referential and Functional Approaches to Meaning
- •2. Types of Meaning
- •3. The Semantic Structure of Words. Polysemy
- •4. Сauses, Types and Results of Semantic Change
- •Questions and Tasks
- •Exercises
- •I. Which of the following words are monosemantic (use a dictionary)?
- •II. Group together the following pairs of words according to the lsVs they represent. Use dictionaries if necessary.
- •III. Define the meanings of the italicized words in the following sentences. Say how meanings of the same word are associated one with another.
- •IV. Explain the logical associations in the meanings of the same words in the following word combinations. Define the type of transference which has taken place.
- •V. Comment on the change of meanings in the italicized words.
- •Chapter 3 english vocabulary as a system
- •1. Semantic Classes of Lexemes in the Lexico-semantic
- •System of the English Language
- •2. Synonymy
- •3. Antonymy
- •4. Homonymy
- •The Origin of Homonyms in the English Language
- •Questions and Tasks
- •Exercises
- •I. Classify the following words into logical groups on the principle of hyponymy.
- •II. Arrange the following lexemes into three lexico-semantic groups - feelings, parts of the body, education.
- •III. Prove that the following sets of words are synonyms (use dictionaries).
- •IV. Find the dominant synonym in the following synonymic sets. Explain your choice.
- •V. Find antonyms for the words given below.
- •VI. A) Find the homonyms proper for the following words; give their Russian equivalents.
- •VI. Match the italicized words with the phonetics.
- •Chapter 4 morphological structure of english words and word formation
- •1. Morphological and Derivational Structure of Words
- •2. Аffixation
- •Clаssification of Prefixes
- •Classification of Suffixes
- •3. Conversion
- •Patterns of Semantic Relations by Conversion
- •Basic Criteria of Sеmantic Derivation within Conversion Pairs
- •4. Word-Composition (Compounding)
- •Classifications of Compound Words
- •Meaning and Motivation in Compound Words
- •Historical Changes of Compounds
- •5. Minor Types of Word-Formation
- •Questions and tasks
- •Exercises
- •I. A) Give examples of nouns with the following suffixes; state which of the suffixes are productive.
- •II. Explain the etymology and productivity of the affixes given below. Say what parts of speech they form.
- •III. In the following examples the italicized words are formed from the same root by means of different affixes. Translate these derivatives into Russian and explain the difference in meaning.
- •IV. Find cases of conversion in the following sentences.
- •V. Explain the semantic correlations within the following pair of words.
- •VI. Identify the compounds in the word-groups below. Say as much as you can about their structure and semantics.
- •VII. Match the following onomatopoeic words with the names of referents producing the sounds they denote in brackets.
- •VIII. Define the particular type of world-building process by which the following words were formed and say as much as you can about them.
- •Chapter 5 word-groups and phraseological units
- •1. Lexical Valency and Collocability
- •2. Criteria of phraseological units
- •3. Classifications of phraseological units
- •4. Origin of phraseological units
- •Questions and tasks
- •Exercises
- •I. What is the source and meaning of the following idioms?
- •II. Explain whether the semantic changes in the following units are complete or partial.
- •III. Give Russian equivalents of the following phraseological units from the list below.
- •IV. Give the proverbs from which the following phraseological units have developed.
- •V. Match the beginning of the proverb in the left-hand corner with its ending in the right-hand corner.
- •Chapter 6 etymological background of the english vocabulary
- •1. What Is Etymology?
- •2. Native English Vocabulary
- •3. Loan Words and Their Role in the Formation of the English Vocabulary
- •4. Assimilation of Borrowings
- •5. Degree of Assimilation and Factors Determining It
- •5. Impact of Borrowings on the English Language System
- •Quesions and Tasks
- •Exercises
- •I. Subdivide the following words of native origin into a) Indo-European, b) Germanic, c) English proper.
- •II. Distribute the following Latin borrowings into three groups according to the time of borrowing.
- •III. Find the examples of Scandinavian borrowings in the sentences given below. How can they be identified?
- •IV. Point out whether the italicized words in the sentences given below are Norman or Parisian French borrowings. How can they be identified?
- •V. Explain the etymology of the italicized words (native English and borrowings). Use etymological dictionaries if necessary.
- •VIII. Think of 10-15 examples of Russian borrowings in English and English borrowings in Russian. Literary sources
- •II. Optional
- •Dictionaries
- •Internet sources
The Origin of Homonyms in the English Language
Homonyms in the English language appeared due to the historical evolution of the language system, as a result of phonetic, morphological, semantic, etc. changes. Linguists point out two main processes that led to appearance of homonyms:
1. Сonvergent sound development: In the course of historical evolution the lexemes that primarily differed in their sound form came to coincide in their sound /graphic form due to phonetic and graphic changes which took place in Old English, Middle English and early New English periods : sea (ОЕ sæ):: see (OE seon), meat (OE mete):: meet (OE metan), eye (OE eage):: I (OE ic), son (OE sunu):: sun (OE sunne, sunna), love, n. (OE lufu):: love, v. (OE lufian), answer, n. (OE andswaru):: answer, v. (OE andswarian), work , n.(OE weorc):: work, v. (OE wyrcan).
As is known, phonetic changes resulted in changes in the morphological system of the English language, particularly in simplification and loss of inflections. These processes brought about phonetic identity of many words which earlier had different morphological structure: love, n. (OE lufu) and love, v. (OE lufian), answer, n. (OE andswaru) and answer, n. (OE andswarian), work, n. (OE weorc) and work, v. (OE wyrcan), warm, adj. (OE wearm) and warm, v. (OE werman) and many others. These numerous phonetic changes led to the fact that homonyms which appeared as a result of convergent sound development in English are so great in number. Numerous borrowings from other languages, mainly Romance languages (Latin and French) contributed to homonymy after they have undergone phonetic changes. For instance, case ‘instance or example of the occurrence of sth.’ (ME & OF f. L casus ‘fall’) case ‘box, container’ (f. ONF casse f. L capsa ‘hold’), also plain ‘easy to see, hear or understand’ ( ME f. OF plain, f. L planus), plain ‘mourn, complain’ (ME f. OF plaindre, f. L plangere ‘lament’), plane ‘tall, spreading tree, Rus. платан’ (ME & OF, f. L f. Gk platanos), plane ‘tool for smoothing surface of woodwork, Rus. рубанок, мастерок’ (ME & OF, LL plana), plane ‘flat or level surface’ (f. L planum).
2. Divergent meaning development (split of polysemy): Along with phonetic and morphological changes in the lexemes there occur semantic changes in polysemantic words. In consequence it may happen that the links of certain LSVs with their semantic structures are destroyed and lost. Such LSVs become new different words homonymous to the lexemes they have split from. In some cases they deviate to such an extent from their source word that they acquire different spelling. For example words flower and flour originated from the selfsame word ME & OF flour, flur, f. L florem, discrete and discreet from ME, f. OF discret f. L discretus.
In some controversial cases it is difficult to decide whether the split of polysemy has been completed or the lexeme is on the way to it as in the examples: case ‘instance or example of the occurrence of sth.’ case ‘question to be decided in a law court’, case ‘form of a noun or pronoun’; right ‘just, morally good’, right ‘of the side of the body’.
The main source of homonyms in modern English is word formation, mostly conversion (see the next chapter): nurse, n. > nurse, v., leaf, n. > leaf, v., father, n. > father, v. and many others.