- •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
1. Morphological and Derivational Structure of Words.........................................57
2. Affixation.............................................................................................................61
3. Conversion...........................................................................................................67
4. Word-Composition (Compounding)...................................................................74
5. Minor Types of Word-Formation........................................................................82
Chapter 5. Word-groups and Phraseological Units..............................................90
1. Lexical Valency and Collocability......................................................................90
2. Criteria of Phraseological Units..........................................................................92
3. Classifications of Phraseological Units...............................................................95
4. Origin of Phraseological Units..........................................................................100
Chapter 6. Etymological Background of the English Vocabulary.....................104
1. What Is Etymology?...........................................................................................104
2. Native English Vocabulary................................................................................105
3. Loan Words and Their Role in the Formation of the English Vocabulary......106
4. Аssimilation of Borrowings..............................................................................113
5. Degree of Assimilation and Factors Determining It…………………………114
6. Impact of Borrowings on the English Language System.................................115
Literary Sources..................................................................................................120
Abbreviations and symbols
arch. – archaic parts of speech:
c. – century adj – adjective
cf. – compare adv – adverb
cogn.w. – cognate with n – noun
e.g. – for example num – numeral
f. – from part – participle
Fr – French prt – particle
Gk – Greek v – verb
Hind - Hindi
i.d. – that is
Jap – Japanese
L – Latin
LL – Late Latin
ME – Middle English
obs. – obsolete
OE – Old English
OF – Old French
ONF – Old Norman French
Sc – Scandinavian
Rus – Russian
vs. – versus, opposed to
* such word forms or elements do not exist
< coined or borrowed from
Introduction lexicology as a branch of linguistics.
Its subject matter and objectives
1. The Subject Matter of Lexicology.
Lexicology (from Greek lexis ‘word’ and logos ‘learning’) is a branch of linguistics dealing with the vocabulary (lexicon, word stock) of the language, its basic task being a study and systematic description of vocabulary in respect to its origin, development and current use. The term vocabulary, or lexicon is used to denote the system formed by the sum total of all the words that the language possesses. Word is one of the basic units of the language and a constituent part of vocabulary. Besides word Lexicology deals with other units of the language related to word: idioms, or phraseological units, and also morphemes - the parts of words which express meaning, such as prefixes and suffixes.
Lexicology has its own aims and methods of investigation. It studies all the aspects of the vocabulary of the language – the meaning of the words, the interrelation of meaning, the sound form and the object named, how objects get their names, how words are formed, how they have developed over time, how they are currently used, how they relate in meaning to each other, how they are handled in dictionaries and used in speech. Thus lexicology approaches the word as its basic units from various aspects: semantic, structural, cognitive, nominative, pragmatic and others. The lexicon is investigated as a system, the elements of which (words, idioms, morphemes) come into various relations such as similarities, differences, oppositions, inclusion, cross-section, on the basis of which they are grouped into certain classes.
Distinction is made between general and special lexicology. General lexicology is a part of general linguistics. It investigates lexical properties of vocabulary units common to all languages which are generally referred to as language universals. For example, to universals belong such phenomena as synonymy, antonymy, homonymy, etc. which are found in many languages but in each particular language there are unique relations between the elements that make up synonyms, antonyms, homonyms. Special lexicology devotes its attention to the description of characteristic features of vocabulary of a particular language (English, Russian, etc.). General and special lexicologies are interrelated and interconditioned. Special lexicologies are based on the principles worked out in the domain of general lexicology, and those principles depend on the data provided by special lexicologies.
Contrastive (comparative) lexicology studies the common properties and differences between lexical units of two or more languages. It is advisable to teachers and students of foreign languages to make use of the data provided by contrastive lexicology comparing the lexical peculiarities of one’s native tongue and the target language (e.g. Russian and English).
There are two principal approaches in linguistic science to the study of language material, namely the synchronic approach (Greek syn- ‘together, with’, chronos ‘time’) and the diachronic one (Greek dia- ‘through’). This idea was put forward by the eminent Swiss linguist F.de Saussure. The synchronic approach is concerned with the language, its phonetic, grammatical, lexical and other systems as they exist at a given period of time (past or present). The diachronic approach deals with the changes and the evolution of language units and systems in the course of time.
A happy example illustrating the difference between these approaches and their interrelation are the words to beg and beggar [Ginzburg 1979: 8]. Synchronically the word beggar is perceived as derived from to beg by analogy with such cases as to sing ––> singer, to teach ––> teacher, etc. But using the diachronic approach we discover that the word beggar was borrowed from Old French beghard, and to beg originated from beggar by back-formation (see ch.4. 5). A similar example is the Russian word зонтик, which synchronically is considered a suffixal derivative of зонт. But the diachronic approach proves that the word зонтик was borrowed from Holland zonnedeck, and зонт was coined later by back-formation.
It is special descriptive lexicology that deals with the vocabulary of a particular language at a certain time. A course in modern English lexicology is therefore a course in special descriptive lexicology, its object of study being the English vocabulary as it exists at the present time. Special historical lexicology deals with the evolution of the vocabulary units of a language as time goes by. English historical lexicology is concerned therefore with the origin of English vocabulary units, their change and evolution, it also investigates the factors – linguistic and extralinguistic, which influence their structure, meaning and usage.
It is important to note that these two approaches should not be contrasted, they are interconnected and interdependent: every linguistic structure and system actually exists in a state of constant change. The synchronic state of the language is the result of its evolutionary changes.
Thus the subject matter of the given course is lexicology of modern English, or special descriptive lexicology. One of the branches of lexicology – etymology is based on the data provided by historical lexicology.
Lexicology is linked with the other linguistic sciences: phonology, grammar, history of the English language, linguostylistics, sociolinguistics. All these branches of linguistics approach words from different aspects. Lexicology deals with morphemes, words and phrases laying emphasis on their meaning, structure, origin, evolution, systematic relations. Phonology investigates the sound form (the outer form) of the word. Grammar is concerned with various means of expressing grammatical relations between words. Linguostylistics studies stylistic properties of words which can be stylistically neutral or marked belonging to slang, jargon, colloquialisms or poetic, archaic, etc. words.
Lexicology is also linked with sociolinguistics, i.e. the branch of linguistics investigating the social nature of language, the influence of social life and public relations on the structure of the language. Language reacts to changes in social life. New developments in social life, science, technology, etc. lead to appearance of new words and phrases (neologisms): e-mail, Eurocrat, taikunaut, DVD, etc. In such cases we deal with extra-linguistic (versus linguistic) causes of vocabulary changes.