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Лексикология

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   Lexicology
      -- English vocabulary as a system, the main peculiarities of English word-stock, the origin of English words, neologisms and archaisms
   1.1 English vocabulary as a system
   Modern English Lexicology aims at giving a systematic description of the word-stock of Modern English. It treats the following basic problems:
      -- Basic problems
      -- Semasiology;
      -- Word-Structure;
      -- Word-Formation;
      -- Etymology of the English Word-Stock;
      -- Word-Groups and Phraseological Units;
      -- Variants, dialects of the E. Language;
      -- English Lexicography.
  
   System is a set of competing possibilities in language, together with the rules for choosing them.
   Structuralism recognized that a language is best viewed as a system of elements, with each element being chiefly defined by its place within the system, by the way it is related to other elements.
   Language systems:
  -- speech
  -- syntactic
  -- lexical
  -- morphological
  -- phonetical
   Modern approaches to the problem of study of a language system are characterised by two different levels of study: syntagmatic and paradigmatic.
   Paradigmatic relations are the relation between set of linguistic items, which in some sense, constitute choices, so that only one of them may be present at a time in a given position. On the paradigmatic level, the word is studied in its relationships with other words in the vocabulary system.
   So, a word may be studied in comparison with other words of similar meaning (e. g. work, n. -- labour, n.; to refuse, v. -- to reject v. -- to decline, v.), of opposite meaning (e. g. busy, adj. -- idle, adj.; to accept, v, -- to reject, v.), of different stylistic characteristics (e. g. man, n. -- chap, n. -- bloke, n. -- guy, n.).
   Consequently, the main problems of paradigmatic studies of vocabulary are:
  -- synonymy
  -- hyponymy
  -- antonymy
  -- functional styles
  
  
  
   Syntagmatic relations
   On the syntagmatic level, the semantic structure of the word is analysed in its linear relationships with neighbouring words in connected speech. In other words, the semantic characteristics of the word are observed, described and studied on the basis of its typical contexts, in speech:
  -- phrases
  -- collocations
   Some collocations are totally predictable, such as spick with span, others are much less so: letter collocates with a wide range of lexemes, such as alphabet and spelling, and (in another sense) box, post, and write.
   Collocations differ greatly between languages, and provide a major difficulty in mastering foreign languages. In English, we 'face' problems and 'interpret' dreams; but in modern Hebrew, we have to 'stand in front of problems and 'solve' dreams.
   The more fixed a collocation is, the more we think of it as an 'idiom' - a pattern to be learned as a whole, and not as the 'sum of its parts'.
   Combination of paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations in lexical system determines vocabulary as a system.
  
   1.2 The main peculiarities of English word-stock
   There are a lot of variants of the English language:
   English as a native language
  -- Australia
  -- Canada
  -- the Commonwealth Caribbean
  -- Ireland
  -- New Zealand
  -- the United Kingdom
  -- United States of America (also commonly known as the Anglosphere)
   English as a second language
  -- India
  -- Sri Lanka
  -- Pakistan and South Africa
  
   Basic Engish is a simplified version of English for easy international use.
   Basic English (total of 850 words):
   Special English is a simplified version of English used by the Voice of America. It uses the vocabulary of only 1500 words.
   1.3 The origin of English words
   A very large number of words have been incorporated into the vocabulary of English from other languages. Such words are often called loan-words and the process by which they are brought into the language, is called borrowing.
   Borrowings may be classified:
  -- according to the time of borrowing
  -- according to the language from which the word was borrowed
  -- according to the degree of assimilation
  -- according to the aspect which is borrowed.
   In everyday speech, the majority of words will normally be Germanic. If a speaker wishes to make a forceful point in an argument in a very blunt way, Germanic words will usually be chosen.
   A majority of Latinate words (or at least a majority of content words) will normally be used in more formal speech and writing, such as a courtroom or an encyclopedia article.
   English easily accepts technical terms into common use. The vocabulary is vast. English has a well-defined centre but no discernible circumference (= no visible limits).
   OE words are of Anglo-Saxon origin.
   Words incorporated into English from other languages - loan-words. The process is called borrowing.
   I. Loan words from the point of view of the language they were taken from: cultural expansion, invasions, trade interaction.
   1. Anglo-Saxon words: are of Germanic origin, characteristic - it's used in everyday conversation; the most frequent words of English vocabulary; speaking Anglo-Saxon = speaking simply; they have French synonyms # sweat - perspire; begin - commence; book - volume; climb - ascend; most words have one or two syllables.
   2. The first wave of borrowings:
   a) 1 BC - Roman Empire occupied Europe and Germanic tribes left. Roman brought another everyday lexis: cherry, pear, plum, pepper, kitchen, pot, wine, milk.
   b) 5 AD - Celtic words came into Anglo-Saxon (names of rivers, geographic names, etc.) # Avon, Exe, Esk, Usk.
   c) 7 AD - Christianization of England, Latin was the official language of church. - religious words + education.
   d) 8 - 11 AD - several Scandinavian invasions, Vikings came to England. Characteristic feature: sk. # skim, skip, sky, skill, skirt. In OE - sc turned into sh. Some geographical names: +by - Willaby; another ending of geographic names - thwaite.
   e) 1066 - Norman invasion. They were speaking Northern French dialect of Normandy. Extremely significant; law, government, church, court, commerce; elevated style.
   # child - infant; happiness - felicity; begin - commence; hearty - cordial.
   Gastronomic terms: # to stew, boil, roast, fry
   To form a noun - suffixes: -ance, - ence, - ment, -age, -ess.
   Adjectives+ suffixes: -ous, -able.
   Verbs - prefix: -en #enact, enslave.
   f) Renaissance period - # salvation, baptism.
   15-16th centuries influence of Latin, Greek - vocabulary of education. # athlete, encyclopedia, climax.
   Most common affix: -urn, -us, -a, -ex, -ix # campus, chorus, diploma, matrix, index.
   Greek - -is, -on: analysis, crisis, phenomenon, neutron.
   NB: Russian origin: I Wave: words connected with trade # rouble, vodka, sterlad; nature: taiga, tundra.
   II. Wave: influence of Russian literature of 19th century # duma, zemstvo, narodnik
   III. Wave: after the Great October revolution: # komsomol, Bolshevik, sputnik;
   IV. Wave: Perestroyka: # glasnost, nomenklatura.
   German borrowings: (800 words) - after Renaissance - geological terms, names of raw materials, # cobalt; everyday life # iceberg, kindergarten; Luftwaffe, schmuk.
   Holland borrowings: (more than 2000 words) - nautical terms: # deck, riff, dock.
   Italian borrowings: commercial terms: # bank; musical terms.
   Spanish borrowings: (via America) food items: # melon, tomato.
        -- Neologisms and archaisms
   "Yesterday's neologisms, like yesterday's jargon, are often today's essential vocabulary."
   Neologism is a word, term, or phrase which has been recently created ("coined") -- often to apply to new concepts, to synthesize pre-existing concepts, or to make older terminology sound more contemporary. Neologisms are especially useful in identifying inventions, new phenomena, or old ideas which have taken on a new cultural context. The term "e-mail", as used today, is an example of a neologism.
   Neologisms can also refer to an existing word or phrase which has been assigned a new meaning.
   At the present moment English is developing very swiftly and there is so called "neology blowup". R. Berchfield who worked at compiling a four- volume supplement to NED says that averagely 800 neologisms appear every year in Modern English. It has also become a language-giver recently, especially with the development of computerization.
   New words, as a rule, appear in speech of an individual person who wants to express his idea in some original way. This person is called "originater". New lexical units are primarily used by university teachers, newspaper reporters, by those who are connected with mass media.
   Neologisms can develop in three main ways:
  -- a lexical unit existing in the language can change its meaning to denote a new object or phenomenon. In such cases we have semantic neologisms, e.g. the word "umbrella" developed the meanings: "авиационное прикрытие", "политическое прикрытие".
  -- A new lexical unit can develop in the language to denote an object or phenomenon which already has some lexical unit to denote it. In such cases we have transnomination, e.g. the word "slum" was first substituted by the word "ghetto" then by the word-group "inner town".
  -- A new lexical unit can be introduced to denote a new object or phenomenon. In this case we have "a proper neologism", many of them are cases of new terminology.
   Newly created words entering a language tend to pass through several stages:
  -- Unstable - Extremely new, being proposed, or being used only by a small subculture (also known as protologisms).
  -- Diffused - Having reached a significant audience, but not yet having gained widespread acceptance.
  -- Stable - Having gained recognizable and probably lasting acceptance.
  -- Dated - The point where the word has ceased holding novelty and has passed into clichИ, formal linguistic acceptance, or become culturally dated in its use
   Neologisms can be also classified according to the ways they are formed.
  -- phonological neologisms
  -- borrowings,
  -- semantic neologisms
  -- syntactical neologisms (morphological /word-building/ and phraseological /forming word- groups)
   Morphological and syntactical neologisms are usually built on patterns existing in the language, therefore they do not belong to the group of strong neologisms.
   Here also belong:
  -- call-and-recall - вызов на диспансеризацию,
  -- bioastronomy -search for life on other planets,
  -- rat-out - betrayal in danger ,
  -- zero-zero (double zero) - ban of longer and shorter range weapon,
  -- x-rated /about films terribly vulgar and cruel/,
  -- Ameringlish /American
   Formation of neologisms:
      -- affixation
   peacenik
   Bookateria
      -- abbreviation/blending
   lol
      -- word overlapping
   swellegant
      -- compounding
   skinhead
   greenback
      -- forming new words from combinations & sentences
   bold-headish
   6 o'clockish
      -- forming new words according to already existing productive patterns
   fingersmith - карманник
      -- lexicalization
   ism - as an independent word
   teens
  
   Archaisms are the language units that were current at one time but have passed out of use. It can be word, phrase or the use of spelling, letter or syntax. They are substituted by synonyms: # betwixt - between; hapless - unlikely. Some of them remain in a language but are used as stylistic devices to express solemnity. Used in poetry, law, etc.
   Types: - literary (seek to awoke the style of older speech and writing);
   - lexical (the use of words no longer in common use).
   Archaisms are frequently misunderstood, leading to changes in usage. One example is the use of the archaic familiar second person singular pronoun "thou" to refer to God in English Christianity. Although originally a familiar pronoun, it has been misinterpreted as a respectful one by many modern Christians.
   Used by lawyers in written form: # heretofore, hereunto, thereof
   Religious context - # with this ring I thee wed
   Obsolete words (lexical archaism) were once common but now are rare. Obsolete term is the one which is not in an active use any more.
   Lexical archaisms: horse - steed; kill - slay; sorrow - woe.
   Sometimes an archaism can get a new meaning: # fair - original meaning `beautiful'.
   Sometimes roots of words remain and affixes change - # beauteous.
      -- Morphological structure of English words. The most productive word-building types in English
   2.1 Morpheme
   The morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of form. Morphemes cannot be segmented into smaller units without losing their constitutive essence, i.e. two-facetedness -- association of a certain meaning with a certain sound-pattern. Morphemes occur in speech only as constituent parts of words but not independently.
   Morphemes may be classified
  -- from the semantic point of view
  -- from the structural point of view.
   Semantically morphemes fall into two types:
  -- root morphemes
  -- non-root morphemes
   Root-morphemes (or radicals)
   are the lexical nucleus of words. For example, in the words remake, glassful, disorder the root-morphemes -make, glass- and -order are understood as the lexical centres of the words. The root-morpheme is isolated as the morpheme common to a set of words making up a word-cluster, e.g. the morpheme teach- in to teach, teacher, teaching.
   Non-root morphemes
   include inflectional morphemes (or inflections) and affixational morphemes (or affixes). Inflections carry only grammatical meaning and are thus relevant only for the formation of word-forms, whereas affixes are relevant for building various types of stems'
   Structurally morphemes fall into three types:
  -- free morphemes;
  -- bound morphemes;
  -- semi-bound (semi-free) morphemes.
   A free morpheme is defined as one that coincides with the stem or a word-form.
   For example, the root-morpheme friend- of the noun friendship is naturally qualified as a free morpheme because it coincides with one of the forms of the word friend.
   A bound morpheme occurs only as a constituent part of a word.
   Affixes are bound morphemes for they always make part of a word. For example, the suffixes -ness, -ship, -ize in the words darkness, friendship, to activize; the prefixes im-, dis-, de- in the words impolite, to disregard, to demobilize.
   Some root-morphemes also belong to the class of bound morphemes. These are, as a rule, roots which are found in quite a limited number of words and never independently or pseudo-roots, i. e. root-morphemes which have lost most of the properties of "full" roots. Such are the root-morphemes goose- in gooseberry, -ceive in conceive.
   Semi-bound (semi-free) morphemes are morphemes that can function in a morphemic sequence both as an affix and as a free morpheme. For example, the morphemes well and half on the one hand occur as free morphemes that coincide with the stem and the word-form in the utterances to sleep well, half an hour, on the other hand well and half occur as bound morphemes in the words well-known, half-done.
   Morphemes can be:
   1. Inflectional - vary or inflect the forms of words in order to express grammatical feature. # tense and number - boy - boys.
   Features: - generally don't change basic meaning or part of speech;
   - generally express grammatically required features or indicate relations between different words in the sentence. # Lee loves Kim.
   - generally are productive typically combine freely with all members of some large class of morphemes with quite a predictable effect on usage and meaning;
   - occur outside any derivational morphemes.
   - suffixes only
   2. Derivational - make new words from old ones.
   Features: - change the part of speech or the basic meaning of a word
   - not required by syntactic relations outside the word # unkind
   - often not productive i.e. they can be selective about what they will combine with and also have erratic effect on the meaning # -hood + brother/ child - brotherhood; childhood
   - typically occur between the stem any inflectional affixes: # neighborhoods
   - in English it is prefixes or suffixes.
   Types of meaning in morphemes
   In morphemes different types of meaning can be singled out depending on the semantic class morphemes belong to.
   Root-morphemes possess
  -- lexical
  -- differential
  -- distributional meaning.
   Affixational morphemes have
  -- lexical
  -- part-of-speech
  -- differential
  -- distributional types of meaning
   Lexical meaning of morphemes may be analysed into denotational and connotational components. The denotational meaning in affixes is more generalized than in root-morphemes, e.g. -er carries the meaning the doer of the action: reader, teacher, singer. All endearing and diminutive suffixes bear a heavy emotive charge: -ie (girlie, dearie); -ette (kitchenette). Many stylistically marked affixes are bookish or scientific: a- (amoral); -oid (rhomboid).
   All suffixes and some prefixes possess grammatical (part-of-speech) meaning: -ness (emptiness) carries the nominal meaning of thigness. Root-morphemes do not possess any grammatical meaning: in the root-morpheme man- (manly) there is no grammatical meaning of case and number observed in the word man.
   Grammatical and lexical meaning in suffixes are blended: -er (teacher) carries the meaning thingness (noun) and the doer of the action.
   In all polymorphemic words their constituent morphemes possess two more types of meaning: differential and distributional. Differential meaning distinguishes a word from all others containig identical morphemes: in the word teacher the root teach- differentiates it from other words beginning in teach (teaching). Distributional meaning is the meaning of the order and arrangement of the constituent morphemes: ring-finger, singer. A different arrangement of the same morphemes will change the meaning of the word or make the word meaningless: finger-ring, er-singer.
   Morphemic types of words
   Monomorphic or root-words consist of only one root-morpheme (small, dog, make). Polymorphic words according to the number of root-morphemes are classified into: a) monoradical (one-root morpheme) and b) polyradical (words consisting of two or more roots).
   Monoradical words fall into three subtypes:
   radical-suffixal words, i.e. words consisting of one root-morpheme and one or more suffixal morphemes (e.g. acceptable, acceptability);
   radical-prefixal words, i.e. words consisting of one root-morpheme and a prefixal morpheme (e.g. outdo, unbutton);
   prefixo-radical-suffixal words, i.e. words which consist of one root, prefixal and suffixal morphemes (e.g. disagreeable, misinterpre­tation)
   Polyradical words fall into two subtypes:
   polyradical words which consist of two or more roots with no affixational morphemes (e.g. book-stand, lamp-shade);
   polyradical words which contain at least two roots and one or more affixational morphemes (e.g. safety-pin, light-mindedness, pen-hold­er).
   2.2 The most productive word-building types in English
   Word-building is one of the main ways of enriching vocabulary. There are 8 ways of word-building in Modern English:
  -- conversion,
  -- composition,
  -- affixation
  -- shortening.
  -- sound-interchange,
  -- stress interchange,
  -- sound imitation,
  -- blends,
  -- back formation (disaffixation).
   The most productive are composition (compounding), affixation and conversion.
   2.2.1 Conversion
   Conversion is one of the principal ways of forming words in Modern English. It is highly productive in replenishing the English word-stock with new words. Conversion can be defined as the derivation of a new word without any over marking. In order to find cases of conversion we have to look for pairs of words that are derivationally related and are completely identical in their phonetic realization.
  
   This immense productivity of conversion is encouraged by features in its modern stage: - analytical structure; - simplicity of paradigms; - abundance of one-syllabic words (flexibility and mobility); - convenient way of enriching the vocabulary with new words. The productivity finds its reflection in speech; abundance of nonce-words. It's a vital and developing process that penetrates colloquial language. Subconsciously every speaker understands his making a new word.
  
   The most frequent semantically related groups in conversion are nouns and verbs derived from them.
   The lexical meaning of the verb points out the instrument, the agent, the place, the cause, the result, the time of action
   Instrumental meaning:
   parts of human body - to finger ( to touch with fingers
   tools, machines, weapons - to free- wheel ( to go with the engine switched off)
   AGENT:
   to crowd - to come together in large numbers
   to ape - to imitate in a foolish way as an ape does
   LOCATION
   to bag - to put in a bag
   to bottle - to store in bottles
  
   Some authors don't consider conversion in: - laugh - to laugh; work - to work; - drink - to drink.
   Etymology: OE noun lufu; verb lufian.
   The point was in dropping of the ending. However, still this zero affixation is no point since there's same stem and different paradigm.
   Categories of speech that are especially affected by conversion:
   - verbs made from nouns are the most numerous - # to hand, to blacklist, to bottle;
   - nouns from verbs - # a go, a make, a cut;
   - verbs from adjective - # to pale, to yellow, to grey;
   - adjectives from nouns - a native, a relative, a Russian
   - but there are also: to down, ifs and buts; ins and outs (FROM ANY PART OF SPEECH).
   Criteria of direction of conversion:
  -- semantic - defines the frequency of usage; also if one word is used only in one of its forms # to neighbour - a neighbour.
  -- Stylistic
  -- Type of semantic structure
  -- Formal criteria - morphological structure of the word (suffixes etc.) - shows the original part of speech: a document - to document.
  
   2.2.2 Composition (compounding)
   Compounds represent one of the most typical and specific features of English word-structure.
   Compounds are produced by combining two or more stems.
   The aspect of identification of a compound word:
  -- two or more stems
   There's a problem: in which case the word is a combination or compounding?
   Criteria for differentiation:
  -- phonetic - emphasis: compounds have one main stress
  -- morphological - morphological unity of a compound: every compound has one paradigm;
  -- syntactic - limitation of collocations of compound words;
  -- semantic - semantic unity of a compound word; meaning's not transparent;
  -- orthographic - whether it's hyphenated; written as one word.
   There are three important peculiarities distinguishing compounding in English from compounding in other languages:
      -- Both constituents of an English compound are free forms.
   Examples:
   afternoon, anyway, somebody, schoolboy, railway, mankind, post-card, grown-up
   In English bound forms like Anglo-Saxon, Indo-European or politico-economical occur very rarely and seem to be avoided.
      -- The regular pattern for the English language is a two-stem compound.
   ! An exception to this rule is observed when the combining element is represented by a form-word stem:
   man-of-war, good-for-nothing, mother-in-law
      -- One more feature - attributive syntactic function - plays important role in providing a phrase with structural cohesion and thus turning it into compound:
   ... we've done last-minute changes before... (compound)
   Compare: we changed it at the last minute more than once (adverbial free phrase)
   Sometimes the author creates these "nonce-compounds" (окказиональные )
   Example:
   This is the-man-I-saw-yesterday's daughter.
  
   Correlational types of compounds
   Traditionally they distinguish three types of compounds:
  -- neutral
  -- morphological
  -- syntactic
      -- In the first type neutral compounds the process of compounding is realized without any linking elements, by a mere juxtaposition of two stems, such as:
   blackbird
   bedroom
   tallboy
   sunflower
   The second subtype of neutral compounds is called derived or derivational compounds. The productivity of this type is confirmed by a considerable number of comparatively recent formations, such as teenager, babysitter, double-decker.
   The third subtype of neutral compounds is called contracted compounds. These words have shortened (contracted) stem in their structure
   TV-set
   V-day (Victory day)
   G-man (Government man, "FBI agent")
   T-shirt
   2) Morphological compounds are few in number. This type is represented by words in which two compounding stems are combined by a linking vowel or consonant.
   e.g. Anglo-Saxon
   handiwork
   Franko-Prussian
   statesman
   3) In syntactic compounds we may find a feature of specifically English word-structure. These words are formed from segments of speech, preserving in their structure numerous traces of syntagmatic relations typical of speech: articles, prepositions, adverbs.
   e.g. Jack-of-all-trades
   good-for-nothing
   mother-in-law
   The compounds the meanings of which do not correspond to the separate meanings of their constituent parts (2,3 groups) are called idiomatic compounds, in the contrast to the first group known as non-idiomatic compounds.
  
   2.2.3 Affixation
   Affixation has been one of the most productive ways of word-building throughout the history of English. It consists in adding an affix to the stem of a definite part of speech. Affixation is divided into suffixation and prefixation.
   There's not rigid classification of suffixes. No definition of a suffix, esp when we speak about semi-affixes. # iceberg; ice-cream - some believe that ice is a prefix in cases when it has lost its concrete meaning.
   Classification according to their origin (etymological point of view):
   - native; (-er, -dom)
   - borrowed. (-tion, -age)
   Classification #2.
  -- productive - ones which take part in deriving new words in this particular period of language development - look for them among neologisms and nonce-words - er, -ess, -ism, -ing, -ist, -ant; -y; -ed; -less, -able, un-, re-, dis. Nonce-words are coined and used only for this particular occasion.
   # unputdownable
  -- Non-productive
   # th, -hood, -dom; -en, -ous.
   There are a number of high-frequency affixes which are no longer used in forming new words.
   # -ly, -ful, -ent, -al, -ant.
   Semantics of Affixes.
   Three main approaches:
   - no meaning, the role is to shape the word structure.
   # syntactic derivation - the rich, the old
   - affixes may be characterized as bearing some shade of meaning
   # modificational affixes; emotional affixes - dog - doggy
   - affixes bear the meaning of a category
   # categorized meaning (very vast) - er - designating persons from the object of their occupation - # doer, painter; - ful - full of sth # wonderful; ish - implies insufficiency of quality - greenish.
   Not only the suffix adds its own meaning to the meaning of the root but the suffix is also affected by the root and undergoes certain semantic changes.
      -- Phraseology: the main principles for classifying phraseological units
   Phraseology describes the context in which a word is used. This often includes typical usages/sequences, such as idioms, phrasal verbs, and multi-word units. Phraseological units are (according to Prof. Kunin A.V.) stable word-groups with partially or fully transferred meanings (e.g., "to kick the bucket").
   Phraseological units are word-groups that cannot be made in the process of speech, they exist in the language as ready-made units. They are compiled in special dictionaries. Like words, phraseologocal units express a single notion and are used in a sentence as one part of it. American and British lexicographers call such units idioms.
   3 types of lexical combinability of words:
   1).  Free combination
Grammatical properties of words are the main factor of their combinability.
   Ex.: I'm talking to you. You are writing.
   Free combinations permit substitution of any of its elements without semantic change of the other element.
   2). Collocations.
   Ex.: to commit a murder
   Blue sky
   Bright day
   They are the habitual associations of a word in a language with other particular words. Speakers become accustomed to such collocations.
   Very often they are related to the referential & situational meaning of words.
Sometimes there are collocations, which are removed from the reference to extra-linguistic reality.
(collocations involving, colour words)
   Ex.: to be green with jealousy
   3).  Idioms
   Idioms are also collocations, because they consist of several words that tend to be used together, but the difference - we can't guess the meaning of the whole idiom from the meanings of its parts.
   This criterion is called the degree of semantic isolation.
In different types of idioms - it is different.
   Ex.: to cry a blue murder = to complain loudly
   Semantic classification of phraseological units
   Phraseological units can be classified according to the degree of motivation of their meaning. This classification was suggested by acad. V.V. Vinogradov for Russian phraseological units. He pointed out three types of phraseological units:
   a) fusions where the degree of motivation is very low, we cannot guess the meaning of the whole from the meanings of its components, e.g. on Shank`s mare (on foot); in Russian: бить баклуши;
   b) unities where the meaning of the whole can be guessed from the meanings of its components, but it is transferred (metaphorically or metonimically), e.g. to play the first fiddle (to be a leader in something), old salt (experienced sailor);
   c) collocations where words are combined in their original meaning but their combinations are different in different languages, e.g. cash and carry - self-service shop, in a big way (in great degree).
   Structural classification of phraseological units
   Prof. A.I. Smirnitsky worked out a detaiked structural classification of phraseological units, comparing them with words. He points out one-top units which he compares with affixed words because affixed words have only one root morpheme. And he points out two-top units which he compares with compound words because in compound words we usually have two root morphemes.
   Among one-top units he points out three structural types:
   a) units of the type to give up (verb + postposition type);
   b) units of the type to be tired;
   c) prepositional-nominal phraseological units. These units are equivalents of unchangeable words: prepositions, conjunctions, adverbs, e.g. on the doorstep - quite near, in the course of - during.
   Among two-top units A.I. Smirnitsky points out the following structural types:
   a) attributive-nominal, e.g. a month of Sundays, grey matter;
   b) verbal-nominal, e.g. to read between the lines; to speak BBC;
   c) phraseological repetitions, e.g. now or never, part and parcel
   Syntactical classification of Structural classification of phraseological units
   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 phraseological units denoting an object, a person, a living being,
   e.g. bullet train, a latchkey child;
   b) verb phraseological units denoting an action, a state, a feeling,
   e.g. to break the log-jam, to get on somebody`s coattails, to be on the beam;
   c) adjective phraseological units denoting a quality,
   e.g. loose as a goose, dull as lead;
   d) adverb phraseological units, e.g. with a bump, in the soup;
   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!
   In I.V. Arnold classification there are also sentence equivalents: proverbs, sayings and quotations, e.g. The sky is the limit, What makes him tick, I am easy.
   Proverbs are usually metaphorical, e.g. Too many cooks spoil the broth,
   while sayings are, as a rule, non-metaphorical, e.g. Where there is a will, there is a way -
   Кто хочет, тот добьется.
  
      -- Social and territorial dispersal of English vocabulary
        -- English
   English is a West Germanic language that developed in England and south-eastern Scotland during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the United Kingdom from the 18th century, and of the United States since the mid 20th century, it has become the lingua franca in many parts of the world, and the most prominent language in international business and science. It is used extensively as a second language and as an official language in the European Union and many Commonwealth countries, as well as many international organizations.
  
        -- Variants of English
   Variants of English are regional varieties possessing a literary norm.
   There are variants that exist on the territory of the United Kingdom (British English, Scottish English and Irish English) and variants existing outside the British Isles (American English, Canadian i, Australian English, New Zealand English, South African and Indian English).
   Standard English may be defined as that form of English which is current and literary, substantially uniform and recognized as acceptable wherever English is spoken or understood. Standard English is the variety most widely accepted and understood either within an English-speaking country or throughout the entire English-speaking world.
   Scottish English and Irish English have a special linguistic status as compared with dialects because of the literature composed in them.
   Scottish English is considered the variant of the English language spoken in Scotland. Scottish English has a long tradition as a separate written and spoken variety.
   The uniqueness of Scottish English can be explained by its historical development. For almost three centuries, Scottish English has shaded into, and compromised with, both Scots on one side and the usage of England and Ireland on the other. Most people range from kinds of urban and rural Scots through mixed usage to kinds of Scottish Standard English. In addition, three sources of tension affected greatly the development of Scottish English:
   1) the tension between Scotland and England;
   2) the tension between Highlands and Lowlands, Scotland and Ireland;
   3) the tension between Protestants and Catholics'.
   The identity of Scottish English reflects an institutionalized social structure, as it is most noticeable in the realms of law, local government, religion, and education, and raises problems of intelligibility that have no parallel elsewhere in Britain.
   Among lexical peculiarities of Scottish English the following linguistic facts are of importance:
   1) some semantic fields are structured differently in Scottish English and in British English. For example, the term minor in British English is used to denote a person below the age of 18 years, while Scottish law distinguishes between pupils (to age 12 for girls and 14 for boys) and minors (older children up to 18);
   2) some words used in Scottish English have equivalents in British English, e.g. (ScE) extortion -- (BrE) blackmail;
   3) a great deal of the distinctiveness of Scottish English derives from the influence of other languages, especially Gaelic, Norweigean, and French. For example, Gaelic borrowings include: cairn -- 'a pile of stones that marks the top of a mountain or some other special place', sporran -- 'a small furry bag that hangs in front of a man's kilt as part of traditional Scottish dress';
   4) there are also many words which have the same form, but different meanings in Scottish English and British English. For example, the word gate in Scottish English means 'road';
   5) some Scottish words and expressions are used and understood across virtually the whole country, e.g. dinnae ('don't'), wee ('small'), kirk ('church'), lassie ('girl').
   Irish English is considered the variant of the English language used in Ireland. It is also widely referred to as Hiberno-English or Anglo-Irish. Anglo-Irish is the oldest, long associated with people of mainly English origin. As a result the term is socially and historically ambiguous, and Irish people are often uncomfortable with it. It does not therefore work well as a cover term for all usage in Ireland. The term Hiberno-English avoids this difficulty, but runs the other way: it tends to exclude the Anglo-Irish and the descendants of Protestant settlers. And Irish English is transparent and is unlikely to be misinterpreted.
   Therefore Irish English subsumes all the Englishes of the island, and other terms stand for subvarieties. The two main politico-linguistic divisions are Southern and Northern.
   The Irish English vocabulary is characterized by the following distinctive features:
   1) the presence of words with the same form as in British English but different meanings in Irish English, e.g. backward -- 'shy'; to doubt -- 'to believe strongly'; bold -- 'naughty';
   2) the use of most regionally marked words by older, often rural people, e.g. biddable-- 'obedient';feasant -- 'affable';
   3) the presence of nouns taken from Irish which often relate either to food or the supernatural, e.g. banshee -- 'fairy woman' from bean sidhe;
   4) the Gaelic influence on meanings of some words, e.g. in to destroy and drenched. These words have the semantic ranges of their Gaelic equivalents mill 'to injure, spoil' and bdite 'drenched, drowned, very wet';
   5) the presence of words typical only of Irish English (the so-called Irishisms), e.g. begorrah --'by God'; 6) the layer of words shared with Scottish English, e.g. ava -- 'at all'; greet -- 'cry, weep'; brae -- 'hill, steep slope'.
   American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two thirds of native speakers of English live in the United States. The use of English in the United States was inherited from British colonization. The first wave of English-speaking settlers arrived in North America in the 17th century.
  
   Differences in morphology
  -- Examples of verbed nouns are: interview, advocate, vacuum, lobby, etc.
  -- Compounds coined in the U.S.: teenager, brainstorm, hitchhike
  -- Many compound nouns have the form verb plus preposition: rundown ("summary"), takeover, rollback ("decrease").
  -- Some prepositional and phrasal verbs are in fact of American origin: figure out, hold up, check in
  -- Noun endings such as: -ee (refugee), -ery (bakery), -ster (gangster) and -cian (beautician)
  -- Some verbs ending in -ize are of U.S. origin: prioritize, editorialize, customize.
  
   Canadian English is the variety of North American English used in Canada. Approximately 17 million have English as their native language. Similarity to the Western and Midlands regions of the United States.
   Absence of dialect diversity. But many areas have been influenced by French, and there are notable local variations. The languages of Canadian Aboriginal peoples started to influence European languages used in Canada even before widespread settlement took place
   The French of Lower Canada provided vocabulary to the English of Upper Canada.
   Canadian English is the product of four waves of immigration and settlement over a period of almost two centuries.
   Waves of immigration
   1) permanent English-speaking settlement in Canada, and linguistically the most important, was the influx of British Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, chiefly from the Mid-Atlantic States.
   2) from Britain and Ireland was encouraged to settle in Canada after the War of 1812 by the governors of Canada, who were worried about anti-English sentiment among its citizens.
   3, 4) from around the globe peaking in 1910 and 1960 had a lesser influence, but they did make Canada a multicultural country, ready to accept linguistic change from around the world during the current period of globalization.
   Canadian spelling of the English language combines British and American rules.
   Most notably, French-derived words that in American English end with -or and -er, such as color or center, usually retain British spellings (colour, honour and centre), although American spellings are not uncommon.
   In other cases, Canadians and Americans stand at odds with British spelling, such as in the case of nouns like tire and curb, which in British English are spelled tyre and kerb. Words such as realize and recognize are usually spelled with -ize rather than -ise.
   Where CanE shares vocabulary with other English dialects, it tends to share most with American English; however, many terms in standard CanE are shared with Britain.
   In some cases the British and the American vocabulary to various extent.
   # holiday vacation often used interchangeably
   As a member of the Commonwealth of Nations Canada shares many items of institutional terminology with the countries of the former British Empire
   e.g., constable, for a police officer of the lowest rank
   But in Canada only the term freshman (usually reduced to frosh) is used.
   Canadian students use the term marks (more common in England) or grades to refer to their results.
   New Zealand English - M?ori influence
   E.g. Taumarunui - tau-ma-ru-nu-i
   Differences from British English:
  -- Use of mixed vowels
   E.g. Transplant
  -- Rising inflection (known in linguistics as a high rising terminal)
   Use of she as third person neuter
  -- e.g. "She'll be right" - "It will be okay" or "It is close enough to what is required"
   ex., chook - chicken
   to bust a gust - to make an intense effort
   Kiwi - New Zealander
   Australian English began diverging from British English shortly after the foundation of the Australian penal colony of New South Wales (NSW) in 1788.
   British convicts including the Cockneys of London from large British cities
   During the 1850s, when Great Britain and Ireland were under economic hardship, about two per cent of their combined population emigrated to the Colony of NSW and the Colony of Victoria.
   "Americanisation" of the language the introduction of words, spellings, terms, and usages from North American English during WW1.
   Since the 1950s, American influence has mostly arrived via pop culture, the mass media --computer software -- and the world wide web.
   Australianisms fall into 6 categories:
      -- Words from the aboriginal languages: boomerang, kangaroo
      -- Extensions of pre-existing senses: bush - natural vegetation, ranch ( ранчо - раньше только в Сев. Америке)
      -- Novel compounds: bushman - sb. skilled in traversing the bush, bushranger - an armed bandit
      -- Novel fixed phrases: colonial ale, wild banana
      -- Coinage: go slow - a form of industrial protest in which employees work to rule, woop-woops - remote country
      -- Words with greater currency in Australia than elsewhere, including new applications of words from British regional dialects: dinkum - reliable, larrikin - hooligan.
  
        -- Local dialects
  
   Local dialects in the USA
  -- The Northern
  -- Midland speech
  -- The Southern
  
   Local dialects in Great Britain
  -- Southern dialects
  -- Northern dialects
  -- Midlands dialects
   Southern dialects:
   Cockney, the regional dialect of London.
   Estuary English, common in the South-East of England, especially along the river Thames and its estuary.
   Bristolian, Bristol
   The Norfolk dialect, county of Norfolk in England
   Cockney
   This dialect exists on two levels:
  -- As spoken by the educated lower middle classes it is a regional dialect marked by some deviations in pronunciation but few in vocabulary and syntax.
  -- As spoken by the uneducated, Cockney differs from Standard English not only in pronunciation but also in vocabulary, morphology and syntax.
  
  -- Cockney is lively and witty
  -- its vocabulary is imaginative and colourful.
  -- It is characterized by so-called rhyming slang
   Cockney rhyming slang works by taking two words that are related through a short phrase and using the first word to stand for a word that rhymes with the second.
   ex., "telling porkies" meaning lies as "pork pies" rhymes with lies
  
   The origin of rhyming slang
  -- a linguistic accident
  -- it was developed intentionally to confuse non-locals
  
   The film The Limey (1999)
   Wilson: Can't be too careful nowadays, y'know? Lot of tea leaves about, know what I mean?
   Warehouse Foreman: Excuse me?
   Wilson: "Tea leaves"... "thieves".
  
      -- Lexicography as a science. Historical development of British and American lexicography. Types of dictionaries.
   5.1 Lexicography as a science
   Lexicography, that is the theory and practice of compiling dictionaries, is an important branch of applied linguistics.
   Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries.
   Theoretical lexicography is the scholarly discipline of analyzing and describing the semantic relationships within the lexicon (vocabulary) of a language and developing theories of dictionary components and structures linking the data in dictionaries
   General lexicography focuses on the design, compilation, use and evaluation of general dictionaries, i.e. dictionaries that provide a description of the language in general use. Such a dictionary is usually called a general dictionary or LGP dictionary.
   Specialized lexicography focuses on the design, compilation, use and evaluation of specialized dictionaries, i.e. dictionaries that are devoted to a (relatively restricted) set of linguistic and factual elements of one or more specialist subject fields, e.g. legal lexicography. Such a dictionary is usually called a specialized dictionary or LSP dictionary.
   What we have noticed is that some of the principles involved in the making of dictionaries are clearly of a lexical or lexicological nature, while others derive rather from the area of book production. On occasions a decision may be affected by both kinds of principle, and one may be ignored in favour of the other. A decision of this kind is the one that relates to the treatment of lexemes with multiple word-class membership (such as skin п., v.). If these are accorded separate headwords because the layout of the page is thereby rendered more attractive, then the decision is informed by the principles of book production. If, however, only one headword is entered, with the consequently longer and denser entry, then it is likely that the decision has been taken on lexical grounds. It is possible, of course, that the separate headwords decision was based on lexical principles also.
   To the extent that decisions in dictionary compilation are informed by lexical principles, we may say, as Doroszewski does, that they are derived from lexicological theory. Indeed many aspects of lexicography must derive from explicit or implicit lexicological theory. For example, the question of what constitutes a lexeme is a lexicological matter, including the definition of the class of compounds or the classes of derivations. Lexicology is likewise concerned to investigate questions of homonymy and poly­semy, which are of great importance to lexicography. Indeed generally, lexicology investigates how to describe lexemes, both formally and semantically. Some lexicological theory (e.g. lexical field analysis) which we may consider of particular relevance to lexicography, has not yet been applied widely in dictionary compilation. This may be either because lexicography as a profession does not or cannot conceive of dictionaries handling lexical description in that way, or because lexicography does not explicitly recognise lexicology as its theoretical basis.
   It is probably fair to say that lexicography developed its own principles and traditions independently of the linguistic sciences generally; and it is only in the relatively recent past that explicit links between lexicography and linguistics have been recognised. Webster's Third New Inter­national Dictionary (1961) was the first to acknowledge the influence of modern linguistics, and then really in two areas only: the representation of pronunciation, and a generally descriptivist rather than prescriptivist stance. Many current dictionaries are, of course, linguistically informed, and compiled by lexicographers who have been trained in linguistics. Indeed, it is not just lexicology which provides descriptive apparatus for lexicography, but other branches of linguistics as well. For example, the study of language variety, which is part of sociolinguistics, contributes to the marking of style and register/domain in dictionaries.
   Some of the main problems in lexicography
   The most important problems of lexicography are connected with: 1) the selection of lexical units for inclusion; 2) the arrangement of the selected lexical units; 3) the setting of the entry; 4) the selection and arrangement of word-meanings; 5) the definition of meanings; 6) the illustrative material.
   The selection of lexical units for inclusion. The choice of lexical units for inclusion is the first problem the lexicographer faces. It is ne­cessary to decide: a) what types of lexical units will be chosen for the inclusion; b) the number of these items; c) what to select and what to leave out in the dictionary; d) which form of the language, spoken or written or both, the dictionary is to reflect; e) whether the dictionary should contain obsolete units, technical terms, dialectisms, colloquial­isms, and some others.
        -- Historical development of British and American lexicography
   The history of compiling dictionaries for English comes as far back as the Old English period, where we can find glosses of religious books / interlinear translations from Latin into English/. Regular bilingual dictionaries began to appear in the 15-th century /Anglo-Latin, Anglo-French , Anglo-German/.
   The first unilingual dictionary explaining difficult words appeared in 1604, the author was Robert Cawdry, a schoolmaster. He compiled his dictionary for schoolchildren. In 1721 an English scientist and writer Nathan Bailey  published the first etymological dictionary which explained the origin of English words. It was the first scientific dictionary, it was compiled for philologists.
   In 1775 an English scientist compiled a famous explanatory dictionary. Its author was Samuel Johnson. Every word in his dictionary was illustrated by examples from English literature, the meanings of words were clear from the contexts in which they were used.. The dictionary was a great success and it influenced the development of lexicography in all countries.  The dictionary influenced normalization of the English vocabulary. But at the same time it helped to preserve the English spelling in its conservative form.
   In 1858  one of the members of the English philological society Dr. Trench raised the question of compiling a dictionary including    all   the   words    existing   in   the   language. The philological   society adopted the decision to compile the dictionary  and the work started. More than a thousand people took part in collecting examples, and 26 years later in 1884 the first volume was published. It contained words beginning with "A" and "B". The last volume was published in 1928 that is 70 years after the decision to compile it was adopted. The dictionary was called NED and contained 12 volumes.
   In 1933 the dictionary was republished under the title "The Oxford English Dictionary", because the work on the dictionary was conducted in Oxford. This dictionary contained 13 volumes. As the dictionary was very large and terribly expensive scientists continued their work and compiled shorter editions of the dictionary: "A Shorter Oxford Dictionary" consisting of two volumes. It had the same number of entries, but far less examples from literature. They also compiled "A Concise Oxford Dictionary" consisting of one volume and including only modern words and no examples from literature.
   The American lexicography began to develop much later, at the end of the 18-th century. The most famous American English dictionary was compiled by Noah Webster. He was an active statesman and public man and he published his first dictionary in 1806. He went on with his work on the dictionary and in 1828 he published a two-volume dictionary. He tried to simplify the English spelling and transcription. He introduced the alphabetical system of transcription where he used letters and combinations of letters instead of transcription signs.  He denoted vowels in closed syllables by the corresponding vowels, e.g. / a/,  /e/, / i/, / o/, /u/. He denoted vowels in the open syllable  by the same letters, but with a dash above them,e.g.  / a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/.  He denoted vowels in the position before /r/ as the same letters with two dots above them, e.g. / a/, /o/ and by  the letter "e" with two dots above it for the combinations "er",  "ir", "ur" because they are pronounced identically.  The same tendency is preserved for other sounds : /u:/ is denoted by /oo/, /y/ is used for the sound /j/ etc.
   Modern trends in English lexicography are connected with the appearance and rapid development of such branches of linguistics as corpus (or corpus-based) linguistics and computational linguistics.
   Corpus (or corpus-based) linguistics deals mainly with compiling various electronic corpora for conducting investigations in different linguistic fields such as phonetics, phonology, grammar, stylistics, graphology, discourse, lexicon and many others. Corpora are large and systematic enterprises: whole texts or whole sections of text are included, such as conversations, magazine articles, brochures, newspapers, lectures, sermons, broadcasts, chapters of novels, etc. A well-constructed general corpus enables investigators to make more objective and confident descriptions of usage of words, to make statements about frequency of usage in the language as a whole, as well as comparative statements about usage in different varieties, permits them to arrive at a total account of the linguistic features in any of the texts contained in the corpus; provides investigators with a source of hypotheses about the way the language works.
   Computational linguistics is the branch of linguistics in which the techniques of computer science are applied to the analysis and synthesis of language and speech.
   The use of language corpora and the application of modern computational techniques in various lexicographical researches and in dictionary-making in particular, have stipulated the appearance of corpus (or corpus-based) lexicography and computational lexicography.
   5.3 Types of dictionaries
   The term 'dictionary' is used to denote a book that lists the words of a language in a certain order (usually alphabetical) and gives their meanings, or that gives the equivalent words in a different language.
   According to the choice of items included and the sort of information given about these items dictionaries may be divided into two big groups -- encyclopedic and linguistic.
   Encyclopedic dictionaries are scientific reference books dealing with every branch of knowledge, or with one particular branch, usually in alphabetical order, e.g. the Oxford Paperback Encyclopedia, Random House Webster's Biographical Dictionary. Encyclopedic dictionaries are thing-books, that give information about the extra-linguistic world, they deal with facts and concepts. The best-known encyclopedias of the English-speaking world are the Encyclopaedia Britannica and the Encyclopaedia Americana.
   Linguistic dictionaries are word-books the subject-matter of which is lexical units and their linguistic properties such as pronunciation, meaning, origin, peculiarities of use, and other linguistic information.
   Linguistic dictionaries can be further divided into different categories by different criteria.
   According to the scope of their word-list linguistic dictionaries are divided into general and restricted.
   General dictionaries represent the vocabulary as a whole with a degree of completeness depending upon the scope and the bulk of the book in question. Some general dictionaries may have very specific aims and still be considered general due to their coverage. They include frequency dictionary, a rhyming dictionary, a Thesaurus, etc., e.g. the Collins COBUILD Thesaurus.
   Restricted dictionaries cover only a certain specific part of the vocabulary. Restricted dictionaries can be subdivided depending on:
  -- whether the words are chosen according to the sphere of human activity in which they are used
  -- the type of the units themselves
  -- the relations existing between them
   The first subgroup registers and explains technical terms for various branches of knowledge (medical, linguistic, economical terms, etc.), e.g. the Merriam- Webster's Dictionary of Law.
   The second subgroup deals with specific language units, i.e. with phraseological units, abbreviations, neologisms, borrowings, toponyms, dialectal words, proverbs and sayings, e.g. the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Proverbs.
   The third subgroup contains a formidable array of synonymic dictionaries, e.g. the Merriam-Webster's Pocket Guide to Syno­nyms.
   According to the information they provide all linguistic dictionaries fall into two groups: explanatory and specialized.
   Explanatory dictionaries present a wide range of data, especially with regard to the semantic aspect of the vocabulary items entered, e.g. the New Oxford Dictionary of English.
   Specialized dictionaries deal with lexical units only in relation to some of their characteristics, i.e. only in relation to their etymology, frequency, pronunciation, usage, e.g. the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary.
   According to the language of explanations, i.e. whether the information about the items entered given in the same language or in another language, all dictionaries are divided into: monolingual and bilingual.
   In monolingual dictionaries the words and the information about them are given in the same language, e.g. the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.
   Bilingual dictionaries are those that explain words by giving their equivalents in another language, e.g. the English-Russian Phraseolo­gical Dictionary (by A.V.Kunin). They may have two principal purposes: reference for translation and guidance for expression. Bilingual dictio­naries must provide an adequate translation of every item in the target language and expression in the source language.
   Dictionaries also fall into diachronic and synchronic with regard to time.
   Diachronic (historical) dictionaries reflect the development of the ' English vocabulary by recording the history of form and meaning for every word registered, e.g. the Oxford English Dictionary.
   Synchronic (descriptive) dictionaries are concerned with the present-day meaning and usage of words, e.g. the Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English.
   The boundary between the mentioned types of dictionaires is, however, not very rigid and the two principles may be blended as, for example, in the Concise Oxford Dictionary. Some synchronic dictionaries are at the same time historical when they represent the state of vocabulary at some past stage of its development.
      -- Criteria and difinition of English synonyms and antonyms.
   Intralinguistic Relations of Words
   F. de Saussure
   Word-meaning perceived through intralinguistic relations between the words:
  -- Syntagmatic - define the meaning when the word is used in combination with other words (linear and simultaneous);
  -- Paradigmatic - between the words which make up one of the subgroups of vocabulary units # sets of synonyms.
   Paradigmatic Relations (= semantic)
   4 main types:
   - proximity - the closeness of meanings; words in language very seldom are semantically identical. Meaning similarity is nearly always partial. It implies that two or more words however different may enter the semantic relations of proximity if they share certain semantic features; words may be graded in semantic proximity. The higher degree helps to single out synonyms; a lower degree provides for a description of broader and less homogeneous semantic groups
   - equivalence - implies full similarity of meanings of two or more language units. Extreme case of proximity. Very seldom. More often - between sentences or in sentences.
   - inclusion - exists between two words if the meaning of one word contains the semantic features constituting the meaning of another word. Hierarchy relations. The general term is fererred to as a classifier or hyperonym; the more specific - hyponym.
   - opposition - the contrast of semantic features helps to establish it. Implies the exclusion of meaning of one word by another.
   Polar oppositions are those which are based on the semantic feature uniting two linguistic units by antonymous relations, e. g. rich -- poor, dead -- alive, young -- old.
   Relative oppositions imply that there are several semantic features on which the opposition rests. Thus, it is not just one semantic feature the presence of which in one case accounts for the polarity of meaning, but a whole system of semantic features which underlies the opposition of two words in the semantic aspect.#the verb to leave means 'to go away from' and its opposite, the verb to arrive denotes 'reaching a place, esp. the end of a journey'. It is quite obvious that the verb to leave implies certain finality and movement in the opposite direction from the place specified. The verb to arrive lays special emphasis semantically on 'reaching smth.', i.e. attaining a point which is set as an aim and implies effort in achieving the goal.
  
   Semantic classification of words
   Two main principles:
   1. To classify words proceeding from the basic types of semantic relations.
   2. To group words together starting off with associations connecting the given words with other vocabulary units.
  -- synonyms,
  -- lexical and terminological sets,
  -- lexico-semantic groups,
  -- semantic fields,
  -- antonyms
  
   1. Synonyms are usually defined as words belonging to one part of speech, close in meaning and interchangeable at least in some contexts. Synonyms are characterized by either the semantic relations of equivalence or by the semantic relations of proximity.
   Taking into account the difference of synonyms by the three aspects of their meaning (denotational, the connotational and the pragmatic aspect ) they may be classified into
      -- stylistic
      -- ideographic
      -- ideographic-stylistic synonyms
  
   Stylistic synonymy implies no interchangeability in context because the underlying situations are different, # children -- infants, dad ~ father. Stylistic synonyms are similar in the denotational aspect of meaning, but different in the pragmatic (and connotational) aspect. Substituting one stylistic synonym for another results in an inadequate presentation of the situation of communication.
   Ideographic synonymy presents a still lower degree of semantic proximity and is observed when the connotational and the pragmatic aspects are similar, but there are certain differences in the denotational aspect of meaning of two words
   #forest -- wood, apartment --flat, shape -- form.
   Ideographic-stylistic synonyms is characterized by the lowest degree of semantic proximity. This type of synonyms includes synonyms which differ both in the denotational and the connotational and/or the pragmatic aspects of meaning
   #ask -- inquire, expect -- anticipate.
  
   Synonymic group Each synonymic group comprises a dominant element - synonymic dominant - which is the most general term potentially containing specific features of all the other members of the synonymic group.
  
   #leave -- depart -- quit -- retire -- clear out
  
   2. Lexical & terminological sets:
  -- Words denoting different things correlated on extralinguistic grounds form lexical sets : lion, tiger, leopard, puma, cat refer to the lexical set of 'the animals of the cat family'.
  -- Depending on the type of the notional area lexical sets may acquire a more specialized character, e.g. names of 'musical instruments': piano, organ, violin, drum; names of 'parts of the car mechanism': radiator, motor, handbrake, wheels. Such classes of words are called terminological sets
   3. Lexico-semantic group
   Words describing different sides of one and the same general notion are united in a lexico-semantic group if
   a) the underlying notion is not too generalized and all-embracing, like the notions of'time', 'space', 'life', 'process', etc.;
   b) the reference to the underlying notion is not just an implication in the meaning of the lexical unit but forms an essential part in its semantics.
   4. Semantic fields:
   If the underlying notion is broad enough to include almost all-embracing sections of vocabulary we deal with semantic fields.
   # the words cosmonaut (n.), spacious (adj.), to orbit (v.) belong to the semantic field of 'space'
   5. Antonyms -- a class of words grouped together on the basis of the semantic relations of opposition. Antonyms are words belonging to one Part of speech sharing certain common semantic characteristics and in this respect they are similar to such semantic classes as synonyms, lexical sets, lexico-semantic groups.
  
   Structurally, antonyms can be divided into
  -- antonyms of the same root #. to do -- to undo, cheerful -- cheerless;
  -- antonyms of different roots #day -- night, rich --poor.
   Semantically, antonyms may be classified into
      -- contradictories
      -- contraries
      -- incompatibles
      -- Contradictories represent the type of semantic relations that exist between pairs like, for example, dead -- alive, single -- married. Contradictory antonyms are mutually opposed, they deny one another. Contradictories form a privative binary opposition, they are members of two-term sets. To use one of the words is to contradict the other and to use 'not' before one of them is to make it semantically equivalent to the other: not dead = alive; not single = married
      -- Contraries are antonyms that can be arranged into a series according to the increasing difference in one of their qualities. The most distant elements of this series will be classified as contrary notions. Contraries are gradable antonyms, they are polar members of a gradual opposition which may have intermediate elements.
   This may be observed in cold -- hot and cool -- warm which are intermediate members. Thus, we may regard as antonyms not only cold and hot but also cold and warm. Contrary antonyms may also be considered in terms of degrees of the quality involved. Thus, water may be cold or very cold, and water in one glass may be colder than in another glass.
   3. Incompatibles are antonyms which are characterized by the relations of exclusion. Semantic relations of incompatibility exist among antonyms with a common component of meaning and may be described as the reverse of hyponymy. For example, to say morning is to say not afternoon, not evening, not night. The use of one member of this set implies the exclusion of the other members of the set.
   Incompatibles differ from contradictories as incompatibles are members of the multiple-term sets while contradictories are members of two-term sets. A relation of incompatibility may be also observed between colour terms since the choice of red, for example, entails the exclusion of black, blue, yellow, etc.
  
  
      -- The meaning of the word.
  
   Meaning as a linguistic notion
   Semasiology (or semantics ) is a branch of linguistics which studies meaning . Semasiology is singled out as an independent branch of lexicology alongside word-formation , etymology , phraseology & lexicography . And at the same time it is often referred to as the central branch of lexicology . The significance of semasiology may be accounted for by three main considerations :1. Language is the basic human communication system aimed at ensuring the exchange of information between the communicants which implies that the semantic side forms the backbone of communication .
   2. By definition lexicology deals with words , morpheme & word-groups . All those linguistic units are two-faced entities having both form & meaning .
   3. Semasiology underlines all other branches of lexicology . Meaning is the object of semasiological study .However , at present there is no universally accepted definition of meaning or rather a definition reflecting all the basic characteristic features of meaning & being at the same time operational . Thus , linguists state that meaning is "one of the most ambiguous & most controversial terms in the theory of language "(Steven Ullman). Numerous statements on the complexity of the phenomenon of meaning are found on the Russian tradition as well by such linguists as А.А.Потебня , И.А.Бодуэн де Куртене , Щерба , Виноградов , А.И. Смирницкий & others .However vague & inadequate , different definitions of meaning help to sum up the general characteristics of the notion comparing various approaches to the description of the content side of the language . There are three main categories of definitions which may be referred to as :
  -- analytical or referential definition of meaning
  -- functional or contextual definition of meaning
  -- operational or information-oriented definition of meaning
  
   Analytical or referential definition of meaning.
   They seek to find the essence of meaning establishing the interdependence between words of the objects or phenomena they denote. The best known analytical model of meaning is the so-called "basic triangle".
  
   1st component - sound form of the linguistic sign.
   2nd component - concept.
   3rd component - referent (object of reality).
  
   Sound-form:
   Meaning is in a way of correlation b/w the sound form of the word, the underline concept & the concrete object it denotes.
   Meaning ?sound form because of polysemy
  
   They are connected directly that means that if we hear a sound-form a certain idea arises in our mind & the idea brings out a certain referent that exists in the reality . But the sound-form & the referent are connected indirectly because there are no objects or phenomena in the reality that predict a certain sound-form , that need to be named by a certain sequence of sounds . The strongest point in the approach is an attempt to link the notion of meaning with the process of naming the objects , processes or phenomena of concrete reality . The analytical definitions of meaning are usually criticized on the grounds that they cannot be applied to sentences .
   Concept (or our thought)
   1. is a category of human cognition
   2 is the thought of an object that singles out its essential features.
   3 is a result of abstraction & generalization
   Concept is the same for everybody in a definite period of time.
   # дом - house, home meaning?concept
   Referent
   Meaning is linguistic whereas the object is beyond the level of language.
   One referent/object can be named different names.
   #a cat (object): -cat, kitty, murca, my sweet heart.
   Conclusion: Meaning is not to be identical with any of 3 points of the triangle but is closely connected with them.
   Critics on this approach:
   1.The referential definition of meaning can hardly be applied to semantic additions that come to the surface in the process of communication .
   2. It can not be applied to sentences.
   e. g. The sentence " I like to read long novels " does not express single notion , it represents composites of notions specifying the relations between them.
   3. The referential approach fails to account for that fact that one word may denote different objects & phenomena . That is the case of polysemy . On the other hand one & the same object may be denoted by different words & that is the case of synonymy .
  
   Functional or contextual definitions of meaning.
   It maintains that the meaning of a linguistic unit can be studied only through its relation to other linguistic units.
   # to move meanings are different, they function in speech differently.
   movement
   "to move" - may be followed by a noun & preceded by a noun o pronoun.
   "movement"- it can be preceded by a preposition
  
   The position of the word in relation to other word is called distribution of the word.
   Different meaning of one & the same word:
   #to take a seat different distribution=>different meaning
   to take to smb (to like)
  
   The key word in this approach is CONTEXT.
   The Context is defined as the minimum stretch of speech necessary & sufficient to determine which of the possible meanings of the polysemantic word is used.
  
   The functional approach to meaning is important because it emphasizes the fact that words are seldom if ever used in isolation & thus the meaning of a word is revealed only when it is realized in a context. But on the whole the functional approach may be described as a complimentary , additional to the referential one.
   Operational definition of meaning.
  
   They are centered on defining meaning through its role in the process of communication. Just like functional approach information-oriented definitions are part of studying words in action. They are more interested in how the words work, how the meaning works than what the meaning is.
   Meaning is information conveyed from the speaker to the listener in the process of communication.
   This definition applies both to words & sentences thus overcomes one of the drawbacks of the referential approach.
   The problem is that it is more applicable to sentences than to words & even as such fails to draw a clear distinguishing line between the direct sense (that is meaning) & implication (that is additional information).
e. g. Thus the sentence "John came at 6 o'clock" besides the direct meaning may imply that John was 2 hours late , that he was punctual as usual , that it was a surprise for John to come , that he came earlier , that he was not expected at all & many others.
   In each case the implication would depend on the concrete situation of communication. And discussing meaning as the information conveyed would amount to the discussion of an almost endless set of possible communication situations which in the end will bring us back to a modified contextual or functional approach to meaning. The distinction between the two layers in the information conveyed is so important that two different terms may be used to denote them: the direct information conveyed by the units which build up a sentence may be referred to as meaning while the information added to the given extralinguistic situation may be called sense.
   Types of meaning
      -- grammatical
      -- lexical
      -- part of speech meaning (1+2)
  
   Grammatical meaning is defined as an expression in speech of relationship b/w words.
   Gram.meaning is a component of meaning recurrent in identical sets of individual forms of different words.
   #thought, asked, worked - past tense meaning
   tables, peaces - the meaning of plurality
  
   Lexical meaning is the meaning proper to the given linguistic unit in all its forms & distributions.
   #go, goes, went, going, gone - they have the same lexical meaning (process of movement).
  
   Both lexical & grammatical meanings may cut the word meaning & neither can exist without the other.
   #сведения, information - semantically they are not identically because English word doesn't have the meaning of plurality.
   In some parts of speech the prevailing component is grammatical.
   #to be - linking verb
  
   The essence of the Part of speech meaning of a word is revealed in the classification of lexical items into major word classes: nouns, verbs, adverbs, attributes.
   All members of a major word class share a distinguishing semantic component, which though very abstract, it may be viewed as a lexical component of part of speech meaning.
  
   #Class noun - abstract semantic component is thingness (вещественность)
   The grammatical aspect of part of speech meaning is conveyed, as a rule, by a set of forms.
   # to come IN - внутрь
   IN the table - on/under the table
   Aspects of lexical meaning
   In the general framework lexical meaning can have several aspects:
      -- the denotational aspect
      -- the connotational aspect
      -- the pragmatic aspect
   I. Denotational aspect of lexical meaning is the part of lexical meaning which establishes correlation b/w the name & the object, phenomenon, process or characteristic feature of concrete reality which is denoted by the given word.
   Through the denotational meaning bulk of information is conveyed in the process of communication. It expresses the notional content of a word.
  
   II. Connotational aspect - it is a part of meaning which reflects the attitude of the speaker towards what he speaks about.
   Connotation conveys additional information in the process of communication
   Speaker - is a key figure.
   Connotation includes the following aspects:
      -- emotive charge (diminishing, derogative suffixes)
   #daddy, mommy
      -- evaluation: positive/negative
   #a group of people crowd
   Emotions are not in the focus of the speaker.
      -- intensity (expressiveness)
   #I love you /I adore you
      -- imagery
   #to wade (to walk with an effort through the mud)
   to wade through a book
  
   III. Pragmatic aspect of the meaning - is the part of meaning that conveys the information on the situation of communication.
   Focus is on the information, not on the speaker.
   It falls into 4 closely interconnected subsections:
      -- information on the "time & space" relationship of the participants.
   Grammar helps us to understand' prepositions
   #to come & go to borrow - to land
   The Time element when related through the pragmatic aspect of meaning is fixed indirectly.
   Indirect reference to time implies that the frequency of occurrence of words may change with time & in extreme cases words can be out of time or obsolete.
   #frequently used words "to give, a day" - modern time
   to behold, beholder - obsolete words, high style (emphasis the past)
      -- information on the participant & the given language community
   #They chucked a stone at the cops, & then they did a bunk with the loot. (pronounced by criminals)=
   After casting a stone at the police, they absconded with the money. (more official language)
   Thus the language used may be indicative of the social status of a person, his age, profession or occupation.
   The pragmatic aspect of the word can also convey information about the social system of the given social community: its ideology, religion, system of norms & customs.
      -- information on the tenor(target audience) of discourse
   The tenors of discourse reflect how the addresser interacts with addressee. Tenors are based on social or family roles of the participants of communication.
      -- information on the register of communication
   It implies the condition of communication. The register defines the general type of the situation of communication, grading the situation in formality.
  -- formal
  -- neutral
  -- informal
   Word meaning & motivation.
   The process of motivation depends on the inner form of the word.
   The inner form is pivotal point in the lexical meaning which helps to get inside in to the features chosen as the basis of nomination.
   In linguistics the term MOTIVATION is used to denote the relationship b/w the phonetic or morphemic composition & structural pattern of the word, on the one hand, & its meaning, on the other hand.
   There are 3 main types of inner M:
      -- phonetic
   onomatopoeia - sound imitation
   Phonetic M implies the direct connection b/w phonetic structure of the word & its meaning
   #coo-coo, hissing
      -- morphological
   #subdivision; rethink, finger ring
   Morphological M implies a direct connection b/w the lexical meaning of the component morphemes, the pattern of their arrangement & the meaning of the word.
      -- semantic
   Semantic M implies a direct connection b/w the central & marginal (figurative) meanings of the word.
   #eye-wash 1. примочки для глаз (direct)
   2. очковтирательство (figurative)
  
   Causes, nature & results of semantic change
   Lexical meaning is liable to change in the course of the historical development of the language.
   The causes of semantic change:
      -- extralinguistic
      -- linguistic
   1: by extralinguistic causes various changes in the life of speech community are meant.
   #changes in economic, social & scientific structure
   Knight-a boy рыцарь
   Maid - a noble woman servant
   2: purely linguistic causes. These are factors acting within the language system.
  -- ellipsis
   # to starve ?to starve with hunger
  
  -- discrimination (differentiation) of synonyms
   #OE land - 1.solid part of the earth surface
   2.territory of nation
   ME "country" was borrowed, land2?country
  
  -- fixed context
   #token - OE (now in number of collocations)
   sign - borrowed word (synonym of token)
  
   Semantic change, polysemy & homonymy.
   Nature of semantic change
   A necessary condition of any semantic change is some connection, some association b/w the old meaning & the new one.
   There are 2 kinds of association involved:
      -- similarity of meanings or Metaphor may be described as the semantic process of associating 2 referents, one of which in some way resembles the other
   # a hand - a hand of the clock.
      -- contiguity of meanings - or Metonymy may be described as the semantic process of associating 2 referents, one of which makes part of the other or is closely connected with it.
   #tongue - the organ of speech in the meaning of language (as in mother tongue)
   bench - judges; house - members of Parliament.
   Results of semantic change:
      -- can be gen-ly observed in the changes of the denotational meaning of the word
  -- restriction of meaning
  -- extension of meaning
  
   #restriction: hound - dog of any breed (in the past)
   a dog used in the chase (now)
   extension: target - a small round shield (in the past)
   anything that is fired at (now)
   If the word with the extended meaning passes from the specialized vocabulary into common use, the result of the semantic change is described as the generalization of meaning.
      -- can be observed in the alteration of the connotational aspect of meaning
  -- amelioration of meaning (positive connotation)
  -- deterioration of meaning (negative connotation)
   Amelioration of meaning implies the improvement of the connotational component of meaning.
   #minister - servant (in the past), high position (now)
   Deterioration (pejorative development of meaning) implies the acquisition by the word of some derogatory emotive charge.
   #boor - peasant (in the past); clumsy or ill-bred fellow (now)
   Polysemy
  -- polysemantic words
  -- monosemantic words (mainly scientific terms)
   V.V. Vinogradov admitted the importance of the differentiating the meaning from the usage (a contextual variant).
   Meanings are fixed & common to all people who knew the language system . The usage is only a possible application of one of the meanings of polysemantic word, smt very individual, smt more or less familiar.
   Meaning is not identical with usage.
  
   A.I.Smirnitsky introduced the term "lexico-semantic variant (LSV)"
   LSV - is a two-facet unit, the formal facet of which is the sound form of a word, while the content facet is one of the meanings of the given word, i.e. the designation of a certain class of objects.
  -- words with one meaning are represented in the language system by one LSV , polysemantic words - by a number of LSVs.
  -- All LSVs of a word form a homogenous semantic structure ensuring the semantic unity of the given word.
  -- All LSVs are united together by a certain aspect of meaning - the semantic pivot of the word is called the semantic centre of the word. Thus the semantic centre of the word is the part of meaning which remains constant in all LSVs of a given word.
   Diachronic approach to polysemy:
   It is understood as the growth & development or as a change in the semantic structure of the word.
   Polysemy in diachronic terms implies that a word may retain its previous meaning or meanings & at the same time acquire one or several new ones.
  -- primary meaning diachronically
  -- secondary meaning
   #table - a flat slap stone of wood (primary meaning); now it has 9 secondary meanings
   Synchronic approach to polysemy:
   It is the coexistence of various meanings of the same word at a certain historical period of the development of the English language.
  -- central (basic) meaning based on frequency of usage
  -- marginal (minor) meaning
   Both approaches are changeable:
   # secondary meaning may ?primary
   central meaning may ?marginal (restriction of meaning)
   marginal may ?central (generalization)
   Connection of polysemy & context
   Context is the minimal stretch of speech determining each individual meaning of the word.
  -- linguistic context (verbal)
  -- extralinguistic context (non-verbal)
   Linguistic context:
      -- lexical context (collocation)
   #heavy load, table - of great weight
   heavy rain, storm - striking, falling with force
      -- grammatical context (syntactic)
   It serves to determine various individual meanings of a polysemantic word.
   #to make - to force, to induce; to make smb do smth (grammatically bound meaning)
  
   Extralinguistic context (or context of situation):
   #The bill is large не понятно без контекста
   John was looking for the glasses (очки, стаканы)
   a) chain-like
   #bleak hillside ?bleak wind ?prospects
   b) radial
   #poor but honest ? honest confession
   ? honest wool
   ? honest wife
   c)radial-chain-like
   #hammer (a tool with a heavy metal head
   ?a part of a machine
   ?a strike in box ?a boxer using this strike
   ?sport equipment ?throwing hammer in sport
   ?one of the bones in the ear
   Homonymy:
   Two or more words identical in sound form, spelling but different in meaning, distribution & in many cases in origin are called homonyms.
  -- homophones (sound form=, but spelling is different) #knight-night; peace-piece
  -- homographs (different in meaning & sound form, spelling=) #bow-bow, lead-lead
  -- homonyms proper (sound, spelling =; meaning is different) #ball, back
  

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