MODERN ENGLISH LEXICOLOGY

• The object of Lexicology

• Theoretical and practical value of Lexicology
• Links of Lexicology with other linguistic
sciences
• Methods of lexicological research
• General problems of study in Lexicology
 Timing
• 7 lectures (14 hours)
• 8 seminars (16 hours)
• Self-study (60 hours)
• Consultation (1 hour)
• exam
 Exam Structure
• 2 theoretical questions
• lexicological analysis of text
 Topics for discussion
• Etymology (the origin of English words)
• Morphology (morph.structure of words)
• Word Formation
• Semasiology
• English Vocabulary as a structure
• English Vocabulary as a System
 Topics for discussion
• Synonyms, antonyms, etc.
• Free Word Groups
• Phraseology
• Regional Variants and Dialects
• Lexicography
• Lexicological Analysis
 Literature
• Akhmanova O.S. Lexicology. Theory and methods. – M.: Nauka, 1972. – 340 p.
• Anikeyenko I.G., Boitsan L.F. English lexicology: Seminars. – K.: KNLU, 2006. – 110 p.
• Arnold I.V. The English word. – M.: Prosveshcheniye, 1966. – 346 p.
• Ganetska L.V. Lexi-maker. – K.: KNLU, 2004. - 80 .
• Ginzburg R.S., Khidekel S.S., Knyazeva G.Y., Sankin A.A. A course in modern English lexicology. – M.:
1979. – 230 p.
• Rayevska N.M. English Lexicology. – K.: Vyshcha shkola, 1979. – 335 p.
• Амосова Н.Н. Основы английской фразеологии. – Л.: ЛГУ, 1963.
• Арнольд И.В. Лексикология современного английского языка. – М.: Изд-во лит. на иностр. яз.,
1989. - 351 с.
• Кунин А.В. Английская фразеология. – М.: Высшая школа, 1970. – 344 с.
• Мостовий М.І. Лексикологія англійської мови. – Харків, 1993.
• Никитин М.В. Лексическое значение слова (структура и комбинаторика). – М.: Наука, 1983. –
200 с.
• Харитончик З.А. Лексикология английского языка. – Минск : Вышэйшая школа, 1992. – 229 с.
• Kveselevich D.I. AND Sasina. Modern English Lexicology in Practice. Вінниця: Нова Книга,2003, 128
 LEXICOLOGY as a branch of linguistics and its
links with other linguistic disciplines
• Lexicology (from Gr. lexis ‘word’ and logos ‘learning’)
is the part of linguistics which deals with the
vocabulary of a language and words as its main units.
So, what’s the object of Lexicology?
• The English word with its properties and vocabulary
are 2 main objects of English Lexicology. The word
together with word equivalents (ready-made units -
‘set expressions’) make up the vocabulary of English.
 Functions of the word
 Nominative (words name things, facts, events, actions,
phenomena, properties, relationships, concepts etc.
 Referential (words refer to objects, facts, events, etc.)
 Deictic (words point at smth.)
 Representational
 Communicative(in case it is a one-word sentence)
form
Word – a two-faceted unit:
meaning
 Morpheme – Word – Word-combination

Morpheme VS. Word

language unit language & speech unit
smallest, indivisible divisible into morphemes
not autonomous autonomous (can occur
in speech)
a part of the word part of word-combination
or free word-group
 What does it mean “to
know the word”?
 To know the word means to know
• its meaning(s)
• structure (morphological, synthetic, semantic)
• word combinations (set expressions)
• functions
• spelling
• sound form (pronunciation)
• grammatical valence/y (being a notional or
auxiliary part of sentence)
 Problems of lexicology
1) Essential character of linguistic unit, definition of the word;
2) Systemic description of vocabulary;
3) Regularities of evolvement, development and functioning;
4) Semantic analysis of the word, components of meaning;
5) Word building, morphemic structure and derivational
potential;
6) Classification of words;
7) Word as a structure and vocabulary as a system;
8) Combinability of words, free and set word groups (idioms);
9) How are words kept in our memory (by association? access to
words on the whole or to its parts?) etc.
Methods of Lexicological Research
Diachronic: the focus - on historical lexicology (deals
with the evolution of word-stock, origin, change and
development of words, linguistic and nonlinguistic
factors modifying their structure, meaning and
usage);
Synchronic: the focus - on descriptive lexicology
(deals with the vocabulary at a given stage, with
morphological and semantic structures of words)
(first distinguished by the Swiss philologist F. de
Saussure);
 Methods of Lexicological Research
(continuation)
Structural:
a) word as a morphological structure:
morphemes, allomorphs, productive /
nonproductive, etymology of morphemes;
b) word as a synthetic structure: word formation
(one-root words, compound words, derivatives,
derivational compounds);
c) semantic structure: semantic changes,
transformation of meanings, metaphor,
metonymy, polysemy.
 Methods of Lexicological Research
(continuation)
Systemic (word as a system): vocabulary (native
and loan words), lexico-semantic groups (parts
of speech), semantic fields, thematic groups,
morphological groups (word families, e.g. dog-
doggish-doglike etc.);
Statistical: classification of data based on trends,
typical properties, frequency of occurrence
 Approaches to Classification of words
Approaches and principles of classification (groupings) are
various according to:
a) grammar
b) structure
c) morphology
d) semantics
e) stylistics
f) territorial and other properties
f) notional – auxiliary words;
g) word-families – ‘гнізда слів’
Linguistic relations between words
 Syntagmatic relations ( SR between words are linearly ordered
and depend on context, i.e. a stretch of speech sufficient to
determine the meaning of a polysemantic word. SR are studied by
contextual, distributional, transformational and other types of
analysis);
W W W (I W ( I – love - milk)
 Paradigmatic relations (PR between words are vertically ordered.
PR determine the vocabulary system and deal with
interdependence of words within the vocabulary.
W (I) love milk
W (cats) prefer meat
W (people) eat vegetables
Links with other linguistic branches
with Grammar: “s” – lexicalization of the gr. form (colours - ‘banners’,
advices - ‘info’, customs, damages – ‘compensation’, tights – women’s underwear
Word building via conversion – word has other gr. paradigm: look - to look, mother – to
mother, import – to import, rebel – to rebel ‘to resist’ etc.
Gr. context becomes valid for the meaning:
She took a book (V + N)
She took to thinking/travelling (V + Gerund)
She took me to be asleep (V + obj. with the Infinitive)
You were late. I took it. (V + Pron.)
BUT: to smoke a cigarette
to smoke fish (meat)
the table is round
the table is rich here only context/situation is valid
Flying plane is dangerous (meaning is ambiguous, gr. context here is powerful).
with Phonetics. Meaning depends on:
• stress (rebel - rebel, object – object ,)
I can’t eat anything – I can’t eat anything.
a ‘dancing ‘girl (Participle I) – a ‘dancing girl “dancer”
• length (beach - bitch, seat – sit, heat - hit)
• voiced/voiceless consonants (said – sat, head - hat)
• intonation (You are too clever – with positive / negative
connotation)(different register of communication)
with Stylistics for it studies lexicological problems of meaning,
synonymy, differentiation of words according to the sphere of
communication
 Lecture Two. Methods of research in
lexicology
• See lectures for master students