The naming of Cats

(the scheme is given as it is applied to the naming of cats):

meaning (“a small domestic animal with soft fur kept as a pet or for

catching mice”)

– is represented by – name (cat) – is named by – referent (a cat) – is reflected in

– meaning.

The scheme is still over – simplified and several things are left out. It is

important, for instance, to remember that the word is represented by

the left – hand side of the diagram – it is a sign comprising the name

and the meaning, and there invariably woke one another.

So we have to assume that the word takes 2 apexes of the triangle and

the line connecting them.

The diagram represents the simplest case of reference because the word

there is supposed to have only 1 meaning and 1 form of fixation.

3. Different types motivation of words.

· The term motivation is used to denote the relationship existing between the phonemic or morphemic composition and structural pattern of the word on the one hand, and meaning on the other hand.

· There are 3 main types of motivation:

- phonetic motivation

- morphological motivation

- semantic motivation.

· The motivation is phonetic when there is a certain similarity between the sounds that wake up the word and those referred to by the sense. For example: bang, giggle, hiss, etc. Here the sounds of a word are imitative of sounds in nature because what is referred characteristic sound (e.g. cuckoo).

· The morphological motivation may be quite regular. Thus, the prefix ex - means “ former ” when added to human nouns: ex. – film star

ex. - president

ex. – wife, etc.

There is a more general use of ex -: in borrowed words it is

unstressed and motivation is faded: expect, export, etc.

· It is clear that motivation is the way in which a given meaning is represented in the word. It reflects the type of nomination process chosen of the new word.

E. p. agential suffix – er is affix able to any verb, so that V + er means “ one who V-s ” or “ smth. That V-s ”: writer

rocker

receiver

Many writers nowadays instead of the term morphological motivation introduce the term word-building meaning.

Semantic motivation is based on the co-existence of direct and figurative meanings of the same word within the same synchronous system.

For example: Mouth continues to denote a part of the human face, and at

the same time it can metaphorically apply to any opening or outlet: the

mouth of a river, of a cave, of a furnace.

As to compounds, their motivation is morphologic if the meaning of the whole is based on the direct meaning components, and semantic if the combination of components is used figuratively.

These, eyewash “a lotion for the eyes”, headache “pain in the head”, are all morphologically motivated. If, on the other hand, they are used metaphorically as “smth. Said or done to deceive a person so that he thinks that what he sees is good, though in fact it is not”, and “anything or anyone very annoying”, then the motivation is semantic.

· When the connection between the meaning of the word and its form is conventional that is there is no perceptible reason for the word having this particular phonemic and morphemic composition, the word is said to be non-motivated for the present stage of language development.

Every vocabulary is in a state of constant development. Words that seem non- motivated at present may have lost their motivation.

· When some people recognize the motivation whereas others do not, motivation is said to be faded.

· Sometimes in an attempt to find motivation for a borrowed word the speakers change its form so as to give it a connection with some well-known word: these cases of mistaken motivation received the name of folk etymology. The phenomenon is not very frequent.

· Some linguists consider one more type of motivation closely akin to the imitative forms? Namely sound symbolism. Some words are supposed to illustrate the meaning more immediately than do ordinary words. As the same combinations of sounds are used in many semantically similar words, they become more closely associated with the meaning.

So in the process of vocabulary development a speaker of a

language creates new words and is understood because the vocabulary

system possesses established associations of form and meaning.

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