Semantic structure of the word

Лекция 2

Word as the basic unit of the language

Лекция 1

ЛЕКЦИИ ПО ЛЕКСИКОЛОГИИ

Lexicology -a branch of linguistics, is the study of words. A word: 1)a unit of speech which serves the purposes of human communication, thus, a unit of communication; 2) the total of the sounds which comprise it; 3) possesses several characteristics (morphological and semantic). Formal and semantic unity of the word. The word's susceptibility to grammatical employment.

Word - a speech unity used for the purposes of human communication, materially representing a group of sounds, possessing a meaning, susceptible to grammatical employment and characterized by formal and semantic unity.

The main lexicological problems. The problem of word-building. Syntagmatic level of word study: typical contexts of words. Paradigmatic level of word study: in comparison with other words of similar meaning, of opposite meaning, of different stylistic characteristics. The problems of synonymy, antonymy and functional styles. Phraseology. Study of vocabulary of a language as a system. Synchronic and diachronic approaches.

Meaning -a component of the word through which a concept is communicated, endowing the word with the ability of denoting real objects, qualities, actions and abstract notions. The semantic triangle (Reference - Symbol - Referent). Words and concepts. Semantics -the branch of linguistics which specializes in the study of meaning.

Polysemantic word -a word having several meanings. Polysemy - the ability of words to have more than one meaning. 1) Is polysemy an anomaly in English? 2) Is polysemy an advantage or disadvantage? Development of system of meanings of polysemantic word. Main and secondary meaning. Semantic center and logical associations. Transformational and componential analyses. Investigation of semantic structure of a word: a) of different meanings; b) of semantic component within each separate meaning. Types of semantic components: denotative and connotative.

Causes of development of new meanings. Historical - caused by changes in nation's social life, culture, knowledge, technology, arts etc. Linguistic - borrowed synonyms. Transference of meaning. Transference based on resemblance (similarity) - linguistic metaphor. Transference based on contiguity - linguistic metonymy. Broadening (generalization) and narrowing (specialization) of meaning. The so-called "degeneration" and "elevation" of meaning - development and loss of evaluative connotations.

Homonyms -words identical in sound and spelling or at least in one of these aspects, but different in their meaning. Homonyms proper - homonyms the same in sound and spelling. Homophones - homonyms the same in sound but different in spelling. Homographs - the same in spelling but different in sound.

Sources of homonyms. 1. Phonetic changes in the course of historical development. 2. Borrowings. 3. Word-building: conversion and shortening. 4. Split polysemy. Classification of homonyms. Prof. A.I. Smirnitsky's classification: I. Full lexical homonyms. II. Partial homonyms: A. Simple lexico-grammatical homonyms. B. Complex lexico-grammatical homonyms. C. Partial lexical homonyms.

Дата добавления: 2015-05-10