The features common to various word-groups

Phraseology and other linguistic sciences

Nowadays phraseology plays a central role in a wide range of linguistic disciplines such as lexicography, contrastive linguistics, psycholinguistics, foreign language learning and teaching and natural language processing.

Phraseology is an intermediary field, being close, in the reference literature, both to vocabulary studies, since it studies fixed word combinations, characterized by a unitary meaning, as well as to syntax, since phraseologic phenomena are defined by syntactic relations of various kinds, which are realized on a syntagmatic axis. Given the expressive nature of phraseologic phenomena, these have also been associated to stylistics. Taking into consideration the possibility of differentiating styles and functional variants of a language by analysing phraseologic units, it has been particularly drawn closer to functional stylistics. But beyond the closeness to different linguistic disciplines, phraseology tends to be regarded as an autonomous discipline, with its own object and methods of investigation.

A word-group is the largest two-faced lexical unit comprising more than one word but expressing one global concept. The lexical meaning of the word groups is the combined lexical meaning of the component words. The meaning of the word groups is motivated by the meanings of the component members and is supported by the structural pattern. But it’s not a mere sum total of all these meanings! Polysemantic words are used in word groups only in one of their meanings. These meanings of the component words in such word groups are mutually interdependent and inseparable (blind man – «a human being unable to see», blind type – «the copy isn’t readable).

Word groups possess not only the lexical meaning, but also the meaning conveyed mainly by the pattern of arrangement of their constituents. The structural pattern of word groups is the carrier of a certain semantic component not necessarily dependent on the actual lexical meaning of its members (school grammar – «grammar which is taught in school», grammar school – «a type of school»). We have to distinguish between the structural meanin g of a given type of word groups as such and the lexical meaning of its constituents.

The degree of structural and semantic cohesion of word-groups may vary. Some word-groups, e.g. at least, point of view, by means, to take place, etc. seem to be functionally and semantically inseparable. They are usually described as set phrases, word-equivalents or phraseological units and are studied by the branch of lexicology which is known as phraseology.

The so-called free word-groups are only relatively free as collocability of their member-words is fundamentally delimited by their lexical and grammatical valency which makes at least some of them very close to set-phrases. Let’s outline the features common to various word-groups irrespective of the degree of structural and semantic cohesion of the component-words.

I. There are two factors which are important in uniting words into word-groups:

– the lexical valency of words;

– the grammatical valency of words.

Lexical valency is the ability of a word to be used in different lexical contexts i.e. in combinations with other words., e.g., V + N – to deliver letters = “to distribute letters,” To deliver a blow = “to strike a blow,” To deliver a lecture = “to give a lecture”. The noun question is often combined with such adjectives as vital, pressing, urgent, delicate, etc. The aptness of a word to appear in various combinations is described as its lexical valency.

All free word-groups are formed on definite lexico-grammatical patterns. The pattern is an arrangement of component elements of a collocation. The patters of free word-groups are generative, i.e. any word in a sentence may be replaced by its synonym or hyponym: Brave (courageous, valiant, fearless, bold) man (woman, boy). But the range of the lexical valency of words is delimited by the inner structure of the English words. Thus, to raise and to lift are synonyms, but only the former is collocated with the noun question. The verbs to take, to catch, to seize, to grasp are synonyms, but they are found in different collocations: to take – exams, measures, precautions, etc.; to grasp – the truth, the meaning. Words habitually collocated in speech tend to form a cliche.

Words are also used in grammatical contexts. The minimal grammatical context in which the words are used to form word-groups is usually described as the pattern of the word-group. E.g., the adjective heavy can be followed by a noun (A+N) – heavy food, heavy storm, heavy box, heavy eater. But we cannot say «heavy cheese» or «heavy to lift, to carry», etc.

Grammatical valency is the ability of a word to appear in various grammatical structures; it is determined by the part of speech the word belongs to.

The grammatical valency of words may be different. The grammatical valency is delimited by the part of speech the word belongs to, e.g ., no English adjective can be followed by the finite form of a verb.

The grammatical valency distinguishes individual meanings of a polysemantic word, i.e.,, V + N – to grow roses (wheat) = “to cultivate”, V + V – to grow to like = “to begin”, V + A – to grow old (tired, dark) = “to become”, V + D – to grow quickly (rapidly) = “to increase”

The grammatical valency of the words belonging to the same part of speech is not necessarily identical, it may be delimited by the inner structure of the language, e.g. to suggest, to propose are synonyms, both can be followed by a noun, e.g., to propose (suggest) a plan, but it is only "propose" that can be followed by the infinitive of a verb – to propose to do something. Clever and intelligent have the same grammatical valency, but only clever can be used in word-groups having the pattern A+prep+N – clever at maths.

The range of grammatical valency is restricted by lexical valency: A + N – blind people (+) – blind sugar (-). A smiling girl (+) – a smilimg crocodile (-). But phrases, literally absurd, may be used figuratively: Look at him! A smiling crocodile!

II. Structurally word-groups can be considered in different ways. Word-groups may be described as for the order and arrangement of the component-members. E.g., the word-group to read a book can be classified as a verbal-nominal group, to look at smb. – as a verbal-prepositional-nominal group, etc.

III. By the criterion of distribution all word-groups may be divided into two big classes: according to their head-words and according to their syntactical patterns.

Word-groups may be classified according to their head-words into: nominal groups – red flower; adjective groups – kind to people; verbal groups – to speak well.

The head is not necessarily the component that occurs first.

IV. Word-groups are classified according to their syntactical pattern into predicative and non-predicative groups. Such word-groups as he went, Bob walks that have a syntactic structure similar to that of a sentence are termed as predicative, all others are non-predicative ones.

Non-predicative word-groups are divided into subordinative and coordinative depending on the type of syntactic relations between the components. E.g., a red flower, a man of freedom are subordinative non-predicative word-groups, red and freedom being dependent words, while day and night, do and die are coordinative non-predicative word-groups.

V. The lexical meaning of a word-group may be defined as the combined lexical meaning of the component members. But it should be pointed out, however, that the term «combined lexical meaning» does not imply that the meaning of the word-group is always a simple additive result of all the lexical meanings of the component words. As a rule, the meanings of the component words are mutually dependent and the meaning of the word-group naturally predominates over the lexical meaning of the components. The interdependence is well seen in word-groups made up of polysemantic words. E.g., in the phrases the blind man, the blind type the word blind has different meanings – unable to see and vague.

So we see that polysemantic words are used in word-groups only in one of their meanings.

VI. 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 its meaning on the other.

There are three main types of motivation: phonetical, morphological, semantic.

1. Phonetical motivation is used when there is a certain similarity between the sounds that make up the word. For example: buzz, cuckoo, gigle. The sounds of a word are imitative of sounds in nature, or smth that produces a characteristic sound. This type of motivation is determined by the phonological system of each language.

2. Morphological motivation – the relationship between morphemic structure and meaning. The main criterion in morphological motivation is the relationship between morphemes. One-morphemed words are non-motivated. Ex – means «former» when we talk about humans ex-wife, ex-president. Re – means «again»: rebuild, rewrite. Morphological motivation is especially obvious in newly coined words. In older words motivation is established etymologically.

The structure-pattern of the word is very important too: «finger-ring» and «ring-finger». Though combined lexical meaning is the same. The difference of meaning can be explained by the arrangement of the components.

The degree of motivation can be different: «endless» is completely motivated; «cranberry» is partially motivated: morpheme «cran-» has no lexical meaning.

3. Semantic motivation is based on the co-existence of direct and figurative meanings of the same word. «Mouth» denotes a part of the human face and at the same time it can be applied to any opening: «the mouth of a river». «Ermine» (горностай) is not only the name of a small animal, but also a fur. In their direct meaning «mouth» and «ermine» are not motivated.

Semantically all word-groups may be classified into motivated and non-motivated. Non-motivated word-groups are usually described as phraseological units or idioms. Word-groups may be described as lexically motivated if the combined lexical meaning of the groups is based on the meaning of their components. Thus take lessons is motivated; take place – ‘occur’ is lexically non-motivated.

Word-groups are said to be structurally motivated if the meaning of the pattern is deduced from the order and arrangement of the member-words of the group. Red flower is motivated as the meaning of the pattern quality – substance can be deduced from the order and arrangement of the words red and flower, whereas the seemingly identical pattern red tape (‘official bureaucratic methods’) cannot be interpreted as quality – substance.

Seemingly identical word-groups are sometimes found to be motivated or non-motivated depending on their semantic interpretation. Thus apple sauce, e.g., is lexically and structurally motivated when it means ‘ a sauce made of apples’ but when used to denote ‘nonsense’ it is clearly non-motivated

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