Components of lexical meaning

The modern approach to semantics is based on the assumption that the inner form of the word, i.e. meaning, presents a structure, which is called the semantic structure of the word. The semantic structure of the word does not present an indissoluble unity (that is why it is referred to as “structure”), nor does it always stand for one concept. Most words convey several concepts and thus possess the corresponding number of meanings. A word having several meanings is called polysemantic, and the ability of words to have more than one meaning is called polysemy.

In the general framework of lexical meaning the following components are singled out: 1) the denotational component; 2) the connotational component; 3) the pragmatic component.

The denotational component of lexical meaning is the part of lexical meaning which establishes correlation between the name and the object, phenomenon, action, process or characteristic feature of objective reality or thought as such, which is named by the given word. The denotational component of meaning conveys the bulk of information in the process of communication. The denotative component or denotation expresses the conceptual or notional content of the word, e.g. such words as “notorious, celebrated” both possess the denotation of “widely known”, but it is obvious that the denotative component alone is insufficient to give a full picture of the lexical meaning of the word.

The connotational component of lexical meaning is the part of meaning which reflects the attitude of the speaker towards what he speaks about and some additional information in the process of communication.

Different types of connotation include:

1) the emotive charge, e.g. “lonely” as compared to “alone”, the former presupposes melancholy and desolation while the latter means only solitary state;

2) evaluation, which may be positive or negative, e.g. “celebrated” vs. “notorious”, the former presupposes good fame, while the latter expresses a negative attitude;

3) intensity, degree or expressiveness, e.g. “to surprise” as compared to “to astound”, the latter showing an extreme degree of the feeling;

4) cause, e.g. “to shiver” vs. “to shudder”, where the former denotes trembling with cold and the latter – with fear, horror or disgust;

5) attending circumstances, “to wade” means “to walk through mud, water or anything that makes progress difficult;

6) manner, e.g. such verbs as “to stroll, to stride, to trot, to swagger, to stagger” encode in their semantic structure different types of walking, including the length of pace, tempo, gait, carriage, purposefulness etc.;

7) attendant features, e.g. “pretty” vs. “beautiful”, the former describing small delicate features and fresh complexion while the latter – classical features and figure;

8) imagery, e.g. “to wade” has a denotative component of “to walk with an effort” while used figuratively it gives rise to another meaning which is based on the same image as the denotative one – “to wade through a book”.

The pragmatic component of lexical meaning is the part of meaning which conveys information on the situation of communication. It falls into four sets:

1) information on the “time and space” relationship of the participants, e.g. the verbs “come” and “go” indicate the location of the speaker who is usually taken as the zero point in the description of the situation of communication. The time relationship is manifested through indirect reference to time, such as in the word “behold” which was widely used in the 17^th century in the meaning of “to take notice of, to see” but which nowadays has become obsolete;

2) information on the participants and the given language community. G.Leech in “Semantics” analyses the same situation described by representatives of different social groups: (a) They chucked a stone at the cops, and then did a bunk with the loot, (b) after casting a stone at the police, they absconded with the money. G.Leech points out that sentence (a) could be said by criminals talking casually about the crime afterwards, while sentence (b) might be said by the chief inspector making an official report. So the words one uses in his speech can be indicative of the social status, education, occupation etc.;

3) information of the tenor of discourse. The tenors of discourse reflect how the speaker interacts with the addressee, tenors are based on social or family roles of the participants of the communication, e.g. there may be a situation of a mother talking to her children, or about her children; a situation of a stranger talking to a stranger, or a conversation of two friends, or a teacher talking to a student etc.;

4) information on the register of communication. The register defines the general type of the situation of communication grading them in formality, ranging from extreme degrees through norm to extreme non-formality, so usually three main types of the register of communication are distinguished – formal, neutral and informal. Practically every word in the language is register-oriented. Thus, such words as “filial, anticipate, aid, solar” are indicative of the formal register, while “doc, g.f., hi, kid” belong to the informal register.

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