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This word has many meanings (in Oxford Dictionary – 14), many synonyms and idioms [ `idiemz]: creative work творча діяльність; public work громадські роботи; his life` s work справа його життя; dirty work (difficult, unpleasant) 1 чорна робота; 2 брудна справа, підлість.
1The Object of Lexicology. The English Word as a Structure.
Lexicology, a branch of linguistics, is the study of words.
”Lexicology is the part of linguistics dealing with the vocabulary of a language and the properties of words as the main units of language. The term vocabulary is used to denote the system formed by the sum total of all the words that the language possesses.
The term word denotes the basic unit of a given language resulting from the association of a particular meaning with a particular group of sounds capable of a particular grammatical employment. We do not know much about the origin of language and, consequently, of the origin of words. We know almost nothing about the mechanism by which a speaker's mental process is converted into sound groups called “words”, We know very little about the nature of relations between the word and the referent (ie object, phenomenon, quality, action, etc. denoted by the word). If we assume that there is a direct relation between the word and the referent it gives rise to another question: how should we explain the fact that the same referent is designated by quite different sound groups in different languages.
First, we know that the word is a unit of speech which serves the purposes of human communication. Thus, the word can be defined as a unit of communication.
Secondly, the word can be perceived as the total of the sounds which comprise it. Third, the word, viewed structurally, possesses several characteristics.
1. The structure of the word
The modern approach to word studies is based on distinguishing between the external and the internal structures of the word.
By external structure of the word we mean its morphological structure. For example, in the word post-impressionists the following morphemes can be distinguished: the prefixes post-, im-, the root press, the noun-forming suffixes-ion,-ist, and the grammatical suffix of plurality-s. All these morphemes constitute the external structure of the word post-impressionists.
The internal structure of the word, or its meaning, is commonly referred to as the word's semantic structure. This is the word's main aspect. Words can serve the purposes of human communication solely due to their meanings.
The area of lexicology specializing in the semantic studies of the word is called semantics.
Another structural aspect of the word is its unity. The word possesses both external (or formal) unity and semantic unity. Formal unity of the word is sometimes interpreted as indivisibility. The example of post-impressionists has already shown that the word is not indivisible.
The formal unity of the word can best be illustrated by comparing a word and a word-group comprising identical constituents. The difference between a blackbird and a black bird is explained by their relationship with the grammatical system of the language. The word blackbird, which is characterized by unity, possesses a single grammatical framing: blackbird / s. The first constituent black is not subject to any grammatical changes. In the word-group a black bird each constituent can acquire grammatical forms of its own: the blackest birds I've ever seen. Other words can be inserted between the components: a black night bird.
The word is a speech unit 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.
2. The main problems of lexicology
The problem of word-building is associated with prevailing morphological word-structures and with processes of making new words. Semantics is the study of meaning. Modern approaches to this problem are characterized by two different levels of study: syntagmatic and paradigmatic.
On the syntagmatic level, the semantic structure of the word is analysed in its linear relationships with neighbouring words in connected speech. In other words, the semantic characteristics of the word are observed, described and studied on the basis of its typical contexts.
On the paradigmatic level, the word is studied in its relationships with other words in the vocabulary system. So, a word may be studied in comparison with other words of similar meaning. E.g. work n – labour n. Work робота, праця; 1 the job that a person does especially in order to earn money. This word has many meanings (in Oxford Dictionary – 14), many synonyms and idioms [ `idiemz]: creative work творча діяльність; public work громадські роботи; his life` s work справа його життя; dirty work (difficult, unpleasant) 1 чорна робота; 2 брудна справа, підлість. Nice work! Дуже добре! Здорово! Saying (приказка): All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy (заважай справу з неробством, проживеш століття з веселощами) – it is not healthy to spend all your time working; you need to relax too.
Labour: “work” і “labour” не синоніми; labour – 1 work, especially physical work: manual labour, a labour camp – виправно-трудовий табір; 2 people who work: a shortage of labour; cheap labour; skilled labour – кваліфіковані робітники, Labour Party; labour relations; a labour of Sisyphus; Sisyphean labour [, sisi'fi: en] сізіфову працю; важкий і безплідний праця – of a task impossible to complete. From the Greek myth in which Sisyphus was punished for the bad things he had done in his life with the never-ending task of rolling a large stone to the top of a hill, from which it always rolled down again.
Other words of similar meaning (eg to refuse v – to reject v), of opposite meaning (eg busy adj – idle adj; to accept v – to reject v), of different stylistic characteristics (eg man n – chap n – bloke n – guy n). Man – chap (coll.) – хлопець, малий; a good chap – славний хлопець; old chap – старина; chap – BrE, informal, becoming old-fashioned – used to talk about a man in a friendly way: He isn `t such a bad chap really. Bloke (coll.) тип, хлопець: He seemed like a nice bloke. Guy – coll. US – малий; tough guy залізний малий; wise guy розумник; guys (informal, especially US) a group of people of either sex: Come on, you guys!
Consequently, the main problems of paradigmatic studies are synonymy, antonymy, functional styles.
3Types of Informal Words.
Informal style is relaxed, free-and-easy and familiar. Informal words and word-groups are divided into three types: colloquial, slang and dialect words and word-groups. Colloquial words
Among other informal words, colloquialisms are used by everybody, and their sphere of communication is comparatively wide, at least of literary colloquial words. These are informal words that are used in everyday conversational speech both by cultivated and uneducated people of all age groups. The sphere of communication of literary colloquial words also include the printed page.
However, in modern fiction informal words are not restricted to conversation in their use, but frequently appear in descriptive passages as well. In this way the narrative is endowed with conversational features. The author creates an intimate, warm, informal atmosphere.
Here are some more examples of literary colloquial words. Pal (кореш, друг) and chum (приятель, дружок) are colloquial equivalents of friend; girl A considerable number of shortenings are found among words of this type. E.g. pram, exam, fridge, flu, zip, movie. Verbs with post-positional adverbs are also numerous among colloquialisms: put up, put over, make up, make out, turn up, etc.
Literary colloquial words are to be distinguished from familiar colloquial and low colloquial. E.g. doc (for doctor), ta-ta (for good-bye), to kid smb. (for tease, banter – пожартувати), to pick up smb. (for make a qick and easy acquaintance), shut up (for keep silent).
Low colloquial (просторіччя) is defined as uses characteristic of the speech of persons who may be broadly described as uncultivated. This group is stocked with words of illiterate (неграмотний) English which do not present much interest for our purposes. Slang
The Oxford English Dictionary defines slang as “language of a highly colloquial style, considered as below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some special sense.”
All or most slang words are current words whose meanings have been metaphorically shifted / most slang words are metaphors and jocular, often with a coarse, mocking, cynical colouring.
Dialect words
Dialect is a variety of a language which prevails in a district, with local peculiarities of vocabulary, pronunciation and phrase. England is a small country, yet it has many dialects which have their own distinctive features (eg the Lancashire, Dorsetshire, Norfolk dialects).
So dialects are regional forms of English. Standard English is defined as the language as it is written and spoken by literate people in both formal and informal usage and that is universally current while incorporating regional differences.
Dialectal peculiarities, especially those of vocabulary, are constantly being incorporated into everyday colloquial speech or slang. From these levels they can be transferred into the common stock, ie words which are not stylistically marked and a few of them even into formal speech and into the literary language. Car, trolley, tram began as dialect words. Some examples of dialects: tha (thee) – the objective case of thou; brass – money; nivver – never; nowt – nothing.
4 Formal Style: Learned Words / Professional Terminology / Basic Vocabulary Learned words
learned words These words are mainly associated with the printed page. It is in this vocabulary stratum that poetry and fiction find their main resources.
We find here numerous words that are used in scientific prose and can be identified by their dry, matter-of-fact flavour (eg comprise, experimental, heterogeneous, homogeneous, conclusive, divergent, etc).
To this group also belongs so-called 'officialese' (канцеляризми). These are the words of the official, bureaucratic language. They should be avoided in speech and in print, eg assist (for help), endeavour (for try), proceed (for go), approximately (for about), sufficient (for enough), inquire (for ask). There is one further subdivision of learned words: modes of poetic diction. These stand close to the previous group many words from which, in fact, belong to both these categories.
Though learned words are mainly associated with the printed page, this is not exclusively so. Any educated English-speaking individual is sure to use many learned words not only in his formal letters and professional communication but also in his everyday speech. Professional terminology
Hundreds of thousands of words belong to special scientific, professional or trade terminological systems and are not used or even understood by people outside the particular speciality. Every field of modern activity has its specialized vocabulary, and similarly special terminologies for psychology, music, management, finance, economics, jurisprudence, linguistics and many others.
Term, as traditionally understood, is a word or a word-group which is specifically employed by a particular branch of science, technology, trade or the arts to convey a concept peculiar to his particular activity.
So, share, bank, balance sheet are finance terms; court, lawyer, civil law are legal terms; and top manager, creative team, motivation are used in management.
There are several controversial problems in the field of terminology. The first is the question whether a term loses its terminological status when it comes into common usage.
Two other controversial problems deal with polysemy and synonymy. According to some linguists, an “ideal” term should be monosemantic (ie it should have only one meaning). Basic vocabulary
These words are stylistically neutral, and, in this respect, opposed to formal and informal words. Their stylistic neutrality makes it possible to use them in all kinds of situations, both formal and informal, in verbal and written communication. These words are used every day, everywhere and by everybody, regardless of profession, occupation, educational level, age group or geographical location. house, bread, summer, child, mother, difficult, to go, etc.).
The basic vocabulary is the central group of the vocabulary, its historical foundation and living core. That is why words of this stratum show a considerably greater stability in comparison with words of the other strata, especially informal.
Basic vocabulary Informal Formal
begin start, get started commence
continue go on, get on proceed
end finish, be through, be over terminate
5 The Etymomology of English Words: Brief Survey of Historical Events. The earliest group of English borrowings
English vocabulary contains an immense number of words of foreign origin.
The first century B.C. Most territory now known to us as Europe is occupied by the Roman Empire. It is from the Romans that they learn how to make butter and cheese and, as there are no words for these foodstuffs in their tribal languages, they are to use the Latin words to name them. It is also to the Romans that the Germanic tribes owe the knowledge of some fruits and vegetables, and the Latin names of these fruits and vegetables enter their vocabularies: cherry, pear, plum, pea, beet, pepper. Celtic borrowings. The fifth century A.D.
Celtic words (Modern English bald, down, glen (лощина), druid (кельтський жрець), bard, cradle (колиска). Especially numerous among the Celtic borrowings were place names, names of rivers, hills, etc. Ironically, even the name of the English capital originates from Celtic.3. The period of Cristianization. The seventh century AD This century was significant for the hristianization of England. Latin was the official language of the Christian church, new Latin borrowings were very different in meaning from the earlier ones. They mostly indicated persons, objects and ideas associated with church and religious rituals. Eg priest (священик), bishop (єпископ), monk (монах), nun (черниця), candle (свічка).
Additionally, there were educational terms. It was quite natural that these were also Latin borrowings, for the first schools in England were church schools, and the first teachers – priests and monks. The very word school is a Latin borrowing.4. The characteristic features of Scandinavian borrowings.
From the end of the 8th c. to the middle of the 11th c. England underwent several Scandinavian invasions which left their trace on English vocabulary. Here are some examples of early Scandinavian borrowings: call v, take v, die v, law n, husband, window, ill. Some of the words of this group are easily recognizable as Scandinavian borrowings by the initial sk-combination. E.g. sky, skill, skin, ski, skirt. 5. Norman French borrowings (1066).
when the English were defeated by the Normans under William the Conqueror, we come to the eventful epoch of the Norman Conquest. England became a bi-lingual country, and the impact on the English vocabulary made over this two-hundred-years period is immense. French words from the Norman dialect penetrated every aspect of social life. Here is a brief list of examples of Norman French borrowings.
Administrative words: state, government Legal terms: court, judge, justice, crime, prison. Military terms: army, war, soldier, Educational terms: pupil, lesson, library, science, pen, pencil. Numerous terms of everyday life were also borrowed from French in this period: eg table, plate, saucer, dinner, 6. The Renaissance Period.
In England, as in all European countries, this period was marked by significant developments in science, there a considerable number of Latin and Greek borrowings. They were mostly abstract words (eg major, minor, filial (дочірній, синів), moderate (помірний), ntelligent, permanent, to create). There were numerous scientific and artistic terms (datum, status, phenomenon, philosophy, music) .. The most significant once more were French borrowings. This time they came from the Parisian dialect of French and are known as Parisian borrowings. Examples: regime, routine, police, machine, ballet, matin% 26 # 233; e (денне подання), scene, technique, bourgeois, etc. Italian also contributed a considerable number of words to English, eg piano, violin, opera, alarm.
6 Word-Building: Affixation / Conversion / Composition / Shortening.
By word-building making words from the resources of this particular language. roots (or radicals) and affixes. prefixes which precede the root (re-read, mis-pronounce) and suffixes which follow the root (teach-er, dict-ate). Affixation The process of affixation consists in containing a new word by adding an affix or several affixes to some root morpheme From the etymological point of view affixes are classified into the same two large groups as words: native and borrowed. Native-Noun-forming:-er: worker, miner, teacher, etc. -ness: coldness, loneliness, etc. -ing: feeling, singing, reading, etc. – Adjective-forming:-ful: careful, joyful, wonderful, etc. -less: careless, leepless, senseless, etc. Verb-forming:-en widen, darken, redden verb-forming:-ly warmly, Affixes can also be classified into productive er (trainer, leader),-ing (dying, building),-ness (coldness, fairness), and non-productive types. Noun-forming suffixes-th,-hood Adjective-forming suffixes ly,-some,-en,-ous Conversion
Conversion consists in making a new word from some existing word by changing the category of a part of speech: the morphemic shape of the original word remains unchanged. One of the major arguments for this approach to conversion is the semantic change that regularly accompanies each instance of conversion. Normally, a word changes its syntactic function without any shift in lexical meaning. E.g. both in yellow leaves and in The leaves were turning yellow the adjective denotes colour. Yet, in The leaves yellowed the converted unit no longer denotes colour, but the process of changing colour, so that there is an essential change in meaning.
Composition
which new words are produced by combining two or more stems, is one of the three most productive types in Modern English, the other two are conversion and affixation. Compounds which have affixes in their structure are called derived compounds. E.g. blue-eyed, golden-haired, lady-killer (серцеїд), film-goer (кіноман), music-lover (меломан). contracted compounds. These words have a shortened (contracted) stem in their structure: TV-set, V-day (Victory day), T-shirt, etc.
Morphological compounds are few in number. This type is non-productive. It is represented by words in which two compounding stems are combined by a linking vowel or consonant, eg Anglo-Saxon, handiwork (ручна робота), In syntactic compounds words are formed from segments of speech, preserving in their structure numerous traces of syntagmatic relations typical of speech: articles, prepositions, adverbs, as in the nouns lily-of-the – valley (конвалія good-for-nothing (негідник,
1. Shortening (Contraction)
This comparatively new way of word-building has achieved a high degree of productivity nowadays, especially in American English.
Shortenings-phone made from telephone, fence from defence), its ending (as in vac from vacation, ad from advertisement) or both the beginning and ending (as in flu from influenza, fridge from refrigerator).
The second way of shortening is to make a new word from the initial letters of a word group: BBC from the British Broadcasting Corporation, This type is called initial shortenings.
7Minor Types of Modern Word-Building.
Words coined by this type of word-bilding are made by imitating different kinds of sounds that may be produced by animals, birds, insects, human beings and inanimate objects.
It is of some interest that sounds produced by the same kind of animal are frequently represented by quite different sound groups in different languages. For instance, English dogs bark (cf. the R. гавкати). The English cock cries cock-a-doodle-doo (cf. the R. ку-ка-рі-ку).
1. Reduplication
In reduplication new words are made by doubling a stem, either without any phonetic changes as in bye-bye (coll, for good-bye) or with a variation of the root-vowel or consonant as in ping-pong, chit-chat ( слова). This second type is called gradational reduplication.
Stylistically speaking, most words made by reduplication represent informal groups: colloquialisms and slang. E.g. walkie-talkie (a portable radio), riff-raff (the dregs of society – покидьки, набрід), chi-chi (slang for chic (шик) as in chi-chi girl)).
2. Back-Formation (Reversion)
The earliest examples of this type of word-building are the verb to beg that was made from the French borrowing beggar, to burgle from burglar, to cobble from cobbler. In all these cases the verb was made from the noun by subtracting what was mistakenly associated with the English suffix-er. The pattern of the type to work – worker was firmly established in the subconscious of English-speaking people at the time when these formations appeared, and it was taken for granted that any noun denoting profession or occupation is certain to have a corresponding verb of the same root. So, in the case of the verbs to beg, to burgle, to cobble (лагодити взуття) the process was reversed: instead of the noun made from a verb by affixation (as in painter from to paint), a verb was produced from a noun by subtraction. That is why this type of word-building received the name of back-formation or reversion.
8 Meaning. Semantics. Semantic Structure of the Word.
MeaningThe very function of the word as a unit of communication is made possible by its possessing a meaning. Therefore, among the word's various characteristics, meaning is the most important. Meaning can be described as a component of the word through which a concept is communicated, in this way endowing the word with the ability of denoting real objects, qualities, actions and abstract notions. The relationships between referent (object etc. Denoted by the word), concept and word are represented by the triangle:
Thought or Reference
Symbol referent
By the “symbol” here is meant the word; thought or reference is concept. The dotted line suggests that there is no immediate relation between word and referent: it is established only through the concept. 2. The branch of linguistics which specializes in the study of meaning is called semantics. The modern approach to semantics is based on the assumption that the inner form of the word (ie its meaning) presents a structure which is called the semantic structure of the word.
1. Types of semantic components
The leading semantic component in the semantic structure of a word is termed denotative component. It expresses the conceptual content of a word.
The following list presents denotative components of some English adjectives and verbs: Denotative components
lonely, adj. = Alone, without company
notorious, adj. = Widely known
celebrated, adj. = Widely known
to glare, v. = To look
to glance, v. = To look
It is obvious that the definitions given in the right column only partially describe the meanings of their corresponding words. To give a more or less full picture of the meaning of a word, it is necessary to include in the scheme of analysis additional semantic components which are termed connotations or connotative components.
Let us complete the semantic structure of the words given above introducing connotative components into the schemes of their semantic structures:
Denotative components
Connotative components
lonely, adj. alone, without company + melancholy, sad Emotive connotation
notorious, adj. widely known + for criminal acts or bad traits of character Evaluative connotation, negative
celebrated, adj. widely known + for special achievements in science, art, etc. Evaluative connotation, positive
The above examples show how by singling out denotative and connotative components one can get a sufficiently clear picture of what the word really means. The schemes presenting the semantic structures of glare, shiver, shudder also show that a meaning can have two or more connotative components.
9 Polysemy. Meaning and the Context.
Polysemy The semantic structure of the word does not necessarily stand for one concept. It is known that 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 described by the term polysemy.
Two questions may arise in connection with polysemy:
1. Is polysemy an anomaly or a general rule in English vocabulary?
2. Is polysemy an advantage or a disadvantage so far as the process of communication is concerned?
Polysemy is certainly not an anomaly. Most English words are polysemantic. It should be noted that the wealth of expressive resources of a language largely depends on the degree to which polysemy has developed in the language. If each word is found to be capable of conveying at least two concepts instead of one, the expressive potential of the whole vocabulary increases twofold. Hence, a well-developed polysemy is not a drawback but a great advantage in a language.
On the other hand, it should be pointed out that the number of sound combinations that human speech organs can produce is limited. Therefore at a certain stage of language development the production of new words by morphological means becomes limited, and polysemy becomes increasingly important in providing the means for enriching the vocabulary. From this it should be clear that the process of enriching the vocabulary does not consist merely in adding new words to it, but, also, in the constant development of polysemy. The complicated processes of polysemy development involve both the appearance of new meanings and the loss of old ones. Yet, the general tendency with English vocabulary at the modern stage of its history is to increase the total number of its meanings and in this way to provide for a quantitative and qualitative growth of the language's expressive resources.
Meaning and context there is a chance of misunderstanding when a word is used in a certain meaning but accepted by a listener or reader in another:
C u s t o m e r. I would like a book, please.
B o o k s e l l e r. Something light?
C. That doesn't matter. I have my car with me.
In this conversation the customer is honestly misled by the polysemy of the adjective light taking it in the literal sense whereas the bookseller uses the word in its figurative meaning “not serious; entertaining”.
It is common knowledge that context is a powerful prevention against any misunderstanding of meanings. For instance, the adjective dull, if used out of context, would mean different things to different people. It is only in combination with other words that it reveals its actual meaning: a dull pupil, a dull play, a dull razor-blade.
combinability or collocations. This leads us to the conclusion that context is a good and reliable key to the meaning of the word. Yet, even the jokes given above show how misleading this key can prove in some cases. Here we are faced with two dangers. The first is that of sheer misunderstanding, when the speaker means one thing and the listener takes the word in its other meaning. The second danger is to see a different meaning in every new set of combinations. All this leads us to the conclusion that context is not the ultimate criterion for meaning and it should be used in combination with other criteria. Nowadays, different methods of componential analysis are widely used in semantic research: transformational analysis, distributional analysis. Yet, contextual analysis remains one of the main investigative methods for determining the semantic structure of a word.
10 Homonyms. Classification of Homonyms. Sources of Homonyms.
1. Homonyms are words which are identical in sound and spelling (or, at least, in one of these aspects), but different in their meaning, eg: bank, n. – A shore; bank, n. – An institution for receiving, lending, exchanging money. 2. Homonyms which are the same in sound and spelling are traditionally termed homonyms proper: spring – весна, spring – пружина, The second type of homonyms is called homophones – these are words the same in sound but different in spelling: night – ніч, knight — лицар; peace – світ, piece – шматок, The third type of homonyms is called homographs. These are words which are the same in spelling but different in sound: bow – цибуля, bow – поклон; tear n-сльоза, tear v-рвати; Professor AISmirnitsky classified homonyms into two large classes: I. Full lexical homonyms, II. Partial homonyms. Full lexical homonyms are words which represent the same category of parts of speech and have the same paradigm, eg match, n – a game, a contest; match, n – a short piece of wood used for producing fire.
Partial homonyms are subdivided into three subgroups:
A. Simple lexico-grammatical partial homonyms are words which belong to the same category of parts of speech. Their paradigms have one identical form, but it is never the same form, as will be seen from the examples: (to) found, v – found, v (Past Simple, Past Part. Of to find); to lay (класти, покласти), v (Past Simple – laid) – lay, v (Past Simple of to lie) – лежати.
B. Complex lexico-grammatical partial homonyms are words of different categories of parts of speech which have one identical form in their paradigms. E.g. rose, n – rose, v (Past Simple of to rise); left, adj. – Left, v (Past Simple, Past Part. Of to leave)
C. Partial lexical homonyms are words of the same category of parts of speech which are identical only in their corresponding forms. E.g. to lie (lay, lain), v – to lie (lied, lied), v – брехати. 4. Sources of homonyms
1). One source of homonyms are phonetic changes which words undergo in the course of their historical development. Night (ніч) and knight (лицар), for instance, were not homonyms in Old English as the initial k in the second word was pronounced, and not dropped as it is in its modern sound form.
2) Borrowing is another source of homonyms. A borrowed word may duplicate in form either a native word or another borrowing. rite, n (обряд) – to write, v – right, adj. the second and third words are of native origin whereas rite (обряд) is a Latin borrowing.
3). Word-building also contributes significantly to the growth of homonymy, and the most important type in this respect is conversion. Such pairs of words as comb, n (гребень) – to comb, v (расчёсывать); to make, v (делать) – make, n (работа) are numerous in the vocabulary. 4). Shortening is a further type of word-building which increases the number of homonyms. E.g. fan, n is a shortening produced from fanatic. 5). Words made by sound-imitation can also form pairs of homonyms with other words: e.g. bang, n (a loud, sudden, explosive noise) – bang, n (a fringe of hair combed over the forehead – чёлка).
6). Two or more homonyms can originate from different meanings of the same word when the semantic structure of the word breaks into several parts. This type of formation of homonyms is called split polysemy (распад полисемии).
Nowadays, however, the item of furniture, on which meals are served and round which boards of directors meet, is no longer denoted by the word board but by the French Norman borrowing table, and board in this meaning, though still registered by some dictionaries, can be marked as archaic as it is no longer used in common speech.
11 Synonyms. The Problem of Criteria of Synonymy.
1. Which words do we call synonyms?
Synonyms can be defined in terms of linguistics as two or more words of the same language, belonging to the same part of speech and possessing one or more identical or nearly identical denotational meanings, interchangeable, at least in some contexts, without any considerable alteration in denotational meaning, but differing in morphemic composition, phonetic shape, connotations, affective value, style and idiomatic use. The verbs like, admire and love, all describe feelings of attraction (привлекательность), approbation (одобрение), fondness (любовь, нежность)
Yet, each of the three verbs, though they all describe more or less the same feeling of liking, describes it in its own way. The duality of synonyms is, probably, their most confusing feature: they are somewhat the same, and yet they are most obviously different. Synonyms are one of the language's most important expressive means The principal function of synonyms is to present the same phenomenon in different aspects, shades and variations.
The problem of criteria of synonymy
1) Traditional linguistics solved this problem with the conceptual criterion and defined synonyms as words of the same category of parts of speech conveying the same concept but differing either in shades of meaning or in stylistic characteristics.
2) In contemporary research on synonymy semantic criterion is frequently used. In terms of componential analysis synonyms may be defined as words with the same denotation, or the same denotative component, but differing in connotations, or in connotative components.
Denotation Connotations
to stare: to look + steadily, lastingly + in surprise, curiosity
to glare: to look + steadily, lastingly + in anger, rage, fury
to gaze: to look + steadily, lastingly + in tenderness, admiration, wonder
to glance: to look + briefly, in passing
to peep: to look + quickly, secretly + by stealth; through an opening
to peer: to look + steadily, lastingly + with difficulty or strain
The common denotation to look shows that, according to the semantic criterion, the words grouped in the table: to stare, to glare, to glance, to peep (to look quickly and secretly at sth), to peer (to look closely or carefully at sth) are synonyms. The connotative components: steadily, lastingly, briefly, in surprise, in anger, etc. highlight their differentiations.
3) In modern research on synonyms the criterion of interchangeability is sometimes applied. According to this, synonyms are defined as words which are interchangeable at least in some contexts without any considerable alteration in denotational meaning.
Consequently, it is difficult to accept interchangeability as a criterion of synonymy because the specific characteristic of synonyms is that they are not, cannot and should not be interchangeable, in which case they would simply become useless ballast in the vocabulary. All this does not mean that no synonyms are interchangeable. One can find whole groups of words which can readily be substituted one for another. The same girl can be described as pretty, good-looking, handsome or beautiful. Yet, even these words are far from being totally interchangeable.
12 Classifications of Synonyms.
1. Classification system for synonyms established by V.V. Vinogradov
there are three types of synonyms: ideographic (which he defined as words conveying the same concept but differing in shades of meaning), stylistic (differing in stylistic characteristics) and absolute (coinciding in all their shades of meaning and in all their stylistic characteristics). Firstly, absolute synonyms are rare in the vocabulary. The vocabulary system tends to abolish them either by rejecting one of the absolute synonyms or by developing differentiation characteristics in one or both, or all of them. Therefore, it does not seem necessary to include absolute synonyms, which are a temporary exception, in the system of classification. Secondly, there seems to be no rigid demarcation line between synonyms differing in their shades of meaning and in stylistic characteristics. There are numerous synonyms which are distinguished by both shades of meaning and stylistic colouring. Therefore, even the subdivision of synonyms into ideographic and stylistic is open to question.
2. Classification of synonyms based on difference in connotations
I. The connotation of degree or intensity can be traced in such groups of synonyms as to surprise – to astonish – to amaze – to astound; to like – to admire – to love – to adore – to worship.
II. In the group of synonyms to stare – to glare – to gaze – to glance – to peep – to peer, all the synonyms except to glance, to peep denote a lasting act of looking at somebody or something, whereas to glance, to peep describe a brief look. These synonyms may be said to have a connotation of duration in their semantic structure.
III. The synonyms to stare – to glare – to gaze are differentiated from other words of the group by emotive connotations, and from each other by the nature of the emotion they imply. One should be warned against confusing words with emotive connotations and words with emotive denotative meanings, e.g. angry – furious – enraged; fear – terror – horror. In the latter, emotion is expressed by the leading semantic component whereas in the former it is an accompanying, subsidiary characteristic.
IV. The evaluative connotation conveys the speaker's attitude towards the referent, labelling it as good or bad. So in the group well-known – famous – notorious – celebrated, the adjective notorious bears a negative evaluative connotation and celebrated a positive one. Confer: a notorious murderer, robber, coward, but a celebrated scholar, artist, singer.
V. The causative connotation can be illustrated by the examples to shiver and to shudder, in whose semantic structures the cause of the act or process of trembling is encoded: to shiver with cold, from a chill; to shudder with horror, fear, etc.
VI. The connotation of manner can be singled out in some groups of verbal synonyms. The verbs to stroll – to stride – to trot – to swagger – to stagger – to stumble all denote different ways and types of walking.
VII. The above mentioned verbs to peep and to peer are differentiated by connotations of duration and manner.
VIII. The synonyms pretty, handsome, beautiful have been mentioned as the ones which are more or less interchangeable. This connotation may be defined as the connotation of attendant features.
IX. Stylistic connotations stand somewhat apart for two reasons. Firstly, some scholars do not regard the word's stylistic characteristic as a connotative component of its semantic structure. Secondly, stylistic connotations are subject to further classification, namely: colloquial, slang, dialect, poetic, terminological, archaic.
13 Euphemisms. Antonyms.
Euphemisms. There are words in every language which people instinctively avoid because they are considered indecent, indelicate, rude or impolite-euphemisms
The word lavatory has produced many euphemisms: powder room, washroom, restroom, and ladies' (room), gentlemen's room Fiction writers have often ridiculed pretentious people for their weak attempts to express themselves in a delicate and refined way. “ Mrs. Sunbury never went to bed, she retired, but Mr. Sunbury who was not quite so refined as his wife always said, “Me for Bedford”. To retire in this ironical passage is a euphemistic substitute for to go to bed.
There are words which are easy targets for euphemistic substitution. These include words associated with drunkenness, which are very numerous. The adjective drunk has a great number of such substitutes, e.g. intoxicated (form.), tipsy, high, merry, overcome, full (coll.), drunk as a lord (coll.), boiled (sl. набравшийся), Euphemisms may be used due to genuine concern not to hurt someone's feelings. For instance, a lier can be described as a person who does not always tell the truth and a stupid man can be said to be not exactly brilliant. All the euphemisms that have been described so far are used to avoid the so-called social taboos. Their use is inspired by social convention. The Christian religion also made certain words taboo. The proverb Speak of the devil and he will appear (лёгок на помине
that euphemistic connotations in formal euphemisms are different in “flavour” from those in slang euphemistic substitutes. In the first case they are solemn (официальный) and delicately evasive (уклончивый), and in the second rough and cynical.
Antonyms. We use the term antonyms to indicate words of the same category of parts of speech which have contrasting meanings, such as hot – cold, light – dark, to accept – to reject, up – down.
Antonymy is not evenly distributed among the categories of parts of speech. Most antonyms are adjectives which is only natural because qualitative characteristics are easily compared and contrasted: high – low, wide – narrow, old – young.
Verbs take second place: to lose – to find, to live – to die, to close – to open.
Nouns are not rich in antonyms: friend – enemy, joy – grief, good – evil.
Antonymic adverbs can be subdivided into two groups: a) adverbs derived from adjectives: warmly – coldly, merrily – sadly; b) adverbs proper: now – then, here – there, ever – never. Not so many years ago antonomy was not universally accepted as a linguistic problem, and the opposition within antonymic pairs was regarded as purely logical and finding no reflection in the semantic structures of these words. The contrast between heat and cold or big and small, said most scholars, is the contrast of things opposed by their nature. Nowadays most scholars agree that in the semantic structures of all words, which regularly occur in antonymic pairs, a special antonymic cannotation can be singled out. We are so used to coming across hot and cold together, in the same contexts, that even when we find hot alone, we cannot help subconsciously registering it is not cold. The word possesses its full meaning for us not only due to its direct associations but also because we subconsciously oppose it to its antonym, with which it is regularly used, in this case to hot. Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that the semantic structure of hot can be said to include the antonymic connotation of “not cold”, and the semantic structure of enemy the connotation of “not a friend”.
14 Phraseology: Idioms, Proverbs.
Phraseological units, or idioms, represent what can probably be described as the most colourful and expressive part of the language's vocabulary.
Word-groups known as phraseological units or idioms are characterized by a double sense: the current meanings of constituent words build up a certain picture, but the actual meaning of the whole unit has little or nothing to do with that picture, in itself creating an entirely new image.
So, a dark horse is actually not a horse but a person about whom no one knows anything definite, and so one is not sure what can be expected from him. A white elephant (обуза), however, is not even a person but a valuable object which involves great expense or trouble for its owner and which is difficult to dispose of. To let the cat out of the bag has actually nothing to do with cats, but means simply “to let some secret become known” (проболтаться) The ambiguousness of these interesting word-groups may lead to an amusing misunderstanding. Used with care is an important warning because speech overloaded with idioms loses its freshness and originality. Idioms are ready-made units, and their continual repetition sometimes wears them out: they lose their colours and become trite cliches (банальные клише). Such idioms can hardly be said to “ornament” or “enrich” the language.Most Russian scholars use the term “phraseological unit” (“фразеологическая единица”) which was first introduced by Academician V.V. Vinogradov. There are some other terms denoting more or less the same linguistic phenomenon: set-expressions, set-phrases, collocations.
1. Proverbs
Proverbs are different from those phraseological units which have been discussed above. The first distinctive feature that strikes one is the structural dissimilarity. Phraseological units are a kind of ready-made blocks which fit into the structure of a sentence performing a certain syntactical function, more or less as words do.
Proverbs, if viewed in their structural aspect, are sentences, and so cannot be used in the way in which phraseological units are used.
If one compares proverbs and phraseological units in the semantic aspect, the difference seems to become more obvious. Proverbs could be best compared with minute fables for, like the latter, they sum up the collective experience of the community. They moralize (Hell is paved with good intentions – Благими намерениями вымощен ад), give advice (Don't judge a tree by its bark – Не по словам судят, а по делам No phraseological unit ever does any of these things. They do not stand for whole statements as proverbs do but for a single concept. Their function in speech is purely nominative (i.e. they denote an object, an act, etc.). The function of proverbs in speech is communicative (i.e. they impart certain information).
A.V. Koonin includes proverbs in his classification of phraseological units and labels them communicative phraseological units. From his point of view, one of the main criteria of a phraseological unit is its stability.
So, the phraseological unit birds of a feather (птицы одного полёта, два сапога пара) originated from the proverb Birds of a feather flock together (Рыбак рыбака видит издалека). What is more, some of the proverbs are easily transformed into phraseological units, e.g. Don't put all your eggs in one basket (Не складывай все яйца в одну корзину)> to put all one's eggs in one basket (рисковать, поставить всё на карту); don't cast pearls before swine> to cast pearls before swine (метать бисер перед свиньями).
15 lassification of Phraseological Units.
1The traditional principle for classifying phraseological units
is based on their original content and might be alluded to as “thematic” (although the term is not universally accepted). The approach is widely used in numerous English and American guides to idiom, phrase books, etc. On this principle, idioms are classified according to their sources of origin. This principle of classification is sometimes called “etymological”. 2 The semantic principle of classification for phraseological units Vinogradov's classification system is founded on the degree of semantic cohesion (сцепление) between the components of a phraseological unit. three classes: phraseological combinations E.g. to look a sight (coll.) (выглядеть пугалом),, unities E.g. to stick to one's guns (стоять на своём) – (= to be true to one's views or convictions); and fusions (фразеологические сочетания, единства и сращения). E.g. to come a cropper (to come to disaster – попасть в беду; прямое значение – упасть с лошади вниз головой);
3 The structural principle of classification for phraseological units
A. Verbal. E.g. to run for one's (dear) life (бежать сломя голову);
B. Substantive. E.g. dog's life (собачья жизнь);
C. Adjectival. In this group the so-called comparative word-groups are particularly expressive and sometimes amusing: E.g. high and mighty (высокомерный
D. Adverbial. E.g.); by hook or by crook (всеми правдами и неправдами); Interjectional (восклицательные). E.g. my God! good Heavens!
2. Classification system offered by Professor A.I. Smirnitsky
A. One-summit units (одновершинные фразеологические единства), which have one meaningful constituent (e.g. to give up, to make out (разбиратьTwo-summit and multi-summit units (двухвершинные и многовершинные фразеологические единства) which have two or more meaningful constituents. Е.g. black art (чёрная магия), 4 The classification system of phraseological units suggested by Professor A.V. Koonin
The classification system of phraseological units suggested by Professor A.V. Koonin is the latest outstanding achievement in the Russian theory of phraseology. The classification is based on the combined structural-semantic principle and it also considers the quotient of stability of phraseological units.
Phraseological units are subdivided into the following four classes according to their function in communication determined by their structural-semantic characteristics.
1) Nominative phraseological units are represented by word-groups, including the ones with one meaningful word, and coordinative phrases of the type wear and tear (износ), well and good.
The first class also includes word-groups with a predicative structure, such as as the crow flies (напрямик, кратчайшим путём) and predicative phrases of the type see how the land lies (понимать положение вещей).
2) Nominative-communicative phraseological units include word-groups of the type to break the ice (нарушить молчание)- the ice is broken.
3) Phraseological units which are neither nominative nor communicative include interjectional word-groups.
4) Communicative phraseological units are represented by proverbs and sayings.
These four classes are divided into sub-groups according to the type of structure of the phraseological unit.
The classification system is based on truly scientific and modern criteria.
16Lexicography. Types of Dictionaries.
1. Lexicography and dictionaries
Lexicography, that is the theory and practice of compiling dictionaries, is an important branch of applied linguistics. It has a common object of study with lexicology as both describe the vocabulary of a language.
The term dictionary is used to denote a book listing words of a language with their meanings and often with data regarding pronunciation, usage and/or origin. There are also dictionaries that concentrate their attention upon only one of these aspects: pronouncing (phonetical) dictionaries and etymological dictionaries.
For dictionaries in which the words and their definition belong to the same language the term unilingual or explanatory is used, whereas bilingual or translation dictionaries are those that explain words by giving their equivalents in another language. Multilingual or polyglot dictionaries are not numerous, they serve chiefly the purpose of comparing synonyms and terminology in various languages.
Unilingual dictionaries are further subdivided with regard to time. Diachronic dictionaries, of which the Oxford English Dictionary is the main example, reflect the development of the English vocabulary by recording the history of form and meaning for every word registered. They may be contrasted to synchronic or descriptive dictionaries of current English concerned with present-day meaning and usage of words. The examples of such dictionaries are Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English by A.S. Hornby (the new 7th edition in 2005), Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.
Both bilingual and unilingual dictionaries can be general and special.
General dictionaries represent the vocabulary as a whole.
General dictionaries are contrasted to special dictionaries whose stated aim is to cover only a certain specific part of the vocabulary. Special dictionaries may be further subdivided depending on whether the words are chosen according to the sphere of human activity in which they are used (technical dictionaries), the type of the units themselves (e.g. phraseological dictionaries) or the relationships existing between them (e.g. dictionaries of synonyms).
English-Russian Dictionary by Professor V.K. M%26#220;LLER is well-known and popular in Russia. It was first published in 1945 and later sustained numerous revised and enlarged editions. It is not a historical dictionary but one of current usage.
The Concise Oxford Russian Dictionary is an abridgement of The Oxford Russian Dictionary, published in 1933. English-Russian Law Dictionary by S.N. Andrianov represents the modern legal vocabulary. It contains 50,000 terms. Due accent in the dictionary was given to the modern American legal vocabulary. The Macmillan English Dictionary is a major new dictionary based on a 200 million word corpus of real spoken and written text. It includes over 100,000 references with 30,000 idioms and phrases. Its clear, simple definitions are written using 2,500 of the most common and familiar words, which are listed at the back of the dictionary.
Longman Business English Dictionary (new edition; first edition published in 2000, second – in 2007) is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to business vocabulary. Cambridge Idioms Dictionary (2007) clearly explains the meaning and use of over 7,000 idioms current in British, American, and Australian English.
17 American Variety of English.
American English (variously abbreviated AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US[1]), also known as United States English or U.S. English, is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two thirds of native speakers of English live in the United States.[2]
English is the most common language in the United States. Though the U.S. federal government has no official language, English is considered the de facto language of the United States due to its widespread use. English has been given official status by 30 of the 50 state governments.[3]
The use of English in the United States was inherited from British colonization. The first wave of English-speaking settlers arrived in North America in the 17th century. During that time, there were also speakers in North America of Spanish, French, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Scots, Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Finnish, Russian (Alaska) and numerous Native American languages.
The father of American lexicography was Noah Webster. His great work, The American Dictionary of the English Language, appeared in two volumes in 1828 and later sustained numerous revised and enlarged editions. American English and British English (BrE) differ at the levels of phonology, phonetics, vocabulary, and, to a lesser extent, grammar and orthography. North America has given the English lexicon many thousands of words, meanings, and phrases. Several thousand are now used in English as spoken internationally; others, however, died within a few years of their creation.
First, there are a few noticeable GRAMMAR differences between British and American English: we'll give the two most important ones. First of all, when Americans make sentences using 'just', 'already' or 'yet', they normally use the past simple, while in Britain, they use the present perfect. So an American, for example, might say: “I already had lunch.” “She didn't arrive yet.” And a British person would say:
“I've already had lunch.” – That's “I have already had lunch.” “Or… “She hasn't arrived yet.”
As for spelling, British English and American English have much in common, but there are differences: British English American English
honour honor , colour color, theatre theater, centre center, catalogue catalog, programme program
There are, of course, some differences in the meaning of words and expressions:
Russian British English American English
аптека chemist's drugstore
груз luggage baggage
купюра banknote bill
бензин petrol gas, gasoline
нанять hire rent
метро underground subway
Another example would be telling the time… If we want to describe 2:45 in Britain, we might say: “Quarter to three”, or 3:15 would be “Quarter past three”.
On the other hand, in America, these might be:
“Quarter of three” for 2:45, or “Quarter after three” for 3:15.
А так же :
Имеди" извинилась, извинится или нет МО и МЧС России
Типа такого , а может и его лень лесть смотреть http://www.hitarm.ru/cat/>nasosyigrundfos/povyisit>elnyie59539512_nasos_
Мир ПК №9 (сентябрь 2010)
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Список литературы Для подготовки данной работы были использованы материалы с сайтаhttp://www.shpori4all.narod.ru/
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