- •Table of contents
- •Part 1. Lecture guides
- •1. Lexicology as a Branch of Linguistics
- •2. Word as a Basic Lingual Unit
- •3. The Word Meaning
- •Classification of lexical meanings
- •4. Semantic Change
- •The causes of semantic changes
- •I. Extra-linguistic causes of semantic change
- •II. Linguistic causes of the semantic change
- •Nature of semantic change
- •Results of semantic change
- •5. Polysemy. Semantic Structure of the Word. Context
- •6. The English Vocabulary as a System
- •Paradigmatic relations in vocabulary
- •Syntagmatic relations in vocabulary
- •Associative relations in vocabulary
- •7. Homonyms. Paronyms
- •8. Lexical Synonymy and Antonymy
- •Sources of synonymy
- •Semantic classification
- •9. Morphological Structure of the Word
- •Types of meaning in morphemes
- •10. Word-building
- •Classification of compounds
- •11. Etymology of the English Word-Stock
- •Native words
- •12. Stylistic Differentiation of the English Word-Stock
- •Literary words
- •Colloquial vocabulary
- •13. Phraseology of Modern English
- •Semantic classification of phraseological units
- •Structural classification of phraseological units
- •Functional classification of phraseological units
- •Contextual classification of phraseological units
- •Structural-semantic classification of phraseological units
- •14. Territorial Differentiation of the English Word-Stock
- •Vocabulary
- •15. English Lexicography
- •Classification of linguistic dictionaries
- •Problems of lexicography
- •Stages of development of English and American lexicography
- •Part 2. Seminars Seminar 1. Word as a Linguistic Sign
- •Test Questions
- •What phonetical variants do the following words have:
- •2. Link the variants below with the-identity-of-unit problem.
- •3. What problem (the sign nature of the word, the size-of-unit, the identity-of unit problems) do we deal with when we ask questions like:
- •5. How many words with root fast can you follow in the exercise? Group variants of the same word, discriminate between different words, prove their identity and separateness.
- •6. Speak on the lingual sign arbitrariness using the following examples:
- •7. Speak on the lingual sign asymmetry (correlation of content and expression) using the following examples:
- •Seminar 2. The Word Meaning
- •6. Establish the types of lexical meaning realised in the following sentences.
- •9. Use an explanatory dictionary, analyse the definitions of the following words and break up the semantic components into integral and differential semes.
- •Seminar 3. Causes, Nature and Results of Semantic Change
- •Test Questions
- •1. Determine the extralinguistic causes of semantic development of the words: historical, social, psychological.
- •2. Establish the linguistic cause of semantic development of the words: ellipsis, differentiation of synonyms, linguistic analogy.
- •3.* Define the type of semantic change:
- •4. Read the given passage. Speak on the linguistic phenomenon described in it.
- •6. Translate the cases of stylistic metaphor:
- •7.* The metonymical change may be conditioned by various connections such as spacial, temporal, causal, symbolic, instrumental, functional, etc. Establish the model of transfer in each case:
- •8. Find cases of semantic change based on hyperbole, litotes and irony.
- •11. Guess about reasons for the following euphemistic transfers:
- •Seminar 4. Polysemy and Context
- •Test Questions
- •6. Identify the meaning of the verb have in the semantic, grammatical and phrasal contexts:
- •7. Translate the sentences. Avoid looking up for the underlined words:
- •Seminar 5. The Vocabulary of a Language as a System
- •Test Questions
- •1. Find the hypernyms (superordinates) in the given lexico-semantic groups:
- •6.* Arrange the following units into three lexical sets, give them corresponding names.
- •8.* Think of one word only which can be used appropriately in all three sentences.
- •9. Using the data of various dictionaries compare the lexical valency of the words:
- •10. Suggest a frame of your own for the concept “trade”.
- •Seminar 6. Homonymy and Paronymy
- •Test Questions
- •1.* Find the homonyms in the following extracts. Classify them into:
- •5.* Identify the source of homonymy for the following lexical units:
- •7. Comment on the meanings of the following interlingual paronyms (international words, “false friends of the interpreter”):
- •8. Suggest Russian translation of the underlined pseudo-international words:
- •Seminar 7. Synonymy and Antonymy
- •Test Questions
- •1. Analyze the synonyms given and find the difference between them. Consult a dictionary. Give examples of your own:
- •2. Classify the synonyms into stylistic, ideographic and semantico-stylistic ones.
- •3. Use the following words to make up paradigms of synonyms. Point to the dominant synonyms. Pay attention to the polysemy of some words.
- •4. Within the following synonymic sets single out words with:
- •5. Make all necessary diagnostic tests and decide if these words are synonyms:
- •13. Provide the appropriate translation for the following contronyms.
- •Seminar 8. Word-structure
- •Test Questions
- •Seminar 9. Word-formation
- •Test Questions
- •1.* Classify the given affixes into native and borrowed:
- •2.* Break up the given affixes into productive and non-productive:
- •3. State the origin and explain the meaning of the suffixes in the following words:
- •4.* Give corresponding verbs or nouns to the following words:
- •5.* Form adjectives from the given nouns:
- •7. Read the following sentences. Translate the italisized words into Russian.
- •8. Find the cases of conversion in the sentences, identify the part of speech of the converted word.
- •9. Arrange the following compounds of:
- •11. In accordance with the part that is cut off to form a new word classify the clippings into four groups: 1) final clipping; 2) initial clipping; 3) intial and final clipping; 4) medial clipping.
- •12.* Determine the original components of the following blends.
- •13. Distinguish between phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs below:
- •14.* From the sentences given below write out the words built up by back-formation. Give the original words from which they are formed.
- •16. What serves as a word-formation means in the given words?
- •17. Define the type of word-building.
- •Seminar 10. Etymology of the English Word-Stock
- •Test Questions
- •6.* Build up pairs of etymological doublets:
- •9.* Etymology Quiz
- •1) Match the word on the left to its definition on the right, using the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English on the cd-rom or any etymological dictionary to help you.
- •2) From this list, guess which language or country the words above came from originally, then check with the Word Origins in the cd-rom:
- •Seminar 11. Stylistic Classification of the English Vocabulary
- •Test Questions
- •1. State the difference in the pragmatic aspect of meaning of the given synonyms. Consult a dictionary.
- •2.* Break up the following words into formal, informal and neutral:
- •3.* Which unit is the odd one out in each of the following sets of formal words?
- •7. What word-building model was employed for coining the underlined nonce words?
- •9.* Replace the colloquial expressions by more neutral ones.
- •10.* Say whether you feel the following remarks are ok, too formal or too informal for each situation described. If the remark is unsuitable, suggest what the person might say instead.
- •11. Find proper Russian equivalents and stylistically neutral counterparts of the following jargon expressions. Comment on their metaphorical nature:
- •12.* Classify the given words into neologisms, archaisms and historisms:
- •13.* Classify the neologisms into three groups: 1) neologisms proper; 2) semantic neologisms; 3) transnominations.
- •Seminar 12. Phraseology
- •Test Questions
- •1. State which of the italisized units are phraseological units and which are free word combinations. Give proof of your answer.
- •2. Translate the phraseological units, giving their literal and figurative meaning.
- •4.* Make up five phraseological paradigms united by thematic features: 1) people’s qualities; 2) people in the classroom; 3) feelings or mood; 4) praise; 5) using language.
- •5. Classify the phraseological units on the semantic principle into: 1) phraseological fusions; 2) phraseological unities; 3) phraseological combinations.
- •7. Translate the following binominals into Russian.
- •8.* Decide which word or phrase completes the sentence and insert it. You may consult the dictionary of collocations.
- •9.* Group the given phraseological units into native and borrowed ones. State the sources of their origin.
- •10. The following phraseological units are biblical in origin. Find the corresponding Russian equivalents for them.
- •11. Comment upon the interrelation of lexical components in the following English and Russian praseological units:
- •12. The following is a collection of traditional proverbs. Give Russian equivalents of the following English proverbs.
- •13. Try to decide which proverb could help you express yourself in the following situations.
- •Seminar 13. Variants and Dialects of the English Language
- •Test Questions
- •5.* Find historical Americanisms, proper Americanisms and American borrowings:
- •7.* Translate the following words into English, giving British and American variants:
- •8.* Translate the following phrases, using the prepositions current in America and then in England:
- •9.* Can you avoid some of the most common confusions arising between British and American speakers? Try the following quiz¹.
- •10.* Convert the following sentences into British English:
- •11.* What do you think these examples of Australian colloquialisms mean? They are all formed by abbreviating an English word which you probably know.
- •13.* Below you have some statements made by a Scot. Answer the questions about them.
- •14.* Answer the following questions relating Black English.
- •Seminar 14. English Lexicography
- •Test Questions
- •1.* Judging only by the names of the dictionaries elicit as much information about them as possible and define the types:
- •2. Analyse the entries for the word thesaurus and determine the type of dictionaries they are borrowed from.
- •3. Which unit does not belong to the set?
- •4. Look up the answers to the following questions.
- •5. Give the full form of the following labels:
- •8. Compare two or three general-use dictionaries and comment on the similarities and differences.
- •Part 3. Supplemental material What to Read
- •Abbreviations
- •Bibliography
- •English lexicology: theory and practice Учебное пособие
- •690950 Г. Владивосток, ул. Октябрьская, 27
- •690950 Г. Владивосток, ул. Октябрьская, 27
12. The following is a collection of traditional proverbs. Give Russian equivalents of the following English proverbs.
As you sow, so you shall reap.
Beauty is but skin deep.
Better late than never.
Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
Half a loaf is better than none (no bread).
He who laughs last, laughs longest.
One man’s meat is another man’s poison.
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.
13. Try to decide which proverb could help you express yourself in the following situations.
1. You make an appointment with your doctor for 6 pm. You arrive at 6.15. He complains that he has been waiting for 15 minutes. What would you say?
2. Your boss calls you into his office to ask you why you haven’t finished the task that he asked you to do earlier and he complains that you are slow. What would you say to him (you are being cheeky)?
3. Your best friend gets married to a very ugly fat person who has a very kind, pleasant personality. Your spouse asks you how he could have possibly married her. What would you say?
4. Your friend smokes 60 cigarettes a day. He has a bad cough and he is always whining (complaining) that he would like to give up smoking. You offer to pay for expensive anti-smoking therapy. He says that he doesn’t want to do it because he will miss his favourite television serial. What do you think to yourself?
Topics for Presentation
Structural-semantic classification of phraseological units by prof. A.V. Koonin (Кунин, А.В. Курс фразеологии современного английского языка, 1986)
Familiar quotations and maxims
Seminar 13. Variants and Dialects of the English Language
The causes of the development of varieties and variants of the English language. Language – dialect – variant. Some peculiarities of British English and American English: spelling, pronunciation, punctuation, vocabulary, grammar. Vocabulary of American English: the general English vocabulary, historical Americanisms, proper Americanisms, American borrowings. Affixation, shortening and postpositivation as highly productive ways of word-building in American English. American idioms. The grammar system of American English. Canadian English. Australian English. New Zealand English. Indian English. Local dialects in Great Britain and the USA. Cockney. Black English (Ebonics).
Test Questions
Where is English spoken nowadays? What is meant by the phrase “English as a global language”?
Do the USA possess their own language? What is the status of American (Canadian, Australian) English?
What is the historical background of the formation of the lexical system of American English? What are ‘proper Americanisms’?
What relations exist between the lexical units of American English and British English?
What are the peculiarities of American English word-building system?
What are the grammatical pecularities of American English?
What are the relations between the different varieties of English nowadays?
What groups of local dialects in Great Britain and the USA can be singled out?
Why do Scottish English and Irish English have a special linguistic status and cannot be referred to as dialects?
What do you know about African-American Vernacular English?
Tasks and assignments
1.* Give the British spelling of the following words:
aluminum, analog, annex, artifact, connexion, check, dialog, disk, donut, draft, encyclopedia, gray, Hallowe’en, harbor, hospitalized, jewelry, judgment, labor, lite, maneuver, mold, mustache, omelet, pajamas, plow, practice, pretense, program, quarreled, specialty, story, sulfur, theater, thru, tire, woolen, afterward, drug.
2. Provide Received Pronunciation and General American one for the words:
dance, half, disaster, headmaster, clerk, schedule, dictionary, interesting, necessary, secretary, often, hot, poppy, holiday, valet, ballet, forehead, education, advertisement, compote, epoch, leisure, process, tomato, vase, new, student, what, where, when, whereas, which, whim, white, fear, poor, care, part, certainty, certificated, the idea of, Asia and Europe, law and order.
3.* Point out words: 1) the meaning of which in American English is entirely different from that in British English, 2) the general meaning of which is the same in both variants, but which have acquired an additional specific meaning in one of the variants:
tardy, guess, homely, sick, billion, corn, dessert, buzzard, fag end, bun, flip-flop, bathroom, vacation, pavement, smart, bureau, express, tube, cocktail.
4.* Which of the statements belong to British English and to American English?
I want to make a call to California. Could you connect me within 10 minutes?
I’m sorry your number is engaged. Shall I try and put you through later?
After you have filled out the form, take the elevator to the second floor and there you may exchange your money.
Where can I find a phone box? I want to ring my mother up. Oh, I need to change my pound note.Where can I do it?
The toilet’s on the ground floor. Go past the chemist’s, the Lost Property, and there you’ll see it.
There’s no need for you to queue up with your telegramme.
He wants to mail some of his letters.Tell him the zip code, please, and show him where the mailbox is.