Questions and Tasks

1. Find examples of semantic ambiguity within the English lexicon and define its role within the lexical system. Compare the number of polysemantic and monosemantic words within the English lexicon.

2. Study the meanings of the following English forms: charge, diamond, leaves, mark, plane, tract and define the type of semantic ambiguity. State your reasons for qualifying them as polysemantic or homonymous words.

3. Study the semantic processes that have resulted in the lexico-semantic variants of the following English words:

1. eye n, front n, pickle n, scorpion n, scout n, slight a, think v, civil a, crack v, cream n, crooked a, master n;

2. doctor n, cat n, caste n, cure v, curator n, evidence n, meal n;

3. meat n, noble a, pledge n, script n, refrain v;

4. scrivener n, spinster n, flaw n, silly a, lady n, queen n, pedagogue n, miss n;

5. nice a, serve v, penthouse n, minister n, pulpit n.

Find examples of various types of semantic derivation.

4. Analyze the semantic relationship between meanings of the words creation, moulding; rubber, iron; lamb, chicken and find other examples of patterned polysemy in English. Compare the patterns of regular polysemy in English to the patterns in Belarusian (Russian, French, German…).

5. Study the semantic structures of the following polysemantic nouns in English and define the types of their constituent meanings: hall, hand, mess, road, sea. Speak on the arrangement of meanings within the semantic structures of the given words.

Find your own examples of radial, chain and mixed-type semantic structures of polysemantic words in English.

6. Discuss the ways of solving semantic ambiguity and give contexts in which different meanings of the following English words become transparent: run v, charge v, chair n, must v, leg n, language n, gold n.

7. Compare the semantic structures of the English words given above to those of their Belarusian (Russian, French, German…) equivalents.

Recommended Reading Obligatory

Арнольд, И.В. Лексикология современного английского языка / И.В. Арнольд; на англ. яз. – 3-е изд. – М.: Высш. шк., 1986. – C. 50–76.

Лексикология английского языка / Р.З. Гинзбург [и др.]; на англ. яз. – 2-е изд., испр. и доп. – М.: Высш. шк., 1979. – C. 29–38.

Смирницкий, А.И. Лексикология английского языка / А.И. Смирницкий. – М.: Изд-во лит. на иностр. яз., 1956. – С. 156–159.

Харитончик, З.А. Лексикология английского языка / З.А. Харитончик. – Минск: Вышэйш. шк., 1992. – С. 48–71.

Optional

Беляeвская, Е.Г. Семантика слова / Е.Г. Беляевская. – М.: Высш. шк., 1987. – С. 72–82.

Медникова, Э.М. Практикум по лексикологии английского языка / Э.М. Медникова; на англ. яз. – M.: Высш. шк., 1978. – С. 73–98.

Никитин, М.В. Курс лингвистической семантики / М.В. Никитин. – СПб.: Науч. центр проблем диалога, 1996.

Тексты по лексической семантике: Хрестоматия по лексикологии английского языка / сост. С.А. Игнатова [и др.]. – Минск: МГЛУ, 1998. – С. 83–84.

Allan, K. Linguistic Meaning / K. Allan. – London; N.Y.: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986. – Vol. 1.

Quirk, R. The Use of English / R. Quirk // Английская лексикология в выдержках и извлечениях / C.С. Хидекель [и др.]. – Л.: Просвещение. Ленингр. oтд-ние, 1969. – C. 56–62.

Ullmann, S. Semantic Universals (Universals of Language) / S. Ullmann // Английская лексикология в выдержках и извлечениях / C.С. Хидекель [и др.]. – Л.: Просвещение. Ленингр. oтд-ние, 1969. – C. 35–43.