- •Borrowings. Origin of borrowings. Source of borrowings. Translation Loans. Semantic Loans.
- •2.Assimilation of borrowings and its types and degrees.
- •3.Latin borrowings. Periods of borrowings from Latin.
- •5.Scandinavian loan-words in Modern English. Celtic elements in the English Vocabulary.
- •8. The Norman-French element in the English vocabulary system.
- •9. Definition of morpheme
- •12.Conversion. Different views on conversion.
- •11.Word-composition. Types of compound words. Different criteria for classification.
- •10.Productive ways of word formation. Principal ways of word derivation.
- •13. Shortening. Types of shortening.
- •Definition of meaning of a word. Types of meaning. Referential and functional approaches to meaning.
- •Polysemy. Semantic Structure of the Word
- •Synchronic and diachronic approaches to polysemy.
- •Change of word meaning.
- •Change of the denotational component of the word meaning. Extension and narrowing.
- •20. Change of the connotational component of the word meaning. Elevation and degradation of meaning.
- •21. The theory of semantic field. Thematic groups.
- •22. Synonyms. Types of synonyms. Sources of synonyms.
- •23. Antonyms. Definition. Morphological and semantic classification of antonyms.
- •24. Neologisms. Their place in the vocabulary system of the English language.
- •25.Free word-groups. Definition. Classification.
- •26. Valency. Grammatical and lexical valency.
- •27. Definition of phraseological units. Characteristic features of phraseological units. V. Vinogradov’s conception of phraseological units.
- •28. Different approaches to the classification of phraseological units: semantic, functional, contextual. A.V. Coonin’s concept of phraseological units.
- •29. Chief characteristic features of American English.
- •30. Types of dictionaries. History of English and American Lexicography.
Change of word meaning.
HOW WORDS CHANGE MEANINGS
Words often change their meanings. A word's new meaning sometimes replaces the old one entirely.
Here are some common ways in which words change meanings:
-by generalisation.
-a word originally with a restricted sense can be used more extendedly.
-example: the verb to arrive comes from the Latin word ad ripam which means to the shore or riverbank. However, to arrive is no longer restricted to water transport.
-by specialisation.
-opposite of generalisation.
-although a hound was initially any kind of dogs, it was later used only of larger types of dogs when the word dog was adopted in the Middle Ages.
-by degeneration.
-the words' core meaning are removed, leaving only some vague idea.
-example: amazingly and terribly.
-by deterioration.
-a word will have a less favourable meaning than the original one.
-example: lewd used to mean ignorant which was originally used of someone who was not a member of the clergy.
-by euphemism.
-a word is given a new sense to replace the one that has negative connotations.
-example: lavatory-toilet, little boy's room, powder room, cloakroom, reest-room, and so on.
-by amelioration.
-opposite of deterioration.
-a word loses its pejorative connotaions.
-example: nice comes from a Latin word meaning ignorant.
-by regeneration.
-a word considered to be slang or vulgar becomes part of the standard vocabulary.
-example: budge, coax, mob, shabby, sham, snob, stingy, strenous, tiff.
-the words' core meaning are removed, leaving only some vague idea.
-example: amazingly and terribly.
-by deterioration.
-a word will have a less favourable meaning than the original one.
-example: lewd used to mean ignorant which was originally used of someone who was not a member of the clergy.
-by euphemism.
-a word is given a new sense to replace the one that has negative connotations.
-example: lavatory-toilet, little boy's room, powder room, cloakroom, reest-room, and so on.
-by amelioration.
-opposite of deterioration.
-a word loses its pejorative connotaions.
Change of the denotational component of the word meaning. Extension and narrowing.
The leading semantic component in the semantic structure of a word is usually termed denotative component (also, the term refer-ential component may be used). The denotative component ex-presses the conceptual content of a word.
The following list presents denotative components of some Eng-lish adjectives and verbs: Denotative components |
||
lonely, adj. |
------- » |
[ alone ] |
notorious, adj. |
------- » |
itht[ widely |
celebrated, adj. |
------- » |
k][ widely k |
to glare, v. |
------- » |
][ to look ] ........ |
to glance, v. |
____ » |
[ to look ] ........ |
to shiver, v. |
____ » |
[ to tremble ]. |
to shudder, v. |
------- » |
[ to tremble ] |
The process reverse to specialisation is termed generalisation and widening of meaning. In that case the scope of the new notion is wider than that of the original one (hence widening), whereas the content of the notion is poorer. In most cases generalisation is combined with a higher order of abstraction than in the notion expressed by the earlier meaning. The transition from a concrete meaning to an abstract one is a most frequent feature in the semantic history of words. The change may be explained as occasioned by situations in which not all the features of the notions rendered are of equal importance for the message.
The history of the noun lady somewhat resembles that of girl. In Old English the word (ОЕ hl.fdiZe) denoted the mistress of the house, i. e. any married woman. Later, a new meaning developed which was much narrower in range: "the wife or daughter of a bar-onet" (aristocratic title). In Modern English the word lady can be ap-plied to any woman, so that its range of meaning is even broader than that of the OE hl.fdiZe. In Modern English the difference between girl and lady in the meaning of woman is that the first is used in col-loquial style and sounds familiar whereas the second is more formal and polite. Here are some more examples of narrowing of meaning:
Deer: \ any beast] > [ a certain kind of beast ]
Meat: [ any food] > | a certain food product [
Boy: | any young person of the male sex [ > [ servant of the male sex ]
It should be pointed out once more that in all these words the sec-ond meaning developed through transference based on contiguity, and that when we speak of them as examples of narrowing of mean-ing we simply imply that the range of the second meaning is more narrow than that of the original meaning.