- •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.
13. Shortening. Types of shortening.
As a type of word-building shortening of spoken words also called clipping
Clipping consists in the cutting off of one of several syllables of the word. It can be of three types: aphaeresis, syncope, apocope.
Aphaeresis is the omission of the initial part of the word. In many cases the shortened word differs from its source only stylistically: telephone – phone, omnibus – bus.
Syncope is the omission of an unstressed middle syllable: fantasy – fancy, courtesy – curtsy. Syncopated words used to be popular with poets (e’en – even, ne’er – never) because of purely rhythmical considerations. Modern poetry seldom if ever resorts to syncope. There are some graphical abbreviations of this type: Mr, Mrs, LP.
Apocope is the omission of the final part of the word. It is the most productive type of shortening. It is mostly through apocope that stylistic synonyms are coined. It is the colloquial layer that profits from apocope: gym (gymnasium), specs (spectacles), croc (crocodile). Proper names are also apocopated: Nick (Nicholas), Ed (Edward), Люда (Людмила). There are some words that are seldom if ever used in their unapocopated form (pub for public house, brig for brigantine).
Some Non-Productive Affixes
Non-productive ways of word-formation.
Noun-forming suffixes -th, -hood
Adjective-forming suffixes -ly, -some, -en, -ous
Verb-forming suffix -en
Note. The native noun-forming suffixes -dom and -ship ceased to be productive centuries ago. Yet, Professor I. V. Arnold in The English Word gives some examples of comparatively new formations with the suffix -dom: boredom, serfdom, slavedom. The same is true about -ship (e. g. salesmanship). The adjective-forming -ish, which leaves no doubt as to its productivity nowadays, has comparatively recently regained it, after having been non-productive for many centuries.
Definition of meaning of a word. Types of meaning. Referential and functional approaches to meaning.
1. Something that is conveyed or signified; sense or significance.
2. Something that one wishes to convey, especially by language: The writer's meaning was obscured by his convoluted prose.
3. An interpreted goal, intent, or end: "The central meaning of his pontificate is to restore papal authority" (Conor Cruise O'Brien).
4. Inner significance: "But who can comprehend the meaning of the voice of the city?" (O. Henry).
two types of meaning--Denotative and Connotative.
• Denotative Meaning is the meaning of an symbol that is shared by a group of people. If you say the word,"dog," most English speakers will point to the same type of animal. Denotative meaning is what makes symbols work for communication.
• Connotative Meaning is the meaning of a symbol that is personal to an individual and not shared. For example, when I was a young child, my father was the warden of a small 3 cell prison located in the Montana wasteland near the Canadian border.
Referential and functional approaches to meaning a sum of the meanings of its morphemes: un/eat/able = "not fit to eat" where not stands for un- and fit for -able.
There are numerous derived words whose meanings can really be easily deduced from the meanings of their constituent parts. Yet, such cases represent only the first and simplest stage of semantic readjustment within derived words. The constituent morphemes within derivatives do not always preserve their current meanings and are open to subtle and complicated semantic shifts.
Let us take at random some of the adjectives formed with the same productive suffix -y, and try to deduce the meaning of the suffix from their dictionary definitions:
brainy (inform.) — intelligent, intellectual, i. e. characterised by brains
catty — quietly or slyly malicious, spiteful, i. e. characterised by features ascribed to a cat
chatty — given to chat, inclined to chat
dressy (inform.) — showy in dress, i. e. inclined to dress well or to be overdressed
fishy (e. g. in a fishy story, inform.) — improbable, hard to believe (like stories told by fishermen)
foxy — foxlike, cunning or crafty, i. e. characterised by features ascribed to a fox
stagy — theatrical, unnatural, i. e. inclined to affectation, to unnatural theatrical manners
touchy — apt to take offence on slight provocation, i. e. resenting a touch or contact (not at all inclined to be touched)1