1. Lexicology as a branch of linguistics. Its interrelations with other sciences. Lexicology (from Gr lexis “word” and logos “learning”) is a part of linguistics dealing with the vocabulary of a language and the properties of words as the main units of the language. It also studies all kinds of semantic grouping and semantic relations: synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, semantic fields, etc.

In this connection, the term vocabulary is used to denote a system formed by the sum total of all the words and word equivalents 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. A word therefore is at the same time a semantic, grammatical and phonological unit. So, the subject-matter of lexicology is the word, its morphemic structure, history and meaning.

There are several branches of lexicology. The general study of words and vocabulary, irrespective of the specific features of any particular language, is known as general lexicology. Linguistic phenomena and properties common to all languages are referred to as language universals. Special lexicology focuses on the description of the peculiarities in the vocabulary of a given language. A branch of study called contrastive lexicology provides a theoretical foundation on which the vocabularies of different languages can be compared and described, the correlation between the vocabularies of two or more languages being the scientific priority

2. Vocabulary as a system

English vocabulary as a system

Modern English Lexicology aims at giving a systematic description of the word-stock of Modern English. It treats the following basic problems:

-- Basic problems

-- Semasiology;

-- Word-Structure;

-- Word-Formation;

-- Etymology of the English Word-Stock;

-- Word-Groups and Phraseological Units;

-- Variants, dialects of the E. Language;

-- English Lexicography.

System is a set of competing possibilities in language, together with the rules for choosing them.

Structuralism recognized that a language is best viewed as a system of elements, with each element being chiefly defined by its place within the system, by the way it is related to other elements.

Language systems:

-- speech

-- syntactic

-- lexical

-- morphological

-- phonetical

Modern approaches to the problem of study of a language system are characterised by two different levels of study: syntagmatic and paradigmatic.

Paradigmatic relations are the relation between set of linguistic items, which in some sense, constitute choices, so that only one of them may be present at a time in a given position. 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.; to refuse, v. -- to reject v. -- to decline, v.), of opposite meaning (e. g. busy, adj. -- idle, adj.; to accept, v, -- to reject, v.), of different stylistic characteristics (e. g. man, n. -- chap, n. -- bloke, n. -- guy, n.).

Consequently, the main problems of paradigmatic studies of vocabulary are:

-- synonymy

-- hyponymy

-- antonymy

-- functional styles

Syntagmatic relations

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, in speech:

-- phrases

-- collocations

Some collocations are totally predictable, such as spick with span, others are much less so: letter collocates with a wide range of lexemes, such as alphabet and spelling, and (in another sense) box, post, and write.

Collocations differ greatly between languages, and provide a major difficulty in mastering foreign languages. In English, we 'face' problems and 'interpret' dreams; but in modern Hebrew, we have to 'stand in front of problems and 'solve' dreams.

The more fixed a collocation is, the more we think of it as an 'idiom' - a pattern to be learned as a whole, and not as the 'sum of its parts'.

Combination of paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations in lexical system determines vocabulary as a system.

2.The growth of the English vocabulary

GROWTH OF THE VOCABULARY

The changes that characterize the development of English as well as any other vocabulary may be roughly classified under three headings: losses of words, additions to the vocabulary and semantic changes.

Losses of words are different by their nature.

On the one hand words come out of use together with the objects they denote. Thus, after the Norman conquest when the English nobility was ruined by William the Conqueror the words denoting ranks of the OE nobility such as ælderman (nobleman of the highest rank) or þegn (warrior) gradually fell in disuse.

On the other hand words may be ousted from the vocabulary by their synonyms. Thus, after the Scandinavian and after the Norman invasion many of the OE words were ousted by their Scandinavian or French equivalents (see 119, 121).

Additions to the vocabulary are made from internal or external sources. Internal sources embrace different means of word building (affixation, word composition, conversion, etc); external sources are languages from which new words are borrowed.

Borrowings in ME and NE

The borrowed element in the English vocabulary is estimated as including two thirds of the whole word stock. It is clear therefore that the history of the English vocabulary is to a great extent the history of borrowings. However the OE vocabulary was mostly Germanic (see 005), and the process of intensive borrowing began in the ME period.

The ME language adopted foreign words mainly from two sources: Scandinavian and French.

^ Scandinavian Borrowings

Scandinavian words were adopted by the English language after the Scandinavian invasion. The dialects spoken by the invaders and the Anglo-Saxons were closely related to each other. They belonged to the Germanic group of the Indo-European family and had many common features in the spheres of grammar and vocabulary. The language of the invaders could be easily understood by the Anglo-Saxons who made practice of using Scandinavian words. As a result towards the Early ME period a considerable number of Scandinavian words established themselves as part of the English vocabulary. Scandinavian borrowings in the English vocabulary are mainly restricted to the sphere of everyday communication. They are such words as husband, window, fellow, root, bag, birth, sky, law, take, egg, skirt, happy, ill, call, happen, die, hit.

Many of them are rather interesting from the view point of their etymology:

husband < OSc. hūs + bondi (the master of the house);

window < OSc. vind + auga (an eye for wind);

fellow < OSc. fē + lagi (the one who shares a fee).

118. Some of the Scandinavian borrowings may be recognized by phonetic criteria. Thus, the sound cluster [sk] and the sounds [k], [g] before front vowels are suggestive of the Scandinavian origin of the word. Such words cannot be native as OE [sk], [k] and [g] had been palatalized and turned into [∫], [t∫] and [dZ] (see 041), cf., for example:

English origin

Scandinavian origin

OE skirt > NE shirt

skirt

OE cirice > NE church

kirk (dialectal)

OE scætter > NE shatter

scatter

By the time of the conquest both the Scandinavians and the Anglo-Saxons had reached approximately the same level of cultural and social development. Therefore the Scandinavians could not introduce considerable innovations into the life of the Anglo-Saxons. Accordingly most of the borrowed words denoted things familiar to the Anglo-Saxons. In most cases a borrowing had its synonym among the native words. The further development of the synonyms could take different directions.

One of the synonyms could replace the other. Thus, Sc. Þeir (they) ousted OE hīe; Sc. kala (call) came to be used instead of OE clipian; Sc. till took the place of OE oþ.

Both synonyms could survive in the language. In case of such an outcome the synonyms developed different shades of meaning.

Scandinavian

English

give

sell

skill

craft

ill

sick

sky

heaven

It is interesting to note that some of the Scandinavian words were borrowed because they proved to be more convenient than their English equivalents.

The OE pronoun hīe (they), for example, had a sound form similar to personal pronouns hē (he), and hēo (she). In rapid speech it was difficult to distinguish between them. To avoid such homonymy the language borrowed the Scandinavian pronoun Þeir (see also 142).

The Scandinavian verb deyia (die) displaced OE steorfan (starve) because its sound form suited the OE words dead (dead) and deoþ (death).

French Borrowings

French borrowings make one of the largest layers of modern English word stock. At different estimates their total varies from 40 to 55 per cent of the whole vocabulary. And а great part of these words came to the English language in the 13th - 14th centuries. French borrowings of this period resulted from the Norman conquest which affirmed the French language as the language of the ruling class (see 089, 090). In accordance aristocracy. Such words are divided into several semantic groups.

State and state administration: government, parliament, counsel, assembly, authority, office, power, baron, count, duke, duchess, prince, royal, feudal.

Court of justice: court, justice, jury, prison, crime, acquit, sentence, penalty, defendant, guilt.

Military life: war, battle, army, regiment, general, captain, lieutenant, victory.

Church life: religion, parish, altar, Bible, paradise, saint, vice, virtue, divine, clergy.

Amusements: leisure, pleasure, sport, tournament, dance, cards, feast, joy.

There are also other groups of French borrowings in modern English. Some of them are rather small. They may include not more than half a dozen of words (or even less), but these words are also suggestive of French habits or French innovations.

Thus, migrants from Normandy preferred to settle in towns not in villages. They started their business in new places and called their professions by their French names. That is why many town professions in the English language are denoted by words of French origin: butcher, painter, hatter, grocer, tailor. The professions spread in the countryside retain their English names (smith, miller, shepherd) because village population was almost purely English.

The forms of direct address sir and madam also came from the French language in the ME period. Alongside the words like pardon, excuse, please they function today as forms of etiquette.

Other words that reflect the Norman way of life or Norman innovations are found in the following groups.

Words denoting articles of clothes: dress, costume, coat, collar, fur, garment.

Words denoting pieces of art and architecture: art, colour, image, figure, temple, palace, column, pillar.

Words denoting meals and dishes: dinner, supper, soup, pastry, roast.

It is interesting to note that unlike dinner and supper the word breakfast is of Germanic origin. A probable explanation might also be found in the Norman way of life. The French nobility got up late when the time of breakfast had passed.

It must also be noted that lots of French borrowings have no connections with the activities of French aristocracy, French innovations or French habits. These are words belonging to different semantic fields used in everyday communication: advice, flower, travel, treasure, chance, river, mountain, enter, envy, obey, eager, firm, sure, very, etc.

121. The infiltration of French words into the English language gave rise to pairs of synonyms. One of such synonyms descended from OE, the other came from the French language.

In many cases borrowed words established their position in the English language by ousting their native synonyms: the French word river replaced OE ēa the word mountain ousted OE berg, the word army replaced OE fird.

If both of the synonyms survived in the language they developed different meanings, or different stylistic colouring. Such French words as commence, vessel, existence belong to the bookish style while their English synonyms begin, ship, life are neutral.

In some cases distinctions between French and English synonyms are motivated by social stratification of medieval England. The Norman nobility could afford expensive clothes, expensive food, expensive furniture. Hence French words like table, chair denote elaborate articles. In earlier times such things could be afforded only by wealthy Normans. English words like board and stool denote plain pieces of furniture. In medieval England they were found in peasant’s thresholds.

A classical example of such distinctions is provided by the English words cow, calf, swine, sheep on the one hand and French words beef, veal, pork, mutton on the other hand. Words of native origin denote living animals, as it is the Anglo-Saxon peasants who were engaged in breeding them. The French words came to denote flesh of these animals because the French aristocracy dealt with the animals only when they were served as dishes. with this many French borrowings are words which reflect the activities of the Norman

Borrowings in NE

The development of Europe in the 16th century is notable for its transition from feudal to capitalist relations. The growth of industry and the division of labour animated trade between the nations. The commercial ties of England with other European countries created favourable conditions for mutual enrichment of national vocabularies.

In the succeeding centuries England widened her commercial, political and cultural ties, and loan words in the NE period never stopped enriching the English vocabulary. The borrowings of the NE period are varied and numerous, their careful study is the matter of lexicology. Here we shall dwell only on a few layers of loan words. They are borrowings from classical languages: Latin and Greek and also borrowings from Spanish, Italian and French.

There are at least three big layers of Latin borrowings in the English language. The first of them is made up by Latin words adopted by the English language from the Celtic dialects (see ^ 045). The second layer shaped itself after the conversion of England to Christianity (see 046-047).

Another wave of borrowings from Latin came in the epoch of the Renaissance. This time the influx of Latin words was caused by the flourishing of sciences and the revival of learning. Most of the Latin words borrowed in this period are scientific terms or learned words. Mainly they are verbs (separate, operate, create, constitute, contribute, execute, elect, protect) and adjectives (permanent, important, evident, inferior, superior, private, obstinate).

Borrowings from Greek are also connected with the Renaissance. Like Latin words Greek loan-words are mostly scientific terms. Among these words there are a lot of nouns: atmosphere, botany, epoch, metaphor, simile, analysis, nucleus, radius, curriculum, etc.

Borrowings from Italian belong to the semantic fields of art, architecture, music. It is quite natural as the revival of interest to these spheres began in Italy. These words have become international. They are found in every IE language. The examples of Italian words in English are the following: violin, aria, bass, piano, duet, balcony, cupola, gallery, pedestal.

126. Spanish borrowings belong to different semantic spheres: negro, canyon, tornado, armada, sombrero, sherry, mosquito.

Many of them reflect historical events of the 15th - 16th centuries. Spain was the main rival of England in the policy of colonial expansion. Hence a number of Spanish borrowings denote articles of trade exported from its colonies: banana, tobacco, tomato, potato, etc.

French borrowings of the NE period may be grouped under several headings.

Military terms: brigade, barrage, corps, sentinel, manoeuvre, trophy, police, reconnaissance, etc.

These words were entering the English vocabulary while England was gaining military experience in the wars with France (1512 -1514, 1627), Spain (1588), Scotland (1547, 1639) and in the Civil Wars of 1642 - 1648.

Words denoting notions of art and culture: scene, grotesque, ballet, ensemble, genre, essay, etc.

As well as Latin, Greek or Italian borrowings these words are connected with the Renaissance.

Words reflecting life of the society: ball, cortege, picnic, restaurant, etc.

These words were introduced into the language by the English nobility that found refuge on the territory of France during the Revolution of 1640 - 1660.

Political terms: attache, communique, etc.

French political terms were adopted by the English language in the 18th - 19th centuries. They spread in several IE languages and became international words. Most probably the French influence on the political vocabulary of IE languages is connected with the events in France. These events (The French Revolution of 1789 - 1794 and the period of Napoleon) were significant not only for France, but for the whole of Europe.

Miscellaneous: machine, champagne, mirage, debris, chaise, magazine, chemise, etc.

French borrowings of the NE period are remarkable for their graphic and sound form. Unlike the loan words of earlier periods they preserve French spelling and pronunciation. Thus, the digraph ch stands for [∫], age is pronounced as [a: Z], que at the end of the word stands for [k], etc. In most cases these words are stressed on the last syllable.