Лекция 6

Antonymy and Synonymy in the English language

The problem of synonymy. The duality of synonyms. Synonyms as the source of expressiveness.

Criteria of synonymy. Conceptual criterion. Semantic criterion. Componential analysis - synonyms as words with the same denotation, but differing in connotation. Definitional analysis. Transformational analysis. The criterion of interchangeability.

Types of synonyms. V.V. Vinogradov's classification system: ideographic (words conveying the same concept bud differing in shades of meaning), stylistic (differing in stylistic characteristics) and absolute (coinciding in all their shades of meaning and in all their stylistic characteristics) synonyms. Vagueness of the term "shades of meaning". Synonyms as words differing in connotations. Types of connotations. 1) degree of intensity; 2) duration; 3) emotive; 4) evaluative; 5) causative; 6) manner; 7) attendant circumstances; 8) attendant features; 9) stylistic. Dominant synonym - high frequency of usage; broad combinability; broad general meaning; lack of connotations. Euphemisms.

Antonyms. Contrasting meanings (polarity of meanings). Antonymy and parts of speech. Reflected associations. Antonyms proper. Complementaries. Conversives.

Лекция 7

Etymological characteristics of the English Vocabulary

I. The Native element

1. Indo-European element: family relations; parts of the human body; animals; plants; time of day; heavenly bodies; adjectives; numerals; personal pronouns; demonstrative pronouns; verbs.

2. Germanic element.

3. English Proper element (Anges, Saxons, Jutes)

II. The Borrowed element

1. Celtic (5^th - 6^th A.D.)

2. Latin (3 groups)

3. Scandinavian

4. French (Norman and Parisian)

5. Greek

6. Italian

7. Spanish

8. German

9. Others.

Assimilation. Types of assimilation (phonetic, semantic, grammatical). International words. Etymological doublets, sources of etymological doublets. Translation loans. Semantic loans. Interrelation between etymological and stylistic characteristics of words.

Лекция 8

Lexicography of the English language

History of lexicography: a) the history of British lexicography; b) the history of American lexicography.

The history of British lexicography. Old English period. Robert Cawdrey. Nathaniel Bailey. The dictionary of Dr. Samuel Johnson. The Golden Age of English lexicography: the Oxford English Dictionary, New English Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English.

The history of American lexicography. Samuel Johnson Jr. Noah Webster - the father of American lexicograpy. The American Dictionary of the English language.

The main problems in lexicography: the selection of headwords, the number, the structure and contents of the vocabulary entry.

Types of dictionaries. Unilingual (explanatory), bilingual (translation) dictionaries. Diachronic dictionaries. General and special dictionaries.