86. Regional variants

All lex. Units may be devided into general English and those common to all the variants and locally marked, those specific to present day usage on one of variants and not found in the others. Diff. variants of eng use diff. words for the same objects. (flat – apartment). It is only in rare case that the mebers of such parts are semantically equivalent (tin-opener – can – opener). It s often when only one lex semantic variant of one of the members is locally-marked (government-administration). In some cases a notion may have 2 synonymous designation used on both l-ges but one of them is more frequent in Britain, the other in usa (post-mail,time-table-schedule) most locally-marked lex units are typical of their meanings. Very often the meanings that belong to general eng are common and neutral, central, direct while in Americanisms are colloquial ,marginal,figurative(shoulder: the joint connecting the arm with the body< road or highway) these may be subdivided into lex units denoting phenomena observable in other eng-speaking countries but expressed there in diff. way (campus – grounds of a school or coledge in Britain). So-called derivational variants of words, having the same root and identical in lex meaning through differing in derivational affixies are very important when speaking about regional v its nessessary to compare lex-sem groups of words and synonymic sets to study the relations within these groups and sets (inland areas – inland in BE and AuE but BE has interior remote AuE has bush, out-back. Backblocks). Lex. Peculiarities in dif parts of the eng speak. World concern the vary fashion of using words

As to W-B in diff variants, the WB means employed are the same and most of them are equally productive. The diffirence lies only in the varying degree of productivity of some of them in the this or that variant (as compared with the british variant, in the American variant the affixes)

87. Types of dictionaries.

First of all dictionaries(D) are subdivided into 2 groups: encyclopedic and linguistic.

Linguistic D are word-books, their subject matter is lex units and their linguistic properties such as pronunciation, meaning, peculiarities of use.

encyclopedic D the biggest of which are sometimes called thing-books, that give information about the extra-linguistic world, they deal with concepts (objects and phenomena). A linguistic D is a book of words in a language, usually listed alphabetically with definitions, pronunciations, etymologies and other language information. According to the nature of their word list we may speak about general D which form contain lex units in ordinary use with this or that proportion of items from various spheres of life and restricted D which make their choice only from a certain part of the word stock. Here belongs to terminological, phraseological, dialectal word boors.

All types of D may be monolingual or bilingual, i.e. the information about the items entered: graphic, phonetical. Translation D are word-books containing vocabulary items in one language and their equivalents in another language.

Besides there are a lot of specialized D:

1. phraseological D accumulate vast collections of idiomatic and colloquial phrases, proverbs and others.

2. new words D have different neologisms.

3. D of slang contain elements from areas of substandard speech such as vulgarisms, jargonisms, taboo words, сolloquialism etc.

4. usage D supply much various information on such usage problems as the difference in meaning.

5. D of word-frequency inform the user as to the frequency of occurrence of lex units in speech, to be more exact in the corpus of the reading on the stretch of oral speech on which the word-counts are based.

6. a reverse D is a list of words in which the entry words are arranged in alphabetical order starting with their final phrases.

7. pronouncing D record contemporary pronunciation as compared with the word characterizations of words given by other D the information provided by pronouncing D is much more detailed they indicate variant pronunciations.

8. etymological D trace present day words to the oldest forms available, establish their primary meanings and give the parent word reconstructed by means of the comparative historical method.

9. ideographic D designed for E speaking writers, orators or translators seeking to express their ideas contain words grouped by the concepts expressed.

88. Learner’s Dictionaries.

Out of numerous general dictionaries we can single out those that were specially complied for foreign language learners at different stages of advancement. It is only some 50 years ago that first works on this kind appeared and they are few in number even nowadays.

L.D. – any word-book designed as an aid to various users, both native and foreign studying a language from various angles. By tradition the term is confined to dictionary specially complied to meet the demands of the learners for compiled to meet the demands of the learners for whom English is not their mother tongue. That’s why these word-books should be characterized by the following features:

1) by their strictly limited word’list, the selection of which is based on carefully thought over scientific principles

2) the great attention given to the functioning of lexical units in speech

3) a strong perspective, normative character

4) by their compilation with the native linguistic background in view

So L.D. may be classified in accordance with different principles:

I. The scope of the word-list

II. The nature of the information afforded according to the 1 principle Dictionaries fall into 2 groups:

1) those of the 1st group contain all lexical units that the perspective user may need

2) in the 2nd group only the most essential and important words are selected (e.g. – Hornby’s Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary) (A Grammar of English words by H.Palmer (1000 w.)

2 principles: 1) explanatory dictionary, dictionaries of collocations

2) derivational

3) synonyms and antonyms.

III. The practice of teaching different aspects of speech (to read scientific literature) teaching oral speech. As to the present state of learner’s lexicography it may be characterized as just coming into being, as the already existing dictionaries are ten in number and do not make a system. As to the information they provide they may be divided into:

1) Learner’s dictionaries proper-giving equal attention to the words semantic characteristics and the way it is used in speech (Oxford Advanced learners’ Dictionary of Current English by Hornby, the New Harrison-Ladder Dictionary)

2) Dictionaries of collocations where the detailed treatment og the word’s lexical and grammatical valency are given.

Choice of head-words, an important problem in any word-book, is of paramount importance in learner’s dictionaries, since they select for inclusion only such words and such of their meanings as in the compiler’s opinion, are likely to be used or met. by the learner in his studies. In some dictionaries the selection of head-words and their meanings as well as their arrangement is based on frequency of current use.

89. Problems of Dictionary Making

The choice of lexical units for inclusion in the prospective dictionary is one of the 1st problems the lexicographer faces. The choice among the different possible answers depends upon the type to which the dictionary will belong, the aim the compilers pursue, the prospective user of the dictionary, its size, the linguistic conceptions of the dictionary makes and some other considerations. Explanatory and translation dictionaries usually record words and phraseological units, some of them also include affixes, as separable entries. Synonym. Books, pronouncing, etymological dictionaries and some others deal only with words. Because of the difference between spoken and written word-books based on printed or written matter that they tend to undervalue the items used more prefuently(?) in oral speech and to overweight the purely literary items.

One of the most difficult problems nearly all lexicographers face is recording the word-meanings and arranging them in the most national way, in the order, that is supposed to be of most need(?) to those will use the dictionary of one compares the general number of meanings of a word in different dictionaries even those of the same type, one will easily see that their number varies considerably.

Students sometimes think that if the meaning is placed first in the entry, it must be the most important, the most frequent in present day use. This is not only the case. There are at least 3 different ways in which the word-meanings are arranged: in the sequence of their historical development, in conformity with frequency of use that is with the most common meaning first, and their logical connection.

Meanings of words may be defined in different ways

1) By means of definitions that are characterized as encyclopedic

2) By means of descriptive definitions or para-phrases

3) With the help of synonymous words or expressions

4) By means of cross-references

One of the major problem is compiling translation Dictionary and other lingual word-books is to provide adequate translation of vocabulary items or rather to choose an adequate equivalent in the target language.

The dictionary-maker is to give the most exact equivalent in the target language. Very often enumeration of equivalents alone does not supply a complete picture of the semantic volume of this or that word, so a combination of different means of semantisation is necessary.

In spite of the great variety of linguistic dictionaries their composition has many features in common. Nearly all of them may be roughly divided into three unequal parts. Every book contains some separable sections which are to help the user in handling it.

90. Euphemisms

There were words in every language which people instinctively avoid because they are considered indecent, indelicate rude, too direct or impolite. As the “offensive” referents, for which these words stand, must still be alluded to, they are often described in a round-about way, by using substitutes called euphemisms. This device is dictated by social conventions which are sometimes apt to be over-sensitive, see “indecency” where there is none and seek refinement in absurd avoidances and pretentiousness.

The word “lavatory” has produced many euphemisms : washroom, restroom, comfort station, ladies’(room) and etc. There are words which are easy targets for euphemistic substitution. These include words associated with drunkenness. (drunk, intoxicated, overcome fried, tight, soaked)/

Euphemisms may be used due to genuine concern not to hurt someone’s feelings. (liar can be described as a person who does not always strictly tell the truth)

All the euphemisms that have been described so far are used to avoid social taboos. Their use is inspired by social convention.

Superstitious taboos gave rise to the use of other type of euphemisms. The reluctance to call things by their proper names is also typical of this type of euphemisms. Superstitious taboos have their roots in the distant past of the mankind when people believed that there was supernatural link b/w (хз что это) a name and the object or creature it represented => all the words denoting evil, spirit, dangerous animals or their powers of nature were taboo.

A source of synonymy also well worthy of note from sociolinguistic point of view is the so-called euphemisms in which by the shift of meaning of more or less pleasant at least inoffensive connotation substitutes one that is harsh, observe, indelicate or otherwise unpleasant. The substitution is accounrad for by the speaker’s tendency to be considerate and not to offend other people. The effect is achieved because the periphrastic expression is not so harsh, sometimes jocular and usually motivated according to some secondary feature of the notion: naked: in one’s birthday suit.

Euphemisms can also be treated within the synchronic approach because both expressions, the euphemistic and the direct are coexist in the language and form a lexical opposition. Not only English but other modern languages as well, have a definite set of notions attracting euphemistic circumlocutions. These are notions of death, madness, drunkenness, crimes etc. to die- to be no more- to be gone- to lose one’s life.

In present day English euphemism is mostly based on some social ethical standard of behavior, on the desire not to hurt other people’s feelings and only in the second place , on superstition.

Euphemisms always tend to be a source of new formations because after a shot period of use the new term becomes so closely connected with the notion that it turns into a word as obnoxious as the earlier synonym.

91. Minor ways of W-B

Fewer new words follow there, most of them don’t create new names but are connected with the deformation of the basic word structure.

1. clipping; 2. Blending; 3. Abbreviation; 4. Reduplication; 5. Word stress and sound interchange; 6. Reversion. They are not pattern ways. They create very few words. All new formation take place by chance.

1. clipping is creation of word by shortening a word of 2 or more syllables (usually nouns and adj.) without changing it class membership. The lex. Meaning of the clipped word and its source do not coincide.

a) apocope- words that have been shortened at the end (lab from laboratory)

b) не могу понять название words that have been shortened at the beginning (car from motor-car)

c) syncope- words in which some syllables or sounds from the middle have been omitted (maths)

d) words that have been clipped both at the beg. And at the end.

2. blending are the result of conscious creation of words by merging irregular fragment of several words which are called “splinters”. They may be severed from the source word. ‘

a) at a morpheme boundary: transceiver=transmitter receiver.

b) at a syllable boundary: medicare= medical care

c) boundaries of both kinds may be

3. 3 types of abbreviation

a) graphical-representing words and word-groups of high frequency of occurrence in various sphere of humans activity. (rd=road, st=street) the must be used on written speech but also penetrate into oral speech a.m p.m

b) acronyms are lex. Abbr. of a phrase which are regular voc. Units spoken as words sources.

-the initial letters or syllables of a phrase pronounced as regular words (NATO) or a succession of the alphabetical readings of the constituent letters (BBC)

- the initial syllables of each word phrase Interpol.

c) letter abbr.: mere replacement of longer phrases including names of agencies, official offices DOD( department of depence)

4. reduplication is repetition of a part of a word (puff-puff, zig zig)

5. sound interchange m.b. defined as an apparition(хз что это за слово) in which words or word forms are differentiated due to an alternation in the phonemic composition (food-feed, strong-strength)

6. reversion is the derivation of the new word by subtracting misinterpretation of their structure. To butte-butter , to edit-editor

92. Antonymy

The problem of A. is very much the same as the problem of synonymy and are approached in similar ways.

A. may be defined as 2 or more words of the same language belonging to the same part of speech and to the same semantic field, identical in style and nearly identical in distribution, associated an often used together so their denotative meanings render contradictory or contrary notions.

Contradictory notions are mutually opposed and denying one another (alive-not dead) (impatient- not patient). Contrary notions are also mutually opposed but they are gradable (old, young are the most distant elements of a series like old-middle-aged-young)

Another classification of A. is based on a morphological approach: root from absolute antonyms (right-wrong), the presence of negative affixes creates derivational antonyms (happy-unhappy).

Komissarov breaks new ground by his contextual treatment of the problem. Absolute antonyms are characterized by a regular and frequent co-occurrence; possibility of substitution and identical lexical valence. Unlike synonyms antonyms do not differ either in style, emotional colouring and distribution.

Some authors suggest a different terminology. They distinguish A. proper and complimentary A. The chief characteristic of A. proper is that they are regularly gradable. Grading is based on the operation of comparison (love-attachment-liking-indifference-antipathy-hate).

Complementarity expressing contradictory notions, a subset of A. taken in a wider sense. The semantic polarity in A. proper is relative, the opposition is gradual , the comparison they imply is clear from the context (large-little denote polar degrees of the same notion)

In derivational antonyms the affixes serve to deny the quality stated in the item (known-unknown, logical-illogical) there are typical affixes that go into play in forming them. It is significant that in the examples given above prefixes prevail: dis//ill/non//un.

The difference between A. and D.A. is not only morphological but semantic as well. To reveal its essence it is necessary to turn to logic A. pair of derivational antonyms form a private binary opposition whereas absolute A. are polar, members of a gradual opposition which have intermediary elements (beautiful-pretty-good-looking-plain-ugly)

1. Lexicology as a science

2. The scientific background of Lex

3. Vocabulary as a self-adapting system

4. The synchronic plane of Voc

5. The diachronic plane of Voc

6. Practical importance of Lex theory

7. The size-of-unit problem

8. The identity-of-unit problem

9. The definition of Word in Rus Ling

10. Philosophical foundation of Etym

11. The social background of Eng Voc

12. The native component of Eng word-stock

13. Causes and ways of borrowing

14. Types of borrowing

15. Etym doublets, adj pairs, sem change, syn

16. Assimilation of borrowings

17. The notion of W-b as a means of sec nom

18. A Morpheme as a two-faced unit, types

19. Morphemic Analysis

20. Derivation Analysis

21. The notion of W-b as a two-faced unit

22. The notion of W-b Meaning

23. Polysemy, syn and hom in W-b

24. Productivity of affixes and patterns

25. The notion of motivation in W-b

26. Occasional W-b

27. The suffixational system in W-b

28. The prefixational system in W-b

29. Comparison of a prefix and a suffix

30. Origin of Conversion

31. Mechanism of derivation in Conv

32. Patterns in Conv: n-v, v-n, adv-v, adj-v

33. Criteria of sem derivation in Conv

34. Productivity of Conv. Occasional Conv

35. Structural aspect of Composition

36. Semantic aspect of Comp

37. Polysemy of Comp patterns

38. W-b Meaning in Comp

39. Semasiology, its problems

40. The notion of Meaning. Sem triangle

41. Gram and Lex types of Meaning

42. Connection of Meaning and Notion

43. Denotational component of LM

44. Connotational component of LM

45. The notion of a Seme, its types

46. Lingv, extralingv causes of development of Voc

47. Metaphor, its sememic mechanism

48. Metonymy, its sememic mechanism

49. Patterns in Metap and Meton transfer

50. Specialization and generalization of Denotation

51. Amelioration and pejoration of Connotation

52. Polysemy: origin, definition

53. The notion of LSV

54. Paradigmatic typology of LSV

55. Syntagmatic typology of LSV

56. Structure of a polysemantic word

57. The notion of Basic Meaning

58. Regular Polysemy

59. Peculiarities of Polysemy

60. Comparison of Polysemy and Homonymy

61. Sources of Homonymy

62. Classification of Homonyms

63. Origin of Synonyms

64. Definition of Synonymy

65. Classification of Synonyms

66. Synonymic dominant

67. Types of synonymic sets

68. Laws in Synonymy

69. Peculiarities of meaning and grouping Syn

70. Componental Analysis of Meaning

71. Contextual Analysis of Meaning

72. Contrastive Analysis of Meaning

73. The hierarchical structure of Eng Word-stock

74. Semantic fields, LSG

75. Hyponymic groups, word-families

76. The notion of a Phraseological Unit, its criteria

77. Vinograov’s classification of PU

78. Smirnitsky’s classification of PU

79. Theory of Context by Amosova

80. Amosova’s contextual classification of PU

81. Koonin’s theory of Phraseological Stability

82. Koonin’s classification of PU

83. The main stylistic layers of Eng Voc

84. Standard English

85. Local dialects

86. Regional variants

87. Types of dictionaries

88. Learner’s dictionaries

89. Problems of dictionary making

90. Euphemisms

91. Minor ways of W-b

92. Antonymy