Срс 3. Semasiology

The term semasiology (from Greek sema - 'sign'+semantikos - 'significant') was introduced into linguistic studies in 1825 when the classical scholar C. Reisig in his university lecture on Latin philology set up a new division of grammar (semasiology, etymology and syntax). He regarded semasiology as a historical discipline that should establish the principles of governing the development of meaning.

Several decades later, in 1883 Michel Breal - the French philologist - published an article on what he called «intellectual laws» of language in which he argued that there ought to be a science of meaning which he proposed to call semasiology. In 1897 he published his book which soon spread to other languages and three years later in 1900 after its publication was translated into English under the title: Semantics: Studies in the Science of Meaning.

Semantics

Another famous book on semantics is «The meaning of meaning» by С. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards published in 1923. The term semantics was first used to refer to the development and change of meaning. It is originated from Greek word 'semantikos' meaning 'significant'. It is the study of meanings - dealing with the relationship between symbols (words, signs, etc.) and what they refer to (called 'referents') - and of behavior in reaction to non-verbal symbols and verbal symbols (words). 'Verbal' language is any spoken or written form of communication which is heard or read and which uses words as symbols.

There are two schools of thought in modern linguistics on the problem of meaning: relative or functional and denotational or referential approach. The relative approach: еach sign achieves a meaning only in comparison with other signs, its neighbours, i.e. meaning can be studied only through context. The denotational trend of semantic studies considers a word as a unit possessing its own meaning.

Every word has two aspects: the outer aspect (its sound form) and the inner aspect (its meaning). The lexical meaning of a word is the realization of a notion by means of a definite language system. A word is a language unit, while a notion is a unit of thinking. The term notion was introduced into lexicology from logic and psychology. A notion denotes the reflection in the mind of real objects and phenomena in their essential features and relations. Notions, as a rule, are international.

Рахматуллоева М., ПД-3-18

Срс 4. Word-building. Affixation

Word-formation is that branch of lexicology that studies the derivative structure of existing words and the patterns on which a language builds new words. It is a certain principle of classification of lexicon and one of the main ways of enriching the vocabulary.

Affixation, conversion, and compounding are the three major types of word-formation. Apart from these a number of other ways of forming words such as back-formation or disaffixation (baby-sitter - to baby-sit), sound interchange (speak - speech, blood - bleed), sound imitation (walkie-talkie, brag rags, to giggle), distinctive change ('conduct - to con 'duct, 'increase - to in 'crease, 'subject - to su 'bject), blending (brunch, Eurotunnel, Interpol infomercial slanguage), clipping (lab, bike, phone, specs, fancy) and acronymy (NATO, NASA, WAC, UNESCO) are referred to word-formation.

In conformity with structural types of words we distinguish two main types of word-formation: word-derivation (encouragement, irresistible, worker) and word-composition (blackboard, daydream, weekend).

The basic ways of forming words in word-derivation are affixation (feminist,pseudonym) and conversion (water- to water, to run - a run, slim - to slim). The importance of these processes of construction to the development of the lexicon is second to none.

They are used in a complex and productive way. Word-formation has all the rights to be called the grammar of lexicon.

Affixation - adding affixes to stems - is a basic means of forming words in English. It has been productive in all periods of the history of English. Affixation is divided into suffixation and prefixation.

Suffixes and prefixes may be classified on different principles. The logical classification of suffixes is according to:

1. their origin: Romanic (e.g. -age, -ment, -tion), Native (-er, -dom, -ship), Greek (-ism, -ize), etc.;

2. meaning, e.g. -er denotes the agent of the action, -ess denotes feminine gender, -ence/ance has abstract meaning, -ie and -let express diminutiveness, -age, -dom - collectivity, -an, -ese, -ian - appurtenance, etc.;

3. part of speech they form, e.g. noun suffixes -er, -ness, -ment; adjective-forming suffixes -ish, -ful, -less, -y; verb- suffixes -en, -fy, etc.;

4. productivity: productive (-er, -ly, -ness, -ie, -let), non­productive (-dom, -th) and semi-productive (-eer,-ward).

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As prefixes are indifferent to parts of speech they are characterized according to

1. their origin: Native, e.g. un-; Romanic, e.g. in-; Greek, e.g.sym-;

2. meaning, e.g. negative prefixes in-, un-, поп-, a-, dis-; prefixes of time and order ex-, neo-, after-, fore-, post-, proto-; prefix of repetition re-; reversal prefixes de-, un-, dis-; locative prefixes, such as extra-,pan-,super-,sub-, trans-; size and degree: hyper-, mega-, mini-, super-, sur-, ultra-, vice-, etc.;

3. productivity.

The main function of prefixes is to change the lexical meaning of the same part of speech. However in Modern English there are prefixes that form one part of speech from another, e.g. en- (endanger), be- forms verbs from adjective, verb and noun stems (belittle, behead, befriend), the prefix a- forms statives (asleep, apart, aboard, ajar).

Рахматуллоева М., ПД-3-18