Lexicology. Examination Questions.

1. Theoretical questions

1. The word as the basic unit of language, controversial points, the definition

2. Lexicology as a branch of linguistics (object and aims, branches of lexicology). Theoretical and practical value of lexicology

3. Methods of lexicology

4. The connection between meaning and form (motivation).

5. Types of meaning

6. The structure of meaning. Componential analysis.

7. Patterns of polysemy

8. Semantic change, its types and causes

9. Types of semantic relations

10. Synonyms, types of differences, neutralisation

11. Groups of words similar in denotative meaning (hyponyms, cohyponyms, correlation “part – whole”, antonyms, conversives, semantic derivatives, associative groups)

12. Groups of words similar in connotative meaning (emotionally coloured/emotionally neutral vocabulary, thematical groups, terminological systems, neologisms/archaisms)

13. Homonyms (criteria for identifying, sources, types), paronyms, lexical variants

14. Stylistically marked vocabulary

15. Political correctness in the English language

16. Native words, classification, typical features

17. Causes, classification and periods of borrowing

18. Criteria of borrowings

19. Assimilation of borrowings

20. Influence of borrowings on the English language

21. History and new trends of English lexicography

22. The main problems of lexicography

23. Types of dictionaries

24. The structure of the dictionary and the dictionary entry

25. Standard English variants & British dialects

26. American English

27. Word-Building as a Branch of Linguistics. The Basic Units & Concepts of WB.

28. The Morpheme as the Basic Unit of Word-Formation, its Types.

29. Word Fission. Types of Morphemic Fission.

30. The Meaning of Affixes. Classification of Prefixes.

31. Affixation. Classification of Suffixes.

32. Hybrids. Combining Forms. Allomorphs.

33. Morphemic & Word-Formation Analyses.

34. The Method of IC.

35. The Basic Elementary Units of the Derivative Structure of Words.

36. Word –Building Patterns.

37. The Main Structural Types of English Words

38. Compounding in English. Patterns & Types. Semi-Affixes.

39. Compounding. Historical Changes.

40. The Criteria of Compounds.

41. Conversion as a Typically English Way of Word-Building. The Definition & the Term.

42. Semantic Correlations in Convertive Pairs. Criteria of Semantic Derivation.

43. Shortening.

44. Minor WB Processes.

45. Neologisms in Modern English. Structural Peculiarities of New Vocabulary Units.

46. Phraseology as a Branch of Linguistics. Set Expressions & Free Word Combinations.

47. Classification of Set Expressions / Smirnitsky/

48. Classification Systems of Set Expressions by Vinogradov, Arnold, Amosova

49. Koonin’s Classification of Phraseological Units.

50. Ways of Forming Set Expressions. Specific Features Securing their Stability.

51. Communicative Phraseological Units.

52. The Sources of Set Expressions.(Be ready to name at least 10 set expressions from the Bible & 10 from Shakespeare)

2. Practical tasks

1. Analyse shifts of meaning in the following words

2. Identify the pattern of polysemy and illustrate it with a diagram.

3. Decide which of the following meanings belong to the same word. How many homonyms are presented here?

4. Identify the types of homonyms

5. Arrange the given words into synonymic groups. Identify types of differences between the synonyms. Find the synonymic dominant.

6. What are the stylistic characteristics of the italicised words?

7. Define the degree of assimilation of the following words.

8. Pick out borrowed words and state their origin.

9. Analyze the structure of the following compounds, comment on the degree of motivation

10. Sort out the compounds into endocentric and exocentric.

11. Define the way of word-building

12. Classify the phraseological units in the terms of a certain classification system

13. Analyze the words into the IС /UC

14. Define the direction of derivation & the semantic correlations in the pairs of words.

15. Sort out phraseological units and free word combinations

16. Sort out compounds and free word groups.

17. Analyze the type of morphemic fission