10. Intonation

Intonation is a complex, a whole formed by significant variations of pitch, loudness and tempo. Intonation is a phonetic phenomenon and characteristics of speech expressing a communicative purpose or intention of a speaker. A unit of intonation is intonation pattern which usually coincides with syntagm. Syntagm is a part of an utterance, logically and semantically finished and characterized by hesitation before and after it. The main function of intonation is expressing intention of a speaker.

The main functions of intonation are:

1) informative function;

2) distinctive function;

3) structural function.

11. Phonostylistics. Phonetic characteristics of speech

Phonostylistics is a subbranch of theoretical phonetics studying phonetic characteristics of speech and factors influencing them. Phonetic characteristics:

1) Pronunciation of separate sounds;

2) Speech tembre;

3) Pitch, loudness;

4) Hesitations and pauses;

5) Intonation in general;

6) Speed or fluency.

Factors that influence phonetic characteristics:

1) Form of communication;

2) Intention of a speaker;

3) Sex and age of a speaker;

4) Social background (provenance);

5) Degree of spontaneity;

6) Degree of formality

12. Territorial varieties of English pronunciation. Received pronunciation

Varieties

American British

Canadian Australia

USA New Zealand

India

Britain (North, West, South)

Received pronunciation is a standard for the English language. There are 4 types of RP:

1) Conservative RP (used by older generation);

2) General RP (used in mass-media);

3) Advanced RP (used by younger generation of upper classes);

4) Near RP (used by intelligence).

Variant of pronunciation in the South-East Britain is considered to be the closest to RP.

13. Lexicology: aims, tasks and connections with other branches of linguistics. General problems of a word

Lexicology is a branch of linguistics dealing with the theory of a word. Its basic task is to study and descript systematically the vocabulary in respect to its origin, development and current use. Lexicology is subdivided into general (considers vocabulary irrespective of any particular language) and special (considers vocabulary of a particular language). The basic task of lexicology is the study and systematic description of the vocabulary in respect to its origin, development and current use.2 main approaches considering lexicology: synchronic (vocabulary at some particular period of time) and diachronic (development of vocabulary in the course of time).

1) Lexicology is closely connected with phonetics because they have the same object of studies, they both studies the word, but phonetics studies the outer form and lexicology studies the inner form of the word.

2) Lexicology is connected with grammar because lexicology studies words and grammar studies the grammatical relations between words and how words are combined into phrases and sentences. Meaningful communication is not possible without knowing the grammar rules.

3) Lexicology is connected with the history of language because the history of language studies the changes and the development of the vocabulary in the course of time.

4) Lexicology is connected with stylistics because stylistics studies the differentiation of the vocabulary according to the sphere of communication.

5) Lexicology is connected with the sociolinguistics because sociolinguistics studies the extra linguistic and social causes of the changes in the vocabulary of a language.

Subbranches of lexicology:

1) Morphology – studies structure of a word;

2) Semaseology – studies the meaning of a word;

3) Phraseology – studies phraseological units and idioms;

4) Lexicography – studies compiling dictionaries;

5) Etymology – studies origin of a word;

6) Functional styles – studies the sphere of use of a word.

Words are the central elements of language system, they face both ways: they are the biggest units of morphology and the smallest of syntax, and what is more, they embody the main structural properties and functions of the language. Words can be separated in an utterance by other such units and can be used in isolation.

14. Morphological structure of English words. Morphemes. Morphological analysis

Morphology is a sub-branch of lexicology studying structure of words.

Morpheme is the smallest part of a word possessing its own meaning, the basic unit of morphology.

Morphemes:

1. stem;

2. ending.

Stem is a part of a word without an ending consisting of a root and affixes.

Root (radical) is a part of a word containing the main lexical meaning of a word.

Affix is a part of a word containing the additional meaning of a word.

Affixes can be divided into prefixes and suffixes.

Prefixes are affixes preceding the root.

Suffixes are affixes following the root.

Morphological analysis of a word is aimed to describe the morphological structure of a word.

15. Word-formation. Major types of word-building

To major types of word-building belong:

1) Derivation (affixation) – words are made by adding affixes. Affixes can be: derivational (make a new word [-ful, un-]) and inflectional (make a new grammatical form [-ed, -ing]), productive (make new words nowadays [-ful, -ness]) and non-productive (aren’t used to make new words any more [-hood, -ship]), native [-ful, -ty, -ness] and borrowed [-tion, de-, anti-];

2) Conversion – by transforming one part of speech to another (hand – to hand). The most often used is noun to verb. Subtypes: 1) noun is a part of a body, verb is an action made by this part; 2) noun is an animal, verb is an action this animal is supposed to do; 3) noun is a profession, verb is an action made by people of this profession; 4) noun is a tool, verb is an action made by it; 5) noun is a container, verb is an action of putting into this container.

3) Composition – words are made by combining several roots or stems. The result is a compound word. Compounds are subdivided into 3 main groups: neutral (without linking element; subdivided into simple [2 roots: bedroom], derivational [stems or stem+root: newcomer] and contracted [contraction+root: TV-set]), morphological (roots or stems with linking element: spokesman) and syntactic (phrase or sentence: mother-in-law). Semantically they are subdivided into 3 groups: 1) the meaning of a whole compound is equal to the meanings of its elements; 2) meaning of one element remains the same, meaning of another is changed: lady-killer; 3) meanings of both elements are changed: lady-bird.

4) Contraction is shortening of a word. There are 2 ways: 1) using a part of a word (phone = telephone), and 2) using initial letters (GF = girlfriend).

16. Word-formation. Minor types of word-building

To minor types of word-building belong:

1) Onomatopoeia is based on sound imitation (to murmur);

2) Reduplication is based on doubling the root or the stem. It can be simple (bye-bye) or gradational (ping-pong);

3) Reversion – words are made by subtracting an affix (burglar – to burgle);

4) Blending – words are made by using the beginning of the 1^st word and the end of the 2^nd word (motel = moto+hotel).

17. Semasiology. Semantic structure of English words

Semaseology is a subbranch of lexicology dealing with the meaning of a word. There are 2 main approaches considering the meaning:

1) Referential approach considers inter-relation between the meaning of a word and three main aspects of a word. Meaning isn’t equal to any of the elements of Basic Triangle because they are individual for every person, while meaning is fixed in the dictionaries and belongs to the language system. This approach considers semantic meaning of a word.

2) Functional approach considers grammatical meaning of a word and its function in a particular phrase or sentence (subject, predicate, object, attribute, adverbial modify). Distribution is an ability of words to be connected with other words in order to fulfill particular function.

Semantic structure of a word consists of the main meaning and the secondary meaning (key – m.m.: something that locks and unlocks the door, s.m.: answer for a test).

18. Semantic change. Types of semantic change

Transference is developing of a new meaning or change of the meaning. It has the following reasons:

1) Extralinguistic – development of society, industry, technology, etc.

2) Linguistic – changes in the language.

Types of semantic changes:

1) Linguistic metaphor is transference based on resemblance in function, appearance, etc. (a box – 1) a square container, 2) TV-set).

2) Linguistic metonymy is transference based on contiguity (the city was sleeping).

3) Elevation is change of meaning from negative to positive (a knight – 1) a man servant, 2) a noble and courageous person).

4) Degeneration is change of meaning from positive to negative (a knave – 1) a boy, 2) a bad boy).

5) Generalization is broadening of the meaning (to arrive – 1) to come to the shore, 2) to come).

6) Specialization is narrowing of the meaning (a deer – 1) animal, 2) a particular kind of animal).

19. Polysemantic words and homonyms. Classification of homonyms

Polysemy is an ability of a word to have more than one meaning. The most of words in English are polysemantic.

Homonyms are words which are spelled and pronounced in the same way but have different meanings that are not connescted with each other. Sources of homonyms:

1) Phonetic changes in the course of time: knight – night;

2) Borrowing: write – right – rite;

3) Types of word-building:

a) Onomatopoeia: bang – челка, ударять;

b) Contraction: rep – ткань, репертуар, репетиция;

c) Conversion (by some linguists)

4) Split polysemy – the words used to have something in common, but lost their connection: board – доска, стол, совет директоров.

Homonyms are subdivided into: homonyms proper (plant – завод, цветок), homophones (made - maid) and homographs (bow – 1. кланяться, 2. лук).

Another classification was suggested by Smirnitskiy A.I.:

1) Full homonyms (spelling, pronunciation, part of speech);

2) Partial homonyms:

a) Simple lexico-grammatical homonyms belong to the same part of speech and coincide only in one not corresponding form (to found [V1] – found [V2,3]);

b) Complex lexico-grammatical homonyms belong to different parts of speech and coincide only in one form (rose [n] – rose [V2]);

c) homonyms belong to the same part of speech but coincide only in their corresponding forms (to can).

20. Synonyms and antonyms. Euphemisms

Synonyms are words with the same or close meaning. Criteria: 1) conceptual – the same concept but different shades of meaning; 2) semantic – the same denotative but different connotative meanings; 3) interchangeability – should be able to substitute each other at least in the same context.

Classification of Vinogradov V.V.

1) Ideographic – the same concept but different shades of meaning;

2) Stylistic – the same meaning but different stylistic characteristics;

3) Absolute – fully coincide.

Dominant synonym is the main word in the group of synonyms that has no connotations.

Antonyms are words with opposite meanings.

Euphemism is a word or expression used to substitute rude or forbidden expression.

21. Etymological classification of English vocabulary

Etymology is a subbranch of linguistics dealing with the origin of words. Words are subdivided into native and borrowed.

Native:

1) The Indo-European element (brother, брат, der Bruder);

2) The Germanic element (hair – das Haar);

3) The native English element (bird, boy, girl).

Borrowed:

1) Celtic (laugh);

2) Scandinavian (sky, they);

3) Latin (vaccina);

4) French (autumn);

5) Greek (phraseology);

6) German (kindergarden);

7) Italian (names of food).

Translation loans – a type of borrowings which were directly translated into the target language (das Meisterstück - masterpiece).

International words which sound in the same or similar way in many languages.

Etymological doublets are words having the same origin but borrowed to the language in different ways (channel - canal).

22. Functional classification of English vocabulary

Functional style is a limited number of words and expressive means used in a particular sphere of communication.

Informal EV can be subdivided into three groups:

1) Colloquial words are used by a wide group of people of all age groups in everyday communication. Colloquial words are subdivided into literary, familiar and low colloquialisms. Literary colloquialisms are used by educated and uneducated people in everyday speech (to start). Familiar colloquialisms are used mostly by uneducated people and often include contractions (doc). Low colloquialisms are close to slang words. Criterion is level of education. Slang words are used by a limited group of people in informal situations (mug - face). Dialectal words are used in a particular region.

2) Formal EV is subdivided into learned words, archaic words and professional terminology. Learned words are used mostly in writing. They can be subdivided into scientific prose (to vindicate), poetry (woe), officialese (to proceed), and literary learned words (to endeavor). Archaic words are old words that are not used anymore. They are subdivided into obsolete words (thou - you) and historisms (chevalier). Professional terminology is words used in a particular professional sphere (tumour).

3) Basic EV is stylistically neutral vocabulary used by all speakers.

23. Phraseology. History of phraseology. Criteria of distinguishing between phraseological units and free word combinations

Phraseology is a branch of lexicology studying phraseological units (idioms, set expressions, phrasemes). PU is a group of words with fully or partially transferred meaning (Koonin). The father of phraseology is Chares Bally (the 20-s of XX century). Foreign linguists who devoted their researches to phraseology: L.P. Smith, Murat H. Roberts, T. Katz, U. Weinreich, G. Grace. Soviet and Russian: Koonin A.V., Vinogradov V.V., Smirnitsky A.I., Amossova N.N., I. Melchuk.

Criteria of distinguishing between PU and FWC:

1) Semantic – PU can be equivalent to a word, while every element of FWC has its own meaning;

2) Structural:

a) Substitution – components of a PU cannot be substituted with other words, while it is possible with FWC;

b) Addition – it is possible to add new words to FWC and impossible to PU;

c) Grammatical restriction – it is impossible to change grammatical forms of every component in a PU, while it is possible in FWC;

3) Syntactic – PU has one syntactic function in a sentence, FWC – several.

24. Classifications of phraseological units

1) Etymological (Smith) – criterion of classification – origin of a PU;

2) Semantic (Vinogradov) – criterion – between the elements of a PU. There are 3 groups:

a) Phraseological combinations – it is possible to see connection between the meaning of the whole unit and each of its parts. The meaning is motivated (to be a good hand at smth);

b) Phreseological unities – constituents lose their direct meaning, but it is possible to understand the meaning of the whole unit from the meanings of its parts (to lose one’s head);

c) Phraseological fusions – meaning is not motivated (to set one’s cap at smb);

3) Structural (Amosova) – criterion – part of speech:

a) Substantival – dog’s life;

b) Verbal – to talk turkey;

c) Adjectival – as blind as a bat;

d) Adverbial – in cold blood;

e) Interjectional – by George!

4) Classification by Smirnitsky:

a) one semantic unit (meaningful component);

b) 2+ semantic components;

c) Proper PU – non-figurative meaning;

d) Idioms – figurative meaning based on metaphor.

5) Classification by Koonin:

a) Nominative – equal to nouns, adjectives, adverbs and cannot make a sentence;

b) Nominative-communicative – equal to verbs with an object that can make sentence in passive form;

c) Interjectional – express feelings and emotions and can be an introduction to the sentence;

d) Communicative – proverbs and sayings.

25. Historical development of lexicography. Types of dictionaries

Lexicography is the theory and practice of compiling dictionaries. The first glosses appeared at the Old English period and were of religious content. Regular bilingual dictionaries appeared in XV century. 1604 – the first unilingual dictionary explaining different words was made by R. Cowdry. 1721 – the first etymological dictionary was made by N. Bailey for philologists. 1775 – S. Johnson compiled explanatory dictionary which influenced the development of lexicography and normalization of the English language. In 1858, Dr. Trench’s suggested compiling a dictionary including all the words of the English language. In 1928 the work on New English Dictionary containing 12 volumes was finished. It was republished as “The Oxford English Dictionary” in 1933 with 2 shortened versions – “A Shorter Oxford Dictionary” with the same amount of articles but fewer examples from literature and “A Concise Oxford Dictionary” including only modern words. The representative of American lexicography Noah Webster published his1st dictionary in 1806, and in 1828 – his 2-volume dictionary. In his works he tried to simplify spelling and transcription.

Dictionaries

Linguistic Encyclopedic

General Specialized

Explanatory Synonyms

Translation Collocations

Slang

Phraseologisms

26. Theoretical Grammar: aims, tasks and connections with other branches of linguistics. The main branches of theoretical grammar

Theoretical grammar is a branch of linguistics investigating grammatical connections between the words in word combinations and sentences. The aim is to describe grammatical rules and grammatical system of the language and to study mechanism of formation of the utterances.

1957 - Noam Chomsky published “Syntactic structures” where he described correlation of lexical meaning and grammatical correctness.

Syntagmatic relations are connections between words in a sentence.

Paradigmatic relations are connections within grammatical categories of a particular part of speech.

Grammatical forms can be:

1. Synthetical (changing the word itself to make new grammatical form);

2. Analytical (adding some words or changing the word order to make new grammatical form).

Synthetical forms can be subdivided into:

1. Outer inflection (adding a suffix without changing the word: want-wanted);

2. Inner inflection (changing some sounds in the root: see-saw);

3. Suppletivity (complete change of the word: go-went).

Subbranches of theoretical grammar:

1) Morphology;

2) Grammatical categories;

3) Syntax and punctuation.

27. Grammatical categories of nominal parts of speech (noun, adjective, pronoun, numeral)

Grammatical category is a group of features of a particular part of speech rendering by language and expressing the systemic correlation within their grammatical form.

Plan:1) meaning, 2) form, 3) function.

Noun.

1) Object, phenomenon, substance, abstract notion.

2) Unchangeable categories: concrete or abstract, animate or inanimate, common or proper, gender for animate nouns. Changeable categories: number and case (common and possessive).

3) Subject, object, subjective predicative.

Adjective.

1) Property of an object.

2) Unchangeable categories: qualitative or relative. Changeable categories: degrees of comparison – positive, comparative, superlative.

3) Attribute, adjective predicative.

Pronoun.

1) Indication or deixis.

2) Types (only personal pronouns can change their person, number and case):

- personal – he, she, is;

- possessive – my, yours, his;

- indicative – some(thing), any(thing);

- demonstrative – that, this;

- negative – no, nothing, nobody;

- interrogative – who, what, why.

3) Subject, object, attribute, a part of predicate.

Numeral.

1) Quantity and order.

2) Cardinal and ordinal.

3) Subject, a part of predicate, attribute.

28. Grammatical categories of verbal parts of speech (verb, adverb)

Verb.

1) Action or state.

2) Unchangeable categories: action or state, regular or irregular, transitive (have an object to receive the action – I read this book) or intransitive (the book fell). Changeable categories: finite (infinitive, have tense) or non-finite (participle, don’t have tense). For finite verbs: mood (imperative, subjective conditional, indicative). For indicative: active or passive voice. Tenses: present, past, future, future in the past. Aspect: simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous. Number and person.

3) Predicate, subject, object.

Adverb.

1) Property of an action or another property.

2) Unchangeable categories: qualitative or relative. Changeable categories: degrees of comparison – positive, comparative, superlative.

3) Adverbial modify.

29. Functional parts of speech. Modal words

Article is a functional part of speech showing characteristics of a noun.

Preposition is a functional part of speech showing the connection between other parts of speech.

Particle is a functional part of speech following the verb and giving additional meaning to it.

Conjunction is a functional part of speech showing the connection between parts of sentences and sentences.

Modal words express attitude to the utterance (perhaps, surely, etc.). Interjections express emotions (oh, hooray, etc.).

30. Syntax. Essential features of a sentence. Classifications of sentences

Syntax is a part of theoretical grammar dealing with the theory of sentence. Sentence is a unit of speech built up of words according to a particular syntactic pattern and having a contextually relevant communicative purpose. Actual division of sentences: theme and rheme. Theme is an object, phenomenon, abstract notion described in the sentence. Rheme is the information about the theme.

Communicative types of sentences:

1) Declarative – give some information , can be affirmative and negative.

2) Inducive – giving orders or requests.

3) Interrogative – questions.

Structural division of the sentence:

1) Simple – 1 predicative structure;

2) Complex – 2+ predicative structures:

a) Compound – several simple sentences not depending on each other;

b) Composite – several sentences, where 1+ part depends on another. Main part – main clause, dependent part – subordinate clause. Sentences can be connected with coordinative or consecutive connection.

Classification of sentences according to optional part:

1) Extended;

2) Non-extended (only subject and predicate).