
- •1. Lexicology as a branch of linguistics; its aims and significance. Links with other branches of linguistics.
- •2.Words of native origin and their distinctive features.
- •3.Borrowings. The distinction between the terms origin of borrowing and source of borrowing. Translation loans. Semantic loans.
- •4. Types of borrowed elements in the English vocabulary. Etymological doublets, hybrids, international words, and folk etymology.
- •5.Assimilation of borrowings. Types and degrees of assimilation
- •6.Latin borrowings. Periods of borrowings from Latin.
- •7.Celtic elements in the English vocabulary.
- •8.Scandinavian loan-words in Modern English.
- •9.French elements in the English vocabulary. Periods of borrowings from French.
- •10.Greek borrowings. Features of Greek borrowings.
- •11. The morphemic structure of English words. Types of morphemes. The principles of morphemic analysis.
- •12. The derivative structure of English words. The distinction between morphological stem and derivational base. Derivational fields.
- •13. Affixation. Classifications of affixes. Productive and non-productive affixes, dead and living affixes.
- •14.Word-composition. Types of compound words. Criteria for their classification.
- •15.Shortening. Types of shortening
- •16. Conversion. Different views on conversion. Semantic relations within converted pairs.
- •17.Non-productive ways of word-formation.
- •18 Semasiological and onomasiological perspectives of the English lexicon
- •19 Approaches to the definition of word meaning: functional, referential and others
- •20.. Types of word meaning.
- •21. Semantic change and transference of meaning.
- •22. A theory of semantic field. Thematic groups.
- •23.Neologisms. Their sources and formation.
- •24. Polysemy. Semantic structure of English words. Diachronic and synchronic approaches to polysemy.
- •25.Homonyms. Classifications and sources of homonyms.
- •26.Syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations among English words.
- •27. Synonyms. Types of synonyms. Sources of synonymy.
- •28. Antonyms. Definition. Morphological and semantic classifications of antonyms.
- •29. Grammatical and lexical valency. Grammatical and lexical context.
- •30.Free word-groups. Definition. Classifications.
- •31. Discrepancies between free word-groups and phraseological units.
- •32..Phraseological units: a variety of terms and the problem of definition. Characteristic features of phraseological units.
- •33..Classifications of phraseological units.
- •34. Polysemy, synonymy and stylistic features of phraseological units.
- •35.. Origins and sources of phraseological units.
- •36..Standard English: features and the problem of definition.
- •37.. Local dialects in the British Isles. Scotticisms in Standard English.
- •38 Chief characteristic features of the American English lexicon.
- •40..Types of Dictionaries
- •41 The main problems in lexicography.
28. Antonyms. Definition. Morphological and semantic classifications of antonyms.
Antonymy is a type of paradigmatic relations based on polarity of meaning.
Antonyms (Gr. antí ‘against,’ ónyma ‘name’) are two 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 and often used together so that their denotative meanings render contrary or contradictory notions.
For the analysis of the semantic continuum where synonyms and antonyms interplay, one can use the ‘semiotic square’ model suggested by Algirdas Greimas, a Lithuanian-born linguist and semiotician who laid the foundations for the Paris School of Semiotics and is considered, along with Roland Barthes, the most prominent of the French semioticians
According to the character of semantic opposition:
1)Antonyms proper (contrary antonyms) are antonyms which possess the following characteristics:
they are gradable, i.e. there are some intermediate units between the most distant members of a set, e.g. cold – cool – tepid – warm – hot; never – seldom – sometimes – often – always;
they are capable of comparison, e.g. good – better – best vs. bad – worse – worst;
they can be modified by such intensifiers as very, slightly, extremely, fairly, rather etc., e.g. huge – very big – BIG – quite big – medium-sized – quite small – SMALL – very small – tiny;
they do not deny one another, e.g. She is not beautiful ≠She is ugly;
they refer not to independent absolute qualities but to some implicit norm, e.g. a big mouse vs a small elephant.
2)Contradictory antonyms (complementary antonyms) are mutually opposed (exclusive) and deny one another, e.g. male – female; married – single; asleep – awake; same – different. Their features:
not gradable;
truly represent oppositeness of meaning;
cannot be used in the comparative or superlative degree;
the denial of one member of such antonymic opposition always implies the assertion of the other, e.g. not dead – alive.
4)Conversive antonyms (conversives) are words which denote one and the same situation as viewed from different points of view, with a reversal of the order of participants and their roles, e.g. husband – wife; teacher – pupil; to buy – to sell; to lend – to borrow; to precede – to follow. These antonyms are mutually dependent on each other and one item presupposes the other.
5)Vectorial antonyms (directional antonyms) are words denoting differently directed actions, features, e.g. to rise – to fall; to arrive – to depart; to marry – to divorce; to learn – to forget; to appear – to disappear.
Morphological classification of antonyms by V. N. Komissarov (Dictionary of English Antonyms):
root antonyms (absolute antonyms) are antonyms having different roots, e.g. clean – dirty; late – early; day – night;
derivational antonyms are antonyms having the same root but different affixes, e.g. to fasten – to unfasten; flexible – inflexible; useful – useless.