- •1. Lexicology as a branch of linguistics, its aims and significance. Links with other branches of linguistics. Synchronic vs diachronic approaches to the language study.
- •2. Methods of lexicological analysis: componential analysis, ic – uc analysis, contrastive analysis etc.
- •Immediate constituents analysis
- •3. Words of native origin and their distinctive features.
- •4. The borrowed element in the English vocabulary. The distinction between the terms origin of borrowing and source of borrowing. Translation loans. Semantic loans.
- •5. Types of borrowed elements in the English vocabulary. Etymological doublets, hybrids, international words, and folk etymology.
- •6. Assimilation of borrowings. Types and degrees of assimilation.
- •7. Latin borrowings. Features of Latin borrowings. Periods of borrowings from Latin.
- •8. Celtic elements (5-6 c. Ad) in the English vocabulary.
- •9. Scandinavian loan-words(8-11 c.Ad) in Modern English.
- •10. French elements in the English vocabulary. Features of French borrowings. Periods of borrowings from French.
- •11. Greek borrowings. Features of Greek borrowings.
- •12. Morphology as a branch of linguistics. The morphemic structure of English words. Typology of morphemes. Structural and semantic classifications of morphemes.
- •Ivan Alexandrovich
- •Inflections
- •13. The derivative structure of English words. The distinction between morphological stem and derivational base. Morphemic analysis vs derivational analysis.
- •14. General description of word-formation in Modern English. Productive and nonproductive means.
- •15. Affixation. Classifications of affixes. Productive and non-productive affixes, dead and living affixes.
- •16. Word-composition. Types of compound words. Criteria for their classification.
- •17. Shortening. Types of shortening.
- •18. Conversion. Different views on conversion. Semantic relations within converted pairs.
- •19. Non-productive ways of word-formation in Modern English.
- •20. Semantics as a branch of linguistics, its aims and basic notions. Semasiological and onomasiological perspectives of the English lexicon.
- •21. Approaches to the definition of word meaning: functional, referential and others.
- •22. Types and aspects of word meaning.
- •23. The nature and causes of semantic change. Types of semantic change.
- •24. Transference of meaning.
- •25. Traditional lexicological groupings of words: thematic and ideographic groups, lexicosemantic groups, semantic fields.
- •26. Dynamics of the English vocabulary. Neologisms: their sources and formation.
- •Idiomatic Neologisms
- •27. Polysemy. Semantic structure of English words. Diachronic and synchronic approaches to polysemy. Types of polysemy.
- •28. Homonyms. Classifications and sources of homonyms.
- •29. Syntagmatic vs paradigmatic relations among English words.
- •In psycholinguistics these terms are used in a different sense.
- •30. Synonyms. The notion of a synonymic dominant. Types of synonyms. Sources of synonymy.
- •31. Antonyms. Definition. Morphological and semantic classifications of antonyms.
- •32. Grammatical and lexical valency. Grammatical and lexical context.
- •33. Lexical syntagmatics. Free word-groups vs phraseological units.
- •34. Free word-groups. Definition. Classifications.
- •35. Phraseological units: a variety of terms and the problem of definition. Characteristic features of phraseological units.
- •36. Approaches to the classifications of phraseological units in modern linguistics.
- •37. Polysemy, synonymy and stylistic features of phraseological units.
- •38. Origins and sources of phraseological units.
- •39. Dialectology as a branch of linguistics, its aim and basic notions. A dialect vs a variant.
- •40. Standard English: characteristic features and the problem of definition.
- •41. Local dialects in the British Isles. Scottish English. Irish English.
- •Variants
- •42. Characteristic features of the American English lexicon.
- •43. Lexicography as a branch of linguistics, its aim, basic notions and main problems.
- •43.The structure and contents of a dictionary entry depends on the type of the dictionary.
- •44. Typology of dictionaries.
- •45. Important milestones in the history of British and American lexicography.
40. Standard English: characteristic features and the problem of definition.
-a variety of English with standardised pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and spelling that have no local base;
-used as the norm of communication by the government, law courts, and media;
-taught to native speakers in school and to learners of English as a foreign language;
-a canon of literature and translations;
-prestigious within a country;
-only a minority of people within a country (e.g. radio newscasters, translators) use it. Most people speak a variety of regional English, or a mixture of standard and regional English.
41. Local dialects in the British Isles. Scottish English. Irish English.
Dialects
Northern
Midland
Eastern
Western
Southern
Variants
Scottish English
Irish English
Scottish English is the result of language contact between Scots and English after the 17th c. It is the most distinctive from Standard English (not to be confused with the Scottish Gaelic language, which is a Celtic language spoken in the Highlands). Its special status is conditioned by:
-a strong literary tradition and the Bible (1983);
-its own dialects;
-vast lexicographic description: John Jamieson's Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language (1808-1825, 4 vols); Scottish National Dictionary (1976, 10 vols); the Scots Thesaurus (1990, 20 000 items).
Scotticisms: a lassie, a laddie, a billy, a kilt, a tartan, a glamour ‘magic spell; charm’, a slogan ‘a battle cry of a Scottish clan’, a wean ‘child’; wee, bonny; to greet ‘to cry’, to keek ‘to peep’, to ken ‘to know’; ilk ‘the same’, ilka ‘every’;
Scotticisms of Germanic origin: a bairn ‘a child’, a burgh ‘a small town’; stark ‘strong’, couthie ‘nice, pleasant’, to awe ‘to have, to possess’, to wale ‘to choose’; Scotticisms of Celtic origin: a bannock ‘flat quick bread’, an ingle ‘fire, fireplace’, a binn ‘a waterfall’;
English words that underwent semantic changes in Scottish English: scheme ‘local government housing estate’, mind ‘memory, recollection’, travel ‘go on foot’, gate ‘road’; idioms: to miss oneself ‘miss a treat’; to be up on high doh ‘to be overexcited’, etc.;
colloquial words: high ‘highest quality’ as in it’s high; fair ‘completely’ as in I fair forgot; brave ‘good’ etc.;
a wide usage of contractions: canna (cannot), dinna (do not), mebbe (may be), didna (did not), twouldna (it would not), etc.
Insular Scots is the variety of the Scots language used in the Shetland and Orkney Isles and is said to be one of the most distinctive of all Scottish dialects.
Ulster Scots (Ullans) is the variety of the Scots language spoken in parts of Ulster, a northern province in Ireland.
Irish English (Hiberno-English) is the variant of English spoken in Ireland. It is the product of the Irish language and the interaction of English and Scots brought to Ireland during the 16th – 17th c. The linguistic influence of the Irish language is most clearly seen in Gaeltachaí.
English first appeared in Ireland during the Norman invasion of Ireland in the late 12th century. Since the 19th century, it has become the dominant language, with Gaelic found only in certain rural parts of the west. In the east, the link was the strongest with England, but in the north it was with Scotland (now Ulster Scots).
The standard spelling and grammar of Irish English are the same as that of Standard English; however, there are some unique characteristics, especially in the spoken language, due to the influence of the Irish language on pronunciation.
-ords borrowed from Irish Gaelic: a bracket ‘a spotty cow’, a booley ‘a temporary dwelling’, a smur ‘thick fog’, agra ‘a form of address to a beloved person’, a bannalana ‘a woman who sells beer’, cardia ‘friendship’, a colleen ‘a young woman’, a doorshay ‘a gossip’; whiskey, shamrock, blarney ‘flattery’;
-English words which underwent semantic changes in Irish English: able ‘strong, muscular, energetic’; a boy ‘any man before marriage’; room ‘non-residential premises’; to fox ‘to simulate’; to join ‘to start’; to travel ‘to walk’; strong ‘healthy; rich’;
-English words which retained their original meanings in Irish English: harvest ‘autumn’; lock ‘a small number’; mad ‘angry’;
-words of Irish origin in Modern English: phraseological expressions and proverbs which are translation loans from Irish Gaelic: He had no more use for it, than a pig for side pockets; to be on the baker’s list; to be on a bad head to sb.