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29. Write about non-semantic grouping of English vocabulary and its types.

The majority of linguists nowadays agree that the vocabulary should be studied as a system. Why, because we should make different functions, structures so as to be fit for a new use, a new environment or a new situation. Being as a system the vocabulary is constantly adjusting itself to the changing requirements and conditions of human communications and cultural and other needs. The speaker chooses from the existing stock of words such words that in his opinion can adequately express his thought and feeling. To find the expression he needs he coins a new one, but here we should take into account the influence of extra-linguistic reality. That is why when we speak about the English vocabulary as a system we should differentiate different types of lexical groupings: 1) non-semantic grouping; 2) morphological grouping; 3) lexico-grammatical grouping; 4) emotionally neutral and emotionally coloured grouping; 5) stylistically neutral and stylistically coloured grouping.

Non-semantic grouping

1) The simplest, most obvious non-semantic grouping, extensively used in all branches of applied linguistics is the alphabetical organization of written words, as represented in most dictionaries. The theoretical value of alphabetical grouping is almost null, because no other property of the word can be predicted from the letter or letters the word begins with. Only in exceptional cases some additional information can be obtained on a different the etymological level. F: words beginning with W are mostly native, and those beginning with ph borrowed from Greek. But such cases are few.

2) The second type of non-semantic grouping of written words is the rhyming, here the words are arranged according to similarity of their ends. These dictionaries are intended for poets. They may be also used, if but rarely by teachers when making up lists of words with similar suffixes.

3) A third type of non-semantic grouping of written words is based on their length, the number of letters they contain. This type, worked out with some addititional details, may prove useful for communication engineering, for automatic reading of messages and correction of mistakes.

4) A fourth type of non-semantic grouping of written words is for isolated lexical units is based on a statistical analysis of their frequency. Frequency counts carried out for practical purposes of lexicography, language teaching and enable the lexicographer to attach to each word a number showing its importance and range of occurrence.

(the alphabetical organization, rhyming, length of written words, frequency of lexical items)

30. Write about lexico-grammatical grouping of English vocabulary and its types.

Lexico-grammatical grouping

By this group we understand a class of words which have a common lexico-grammatical meaning, a common paradigm, the same substituting elements and possibly a characteristic set of suffixes rendering the lexico-grammatical meaning. This group is also observed or characterised by generalization or specialization of meanings of the words and by a high percentage of emotionally coloured ways. F: baby-a person who behaves like a baby, witch-an ugly and unkind woman, or metaphorical expressive names for people possessing qualities rightly or wrongly attributed to the respective animals: cow, fox, ass, bitch

Within the lexico-grammatical grouping there are two types of vocabulary. The basis of grouping is not only linguistic but also extra-linguistic; the words are associated because the things they name occur together and are closely connected in reality. These words constitute quite definitely articulated spheres held together by differences, oppositions, distinctive values. F: the adjectives are subdivided into qualitative and relative. Adjectives characterise a substance for shape, colour, physical or mental qualities, speed, size.

1) Thematic group. Words such as names for parts of the human body, colour terms, military terms.

2) Ideographic group. Words belonging to different parts of speech , here the grammatical meaning is not taken into consideration, words and expressions are classed not according to their lexico-grammatical meaning, but according to their signification, to the system of logical notions. F: light (n)- bright (adj)-shine (v)

These two groups resemble the theory of semantic fields. Jost Trier German linguist tries to investigate the semantic field on the basis of Saussure’s theory of language as a synchronous system of networks held together by differences, oppositions and distinctive values. His definition to linguistic, conceptual or lexical field is “fields are linguistic realities existing between single words and the total vocabulary’; they are parts of a whole and resemble words in that way they combine some higher unit, and the vocabulary in that they resolve themselves into smaller units”. But later the notion semantic or lexical field is closely connected with the Moscow structuralist group. From their point of view, the detailed syntactic properties of the word are its meaning. Sharply defined extensive semantic fields are found in terminological systems. We shall call a term any word or word-group used to name a notion characteristic of some special field of knowledge, industry or culture. There are several controversial problems in the field of terminology.

1) whether a term loses its terminological status when it comes nto common usage. Under the circumstances numerous terms pass into general usage without losing connection with their specific fields.

2) there are linguists in whose opinion terms are only those words which have retained their exclusiveness and are not known or recognized outside their specific sphere.

3) according to some linguists, an ideal term should be monosemantic. Polysemantic terms may lead to misunderstanding and that is a serious problem in professional communication.

Being mostly independent of the context a term can have no contextual meaning whatever. The only meaning possible is a denotational free meaning. No emotional colouring or evaluation are possible when the term is used within its proper sphere. A term can obtain a figurative or emotionally coloured meaning only when takes out of its sphere and used in literary or colloquial speech.

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