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1. Introduction

Plan:

  1. The basic notions of lexicology:

    1. the object of lexicology;

    2. the diachronic and synchronic approaches;

    3. sections of lexicology.

  2. The notion of lexical system.

  3. The general properties of vocabulary units in English.

1a. Lexicology (from Gr lexis 'word' and logos 'learning') is the branch of linguistics investigating the vocabulary of a language, the structural and semantic aspects of the word.

The term vocabulary is used to denote the system formed by the sum total of all the words that the language possesses.

The term word denotes the basic unit of a given language. Word is an association of a particular meaning with a particular group of sounds capable of a particular grammatical employment.

A word therefore is simultaneously a semantic, grammatical and phonological unit. Words are the main units of language. The term word we’ll discuss at length later on.

The general study of words and vocabulary, irrespective of the specific features of any particular language, is known as general lexicology.

Linguistic phenomena and properties common to all languages are generally called language universals.

Special lexicology studies and describes the characteristic peculiarities in the vocabulary of a given language. It means that English lexicology studies the structural and semantic peculiarities of the English words. Modern English lexicology studies the vocabulary in its current state.

We will study special lexicology, I mean English lexicology. It goes without saying that every special lexicology is based on the principles of general lexicology, and the latter forms a part of general linguistics.

1b. The evolution of any vocabulary forms the object of historical lexicology. This branch of linguistics discusses the origin of various words, their change and development, and investigates the linguistic and extra-linguistic forces influencing and modifying the word’s structure, meaning and usage.

So the vocabulary of a language is studied historically or diachronically (Gr dia 'through' and chronos 'time').

The diachronic or historical view of the language is often helpful to a student of modern English because when you look back at the earlier usage of the vocabulary items and find its old and original meaning or the source where it comes from, you understand its modern use better.

e. g. intelligence - (earlier) информация

(now) intelligence service- тайная полиция

e. g. traffic – (earlier) торговля

(now) drug traffic - торговля наркотиками

Descriptive lexicology deals with the vocabulary of a given language at a given stage of its development. It studies the functions of words and their specific structure as a part of the whole system, so it shows the network of relations between vocabulary items and various associations between words in the language as well as in the speech.

The descriptive lexicology of the English language deals with the English word in its morphological and semantic structures, investigating the interdependence between these two aspects. These structures are identified and distinguished by contrasting the nature and arrangements of their elements.

The descriptive view of the vocabulary is commonly called the synchronic view (Gr syn 'together', 'with' and chronos “time”).

e. g. intellect – man (opposite)

e. g. intellect – intelligent - intelligence

The distinction between a synchronic and a diachronic approach is developed by the Swiss philologist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913). There is a methodological distinction between these views, a difference of approach, artificially separating only for the purpose of study what in real language is inseparable, because actually every linguistic structure and system exists in a state of constant development.

The important distinction between a diachronic and a synchronic approach must always be borne in mind. At the same time you should take into consideration that in real language the two aspects are interdependent and cannot be understood without one another. Every linguistic investigation must strike a reasonable balance between the two.

Language is the reality of thought, and thought develops together with the development of society, therefore language and its vocabulary must be studied in the light of social history. Every new important phenomenon in human society and in human activity in general is reflected in vocabulary. A word through its meaning renders some notion. This notion is a generalized reflection of reality. Therefore it is impossible to understand the development of a word if you don’t know the changes in social, political or everyday life, production or science, manners or culture the word reflects. These extralinguistic forces influencing the development of words are considered in historical lexicology.

The point may be illustrated by the following example: the verb to sack 'dismiss from service' comes from the expression to get the sack, which probably rose from the habit of craftsmen of old times, who on getting a job took their own tools to the works; when they left or were dismissed they were given a sack to carry away the tools.

The branch of linguistics that studies causal relations between the way the language works and develops, on the one hand, and the facts of social life, on the other, is called sociolinguistics.