- •Lexicology as a branch of linguistics; its tasks and objectives.
- •Relation of Lexicology to other linguistic fields.
- •What is a Word? The Notion of Lexeme.
- •4 . Lexical Fields.. Word Families. Word Classes
- •Definition of the Word. Characteristics of Words.
- •Synchronic and Diachronic Study of Vocabulary.
- •Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic Relations between Words.
- •8. Factors that Contribute to Shifts in Meaning
- •9.Transference Based on Similarity (Metaphor).
- •Transference Based on Contiguity (Metonymy).
- •Amelioration vs. Pejoration of Meaning.
- •Processes Responsible for Semantic Changes
- •14 .What Are Meaning Relations? Relation of Reference vs. Sense Relation
- •15 . Synonymy. Strict (absolute) and loose Synonyms. Criteria for absolute synonymy.
- •3 Criteria for absolute synonymy:
- •16. Reasons for extensive synonymy in English.
- •17. Major differences between items in synonymic sets
- •18.Antonymy. Types of Antonyms.
- •Hyponymy and Meronymy.
- •20.The Concept and Definition of Meaning.
- •Major differences between British and American English with respect to vocabulary.
- •Word Meaning (Word as a linguistic sign).
- •Types of Connotation
- •Polysemy. Problems Inherent in the Concept of Polysemy.
- •Homonymy. Types of homonyms.
- •Jargon and slang.
- •Euphemisms and taboo words.
- •Phraseology. Principles of classification of phraseological units.
- •31.Word Formation: Affixation. Inflectional and derivational affixes.
- •2 Types of word formation:
- •Word Formation: Compounding. Classification of compounds.
- •Word Formation: Conversion, Blending, Shortening.
- •33.Scandinavian borrowings in English.
- •34.Greek and Latin loanwords in English.
- •35.French borrowings in the English vocabulary.
- •36.Neologisms. Euphemisms and the notion of political correctness.
- •37.Methods of Lexicological Investigation: Componential Analysis.
- •38.Etymological make-up of the English Vocabulary.
- •Main types of dictionaries.
- •40.Lexicology and Lexicography
- •41. Selection of lexical units and arrangement of entries in dictionaries.
- •42.Selection and arrangement of meanings.
- •Methods of lexicological analysis.
- •1.1. Contrastive Analysis
- •Regional variation in the English vocabulary.
- •Collocation and the notion of collocability
- •Why learn collocations?
- •[Edit] Noun
- •Methods of Lexicological Investigation: Transformational Analysis
- •Methods of Lexicological Investigation: Distributional Analysis.
- •Methods of Lexicological Investigation: Immediate Constituent Analysis.
- •Methods of Lexicological Investigation: Contrastive Analysis.
- •Methods of Lexicological Investigation: Statistical Analysis.
Definition of the Word. Characteristics of Words.
Word is the principal and basic unit of the language system, the
largest on the morphologic and the smallest on the syntactic plane of
linguistic analysis.
It has been universally acknowledged that a great many words have a
composite nature and are made up of morphemes.
The four types (root words, derived words, compound, shortenings) represent the
main structural types of Modern English words.
According to the number of morphemes words can be classified into
monomorphic and polymorphic. Monomorphic or root-words consist of only one
root-morpheme, e.g. small, dog, make, give, etc. All polymorphic word fall
into two subgroups: derived words and compound words – according to the
number of root-morphemes they have. Derived words are composed of one root-
morpheme and one or more derivational morphemes, e.g. acceptable, outdo,3
disagreeable, etc. Compound words are those which contain at least two root-
morphemes, the number of derivational morphemes being insignificant. There
can be both root- and derivational morphemes in compounds as in pen-holder,
light-mindedness, or only root-morphemes as in lamp-shade, eye-ball, etc.
Synchronic and Diachronic Study of Vocabulary.
There are two principle approaches in linguistic science to the study of language material : synchronic & diachronic . With regard to Special lexicology the synchronic approach is concerned with the vocabulary of a language as it exists at a given time . Its Special Descriptive lexicology that deals with the vocabulary & vocabulary units of a particular language at a certain time . The diachronic approach in terms of Special lexicology deals with the changes & the development of vocabulary in the coarse of time . It is Special Historical lexicology that deals with the evaluation of the vocabulary units of a language as the time goes by . The two approaches shouldnt be set one against the other . In fact , they are interconnected & interrelated because every linguistic structure & system exists in a state of constant development so that the synchronic state of a language system is a result of a long process of linguistic evaluation , of its historical development .
Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic Relations between Words.
Syntagmatics – linear (simultaneous) relationship of words in speech as distinct from associative (non-simultaneous) relationship of words in language.
Paradigmatics – 1) associative relationship of words in language as distinct from linear (simultaneous) relationship of words in speech (syntagmatics); relation of units in absentia (e.g. synonymic, antonymic relationships); 2) an approach to language when the elements of its system are regarded as associated units joined by oppositional relationship.
Basic linguistic relationships which describe the complex structure of a language system. Paradigmatic relationships between linguistic elements can be established by use of the substitution test at the vertical level. Thus the initial consonants in beer, deer, peer form a paradigmatic class, as well as words such as today and tomorrow in the sentence: She will arrive today/tomorrow. Syntagmatic relationships are defined by the ability of elements to be combined horizontally (linearly), e.g. the relationship between She will arrive and today. De Saussure (1916) called paradigmatic relationships ‘associative’ relationships, because they represent the relationship between individual elements in specific environments with such elements in the memory which can potentially replace them. Paradigmatic relationships are based on the criteria of selection and distribution of linguistic elements, and are, for example, the basis for establishing the phoneme inventory of a language through the construction of minimal pairs, the replacement of sounds in an otherwise constant environment that leads to a difference in meaning. Elements which are related to each other paradigmatically can potentially occur in the same context but are mutually exclusive in an actual concrete context because they stand in opposition to one another. The distinction between paradigmatic and syntagmatic relationships is relevant to all levels of description; cf. in semantics the paradigmatic semantic relations (such as synonymy and antonymy) vs the syntagmatic relations between lexemes in selectional restrictions