LECTURES _ 2011

Lexicology as a brunch of linguistics

1. Definition of L, its aim and meaning. Kinds of L.

2. Two approaches to language study.

3. The connection of L with other sciences.

4. The word as foundemental unit of the vocabulary

1.

The term lexicology is of Greek origin (from lexis – word and logos – science). Lexicology is the part of linguistics which studies words and phrases (vocabulary of a language).

Lexicology investigates the problem of words, word-structure, the meaning of the words, word-fomation in the language, the main principals of classification of words, the laws governing the enlarging of the vocabulary.

There are different kinds of L.:

1. general L studies words in general irrespective of the specific feature of the language;

2. special L studies the characteristic features of the vocabulary of the langiage;

3. historical L studies the origin, change and development of the words;

4. discriptive L studies the vocabulary of a language at a given atage of its development;

2.

In fact there are 2 approaches to the studying of the vocabulary. They are syncronic and diacronic.

The syncronic approach studies the vocabulary of a language at a given periof of time.

The diacronic approach deals with the changes and development of the vocabulary in the coarse of time.

These two approaches shouldn’t be contrusted: they are interconnected and interdependent.

3.

Lexicology is closely connected with other branches of linguistcs which also study words, thow from different sides. They are:

1. Phonetics because the word’s sound form is a fixed sequence of phonemes united by a lexical stress.

2. Morphology as the word’s structure is a fixed sequence of morphemes.

4. The word functions as part of the sentence and performs a certain syntactical function that is why it is also connected with Syntax.

5. Grammar 6. Stylistics 7. The history of the language

4.

One of the fundamental units of the vocabulary is the word.

There’s no totally satisfactory definition of the word in linguistics. The main characteristics of the word can be defined as the following:

1. the word is a speech unit used for the purposes of communication;

2. the word materially represents a group of sounds;

3. it has a meaning;

4. in speech words can be used in different grammatical forms;

5. the word possesses both formal and semantic unity

The word as a speech unit used for the purposes of human communication materially representing a group ofsounds, possessing a meaning, capable of a particular grammatical employment and characterized by formal and semantic unity. (Антрушина)

Word structure and word formation

1. Morphemes; classification.

2. Productive and non-productive ways of word-building

   1. Affixation

   2. Word-compopsition (основосложение)

   3. Conversion

   4. Shortening (сокращение)

1.

A great number of words in English are of compositive nature and are made up of smaller unites (morphemes – help-less-ness).

It’s important to see the difference between a word and a morpheme.

A word is autonomous unit of a language in which a particular meaning is associated with a particular sound complex and which is capable of a particular grammatical employment and able to form a sentense itself.

Like a word a morpheme id also association of certain meaning and sound pattern; but unlike a word, a morpheme isn’t an autonomous unit and can occur ib speech only as a constituent part of a word; not independently.

Morphemes can’t be divided into smaller meaningful units.

That’s why a morpheme may be defined as the smallest meaningful language unit of form.