- •L.M. Takumbetоvа english lexicology preface
- •1. Morphological and Derivational Structure of Words.........................................57
- •Abbreviations and symbols
- •Introduction lexicology as a branch of linguistics.
- •Its subject matter and objectives
- •1. The Subject Matter of Lexicology.
- •2. The Theoretical and Practical Value of Lexicology
- •Questions and Tasks
- •2. The Problem of Word Definition
- •3. Types of Nomination and Motivation of Lexical Units
- •4. The Notion of Lexeme. Variants of Words
- •Questions and Tasks
- •Chapter 2 semasiology. The problem of meaning
- •1. Referential and Functional Approaches to Meaning
- •2. Types of Meaning
- •3. The Semantic Structure of Words. Polysemy
- •4. Сauses, Types and Results of Semantic Change
- •Questions and Tasks
- •Exercises
- •I. Which of the following words are monosemantic (use a dictionary)?
- •II. Group together the following pairs of words according to the lsVs they represent. Use dictionaries if necessary.
- •III. Define the meanings of the italicized words in the following sentences. Say how meanings of the same word are associated one with another.
- •IV. Explain the logical associations in the meanings of the same words in the following word combinations. Define the type of transference which has taken place.
- •V. Comment on the change of meanings in the italicized words.
- •Chapter 3 english vocabulary as a system
- •1. Semantic Classes of Lexemes in the Lexico-semantic
- •System of the English Language
- •2. Synonymy
- •3. Antonymy
- •4. Homonymy
- •The Origin of Homonyms in the English Language
- •Questions and Tasks
- •Exercises
- •I. Classify the following words into logical groups on the principle of hyponymy.
- •II. Arrange the following lexemes into three lexico-semantic groups - feelings, parts of the body, education.
- •III. Prove that the following sets of words are synonyms (use dictionaries).
- •IV. Find the dominant synonym in the following synonymic sets. Explain your choice.
- •V. Find antonyms for the words given below.
- •VI. A) Find the homonyms proper for the following words; give their Russian equivalents.
- •VI. Match the italicized words with the phonetics.
- •Chapter 4 morphological structure of english words and word formation
- •1. Morphological and Derivational Structure of Words
- •2. Аffixation
- •Clаssification of Prefixes
- •Classification of Suffixes
- •3. Conversion
- •Patterns of Semantic Relations by Conversion
- •Basic Criteria of Sеmantic Derivation within Conversion Pairs
- •4. Word-Composition (Compounding)
- •Classifications of Compound Words
- •Meaning and Motivation in Compound Words
- •Historical Changes of Compounds
- •5. Minor Types of Word-Formation
- •Questions and tasks
- •Exercises
- •I. A) Give examples of nouns with the following suffixes; state which of the suffixes are productive.
- •II. Explain the etymology and productivity of the affixes given below. Say what parts of speech they form.
- •III. In the following examples the italicized words are formed from the same root by means of different affixes. Translate these derivatives into Russian and explain the difference in meaning.
- •IV. Find cases of conversion in the following sentences.
- •V. Explain the semantic correlations within the following pair of words.
- •VI. Identify the compounds in the word-groups below. Say as much as you can about their structure and semantics.
- •VII. Match the following onomatopoeic words with the names of referents producing the sounds they denote in brackets.
- •VIII. Define the particular type of world-building process by which the following words were formed and say as much as you can about them.
- •Chapter 5 word-groups and phraseological units
- •1. Lexical Valency and Collocability
- •2. Criteria of phraseological units
- •3. Classifications of phraseological units
- •4. Origin of phraseological units
- •Questions and tasks
- •Exercises
- •I. What is the source and meaning of the following idioms?
- •II. Explain whether the semantic changes in the following units are complete or partial.
- •III. Give Russian equivalents of the following phraseological units from the list below.
- •IV. Give the proverbs from which the following phraseological units have developed.
- •V. Match the beginning of the proverb in the left-hand corner with its ending in the right-hand corner.
- •Chapter 6 etymological background of the english vocabulary
- •1. What Is Etymology?
- •2. Native English Vocabulary
- •3. Loan Words and Their Role in the Formation of the English Vocabulary
- •4. Assimilation of Borrowings
- •5. Degree of Assimilation and Factors Determining It
- •5. Impact of Borrowings on the English Language System
- •Quesions and Tasks
- •Exercises
- •I. Subdivide the following words of native origin into a) Indo-European, b) Germanic, c) English proper.
- •II. Distribute the following Latin borrowings into three groups according to the time of borrowing.
- •III. Find the examples of Scandinavian borrowings in the sentences given below. How can they be identified?
- •IV. Point out whether the italicized words in the sentences given below are Norman or Parisian French borrowings. How can they be identified?
- •V. Explain the etymology of the italicized words (native English and borrowings). Use etymological dictionaries if necessary.
- •VIII. Think of 10-15 examples of Russian borrowings in English and English borrowings in Russian. Literary sources
- •II. Optional
- •Dictionaries
- •Internet sources
4. Assimilation of Borrowings
The process of adaptation of loan words to the phonetical, graphical and morphological standards of the receiving language and its semantic system is called assimilation of loan words. In accordance with it linguists distinguish phonetic, grammatical and lexical assimilation of borrowings.
1. Phonetic assimilation comprises changes in sound form and stress. Sounds that were alien to the English language were fitted into its system of sounds. The French long [e:] and [є:] in recent French borrowings alien to English speech are rendered by the diphthong [ei]: matinée, café, fiancé. Sounds or sound combinations the position of which was strange to the English language were replaced by other sounds or sound combinations according to the norms of the English language as in the examples of the German Spitz [şpitz] which turned into [spitz]. The accent (stress) was gradually transferred to the first syllable, especially in French borrowings: `honour, `reason.
2. Grammatical assimilation. As soon as words from other languages are introduced into English, they lose their former grammatical categories and paradigms and acquire new grammatical categories and paradigms by analogy with English words. For example, the Russian word 'спутник', borrowed by English lost grammar forms of the Russian language and acquired the English ones: sputnik, sputnik's, sputniks, sputniks'.
However, there are some words in Modern English that have retained their foreign inflections. A group of borrowed nouns from Latin and Greek, all of them terms or formal words adopted in the 16 c. and later have preserved their original plural inflections to this day: Latin: datum – data, referendum – referenda, addendum – addenda, genus – genera, alumnus – alumni; Greek: criterion – criteria, phenomenon – phenomena, analysis – analyses, thesis – theses, crisis – crises. Other borrowings of the same period have two plural forms – the foreign one and the new one which appeared due to assimilation: formula – formulae/formulas, genius – genii /geniuses, vacuum – vacua /vacuums, virtuoso – virtuosi /virtuosos.
To grammatical assimilation also belongs the process of simplification of morphological structure of borrowed words. Borrowings that were composite in structure in the foreign language appeared in English as indivisible simple words. The French s'aunter ‘walk in a leisurely way’ consists of three morphemes, while in English saunter has a simple morphological structure. Italian diminutive suffixes -etto, -otto, -ella, -cello in words stiletto, ballot, umbrella, violoncello cannot be distinguished without special historical analysis.
3. Lexical assimilation. When a word is taken over into another language, its semantic structure as a rule undergoes changes:
1) Polysemantic words are usually adopted in one or two of their meanings. Thus the word timbre which has a number of meanings in French was borrowed into English as a musical term only. Also cargo that has a number of meanings in Spanish was adopted only in one meaning ‘the goods carried in a ship’.
2) In some cases we observe specialization and generalization of meaning. In the word hangar borrowed from French the meaning became more specialized, denoting ‘a building where airplanes are kept’, in French it meant just ‘shed’. We observe generalization of meaning in case of Italian umbrella ‘sunshade’ whereas in English it also serves as protection from the rain.
3) A borrowing sometimes acquires new meanings that were not to be found in its former semantic structure. For example, the verb move developed the meanings ‘change one’s flat’, ‘mix with people’ and others that the French prototype ‘mouvoir’ does not possess.
4) Usually the primary meaning of a borrowed word is retained throughout its history but sometimes it becomes a secondary meaning, e.g. Sc. feolage > fellow, was borrowed in the meaning ‘comrade, companion’, which was primary, later this primary meaning was replaced by the meaning ‘a man, or a boy’.
5) Another phenomenon which must receive special attention is the formation of derivatives from borrowed word-stems and affixes. Due to intense borrowing there appeared a lot of hybrids – words different elements of which are of etymologically different origin: happiness (happi- of Sc. origin + -ness – a native suffix), shortage, goddess (short-, god- are of native origin + -age, -ess – suffixes of French origin), ill-tempered (ill- Sc., temper- Fr., -ed – native English)