- •English lexicology a course of lectures
- •Introduction
- •1. Lexicology as a branch of linquistics
- •2. Kinds of lexicology
- •3. Links of Lexicology with other branches of Linguistics
- •Lecture 1. Word-meaning
- •1.1. Semantics as a branch of Lexicology studing meanihg
- •1.2. Approaches to the study of meaning
- •1.2.1. Referential approach to meaning
- •1.2.2. Functional approach to meaning
- •1.3. Types of word-meaning
- •1.3.1. Grammatical meaning
- •1.3.2. Lexical meaning
- •1.3.3. Part-of-speech meaning
- •1.3.4 Denotative, significative and connotative meanings
- •1.3.5. Connotative meaning
- •1.3.6. Emotive charge and sociostylistic reference of words
- •1.3.7. Pragmatic meaning
- •1.4. Types of morpheme-meaning
- •1.4.1. Lexical meaning of morphemes
- •1.4.2. Functional or part-of-speech meaning of morphemes
- •1.4.3. Differential meaning of morphemes
- •1.4.4. Distributional meaning of morphemes
- •1.5.2.2. Morphological motivation of words
- •1.5.2.3. Semantic motivation of words
- •Lecture 2. Change of Meaning
- •2.1. Causes of semantic change
- •2.1.1. Extralinguistic causes of semantic change
- •2.1.2. Linguistic causes of semantic change
- •2.2. Nature, results and types of semantic change
- •2.2.1. Similarity of meanings or metaphor
- •2.2.2. Contiguity of meanings or metonymy
- •2.2.3. Types of semantic change without the transfer of name
- •2.2.3.1. Specialization and generalization of meanings
- •2.2.3.2. Amelioration and pejoration of meaning
- •2.2.3.3. Hyperbole, litotes, irony, euphemism, disphemism, taboo
- •Lecture 3. Polysemy
- •3.1. The notion of polysemy
- •3.2. Approaches to polysemy
- •3.2.1. Diachronic approach to polysemy
- •3.2.2. Synchronic approach to polysemy
- •Lecture 4. Homonymy
- •4.1. Definition of homonymy
- •4.2. Homonymy of words and homonymy of word-forms
- •4.3. Classification of homonyms
- •4.3.1. Full and partial homonymy
- •4.3.2. Classification of homonyms by the type of meaning
- •4.3.3. Classification of homonyms by the sound-form, graphic form and meaning
- •4.4. Sources of homonymy
- •4.4.1. Diverging meaning development
- •4.4.2. Converging sound development
- •4.5. Differentiation of polysemy and homonymy
- •Lecture 5. Word-meaning in syntagmatics and paradigmatics
- •5.1. Definition of syntagmatics and paradigmatics
- •5.2. Conceptual or semantic fields
- •5.3. Hyponimic (or hierarchical) structures and lexico-semantic groups
- •5.4. Synonymy and antonymy
- •Lecture 6. Word-structure
- •6.1. Segmentation of words into morphemes
- •6.2. Classification of morphemes
- •6.3. Procedure of morphemic analysis
- •6.4. Morphemic types of words
- •6.5. Derivative structure of words
- •7.3. Composition or compounding
- •7.4. Conversion
- •7.5. Shortening and abbreviation
- •7.5.1. Shortening or contraction
- •7.5.2. Abbreviation
- •7.6. Back-formation or reversion
- •8. Word-groups and phraseological units
- •8.1. Lexical and grammatical valency
- •8.2. Definition of phraseological units
- •8.3. Classification of phraseological units
- •Literature
- •Contents
- •Introduction 1
1.4.4. Distributional meaning of morphemes
Distributional meaning is the meaning of the order and arrangement of morphemes constructing the word. It is found in all words containing more than one morpheme. For example, the word reader is composed of two morphemes, namely, read- and –er, each possessing a denotational meaning. But there is one more element of meaning that enables us to understand this word. It is the pattern of arrangement of its constituent morphemes. A different arrangement of the same morphemes would make this word meaningless.
1.5. Word-meaning and motivation
1.5.1. Definition of motivation
There are cases when we can observe a direct connection between the structural pattern of the word and its meaning. In such cases we say that the word is motivated. The term motivation is used to denote the relationship existing between the phonemic and morphemic composition and structural pattern of the word, on one hand, and its lexical meaning, on the other.
1.5.2. Types of motivation
There are three main types of motivation: phonetical, morphological and semantic motivation.
1.5.2.1. Phonetic motivation of words
Phonetic motivation of a word implies a direct connection between the phonetical structure of the word and its lexical meaning.
If the word is motivated by a certain similarity between the sounds which make it up and the sounds referred to by the sense of this word, we observe an onomatopoeic, imitative or echoic motivation, as in the case of cuckoo, cok-a-doodle-doo.
There is one more type of phonetic motivation closely akin to the imitative forms, namely sound symbolism. Some sounds or combination of sounds are supposed to have a symbolic value in explaining the meaning of words. As the same combinations of sounds are used in many semantically similar words, they become more closely associated with the meaning. For example, the sound-cluster fl used in the words flap, flip, flop, flitter, flimmer, flicker, flutter, flash, flush, flare is associated with quick movement.
1.5.2.2. Morphological motivation of words
This direct connection between the morphemic structure of the word and its meaning is termed morphological motivation. It implies a direct connection between the lexical meaning of the constituent morphemes, the pattern of their arrangement and the meaning of the word. Hence, by his definition all one-morpheme words, such as man, bad, go are non-motivated, because the connection between the structure of these words and their meaning is completely arbitrary, conventional.
Morphological motivation is present in derived and compound words. For example, the word reader is motivated by its immediate and, here, ultimate constituents the morphemes read- and –er, which, in their turn, are not motivated. So morphological motivation stops on the word level.
As to compounds, their motivation is morphological if the meaning of the whole is based on the literal meaning of the components, and semantic if the combination of components is used figuratively. For example, the word eyewash is motivated morphologically in its literal meaning ‘a lotion for the eyes’; but it is motivated semantically in its figurative meaning ‘deception’.
Morphological motivation is relative/ It means that the degree of morphological motivation may be different. Between the extremes of complete motivation, as in the word reader, and lack of motivation, as in the word man, there exist various grades of partial motivation, as in the case of cranberry, where the morpheme cran- has no lexical meaning, at least synchronously.
From the historical point of view motivation changes in the course of time. Words that are no-motivated at present may have lost their motivation due to changes in the vocabulary. Their motivation is said to be faded. For example, the word lady is not motivated at present, but historical analysis shows that it is derived from the OE hlāf-die ‘loaf-kneader’.