- •What Is Lexicology?
- •1.1 Definition of Lexicology
- •The Structure of the English Lexicon
- •2.1 Words and their Associative Fields
- •2.2 Word Families
- •2.3 Word Classes
- •2.4 Semantic, or Lexical, Fields
- •Synchronistic and Diachronistic Approaches to the Structure of the English Vocabulary
- •2.2 English Lexemes of Native Origin
- •2.3 Borrowed, or Loan, Lexemes
- •2.3.1 Borrowings from Latin
- •2.3.2 Scandinavian Borrowings
- •2.3.3 Loans from French
- •2.3.4 Spanish Loanwords
- •2.3.5 Borrowings from Italian
- •2.3.6 Loans from Dutch and German
- •2.3.7 Borrowings from Slavic, Hungarian, and Turkish
- •Classification of Borrowings according to the Degree of Assimilation
- •2.5 Etymological Doublets
- •2.6 Folk Etymology
- •The Word
- •3.1 Defining a Word
- •3.2 Morphological Structure of Words
- •3.2.1 Word Structure
- •3.2.2 Stems
- •3.2.3 Types of affixes
- •3.2.4 Derivational and Functional Affixes
- •Inflection of Derived or Compound Words
- •3.3 Cliticization
- •3.4 Internal Change/Alternation
- •3.5 Suppletion
- •3.6 Reduplication
- •Word Formation
- •4.1 Derivation
- •V ? Athe act of X’ing
- •V ? Vnot X
- •4.1.1 Types of Derivational Affixes
- •4.3.1 Classification of Compounds
- •4.3.2 Endocentric and Exocentric Compounds
- •4.4 Reduplication
- •4.5 Conversion
- •4.6 Blending
- •4.7 Backformation
- •4.8 Clipping
- •4.9 Acronyms and Abbreviations
- •Semantics
- •5.1 Types of Semantics
- •5.2 Linguistic Sign
- •5.3 Denotation
- •5.4 Connotation
- •5.5 Reference
- •5.6 Sense
- •5.7 Semantics and Change of Meaning
- •5.9 Sense Relations
- •5.9.1 Similarity of Sense
- •5.9.2 Oppositeness of Sense
- •5.9.3 Meaning Categories: Hyponymy
- •5.9.4 Meronymy
- •5.9.5 Related Meanings
- •5.9.6 Different Meanings: Homonymy
- •Homonyms
- •Homophones homographs homonyms proper
- •Phraseology
- •6.1 Definition
- •6.2 Classification of phraseologisms
- •6.3 The Origin of Phraseological Units
- •6.3.1 Native Phraseological Units
- •6.3.2 Borrowed Phraseological Units
- •6.4 Semantic Structure of Phraseological Units
- •6.5 Semantic Relations of Phraseological Units
- •6.5.1 Similarity of Sense
- •6.5.2 Oppositeness of Sense
- •Major Differences between American and British variants of the English Language
- •7.1 Differences in Vocabulary
- •7.2 Spelling Differences
- •7.3 Grammatical Differences
- •Lexicography
- •I need to add Types of Dictionaries
3.2.1 Word Structure
Complex words such as annotation, builder, professor, and others have internal structure. It is necessary not only to identify each component of the morphemes but also to classify them according to their contribution to the meaning and function of complex words. Typically, complex words consist of a root and one or more affixes. The root constitutes the core of the word and carries the major component of its meaning. Roots belong to a lexical category such as noun (N), verb (V), adjective (A), and preposition (P). Unlike roots, affixes are bound morphemes, and they do not belong to a lexical category. Affixes are subdivided into prefixes and suffixes. For example, when the suffix –er combines with the root build, the noun builder is coined to denote one who builds. The internal structure of this word can be shown in a diagram, which O’Grady, Archibald, Aronoff, and Rees-Miller call “a tree structure” (p. 135). When an affix is attached to the root, the form is called a base or a stem (The terms a base and stem may be used interchangeably). Sometimes a base corresponds to the word’s root; for example, in cat, the root is cat, and it is also a base.
N
V Af
build er A
Af A
un kind V
V Af
play ed V
A Af
modern ize
3.2.2 Stems
A stem is the actual form to which an affix (a suffix or a prefix) is added. In blacken, for example, the affix -en is added to the root black. Sometimes, an affix can be added to the form, which is larger than a root, e.g., authorization.
V
V
Af
N Af
author iz (a)tion
3.2.3 Types of affixes
We can distinguish three types of affixes in terms of their position relative to the stem. An affix, which is attached to the front of the stem, is called a prefix, and an affix, which is attached to the end of the stem, is called a suffix.
Some English prefixes and suffixes
PrefixesSuffixes
de+base
de+cease
dis+prove
im+part
im+bibe
in+tone
inter+fere
in+trepid
pre+fix
pre+judge
pre+side
employ+ment
enjoy+ment
frang+ible
frenz+y
fulmin+ate
gorge+ous
grate+ful
hunt+er
nation+al+ize
profess+or
prob+ation
A less common type of affix is an infix, which occurs within another morpheme. Although it is common in some languages, in English it appears with expletives, which provide extra emphasis to the word. One might point to certain usages on the American frontier such as guaran-damn-tee , abso-bloody-lutely, and others.