LECTURE 7 WORD MEANING THE SEMANTIC STRUCTURE OF

LECTURE 7 WORD MEANING. THE SEMANTIC STRUCTURE OF A WORD. OUTLINE: 1. SEMANTICS AS A PART OF LEXICOLOGY 2. WORD MEANING. DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO WORD MEANING. 3. WORD MEANING. TYPES OF WORD MEANING.

• • • The term semantics was first used to refer to the development and change of meaning. It is originated from Greek word 'semantikos' meaning 'significant'. It is the study of meanings, dealing with the relationship between symbols (words, signs, etc. ) and what they refer to (called 'referents').

The functional approach is based on treating the language as a semiotic system. Each sign achieves a meaning only in comparison with other signs, its neighbours, i. e. meaning can be studied only through context. It is an attempt to study the system of semantic relations between the words.

Analyzing the function of a word in linguistic contexts and comparing these contexts, we conclude that meanings are different. For example, to take: • to take a seat (‘to sit down’) • to take to smb (‘to begin to like someone’)

The referential approach of semantic studies considers a word as a unit possessing its own meaning. The main problem is the relation between the word, its meaning and the thing in reality which it denotes. The sound-form of the sign, the concept and the referent are connected with each other.

The meaning of a word is the reflection of the objective reality in our consciousness. The word is a form of a notion's material existence. The lexical meaning of a word is the realization of a notion by means of a definite languagesystem. A word is a language unit, while a notion is a unit of thinking. A notion denotes the reflection in the mind of real objects and phenomena in their essential features and relations. Notions, as a rule, are international.

• • • THE DENOTATIONAL MEANING IS THE REALIZATION OF THE NOTION; THE DENOTATION OF A WORD IS THE DIRECT EXPLICIT MEANING THAT MAKES COMMUNICATION POSSIBLE; THE CONCEPTUAL CONTENT

• • THE CONNOTATIONAL MEANING IS THE PRAGMATIC COMMUNICATIVE VALUE OF THE WORD; THE CONNOTATION OF A WORD IS WHAT THE WORD IMPLIES IN ADDITION TO ITS DENOTATIONAL MEANING.

FOUR MAIN TYPES OF CONNOTATION: 1. STYLISTIC (e. g. horse - steed) 2. EMOTIVE (e. g. dog - doggie) 3. EVALUATIVE (e. g. famous/ well-known - notorious) 4. EXPRESSIVE OR INTENSIFYING (e. g. splendid, superb, fantastic)

LECTURE 8 THE SEMANTIC CHANGE Word Meaning is liable to change in the course of the historical development of language. Every word has undergone many semantic changes.

THE NATURE OF SEMANTIC CHANGE METAPHOR METONYMY IS A TRANSFER THE MEANING OF MEANING CAN BE ON THE BASIS TRANSFORME OF D ON THE COMPARISON BASIS OF CONTIGUITY

SPECIALIZATION “accident” any event→ an unintended disastrous event

GENERALIZATION “manage” to handle a horse→to handle anything successfully

AMELIORATION “nice” silly→good “minister” servant→a civil servant of high rank

PEJORATION “accident” any event→an unintended injurious or disastrous event “a gossip” god parent→the one who talks scandal

PRACTICE № 4 STATE THE NATURE AND THE RESULT OF THE SEMANTIC CHANGE IN THE WORDS “DEER” – OE “ANY ANIMAL” - MODERN ENGLISH AND "FOND" - MIDDLE ENGLISH „FOOLISH, INFATUATED‟ - MODERN ENGLISH.