MODERN ENGLISH LEXICOLOGY THE NOTION OF LEXICAL SYSTEM

MODERN ENGLISH LEXICOLOGY THE NOTION OF LEXICAL SYSTEM. PRINCIPLES OF SYSTEMATIZATION.

What is a system? A system is a set of elements associated and functioning together according to certain laws. A system consists of sub-systems the members of which have some features in common, thus distinguishing them from the members of other lexical sub-systems.

Types of sub-systems open (e. g. synonymic sets) closed (e. g. The sub-system of the article – definite, indefinite, zero)

Types of relations within a lexical system Intralinguistic relations within a lexical system PARADIGMATIC RELATIONS SYNTAGMATIC RELATIONS

SYNTAGMATIC RELATIONS Syntagmatic (combinatory) relations define the meaning the word possesses when it is used in combination with other words in the flow of speech: cf. He got a letter – He got tired – He got to London.

On the syntagmatic axis the word-meaning is dependent on different types of contexts: context linguistic (verbal) context lexical grammatical extra-linguistic (non-verbal) context (context of situation)

Thematic grouping Words in thematic groups are joined together by common contextual associations within the framework of the sentence and reflect the interlinking of these things or events. The associations formed are conditioned by the context of situation: journey – train – travel – ticket – hotel – to book – to arrive – to leave – luggage.

PARADIGMATIC RELATIONS Paradigmatic (or selectional) relations exist between individual lexical items which make up one of the subgroups of vocabulary items (synonyms, lexico-semantic groups, etc. ), and define the word-meaning through its interrelation with other member of the subgroup in question: cf. He got a letter – He received a letter – He obtained a letter.

Criterion of classification The main criterion underlying classification of vocabulary items on the paradigmatic axis is the type of meaning relationship between words.

Lexico-grammatical grouping A lexico-grammatical group is a class of words which have a common lexicogrammatical meaning, a common paradigm, the same substituting elements and possibly a characteristic set of suffixes rendering the lexico-grammatical meaning.

Lexico-grammatical groups Notional words the noun the adjective the pronoun the numeral the verb the adverb the modal words the interjection functional (form) words the preposition the conjunction the particle

Morphological grouping Sub-groups: l according to morphological structure (simple, derived, compound derivatives); l according to the common root morpheme (wordfamilies): dog, doggish, doglike, doggy, to dog, doggedly, doggedness, dog-wolf, dog-days, dog-biscuit, dog-cart, etc. ; l according to the common meaning of the suffix or prefix; l ………

According to the criterion of semantic similarity (common components of meaning) Synonyms are two or more words of the same language, belonging to the same part of speech and possessing one or more identical or nearly identical denotational meanings, interchangeable at least in some contexts without any considerable alteration in denotational meaning, but different in morphemic composition, phonemic shape, shades of meaning, connotations, style, valency and idiomatic use.

Types of synonyms Ideographic (V. V. Vinogradov) - words conveying the same concept but differing in shades of meaning: glance - a look which is quick and sudden; glimpse – a look which is quicker, implies only momentary sight; peep - brief furtive look at something that is hidden.

Types of synonyms Stylistic synonyms (V. V. Vinogradov) - convey the same concept but differ in stylistic characteristics: snack, bite - coll. , snap - dial. , repast, refreshment, feast – formal. A special subgroup of stylistic synonyms are euphemisms - words used to substitute some unpleasant or offensive words: “the late” instead of “dead”, «to perspire» instead of « «to sweat» ;

Types of synonyms Absolute synonyms - have exactly the same meaning and belong to the same style and therefore can replace each other in any given context, without the slightest alteration in denotative or emotional meaning and connotations: noun - substantive, functional affix - flection - inflection. Relative synonyms (near-synonyms) are words similar or nearly the same in denotation, but embracing different shades of meaning or different degrees of a given quality: large – huge – tremendous – colossal.

Types of synonyms Galina Borisovna Antrushina classifies connotations by which synonyms differ: l the connotation of degree/intensity (to like -to admire - to love - to adore); l a connotation of duration (to shudder (brief) - to shiver (lasting)); l the emotive connotations (alone - single - lonely - solitary); l the evaluative connotation (well-known - famous - notorious celebrated); l the causative connotation (to blush (from modesty) - to redden (from anger or indignation)); l the connotation of manner (to stroll - to stride - to trot - to pace); l the connotation of attended circumstances; l the connotation of attended features (pretty - handsome - beautiful); l stylistic connotations.

Synonymic dominant – a word with the most general meaning, which can substitute any word in the synonymic group: to surprise – to give someone a feeling of surprise; to astonish – to give someone a feeling of surprise; to amaze – to surprise someone very much, especially by being very impressive; to astound - to surprise or shock someone very much.

Features of a synonymic dominant l l high frequency of usage; broad combinability (the ability to be used in combinations with various classes of words); broad general meaning; lack of connotations;

Sources of synonyms borrowing: native : : Latin - bodily: : corporal, brotherly: : fraternal; native : : French/Latin : : Greek - begin (start) - commence - initiate. l dialects and regional English: railway – railroad, charm – glamour; l figurative and euphemistic use of words: occupation – walk of life, lie – distort the fact, to die : : be no more : : be gone : : lose one’s life : : breathe one’s last : : join the silent majority : : go the way of all flesh : : pass away : : be gathered to one’s fathers; l coincidence with idiomatic expressions: win – gain the upper hand, help – lend one a hand; l word-forming processes productive in the language at a given time of history, e. g. abbreviation: examination – exam; l phrasal verbs: cut down - diminish l

Discrimination of synonyms 1) Denotation: synonyms may differ in the range and intensity of meaning: rich - owning a lot of money, property, or valuable possessions; wealthy - a wealthy person, organization, or country is one that has a large amount of money, land, and other valuable things; wealthy is felt to possess more money and property than rich. 2) Connotation: synonyms may differ in the stylistic and emotive coloring of words: father – daddy; 3) Application: synonyms are different in usage: Empty box/street/room but vacant seat/chair/apartment

Laws l l The radiation of synonyms - when a particular word is given a transferred meaning its synonyms tend to develop along parallel lines; The law of synonymic attraction - subjects prominent in the interests of a community tend to attract a larger number of synonyms.