Lexicology as a branch of Linguistics

Lexicology as a branch of Linguistics

Lexicology is a branch of Linguistics dealing with the study of the meaning, usage, derivation, and history of words and word elements. The object of Lexicology in general is the science of the word. It is concerned with words, word-groups, phraseological units, and word-building morphemes. The basic task is to study and systematize description of vocabulary in respect to its origin, development, and current use. The lexical system contains productive elements typical of this particular period, others that are archaic and are dropping out of usage, and, finally, some new words and meanings. Syntagmatic combinatorial relations outline the meaning of the word when it is used in combination with other words in the flow of speech. Paradigmatic contrastive relations exist between words belonging to one subgroup of vocabulary items (e.g., verbs of motion, of sense perception, sets of synonyms, etc.) that can occur in the same context and be contrasted to one another: e.g., to go (run, walk) a mile.. General Lexicology is a part of General Linguistics. It is concerned with the general study of vocabulary, irrespective of the specific features of any particular language. Special Lexicology devotes its attention to the description of the characteristic peculiarities in the vocabulary of a given language. Thus, Special Lexicology is the Lexicology of a particular language (e.g., English). Historical Lexicology discusses the origin of various words, their change and development, the lingual and extralingual forces modifying their structure, meaning, and usage. Descriptive Lexicology deals with the vocabulary of a given language at a given stage of its development. It studies the functions of words and their specific structure. Contrastive, or Comparative, Lexicology is relatively new branch of study provides a theoretical basis on which the vocabularies of different languages can be compared and described. The theoretical value Lexicology came into being to meet the demands of many different branches of Applied Linguistics, namely of Lexicography, Literary Criticism, and Standardization of Terminology. The practical importance consists in a possibility to apply a systematic approach to the facts of vocabulary and to undertake an organized comparison of the foreign and native languages.

The principal constants of the lexical level

The principal constants of the lexical level in the contrasted languages are the following: (a) words, their semantic classes and word-forming means as well as their structural models and stylistic peculiarities of use, (b) the lexico-semantic groups (LSGs) of words which are pertained to the contrasted languages, and (c) stable and idiomatic expressions which are also of universal nature, though they always have some national peculiarities in every single language. The word is the basic unit of a language system. As a structural and semantic entity, it is the biggest unit of morphology and the smallest unit of syntax. Morphemes are also meaningful units, but they can not be used independently; they are always parts of words, whereas words can be used as a complete utterance (e.g., Listen!).

Semiotic superclass

The noun as a part of speech underwent in the semiotic/global approach the most detailed semantic classification. As to all other notionals, they were allocated by E. Nida to the second large semiotic superclass, which embraces the so-called identifying subclasses of words. Subclass 1. Verbal words presenting various classes of notional and functional verbs. Notional verbs are presented by different LSGs characterized by their general implicit grammatical meaning as transitivity or intransitivity, perfective or non-perfective (or any other aspect), reflexiveness or non-reflexiveness, etc. Equally presented are other implicit and explicit categorial meanings and forms of the verb as person, number, mood, tense forms with their isomorphic and allomorphic traits/peculiarities in each language, etc. Subclass 2. The universal modifiers of syntactic objects—in other words, by adjectives. These words split in all languages into two subclasses: (1) the qualitative and (2) the relative adjectives (a universal typological feature). Qualitative adjectives in all languages have degrees of comparison (also a universal feature). Cf. long – longer – the longest. Subclass 3. Pronouns that have in most languages both isomorphic and allomorphic features with nouns or numerals and, functionally, with adjectives: cf. Peter – he, love – she, the four – they, something/nothing – it –the first –the third – etc. Universal are practically all the main classes of pronouns, though their number may be different in various languages. Therefore, semiotic subclasses of pronouns may sometimes be different in some languages. The only class of pronouns that has no definite nomenclature in many languages is presented by the so-called class of indefinite pronouns, not all of which are sometimes included into one separate class. Subclass 4. Numerical words that substitute corresponding figures. This semiotic subclass is represented by some subclasses of numerals having universal nature. Namely: (1) cardinal numerals (three, twenty-one), (2) ordinal numerals (the first, the tenth). Like adjectives, the ordinal numerals in many languages may have gender, case and number distinctions. Of universal nature is also the subclass (and notion) of fractionals (common fractions as two-thirds,.) and decimal (десяткові) fractions as 0.5, 2.25. The nomenclature of numerical subclasses, however, may be quite different in some languages. The main constants of this semiotic subclass in all languages, however, remain the cardinal, the ordinal and fractional numerals, which are pertained to every single language on the globe. Subclass 5. The adverb, which constitutes a universal word modifying an action or state: cf. to read quickly/slowly, very etc. Adverbial words in all languages split into several semantic classes which are mainly universal, i.e. pertained to all languages without exception. The main of these semantic subclasses are as follows: (1) adverbs denoting/expressing temporal relations: now, (2) adverbs denoting/expressing local relations: here, everywhere, etc., (3) adverbs expressing direction: eastwards, whence,, etc., (4) adverbs expressing manner: how, etc., and (5) adverbs expressing degree: quite, etc.It is necessary to add that adverbial meanings can be also expressed by prepositional nouns, adverbial word-groups and adverbial clauses. Hence, there are to be distinguished in this subclass adverbials expressing:(a) temporal relations: at night, in 2015.,(b) local relations: in Kyiv, not far from there. (c) adverbials expressing direction: into the room, to London (d) adverbials expressing manner: slowly/quickly, enthusiastically,

Dialectal words

are normative and devoid of any stylistic meaning in regional dialects, but outside of them carry a strong flavor of the locality where they belong. In Great Britain four main dialects are distinguished: Lowland Scotch, Northern, Midland (Central), and Southern. In the USA three major dialectal varieties are distinguished: New England, Southern, and Midwestern (Central, Midland). In Ukraine, we have western, central, and eastern language types of local vernaculars on the phonemic and lexical level. E.g., hinny/honey, zinking/sinking, maister/master, aunt, neither, either. In the U.S. Southern dialect one might say: Y’all talk mighty fine for You speak English well. One of the most characteristic territorial differences in the lexicon of English dialects is the London cockney with its distinguishing use of / h / in several words with initial vowels as in hopen for open, hup for up, hus for us, etc. In some other words with the initial / h / this sound is, on the contrary, omitted in speech: cf. am for ham, ill for hill, Arry for Harry. The concluding / g / in cockney is often omitted, too, as in doin’, readin’, mornin’, etc.Some dialectal words have entered the general vocabulary and lost their dialectal status (e.g., lad, pet, squash,). Often equivalent in English are also low colloquialisms—vituperative words and phrases (лайливі слова та вирази) like goddamn, hell, rat, swine, cad, pig, skunk, stink-pot and others. obscene/“dirty” words (непристойні слова) as shit, piss and corruption, лайно. Functionally similar to them are vulgarisms which, like the previous group of low colloquialisms, are practically universal by their nature: bum – зад, задниця; punch – пузо/барило, жлукто; mug – рило/морда; stinkard – смердюк/смердючка etc.

 

Specialized Dictionaries.

Phraseological English dictionaries have accumulated vast collections of idiomatic or colloquial phrases, proverbs and other word-groups with profuse illustrations. However, many of such dictionaries mix phraseological items with all forms of linguistic anomalies that transgress the laws of grammar or logic but are approved by usage.

New words dictionaries are aimed at adequate reflection of the continuous growth of a language.

Dictionaries of slang contain elements from areas of substandard speech such as vulgarisms, jargonisms, taboo words, curse-words, dialectical words, and colloquialisms

Usage dictionaries are designed to pass judgement on usage problems of all kinds.

Reverse dictionaries are lists of words in which the entry words are arranged in alphabetical order starting with their final letters. The original purpose of such dictionaries was to indicate rhyming words.

Pronouncing dictionaries record contemporary pronunciation. These dictionaries indicate variant pronunciations as well as the pronunciation of different grammatical forms.

Etymological dictionaries trace present-day words to the oldest forms available, establish their primary meanings and give the parent form reconstructed by means of the comparative-historical method.

Ideographic dictionaries are designed for writers, orators or translators seeking to express their ideas adequately. They contain words grouped by the concepts expressed.

Thus, the numerous linguistic dictionaries may be grouped by the following criteria: (1) the nature of their word-list, (2) the information they contain, (3) the language of the explanations, and (4) the intended user.

 

Lexicology as a branch of Linguistics

Lexicology is a branch of Linguistics dealing with the study of the meaning, usage, derivation, and history of words and word elements. The object of Lexicology in general is the science of the word. It is concerned with words, word-groups, phraseological units, and word-building morphemes. The basic task is to study and systematize description of vocabulary in respect to its origin, development, and current use. The lexical system contains productive elements typical of this particular period, others that are archaic and are dropping out of usage, and, finally, some new words and meanings. Syntagmatic combinatorial relations outline the meaning of the word when it is used in combination with other words in the flow of speech. Paradigmatic contrastive relations exist between words belonging to one subgroup of vocabulary items (e.g., verbs of motion, of sense perception, sets of synonyms, etc.) that can occur in the same context and be contrasted to one another: e.g., to go (run, walk) a mile.. General Lexicology is a part of General Linguistics. It is concerned with the general study of vocabulary, irrespective of the specific features of any particular language. Special Lexicology devotes its attention to the description of the characteristic peculiarities in the vocabulary of a given language. Thus, Special Lexicology is the Lexicology of a particular language (e.g., English). Historical Lexicology discusses the origin of various words, their change and development, the lingual and extralingual forces modifying their structure, meaning, and usage. Descriptive Lexicology deals with the vocabulary of a given language at a given stage of its development. It studies the functions of words and their specific structure. Contrastive, or Comparative, Lexicology is relatively new branch of study provides a theoretical basis on which the vocabularies of different languages can be compared and described. The theoretical value Lexicology came into being to meet the demands of many different branches of Applied Linguistics, namely of Lexicography, Literary Criticism, and Standardization of Terminology. The practical importance consists in a possibility to apply a systematic approach to the facts of vocabulary and to undertake an organized comparison of the foreign and native languages.