Lexicology. Class notes. University., Apuntes de Lexicología

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UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH LEXICOLOGY

1.1. What is lexicology? 1.1.1. Lexicology defined 1.1.2. Lexicology and its relationship with other linguistic disciplines 1.1.3. The structure of English vocabulary 1.2. What are words 1.2.1. The word defined 1.2.2. Word meaning 1.2.3. Meaning relations

1.1. What is lexicology?

1.1.1. Lexicology defined (From Greek λεξικ ν-ό λογ α)ί Ginzburg, Khidekel, Knyazeva & Sankin (1979: 7) : “Lexicology is a branch of linguistics, the science of language. The term Lexicology is composed of two Greek morphemes: lexis meaning ‘word, phrase’ (hence lexicos ‘having to do with words’) and logos which denotes ‘learning, a department of knowledge’. Thus, the literal meaning of the term L e x i с o l о g у is ‘the science of the word’. […] Lexicology as a branch of linguistics has its own aims and methods of scientific research, its basic task being a study and systematic description of vocabulary in respect to its origin, development and current use. Lexicology is concerned with words, variable word-groups, phraseological units, and with morphemes which make up words.” Jackson & Zé Amvela (2007: 1) : “the study of lexis, understood as the stock of words in a given language, i.e. its vocabulary or lexicon (from Greek lexis , 'word', lexicos , 'of/for words').” Lexicology: synchronic vs. diachronic approach Greek: συν- - χρ νος 'at the same time'ό Greek: δια- χρ νος 'across time'ό E.g. beggar

WORD

Vocabulary Lexis Lexicon Changes and development of vocabulary in the course of time Vocabulary structure and meaning at a given point of time.

1.1.2. Lexicology and its relationship with other linguistic disciplines

• MORPHOLOGY (Greek μορφο-λογ α)ί Def.: “the study of morphemes and their arrangements in forming words. Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units which may constitute words or parts of words.” (Jackson & Zé Amvela 2007: 2). E.g. cat, child, with, sleeping, armchairs, farmer. Allomorphs : each of the different realizations of a morpheme. E.g. A context vs. An index A battle vs. An apple A union vs. An onion Simple vs. Complex vs. Compounds arm arms armchair
• SEMANTICS (Greek σημαντικ ός) Def.: “the study of meaning. Its aim is therefore to explain and describe meaning in natural languages” (Jackson & Zé Amvela 2007: 4). → Pragmatic semantics studies the meaning of utterances in context. → Sentence semantics studies the meaning of sentences as well as meaning relations between sentences. → Lexical semantics studies the meaning of words and the meaning relations that are internal to the vocabulary of a language. ACCEPTABILITY vs. MEANINGULNESS Effective message? (1) That woman is a man. (2) That doll is a bomb. (3) That walking-stick is a gun. (4) Its d ice b eeting you
• ETYMOLOGY ( Greek ἐτυμολογ α > Latin ί etymologĭa ) Def.: “the study of the whole history of words, not just of their origin.” (Jackson & Zé Amvela 2007: 6). E.g. Nice 'precise' ('a nice distinction') < 'silly' (Latin nescius 'ignorant') < ne 'not' se 'cut' (cf. scissors, shears ) < ???

1.1.3. The structure of English vocabulary From Huddleston & Pullum (2005: 16)

1.2. What are words?

1.2.1. The word defined Ginzburg, Khidekel, Knyazeva & Sankin (1979: 9): “the word is the basic unit of language system, the largest on the morphologic and the smallest on the syntactic plane of linguistic analysis. The word is a structural and semantic entity within the language system. ” Jackson & Zé Amvela (2007: 48): “The term 'word' is used to designate an intermediate structure smaller than a whole phrase and yet generally larger than a single sound segment. However, the word may be defined differently depending on whether we focus on its representation, the thought which it expresses, or purely formal criteria.” Criteria used to recognize words:

• Writing traditions (Prob.: a new waste paper basket )
• Indivisible unit of thought (Prob.: rethink )
• Formal criteria (Prob.: phonological, lexical and grammatical word. E.g. finds /faındz/, FIND, 'third person singular present indicative of FIND'. Jackson & Zé Amvela (2007: 50): “We shall consider the word as an uninterruptible unit of structure consisting of one or more morphemes and which typically occurs int he structure of phrases. The morphemes are the ultimate grammatical constituents, the minimal meaningful units of language.” Prob. 1: Grammatical vs. Lexical words Function vs. Content words

Closed-class vs. Open-class words Prob. 2: Word formation (specifically Derivation) vs. Inflection E.g. disneyfication vs. tables

• Characteristics of words

1. Uninterruptible unit (Exception: infixes)
2. May consist of more than one morpheme: Simple vs. Complex vs. Compound words
3. Typically occurs in the structure of phrases: Morphemes > Words > Phrases > Clauses 4. Each word should belong to a specific word class (aka part of speech): smoke?

• Ambiguity in the notion of word a) The generic character of the word: mammal vs. cow b) The multiplicity of aspects of every word. E.g. table ; freedom c) The nature of the non-linguistic world itself: E.g. green , democracy d) Lack of familiarity with the referent of the word. E.g. scythe 1.2.2. Word meaning de Saussure (1916): Linguistic sign = signifié 'concept, thing meant'

signifiant 'acoustic image, signifier' POLYSEMY (Greek πολυ-σ μαῆ ) Def. “Polysemy refers to the situation where the same word has two or more different meanings” (Jackson & Zé Amvela 2007: 58). E.g. board, flight. Problems inherent in the concept of polysemy:

1. Number of meanings. E.g. eat
2. Transference of meaning. E.g. hands
3. Difficulty in recognizing polysemy. (Polysemy vs. Homonymy) HOMONYMY (Greek ὁμωνυμ α) ί

pavement sidewalk refuse/rubbish garbage tap faucet windscreen windshield money brass nothing nowt sandwich butty splinter skelf Synonyms varying in degree of formatity: Neutral Formal argument disputation beauty pulchritude cross traverse die decease give up renounce letter missive praise eulogy western occidental Standard English Slang astonished gobsmacked crash prang destroy zap drunk sloshed , etc. heart ticker insane barmy prison clink therapist shrink Synonyms differing in connotations: ambiguous equivocal (deliberately) famous notorious (disreputably) hate loathe (with repugnance or disgust) misuse abuse (of privilege or power) new novel (strickingly) obtain procure (with effort) persuade inveigle (with ingenuity or deceit) proud haughty (with disdain) recollection reminiscence (with pleasure) simulate feign (with craftiness) Why so many synonyms? → Main reason: the history of the English language. Consider the following examples: Germanic origin French or Latin origin ask for request (F) din commotion (L) drive back repulse (L) drop globule (L) glove gauntlet (F) need require (F) rope cable (F) slake satisfy (F) smother suffocate (L) Norman French Latin commencement inception devise excogitate generous munificent imprison incarcerate mount ascend pardon amnesty urgency exigency ***** More in Unit 2.

• Antonymy (Greek ἀντι- νυμ α)ί Gradable antonyms beautiful ugly expensive cheap fast slow hot cold increase decrease long short love hate rich poor sweet sour wide narrow Contradictory or complementary antonyms asleep awake dead alive on off permit forbid remember forget shut open true false win lose Converse antonyms above below before after behind in front of buy sell give receive husband wife parent child speak listen
• Hyponymy (Greek ὑπο — νυμ α): The 'kind of' relationί (From Jackson & Zé Amvela 2007: 102)
• Meronymy: The 'part of' relation (From: http://www.uefap.com/vocab/learn/meaning.htm)