The Object of Lexicology. General questions of a Word Theory

Contents

1. The Object of Lexicology. General questions of a Word Theory. 1

2. Word-structure and word-formation. 1

3. Word-building: affixation. 2

3.1. Word-building: prefixation. 2

3.2. Word-building: suffixation. 4

3.3. Word-building: word-composition. 5

3.4. Word-building: conversion. 6

3.5. Word-building: shortening. 6

3.6. Some examples of graphical shortenings in medical literature. 7

4. Meaning. 10

4.1. Some examples of medical slang. 11

4.2. Американский медицинский сленг. 12

5. Change of meaning: causes of semantic change. 14

6. Change of meaning: nature of semantic change: metaphor 14

7. Change of meaning: nature of semantic change: metonymy. 15

8. Meaning and polysemy. 15

9. Synonyms. 16

10. Euphemisms. 18

11. Neologisms. 19

12. Word-group and phraseological units. 20

13. Proverbs. Health proverbs General health. 21

14. Food proverbs. 22

"Lexicology" originates from 2 Greek morphemes: "lexis" meaning "word", "phrase" and "logos", meaning "learning". So, lexicology studies words and phrases, i.e. vocabulary of a language.

Vocabulary of a language includes words and set-expressions a wordis a basic unit of a given language which is the result of the association of a given meaning with a given group of sounds. Set expressions (phraseological unit) are traditional stable phrases like "to play a role", "to take part", "as hungry as a wolf etc.

Lexicology investigates the problems of words, word-structure, word-formation in the language, the meaning of the words, the main classifications of the words, the laws governing the enlargement of the vocabulary.

Lexicology can be general, special, historical and descriptive generallexicology deals with the general study of words in different languages. Specificlexicology studies characteristic features of the vocabulary of a given language, eg. English, Spanish, French.

Historicallexicology study, the origin, change and development of the words. Descriptivelexicology studies the vocabulary of a given language at a given stage of its development.

There are 2 approaches to the study of language:

1) Synchronic(syn = together, chronos = time) is concerned with the vocabulary of a language at a given period of time.

2) Diachronic(dia = through, chronos = time) approach dials with special descriptive historic lexicology.

Language is the reality of thought, and thought develops together with the development of society. Therefore language and its vocabulary must be studied in the light of social history.

Every new phenomenon in human society and in human activity in general finds a reflexion in vocabulary.

Eg.: nylon (technology) CD, DVD, video cassette, computer, cell phone (technology), sputnik, nana (science), perestroika (social and political life) a word, through its meaning rendering some notion, is a generalized reflexion of reality.

Lexicology is connected with other sciences which also study words, though from different sides:

general linguistics, the history of the language, phonetics, grammar, stylistics, translation.

The practical meaning of lexicology is great as it helps people to understand the system of vocabulary, its laws, the structure of words. The latter is of great importance in translation.

Читайте також:

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
	\|	Affixes

Не знайшли потрібну інформацію? Скористайтесь пошуком google:

Генерація сторінки за: 0.004 сек.