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THE FUNDAMENTALS OF LEXICOLOGY

1. Lexicology as the branch of linguistics

2. The connection of lexicology with phonetics, grammar and stylistics

3. The theoretical and practical value of lexicology

1. Lexicology as the branch of linguistics.

Lexicology (from Greek lexis 'word' and logos 'learning') is the part of linguistics dealing with the vocabulary of a language and the properties of words as the main units of language. It studies the vocabulary of a given language.

The term vocabulary is used to denote the system formed by the totality of words in the language.

The term word denotes the basic unit of a given language resulting from the association of a particular meaning with a particular group of sounds capable of a particular grammatical employment. Therefore a word is simultaneously a semantic, grammatical and phonological unit.

The general study of words and vocabulary, irrespective of the specific features of any particular language, is known as general lexicology. Special lexicology is devoted to the description of the characteristic peculiarities in the vocabulary of a given language.

The evolution of any vocabulary, as well as its single elements, forms the object of historical lexicology (or diachronic (from Greek dia 'through' and chronos 'time'). This part of linguistics discusses the origin of words, their change and development in the course of time.

The study of thevocabulary in its synchronic aspect, at a given stage of its development is the subject-matter of descriptive lexicology (or synchronic (from Greek syn 'together','with'). The descriptive lexicology of theEnglish language deals with the English word in its morphological and semantical structures, investigating the independence between these two aspects.

Subsequent investigations have shown the possibility and the necessity of introducing the historical point of view into systematic studies even in phonology. It is important to take into consideration that in language reality the two aspects are inderpendent and cannot be understood without one another.

The lexical system of every epoch contains productive elements typical for this particular period; some elements w-hteh are obsolete and dropping out of usage; some new phenomena, significant marks of new trends for the epochs to come. And even the vocabulary shows all these changes.

Л major interest is presented by linguistic relationships of lexical units within the vocabulary. Distinction must be made at this point between syntagmaticand paradigmatic relations. The former (syntagmatic relationships) are based on the linear character of speech and are studied by means of contextual, transformational and other types of analysis. In paradigmatic relationships we naturally distinguish *

a) the interdependence of elements within words;

b) the interdependence of words within the vocabulary;

c) the influence of other aspects of the same language.

Therefore, the English vocabulary as a system, with specific peculiarities of its own, is constantly developing and

conditioned by the history of the English people and the structure of the language.

2.The connection of lexicology with phonetics, grammar and stylistics.

The main task of lexicology is the study of the vocabulary of a given language. The word, as the main unit of it, is studied not in lexicology only. It is closely connected with phonetics, stylistics and, especially, grammar.

2.1. The connection of lexicology with phonetics.

All words consist ofphonemes and thereforephonemes participate in signification. Of course they have no meaning of their own. Phonemes are notlexicologically irrelevant: as their function is building up morphemes, they serve to distinguish between meanings. It may be based:

1) due to the position of stress;

e.g. import - [ ]- n. iмпорт, ввезення / [ ] - v. 1мпортувати; означати,мати на уваз1 absent-[ ] - відсусній/ [ ]— v. відпучитися, бути відсутнімobject- [ ]-и. предмет, pin, об'ект/ [ ] -у.заперечувати, протестувати

2) due to the pattern phonemes produce;

e.g. black snake — чорна зм1я / blacksnake — 1.полоз-удав; 2. ямайська чорна ЗМ1Я green house - зелений д1м / greenhouse - оранжерея a dancing girl - дівчина, що танцюе/ a dancing-girl - танцюристка

3) due to their historical development;

e.g. The word whole originally meant "unharmed" (неушкоджений)and now it means, "цілийй, весь"; the word carriage which had (and stillhas) the meaning "a vehicle drawn by horses", but, with the first appearance of railways inEngland, it received a new-meaning, that of" a railway' car".

4) due to phonetic difference in pronunciation;

e.g. hop - [ ] - стрибок/ hope - [ ] - над1я, сгахщвання

read — [ ]— pt. прочитати / read — [ ]- v. читати

2.2. The connection of lexicology with grammar.The lexical meaning of a word is very often determined by the grammatical context in which it occurs: e.g. to smoke a cigarette - палити/ to smoke fish, meat, etc. - консервувати;

the table is round (asan article of furniture) I the fruit was unfit for table (asa meal);

remembcr+gerund refers to the past and means "not to need to be reminded" (1 remember doing so) / remember+infinitive refers to the future and means "not toomit to do smth" (Remember to go to the post-office);

the verb to mean+infinitivemeans "to intend" (He had never really meant to write letter (he had never intended to do this) / to mean+gerund means"to signify" (This means changing all my plans). 2.3. The connection of lexicology with stylistics.

Stylistics have many problems treated in lexicology. These are the problems of meaning, synonymy, differentiation of vocabulary according to the sphere of communication and some other issues.

The study of the vocabulary leads us to the observation that many words suggest more than they literally mean, and sometimes words which have the same literal or actual meaning (denotation) differ widely in their suggested meaning (connotation). Some words are more general, colourless and neutral in tone. But other words have a distinctly literary or poetic flavour, or suggestion, whichmay be colloquial (informal), formal, humorous, vulgar, slangy, childish and so on through the various labels by which we may indicate the standing level of a word. 3. The theoretical and practical value of lexicology.

The theoretical value of lexicologybecomes obvious as it forms the study of one of the three main aspects of language: its vocabulary, grammar and sound system. Lexicology came into being to meet the needs of many different branches of applied linguistics such as lexicography, literary criticism, standardization of terminology, information retrieval and even foreign language teaching.

The practical value of lexicologyis that it gives not only a semantic description of the present make-up of the vocabulary, but also helps to master the literary standards of word usage. The correct use of words is an important

counterpart of expressive and effective speech. A good knowledge of the system of word-formation helps to guess and

retain in ourmemory the meaning of new words; to compare and contrast them with the previously learned elements and

patterns; to prevent many mistakes.

Lexicology plays a prominent part in the general linguistic training. It also impacts the necessary skills of using different kinds of dictionaries and reference books, and prepares for future independent work on increasing and improving one's vocabulary.

Lecture 2-3 ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF MODERN ENGLISH VOCABULARY

1. Historical background of English vocabulary (borrowings of different periods).

2. The original stock of English words.

3. The distinction of the terms "source of borrowing", "origin of borrowing", "translation loans", "semantic loans".

4. Assimilation of borrowings.

5. Etymological hybrids and doublets. 1. Historical background of English vocabulary.

Etymology is a branch of linguistics which studies the original formation and primary meaning of the word. The term "etymology"is derived from two Greek words: "etymos" that means "true original meaning" and "logos" wich means "learning".

English vocabulary contains an immense number of words of foreign oregin. Explanations of this should be sought in the history of the language. Thus, it will be necessary to go through a brief survey of certain historical facts, relating to different epochs.

The 1st century B.C. Most of the territory now known as Europe was occupied by the Roman Empire. Among the inhabitants of the continent there were Germanic tribes ("barbarians" as the Romans call them). They had rather primitive stage of development. Their tribal languages contained only Indo-European and Germanic elements. After a number of wars between the Germanic tribes and the Romans, they came into peaceful contact. As the result, Germanic people gained knowledge of some new things. First of all there were new things to eat. It has been mentioned that Germanic cattle-breeding was on a primitive scale. The only products known to them were meat and milk. And from the Romans they learnt how to make butter and cheese and, as there were naturally no words for these foodstuffs in their tribal languages, they were to use the Latin words to name them (Lat. butyrum, caseus). It is related also to some new fruits and vegetables of which they had no idea before.

e.g. Cherry (Lat. cerasum), pear (Lat. pirum), plum ( Lat. prunus),

pea (Lat. pisum), beet (Lat. beta), pepper (Lat. piper).

There was the first group of Latin borrowingsof this period. Here are some more examples of them: cup (Lat. cuppa), kitchen (Lat. coquinal), mill (Lat. molina), port (Lat. portus), wine (Lat. vinum).

By the borrowings(loan words, borrowed words) we meanwords taken over from another language and modified in phonemic shape, spelling, paradigm of meaning, according to the standards of the English language.

The 5^th century A.D. The most numerous of the Germanic Tribes (the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes ) migrated across the sea (it is known now as English Channel) to the British Isles. There they were confronted by the Celts, the original inhabitants of the Isles. The Celts desperately defended their lands against the invaders. But in the upshot they „yielded most of their territory. They retreated to the North and South-West (modern Scotland, Wales and Cornwall ). .. ......

Through thejr numerous contacts with the defeated Celts, the conquerors got to know and assimilated a number of Celtic borrowings that were place names, names of rivers, hills, etc. Even the name of the English capital originates from Celtic Llyn+dun in which llyn is another Celtic word for "river" and dun stands for "a fortifield hill" (укрinлений пагорб), the meaning of thewhole beings "fortress on the hill over the river".

The 7"' century A.D. This century was significant for the christianization of England. Latin was the official language -of the Christian church. The second group of Latin borrowings mostly indicated persons, objects and ideas associated with church and religious rituals.

e.g. priest - (Lat. presbyter), bishop - (Lat. episcopus),

monk - (Lat. monachus), candle - (Lat. candela).

As far as the first schools in England were church schools, the first teachers were mostly priests and monks, so it is quite natural that educational terms were also Latin borrowings. e.g. school - (Lat. schola, of Greek origin) scholar - (Lai. scholar (-is)) magister - (Lat. magister)

The end of the <S" century - the middle of the 11^th. During this period England underwent several Scandinavian invasions which left their trace on English vocabulary. Here are some examples of early Scandinavian borrowings: e.g. verbs - to call, to take, to die, to law

nouns - husband< Sc. hus+ bondi ("inhabitant ofthe house"),

window< Sc. vindauga("the eye of the wind"), etc.

Some of Scandinavian borrowings were easily recognizable by the initial sk- combination (sky, skill, skin, ski, skirt, etc), th- in the pronominal forms (them, they, there).

1066 - the eventful epoch of the Norman Conquest. This epoch can well be called eventful not only in national, social, political and human terms, but also in linguistic terms. It was begun with the Battle of Hastings, when theEnglish were defeated by the Normans under William the Conqueror. England became a bi-lingua]country, and the impact on the English vocabulary made over this two-hundred-years period is immense. French words from the Norman dialect penetrated every aspect of social life. Here isa listof examples of Norman French borrowings:

Administrative words: state, government, parliament, council, power

Legal terms: court, judge-Justice, crime, prison

Military terms: army, war, soldier, officer, battle, enemy

Educational terms: pupil, lesson, library, science, pen, pencil

Everyday life terms: table, plate, dinner, supper, river, autumn, uncle, etc.

The Renaissance Period. In England as in all European countries, this period was marked by significant developments in science, art, culture and also by a revival of interest in the ancient civilizations of Greece andRome and their languages.

The Renaissance borrowings were abstract words (e.g. major, minor, moderate, intelligent, permanent, to elect, to create).

The Renaissance was a period of extensive cultural contacts between the major European states. Therefore it was natural that new words also entered the English vocabulary from other languages. The most significant were French borrowings. This time they came fromthe Parisian dialect of French and are known as Parisian borrowings.

e.g. regime, routine, police, machine, ballet, scene, etc.

Italian also contributed contributed a considerable number of words to English.

e.g. piano, violin, opera, alarm, colonel, etc.

The third group of Latin borrowings of this period contained objects of military (combat, command, conquer, destroy), judicial terms (crime, verdict, deny), plants and trees (cabbage, lettuce, onion, cucumber). The main criteria of Latin borrowings are: the endings -ate (locate, irritate, abbreviate), -Me (execute, contribute), -ant(-ent) (relevant, evident); words with Latin typical plural form(j?/.memoranda<memorandum, pi. phenomena< phenomenon, /;/.formulae<formula); such prefixes as ad-, ab-, com-, dis-, ex-, in-, etc. (compare, disclose, inattention); the presence of double consonants(abbreviation, opportunity, different, assimilation).

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