24. T growth of t E vocabulary. Semantic change: causes, nature of change, results.

Lexicology studies & describes vocab, its origin, development & current use. It’s concerned with words, word groups, phraseol. units & morphemes. Word –basic unit of lang. sys., t largest on t morphologic & t smallest on t syntactic plane of ling. analysis. Word = sound-form + meaning. Word-meaning changes with historical development of lang. This is called t semantic change. Growth of vocab. is determined by it.

1. Causes of sem. change: а)extralinguistic (in life of speech community, in economic & social structure etc) (Sound-form remains t same but meaning changes: e.g. pen meant “feather” (перо), but t writing technology has changed & t word is used now to denote any instrument for writing with ink)

b)linguistic 1) T commonest form–ellipsis. In a phrase of 2 words one of them is omitted & its meaning is transferred to t 2^nd one. E.g. starve in OldE meant “to die” & was used with hunger. In t 16^th century it got t meaning “die of hunger”. 2) Discrimination of synonyms. E.g. beast came from French into MidE. Before it appeared t general word for animal was deer which became narrowed to its present meaning (олень) after beast was borrowed. Then t Latin animal was borrowed & t meaning of beast served to separate t 4-footed kind =>beast displaced deer & was then displaced by animal.

2. Nature of sem. change: A necessary condition of s\c is some association between old & new meaning. Basic kinds of association: metaphor (transfer of meaning based on similarity- the leg of the table) and metonymy (contiguity (смежность) of meanings) (tongue-organ of speech-mother tongue) (T White House for pres).

Ling. metaph. & meton. differ from metaph. & meton, as literary devices

Other types of sem. change: hyperbole (contiguity (смежность) of meanings) (emotional attitude of speaker to what he is speaking about: I haven’t seen you for ages!), litotes (understatement) (t affirmative by t negative of its contrary) (not bad, rather decent), irony (one’s meaning by words of opposite sense), euphemism (refers to smth unpleasant by using milder words & phrases so that an inoffensive word gets a disagreeable meaning: e.g. to pass away = die).

3. Results of sem. changes: 1) changes in the denotational meaning: restriction (specialization) & extension (generalization)of meaning 2) changes in the connotational component: amelioration (улучшение) & deterioration of meaning (pejorative development –boor was peasant, became ill-mannered person)

25. English wordstock. Polysemy, homonymy etc.

Most E words are polysemantic. T actual number of meanings of t commonly used words ranges from 5 to about a 100. T commoner t word is t more meanings it has.

1. Polysemy: 2 approaches to this problem: diachronic & synchronic.

Diachronically - change in t semantic structure of t word. A word retains its previous meaning + acquires 1 or several new ones. Questions regarded in this connection: did some meanings appear earlier than t others? Are t new meanings dependent on t existing meanings? e.g. table: in ModE t primary meaning–“flat slab of stone or wood”. This meaning is proper to t word in OE. All other meanings are secondary. Synchronically -Polysemy is t coexistence of diff meanings of t same word at a certain historical period of t development of E. Table: “an article of furniture”–the basic (central) meaning. Other meanings are minor (marginal). Minor meanings are observed only in certain contexts.

2. Homonyms – words identical in sound-form but diffr in meaning. E–rich in homonymous words & word-forms cos of monosyllabic structure of t commonly used E words. Homonyms are DISTINCT words: not diffr meanings within one word!

3 groups: 1. homonyms proper - identical in pronunciation & spelling: back (noun & adv) 2. homophones – buy – by, knight – night 3. homographs-lead, tear

Causes of homonymy: a) homonymy through convergent sound development: 2 or more words of diffr origin coincide in sound: e.g. OE ic & ea - ModE I & eye. b) homonymy developed from Polysemy through divergent sense development: e.g. flower & flour (originally – one word flour with 2 meanings)

3. Synonyms –words different in sound-form but similar in their denotational meaning/meanings.

4. Lexical variants and paronyms. Lexical variants – free variation in lang. that is optional with t individual speaker. T variation can concern morphological or phonological features or it may be limited to spelling.

These are words belonging to the same part of speech, containing identical stems & synonymical affixes, and yet not permitting free variation, not optional. E.g. economic & economical – interchangeable under certain conditions, more often economic is associated with economics, economical – with economy.

Paronyms – words related in origin, similar in sound-form that are liable to be mixed but in fact different in meaning & usage & => only mistakenly interchanged. E.g. ingenious (=clever) – ingenuous (frank, artless)

26. Vocabulary replenishment in ModE. Analytical trends: Different languages possess diff. means of expressing t same content. Like other Indo-Eur lang. E used to be an inflected-synthetic lang.– with a well-developed sys of morphological cgs & inflected parts of speech (declinations & conjugations). The loss of the inflexion transformed E from synthetic to analytic (the inflexion was compensated by a rigid word order, a greater use of prep, auxiliary verbs etc.). ModE is highly analytical.

Word-formation in OE displayed clearly synthetic features: 1)suffixation was usually accompanied by sound interchange in roots: e.g. sinzan –sonz (sing–song). Modern suffixation is fusion-free: root morpheme & suffix don’t fuse together (не слив-ся). Derived words are characterized by morphological clarity: worker, hopeful. Sound interchange became less productive. 2) Prefixation used to be (and still is!) a productive way of building new words in OE But in ME prefixes used with verbs to modify their meaning were replaced by adverbs in post-position to form “composite verbs”: e.g. go away (OE azan), go round (OE bezan). This is t main evidence of E becoming analytical. 3) Suppletive forms were common in OE: e.g. good–well, go–went. As a word-building it disappeared by the end of OE 4) Word-composition used to (and still is!) be productive: compounds were often formed with a linking element which is not t case now. It remained in words: salesman, spokesman.

Analytical features in ModE word-building: 1) fusion-free affixation. Suffixation & prefixation – still productive but characterized by morphological clarity & transparency. Exceptions – borrowed words: admire – admiration. 2) no suppletion 3) word-composition without a linking element 4) conversion as a new method of word derivation arose in Late ME and became a most productive way of creating new words. It’s effected through a change in t gram paradigm & t syntactic use of t word in t sentence. Transformation into another part of speech: water – to water 5) Analytical derivation–productive means of vocab. replenishment to compensate for relatively less active morphol. derivations. 6) Composite verbs–with locative particles: run in/off/away/up/around. They correspond to prefixal verbs in synthetic lang. (Russian: убежал, выбежал).7) “phrasal verbs”: e.g. give up/in/away etc. These are analyt nominations that denote by combining 2 or 3 (to be in for) separate elements: base verb (bring, take) & particle (up, down). T meaning is transferred: it can’t be understood from t meanings of elements. Phrasal verbs belong in informal style, in everyday E. They originate from informal E. Their one-word synonyms are preferred in formal areas: put off – postpone, make up for smth – compensate. 8) Link verbs or rather semi-link verbs (have, take, give, make) & predicative verbal noun (a cry, look, laugh): e.g. have a cry, take a look. These nominations & their 1-word counterparts aren’t always interchangeable for they belong to different contexts: have a smoke (≠smoke)–doesn’t define t process but creates atmosphere of relaxation. To have a shave (≠ shave) etc. isn’t normally used in t Contin Tense as it can’t present actions in progress.

27. Typological differentiation of t E vocabulary

1.sources of t E vocabulary etymological composition of t E vocabulary is diverse. OE voc was almost entirely Germanic, t l of later periods borrowed foreign words. As a result two thirds of t voc come from foreign sources, mainly Romance. T loan words are fully integrated into t E lang. At first sight we can’t find any differences in them on a phonetic, grammatical, word bilding or syntactical level. But a closer study reveals two typologically distinct layers: 1) the analitical layer of native voc - Germanic words, though thin but dominant (in frequent use) 2) the synthetic layer of borrowed voc - of norman loan-words of romanic origin, numerous, but as a rule less frequent, often stylistically marked

2. differences on t prosodical level: in ME period E words dropped their endings & became much shorter (one\two syllable words). Loan-words were much longer, word stress moved from t end to t beginning of t word. Long words developped a second stress: comfortable

On t grammatic level: Words of German origin are grammatically flexible, they lost endings, & a vast number of E verbs & nouns became identical in form–love – to love. Loan words are not flexible, have a transparent morphological structure with a clear part-of-speech meaning. Exeptions –use, face (short and flexible)

On t word-building level: Native words have fusion-free w building, analitical generation. They tend to take on native affixes (of Germanic origin)

Suffixes - -er, -y dirty, -ly, -less, -ness, -ful, -ish darkish

Prefixes – mis- misbehave, under- undertake, over- overload, up- uphill

Loan words – fusion

The Romance prefix in-. It has variants – im-, ir-, il- dependently on t 1st sound of t root

Or changes in t root under influence of t affix: admire – admirable, surpreme – supremacy.

Analitical nominations They are not formed by long multisyllable loan-words. Short flexible native words are more dynamic in this sense. Compare: t native word show & its borrowed synonym demonstrate

10 compound words & analitical nominations formed by show: show-room, show-girl, flower-show, etc, to show up (to put smb to shame), to show down (устроить разборку) and only one affixal derivative – showy.

on the stylistic level native words of Germanic origin are neutral, colloquial. Borrowed words are for t most part their literary formal synonyms: go on – continue, make – produce, putt off – postpone

28. E Phraseology

1. According to Pr Kunin (author of highly acclaimed phras-cal dictionaries) a phras-cal unit (P/U) - a structurally separable (раздельнооформленный) stable language unit with a completely or partially transferred meaning:

- structually separable means a P/U is a word combination (not one word);

-stable - this combination of words is not free but fixed;

-the meaning is always transferred (not literal) based on an image evoked by an association (blue stocking – a learned lady (used ironically))

1)it is a word combination

2)not free, but set (we can’t say a brown/ green/ white stocking), it is not based on a lexical pattern “an adj denoting colour and a noun”, there can be no pattern for there’s an underlying image keeping 2 words together 3)the meaning is completely transferred because the 2 words are used in transferred meanings (as a result of a certain association). To reveal the association one should explore the etymology of the phrase:

2. Phr variants

3 types

- lexical variants

e.g. to smile (to grin) like a Cheshire cat) (широко и бессмысленно)

-morphological variants - go round in a circle, go round in circles

- syntactical variants - on and off, off and on (from time to time)

3. the phr meaning - is transferred and remains unchanged whatever the structural, lexical, morphological alteration occur. The change in the meaning causes a split and death of the P/U or the emergence of a new one.

- completely transferred

red tape – beaurocratic procedures проволочки. the image suggested by red tape (красная лента) used to tie files of documents

to hit the roof – to become furious, to lose temper

the meaning of the P/U cannot be inferred from the components. None of them carry their literal meanings – all are phr-cally bound

-partially transferred (to smile like a Cheshire cat; busy as a bee). Some components carry their literal meanings

4. structural types of P/U

1) non-predicative (phrases, not sentences)

• substantive: a girl Friday (a woman-secretary)

• adjectival: busy as a bee

• adverbial: on and off

• verbal: to flog a dead horse (решетом воду носить)

2) predicative (P/U with a sentence structure) an early bird catches the worm (if you arrive early, the first to do smth); a good beginning is half the battle

3) partially predicative - to strike while the iron is hot

29. Semantic mechanism of phras. Sources.

1. Sources: reality of everyday life, customs, traditions, historical events, folklore, literature – all these serve sources of associations to form imagery for Phr U.

e.g. everyday life, customs, folklore: carry coals to Newcastle – to do smth unnecessary (Newcastle was a centre of coal-mining in England)

2. Phr U containing proper nouns or names in particular:

Hobson’s choice (=no choice at all) – referring to Tobias Hobson who kept a large number of horses for hire. When anyone asked to hire a horse Hobson would always offer only the horse nearest the door of the stable

3. a large number of Phr U originate from literary sources: from antique, Greek mythology, the Bible: a Pandora’s box, to cross/pass the Rubicon. The Bible: cast pearl before swine; wash one’s hands of smth.

4. Shakespeare: cakes and ale – беззаботно наслаждаться жизнью; to give the devil his due – отдавать должное противнику. Also: Dickens, Pope, Swift, Scott etc.

5. Differences in associations with some certain words in diff languages: e.g. Dutch in English – negative association: 17^th century – rivalry between England & Holland. In other lang it isn’t the case.

Dutch bargain – односторонне выгодная сделка, Dutch comfort – слабое утешение, Dutch defense – притворная защита.

6. Some Phr U are similar in diff lang: to get on the high horse – sich aufs hohe Pferd setzen. – высокомерно держаться, важничать.

Middle Ages – the same customs => the same Phr U.: to win one’s spurs – sich die Sporen verdienen = добиться известности, выдвинуться. Reference to a medieval custom of awarding knighthood on warriors who distinguished themselves in combat.

7. In diff lang. the transferred meaning may be the same or close but the underlying imagery – different (when diff associations are formed, prompted by diff conditions):

Чертова дюжина – a baker’s dozen; ехать в Тулу со своим самоваром- to carry coals to Newcastle.

8. Interpreter’s false friends: hands down (=easily) – руки опустились (=ready to give up)– the same (or close) lexical composition but diff meanings as diff associations are formed: He passed the exam hands down.

To lead smb by the nose (to persuade smb to do what one wants, to control smb) – водить к-л за нос (cheat).

30 Neologisms, types of neologisms.

The English language just like other European languages is now facing “a neological boom”. This process has boosted a new branch of linguistics – neology. It’s a science concerned with the investigation and description of new vocabulary items. Neologism is any unit (a word or an expression) new either in form or in meaning.

Proceeding from the type of nominative change three main groups of neologisms may be distinguished:

1. Neologisms proper (new form is combined with new meaning): the euro, e-mail, AIDS

2. Transnominations new vocabulary units, the meaning of which is already expressed by traditional words (the form is new, the meaning is old though some new connotations are added

3. Semantic innovation (the form is old, the meaning is new): gas, funky.

31. Sources of neologisms in the E language

According to the way of creating neologisms may be qualified as:

1. Phonological neologisms (words created ex nihilo, out of separate sounds, sometimes called artificial or “invented”), acryl, perlon
   Very closed to these are neologisms created by sound imitation (zizz (a short sleep), zap (to shoot, hit))

2. Borrowings The spelling of recent loan words is generally faithful to the system of the original language (dolce vita (ital), lunokhod (rus)); loan translations: third world, socialist realism (Russian)

3. Morphological neologisms are created according to the patterns of word-formation already existing in the language. Such units usually consist of familiar morphemes.
   Created through affixation, conversation, compounding, shortening etc.

Affixation proves the most fruitful neological source.

Suffixation: more productive than others suffixes are: -er, -ist, -y, -ism, -ster, -able

Prefixation a large percentage of neologisms in E:

De- (meaning of doing the opposite of), Non - (meaning of the lack of), Pre – (meaning of before), Re (meaning of repetition of the action), Micro, Mini, Counter, Anti, Under, Over

Conversation is less popular nowadays, the commonest type being formation of verbs from nouns: the nominalization of phrasal verbs (show – off, face – off). Many verbs are formed from compound nouns.

Compounding. Semantically all new compounds – 3 groups:

Motivated compounds (finger-food)

Partially motivated compounds (TV-dinner)

Highly idiomatic (completely non-motivated) compounds (slow-coach, sweet-tooth)

Blends may be defined as new lexemes formed from two parts of two other words in such a way that there is no transparent analysis into morphs.

1. analytical nomination: take over, show off;

composite verbs (with locative particles, that correspond to Russian prefixal verbs): run out, in, into, away;

units on the pattern of a semi link verb + a predicative verbal noun: to have a smoke

1. derivation on the basis of phraseology. 2 processes:

a. word derivation- words are derived from phraseological units:

• compound words: a trail- blazer from to blaze a trail (to be the first to do smth.); simple words: shirty (angry, ill-tempered) from to have one’s shirt out (to become angry) homonyms derived from P/Us: to finger (to give information on a person to the police; or-ly: to feel with one’s finger) from to put the finger on smb. (to give information on smb. to the police

b. phrasal derivation- new phrasal units derive from original P/Us: a man Friday from a girl Friday (secretary);

Morphological sources

1. highly productive suffixes:

-y/-ie: a groupy, a yuppy;

1. prefixes:

de-: defrost; re-: rethink, rebook, renew

1. semi affixes: (an affix based as a word): consumer-friendly, stress-free, fat-free; -oriented, -wide, -conscious

2. blends (слова-слитки): workerholic, brunch (breakfast + lunch), motel (motor + hotel)

3. clipping (a lexeme is shortened): mike (microphone)

4. acronyms: abbreviations that are pronounced as a word: NATO, AIDS

32.33.34 Stylistic differentiation of the E vocabulary

3 groups:

• neutral words (notional content of the word)

• colloquial words (direct express or awake emotions)

• literary words (educational state)

Use of the word that belongs to another stylistic layer is a stylistic device, can express irony, sarcasm