Лекции по "Лексикологии"

LECTURE I

Language is a means of forming and storing ideas as reflections of reality and exchanging them in the process of human intercourse. Language is social by nature; it is inseparably connected with the people who are its creators and users; it grows and develops together with the development of society.

Language incorporates the three constituent parts ("sides"), each being inherent in it by virtue of its social nature. These parts are the phonological system, the lexical system, the grammatical system. Only the unity of three elements forms a language; without any one of them there is no human language in the above sense.

The phonological system is the subfoundation of language; it determines the material (phonetical) appearance of its significative units. The lexical system in the whole set of naming means of language, that is, words and stable word-groups. The grammatical system is the whole set of regularities, determining the combination, of naming means in the formation of utterances as the embodiment of thinking process.

Each of the three constituent parts of language is studied by a particular linguistic discipline.

Thus, the phonological description of language is effected by the science of phonology, the lexical description of language is effected by the science of lexicology, the grammatical description of language is effected by the science of grammar.

Lexicology is the first part of the theoretical course of a language. The theory of a language is concerned its general properties (in relation to) concrete phenomena of speech.

Theory is thus inseparable from practice; that is why the theoretical course of English is taught as part of English and not as a separate course. The theoretical part of the course is divided into the following parts: lexicology, morphology, syntax, phonology.

Lexicology is that part of the theoretical course which deals with the vocabulary of a language, the words that comprise it. The vocabulary is the most obvious part of a language: it is immediately apprehended by the users of language. Therefore in the theoretical course we begin with lexicology, although in the practical course a new language is first approached from its phonetical aspect.

The course of lexicology is inseparable from morphology, syntax and phonology, on the one hand, and from the history of the language, on the other.

The aim of this course is to give a systematic description of the English word-stock, its etymological peculiarities and its classification, of the problems that arise m connection with its development, of the laws that govern its replenishment etc.

The course of English lexicology, is of great practical importance. It helps to acquire a better understanding of the facts of the language, a more conscious approach to them and therefore a sounder practical knowledge.

Language as a social phenomenon is connected with thought (thinking) and with the social life of the speech community in question Language directly and immediately reacts to changes in social life. That is why its general properties can be understood only if linguistic theory is studied in connection with social history - the history of the society which uses the language in question. This is of particular importance to lexicology; in the words of a language are reflected, recorded and fixed the results of man's knowledge of the world, the concepts and categories which his mind has evolved. This is why language is the basic - chief and most important -means of communication in human society. The study of the shifts of meaning in different words shows that the content of words reflected the changes that were taking place in life). Thus, the word «industry» originally meant «diligence», the word «democracy» up to the 19th century meant «some kind of mob rule», the word «industry» meant agricultures. Until almost the end of the 18th century the ordinary use of the word «class» in English was to refer to a division or group in schools and colleges. The word «art», from its original sense of «a human attribute», «a skill» had come to signify a form of social consciousness, an important element of human culture. The drastic changes that have taken place in the meanings of all these words reflect the changes in the material and social life of the society in question, the changed attitudes, the new experiences, that had accumulated. Examples of this kind can be multiplied indefinitely and drawn from various sources, for in words the connection of language with thought and history is reflected best of all.

In our course of Modern English lexicology we shall study the system of English vocabulary synchronically, i. e. in ifs present stage of development. It is naturally a continuation of the History of English, in the course of which the changes that take place in the language were examined diachronically, i. e. in their historic development. The synchronic and the diachronic approaches to language, although they give different results, should not be divorced (Modern English Lexicology relies on diachronic references and cross references with the course of .Historical Lexicology.)

It is necessary to clarify some other basic concepts pertaining to the subject-matter of the theoretical course.

Morphology lies midway between lexicology and syntax. It deals not only with the forms of words as lexical units but also with the changes which words undergo when used in sentences, i. e. with the inflexion of words. The word exists in the language as a system of its grammatical forms. This system of inflectional forms or slovoforms of a word is called its paradigm. For example, the paradigm of the word day is day, day's, days, days'. When Morphology deals with words as lexical units, it is concerned with their structural modifications, such as, for example, man, manly, manliness, etc. We can therefore speak of «lexical» morphology or word-building and grammatical)) morphology or form building.

The units of language arc of two kinds: unilateral (one-sided) and bi-lateral (two-sided) An instance of the former is the phoneme. Phonemes have phonetic expression, but by themselves they are incapable of carrying a content, of expressing meaning, by themselves they carry no information. They are subservient, auxiliary with respect; to the units of Lexicology and Morphology, which are bilateral, which convey meaning, carry a certain «content». Lexicology, morphology and syntax may thus be said to belong to the semantic level, whereas phonetics belongs to the feature level.

In other words, in contrast to sounds, words (and their equivalents) are bi-lateral, i. e. they have both a certain form and a certain content, called «meaning». The meaning of a linguistic unit - a word, - is a reverberation in the human consciousness of objects: facts, qualities, actions, phenomena for which a given sound complex serves as material expression or a, «zvukovaya obolochka». The fact that linguistic meaning is unthinkable without linguistic expression, its being, indissoluble connected with the latter, distinguishes it from concepts. It should be borne in mind that concepts (понятия) are also reverberations in the human mind of real objects in the broadest sense of the word. But concepts a philosophical and logical category. Concepts can be imagined as entirely abstract entities, whereas linguistic meaning is concrete in the sense that it depends on concrete linguistic expression.

This can be illustrated by the following. It might be reasonably assumed that all Modern Europeans arc familiar with the concept which, traditionally, may be denoted by means of the Latin libertas-libertatis. But if one were to analyse and compare the actual words that are used in the actual languages one would be surprised lo find a great disparity in actual semantic content, a wide range of nuances and connotations, which would hamper identification. Thus, for the French liberte and German Freiheit English would be found lo possess two different words - liberty and freedom. Obviously the two synonyms are not absolute, each of them being characterised by specific distribution) one can easily make up any amount of sentences where the words would be found to be idiomatically in complementary distribution.

Thus, freedom: from disease, to do what one likes; give a friend the freedom of the house (of a city, of the Seas) etc. (not liberty); liberty; set at liberty, be at liberty to etc. (not freedom)

If now it became a question, of translating the two words into Russian, their Russian counterpart – свобода – would be full with special connotations, which developed in it in connection with, eras a reflection of, the social structure of the Russian speaking community.

Linguistic theory is also concerned with the relationship between language and speech. What the linguist finds in his actual experience is innumerable “Speech events” - various types and modifications of linguistic units in speech. This is the reason why the very object of linguistics is apprehended and defined in widely varying ways, based on the world outlook of the scholar. The positivist confines himself to the study of speech, which to him is the only reality to be studied. The objective idealist bases his conclusions on the concept of language as an ideal, transcendental entity, with speech only as its secondary «manifestation» or «materializations». The really scientific, the correct approach is the dialectic one. Language is the general. It exists in speech, through speech and knows no other form of existence, for the general exists only in, through the particular. Therefore language cannot be regarded merely as a code. It is in constant interaction with speech, there is constant exchange between the two, which is indispensable to linguistic development. At every step in speech the «units of language» will occur in new and unexpected situations, and those forever fluctuating peculiarities of usage can not and do not fail to leave their imprint on the already established «code».

The units of the semantic level with which lexicology is concerned are I) words; 2) lexical morphemes and 3) phraseological units - complex word equivalents, which function like words. Thus, for example, once in a blue moon is a phraseological equivalent of the word rarely (I see him once in a blue moon – I see him rarely), to go, to bed is a phraseological equivalent of the verb sleep, first night-that of premiere etc.

Morphemes are the smallest (ultimate) meaningful units of language. The difference between words and morphemes can be seen from the following examples: in insight, seaman, helpless - in-, -man, -less are morphemes. In to look in, man, less and less - in man and less are words.

The modern approach to word studies is based on distinguishing between the external and the internal structures of the word.

By external structure of the word we mean its morphological structure. For example, in the word post-impressionists the following morphemes can be distinguished: the prefixes post-, im-, the root press, the noun-forming suffixes -ion. -ist, and the grammatical suffix of plurality -a. All these morphemes constitute the external structure of the word post-impressionists.

The external structure of words, and also typical word-formation patterns, are studied in the section on word-building.

The internal structure of the word, or its meaning, is nowadays commonly referred to as the word's semantic structure. This is certainly the word's main aspect. Words can serve the purposes of human communication solely due to their meanings, and it is most unfortunate when this fact is ignored by some contemporary scholars who condemn as irrelevant anything that eludes mathematical analysis. And this is exactly what meaning, with its subtle variations and shifts, is apt to do.

The area of lexicology specialising in the semantic studies of the word is called semantics.

Semantic is the study of meaning. Modern approaches to this problem are characterized by two different levels of study: syntagmatic and paradigmatic.

On the syntagmatic level the semantic structure of the word is analysed in its linear relationships with neighbouring words in connected speech. In other words, the semantic characteristics of the word are observed, described and studied of its typical contexts.

On the paradigmatic level, the word is studied in its relationships with other words in the vocabulary system. So, a word may be studied in comparison with other words of similar meaning {e.g. work, n. -labour, n.; to refuse, v. - to reject v. - to decline, v.), of opposite meaning (e.g. busy, adj. - idle, adj.; to accept, v. - to reject, v.), of different stylistic characteristics (e.g. man. n. - chap, n. - bloke, n. - guy, n). Consequently, the main problems of paradigmatic studies are synonymy, antonymy, functional styles.

Phraseology is the branch of lexicology specialising in word-groups which are characterized by stability of structure and transferred meaning, e. g. to take the bull by the horns, to see red. birds of a feather, etc.

One further important objective of lexicological studies is the study of the vocabulary of a language as a system. The vocabulary can be studied synchronically, that is, at a given stage of its development, or diachronically, that is in the context of process through which it grew, developed and acquired its modern form.

LECTURE 2

The social context in which the communication takes place determines the mode of speech. When placed in different situations, people instinctively choose different kinds of words and structures to express their thoughts. The suitability or unsuitability of a word for each particular situation depends on its lexical and stylistic characteristics or, in other words, on the functional style it represents.

The term functional style is generally accepted in modern linguistics. Professor I. V. Arnold defines it as "system or expressive means peculiar to a specific sphere of communication."

By the sphere of communication we mean the circumstances attending the process of speech in each particular case: professional communication, a lecture, an informal talk, a formal letter, an intimate letter, a speech in court etc.

AU these circumstances or situations can be roughly classified into two types: formal (a lecture, a speech in court, an official letter, professional communication and informal (an informal talk, an intimate letter). Accordingly, functional styles are classified into two groups, with further subdivisions depending on different situations.

INFORMAL STYLE

Informal vocabulary is used in one's immediate circle: family, relatives or friends. One uses informal words when at home or when feeling at home.

Informal style is relaxed, free-and-easy, familiar and unpretentious. But it should be pointed out that the informal talk of well-educated people considerably differs from that of the illiterate or the semi-educated; the choice of words with adults is different from the vocabulary of teenagers; people living in the provinces use certain regional words and expressions. Consequently, the choice of words is determined in each particular case not only by an informal (or formal) situation, but also by the speaker's educational and cultural background, age group, and his occupational and regional characteristics.

Informal words and word-groups are traditionally divided into three types: colloquial, slang and dialect words.

Colloquial words (colloquialisms) are used by everybody and there sphere of communication is wide. These are informal words that are used in everyday conversational speech both by cultivated and uneducated people of all age groups. The sphere of communication of literary colloquial words also includes the printed page, which shows that the term "colloquial" is somewhat inaccurate.

Vast use of informal words is one of the prominent features of 20th c. English and American literature. It is quite natural that informal words appear in dialogues in which they realistically reflect the speech of modern people:

"You're at sort of technical college?" she said to Leo, not looking at him ....

"Yes. I hate it though. I'm not good enough at maths. There's a chap there just down from Cambridge who puts us through it. I can't keep up. Were you good at maths?"

"Not bad. But 1 imagine school maths are different."

"Well, yes they arc I can't cope with this stuff at all, it's the whole way of thinking that's beyond me...I think I'm going to chuck it and take a job."

However, in modern fiction informal words are not restricted to conversation in their use, but frequently appear in descriptive passages as well. In this way the author creates an intimate, warm, informal atmosphere, meeting his leader, as it were, on the level of a friendly talk.

Here are some more examples of literary colloquial words. Pal and chum are colloquial equivalents of friend; girl, when used colloquially, denotes a woman of any age; bite and snack stand for meal, hello is an informal greeting, and so long a form of parting; start, go on, finish and be through are also literary colloquialisms; to have a crush on somebody is a colloquial equivalent of to be in love. A bit (of) and a lot (of) also belong to this group.

A considerable number of shortenings are found among words of this type. R g. pram, exam, fridge, flu, prop, zip, movie.

Verbs with post-positional adverbs are also numerous among colloquialisms: put up, put over, make up, make out, do away, turn up, turn in, etc.

Literary colloquial words are to be distinguished from familiar colloquial and low colloquial.

The borderline between the literary and familiar colloquial is not always clearly marked. Yet the circle of speakers using familiar colloquial is more limited: these words are used mostly by the young and the semiedu-cated. This vocabulary group closely verges on slang and has something of its coarse flavour.

E. g. doc (for doctor), hi, (for how do you do), ta-ta (for good-bye), goings-on (for behavior, usually with a negative connotation), to kid smb. (fortease, banter), to pickup smb. (for make a quick and easy acquaintance), goon with you (for let me alone), shut up (for keep silent), beat it (for go away).

Low colloquial is defined by G, P. Krapp as uses "characteristic of the speech of persons who may be broadly described as uncultivated". This group is stocked with words of illiterate English which do not present much interest for our purposes.

Slang

Much has been written on the subject of slang that is contradictory and at the same time very interesting.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines slang as ''language of a highly colloquial style, below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words of current words employed in some special sense."

Then why do people use slang?

For a number of reasons. To be picturesque.

To demonstrate one's spiritual independence and daring. To sound "modern" and "up-to-date".

It doesn't mean that all these aims arc achieved by using slang. Nor are they put in so many wolds by those using slang on the conscious level. But these are the main reasons for using slang as explained by modern psychologists and linguists.

The circle of users of slang is more narrow than that of colloquialisms. It is mainly used by the young and uneducated. Yet, slang's colourful and humorous quality makes it catching, so that a considerable part of slang may become accepted by nearly all the groups of speakers.

All that has been said about slang should make it clear that it should not be included in the students' functional vocabulary. Nor should students be encouraged to use slang in their speech in class.

Dialect Words

Dialects are regional forms of English. Standard English is defined by the Random House Dictionary as

the English language as it is written and spoken by literate people in both formal and informal usage and that is universally current while incorporating regional differences.

Dialectal peculiarities, especially those of vocabulary, are constantly being incorporated into everyday colloquial speech or slang. From these levels they can be transferred into the common stock, and into the literary language. Car, trolley, tram began as dialect words.

A snobbish attitude to dialect on the part of certain educationalists and scholars has been deplored by a number of prominent linguists.

FORMAL STYLE

We have already pointed out that formal style is restricted to formal, situations. In general, formal words fall into two main groups: words associated with professional communication and a less exclusive group of so-called learned words.

Learned Words

These words are mainly associated with the printed page. It is in this vocabulary stratum that poetry and fiction find their main resources.

The term "learned" includes several heterogeneous subdivisions of words. We find here numerous words that are used in scientific prose and can be identified by their dry, matter-of-fact flavour (e. g. comprise, compile, experimental, heterogeneous, homogeneous, conclusive, divergent, etc.}

To this group also belongs so-called "officialese" (cf. with the R. канцеляризм). These are the words of the official, bureaucratic language.

Probably the most interesting subdivision of learned words is represented by the words found in descriptive passages of fiction. These words, which may be called "literary", also have a particular flavour of their own, usually described as "refined". They are mostly polysyllabic words: sentiment, fascination, felicity, elusive, cordial.

There is one further subdivision of learned words: modes of poetic diction These stand close to the previous group many words from which, in fact, belong to both these categories. Yet, poetic words have a further characteristic - a lofty, high-flown, sometimes archaic, colouring.