The semantic structure of the english word

1. Semasiology and Semantics compared.

Historical
development of Semasiology.

2. Classifications of semantic changes.

I

The
branch of the study of language concerned with the meaning of words
and word equivalents is called semasiology, (semasia- from Greek
“signification”).As semasiology deals only with lexical meaning
of a word it may be regarded as a branch of Lexicology.

It
doesn’t mean that semasiology has nothing to do with grammatical
meaning. It must also be taken into consideration as it bears a
specific influence upon lexical meaning.

Using
diachronic approach, we may say that semasiology studies the change
in meaning that words undergo.

Descriptive
synchronistic approach demands the study not of individual words but
of semantic structures typical of the language studied and of its
general semantic system.

The
main objects of semasiological study we shall speak about are:
Semantic development of words, its causes and classification,
relevant distinctive features and types of lexical meaning, polysemy
and semantic structure of words, semantic grouping and connections in
the vocabulary system, i.e. synonyms, antonyms, terminological
systems, etc.

As
for the two terms “semasiology” and “semantics”, on the one
hand they are synonymous. But in fact they are synonyms but not
equally appropriate for our purpose. The term “semasiology” is
preferable because it is less ambiguous. The only meaning it has is
that given below. The term semantics is used to cover several
different meanings. To avoid confusion the term “semasiology”
will be used.

Semasiology
is one of the youngest branches of linguistics although the objects
of its study have attracted the attention of philosophers and
grammarians since the times of antiquity. We find the problems of
word and notion relationship discussed in the works of Plato and
Aristotle and the famous Indian Grammarian Panini.

Semasiology
came into its own only in the 1830’s when it was suggested by the
representatives of German linguistic school, that the studies of
meaning should be regarded as an independent branch of knowledge.

At
that first stage semasiology had as its source philological studies.
It grew out of commentaries upon the meaning of this or that word
with an old author and comparisons with earlier and present-day
usage.

The
treatment of meaning throughout the 19^th
century and in the first decade of the 20^th
was purely diachronistic. Attention was concentrated upon the process
of semantic change. Semasiology was even defined at that time as a
linguistic science dealing with the changes in word meaning, their
causes and classification.

Negative
sides: semantic changes were traced and described for isolated
word-units without taking into account the interrelation of
structures existing within each language.

Thus,
it was impossible to formulate any general tendencies peculiar to the
English language.

As
for the English vocabulary, the accent in its semantic study was in
the 19^th
century shifted to lexicographical problems. The Golden Age of
English lexicography began in the middle of the 19^th
century when the great work, the Oxford Dictionary of the English
language on Historical Principles was carried out.

II

Semantic
changes have been variously classified into such categories as:
enlargement (or extension), narrowing, generalization,
specialization, transfer (metaphor and metonymy), irradiation,
amelioration, pejoration and many others.

These
numerous classifications might be subdivided into logical,
psychological, sociological and genetic. No satisfactory or
universally accepted scheme of classification has ever been found and
this line of search seems to be abandoned.

The
authors of the earliest classifications treated semantic change as a
logical process conditioned psychologically and classed its types
under the headings of the figures of speech: synecdoche, metonymy,
metaphor.

The
synecdoche
covers not only all cases in which a part is put for the whole, or
the whole for a part, but also — the general for the special and the
special for the general, i.e. what was later termed as specialization
or narrowing and generalization or widening.

The
metonymy
applies the name of one thing to another with which it has some
permanent connection. The relations may be those of cause and result,
symbol and thing symbolized, container and content, etc.

The
metaphor
applies the name of one thing to another to which it has some
resemblance.

They
considered the last type of semantic change to be the most important
of the three.

The
classification has its drawback, as it mixes facts of language with
those of the literary style.

Later
on to the classification were added: hyperbole, vulgarism, litotes,
and euphemism (they will be discussed later).

In
the 20^th
century the progress of semasiology was uneven. The theory of
semantic field, treating semantic phenomena historically and within a
definite language system at a definite period of its development was
offered.

The
study of semantic change is very important as the development and
change of the semantic structure of a word is always a source of
qualitative and quantitative development of the vocabulary.

When
studying it we are to compare:

We
may compare the earlier and the new meaning of the given word. This
comparison may be based on the difference between notions expressed
or referents in the real world that are pointed out, or on some other
features. This difference is revealed in the difference of contexts,
in which these words occur, in their different valency.

E.g.
the word “play” suggests different notions to a child, a
playwright, a footballer, a musician or a chess-player and has in
their speech different semantic paradigms. A word which formally
represented a notion of a narrower scope has come to render a notion
of a broader scope. When the meaning is specialized, the word can
name fewer objects, i.e. have fewer referents.

The
reduction of scope accounts for the term “narrowing of meaning”
which is even more often used than the term “specialization”.

There
is also a third term for the same phenomenon, namely
“differentiation”, but it is not so widely used as the first two
terms.

The
process reverse to specialization is termed “generalization and
widening of meaning”. In this case the scope of the new notion is
wider than that of the original one, whereas the content of the
notion is poorer. In most cases generalization is combined with a
higher order of abstraction than in the notion expressed by the
earlier meaning. The transition from a concrete meaning to an
abstract one is a most frequent feature in the semantic history of
words.

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The Semantic Structure of English Words

Plan: 1. Word-meaning as a controversial linguistic problem. Types of wordmeaning. 2. Polysemy. Meaning and context. Componential analysis.

• F. de Saussure • L. Bloomfield • R. Jakobson

Ø Semantics or semasiology (Greek) sēmasiā ‘signification’ (from sēma ‘sign’ sēmantikos ‘significant’) logos ‘learning’.

Meaning Ø is a component of the word through which a concept is communicated, in this way endowing the word with the ability of denoting real objects, qualities, actions and abstract notions.

Ø the referential Ø the functional approach. Ø It seeks to formulate the Ø It studies the functions essence of meaning by of a word in speech and establishing the is less concerned with interdependence what meaning is than between words and the with how it works. things or concepts they denote.

The Referential Approach 1. the sound-form of the linguistic sign, 2. the concept underlying the sound-form, 3. the actual referent.

The Semantic Triangle of Ogden and Richards concept sound-form [kæt] referent

The Functional Approach Ø studies the functions of a word in speech, and is much more concerned with how meaning works. Ø Ex. : to teach — to teach a child, a teacher -a teacher of Maths, a gifted teacher.

in the functional approach 1. semantic investigation is confined to the analysis of the difference or sameness of meaning; 2. meaning is understood essentially as the function of the use of linguistic units.

TYPES OF WORD-MEANING Lexical Part-of-Speech Grammatical (Lexico-Grammatical)

Grammatical Meaning Ø the meaning proper to sets of word forms common to all words of a certain class. Ø Ex. : ASKED, THOUGHT, GAVE, DID, BORED; GIRL`S, TODAY’S, MAN’S; PARENTS, TABLES, PLACES.

Part-of-Speech Meaning Ø is the common denominator of all the meanings of words belonging to a lexicogrammatical class of words. • team • management a group of people…. • chorus

Lexical Meaning Ø the meaning proper to the given linguistic unit in all its forms and distributions Ø Ex. : TEACH, TEACHES, IS TEACHING, TAUGHT

Components of Lexical Meaning Connotational component Denotational component Pragmatic Component

The Denotational Component Ø is the part of lexical meaning which establishes correlation between the name and the object, phenomenon, process or characteristic feature of reality, which is denoted by the given word.

Denotative components notorious Connotative components widely + for criminal acts Evaluative or bad traits of connotation, known character celebrated widely known negative Evaluative + for special achievement in connotation, science, art, etc. positive to glare to look + steadily, 1. Connotation lastingly in of duration 2. anger, rage, etc. Emotive connotation Connotation of + briefly, passingly duration to glance to look

The Connotational Component • is capable to evoke or directly express emotion. Connotational Component Emotive charge Expressiveness Evaluation Stylistic Reference

POLYSEMY Ø the ability of words to have more than one meaning

Diachronically Ø Polysemy is a historical change in the semantic structure of the word resulting in disappearance of some meanings and in new meanings being added to those already existing and also in the rearrangement of these meanings in its semantic structure.

Synchronically Ø Polysemy is understood as co-existence of the various meanings of the same word at a certain historical period and the arrangement of these meanings in the semantic structure of the word.

Meaning Primary meaning Secondary meaning

Fire, n. Primary meaning II. An instance of destructive burning; e. g. a forest fire. I. Flame III. Burning material in a stove, fireplace, etc. ; e. g. There is a fire in the next room. A camp fire. IV. The shooting of guns, etc. ; e. g. to open (cease) fire. Secondary meanings V. Strong feeling, passion, enthusiasm; e. g. a speech lacking fire

Polysemy and Context Ø context is the minimal stretch of speech determining each individual meaning of the word.

Context linguistic (or verbal) contexts lexical context grammatical context extra-linguistic (nonverbal) contexts. • (context of the situation) Ex. : — Bill is large • Glasses • Ring

Lexical Context Ø Groups of lexical items combined with the polysemantic word under consideration. Ø Ex. : heavy — ‘of great weight, weighty’ heavy bag — ‘falling with force’, heavy rain, wind, snow -‘the larger kind of something’ heavy industry, arms, artillery. . .

Grammatical Context Ø The grammatical (syntactic)structure of the context that serves to determine various individual meanings of a polysemantic word. Ø Ex. : make 1)‘to force, to enduce’, — to make somebody do something; 2) ‘to become’, ‘to turn out to be’ is observed in the contexts of a different structure, i. e. make followed by an adjective and a noun (to make a good wife, a good teacher, etc. ).

Componential analysis of meaning Ø linguistic analysis of the semantic structure of a word (a monosemantic word or a lexicosemantic variant [LSV] of a polysemantic unit) as constituted by a set of minimal elements of sense – semes.

Ø Seme (same as Sememe, Semantic component) is a minimal unit of sense, an ‘atom’ of lexical semantics, distinguished on the basis of oppositions by methods applied in componential analysis.

Ø Father = • Human — • Adult — • Male — • Parent — semes

1) Componential analysis is very popular in linguistics; it shows heterogeneity, complexity of lexical meaning. 2) Componential analysis helps to differentiate between words (especially between synonyms). 3) Componential analysis helps to explain semantic derivation (metaphor, metonymy, etc. ) 4) Componential analysis helps to create the so called language of semantic primitives – minimal units of sense.

The Shortcomings of the Method: Ø The discovery procedures for semantic features are not clearly objectifiable. Ø Only part of the vocabulary can be described through more or less structured sets of features. Ø Metalinguistic features are expressed through language again. Ø Features used may not have clear definitions. Ø Limited in focus and mechanical in style.

LECTURE 6 SEMANTIC CHANGE Plan: 1. Nature and causes of semantic change. 2. Types of semantic change. Linguistic metaphor and linguistic metonymy.

Semantic Change Development of meaning Change of meaning §branch — the part of the tree that grows out from its trunk subject of knowledge §snail — a small animal moving very slowly a slow person Fond =foolish loving

Ø development of meaning is the process of semantic extension when a new meaning and an old one coexist in the semantic structure of the word.

Ø Change of meaning is the process of semantic extension resulting in complete replacement of the old meaning of a word by the new one.

CAUSES OF SEMANTIC CHANGE linguistic extra-linguistic 1. Discrimination of synonyms; 2. Linguistic analogy; 3. Ellipsis. Changes in the life of the speech community (political, economical, social…)

• CAR CARRUS (Latin) • Pen PENNA(Latin)

Main linguistic factors causing semantic change 1. DIFFERENTIATION OF SYNONYMS is a gradual change observed in the course of language history. • OE Meat = food – anything that nourishes • ME meat – edible flesh / food – anything that nourishes. • LAND- OE- l. solid part of earth’s surface; 2. the territory of a nation • COUNTRY — OFr- CONTREE was borrowed into ME as the synonym of LAND the meaning of the word LAND was changed and COUNTRY meant only territory of a nation

2. LINGUISTIC ANALOGY( if one of the members of a synonymic set acquires a new meaning other members of this set change their meaning too. ): • to catch -> to understand (- to grasp — to get). 3. ELLIPSIS (when one of two words comprising the phrase is omitted and its meaning is transferred to its partner. ): • a rifle < rifle gun • a pipe < tobacco pipe • minerals < mineral water • moving pictures

Nature of Semantic Change Linguistic metaphor Linguistic metonymy the similarity of meanings • Ex. : DROP hand (a hand of the clock) the contiguity of meaning • Ex. : China, martini, • a Picasso • a jersey

RESULTS OF SEMANTIC CHANGE in the changes of the denotational meaning restriction in the changes of the connotational component amelioration extension deterioration

Ø Restriction (narrowing or specialization) of meaning is the type of semantic change when a word which formerly represented a notion of a broader scope has come to render a notion of a narrow scope. Ø fowl in OE — any bird, Mn. E — a domestic hen or cock.

Ø Extension (generalisation or broadening ) is the application of the word to a wider variety of referents. Ø Ex. : target; manuscript.

Ø Deterioration of meaning (degradation, degeneration, pejorative development, ) is the acquisition by a word of some derogatory emotive charge. Ø Ex. : knave

Ø Amelioration of meaning (elevation) is the acquisition by a word a better social attitude to the object or phenomenon named. Ø Ex. : minister.

• Gossip: godparent, close friend someone who likes talking about other people’s private lives — used to show disapproval • Fond: foolish loving, affectionate. • Nice: foolish fine, good. • Knight: manservant? a man with a high rank in the past who was trained to fight while riding a horse • Marshal an officer of the highest rank in the army or air force of some countries

• Lord – breadkeeper, master of the house a man who has a rank in the aristocracy, especially in Britain, or his title • Lady – bread+ the one who kneads used as the title of the wife or daughter of a British nobleman or the wife of a knight • Queen – woman queen • Spinster – OE a woman spinning some cloth, an unmarried woman (which is considered bad from the social point of view. • Poison – (borrowing from Latin) – some kind of drink

HOMONYMY Ø Homonyms are words identical in sound form, spelling but different in meaning, distribution and in many cases in origin. Ø ‘homos’ – similar Ø ‘onoma’ – name Ø Ex. : bank, n. — a shore; bank, n. — an institution for receiving, lending, exchanging, and safeguarding money; ball, n. — a sphere; any spherical body; ball, n. — a large dancing party.

The PUN • FIT — perfectly fitting clothes; • FIT — a nervous spasm: • A tailor guarantees to give each of his customers a perfect fit. • We eat what we can, what we can’t eat we can. • Is life worth living? It depends upon the liver.

SOURCES OF HOMONYMS convergent sound development divergent meaning development • the process when 2 or more words of different origin accidentally coincide in sound. Ex. : knight — night rite[ritus Lat] – write – right, match – match. • the process when different meanings of the same word move so far from each other that they come to be regarded as two separate words (split polysemy). Ex: spring.

HOMONYMS homographs homonyms proper homophones

Ø Homonyms proper are words identical in pronunciation and spelling (back, ball, bark, pit). Ø Homophones are words of the same sound but of different spelling and meaning (airheir, arms- alms, buy — by, piece -peace). Ø Homographs are words different in sound and in meaning but identical in spelling (bow [bou], — bow — [bau], lead, v. – lead, n. , tear, v. – tear, n. ).

Lecture 7 SYNONYMY AND SYNONYMS

Plan: 1. Syntagmatic & paradigmatic relationships in linguistics Definition of synonyms. Sources of synonyms in English. 2. Classifications of synonyms. Synonymic dominant.

Linguistic relationships syntagmatic the semantic structure of the word is analysed in its linear relationships with neighbouring words in connected speech. paradigmatic the word is studied in its relationships with other words in the vocabulary system.

Ø the hat on her head — the head of the department, Ø head (1) — the part of the body; Ø head (2) — a chief

words of similar meaning (e. g. to work — to labour; to refuse — to reject — to decline ), Øof opposite meaning (e. g. busy — idle; to accept — to reject), Øof different stylistic characteristics (e. g. man — chap — guy). Ø

Ø Synonyms are considered as words different in sound but 1) identical or 2) similar in meaning.

Ø abnormal adj. 1 deviant, deviating, irregular, unusual, unconventional, aberrant, Psych jargon exceptional: The wing of a bat is an abnormal structure. 2 peculiar, unusual, odd, strange, queer, freakish, unnatural, extraordinary, weird, eccentric, bizarre, anomalous, aberrant, perverse, deviant, irregular, Colloq offbeat, Slang oddball, kinky, weirdo.

lack n. 1 want, deficiency, dearth, absence, scarcity, shortage, need, insufficiency, paucity, deficit, inadequacy: We suffered from a severe lack of water. The orchestra is experiencing a serious lack of talent at the moment.

R. Z. Ginzburg Synonyms − words different in sound-form, but similar in their denotational meaning or meanings and interchangeable at least in some contexts

CRITERIA OF SYNONYMY 1. Notional criterion Øsynonyms as words of the same category of parts of speech conveying the same concept but differing either in shades of meaning or in stylistic characteristics

2. Semantic criterion Øwords with the same denotation, but different in connotative components

Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary Denotation Connotations to chuckle to laugh to giggle to laugh to snigger to laugh to titter to laugh to guffaw to laugh in a quiet way with closed mouth in a nervous and silly way in a half-supressed way silly and halfsuppressed little laugh a noisy laugh

3. Interchangeability Øit is sufficient to choose any set of synonyms placing them in a simple context to demonstrate the point

hide − conceal − secrete (v. ) He hid the money (He prevented it from being seen, put it out of sight) He concealed the money (He hid it carefully) He secreted the money (He hid it in the secret place)

• The storm was abnormal/exceptional. • But: he was abnormal≠ exceptional.

Ø Synonyms may be defined as 2 or more words of the same language belonging to the same part of speech and possessing one or more identical denotational meanings, interchangeable at least in some contexts without any considerable change in denotational meaning, but differing in morphemic composition, phonemic shape, shades of meaning, connotations, style.

SOURCES OF SYNONYMY 1. Borrowings 8000 synonymic groups

The native word The borrowed word qthe native word is usually neutral or colloquial qthe borrowed word is bookish, abstruse or highly literary Freedom bodily brotherly Liberty corporal, fraternal

Triple-scale of synonyms: Native English to ask French Latin to question belly stomach to interrogate abdomen to end to finish to complete to rise to mount to ascend

1. a. Radiation of synonyms. • overlook • oversee

2. National, regional and local variants of the language American English British English gimmick trick dues subscription long distance call trunk call radio wireless

• autumn — fall(am. E); • lift — elevator(Am. E); • girl — lass(Sc).

3. Word-forming processes a) new combinations of verbs with postpositives (phrasal verbs): choose − pick out continue − go on enter − come in b) set expressions: laugh − give a laugh sigh − give a sigh smoke − have a smoke love − fall in love

c) shortening: memorandum − memo vegetables − vegs margarine − marge microphone − mike popular (song) − pop (song) d) affixation: anxiety − anxiousness effective − effectiveness loss of affixes: await − wait

EUPHEMISMS Øwords or phrases used to replace a harsh, obscene, indelicate or unpleasant word or expression by a conventionally more accepted one.

to avoid a direct confrontation with topics that are embarrassing, frightening, or uncomfortable: God, the devil, sex, death, money, war, crime «a whitewashing device»

drunk merry, intoxicated, under the influence, tipsy, mellow, fresh, high, flustered, overcome, full, drunk as a lord, drunk as an owl, boiled, fried, tanked, tight, stiff, pickled, soaked, three sheets to the wind, high as a kite

naked − in one’s birthday suit pregnant − in the family way, in an interesting condition, in a delicate condition, with a baby coming, with child, expecting

mad Ø insane, mentally unstable, unbalanced, unhinged, not (quite) right, not all there, off one’s head, off one’s rocker, wrong in the upper storey, having bats in one’s belfry, crazy as a bedbug, cuckoo, nutty, off one’s nut, loony, a mental case, a mental defective

THE SYNONYMIC DOMINANT most synonymic groups have a «central» word whose meaning is equal to the denotation common to all the synonymic group the synonymic dominant is the notion common to all synonyms of the group in the most general way, without contributing any additional information

choose − select − pick − cull − elect glad − joyful − joyous − happy − cheerful − light-hearted imagination − fancy − fantasy hope− anticipate − expect work − toil − drudgery − labour − grind − job − task

Characteristic features of the synonymic dominant: Ø high frequency of usage Ø broad combinability Ø broad general meaning Ø lack of connotations

Synonymic dominant & hyperonym Ø Hyperonym serves as the name for the notion of the genus as distinguished from the names of species − hyponyms synonymy is symmetrical a is a synonym of b, b is the synonym of a hyponymy is asymmetrical a is a hyponym of b, b is the hyperonym of a

Inclusion. Hyponymic Structures. Hyperonym Flower rose daisy daffodil Hyponyms snowdrop

TYPES OF SYNONYMS I. Classification established by the famous Russian scholar V. V. Vinogradov

a) ideographic synonyms words conveying the same concept but differing in shades of meaning

ØThey denote the same thing, but they are different in the denotational aspect of their meanings and their interchange would result in a slight change of the phrase they are used in: change − alter − vary understand − realize forest − wood apartment − flat shape − form

b) stylistic synonyms differing in stylistic characteristics hearty − cordial imitate − monkey terrible − horrible − atrocious

c) absolute synonyms coinciding in all their shades of meaning and in all their stylistic characteristics furze − gorse − whin (утёсник обыкновенный) noun − substantive functional affix − inflection

R. Z. Ginzburg There are no complete synonyms: if two words are phonemically different then their meanings are also different

II. contextual or context-dependent synonyms • are similar in meaning only under some specific distributional conditions I’ll go to the shop and buy some bread I’ll go to the shop and get some bread stand bear I can’t stand = I can’t bear

III. Classification of synonyms according to connotations by which synonyms differ (Antrushina) a) the connotation of degree or intensity: to surprise − to astonish − to amaze − to astound to like − to admire − to love − to adore − to worship b) the connotation of duration to stare − to glare − to gaze − to glance − to peep − to peer to flash (brief) − to blaze (lasting) to shudder (brief) − to shiver (lasting) to say (brief) − to speak, to talk (lasting)

c) the emotive connotation to stare (in surprise) − to glare (in anger) − to gaze (in tenderness) (alone — single — lonely — solitary )

d) the evaluative connotation well-known − famous − notorious − celebrated to produce − to create − to manufacture − to fabricate e) the causative connotation to shiver (from a chill) − to shudder (with fear, horror) to blush (from modesty) − to redden (from anger)

f) the connotation of manner to stroll − to stride − to trot − to pace − to swagger − to stumble g) the connotation of attendant circumstances to peep (through a hole, opening) to peer (in darkness, through the fog)

i) stylistic connotations snack, bite (coll. ) snap (dial. ) repast, refreshment, feast (formal)

TYPES OF SEMANTIC RELATIONS Proximity Equivalence Inclusion Opposition

Proximity • • Beautiful Pretty Handsome Attractive Good-looking…

Equivalence • John is taller than Jim = Jim is shorter than John. • She lives in Paris = • She lives in the capital of France

Opposition • Black – white • Rich – poor • To arrive – to leave.

ANTONYMY E. M. Dubenetz Antonyms are words belonging to the same part of speech, identical in style, expressing contrary or contradictory notions

Antonyms are usually believed to appear in pairs: storm − calm beginning − ending up − down glorious − shameful drunkenness − soberness white − black

**Antonyms represent the language’s important expressive means **often used as a stylistic device of contrast A man is known by the company he keeps. A woman is known by the company she keeps out of (O. Wilde) Знание человека возвышает, а невежество унижает

2. ANTONYMY AND POLYSEMY Different meanings of a word may have different antonyms: dull interesting, amusing, entertaining (deficient in interest) clever, bright, capable (deficient in intellect) active (deficient in activity)

4. CLASSIFICATION OF ANTONYMS 1. according to the morphological principle absolute or root derivational late − early right − wrong love − hate to please − to displease known − unknown useful − useless

2. according to the underlying logical categories 1. Contradictories 2. Contraries 3. Incompatibles

1. Contradictories are mutually opposed and denying one another (J. Lyons and L. Lipka call them complementary antonyms): alive − dead impatient − patient single − married perfect − imperfect male − female

2. Contraries are also mutually opposed but they are gradable (J. Lyons calls such words antonyms proper): hot − warm− cool − cold beautiful − simple − ugly old − middle-aged − young

3. Incompatibles • relations of exclusion but not of contradiction • morning is to say not afternoon, not evening, not night • The negation of one member does not imply semantic equivalence with the other but excludes the possibility of the other words of this set red entails the exclusion of black, blue, yellow

5. CONVERSIVES words denoting one and the same referent or situation as viewed from different points of view buy − sell give − receive teacher − student host − guest give − take ancestor − descendant parent − child left − right cause − suffer

Types of meaning

Типы значений

There are two main types of meaning:

1) the grammatical meaning,

2. the lexical meaning.

Есть два основных типа значения:

1) грамматический смысл,

 2. лексический смысл.

1. The grammatical meaning is the formal meaning of a word. It is
defined as the meaning belonging to the lexico-grammatical classes and
grammatical categories. It is expressed by the word’s form. Every word
belongs to a definite part of speech and every part of speech has a certain
grammatical categories. E.g. verbs have tense, voice, mood, person etc. Nouns
have the categories of case, number etc. E.g. the words “asked”, “thought”,
“talked”, “took, ran” have the grammatical meaning of tense. The grammatical
meaning unites words into big groups such as parts of speech.

1.Грамматический смысл — это формальный смысл слова.
Он определяется как значение, относящееся к лексико-грамматическим классам и
грамматическим категориям. Это выражается формой слова. Каждое слово
принадлежит определенной части речи, и каждая часть речи имеет определенные
грамматические категории. Ex. Глаголы имеют напряженный,
голос, настроение, лицо и т. Д. Существительные имеют категории случаев,
число и т. Д. Пример. Слова «спросили», «подумали», «поговорили», «взяли,
побежали», имеют грамматический смысл времени. Грамматический смысл
объединяет слова в большие группы, такие как части речи

2.  The lexical meaning is the material meaning of a word. This is
a meaning which gives the concept of a word. By the lexical meaning the word
expresses the basic properties of the thing the word denotes.

2.Лексический смысл — это
материальный смысл слова. Это значение, которое дает понятие слова. По
лексическому значению слово выражает основные свойства вещи, которую
обозначает слово.

The lexical meaning of a word falls into two:

1) the denotational meaning,

2) the connotational meaning.

Denotational meaning makes communication
possible because words denote things, concepts, they name them.

E.g. the denotational meaning of the word
“table” is a piece of furniture consisting of a flat top with four supports
(called legs).

The denotational meaning is associated with
emotions (e.g. He besought a favour of the judge: Here the word “beseech”
means “to ask eagerly and also anxiously”). Evaluative connotation denotes
approval or disapproval relations to the thing or phenomena,

 E.g. colt, a young male horse used for a young
inexperienced person; pup- a young dog used for a person. These words have
negative evaluation.

But in English we have words which have positive
evaluation (ex. bunny — кролик, bunting-лапочка).

Intensifying connotation is the reinforcement of
the sign: it indicates the special importance of the thing expressed. E.g.
awfully glad, terribly important.

Лексический смысл слова делится на два:

1) денотационный смысл,

 2) коннотационный смысл.

Денотационный смысл делает общение
возможным, потому что слова обозначают вещи, понятия, они называют их.

Ex. Денотационный смысл слова «стол» —
это предмет мебели, состоящий из плоской вершины с четырьмя опорами
(называемых ногами).

Денотационный смысл связан с эмоциями
(например, он просил о помощи судьи: здесь слово «умолять» означает «спросить
с нетерпением, а также с тревогой»). Оценочная коннотация означает одобрение
или неодобрение отношений с вещью или явлениями, например.

Colt — молодой мужской конь,
используемый для молодого неопытного человека; Pup — молодая собака,
используемая для человека. Эти слова имеют отрицательную оценку.

Но на английском языке мы имеем слова,
которые имеют положительную оценку (например, кролик — кролик,
bunting-лапочка.

Усиление связи — это усиление знака: оно
указывает на особую важность выраженной вещи. Ex. Ужасно рад, ужасно важно

The connotational meaning is
a meaning which has a stylistic shade. It serves to express all sorts of
emotions, expressiveness. Connotation may be shortly defined as emotional and
evaluative component of the lexical meaning, Comparing the meanings of
English words “well-known”, “famous”, “notorious” we see that all these words
express the denotational meaning “widely known”. But the word “famous” has a
positive evaluative meaning and “notorious has a negative evaluation. So, the
words “well-known”, “famous”, “notorious” differ in their emotional colouring
and evaluation.

The connotational meaning may be expressed also
either in the emotive charge or in stylistic reference.

E.g. “aunt” and “auntie”. These words have the
same denotational meaning but the word “aunt” has no emotive charge but
“auntie” has it.

Коннотационный смысл — это значение,
имеющее стилистический оттенок. Он служит для выражения всех видов эмоций,
выразительности. Коннотация может быть коротко определена как эмоциональная и
оценочная составляющая лексического значения. Сравнивая значения английских
слов «хорошо известные», «знаменитые», «печально известные», мы видим, что
все эти слова выражают денотационное значение «широко известно». Но слово
«знаменитый» имеет положительный оценочный смысл, а «печально известная»
отрицательная оценка. Итак, слова «хорошо известны», «знаменитые», «печально
известные» отличаются своей эмоциональной окраской и оценкой.

 Коннотационный смысл может быть выражен либо в
эмоциональном заряде, либо в стилистической ссылке.

Ex. «Тетя» и «тетушка». Эти слова имеют
одинаковый денотационный смысл, но слово «тетя» не имеет эмоционального
заряда, но «тетушка» имеет его.

Stylistically words can be subdivided into literary,

neutral and colloquial
layers.

Neutral words are words of
general use. E.g. the words “to begin” (начинать) and “to commence”(начинать) “dad”
and “ father” have the same denotational meanings but “to begin” and “father”
are stylistically neutral words, whereas “dad” is a colloquial word and “ to
commence” stylistically is a literary word.

Стилистически
слова можно подразделить на
литературные,

 нейтральные и

разговорные слои.

 Нейтральные слова —
это слова общего пользования. Ex. Слова «начать» (начинать) и «начать»
(начинать) «папа» и «отец» имеют одинаковые денотационные значения, но
«начать» и «отец» являются стилистически нейтральными словами, тогда как
«папа» — это разговорный Слово и «начать» стилистически — это литературное
слово.

Besides the lexical and grammatical meanings we
can observe

differential,

functional and

distributional meanings of a word.

 Differential meaning is the semantic component
that serves to distinguish one word from other in words containing the same (identical)
morphemes.

E.g. “note-book”. The morpheme “note” serves to
distinguish the word from other words: exercise-book, copy-book or:
bookshelf, bookcase.

The functional meaning may be seen in derivational
morphemes. If we see words with the suffixes -ment, -er, -ity, -or, we say
that they are nouns.

E.g. establishment, plurality, teacher,
translator, sailor.

If -ful, -less, -able, -al etc. are present in
words we say adjectives.

E.g. helpful, handless, guiltless, readable,
national, writable, operational, openable, proposal.

The distributional meaning is found in all words
having more than one morpheme. It is found in the arrangement and order of
morphemes making up the word.

E.g. “teacher” but not *erteach.

“boyishness”
but not *nessboyish.

Помимо лексических и грамматических
значений, мы можем наблюдать

 дифференциальные,

 функциональные и

распределительные значения слова.

Дифференциальное значение — это
семантическая составляющая, которая служит для того, чтобы отличить одно
слово от другого в словах, содержащих одни и те же (зубные) морфемы.

Ex. «блокнот». Морфема
«примечание» служит для того, чтобы отличить слово от

Другими словами: тетрадь, тетрадь или
книжная полка, книжный шкаф.

Функциональное значение можно увидеть в
деривационных морфемах. Если мы видим слова с суффиксом, -er, -ity, -или, мы
говорим, что они существительные.

Например. Создание, множественность,
учитель, переводчик, матрос.

If -ful, -less, -able, -al и т. Д.
Присутствуют в словах, мы говорим прилагательные.

Ex. Полезный, бесшумный, невинный,
читаемый, национальный, доступный для записи, операционный, открываемый,
предложение.

Значение распределения содержится во
всех словах, имеющих более одной морфемы. Он находится в расположении и
порядке морфем, составляющих слово.

Ex. «Учитель», но не * erteach.

«Боязливость», но не
* nessboyish.

Different types of the lexical meaning of one and the same word
are considered its lexico-semantic variants. Lexico-semantic variants in
their correlations and interconnection form the semantic structure of the
word. In the semantic structure of the word there is  special information on
the members and the conditions of communication. The intercourse and personal
contacts in real situations may reveal the pragmatic aspect of the lexical
meaning of the word.

E.g. “Hello” is used in unofficial situations giving a signal at
the same time to the friendly relations of the members of the communication.

Различные лексические значения одного и того же слова считаются
его лексико-семантическими вариантами. Лексико-семантические варианты в их
корреляциях и взаимосвязи образуют семантическую структуру слова. В
семантической структуре слова есть специальная информация о членах и условиях
общения. Взаимоотношения и личные контакты в реальных ситуациях могут выявить
прагматический аспект лексического значения слова.

Ex. «Hallo» используется в неофициальных ситуациях, давая сигнал
в то же время к дружеским отношениям членов сообщения.

Semantic
structure of the word.

The semantic structure of the word. Types of lexical meaning.

The branch of Linguistics which studies the meaning of different
linguistic units is called Semantics. The part of Lexicology which studies
the meaning and the development of meaning of words is called Semasiology.

There are different approaches to the problem of word meaning:

1) The referential, or denotational approach is characterised by
the thought that (тем что) the essence (суть) of meaning lies in the
interconnection and interdependence between: the word as the sound form, the
referent, and the concept. Here meaning is the realisation of the
concept/notion by means of a definite language system.

 2) The functional, or contextual approach is characterised by
the idea that the meaning of a linguistic unit may be studied only through
its relation to other linguistic units. Thus, meaning is understood as the
function of linguistic signs, or their use in context.

Word meaning is represented by different types of meaning:
grammatical, lexical, lexico-grammatical.

Grammatical meaning is the component of word meaning, recurrent
in identical sets of individual forms of different words. It is expressed by:

word-form (such as books, girls, boys – the meaning of plurality;
looked, asked – tense meaning);

The position of the word in relation to other words (e.g. He
sings well, She dances badly – ‘sings’ and ‘dances’ are found in identical
positions between a pronoun and an adverb, their identical distribution
proves that they have identical gr.m.)

Lexico-grammatical meaning of the word is the common denominator
(знаменатель) to all the meanings of the words belonging to a certain
lexico-grammatical class or group of words.

Lexical meaning is the component of word meaning recurrent in
all the forms of the word. The word forms go, goes, went, gone, going have
different gr.m., but they have one and the same l.m. ‘the process of
movement’.

The main component of L.m. are: the denotational meaning of
words is the same for all the speakers. It is the realisation of the concept
by means of the given language.

Семантическая структура слова. Типы лексического значения.

Филиал Лингвистики, изучающий значение различных языковых
единиц, называется семантикой. Часть Лексикологии, которая изучает смысл и
развитие смысла слов, называется Семасиология.

Существуют различные подходы к проблеме смыслового значения:

1) ссылочный или денотационный подход характеризуется мыслью,
что (тем что) суть (суть) смысла заключается в взаимосвязи и
взаимозависимости между: словом как звуковой формой, Референт и концепция.
Здесь смысл заключается в реализации понятия / понятия с помощью определенной
языковой системы.

 2) Функциональный или контекстуальный подход характеризуется
тем, что значение лингвистической единицы может изучаться только через ее
связь с другими лингвистическими единицами. Таким образом, смысл понимается
как функция лингвистических знаков или их использование в контексте.

Значение слова представлено различными типами значений:
грамматическим, лексическим, лексико-грамматическим.

Грамматический смысл — это компонент значения слова,
повторяющийся в идентичных наборах отдельных форм разных слов. Это
выражается:

Слово-форма (например, книги, девочки, мальчики — значение
плюрализма, взгляд, заданное значение);

Положение слова по отношению к другим словам (например, он поет хорошо,
она плохо танцует — «поющие» и «танцы» находятся в одинаковых положениях
между местоимением и наречием, их идентичное распределение доказывает, что
они имеют одинаковые грамм .)

Лексико-грамматический смысл слова является общим знаменателем
(знаменатель) ко всем значениям слов, относящихся к определенному
лексико-грамматическому классу или группе слов.

Лексическое значение — это компонент слова, повторяющийся во
всех формах слова. Слово «формы» уходит, уходит, уходит, уходит, уходит
разное gr.m., но у них одно и то же l.m. «Процесс движения».

Основной компонент L.m. находятся: Денотационный смысл слов для всех динамиков
одинаковый. Это реализация концепции с помощью данного языка

The pragmatic aspect is the part of the meaning, that conveys information
on the situation of communication: information on the ‘time and space’
relationship of the participants, information on the participants in the
given language community, information on the register of communication.

The connotational meaning conveys the speaker’s attitude toward
what he is speaking about. There are 4 main types of connotations: a) The
emotional connotation expresses human emotions and feelings (e.g. daddy,
father); b) The evaluative connotation expresses approval or disapproval (e.g.
agent and spy, planning and scheming=planning secretly); c) The intensifying
connotation adds emphasis (усиление) to
the meaning. (e.g. enormous, huge, tremendous=very large); d) The stylistic
connotation determines the functional speech style characteristic of the word
usage (dad-father-parent; colloquial-neutral-bookish).

Прагматический аспект Является частью смысла, которая передает
информацию о ситуации коммуникации: информацию о взаимоотношениях участников
«времени и пространства», информацию об участниках данного языкового
сообщества, информацию о реестре сообщений.

Коннотационный смысл передает отношение говорящего к тому, о чем
он говорит. Существует четыре основных типа коннотаций: а) эмоциональная
коннотация выражает человеческие эмоции и чувства (например, папа, отец); Б)
оценочная коннотация выражает утверждение или неодобрение (например, агент и
шпион, планирование и интриги = планирование тайно); В) Усиление коннотации
добавляет акцент (усиление) на смысл. (Например, огромные, огромные, огромные
= очень); D) Стилистическая коннотация определяет функциональный стиль речи,
характерный для использования слова (отец-отец-родитель,
разговорный-нейтральный-книжный).

К содержанию номера журнала: Вестник КАСУ №2 — 2007
Автор: Дудник А. А.

Speaking of the semantic
structure of the word, I’d like to point out that, the branch of the study of
language concerned with the meaning of words is called semasiology. The
name comes from the Greek semasia ‘signification’ (from sema ‘sign’
and semantikos ‘significant’). As semasiology deals not with every kind
of linguistic meaning but with lexical meaning only, it may be regarded as a
branch of lexicology.

This does not mean that the semasiologist
needn’t pay attention to grammatical meaning. On the contrary, grammatical
meaning must be taken into consideration in so far as it bears a specific
influence upon lexical meaning. This influence is manifold and will be
discussed at length later. At this stage it will suffice to point out that a
certain basic component of the word meaning is described when one identifies
the word morphologically, i. e. states to what grammatical word class it
belongs. If treated diachronically, semasiology studies the change in meaning,
which words undergo. Descriptive synchronic approach demands a study not of
individual words but of semantic structures typical of the language studied,
and of its general semantic system.

We will have noticed that two
terms, “semasiology” and “semantics”, have so far been used indiscriminately as
if synonymous (What’s in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name
would smell as sweet… (W. Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Sc.2)).

In
fact, they are synonyms but not equally appropriate for our purpose. The first
term is preferable because it is less ambiguous. The term “semantics” on the
other hand, is used to cover several different meanings. It is also used to
denote the phenomena studied, i. e. the meaning of words and phrases. Had this
been all, it might have been tolerated, because the same double purpose is
served by the terms “phonetics” and “grammar”. In the case of “semantics”,
however, there are other meanings, not sufficiently divorced from linguistics and
apt to create confusion.

We
can much time ask a question: What is a word? What is Lexicology? We can
compare with such an expression as:

These famous lines reflect one
of the fundamental problems of linguistic research: what is in a name, in a
word? Is there any direct connection between a word and the object it
represents? Could rose have been called by “ any other name” as Juliet says?
These and similar questions are answered by lexicological research. Lexicology, a branch of linguistics, is the study of words. For some people studying words
may seem uninteresting. But if studied properly, it may well prove just as
exciting and novel as unearthing the mysteries of Outer Space.

It is significant that many
scholars have attempted to define the word as a linguistic phenomenon. Yet none
of the definitions can be considered totally satisfactory in all aspects. It is
equally surprising that, despite all the achievements of modern science,
certain essential aspects of the nature of the word still escape us. Nor do we
fully understand the phenomenon called “language”, of which the word is a
fundamental unit. We know nothing- or almost nothing – about the mechanism by
which a speaker’s mental process is converted into sound groups called “
words”, nor about the reverse process whereby a listener’s brain converts the
acoustic phenomena into concepts and ideas, thus establishing a two — way
process of communication. We know very little about the nature of relations
between the word and the referent (i.e. object, phenomenon, quality, action,
etc. denoted by the word). If we assume that there is a direct relation between
the word and the referent — which seems logical- it gives rise to another
question: how should we explain the fact that the same referent is designated
by quite different sound groups in different languages.

We do know by now —
though with vague uncertainty- that there is nothing accidental about the
vocabulary of the language; that each word is a small unit within a vast,
efficient and perfectly balanced system. But we do not know why it possesses
these qualities, nor do we know much about the processes by which it has
acquired them. The list of unknowns could be extended, but it is probably high
time to look at the brighter side and register some of the things we do know about the nature of the word.

First, we do know that a word is a
unit of speech, which, as such, serves the purposes of human communication.
Thus, the word can be defined as a unit of communication.

Secondly, the word can be perceived as
the total of the sounds, which comprise it.

Third, the word, viewed
structurally, possesses several characteristics.

The
modern approach to word studies is based on distinguishing between the external
and 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 –s. All these morphemes constitute the
external structure of the word post-impressionists.

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 the human communication solely due to their meanings, and it is most
unfortunate when this fact is ignored by some contemporary scholars who, in
their obsession with the fetish of structure tend eludes mathematical analysis.
And this is exactly what meaning, with its subtle variations and shifts is apt
to do.

The
question posed by the title of it is one of those questions, which are easier
to ask than to answer. The linguistic science at present is not able to put
forward a definition of meaning which is conclusive. However, there are certain
facts of which we can be reasonably sure, and one of them is that the very
function of the word as unit of communication is made possible by it possessing
a meaning. Therefore, among word’s various characteristics, meaning is
certainly the most important.

Generally
speaking, meaning can be more or less described as a component of the word
through which a concept is communicated, in this way endowing the word with the
ability of denoting real objects, qualities, actions and abstract notions. The
complex and somewhat mysterious relationships between referent (object,
etc. denoted by the word), concept and word are traditionally
represented by the following triangle:

By the “symbol” here is meant
the word; thought or reference is concept. The faltering line suggests that
there is no immediate relation between word and referent: it is established
only through the concept.

If speaking about components
of semantic structure of the word, we can say that, the leading semantic
component is usually termed denotative component (also, the term referential component may be used). The denotative component expresses the
conceptual component of a word.

The
following list presents denotative components of some adjectives and verbs:

Lonely, adj.
Alone, without

company

Notorious, adj.
Widely known

Celebrated,
adj.
Widely known

To glare, v.
to look

To glance, v.
to look

To shiver, v.
to tremble

To shudder,
v. to
tremble

It
is quite obvious that the definitions given in the right column only partially
and incompletely describe the meanings of their corresponding words. To give a
more or less full picture of the meaning of the word, it is necessary to
include in the scheme of analysis additional semantic components, which are
termed connotations, or connotative components.

Let us complete the semantic structures of the words given
above introducing connotative components into the schemes of their semantic
structures.

The
above show how by singling out denotative and connotative components one can
get a sufficiently clear picture of what the word really means. The schemes
presenting the semantic structures of glare, shiver, shudder also show
that a meaning can have two or more connotative components.

The
given examples do not exhaust all the types of connotations but present only a
few: emotive, evaluative connotations, and also connotations of duration.

So
the branch of linguistics, which specializes in the study of meaning, is called semantics. As with many terms, the term “semantics” is ambiguous for it can
stand, as well, for the expressive aspect of language in general and for the
meaning of one particular word in all its varied aspects and nuances (i.e. the
semantics of a word= the meaning(s) of a word). Meaning can be described as a
component of the word through which a concept is communicated, endowing the
word with the ability of denoting real objects, qualities, actions, and abstract
notions. The semantic structure of the word does not present an indissoluble
unity (that is actually, why it is referred to as “structure”), nor does it
necessarily stand for one concept. Most words convey several concepts and thus
possess the corresponding number of meanings. A word having several meanings is
called polysemantic, and the ability of the word to have more than one
meaning is described by the term polysemy. The vocabulary is the most
flexible part of the language and it is precisely its semantic aspect that
responds most readily to every change in the human activity in whatever sphere
it may happen to take place. Speaking about different types of semantic
structure they play their own role and affect in various aspect on the word and
its structure but so that to make any changes, elements of the word exist and
have an important part in changes of the word causes by different changes of
the epoch, and different races.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. The
English Word I.V. Arnold, Moscow 1973 (the second edition).

2. Лексикология
английского языка. Ворно Е.Ф., Кащеева М.А., Малишевская Е.В., Потапова И.А..Ленинград
1955

3. A Course
in Modern English Lexicology, R.S. Ginzburg, S.S. Khidekel, G.Y. Knyazeva, A.A.
Sankin. Moscow
1966

4. Лексикология
английского языка (практический курс) Т.И. Арбекова 1977

5. www. yahoo.com.

6. www. google.ru

К содержанию номера журнала: Вестник КАСУ №2 — 2007