Word meaning many sounds



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Word MeaningLecture # 6Grigoryeva M.



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  • Word MeaningLecture # 6Grigoryeva M.

    1 слайд

    Word Meaning
    Lecture # 6
    Grigoryeva M.

  • Word MeaningApproaches to word meaning

Meaning and Notion (понятие)

Types...

    2 слайд

    Word Meaning

    Approaches to word meaning

    Meaning and Notion (понятие)

    Types of word meaning

    Types of morpheme meaning

    Motivation

  • Each word has two aspects:

the outer aspect 
( its sound form) 
cat

the in...

    3 слайд

    Each word has two aspects:

    the outer aspect
    ( its sound form)
    cat

    the inner aspect
    (its meaning)
    long-legged, fury animal with sharp teeth
    and claws

  • Sound and meaning do not always constitute a constant unit even in the sa...

    4 слайд

    Sound and meaning do not always constitute a constant unit even in the same language

    EX a temple

    a part of a human head
    a large church

  • Semantics (Semasiology)Is a branch of lexicology which studies the 
meaning o...

    5 слайд

    Semantics (Semasiology)
    Is a branch of lexicology which studies the
    meaning of words and word equivalents

  • Approaches to Word MeaningThe Referential (analytical) approach

The Function...

    6 слайд

    Approaches to Word Meaning
    The Referential (analytical) approach

    The Functional (contextual) approach

    Operational (information-oriented) approach

  • The Referential (analytical) approachformulates the essence of meaning by es...

    7 слайд

    The Referential (analytical) approach
    formulates the essence of meaning by establishing the interdependence between words and things or concepts they denote

    distinguishes between three components closely connected with meaning:
    the sound-form of the linguistic sign,
    the concept
    the actual referent

  • Basic Triangleconcept (thought, reference) – the thought of the object that s...

    8 слайд

    Basic Triangle
    concept (thought, reference) – the thought of the object that singles out its essential features
    referent – object denoted by the word, part of reality
    sound-form (symbol, sign) – linguistic sign
    concept – flower

    sound-form referent
    [rәuz]

  • In what way does meaning correlate with 
each element of the triangle ?

In...

    9 слайд

    In what way does meaning correlate with
    each element of the triangle ?

    In what relation does meaning stand to
    each of them?

  • Meaning and Sound-formare not identical	
							  different
EX. dove - [dΛv]...

    10 слайд

    Meaning and Sound-form
    are not identical
    different
    EX. dove — [dΛv] English sound-forms
    [golub’] Russian BUT
    [taube] German
    the same meaning

  • Meaning and Sound-formnearly identical sound-forms have different meanings in...

    11 слайд

    Meaning and Sound-form
    nearly identical sound-forms have different meanings in different languages
    EX. [kot] Russian – a male cat
    [kot] English – a small bed for a child

    identical sound-forms have different meanings (‘homonyms)
    EX. knight [nait]
    night [nait]

  • Meaning and Sound-formeven considerable changes in sound-form do not affect t...

    12 слайд

    Meaning and Sound-form
    even considerable changes in sound-form do not affect the meaning

    EX Old English lufian [luvian] – love [l Λ v]

  • Meaning and Conceptconcept is a category of human cognition

concept is abstr...

    13 слайд

    Meaning and Concept
    concept is a category of human cognition

    concept is abstract and reflects the most common and typical features of different objects and phenomena in the world

    meanings of words are different in different languages

  • Meaning and Conceptidentical concepts may have different semantic structures...

    14 слайд

    Meaning and Concept
    identical concepts may have different semantic structures in different languages

    EX. concept “a building for human habitation” –
    English Russian
    HOUSE ДОМ

    + in Russian ДОМ
    “fixed residence of family or household”
    In English HOME

  • Meaning and Referent
one and the same object (referent) may be denoted by mor...

    15 слайд

    Meaning and Referent

    one and the same object (referent) may be denoted by more than one word of a different meaning
    cat
    pussy
    animal
    tiger

  • Meaningis not identical with any of the three points of the triangle –
the so...

    16 слайд

    Meaning
    is not identical with any of the three points of the triangle –
    the sound form,
    the concept
    the referent

    BUT
    is closely connected with them.

  • Functional Approachstudies the functions of a word in speech 
meaning of a wo...

    17 слайд

    Functional Approach
    studies the functions of a word in speech
    meaning of a word is studied through relations of it with other linguistic units
    EX. to move (we move, move a chair)
    movement (movement of smth, slow movement)

    The distriution ( the position of the word in relation to
    others) of the verb to move and a noun movement is
    different as they belong to different classes of words and
    their meanings are different

  • Operational approachis centered on defining meaning through its role in 
the...

    18 слайд

    Operational approach
    is centered on defining meaning through its role in
    the process of communication

    EX John came at 6
    Beside the direct meaning the sentence may imply that:
    He was late
    He failed to keep his promise
    He was punctual as usual
    He came but he didn’t want to

    The implication depends on the concrete situation

  • Lexical Meaning and NotionNotion denotes the reflection in the mind of real o...

    19 слайд

    Lexical Meaning and Notion
    Notion denotes the reflection in the mind of real objects

    Notion is a unit of thinking
    Lexical meaning is the realization of a notion by means of a definite language system
    Word is a language unit

  • Lexical Meaning and NotionNotions are international especially with the natio...

    20 слайд

    Lexical Meaning and Notion
    Notions are international especially with the nations of the same cultural level

    Meanings are nationally limited

    EX GO (E) —- ИДТИ(R)
    “To move”
    BUT !!!
    To GO by bus (E)
    ЕХАТЬ (R)

    EX Man -мужчина, человек
    Она – хороший человек (R)
    She is a good person (E)

  • Types of MeaningTypes     of    meaning
grammatical 
meaning

lexico-grammati...

    21 слайд

    Types of Meaning
    Types of meaning

    grammatical
    meaning

    lexico-grammatical
    meaning
    lexical meaning
    denotational
    connotational

  • Grammatical Meaningcomponent of meaning recurrent in identical sets of indivi...

    22 слайд

    Grammatical Meaning
    component of meaning recurrent in identical sets of individual forms of different words

    EX. girls, winters, toys, tables –
    grammatical meaning of plurality

    asked, thought, walked –
    meaning of past tense

  • Lexico-grammatical meaning(part –of- speech meaning) is revealed in the cla...

    23 слайд

    Lexico-grammatical meaning
    (part –of- speech meaning)
    is revealed in the classification of lexical items into:
    major word classes (N, V, Adj, Adv)
    minor ones (artc, prep, conj)

    words of one lexico-grammatical class have the same paradigm

  • Lexical Meaning is the meaning proper to the given linguistic unit in all its...

    24 слайд

    Lexical Meaning
    is the meaning proper to the given linguistic unit in all its forms and distributions

    EX . Go – goes — went
    lexical meaning – process of movement

  • PRACTICEGroup the words into 3 column according to the grammatical, lexical...

    25 слайд

    PRACTICE
    Group the words into 3 column according to the grammatical, lexical or part-of –speech meaning
    Boy’s, nearest, at, beautiful,
    think, man, drift, wrote,
    tremendous, ship’s, the most beautiful,
    table, near, for, went, friend’s,
    handsome, thinking, boy,
    nearer, thought, boys,
    lamp, go, during.

  • Grammatical
The case of nouns: boy’s, ship’s, friend’s
The degree of compari...

    26 слайд

    Grammatical
    The case of nouns: boy’s, ship’s, friend’s
    The degree of comparison of adj: nearest, the most beautiful
    The tense of verbs: wrote, went, thought

    Lexical
    Think, thinking, thought
    Went, go
    Boy’s, boy, boys
    Nearest, near, nearer
    At, for, during (“time”)
    Beautiful, the most beautiful

    Part-of-speech
    Nouns—verbs—adj—-prep

  • Aspects of Lexical meaningThe denotational aspect

The connotational aspect...

    27 слайд

    Aspects of Lexical meaning
    The denotational aspect

    The connotational aspect

    The pragmatic aspect

  • Denotational Meaning“denote” – to be a sign of, stand as a symbol for”

 esta...

    28 слайд

    Denotational Meaning
    “denote” – to be a sign of, stand as a symbol for”

    establishes the correlation between the name and the object
    makes communication possible

    EX booklet
    “a small thin book that gives info about smth”

  • PRACTICEExplain denotational meaning 
A lion-hunter
To have a heart like a...

    29 слайд

    PRACTICE
    Explain denotational meaning

    A lion-hunter
    To have a heart like a lion
    To feel like a lion
    To roar like a lion
    To be thrown to the lions
    The lion’s share
    To put your head in lion’s mouth

  • PRACTICE A lion-hunter  
A host that seeks out celebrities to impress guests...

    30 слайд

    PRACTICE

    A lion-hunter
    A host that seeks out celebrities to impress guests
    To have a heart like a lion
    To have great courage
    To feel like a lion
    To be in the best of health
    To roar like a lion
    To shout very loudly
    To be thrown to the lions
    To be criticized strongly or treated badly
    The lion’s share
    Much more than one’s share
    To put your head in lion’s mouth

  • Connotational Meaning reflects the attitude of the speaker towards what he sp...

    31 слайд

    Connotational Meaning
    reflects the attitude of the speaker towards what he speaks about
    it is optional – a word either has it or not

    Connotation gives additional information and includes:
    The emotive charge EX Daddy (for father)
    Intensity EX to adore (for to love)
    Imagery EX to wade through a book
    “ to walk with an effort”

  • PRACTICEGive possible interpretation of the sentences
She failed to buy it a...

    32 слайд

    PRACTICE
    Give possible interpretation of the sentences

    She failed to buy it and felt a strange pang.
    Don’t be afraid of that woman! It’s just barking!
    He got up from his chair moving slowly, like an old man.
    The girl went to her father and pulled his sleeve.
    He was longing to begin to be generous.
    She was a woman with shiny red hands and work-swollen finger knuckles.

  • PRACTICEGive possible interpretation of the sentencesShe failed to buy it an...

    33 слайд

    PRACTICE
    Give possible interpretation of the sentences
    She failed to buy it and felt a strange pang.
    (pain—dissatisfaction that makes her suffer)
    Don’t be afraid of that woman! It’s just barking!
    (make loud sharp sound—-the behavior that implies that the person is frightened)
    He got up from his chair moving slowly, like an old man.
    (to go at slow speed—was suffering or was ill)
    The girl went to her father and pulled his sleeve.
    (to move smth towards oneself— to try to attract smb’s attention)
    He was longing to begin to be generous.
    (to start doing— hadn’t been generous before)
    She was a woman with shiny red hands and work-swollen finger knuckles.
    (colour— a labourer involved into physical work ,constant contact with water)

  • The pragmatic aspect of lexical  meaning
the situation in which the word is...

    34 слайд

    The pragmatic aspect of lexical meaning

    the situation in which the word is uttered,
    the social circumstances (formal, informal, etc.),
    social relationships between the interlocutors (polite, rough, etc.),
    the type and purpose of communication (poetic, official, etc.)

    EX horse (neutral)
    steed (poetic)
    nag (slang)
    gee-gee (baby language)

  • PRACTICE State what image underline the meaning 

I heard what she said but...

    35 слайд

    PRACTICE
    State what image underline the meaning

    I heard what she said but it didn’t sink into my mind.
    You should be ashamed of yourself, crawling to the director like that.
    They seized on the idea.
    Bill, chasing some skirt again?
    I saw him dive into a small pub.
    Why are you trying to pin the blame on me?
    He only married her for her dough.

  • PRACTICE State what image underline the meaning I heard what she said but it...

    36 слайд

    PRACTICE
    State what image underline the meaning
    I heard what she said but it didn’t sink into my mind.
    (to understand completely)
    You should be ashamed of yourself, crawling to the director like that.
    (to behave humbly in order to win favour)
    They seized on the idea.
    (to be eager to take and use)
    Bill, chasing some skirt again?
    (a girl)
    I saw him dive into a small pub.
    (to enter suddenly)
    Why are you trying to pin the blame on me?
    (to blame smb unfairly)
    He only married her for her dough.
    (money)

  • Types of Morpheme Meaninglexical
differential
functional
distributional

    37 слайд

    Types of Morpheme Meaning
    lexical
    differential
    functional
    distributional

  • Lexical Meaning in Morphemesroot-morphemes that are homonymous to words posse...

    38 слайд

    Lexical Meaning in Morphemes
    root-morphemes that are homonymous to words possess lexical meaning
    EX. boy – boyhood – boyish

    affixes have lexical meaning of a more generalized character
    EX. –er “agent, doer of an action”

  • Lexical Meaning in Morphemeshas denotational and connotational components
EX....

    39 слайд

    Lexical Meaning in Morphemes
    has denotational and connotational components
    EX. –ly, -like, -ish –
    denotational meaning of similiarity
    womanly , womanish

    connotational component –
    -ly (positive evaluation), -ish (deragotary) женственный — женоподобный

  • Differential Meaninga semantic component that serves to distinguish one word...

    40 слайд

    Differential Meaning
    a semantic component that serves to distinguish one word from all others containing identical morphemes

    EX. cranberry, blackberry, gooseberry

  • Functional Meaningfound only in derivational affixes
a semantic component whi...

    41 слайд

    Functional Meaning
    found only in derivational affixes
    a semantic component which serves to
    refer the word to the certain part of speech

    EX. just, adj. – justice, n.

  • Distributional Meaningthe meaning of the order and the arrangement of morphem...

    42 слайд

    Distributional Meaning
    the meaning of the order and the arrangement of morphemes making up the word
    found in words containing more than one morpheme
    different arrangement of the same morphemes would make the word meaningless
    EX. sing- + -er =singer,
    -er + sing- = ?

  • Motivation denotes the relationship between the phonetic or morphemic composi...

    43 слайд

    Motivation
    denotes the relationship between the phonetic or morphemic composition and structural pattern of the word on the one hand, and its meaning on the other

    can be phonetical
    morphological
    semantic

  • Phonetical Motivationwhen there is a certain similarity between the sounds th...

    44 слайд

    Phonetical Motivation
    when there is a certain similarity between the sounds that make up the word and those produced by animals, objects, etc.

    EX. sizzle, boom, splash, cuckoo

  • Morphological Motivationwhen there is a direct connection between the structu...

    45 слайд

    Morphological Motivation
    when there is a direct connection between the structure of a word and its meaning
    EX. finger-ring – ring-finger,

    A direct connection between the lexical meaning of the component morphemes
    EX think –rethink “thinking again”

  • Semantic Motivationbased on co-existence of direct and figurative meanings of...

    46 слайд

    Semantic Motivation
    based on co-existence of direct and figurative meanings of the same word

    EX a watchdog –
    ”a dog kept for watching property”

    a watchdog –
    “a watchful human guardian” (semantic motivation)

  •  PRACTICE

  • Analyze the meaning of the words. Define the type of motivation a) morpholo...

    48 слайд

    Analyze the meaning of the words.
    Define the type of motivation
    a) morphologically motivated
    b) semantically motivated

    Driver
    Leg
    Horse
    Wall
    Hand-made
    Careless
    piggish

  • Analyze the meaning of the words. Define the type of motivation a) morpholo...

    49 слайд

    Analyze the meaning of the words.
    Define the type of motivation
    a) morphologically motivated
    b) semantically motivated
    Driver
    Someone who drives a vehicle
    morphologically motivated
    Leg
    The part of a piece of furniture such as a table
    semantically motivated
    Horse
    A piece of equipment shaped like a box, used in gymnastics
    semantically motivated

  • Wall
Emotions or behavior  preventing people from feeling close
semantically...

    50 слайд

    Wall
    Emotions or behavior preventing people from feeling close
    semantically motivated
    Hand-made
    Made by hand, not machine
    morphologically motivated
    Careless
    Not taking enough care
    morphologically motivated
    Piggish
    Selfish
    semantically motivated

  • I heard what she said but it didn’t sink in my mind
“do down to the bottom”...

    51 слайд

    I heard what she said but it didn’t sink in my mind
    “do down to the bottom”
    ‘to be accepted by mind” semantic motivation

    Why are you trying to pin the blame on me?
    “fasten smth somewhere using a pin” –
    ”to blame smb” semantic motivation

    I was following the man when he dived into a pub.
    “jump into deep water” –
    ”to enter into suddenly” semantic motivation

    You should be ashamed of yourself, crawling to the director like that
    “to move along on hands and knees close to the ground” –
    “to behave very humbly in order to win favor” semantic motivation

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Would you like this sound words list as a free PDF poster with pictures? Click here to get it.

We hear different sounds all the time. But how do we actually say them as words?

There are many different words for sounds. Let’s look at 42 sound words in English (plus some useful idioms with sound words).


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1. Sounds of things hitting things

Thud

Thud: a woman dropping a brick on the floor

The sound of something heavy falling and hitting the ground.

I don’t know why she’s dropping a brick from a high chair.

But it does make a fun sound.

Whack

Whack: a baseball bat hitting a ball

The sound of a short, heavy hit.

This can also be used as a verb:

“She whacked him in the head with the pillow.”

Slap

Slap: a man slapping another man's face

The sound of someone hitting something (or someone) with an open hand.

You’ll hear this word a lot in idioms:

A slap in the face is used when someone has done something bad to you (given you something you don’t want or not given you something that you do want, for example), usually unfairly.

“I did all of the work for the project and then Sam gets the promotion — not fair. What a slap in the face!”

A slap on the wrist is when someone gets punished — but very, very lightly. Much less than they deserve:

“You heard about Hexon Oil? They polluted every lake in the country and only got a $2000 fine. It was barely a slap on the wrist, really.”

A slap-up meal is basically a massive meal — the kind of meal you have when you really don’t want to think about your weight or your health. Just enjoy it!

“I’ve sold the house! I’m taking you all out for a slap-up meal at Mrs Miggins’ pie shop!”

A slapdash job or slapdash work is work done really badly. I remember waiting in a cafe at Sofia airport, and these Austrian guys found it quite funny that there was just one plug socket in the whole cafe. And it was halfway up the wall. The designer definitely did a slapdash job:

Slapdash design: businessmen with laptop plugged in inconveniently

“Don’t get that builder. He did such a slapdash job on our house that the roof fell in.”

Knock

Knock: a woman knocking on a door

OK, so “knock” is the sound that you make when you arrive at your friend’s house and hit their door with your hand.

There’s also the phrase “don’t knock it.”

It basically means “don’t criticise it.”

“Banana and crisp sandwiches are actually really good! Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!”

Rattle

Rattle: a rattlesnake

Stay away! It’s a rattlesnake. And it’s rattling its tail.

As a verb, “rattle” can also mean “disturb.”

Think about classic action heroes.

They can fall out of planes, jump off the edges of mountains, survive car crashes, helicopter crashes and bike crashes; they can be forced to swim underwater for five minutes and then run 200 metres over burning coals.

And after that, they’re just fine, right?

That’s because nothing rattles them. Nothing!

Splat

Splat: a water balloon hitting a man's head

The sound of something wet hitting something else.

Like when you throw eggs or rotten tomatoes at the visiting politician.

Or a water balloon at your friend.

Clunk

Clunk: a woman driving over a pothole

This is one of those words that sounds like it sounds, if you know what I mean.

It’s a heavy, dull sound.

Clang

Clang: a woman banging two pot lids together

A noisy, metallic sound.

Clink

Clink: two people clinking champagne glasses

This is like clang’s baby brother.

It’s a small, sharp sound — usually made when metal or glass touches something.

Patter

Patter: a woman holding an umbrella in the rain

A light tapping sound.

We usually use it to describe rain:

“I love sleeping through storms, don’t you! The patter of rain on the roof and knowing you’re safe and sound in bed.”

When I was a kid (and for too long afterwards — she still does this when I visit) my mother would greet me when I came downstairs in the morning with:

“You’re awake! I thought I heard the patter of tiny feet!”
“Mum — I’m 37 years old.”

Clatter

Clatter: pots and pans falling on the floor

Clang is noisy and unpleasant, right?

Now imagine lots of clangs. That’s clatter.

Smash

Smash: a glass bottle breaking

The sound of something breaking into a million pieces. Usually violently.

“Smashing” can also mean “excellent”:

“She did such a smashing job that we hired her full time.”

Slam

Slam: an angry man closing a door

We usually use this to describe closing a door very loudly.

But we can use it for other similar situations.

You can slam the phone down (if you’re using a non-mobile phone, like the retro kid you are).

You can also slam a glass on the table. (Think tequila shots.)

If someone slams the door in your face, they basically decide not to help you or give you information that you need.

“I called the helpline about it, but they refused to help. Completely slammed the door in my face.”

You can also just “slam” something. It means “give a very, very negative review.”

“The New York Times completely slammed his new book. But I thought it was pretty good.”

2. Mechanical sounds

Honk

Honk: a clown with a horn

When I lived in Istanbul, I would play a game.

I would try to count to five without hearing a single car honk its horn.

I never got past three seconds.

Also — it was a terrible game. But I was bored.

Whir

Whir: a table fan

A continuous sound — usually quiet, often calming.

Tick

Tick: a grandfather clock

We almost always think of clocks and watches when we hear the word “tick.”

It’s that tiny, short sound.

So it wouldn’t surprise you to hear that we can use the phrase “time is ticking” to mean “hurry up!”

“Let’s get started! Time’s ticking.”

If you’re a bit angry (not furious — just a bit), then you can say that you’re “ticked off.”

“To be honest, I’m a bit ticked off. I didn’t expect you to tell everyone about what I told you. It was private.”

“In a tick” can also mean “in a minute,” “in a second,” “in a moment” or just “soon.”

“Take a seat. I’ll be with you in a tick.”

Click

Click: a man clicking a biro

A small, sharp sound.

Think about a light switch.

Or this annoying guy and his annoying pen.

When you click with someone, you immediately get on well. You start talking and it feels as if you’ve always been friends.

“I’ve been friends with Gudrun for 20 years. We clicked as soon as we met.”

Bang

Bang: a woman shooting a gun

A loud noise! Usually sudden.

This is most closely associated with guns. But the building site next to my house also produces a lot of bangs.

If you go out with a bang, you finish or leave something in a super-dramatic way.

“Wow! His last day of work and he throws coffee in the boss’s face! Talk about going out with a bang!”

When someone bangs on about something, they talk for ages about it while successfully boring the life out of whoever has the bad luck to listen to them.

“If you could just stop banging on about your new computer for a minute, I’d like to talk to you about what happened last weekend.”

Buzz

Buzz: a mobile phone vibrating on a table

The sound of something vibrating.

When we talk about the buzz of a place, we’re talking about that special energy it has.

Some cities (like Vienna) have a real buzz, while some cities (like Swindon) don’t.

“What I miss about Istanbul most is the buzz. And the food. But mostly the buzz.”

You can also buzz someone in when you’re at home, and someone wants to get into the building. It saves you from having to walk all the way downstairs to let them in.

“Hey! I’m outside your flat now. Can you buzz me in?”

Finally, you can give someone a buzz. It just means “give them a quick call.”

“Let’s have that drink on Friday. Just give me a buzz, and I’ll let you know where I am.”

3. Electronic sounds

Ping

Ping: a man ringing a bell at reception

This is the sound of a very small bell.

Think of a typewriter or a hotel reception desk.

Blip

Blip: a radar display

A ping will last for a long time (piiiinnnggggg). But a blip is very, very short.

Think of a radar in those films with too many submarines in.

Beep

Beep: a supermarket cashier scanning items

A blip sounds quite nice, but a beep can get very annoying very quickly.

I don’t know how people working as supermarket cashiers don’t go crazy. Do they still hear the beeps when they go to sleep at night?

4. Organic sounds

Snap

Snap: a man breaking a twig

A sudden breaking sound — think of the sound of wood breaking.

I guess because it’s quite an unpredictable sound, we can also use “snap” as a verb to mean “suddenly get angry.” When you snap, it’s probably a result of lots of things building up.

“It was when her kid put his school tie in the toaster that she finally snapped.”

It also has a second meaning.

Have you ever tried to talk to someone, and instead of saying “Hi!” or “Good to see you!” or “Nice hair,” they just angrily shout at you — completely unpredictable and sudden?

Then they snapped at you.

“I wouldn’t talk to him right now, if I were you. I just asked him if he was OK, and he snapped at me.”

You can also just say “snap” when someone else has something that you have. It could be a plan, an interest, or something physical, like a T-shirt.

“No way! Snap! I’ve got the exact same phone.”

Finally, there’s a snap election.

It’s a general election that the prime minister or president suddenly announces — usually because they think they’ll win. All of a sudden, we’re voting. Again!

“She said she wouldn’t call a snap election. Then she did.”

Crack

Crack: a woman cracking a whip

It’s like a loud snap.

If you want to celebrate, you can do so in style — by cracking open a bottle of champagne:

“You got the job?! Awesome — let’s crack open a bottle, yeah?”

If you drink too much of it, you might find EVERYTHING funny and just crack up all the time. It means suddenly start laughing. A lot. Until your face hurts.

“I told him my idea, and he just cracked up. I didn’t think it was that funny.”

Crackle

Crackle: a family in front of a fireplace

Lots of small cracks.

Fire and fireworks crackle. And not much else.

Pop

Pop: a champagne bottle being opened

A tiny, little, mini explosion sound.

Because it’s such a short sound, we use it in phrasal verbs to describe something quick.

You can pop out (go outside — but only for a bit):

“I’m just popping out for some fresh air. See you in a few minutes.”

Or you can pop in somewhere (visit — but only for a bit):

“When you’re in town, why not pop in for a coffee?”

Sizzle

Sizzle: a woman cooking on a stove

The sound of food cooking.

Rustle

Rustle: a boy playing in a pile of leaves

There are basically only two things that rustle.

Leaves (especially dry, autumn leaves) and paper.

To rustle something up means to make a quick meal — like a sandwich or some toast.

“You haven’t eaten? Give me two minutes — I’ll rustle something up.”

Rumble

Rumble: a hungry woman thinking about food

A continuous, deep sound.

Think of thunder.

Or your stomach when you’re really hungry.

5. Water sounds

Fizz

Fizz: a glass of soft drink

That nice sound of bubbles popping. Think about sparkling water or champagne.

Squelch

Squelch: a man walking through mud

You just need to say this word to understand what it means.

Go on, say it. Feels good, doesn’t it?

It’s basically the sound of walking in mud.

Gurgle

Gurgle: a man gargling

This is the sound of bubbles being created.

Imagine lying down in the green grass next to a beautiful stream.

What can you hear?

The gurgle of the stream of course.

And the lion. Look out for the lion.

Glug

Glug: a man drinking quickly from a bottle

If gurgle is a series of sounds, then glug is a single one of those sounds.

Think of how you sound when you’re drinking water quickly.

Drip

Drip: a dripping tap

“Drip” looks like “drop,” right?

Well, “drip” is the sound that a drop makes when it hits something.

Splash

Splash: a girl playing in a paddle pool

The sound of something hitting water (or any liquid).

Think of the sound of kids in the bath.

Or the sound at the end of a water slide.

If you feel like spending a little more money than you should, then you splash out.

“Yeah, it’s a bit pricey. But it’s my birthday. I’m gonna splash out.”

Trickle

Trickle: a gently running tap

This is the sound of liquid flowing very slowly.

Squeal

Squeal: a rat making a sound

Don’t step on the rat’s tail. He’ll squeal really loudly.

Also, it’s not nice. Leave the rat alone, you monster.

Squeak

Squeak: a mouse making a sound

A squeak is a small, high-pitched sound.

Think of the sound of a mouse.

Or an old bed.

Or a door that needs oil.

I once had a pair of shoes that squeaked a lot.

You can also use the phrase “a squeak out of someone” to describe any sound coming out of their mouth at all. It’s usually used in the negative.

“Right. He’s coming. I don’t want to hear a squeak out of either of you until he’s gone. I’ll do the talking.”

Hiss

Hiss: a bowl of snakes

OK. Repeat after me:

“Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.”

Good — you’ve just made a hiss.

Swish

Swish: a bird moving its wings

This is another word that sounds like it sounds. (These words are called onomatopoeia, by the way.)

It’s a bit like a mixture between a hiss and a rustle.

Creak

Creak: a man tiptoeing on creaky floorboards

When you open that old, heavy wooden door.

Or decide to take your kids to a playground that was built in the ‘50s.

Then expect to hear a lot of loud, high-pitched sounds of wood and metal rubbing together.

A lot of creaks.

Scrape

Scrape: a man running his fingernails down a blackboard

The sound of something hard or sharp rubbing against something else.

We use this a lot as a verb.

You might have to scrape ice off your car on winter mornings.

Or scrape the pancake off the pan after you’ve burned it.

Or scrape chewing gum off the table. Seriously, why do people do that?

There’s also the idiom “to scrape the bottom of the barrel.”

We use it when we’ve almost completely run out of options, and all we have are the worst choices.

“Is this the best we can do? We’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel here. I mean some of them don’t even have faces.”


Congratulations! You now know 42 sound words in English (plus some new idioms).

So let’s practice:

  1. Have you splashed out on something recently (like a slap-up meal or clothes)?
  2. What ticks you off the most?
  3. Can you remember cracking up over something that wasn’t funny? What was it?

Answer in the comments!

Did you like this post? Then be awesome and share by clicking the blue button below.

  1. What are the three aspects of lexical meaning?

  2. Give example of denotational aspect.

  3. What is connotational aspect? What are its elements? Give examples.

  4. What is pragmatic aspect? What are its elements? Give examples

Word-Meaning and Motivation

I.V. Arnold, The English Word, §2.3. Phonetic, Morphological
and Semantic Motivation of Words [pp. 33-36]

Types
of motivation

The term motivation is
used to denote the relationship exist­ing between the phonemic or
morphemic composition and structural pattern of the word on the one
hand, and its meaning on the other. There are three main types of
motivation: phonetical motivation, morphological
motivation
, and semantic moti­vation.

Phonetical
motivation: connection between sound-form and meaning

Phonetical
motivation in Russian and English

When there is a certain
similarity between the sounds that make lip the word and those
referred to by the sense, the motivation is pho­netical.
Examples are: bang, buzz, cuckoo, giggle, gurgle, hiss, purr,
whistle,
etc. Here the sounds of a word are imitative of sounds
in nature because what is referred to is a sound or at least,
produces a character­istic sound (cuckoo). Although
there exists a certain arbitrary element in the resulting phonemic
shape of the word, one can see that this type of motivation is
determined by the phonological system of each language as shown by
the difference of echo-words for the same concept in differ­ent
languages. St. Ullmann stresses that phonetic motivation is not a
perfect replica of any acoustic structure but only a rough
approxima­tion. This accounts for the variability of echo-words
within one language and between different languages. Cf. cuckoo
(Engl), Kuckuck (Germ), кукушка
(Russ). Within the English vocabulary there are different words, all
sound imitative, meaning ‘quick, foolish, indistinct talk’:
babble, chatter, gabble, prattle.
In this last group echoic
creations combine phonological and morphological motivation because
they contain verbal suffixes -le and -er forming
frequentative verbs. We see therefore that one word may combine
different types of motivation.

Words denoting noises produced
by animals are mostly sound imi­tative. In English they are
motivated only phonetically so that nouns and verbs are exactly the
same. In Russian the motivation combines phonetical and morphological
motivation. The Russian words блеять
v and блеяние
n are equally represented in English by bleat. Cf. also: purr
(of a cat), moo (of a cow), crow (of a cock), bark
(of a dog), neigh (of a horse) and their Russian equivalents.

Morphological
motivation

The morphological
motivation
may be quite regular. Thus, the prefix ex-
means ‘former’ when added to human nouns: ex-filmstar,
ex-president, ex-wife.
Alongside with these cases there is a more
general use of ex-: in borrowed words it is unstressed and
motivation is faded (expect, export, etc.).

The derived word re-think
is motivated inasmuch as its morpholog­ical structure suggests
the idea of thinking again. Re- is one of the most common
prefixes of the English language, it means ‘again’ and ‘back’ and
is added to verbal stems or abstract deverbal noun stems, as in
re­build, reclaim, resell, resettlement.
Here again these
newer formations should be compared with older borrowings from Latin
and French where re- is now unstressed, and the motivation
faded. Compare re-cover ‘cov­er again’ and recover
‘get better’. In short: morphological motivation is especially
obvious in newly coined words, or at least words created in the
present century. C f. detainee, manoeuvrable,
prefabricated, racial­ist, self-propelling,
vitaminize,
etc. In older words, root words and mor­phemes motivation is
established etymologically, if at all.

From the examples given above
it is clear that motivation is the way in which a given meaning is
represented in the word. It reflects the type of nomination process
chosen by the creator of the new word. Some schol­ars of the past
used to call the phenomenon the inner word form.

Irregularities
of morphological motivation

In deciding whether a word of
long standing in the language is mor­phologically motivated
according to present-day patterns or not, one should be very careful.
Similarity in sound form does not always corre­spond to
similarity in morphological pattern. Agential suffix -er is
affixable to any verb, so that V+-er means ‘one who V-s’ or
‘something that V-s’: writer, receiver, bomber, rocker, knocker.
Yet, although the verb numb exists in English, number
is not ‘one who numbs’ but is derived from OFr nombre borrowed
into English and completely assimilated.

The cases of regular
morphological motivation outnumber irregu­larities, and yet one
must remember the principle of «fuzzy sets» in coming
across the word smoker with its variants: ‘one who smokes
to­bacco’ and ‘a railway car in which passengers may smoke’.

Semantic
motivation

Many writers nowadays instead
of the term morphological motivation, or parallel to it,
introduce the term word-build­ing meaning. In what follows
the term will be avoided because actually it is not meaning that is
dealt with in this concept, but the form of presentation.

The third type of motivation
is called semantic motiva­tion. It is based on the
co-existence of direct and figurative meanings of the same word
within the same synchronous system. Mouth continues to denote
a part of the human face, and at the same time it can metaphorically
apply to any opening or outlet: the mouth of a river, of a cave,
of a furnace. Jacket
is a short coat and also a protective cover
for a book, a phonograph record or an electric wire. Ermine is
not only the name of a small animal, but also of its fur, and the
office and rank of an English judge because in England ermine was
worn by judges in court. In their direct meaning neither mouth
nor ermine is motivated.

Motivation
in compounds

As to compounds, their
motivation is morphological if the mean­ing of the whole is based
on the direct meaning of the components, and semantic if the
combination of components is used figuratively. Thus, eyewash ‘a
lotion for the eyes’ or headache ‘pain in the head’, or
watchdog
‘a dog kept for watching property’ are all
morphologically motivated. If, on the other hand, they are used
metaphorically as ‘something said or deceive a person so that he
thinks that what he sees is good, though in fact it is not’,
‘anything or anyone very annoying’ and ‘a watchful human guardian’,
respectively, then the motivation is semantic. Compare also
heart-breaking, time-server, lick-spittle, sky-jack
v.

An interesting example of
complex morpho-semantic motivation pass­ing through several
stages in its history is the word teenager ‘a person in his or
her teens’. The motivation may be historically traced as fol­lows:
the inflected form of the numeral ten produced the suffix
-teen.
The suffix later produces a stem with a metonymical
meaning (semantic motivation), receives the plural ending -s,
and then produces a new noun teens ‘the years of a person’s
life of which the numbers end in -teen, namely from 13 In 19′.
In combination with age or aged the adjectives teen-age
and teen-aged are coined, as in teen-age boy, teen-age
fashions.
A morphologically motivated noun teenager is
then formed with the help of the suffix -er which is often
added to compounds or noun phrases producing personal names according
to the pattern ‘one connected with…’

The pattern is frequent
enough. One must keep in mind, however, that not all words with a
similar morphemic composition will have the same derivational history
and denote human beings. E. g. first-nighter and
honeymooner
are personal nouns, but two-seater is ‘a car
or an aeroplane seating two persons’,
back-hander
is ‘a back-hand stroke in tennis’ and three-decker
‘a sandwich made of three pieces of bread with two layers of
filling’.

Non-motivated
words

When the connection between
the meaning of the word and its form is conventional that is there is
no perceptible reason for the word having this particular phonemic
and morphemic composition, the word is said to be non-motivated
for the present stage of language develop­ment.

Motivation
and diachrony

Faded
motivation

Every vocabulary is in a state
of constant development. Words that seem non-motivated at present may
have lost their motivation. The verb earn does not suggest at
present any necessary connection with ag­riculture. The
connection of form and meaning seems purely conven­tional.
Historical analysis shows, however, that it is derived from OE
(ʒe-)earnian ‘to harvest’. In Modern English this connection
no longer exists and earn is now a non-motivated word. Complex
morphological structures tend to unite and become indivisible units,
as St. Ullmann demonstrates tracing the history of not which
is a reduced form of nought
from OE nowiht <no-wiht ‘nothing’.

When some people recognize the
motivation, whereas others do not, motivation is said to be faded.

Folk
etymology

Sometimes in an attempt to
find motivation for a borrowed word the speakers change its form so
as to give it a connection with some well-known word. These cases of
mistaken motivation received the name of folk etymology. The
phenomenon is not very frequent. Two examples will suffice: A
nightmare
is not ‘a she-horse that appears at night’ but ‘a
terrifying dream personified in folklore as a female monster’. (OE
mara
‘an evil spirit’.) The international radio-telephone signal
may-day
corresponding to the telegraphic SOS used by aeroplanes
and ships in distress has nothing to do with the First of May but is
a phonetic rendering of French m’aidez ‘help me’.

Sound
symbolism

Some linguists consider one
more type of motivation closely akin to the imitative forms, namely
sound symbolism. Some words are supposed to illustrate the
meaning more immediately than do or­dinary words. As the same
combinations of sounds are used in many semantically similar words,
they become more closely associated with the meaning. Examples are:
flap, flip, flop, flitter,
flimmer,
flicker, flutter, flash, flush, flare; glare, glitter, glow, gloat,
glimmer; sleet, slime, slush,
where fl- is associated with
quick movement, gl- with light and fire, sl- with mud.

This sound symbolism
phenomenon is not studied enough so far, so that it is difficult to
say to what extent it is valid. There are, for ex­ample, many
English words, containing the initial fl- but not associat­ed
with quick or any other movement: flat, floor, flour, flower.
There is also nothing muddy in the referents of sleep or
slender.

To sum up this discussion of
motivation: there are processes in the vocabulary that compel us to
modify the Saussurian principle according to which linguistic units
are independent of the substance in which they are realized and their
associations is a matter of arbitrary convention. It is already not
true for phonetic motivation and only partly true for all other
types. In the process of vocabulary development, and we wit­ness
everyday its intensity, a speaker of a language creates new words and
is understood because the vocabulary system possesses established
associations of form and meaning.

R.S. Ginzburg, A Course in Modern English Lexicology, §17.
Morphological Motivation, §18. Phonetical Motivation, §19. Semantic
Motivation [pp. 25-27]

[…] there are cases when we
can observe a direct connection between the structural pattern of the
word and its meaning. This relationship between morphemic structure
and meaning is termed morphological motivation.

Morphological
motivation and its main criterion

The main criterion in
morphological motivation is the relationship between morphemes. Hence
all one-morpheme words, e.g. sing, tell, eat,
are by definition non-motivated. In words composed of more than one
morpheme the carrier of the word-meaning is the combined meaning of
the component morphemes and the meaning of the structural pattern of
the word. This can be illustrated by the semantic analysis of
different words composed of phonemically identical morphemes with
identical lexical meaning. The words finger-ring and
ring-finger, e.g., contain two morphemes, the combined lexical
meaning of which is the same; the difference in the meaning of these
words can be accounted for by the difference in the arrangement of
the component morphemes.

If we can observe a direct
connection between the structural pattern of the word and its
meaning, we say that this word is motivated. Consequently words such
as singer, rewrite, eatable, etc., are described
as motivated. If the connection between the structure of the lexical
unit and its meaning is completely arbitrary and conventional, we
speak of non-motivated or idiomatic words, e.g. matter,
repeat.

Relativeness
of morphological motivation

It should be noted in passing
that morphological motivation is «relative», i.e. the
degree of motivation may be different. Between the extremes of
complete motivation and lack of motivation, there exist various
grades of partial motivation. The word endless, e.g., is
completely motivated as both the lexical meaning of the component
morphemes and the meaning of the pattern is perfectly transparent.
The word cranberry is only partially motivated because of the
absence of the lexical meaning in the morpheme cran-.

Motivation
and diachrony

One more point should be noted
in connection with the problem in question. A synchronic approach to
morphological motivation presupposes historical changeability of
structural patterns and the ensuing degree of motivation. Some
English place-names may serve as an illustration. Such place-names as
Newtowns and Wildwoods are lexically and structurally
motivated and may be easily analysed into
component morphemes. Other place-names, e.g. Essex, Norfolk,
Sutton, are non-motivated. To the average English speaker
these names are non-analysable lexical
units like sing or tell. However, upon examination the
student of language history will perceive their components to be
East+ Saxon, North+Folk and South+Town which
shows that in earlier days they were just as completely motivated as
Newtowns or Wildwoods are in Modern English.

Phonetic
motivation

Motivation is usually thought
of as proceeding from form or structure to meaning. Morphological
motivation as discussed above implies a direct connection between the
morphological structure of the word and its meaning. Some linguists,
however, argue that words can be motivated in more than one way and
suggest another type of mo­tivation which may be described as a
direct connection between the phonetical structure of the word and
its meaning. It is argued that speech sounds may suggest spatial and
visual dimensions, shape, size, etc. Experiments carried out by a
group of linguists showed that back open vowels are suggestive of big
size, heavy weight, dark colour, etc. The
experiments were repeated many times and the results were always the
same. Native speakers of English were asked to listen to pairs of
antonyms from an unfamiliar (or non-existent) language unrelated to
English, e.g. chingchung and then to
try to find the English equivalents, e.g. light—heavy,
(big—small, etc.), which foreign word translates which
English word. About 90 per cent of English speakers felt that
ching is the equivalent of the English light
(small) and chung of its antonym heavy
(large).

It is also pointed out that
this type of phonetical motivation may be observed in the phonemic
structure of some newly coined words. For example, the small
transmitter that specializes in high frequencies is called ‘a
tweeter’
, the transmitter for low frequences
‘a woofer’.

Sound
symbolism

Another type of phonetical
motivation is represented by such words as swish, sizzle,
boom, splash, etc. These words may be defined as
phoneti­cally motivated because the soundclusters [swɪʃ, sɪzl,
bum, splæʃ] are a direct imitation of the sounds these words
denote. It is also suggested that sounds themselves may be
emotionally expressive which accounts for the phonetical motivation
in certain words. Initial [f] and [p], e.g., are felt as expressing
scorn, contempt, disapproval or disgust which can be illustrated by
the words pooh! fie! fiddle-sticks, flim-flam and the
like. The sound-cluster [iŋ] is imitative of sound or swift movement
as can be seen in words ring, sing, swings fling, etc.
Thus, phonetically such words may be considered motivated.

Semantic
motivation

This hypothesis seems to
require verification. This of course is not to deny that there are
some words which involve phonetical symbolism: these are the
onomatopoeic, imitative or echoic words such as the English cuckoo,
splash
and whisper. And even these are not
completely motivated but seem to be conventional to quite a large
extent (cf. кукареку
and cock-a-doodle-doo). In any case words like these
constitute only a small and untypical minority in the language. As to
symbolic value of certain sounds, this too is disproved by the fact
that identical sounds and sound- clusters may be found in words of
widely different meaning, e.g. initial [p] and [f], are found in
words expressing contempt and disapproval (fie, pooh) and also
in such words as plough, fine, and others. The
sound-cluster [iŋ] which is supposed to be imitative of sound or
swift movement (ring, swing) is also observed in
semantically dif­ferent words, e.g. thing, king,
and others.

The term motivation is
also used by a number of linguists to denote the relationship between
the central and the coexisting meaning or meanings of a word which
are understood as a metaphorical extension of the central meaning.
Metaphorical extension may be viewed as generalization of the
denotational meaning of a word permitting it to include new referents
which are in some way like the original class of referents.
Similarity of various aspects and/or functions of different classes
of referents may account for the semantic motivation of a number of
minor meanings. For example, a woman who has given birth is called
a mother; by exten­sion, any act that gives birth is
associated with being a mother, e.g. in Necessity is the
mother of invention
. The same principle can be ob­served in
other meanings: a mother looks after a child, so that we can say She
became a mother to her orphan nephew
, or Romulus and Remus
were supposedly mothered by a wolf
. Cf. also mother country,
a moth­er’s mark (=a birthmark), mother tongue,
etc. Such metaphoric exten­sion may be observed in the so-called
trite metaphors, such as burn with anger, break smb’s
heart
, jump at a chance, etc.

If metaphorical extension is
observed in the relationship of the cen­tral and a minor word
meaning it is often observed in the relationship between its
synonymic or antonymic meanings. Thus, a few years ago the phrases a
meeting at the summit, a summit meeting
appeared in the news­papers.

Cartoonists portrayed the
participants of such summit meetings sitting on mountain tops. Now
when lesser diplomats confer the talks are called foothill
meetings
. In this way both summit and its antonym
foot­hill undergo the process of metaphorical
extension.

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Phonology is the study of the sound system of a language. A language’s sound system is made up of a set of phonemes which are used according to phonological rules.

In this article, we’ll look at:

  • What phonology is
  • Phonological awareness
    • Phonemes
    • Dialect and accent
    • Phonotactics
  • Phonology in the English language and
  • Examples of phonology in linguistics
    • Assimilation, dissimilation, insertion, and deletion

Phonology meaning

Phonology describes sound contrasts which create differences in meaning within a language. Phonological systems are made up of phonemes (we’ll come back to phonemes in a bit), and each language has its own phonological system. This means that the study of phonology is language-specific.

  • For example, the phoneme /ɛ/ is different from the phoneme /i:/, so if we use the word set [sɛt] instead of seat [si:t], the meaning of the word will change.

Note: slash marks are used to indicate a phoneme /t/ (an abstract segment i.e. the representation of the sound), as opposed to the square brackets [t], used to indicate a phone (a physical segment i.e. the actual sound produced).

Phonological awareness

Phonological awareness is the ability to be aware of, identify and manipulate phonological units (phonemes) in elements of spoken language such as syllables and words.

Phonological awareness comes from the analysis of the following language elements:

  • Phonemes
  • Dialects and accents
  • Phonotactics

Phonemes

A phoneme is the smallest unit of meaningful sound. Phonemes are the basic phonological units and form the building blocks of speech sounds. Phonemes are single sounds represented by a single written symbol.

Symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) are used to represent phonemes. The IPA is a system of symbols where each possible speech sound has a representative written symbol.

Minimal pairs

In Phonology, you can use minimal pairs to distinguish phonemes from each other.

A minimal pair is when two words have different meanings but only one sound (or phonemic) difference.

An example of minimal pairs in phonology would be:

  • mire /maɪə/ and mile /maɪl/.
  • bad /bæd/ and bed /bɛd/.
  • crowd /kraʊd/ and cloud /klaʊd/.
  • rock /rɒk/ and lock /lɒk/.

As you can see, these words are very similar, but each pair contains one phonemic difference which creates different meanings.

The rules for identifying minimal pairs are:

  • The words in the pair must have the same number of sounds.

  • Two or more words in the pairs must be identical in every sound except for one.

  • In each word, the sounds must be in the same position.

  • The words must have different meanings.

Dialects and accents of English

People can pronounce sounds in different ways. This can depend on multiple factors, for example:

  • Social class
  • Ethnic group
  • Speech or voice disorders
  • Education
  • Geographical area

Accent and dialect are a result of all these factors.

Dialects are variations of the same language spoken by people in particular areas or social groups. Dialects differ in pronunciation, grammatical patterns, and vocabulary. It is important to remember that whilst these factors impact speech, people can have different dialects and speak the same language.

  • For example, Scottish, Irish, Yorkshire, Cockney, Welsh English, may all be said to be dialects of the UK English language.

  • Regional dialects may differ in their pronunciation or use particular grammatical patterns or vocabulary. For example, the British English dialect does not pronounce the /r/ in words like ‘car’ [ka:] whereas the American English dialect often pronounces the /r/. This is called rhoticity.

Accents have developed because of regional phonological differences. Sometimes accents are based on the pronunciation of words by non-native speakers. A foreign accent is marked by the phonology of other languages.

Examples of phonological differences are:

  • The word potato: — In British English it is pronounced po-tayh-to [pəˈteɪtəʊ].- In American English it is pronounced po-tay-to [pəˈteɪˌtoʊ].
  • The word laughter:- In British English it is pronounced la-fte [ˈlɑːftə].- In American English it is pronounced la-fter [ˈlæftər].
  • The word banana:- In British English it is pronounced be-na-na [bəˈnɑːnə].- In American English it is pronounced be-nah-na [bəˈnænə].

Phonotactics

One of the branches of phonology is phonotactics.

Phonotactics is the study of the rules governing the possible phoneme sequences in a language.

— Oxford English Dictionary

Within phonotactics, we can look at syllables. A syllable is a phonological unit that involves one or more phonemes. Syllables can show us how phonemes appear in particular sequences.

Each syllable has:

  • a nucleus always a vowel,
  • an onset and a coda — usually consonants.

Let’s have a look at an example of a syllable study in phonology:

In the word cat /kaet/, /k/ is the onset, /ae/ is the nucleus and /t/ is the coda.

These are the rules concerning phoneme sequences in syllables:

  • The nucleus of a syllable is essential for the word and is the vowel in the middle of the syllable.
  • The onset is not always present but you can find it before the nucleus if it is.
  • The coda is also not always present but you can find it after the nucleus if it is.

These phonotactic rules are specific to the English language as phonology is language-specific. Other languages will have different phonotactic rules.

Phonology in the English language

As we’ve said, each language has its own phonology. That is, its own set of phonemes. These phoneme sets are often shown through phonemic charts.

A phonemic chart for a language contains all of the phonemes that exist in that language. It is much more specific than the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) chart which includes all possible speech sounds across all languages.

Phonological rules

Each language’s phonological system contains rules which govern the pronunciation of phonemes.

Phonological rules are related to the spoken or written principles which control the changes of sounds during speech.

These describe the process of articulation (how a speaker produces speech sounds stored in the brain). Phonological rules help us understand which sounds change, what they change to, and where the change happens.

Examples of phonological rules can be divided into four types: assimilation, dissimilation, insertion, and deletion.

Examples of phonology in linguistics

We’ll now look at the phonological rules: assimilation, dissimilation, insertion and deletion. Examples of these phonological rules occurring in the English language are given below. Pay attention to the examples with ‘/’ and ‘[‘ that are used in studying phonology.

Assimilation

Assimilation is the process of changing one feature of a sound to make it similar to another.

This rule can be applied to the English plural system:

  • The -s can change from voiced to voiceless depending on whether the preceding consonant is voiced or unvoiced.

So, the English plural -s can be pronounced in different ways depending on the word it is part of, for example:

  • In the word snakes, the letter ‘s’ is pronounced /s/.
  • In the word baths, the letter ‘s’ is pronounced /z/.
  • In the word dresses, the letter ‘s’ is pronounced /ɪz/.

Dissimilation

Dissimilation is the process of changing one feature of a sound to make it different.

This type of rule makes two sounds more distinguishable. It can help non-native speakers to pronounce words.

  • The pronunciation of the word chimney [ˈʧɪmni] as chimley [ˈʧɪmli], with the change of [n] to an [l].

Insertion

Insertion is the process of adding an extra sound between two others.

For example, we usually insert a voiceless stop between a nasal and a voiceless fricative to make it easier for English speakers to pronounce a word.

  • In the word strength /strɛŋθ/, we add the sound ‘k’ and it becomes /strɛŋkθ/.

  • In the word hamster /hæmstə/, we add the sound ‘p’ and it becomes /hæmpstə/.

Deletion

Deletion is the process of not pronouncing a sound (consonant, vowel, or whole syllable) present in a word or phrase, to make it easier to say.

For example:

In the phrase “you and me” [ju: ənd mi:] it is possible not to say the sound /d/.

  • You and me [ju:ənmi:].

This also occurs in some words:

  • /h/ in him [ɪm].
  • /f/ in fifth [fɪθ].

Phonology — Key takeaways

  • Phonology is the study of the “sound system” of language. It refers to the phonemes used in a language and how these are organised.

  • A phoneme is the smallest meaningful unit of sound.

  • Dialects are variations of language associated with a geographic area and social class. Accents feature regional phonological or phonetic differences.

  • Phonotactics studies the constraining rules of phoneme combinations.

  • Each language has a phonological system (set of phonemes) which can be shown in a phonemic chart.

  • Phonological rules (assimilation, dissimilation, insertion and deletion) help us understand which sounds change, what they change to, and where the change happens.

Word Meaning Lecture # 6 Grigoryeva M.

Word Meaning Lecture # 6 Grigoryeva M.

Word Meaning Approaches to word meaning Meaning and Notion (понятие) Types of word meaning

Word Meaning Approaches to word meaning Meaning and Notion (понятие) Types of word meaning Types of morpheme meaning Motivation

Each word has two aspects: the outer aspect ( its sound form) cat the

Each word has two aspects: the outer aspect ( its sound form) cat the inner aspect (its meaning) long-legged, fury animal with sharp teeth and claws

Sound and meaning do not always constitute a constant unit even in the same

Sound and meaning do not always constitute a constant unit even in the same language EX a temple a part of a human head a large church

Semantics (Semasiology) Is a branch of lexicology which studies the meaning of words and

Semantics (Semasiology) Is a branch of lexicology which studies the meaning of words and word equivalents

Approaches to Word Meaning The Referential (analytical) approach The Functional (contextual) approach Operational (information-oriented)

Approaches to Word Meaning The Referential (analytical) approach The Functional (contextual) approach Operational (information-oriented) approach

The Referential (analytical) approach formulates the essence of meaning by establishing the interdependence between

The Referential (analytical) approach formulates the essence of meaning by establishing the interdependence between words and things or concepts they denote distinguishes between three components closely connected with meaning: the sound-form of the linguistic sign, the concept the actual referent

Basic Triangle concept – flower concept (thought, reference) – the thought of the object

Basic Triangle concept – flower concept (thought, reference) – the thought of the object that singles out its essential features referent – object denoted by the word, part of reality sound-form (symbol, sign) – linguistic sign sound-form [rәuz] referent

In what way does meaning correlate with each element of the triangle ? •

In what way does meaning correlate with each element of the triangle ? • In what relation does meaning stand to each of them? •

Meaning and Sound-form are not identical different EX. dove - [dΛv] English [golub’] Russian

Meaning and Sound-form are not identical different EX. dove — [dΛv] English [golub’] Russian [taube] German sound-forms BUT the same meaning

Meaning and Sound-form nearly identical sound-forms have different meanings in different languages EX. [kot]

Meaning and Sound-form nearly identical sound-forms have different meanings in different languages EX. [kot] Russian – a male cat [kot] English – a small bed for a child identical sound-forms have different meanings (‘homonyms) EX. knight [nait]

Meaning and Sound-form even considerable changes in sound-form do not affect the meaning EX

Meaning and Sound-form even considerable changes in sound-form do not affect the meaning EX Old English lufian [luvian] – love [l Λ v]

Meaning and Concept concept is a category of human cognition concept is abstract and

Meaning and Concept concept is a category of human cognition concept is abstract and reflects the most common and typical features of different objects and phenomena in the world meanings of words are different in different languages

Meaning and Concept identical concepts may have different semantic structures in different languages EX.

Meaning and Concept identical concepts may have different semantic structures in different languages EX. concept “a building for human habitation” – English Russian HOUSE ДОМ + in Russian ДОМ “fixed residence of family or household” In English HOME

Meaning and Referent one and the same object (referent) may be denoted by more

Meaning and Referent one and the same object (referent) may be denoted by more than one word of a different meaning cat pussy animal tiger

Meaning is not identical with any of the three points of the triangle –

Meaning is not identical with any of the three points of the triangle – the sound form, the concept the referent BUT is closely connected with them.

Functional Approach studies the functions of a word in speech meaning of a word

Functional Approach studies the functions of a word in speech meaning of a word is studied through relations of it with other linguistic units EX. to move (we move, move a chair) movement (movement of smth, slow movement) The distriution ( the position of the word in relation to others) of the verb to move and a noun movement is different as they belong to different classes of words and their meanings are different

Operational approach is centered on defining meaning through its role in the process of

Operational approach is centered on defining meaning through its role in the process of communication EX John came at 6 Beside the direct meaning the sentence may imply that: He was late He failed to keep his promise He was punctual as usual He came but he didn’t want to The implication depends on the concrete situation

Lexical Meaning and Notion denotes the Lexical meaning is reflection in the realization of

Lexical Meaning and Notion denotes the Lexical meaning is reflection in the realization of a mind of real objects notion by means of a definite language system Notion is a unit of Word is a language thinking unit

Lexical Meaning and Notions are Meanings are internationally limited especially with the nations of

Lexical Meaning and Notions are Meanings are internationally limited especially with the nations of the same EX GO (E) —- ИДТИ(R) cultural level “To move” BUT !!! To GO by bus (E) ЕХАТЬ (R) EX Man -мужчина, человек Она – хороший человек (R) She is a good person (E)

Types of Meaning Types grammatical meaning of meaning lexico-grammatical meaning lexical meaning denotational connotational

Types of Meaning Types grammatical meaning of meaning lexico-grammatical meaning lexical meaning denotational connotational

Grammatical Meaning component of meaning recurrent in identical sets of individual forms of different

Grammatical Meaning component of meaning recurrent in identical sets of individual forms of different words EX. girls, winters, toys, tables – grammatical meaning of plurality asked, thought, walked – meaning of past tense

Lexico-grammatical meaning (part –of- speech meaning) is revealed in the classification of lexical items

Lexico-grammatical meaning (part –of- speech meaning) is revealed in the classification of lexical items into: major word classes (N, V, Adj, Adv) minor ones (artc, prep, conj) words of one lexico-grammatical class have the same paradigm

Lexical Meaning is the meaning proper to the given linguistic unit in all its

Lexical Meaning is the meaning proper to the given linguistic unit in all its forms and distributions EX. Go – goes — went lexical meaning – process of movement

PRACTICE Group the words into 3 column according to the grammatical, lexical or part-of

PRACTICE Group the words into 3 column according to the grammatical, lexical or part-of –speech meaning • • Boy’s, nearest, at, beautiful, think, man, drift, wrote, tremendous, ship’s, the most beautiful, table, near, for, went, friend’s, handsome, thinking, boy, nearer, thought, boys, lamp, go, during.

 • Grammatical 1. The case of nouns: boy’s, ship’s, friend’s 2. The degree

• Grammatical 1. The case of nouns: boy’s, ship’s, friend’s 2. The degree of comparison of adj: nearest, the most beautiful 3. The tense of verbs: wrote, went, thought • Lexical 1. Think, thinking, thought 2. Went, go 3. Boy’s, boys 4. Nearest, nearer 5. At, for, during (“time”) 6. Beautiful, the most beautiful • Part-of-speech Nouns—verbs—adj—-prep

Aspects of Lexical meaning The denotational aspect The connotational aspect The pragmatic aspect

Aspects of Lexical meaning The denotational aspect The connotational aspect The pragmatic aspect

Denotational Meaning “denote” – to be a sign of, stand as a symbol for”

Denotational Meaning “denote” – to be a sign of, stand as a symbol for” establishes the correlation between the name and the object makes communication possible EX booklet “a small thin book that gives info about smth”

PRACTICE Explain denotational meaning • • A lion-hunter To have a heart like a

PRACTICE Explain denotational meaning • • A lion-hunter To have a heart like a lion To feel like a lion To roar like a lion To be thrown to the lions The lion’s share To put your head in lion’s mouth

PRACTICE • A lion-hunter A host that seeks out celebrities to impress guests •

PRACTICE • A lion-hunter A host that seeks out celebrities to impress guests • To have a heart like a lion To have great courage • To feel like a lion To be in the best of health • To roar like a lion To shout very loudly • To be thrown to the lions To be criticized strongly or treated badly • The lion’s share Much more than one’s share • To put your head in lion’s mouth

Connotational Meaning reflects the attitude of the speaker towards what he speaks about it

Connotational Meaning reflects the attitude of the speaker towards what he speaks about it is optional – a word either has it or not Connotation gives additional information and includes: The emotive charge EX Daddy (for father) Intensity EX to adore (for to love) Imagery EX to wade through a book “ to walk with an effort”

PRACTICE Give possible interpretation of the sentences • She failed to buy it and

PRACTICE Give possible interpretation of the sentences • She failed to buy it and felt a strange pang. • Don’t be afraid of that woman! It’s just barking! • He got up from his chair moving slowly, like an old man. • The girl went to her father and pulled his sleeve. • He was longing to begin to be generous. • She was a woman with shiny red hands and workswollen finger knuckles.

PRACTICE Give possible interpretation of the sentences • She failed to buy it and

PRACTICE Give possible interpretation of the sentences • She failed to buy it and felt a strange pang. (pain—dissatisfaction that makes her suffer) • Don’t be afraid of that woman! It’s just barking! (make loud sharp sound—-the behavior that implies that the person is frightened) • He got up from his chair moving slowly, like an old man. (to go at slow speed—was suffering or was ill) • The girl went to her father and pulled his sleeve. (to move smth towards oneself— to try to attract smb’s attention) • He was longing to begin to be generous. (to start doing— hadn’t been generous before) • She was a woman with shiny red hands and work-swollen finger knuckles. (colour— a labourer involved into physical work , constant contact with water)

The pragmatic aspect of lexical meaning the situation in which the word is uttered,

The pragmatic aspect of lexical meaning the situation in which the word is uttered, the social circumstances (formal, informal, etc. ), social relationships between the interlocutors (polite, rough, etc. ), the type and purpose of communication (poetic, official, etc. ) EX horse (neutral) steed (poetic) nag (slang) gee-gee (baby language)

PRACTICE State what image underline the meaning • I heard what she said but

PRACTICE State what image underline the meaning • I heard what she said but it didn’t sink into my mind. • You should be ashamed of yourself, crawling to the director like that. • They seized on the idea. • Bill, chasing some skirt again? • I saw him dive into a small pub. • Why are you trying to pin the blame on me? • He only married her for her dough.

PRACTICE State what image underline the meaning • I heard what she said but

PRACTICE State what image underline the meaning • I heard what she said but it didn’t sink into my mind. • (to understand completely) • You should be ashamed of yourself, crawling to the director like that. (to behave humbly in order to win favour) • They seized on the idea. (to be eager to take and use) • Bill, chasing some skirt again? (a girl) • I saw him dive into a small pub. (to enter suddenly) • Why are you trying to pin the blame on me? (to blame smb unfairly) • He only married her for her dough. (money)

Types of Morpheme Meaning lexical differential functional distributional

Types of Morpheme Meaning lexical differential functional distributional

Lexical Meaning in Morphemes root-morphemes that are homonymous to words possess lexical meaning EX.

Lexical Meaning in Morphemes root-morphemes that are homonymous to words possess lexical meaning EX. boy – boyhood – boyish affixes have lexical meaning of a more generalized character EX. –er “agent, doer of an action”

Lexical Meaning in Morphemes has denotational and connotational components EX. –ly, -like, -ish –

Lexical Meaning in Morphemes has denotational and connotational components EX. –ly, -like, -ish – denotational meaning of similiarity womanly , womanish connotational component – -ly (positive evaluation), -ish (deragotary) женственный женоподобный

Differential Meaning a semantic component that serves to distinguish one word from all others

Differential Meaning a semantic component that serves to distinguish one word from all others containing identical morphemes EX. cranberry, blackberry, gooseberry

Functional Meaning found only in derivational affixes a semantic component which serves to refer

Functional Meaning found only in derivational affixes a semantic component which serves to refer the word to the certain part of speech EX. just, adj. – justice, n.

Distributional Meaning the meaning of the order and the arrangement of morphemes making up

Distributional Meaning the meaning of the order and the arrangement of morphemes making up the word found in words containing more than one morpheme different arrangement of the same morphemes would make the word meaningless EX. sing- + -er =singer, -er + sing- = ?

Motivation denotes the relationship between the phonetic or morphemic composition and structural pattern of

Motivation denotes the relationship between the phonetic or morphemic composition and structural pattern of the word on the one hand, and its meaning on the other can be phonetical morphological semantic

Phonetical Motivation when there is a certain similarity between the sounds that make up

Phonetical Motivation when there is a certain similarity between the sounds that make up the word and those produced by animals, objects, etc. EX. sizzle, boom, splash, cuckoo

Morphological Motivation when there is a direct connection between the structure of a word

Morphological Motivation when there is a direct connection between the structure of a word and its meaning EX. finger-ring – ring-finger, A direct connection between the lexical meaning of the component morphemes EX think –rethink “thinking again”

Semantic Motivation based on co-existence of direct and figurative meanings of the same word

Semantic Motivation based on co-existence of direct and figurative meanings of the same word EX a watchdog – ”a dog kept for watching property” a watchdog – “a watchful human guardian” (semantic motivation)

 • PRACTICE

• PRACTICE

Analyze the meaning of the words. Define the type of motivation a) morphologically motivated

Analyze the meaning of the words. Define the type of motivation a) morphologically motivated b) semantically motivated • Driver • Leg • Horse • Wall • Hand-made • Careless • piggish

Analyze the meaning of the words. Define the type of motivation a) morphologically motivated

Analyze the meaning of the words. Define the type of motivation a) morphologically motivated b) semantically motivated • Driver Someone who drives a vehicle morphologically motivated • Leg The part of a piece of furniture such as a table semantically motivated • Horse A piece of equipment shaped like a box, used in gymnastics semantically motivated

 • Wall Emotions or behavior preventing people from feeling close semantically motivated •

• Wall Emotions or behavior preventing people from feeling close semantically motivated • Hand-made Made by hand, not machine morphologically motivated • Careless Not taking enough care morphologically motivated • Piggish Selfish semantically motivated

what she said but it didn’t sink in my mind “do down to the

what she said but it didn’t sink in my mind “do down to the bottom” ‘to be accepted by mind” semantic motivation I heard Why are you trying to pin the blame on me? “fasten smth somewhere using a pin” – ”to blame smb” semantic motivation I was following the man when he dived into a pub. “jump into deep water” – ”to enter into suddenly” semantic motivation You should be ashamed of yourself, crawling to the director like that “to move along on hands and knees close to the ground” – “to behave very humbly in order to win favor” semantic motivation

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