Английская лексикология. English Lexicology

                Н.М. Прохорова





АНГЛИЙСКАЯ ЛЕКСИКОЛОГИЯ ENGLISH LEXICOLOGY



               Учебное пособие









Москва
Издательство «ФЛИНТА» Издательство «Наука» 2012

УДК 811.111'373(075.8)
ББК 81.2Англ-3-923
      П84


Р е ц е н з е н т ы :
канд. филол. наук, доцент, зав. кафедрой общественных связей Сибирского государственного аэрокосмического университета им. М.Ф. Решетниковва Михайлов А.В.;
канд. пед. наук, доцент, директор Центра международного образования департамента ДМС СФУ Елина Е.М.





      Прохорова Н.М.
П84     Английская лексикология. English Lexicology : учеб. пособие / Н.М.
      Прохорова. - М. : ФЛИНТА : Наука, 2012. - 240 с.

      ISBN 978-5-9765-1447-8 (ФЛИНТА)
      ISBN 978-5-02-037797-4 (Наука)

           В пособии освещены основные проблемы лексикологии, теории и идеи известных лингвистов, включены практические задания, упражнения, которые могут использоваться как на практических и семинарских занятиях, так и даваться студентам в качестве домашнего задания. В конце практической части учебника даются примерные тесты для оценки уровня знаний студентов по завершении изучения курса лексикологии английского языка.
           Для студентов факультетов и отделений английского языка, переводческих отделений вузов.


УДК 811.111'373(075.8)
ББК 81.2Англ-3-923

ISBN 978-5-9765-1447-8 (ФЛИНТА)
ISBN 978-5-02-037797-4 (Наука)

© Прохорова Н.М., 2012
© Издательство «ФЛИНТА», 2012

Contents

PREFACE..........................................................6
Chapter I. LEXICOLOGY. LEXICOGRAPHY ........................................8
   Lecture I. What is Lexicology?
   The Connection between Lexicology and Other Branches of Science.8
   Lecture II. Lexicography.....................................14
      British lexicography......................................14
      American lexicography ....................................15
Chapter II. ENRICHING VOCABULARY............................................18
   Lecture III .................................................18
      Ways of enriching vocabulary..............................18
      WORD-BUILDING ............................................18
      Morpheme. Structural Types of English Words...............19
Chapter III.
WORD-BUILDING ..................................................22
   Lecture IV ..................................................22
      Conversion................................................22
      The Historical Development of Conversion..................24
      The Problem of the First Component in 'Stone Wall'........26
      Semantic Relations in Conversion .........................27
   Lecture V. Derivation........................................32
      I. Suffixes...............................................32
      II. Prefixes..............................................35
   Lecture VI. Composition......................................38
      Clas  sification of Compound Words .......................42
   Lecture VIL Shortening.......................................46
   Lecture VIII. Secondary Ways of Word-building................52
      I. Sound Interchange......................................52
      II . Stress Interchange...................................54
      III . Reduplication.......................................55
      IV.  Sound Imitation......................................56
      V.  Blending (Contamination)..............................58
      VI.  Back Formation ......................................59
      VI  I. Redistribution.....................................60
Chapter IV. PHRASEOLOGY ....................................................62
   Lecture IX. Phraseological Unit..............................62
   Lecture X. Classifications of Phraseological Units...........66

   Lecture XI.............................................................76
      Proverbs and Sayings................................................76
      Familiar Quotations ................................................77
   Lecture XII. Ways of Forming Phraseological Units......................78
Chapter V.
SEMASIOLOGY ..............................................................83
   Lecture XIII. The Historical Survey of          the Studies of Meaning.83
      Word-Meaning........................................................86
      Types of Meaning....................................................91
      Lexical Meaning and Soimd Form .....................................96
      Lexical Meaning and Notion..........................................97
      Terms Used to Denote Different Types                of Meanings ....99
   Lecture XIV. Polysemy.................................................100
   Lecture XV. Semantic Changes ...............................105
      I. Gradual Semantic Changes........................................106
      II. Momentary Semantic Changes ..........................108
      III. Secondary Semantic Changes ...................................112
   Lecture XVI. Homonyms, Synonyms, Antonyms ..................115
      I. Homonyms .......................................................115
      II . Synonyms ...........................................121
      III . Antonyms ..........................................125
Chapter VI.
BORROWINGS...............................................................129
   Lecture XVII. The Role of Borrowings in the English Vocabulary.129
      Classification of Borrowings According to the Borrowed Aspect ....130
      Classification of Borrowings According to the Degree of Assimilation....................................................133
      Classification of Borrowings According to the Language
      From Which They Are Borrowed.......................................135
      Etymological Doublets..............................................157
      International Words ...............................................158
Chapter VIL
VOCABULARY CHANGE IN MODERN ENGLISH .....................................160
   Lecture XVIII. Neologisms, Archaisms, Historisms......................160
   Lecture XIX. Basic Words of the English Language......................169
Chapter VIII.
VARIANTS AND DIALECTS OF ENGLISH.........................................176
   Lecture XX............................................................176
      American English ..................................................178
      Canadian, Australian and Indian Variants ..........................187
      Variants and Dialects of English in Great Britain..................188

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     Dialects in the USA ...............................192
PRACTICAL GUIDE.........................................194
   Exercises............................................194
   Tests................................................211
     Testi .............................................211
     Test 2.............................................217
     Test 3.............................................223
   KEYS TO THE TESTS ...................................228
RECOMMENDED READING ....................................231
DICTIONARIES ...........................................235

                PREFACE





   This book is based on lectures in English lexicology delivered by the author for many years at the faculty of foreign languages of Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University.
   As lexicology is a rapidly growing science, the task was not easy: although the lectures correspond to the programme of English lexicology the author is aware that some problems, and some material might have been presented more profoundly, but the number of lectures was limited as was the volume of the material which could be presented to students during the lectures. The book does not, therefore, deal with the whole vast field of English lexicology. Its aim is to assist students in their studies of modern English lexicology.
   References in the text of the lectures are excluded. The references are made while delivering the course of lectures if this information is necessary for the students. The list of the literature used by the author while preparing the lectures and recommended for students is, however, to be found in the final section of the book.
   This course of lectures is intended for students, postgraduate students and scholars interested in problems of lexicology of the English language. It can provide a systematic description and interpretation of many lexicological problems and theories.
   The author would like to express her thanks to Moscow lexicologist S.F. Leontyeva, who delivered some materials on lexicology at the start of the author's career as a lecturer thirty years ago. Those materials were very helpful and are used in this course of lectures.

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   The author takes the opportunity to acknowledge with gratitude the help received from Paul Tibbenham, a colleague of the author and specialist in linguistics, who edited the manuscript.
   The author would also like to express her thanks to Angela Sergun who helped with word-processing.
   The author also pays tribute to all researchers and specialists in English lexicology whose works helped her to write this course of lectures.

                         Нет ничего сильнее и бессильнее слов.
И.С. Тургенев



  Chapter I.




                LEXICOLOGY. LEXICOGRAPHY





  Lecture I.
  What is Lexicology?
  The Connection between Lexicology
  and Other Branches of Science

  Lexicology is one of linguistic sciences. As we know, linguistics is the study of languages. In linguistic courses (Introduction into Linguistics, General Linguistics, etc.) you have studied and will have studied various aspects of the problem and know that the number of definitions of the phenomenon of 'language' suggested by different scholars is great. We shall not discuss this again but let us recall at least two approaches to the understanding of 'language' that seem to be most important.
  'Language' is a system, which is very close in its nature to any mathematical system although, as we see now, it is more complicated than any known mathematical system (this understanding is met in works of many linguists: L. von Bertalaffy, N. Bourbaki, E.S. Cassirer, L. Hielmsler, N.S. Trubetskoy, O. Jespersen, B.A. Serebrennikov, A.A. Reformatski and others). 'Language' is a system of signs (oral and written) having the function of communication. The word 'system' is understood not merely as the sum total of elements but it is a set of ele£ ¥

merits associated and functioning together according to certain laws. The signs (words, word-combinations and phrases) and rules of their usage vary in different languages.
   There exists another approach to the understanding of 'language' that exposes another most important aspect of it. According to this approach 'Language' is defined as the reality of thought.
   There were many discussions of the part played by 'language' in mental processes. According to research in psychology, 'language' plays a very important part in this. From the point of view of the eminent psychologist L.S. Vigotski, people think on the basis of condensed and generalized linguistic and visual images. This shows the paramount importance of the language in the process of thinking.
   The number of languages existing in the world is not known exactly, but estimates vary from approximately 2500-3000, 250-300 of which are written and 15-20 of which have the status of international languages used in more than one country.
   English, as regards the number of those who speak it, takes first place: 320 million people are native speakers of English, 1.5 billion use it as an official language, 70% of correspondence is in English, it is one of the working languages of the UN, the OSCE, and it is the language of international aviation and navigation. More than a half of all scientific literature is published in English. 60% of radio and TV programmes are in English. In addition, it is now widely studied. There exists some distorted form of English called Pidgin English ('pidgin', as many scholars consider, is the mispronounced word 'business' by Chinese traders). Pidgin English includes English words spoken by Chinese and other foreign traders, sailors, workmen.
   Languages can be studied in various ways. General linguistics studies different and common sides of all languages. Particular linguistics studies different sides of particular languages. But we cannot study the whole language at once: as we know any science has to divide its object of studies into separate parts and then study each, later the results are combined and conclusions are made. Linguistics divides the language

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into parts: sounds, words and their parts - morphemes, wordcombinations, phrases, texts, grammatical forms and functions, etc. and studies them separately. The main three components in any language are the grammatical system, the vocabulary and the system of sounds.
   As for the grammatical system, this was studied for centuries, while lexicology and theoretical phonetics became separate sciences only in the 19th century, although we should mention the fact that the separate problems of lexicology and phonetics were also studied by ancient scholars and philosophers.
   Lexicology (Gr. 'lexis' - word, 'logos' - learning) studies the vocabulary of the language and the properties of words (and their combinations) as the main units of the language.
   Vocabulary is a system formed by the sum total of all the words and word equivalents. It is an adaptive system adjusting itself to the changing requirements and conditions of human communication and cultural surrounding.
   Word is the basic unit of a given language resulting from the association of a particular meaning with a particular group of sounds capable of a particular grammatical employment. A word therefore is simultaneously a semantic and grammatical and phonological unit.
   Lexicology exists in different forms.
   General Lexicology carries out the general study of the vocabulary, irrespective of the specific features of any particular language and it studies linguistic phenomena and properties common to all languages, i.e. the so-called language or linguistic universals.
   Special Lexicology investigates characteristic peculiarities in the vocabulary of a given language.
   Contrastive Lexicology works out the theoretical basis on which the vocabularies of different languages can be compared and described.
   Historical Lexicology or Etymology ('etymology' - Gr. 'etumon' - primary or basic word, original form of a word, literal sense of a word, 'logos' - teaching, branch of studies) studies the evolution of the vocabulary and its elements: origin,

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