The Vocabulary of a Language as a System

Words and phrases can enter into a variety of semantic relations with each other. There may be different ways of grouping and classifying words.

Homonyms

From Greek ‘homos’ means ‘similar’ and ‘onoma’ means ‘name’. These are words which have identical sounding or spelling but have nothing in common in their meanings. For example,

cent – scent – sent

buy – by

hair – hare

one – won

pair – pear

steal – steel

wait – weight

Homonymy is the result of various processes which take place in a language. Loan words were adapted to the English standards in their pronunciation and spelling: fair (‘market’) was borrowed from Latin ‘feria’, and fair (‘light color’) from ‘fǽger’. Homonyms can be crated by shortening words: flu from ‘influenza’ is the homonym to flew (from ‘to fly). Homonyms may be formed through the changes in the meaning of the words: flower – flour, sea – see. Homonyms can be formed by means of conversion: water – to water.

A detailed classification of homonyms is given by I.Arnold in “The English Word”

Synonyms

A synonym (from Greek ‘same’ + ‘name’) is a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word. Fast and quick are synonyms. Synonyms are words that can be interchanged in some contexts but there is usually a slight but important difference. English is very rich in synonyms.

Each synonymic group comprises the most general word in it. Such word is called the synonymic dominant. In the group work, toil, drudgery, labour, grind, job, task; famous, celebrated, distinguished, eminent; fashionable, chic, dressy, elegant, modish, smart, stylish, trendy.

Synonyms are divided into different groups:

1) ideographic or denotational: the difference in the meaning concerns the notion expressed: change – alter – vary; understand – realize; to walk – to pace – to stroll – to stride.

2) Stylistic synonyms have the same denotational components but differ in connotational components of meaning: hearty – cordial; imitate – monkey; terrible – horrible – atrocious. Among stylistic synonyms we find archaic and modern (oft – often), neologisms and common words (baby-moon – artificial satellite), British and American (post – mail), euphemisms (to die – to pass away).

English scholars also distinguish between absolute synonyms (exactly the same meaning) and phraseological synonyms (used in different collocations). F.e. language – tongue (only mother tongue). There are also contextual synonyms that are similar in meanings under specific conditions (to get and to buy).

Лекция № 9.

Фразеология

Phraseology

Phraseology is a branch of linguistics that studies different types of set expressions. They exist in a language as ready-made units. The term ‘phraseological units’ was introduced by Vinogradov V.V., who distinguished free word groups from set expressions. Phraseological units are defined as a group of words whose meaning cannot be deduced by examining the meaning of their constituent parts. The essential features of phraseological units are 1) lack of motivation and 2) stability of the lexical components: nuts and bolts (колесики и винтики – основные и главные элементы), one’s cup of tea (чье-то призвание; то, что нравится), to dine with Duke Humphrey (остаться без обеда), etc. The difference between free word groups and phraseological units lies in the interrelation of lexical components: ‘blueredyellow ribbon’, but ‘blue ribbon’ – отличие, высокая награда. No substitution is possible in a phraseological unit. ‘Stretch one’s legs’ – «размять ноги, пройтись, прогуляться» (а не «протянуть ноги»). ‘See eye to eye with s.o.’ – «быть полностью согласным» (а не «видеться с глазу на глаз»). ‘Under one’s hand’ – «за собственной подписью» (а не «под рукой»). ‘Stew in one’s own juice’ – «страдать от собственной глупости» (а не «вариться в собственном соку»).

In free word groups each of its constituent preserves its denotational meaning. In the case of phraseological units the denotational meaning belongs to the word group as a single semantically inseparable unit. For example, ‘a white elephant’ – free word group; ‘white elephant’ – phraseological unit which means «обуза, обременительный подарок».

Semantic Classification of Phraseological Units

Academic Vinogradov V.V., developing Charles Bally’s study, describes phraseological units as lexical complexes which cannot be freely made up in speech, but reproduced as ready-made units. His classification is based on the motivation of the unit. According to the degree of idiomatic meaning of various groups pf phraseological units, Vinorgradov V.V. classified them into:

a) phraseological fusions – whose meaning cannot be deduced from the meanings of their constituents. For example, ‘red tape’ (бюрократизм), ‘a mare’s nest’ (заблуждение), ‘My aunt!’ (Вот те на! Вот так так!)

b) phraseological unities are expressions the meaning of which can be deduced from the meanings of their components: ‘to show one’s teeth’ (проявлять враждебность, неприязнь), ‘to stand on one’s guns’ (to refuse to change one’s opinion).

c) phraseological combinations are traditional word groups and are combined with their original meaning: ‘to break news’, ‘to meet the demands’, ‘to take a liking’.

Лекции № 10-11.

Классификация ФЕ