1.

Lexicology as a branch of linguistics, its subject-matter and relations with

other branches of linguistics. The word as the basic object of Lexicology.

Lexicology is a branch of linguistics that studies the vocabulary of a language and the
properties of words as its main units. The term itself comes from Greek: lexis (word or phrase)
and logos (learning or knowledge), meaning "the science of the word."

Subject-Matter of Lexicology

The main focus of lexicology is:

 The word—its structure, meaning, origin, and usage.

 Word formation, including morphemes and affixes.
 Word groups and phraseological units (word equivalents).
 Etymology, semasiology (study of meaning), and onomasiology (study of naming
concepts).

Relation with Other Linguistic Disciplines

Lexicology interacts closely with:

 Lexicography (dictionary making),

 Morphology (word structure),
 Semantics (meaning),
 Phonology (sound structure of words),
 Syntax (word function in sentence),
 Pragmatics (use in communication).

It is also used in applied linguistics, especially in:

 Foreign language teaching (vocabulary development),

 Terminology standardization,
 Literary criticism.

Lexicology helps students understand vocabulary more efficiently through the analysis of word
formation and the comparison of new words with known patterns.
2. Etymological peculiarities of the vocabulary of Modern English: general
remarks. The words of native origin.

General Remarks

The English vocabulary is highly mixed in origin. This is due to long historical contact with
other languages. Roughly:

 70% of English words are borrowings,

 Only 30% are native.

This mixed character makes English unique, and understanding this helps in grasping its
historical development and vocabulary structure.

Words of Native Origin

Native words are of Anglo-Saxon origin, brought to Britain by Germanic tribes in the 5th
century. These can be divided into:

 Indo-European stock (with cognates in Greek, Latin, Slavic, etc.): father, mother,
brother.
 Common Germanic stock (shared with German, Dutch, etc.): house, name, strong.

Types of Native Words Include:

 Grammar words: auxiliary and modal verbs (shall, can), pronouns (I, he), numerals
(one, two), prepositions (in, on), conjunctions (and, but).
 Everyday vocabulary:
o Body parts: hand, eye, foot.
o Kinship terms: mother, son, girl.
o Nature/animals: snow, wind, dog, fox.
o Daily life objects: boat, knife, roof, hat.
o Qualities: hot, young, white, deep.

These native words form the core vocabulary of English and are essential for everyday
communication.
3. The foreign element in the English vocabulary. Classification of borrowings.

3. The Foreign Element in the English Vocabulary. Classification of

Borrowings

English vocabulary is highly mixed, with approximately 70% of its words being borrowings
from other languages. These were adopted due to invasions, trade, religion, science, and
cultural exchanges.

Classification of Borrowings

Borrowings are classified:

1. By source language:

 Celtic
 Latin
 Greek
 French
 Scandinavian
 Others (e.g. Italian, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, etc.)

2. By the way they entered English:

 Oral borrowing (direct contact with speakers)

 Written borrowing (through literature, scholarly or religious texts)
4. Latin borrowings.

1. Early Latin Loans (1st century B.C.)

During the Roman Empire, peaceful contact between Romans and Germanic tribes led to the
borrowing of everyday terms:

 Food and drink: butter, cheese, cherry, pear, plum, pea, beet, pepper, wine
 Household items and buildings: cup, kitchen, mill, port, street, villa, wall
 Other common nouns: arena, belt, castle, cell, cereal, colony, mule

2. Christianization of England (7th century A.D.)

Latin was the language of the Church, and many religious and cultural terms entered English:

 altar, bishop, candle, cross, devil, feast, nun, pagan, rite, temple
 Also, terms for goods and materials: chalk, linen, mantle, pearl, tile
 Plants: laurel, lily, palm, cucumber, parsley
 Animals: camel, lion, leopard, elephant, tiger
 Education and books: accent, history, scholar, grammar, note

3. Renaissance Borrowings (12th–16th centuries)

Latin borrowings entered English primarily through French or scholarly writing:

 Scientific/academic terms: nucleus, radius, formula, stimulus, species

 Adjectives: evident, junior, senior, prior
 Verbs: constitute, contribute, irritate, execute
 Geographical terms: equator, latitude, meridian
 Abbreviations: e.g., i.e., a.m., etc., cf.
5. Greek borrowings.

Greek words entered English in two main waves:

1. Early Borrowings (via Latin)

These words came through Latin and are often bookish or academic:

 abyss, chaos, character, chorus, diploma, idea, orphan, system, thesis

2. The Renaissance Period (Revival of Learning)

Borrowings mainly in scientific and scholarly fields:

 Medicine: adenoids, psychiatry, pediatrics

 Literature and Art: poem, tragedy, epilogue, rhythm
 Linguistics: synonym, metaphor, hyperbole
 Philosophy/Politics: democracy, basis, category
 Sciences: hypotenuse, pneumatic, hydraulic

Borrowings via French:

 academy, anecdote, energy, logic, planet, music, theatre

Proper names from Greek:

 Male: Alexander, Peter, Gregory

 Female: Barbara, Lydia, Sophia
6. French borrowings.

The Norman Conquest (1066) led to a massive influx of French vocabulary into English. These
words came into all areas of life:

Key Categories:

 Military: battle, arms, navy, sergeant, traitor

 Law: accuse, arrest, judge, verdict, prison
 Food/Cookery: dinner, jelly, roast, sausage, supper
 Politics: policy, government, parliament, sovereign
 Culture/Literature: novelist, publisher, editor
 Titles/Professions: duke, duchess, tailor, butcher
 Plants: cabbage, onion, lettuce
 Family Terms: uncle, aunt, niece, nephew
 Art and Architecture: colour, image, palace, tower
 Pleasure/Lifestyle: comfort, joy, flower

Phonetic Indicators of Early vs. Late Borrowings:

 Early borrowings are naturalized:

o Stress shifted to the first syllable: capital, mercy
o Long [i:] changed to [ai]: fine, line
o [u:] became [au]: spouse
 Late borrowings retain French features:
o Final stress: finance, supreme
o French sounds:
 ch as [ʃ]: chic, machine
 g as [ʒ]: massage, regime
 ou as [u]: soup
 eau as [əu]: château
 Silent final consonants: coup, debut

French Affixes in English:

 Prefixes: dis-, en-

 Suffixes: -ance, -ence, -ment, -ess, -et, -age
(e.g., agreement, princess, courage)
7. The Scandinavian element in the English vocabulary.

Scandinavian (Norse) borrowings entered English primarily during and after the Danish
invasions (9th–11th centuries).

Nature of Borrowings:

These came from a related Germanic language, so many words were easily adopted. Most are
everyday, practical terms.

Examples:

 Nouns: bag, cake, dirt, egg, husband, sky, skirt, window

 Adjectives: big, flat, happy, ill, shy, ugly, wrong
 Verbs: call, get, give, take, kick, want, smile

Pronouns and Function Words:

 Rare but important borrowings: they, them, their, both, till, though

Place Names:

 Many end in -by (from Old Norse byr = village): Derby, Grimsby

Phonetic Clues:

 Words beginning with sk-: sky, skirt, skill

 Words with hard k before e/i: kid, kettle
8. Criteria of borrowing. Assimilation of borrowings.

Criteria of Borrowing (How to Identify a Borrowed Word):

1. Unusual sound/spelling: e.g. genre, ballet

2. Uncommon structure: e.g. plural data vs. native dogs
3. Conceptual origin: exotic or foreign objects/ideas: sushi, veranda

Assimilation of Borrowings

Assimilation is the process by which a borrowed word becomes part of English. It occurs in
several dimensions:

1. Phonetic Assimilation

 Adjusting pronunciation to English norms:

e.g. capital (from French capitale)

2. Grammatical Assimilation

 Taking English inflections:

e.g. formulas (from Latin formulae)

3. Lexical Assimilation

 Becoming part of English word-building:

e.g. construct → construction, reconstruct

4. Orthographic Assimilation

 Spelling adapts to English norms:

e.g. program (vs. BrE programme)
9. Morpheme, its definition and comparison with word.

Morpheme is the smallest indivisible two-facet unit of language, possessing both sound-form
and meaning. It cannot be further divided into smaller meaningful units. The term comes from
Greek: morphē meaning ‘form’ and -eme, a suffix denoting the smallest distinctive unit (cf.
phoneme, lexeme).

For example, in the word reader, we identify two morphemes: read- and -er. The recurrence of -
er in similar words (e.g., writer, worker) and read- in reading, read, etc., indicates they are
separate morphemes.

Word, on the other hand, is a principal unit of language—the largest morphological and
smallest syntactic unit. A word is autonomous, able to function independently in speech or
writing. Morphemes are not autonomous and function only as parts of words. While some
words may contain only a single morpheme (e.g., book), a morpheme alone cannot function as a
sentence unless it forms an independent word.

Comparison:
Feature Morpheme Word

Autonomy Not autonomous Autonomous

Function Part of a word Independent language unit

Structure Single unit of form + meaning May consist of one or more morphemes

Example -er, read- reader, writer

10. Morphemic analysis of words. Procedure of Immediate Constituents analysis.

Morphemic analysis involves identifying the constituent morphemes of a word and

determining their types and structure. The process typically follows three main steps:

1. Segmentation of words into morphemes.

2. Identification of morphs (the physical representations of morphemes).
3. Classification of morphemes.

Procedure of IC Analysis:

The Immediate and Ultimate Constituents (IC/UC) method, proposed by L. Bloomfield and
developed further by E.O. Nida, is used.

 It is based on a binary principle: at each stage, the word is broken into two components
(ICs).
 Each IC is further broken down until we reach Ultimate Constituents (UCs)—
morphemes that can’t be divided further.

Example: Friendliness

 First split: friendly + -ness (both ICs)

 -ness is a UC (can’t be divided)
 Then: friendly → friend- + -ly (both UCs)

IC analysis helps identify the structure of the word but does not explain the process of word
formation—that is the function of derivational analysis.
11. Types of morphemic segmentability of words.

Words in English can be segmentable or non-segmentable, depending on whether they can be

split into morphemes.

A. Segmentable Words:

 Complete segmentability: Morphemes are easily identified and recur in other words.
o Example: agreement → agree + -ment
 Conditional segmentability: Some morphemes seem identifiable by recurrence but don’t
have clear meaning outside the specific word.
o Example: retain, detain, receive — re-, de- here are pseudo-morphemes because
they don’t match the usual meaning of prefixes.
 Defective segmentability: The word contains unique morphemes that don’t appear
elsewhere.
o Example: hamlet → ham- (unique morpheme) + -let. Ham- doesn't exist as a
meaningful unit in this context.

B. Non-Segmentable Words:

 Cannot be divided into meaningful morphemes.

o Example: girl, husband, house.
12. Identification of morphs. Classification of morphemes.

A. Identification of Morphs

A morph is the actual phonological form of a morpheme. The identification of morphs is based
on:

 Semantic similarity: They should have the same meaning.

 Phonetic similarity: Although shapes may vary slightly, they represent the same
morpheme.

If a morpheme appears in different forms (e.g., please, pleasant, pleasure), these forms are
called allomorphs.

 Allomorphs are phonological variants of the same morpheme.

 They are in complementary distribution—they don’t appear in the same environment.

Examples of allomorphs:

 Root allomorphs: please [pliːz], pleasant [plez], pleasure [pleʒ]

 Affix allomorphs: in- as il- (illogical), im- (impossible), ir- (irregular)

If two forms occur in the same environment and signal different meanings, they are different
morphemes, not allomorphs.

B. Classification of Morphemes

1. Semantically:

 Root morphemes: Core lexical meaning. E.g., teach, theor, build.

 Affixational (non-root) morphemes:
o Inflectional: Indicate grammatical relationships (e.g., -s, -ed).
o Derivational (Affixes): Create new words or word forms (e.g., un-, -ness, -er).

2. Structurally:

 Free morphemes: Can stand alone (e.g., friend, book).

 Bound morphemes: Must be attached to others (e.g., -ness, in-, -ize).
 Semi-bound (semi-free): Can function both freely and bound.
o E.g., half, well → half-baked, well-known (bound use) vs. half an hour, sleep well
(free use).
13. Derivational analysis of words.

Derivational analysis focuses on the patterns and rules of word formation and how new
words are created. It examines:

 Correlations between word families.

 The structure and semantic relationships within words.
 The derivational base and derivational affixes.

Basic Unit: The Stem

 A stem is the part of a word that remains unchanged across its inflected forms.
 Ask, asks, asked, asking → stem: ask-
 Singer, singers’ → stem: singer-

Derivative Structure:

The nature and arrangement of the morphemes (ICs) in a word.

Main Types of Words Based on Derivative Structure:

1. Simple Words (Root Words):

o Only a root morpheme, no affixes.
o E.g., go, job, child
2. Derived Words (Affixational Derivatives):
o Root + one or more affixes.
o E.g., joyful, disagree, brightness
3. Compound Words (Compounds):
o Two or more stems combined.
o E.g., snow-white, fruit-tree, forget-me-not
4. Derivational Compounds:
o Phrase components joined via both compounding and affixation.
o E.g., long-legged, bare-headed

Derivational analysis is crucial for understanding how English words evolve and how word-
formation processes contribute to vocabulary expansion.
14. Word-formation, its definition. Types and ways of forming new words.

Definition:
Word-formation is the process by which new words are created in a language. It involves
combining existing morphemes or altering word structure to produce new lexical units.

Main Types and Ways:

1. Affixation – adding prefixes or suffixes (e.g., unhappy, teacher).

2. Compounding – combining two or more stems/roots (e.g., blackboard, snowman).
3. Conversion – changing the word class without changing the form (e.g., to email from
email).
4. Shortening – reducing a word (e.g., fridge from refrigerator).
5. Minor types – such as blending (brunch), back-formation (editor → edit), sound
interchange (sing/sang), and stress shift (record noun → record verb).
15. Prefixation. Classification of prefixes.

Prefixation:
A type of affixation where a prefix is added before the root or stem to form a new word.

Classification (by meaning/function):

1. Negative prefixes: un- (unhappy), in- (invisible), dis- (dislike).

2. Reversative: un- (unwrap), de- (devalue).
3. Degree/intensity: over- (overwork), super- (superman), under- (underestimate).
4. Orientation/location: inter- (interstate), sub- (subway), pre- (prewar), post-
(postgraduate).
5. Number: bi- (bilingual), mono- (monologue), multi- (multinational).
6. Time/order: re- (rebuild), fore- (foresee), pre- (prepay).
7. Pejorative: mis- (mislead), pseudo- (pseudoscience).
16. Suffixation. Classification of suffixes.

Suffixation:
Adding a suffix to the end of a root or stem to create a new word, often changing the word class.

Classification:

1. Noun-forming suffixes:
o -er (worker), -ist (pianist), -ness (kindness), -tion (action).
2. Adjective-forming suffixes:
o -able (readable), -ful (helpful), -less (hopeless), -ish (childish).
3. Verb-forming suffixes:
o -ize (modernize), -en (strengthen), -ify (beautify).
4. Adverb-forming suffixes:
o -ly (quickly), -ward(s) (homeward), -wise (clockwise).

Suffixes also differ by:

 Productivity (how widely they are used to form new words).

 Origin (native or borrowed from Latin, Greek, etc.).
17. Compounding as a way of forming new words. The criteria of compounds.

Compounding:
A process of combining two or more stems to form one new word (e.g., bookcase, sunflower).

Criteria for Compound Words:

1. Phonological: Stress pattern (typically first element stressed: BLACKboard).

2. Graphic: Written as one word (blackboard), hyphenated (mother-in-law), or as separate
words (swimming pool).
3. Semantic: Compound has a single concept different from its parts (blackboard ≠ black +
board literally).
4. Structural: Functions as a single unit, can take inflections (postmen, washing-machines).
18. Classification of compounds.

By Structure:

1. Simple compounds: toothbrush, sunrise.

2. Derivational compounds: kind-hearted, old-fashioned.
3. Compound words with linking elements: speed-o-meter, editor-in-chief.

By Part of Speech:

 Noun compounds: football, bedroom.

 Adjective compounds: blue-eyed, well-known.
 Verb compounds (less common): to spoon-feed, to dry-clean.

By Semantic Relations:

1. Coordinative: both parts are equal (bittersweet).

2. Subordinative: one part modifies the other (bookshelf – a shelf for books).
3. Predicative: subject-predicate relationship (killjoy, scarecrow).
19. Conversion as a way of forming new words. Types of semantic relations in
conversion.

Conversion:
Forming a new word by changing its grammatical class (part of speech) without altering its
form.

Examples:

 Noun → Verb: to hammer, to Google.

 Verb → Noun: a run, a reply.
 Adjective → Verb: to empty.

Types of Semantic Relations:

1. Instrumental: hammer (n) → to hammer (v).

2. Agentive: to cheat (v) → a cheat (n) (person who cheats).
3. Resultative: to build (v) → a build (n) (structure).
4. Actional: to run (v) → a run (n) (the action of running).
20. Shortening as a way of forming new words. Types of shortenings.

Shortening (Clipping):
Creating a new word by cutting off part of the original word.

Types:

1. Final clipping: advertisement → ad, examination → exam.

2. Initial clipping: helicopter → copter, telephone → phone.
3. Medial clipping: influenza → flu.
4. Complex clipping: cablegram → cable, motorcade → cade.

Other Types:

 Acronyms: pronounced as words (NATO, UNESCO).

 Initialisms: pronounced as letters (BBC, USA).
 Blends (part shortening + combining): smoke + fog → smog.
21. Minor ways of replenishing the vocabulary of Modern English: blending,
back-formatiom, sound-interchange, change of stress.

 Blending:
Combining parts of two (or more) words to form a new one.

 Brunch (breakfast + lunch)

 Motel (motor + hotel)

 Back-Formation:
Forming a shorter word by removing a supposed affix from a longer word.

 Editor → edit
 Television → televise

 Sound Interchange (Ablaut):

Changing a vowel sound in the root to indicate a grammatical or lexical change.

 Sing – Sang – Sung

 Drive – Drove – Driven

 Change of Stress:
Stress shift causes a change in word class (common in noun/verb pairs).

 'record (noun) → re'cord (verb)

 'permit (noun) → per'mit (verb)
22. Semasiology. Different approaches to meaning.

What is Semasiology?

Semasiology is a branch of lexicology that studies word meaning.

The term comes from Greek semasia meaning “signification.”

Main Areas of Semasiology:

 Semantic development of words (how meanings change over time).

 Classification of types of lexical meaning.
 Polysemy (words having multiple meanings).
 The internal structure of word meaning.
 Semantic relationships (e.g., synonyms, antonyms, terminology systems).

Historical Background:

 Developed as a distinct field in the 1830s (Karl Reisig).

 Michel Bréal’s “Essai de sémantique” (1897) was a landmark in semasiological studies.
 Studied further by many linguists: Trench, Murray, Skeat, Lyons, Apresian, Smirnitsky,
etc.

Approaches to Meaning

1. Referential Approach

Meaning is based on the connection between word, concept, and referent (the object in
reality).

Components:

 Sound-form (e.g., the word “dog”).

 Concept (mental image or idea of a dog).
 Referent (actual animal in the real world).

The Ogden-Richards Triangle:

 Shows that the sound-form relates to the referent indirectly through the concept.

2. Functional Approach

 Studies meaning through how a word functions in language.

 Meaning is revealed in the context (especially in syntactic structures).

Example:

 “treat” can mean:

1. Consider: He treated it as a joke.
2. Be about: The book treats of poetry.
3. Offer: They treated me to sweets.
4. Behave: He treats his son cruelly.
✅ Note: Functional and referential approaches are complementary.
23. Types of meaning.

A word’s meaning is not homogeneous; it consists of several components. The structure of a

word’s meaning is called its semantic structure.

Main Types:

1. Grammatical Meaning:
o Found in word forms (e.g., tense, number, case).
o Examples:
girls, books = plural
mother’s, girl’s = possessive/case
worked, thought = past tense
2. Lexical Meaning:
o The constant meaning that remains across all grammatical forms.
o Includes conceptual content of a word.

Components of Lexical Meaning:

 Denotational Meaning:
o The basic, dictionary meaning.
o Refers to the actual object or concept.
o Present in every word.
o E.g., rose = a type of flower.
 Connotational Meaning:
o Additional, contextual or emotional meaning.
o Varies by speaker, situation, or tone.

Types of Connotation:

1. Stylistic – linked to social context (slay vs kill).

2. Emotional – speaker’s feelings (mummy vs mother).
3. Evaluative – judgmental tone (clique vs group).
4. Expressive/Intensifying – degree of intensity (adore vs like).

✅ Important: Connotation is optional; denotation is essential.

Implicational Meaning:

 The implied associations beyond direct meaning.

 Example: wolf – denotative = animal; implicational = cruel, greedy person.
24. Motivation of meaning.

Motivation = the relationship between a word’s form and its meaning.

Types of Motivation:

1. Phonetical Motivation:
o Based on sound imitation (onomatopoeia).
o Examples: buzz, crack, cuckoo, splash.
2. Morphological Motivation:
o Based on the structure and morphemes of a word.
o Examples:
finger-ring vs ring-finger – same morphemes, different order = different meaning.
unhappiness = un- + happy + -ness
3. Semantic Motivation:
o Based on figurative or transferred meaning.
o Examples:
mouth – literal = part of the face; figurative = mouth of a river.

✅ Summary Chart
Aspect Definition Examples

Semasiology Study of word meaning Polysemy, lexical structure

Referential Approach Word ⇄ Concept ⇄ Referent "Tree" → concept of a tree → actual tree

Functional Approach Meaning in syntactic context Treat: behave / discuss / offer

Grammatical Meaning Shared grammatical categories Books, girls (plural)

Lexical Meaning Core, dictionary meaning Love = deep affection

Denotation Basic meaning Star = celestial object

Connotation Emotional/stylistic overlay Mum vs mother

Implicational Meaning Implied characteristics Fox = clever

Phonetical Motivation Sound imitates meaning Bang, sizzle

Morphological Motivation Meaning from word parts Postman = post + man

Semantic Motivation Figurative transfer Mouth of a cave

25. Semantic change of meaning, its causes.

Semantic change means that the meaning of a word changes over time. A word can gain a new
meaning, lose its old one, or shift in how it's used.

Causes of Semantic Change:

📌 1. Extra-linguistic causes (outside the language):

These happen because of changes in society, science, technology, or daily life.

 Example:
o The word "earth" in Old English meant just "soil".
Now it also means "the planet we live on", because science advanced.

📌 2. Linguistic causes (inside the language):

These come from the way words are used together in speech or writing.

 Example:
o The word "starve" originally meant "to die".
People used to say "die of hunger", so later "starve" came to mean only "die of
hunger".
26. Transfer of meaning: metaphor.

A metaphor is when a word gets a new meaning because it’s used in a similar situation or for
something that looks or acts similarly.

🧠 Think of it like comparing two things.

Examples of Metaphor:

 Shape/Position:
o Foot of the mountain (not a real foot, but the bottom part)
o Mouth of a river (like the mouth of a person – an opening)
 Function:
o Hand of a clock (points like a real hand)
o Key to a mystery (opens something like a real key)
 Color:
o White lie (a harmless lie)
o Black mood (a very bad mood)
 Feeling/Temperature:
o Cold voice, warm smile, hot news

Special Metaphors:

🔸 Antonomasia – a person’s name becomes a common word:

 Don Juan = a womanizer

 Adonis = a very handsome man

🔸 Zoosemy – animal names used for people:

 Donkey = stupid person

 Fox = clever person
 Dove = peaceful person

🔸 Dead metaphors – we no longer notice they are metaphors:

 To ponder = to think (originally meant “to weigh”)

27. Transfer of meaning: metonymy.

Metonymy is when a word changes meaning because it's closely related to something else – not
similar, just connected.

🧠 Think: “close connection,” not comparison.

Examples of Metonymy:

 Place for people or institution:

o The White House = the U.S. President
o Wall Street = financial businesses
o Fleet Street = newspaper industry
 Object for person:
o The pen is mightier than the sword
→ pen = writers, sword = soldiers
 Part for whole (Synecdoche):
o All hands on deck! → hands = sailors
o Wheels = a car
 Symbolic:
o The crown = monarchy
o The cradle to the grave = whole life
 Names becoming things:
o Wellington (boots) = from Duke of Wellington
o Volt, Watt, Ohm = named after scientists
o Champagne, China, Tweed = named after places
28. Results of semantic change.

This means what kind of change happened to the word’s meaning.

🔻 A. Denotational Change (actual meaning)

1. Narrowing – meaning becomes more specific

o Girl: used to mean any young child → now only female
o Deer: used to mean any wild animal → now a specific animal
2. Widening – meaning becomes broader
o Arrive: used to mean "reach the shore" → now "reach anywhere"
o Picture: used to mean "painting" → now "any image"

🔺 B. Connotational Change (emotional or social value)

3. Degradation (Pejoration) – meaning becomes more negative

o Silly: used to mean "happy" → now "foolish"
o Boor: used to mean "farmer" → now "rude person"
4. Elevation (Amelioration) – meaning becomes more positive
o Fame: used to mean "rumor" → now "being well-known"
o Adore: used to mean "greet" → now "love deeply"

📚 Summary Table:
Type Example Old Meaning New Meaning

Metaphor Foot of the mountain Human foot Bottom of a mountain

Metonymy The crown Actual crown Monarchy

Narrowing Girl Any child Female child

Widening Picture Painting Any image

Degradation Silly Happy Foolish

Elevation Adore To greet To love deeply

29. Polysemy.Semantic structure of polysemantic words.

Polysemy refers to the ability of a word to have multiple meanings. The term itself means “many
meanings.” It is a semantic universal, meaning that polysemy exists in all languages.
Importantly, polysemy exists in language, not speech — in speech we deal with contextual
meanings, while polysemy is a feature of the word’s semantic structure in the language
system.

The semantic structure of a polysemantic word includes all of its lexico-semantic variants
(LSVs) — i.e., all the different meanings the word can take. These meanings are interconnected
and often develop over time (diachronically), or coexist at a specific moment in language
history (synchronically).

There are two approaches to studying polysemy:

 Diachronic approach looks at how meanings develop over time, e.g., the word "table"
originally meant a flat board and later acquired other meanings like furniture or data
arrangement.
 Synchronic approach looks at how multiple meanings coexist in the present, and
identifies which is the central (most common) and which are peripheral meanings.

Two processes describe how polysemy develops:

 Radiation: new meanings develop directly from the central meaning (e.g., head → top
part of body → leader → top of a flower).
 Concatenation: meanings develop step-by-step like links in a chain, which can lead to
meanings that are distant from the original (e.g., style → writing tool → writing manner
→ general manner).
30. Homonymy. Sources of homonymy. Classification of homonyms.

30. Homonymy. Sources of homonymy. Classification of homonyms.

Homonyms are words that sound the same and/or are spelled the same but have different
meanings. Unlike polysemy, where meanings are related, homonyms have unrelated
meanings.

Types of Homonyms (by Walter Skeat):

1. Absolute (full) homonyms – same spelling and pronunciation, different meanings

e.g., bear (animal) vs. bear (to carry)
2. Homographs – same spelling, different pronunciation and meaning
e.g., bow (for archery) vs. bow (to bend)
3. Homophones – same pronunciation, different spelling and meaning
e.g., son vs. sun; pair vs. pear

Homonyms can belong to different parts of speech, and some even have identical paradigms
(e.g., noun vs. verb forms).

Sources of Homonymy:

1. Diverging development of a polysemantic word

– One word gains so many different meanings over time that some become unrelated,
and homonymy appears.
e.g., bar (metal rod) → bar (counter in pub) → bar (legal profession)
2. Converging sound development
– Two originally different words become phonetically identical over time.
e.g., knight and night (originally had different spellings/pronunciations in Old English)
3. Borrowings
– Words from different languages may coincide in sound with native words.
e.g., race (ethnic group, from French) vs. race (running, from Old Norse)
4. Shortenings
– Short forms can duplicate existing words.
e.g., fan (from fanatic) vs. fan (for cooling)
31. Vocabulary as a system. Synonymy. Synonymic dominant. Sources of
synonymy.

Vocabulary as a system

Vocabulary is not just a random collection of words but a structured system consisting of sub-
systems whose members share certain common features distinguishing them from others. This
systemic organization enables linguists to study meaning relations inside vocabulary, such as
paradigmatic relations (words substitutable in context), associative fields, lexical fields, and
word families. These relationships highlight how words relate to one another through meaning,
form, and use.

Synonymy

Synonyms are words belonging to the same part of speech that share one or more identical or
nearly identical denotational meanings (basic meaning) and can be interchangeable in some
contexts without significantly altering the denotative meaning. However, synonyms differ in
aspects such as:

 Morphemic composition (word structure)

 Phonemic shape (sound)
 Shades of meaning (nuances)
 Connotations (emotional or cultural associations)
 Style (formal, informal, poetic, slang, etc.)
 Valency (grammatical usage)
 Idiomatic use

Synonymic dominant

A synonymic dominant is the synonym in a group that expresses the common notion shared by
all synonyms in the most general and basic way. It is usually a basic vocabulary word
characterized by:

 High frequency of use

 Broad combinability (can be used in many collocations)
 Broad, general meaning without added connotations

Example: In the synonymic series to get, to obtain, to acquire, to gain, to win, to earn, the verb
to get acts as the synonymic dominant because it can represent the general idea expressed by the
whole group.

Sources of synonymy

Synonymy arises from various linguistic and cultural processes:

 Native language origin: synonyms from within the language itself (fast – speedy –
swift)
 Dialectal adoption: regional variants become synonyms (mother – minny in Scots)
 Foreign borrowings: loanwords coexist as synonyms with native words (to finish from
French alongside to end)
 Figurative and non-literal use: creative use in poetic or colloquial contexts (dreamer –
stargazer)
 Stylistic euphemisms and vulgarisms: different stylistic layers producing synonymy (to
lie – to distort facts)
 Semantic shifts and new word formations: new synonyms arising through compounds
or idiomatic phrases (to choose – to pick up)
 Shortening or clipping: formal and informal forms coexisting (doctor – doc)
32. Classification of synonyms.

Synonyms are classified mainly into four types, according to K. T. Barantsev:

1) Complete or absolute synonyms

 These synonyms can replace each other in any context without altering the denotative or
emotional meaning.
 Usually limited to terminology or special vocabularies (scientific, medical, technical).
 Examples:
o Linguistics: noun – substantive
o Medicine: epidermis – scarf-skin
o Geographical: lorry (UK) – truck (US)

2) Ideographic synonyms

 Denote different shades or degrees of a meaning.

 Interchangeable only in some contexts.
 Subdivided by degree of similarity:
o Very close: horrible – terrible
o Considerably different: journey (land travel), voyage (sea or air)
o Differ in scope or volume: illness (general) – disease (specific disorder)
o Differ in connotation or manner: shake, tremble, shudder, shiver, wobble, rattle,
vibrate — all related but with nuanced distinctions.
o Differ in degree/intensity: to alarm (mild fear), to terrify (extreme fear)
o Differ by time/duration: look – glance – glimpse (different speeds of looking)

3) Stylistic synonyms

 Differ mainly in emotional value and stylistic sphere rather than meaning.
 Often poetic, formal, or archaic alternatives to neutral words.
 Examples:
o maid (poetic) for girl
o quit (formal) for leave
o haply (archaic) for perhaps

4) Phraseological synonyms

 Differ in distribution (morphological, syntactic, lexical).

 Differences include:
o Morphological valency: many vs much (different usage)
o Syntactic usage: to begin (neutral, general) vs to commence (formal, limited use)
o Lexical collocations: to win a war vs to gain a victory (different collocational
restrictions)
33. Vocabulary as a system. Antonymy. Classification of antonyms.

Antonymy in vocabulary

Antonyms are pairs (or sets) of words from the same part of speech that have contrary or
contradictory denotative meanings. They are often associated and used together to express
opposite concepts.

Examples: love – hate, early – late, day – night

Classification of antonyms (V. N. Komissarov)

1. Absolute (root) antonyms

o Have different roots.
o Express contrary notions that exclude each other.
o Examples: late – early, ugly – beautiful, day – night
2. Derivational antonyms
o Have the same root but different affixes (prefixes or suffixes).
o Often involve negative prefixes: un-, in-, dis-, non-, etc.
o Express contradictory notions, one excludes the other.
o Examples: to please – to displease, successful – unsuccessful

Characteristics of antonyms:

 They usually do not differ in style or emotional coloring.

 They have nearly identical distribution (i.e., occur in similar contexts).
 There are paradigmatic antonyms that show regular semantic polarity: thick layer – thin
layer, fat man – thin man.
34. Meaning relations in paradigmatics: associative fields, lexical fields, word
families

Meaning Relations in Paradigmatics

Paradigmatic relations involve the way words relate to other words that can substitute for them in
the same context, forming a network of semantic or formal associations.

Three main types:

1) Associative Fields

 Every word is connected to a network of associations based on:

o Semantic similarity (meaning)
o Formal similarity (form, e.g., shared stem or suffix)
o Both form and meaning
 Example (word: lecturer):
o Connects to verb forms lectured, lecturing by formal and semantic similarity
o Connects to semantically related words teacher, tutor
o Connects to other agent nouns gardener, labourer by suffix -er
o Connects to words with accidental similarity like clever, quicker
 Such associations are infinite and extend in multiple directions.

2) Lexical Fields (Semantic Fields)

 Introduced by Jost Trier (1931).

 Defined as a named area of meaning where lexemes interrelate and define each other.
 Words acquire meaning through their relation to other words in the field.
 Meaning change in one word affects the entire field.
 The vocabulary is seen as a dynamic, integrated system.
 Examples:
o Kinship terms: father, mother, uncle, cousin etc.
o Colour terms: red, blue, green, yellow
o Sub-fields exist (e.g., red as a general lexeme contains scarlet, crimson as sub-
lexemes).

3) Word Families

 Words grouped by morphological relations:

o Base form
o Inflected forms
o Derived forms (prefixes, suffixes)
 Example:
o Base: state
o Inflections: states, stated, stating
o Derivations: stateable, statement, misstate
 Bauer and Nation (1993) proposed seven levels of word families based on:
o Frequency and productivity of affixes
o Predictability of meaning
o Regularity of spelling and function
 o Classical roots and affixes (Latin, Greek)
 Example with develop:
o Level 2: develop, develops, developed
o Level 3: developable, undevelopable, developer
o Level 4: development, developmental
o etc.
35. Stylistic classification of the English vocabulary. Standard English
vocabulary.

Stylistic Layers:

English vocabulary is divided into three main stylistic layers:

 Literary layer
 Neutral layer
 Colloquial layer

Literary Vocabulary includes:

1. Common literary words – words mainly used in formal writing and speech.
2. Terms (learned words) – specialized vocabulary of sciences, arts, politics, etc.
3. Poetic words – words traditionally used in poetry with elevated or abstract meanings.
4. Archaisms – obsolete words still known but replaced by modern synonyms.
5. Barbarisms and foreign words – borrowings not fully assimilated, often Latin, Greek,
or French.
6. Literary coinages (including nonce-words) – newly created words or meanings, often
found first in literature.

Colloquial Vocabulary includes:

1. Common colloquial words – everyday informal words.

2. Slang – highly informal, often vulgar or group-specific language.
3. Jargonisms – secret or specialized language within social or professional groups.
4. Professional words (professionalisms) – specialized words related to particular trades
or occupations.
5. Dialectal words – words specific to certain localities or regions.
6. Vulgar words (vulgarisms) – rude or obscene language.
7. Colloquial coinages – newly formed informal words, often ephemeral.

Standard English Vocabulary consists of:

 Stylistically neutral words – the core of English vocabulary, used in both formal and
informal contexts. Mostly native or old borrowings fully assimilated.
 Common literary words – formal words preferred in writing and polished speech.
 Common colloquial words – informal but widely recognized and used across contexts.

Stylistic synonyms illustrate differences in emotional tone or usage (e.g., infant – child – kid;
retire – go away – get out).
36. Special literary vocabulary: terms, poetic words, archaisms.

Terms:

 Words expressing scientific, technical, or artistic concepts.

 Stylistically neutral, exact, usually monosemantic (one meaning).
 Never used figuratively; highly systematized.
 Often international (e.g., operation, assimilation).

Poetic Words:

 Traditionally used only in poetry, with lofty, abstract connotations.

 Create an elevated poetic atmosphere.
 Examples: array (clothes), behold (see), fair (beautiful), anon (soon), thee (you).
 Serve to maintain a special poetic style, even though English lacks a fixed “poetic style.”

Archaisms:

 Obsolete words replaced by modern synonyms but still recognized.

 Divided into lexical (e.g., woe – sorrow) and grammatical archaisms (e.g., thou, thee,
verb endings -est, -eth).
 Used for stylistic effect, often to create an old-fashioned or formal tone.
37. Special literary vocabulary: barbarisms and foreign words, neologisms,
nonce-words

Barbarisms and Foreign Words:

 Borrowings perceived as foreign and not fully assimilated.

 Often Latin, Greek, or French origin.
 Used for stylistic purposes, often to add sophistication or precision.
 Examples: bon mot (witty saying), de facto (in fact), brochure.

Neologisms:

 New words or new meanings still felt as novel.

 Can be:
1. Semantic neologisms (new meanings for existing words).
2. Transnomination (new words replacing old ones).
3. Proper neologisms (completely new words).
 Often formed by derivation, composition, or borrowing.
 Influenced by modern technology (e.g., cyberthief, data spill).

Nonce-Words:

 Words created for one specific occasion.

 Rarely become permanent but demonstrate language creativity.
 Example: Steinbeck’s humorous coinages like wived, mother-in-lawed.
38. Special colloquial vocabulary: slang, jargonisms.

Slang:

 Informal, often vulgar language used by particular groups.

 Expressive, often ironic or contemptuous.
 Characterized by fresh, unconventional names for common things.
 Examples: beans (money), nut (head), boozy (drunk).
 Distinguished from standard literary vocabulary.

Jargonisms:

 Secret or coded language within social groups.

 Old words with new, special meanings incomprehensible to outsiders.
 Serve as a “code within a code.”
 Examples: grease (money), loaf (head).
 Social rather than regional, e.g., thieves’ cant, military jargon.
39. Special colloquial vocabulary: professional words, dialectal words, vulgar
words.

Professionalisms:

 Words used in specific trades or professions.

 Designate work-related tools, processes, or concepts.
 Related to but distinct from technical terms.
 Examples: tin-fish (submarine), block-buster (bomb), piper (pastry decorator).

Dialectal Words:

 Local or regional words outside standard literary English.

 Sometimes enter colloquial usage broadly.
 Examples: lass (girl), lad (boy), daft (silly) – from Scottish or northern dialects.
 Used in literature for local color or characterization.

Vulgarisms:

 Abusive, obscene, or taboo words.

 Include swear words and “four-letter words.”
 Express strong emotions like anger or annoyance.
 Not used in formal styles; appear only in emotive prose or direct speech.
 Examples: damn, bloody, goddam.

Colloquial Coinages:

 Informal, spontaneous new words.

 Often fleeting, many never enter dictionaries.
 Usually created by semantic shifts rather than affixes.
 Unlike literary nonce-words, they mostly remain oral and informal.
40. Free word-groups VS set-extressions. Criteria of set-expressions.

Free word-groups:

 Created freely according to the grammar rules.

 Each word retains its independent meaning.
 Words are replaceable: e.g. write a letter → write a note, read a book.
 Meaning is compositional and literal.

Set-expressions (phraseological units):

 Fixed combinations of words.

 Have partial or complete idiomatic meaning (non-compositional).
 Components are not freely replaceable.
 Treated as single lexical items in use.

Criteria of set-expressions (A. V. Kunin):

1. Semantic – the meaning of the whole is not deducible from the meanings of the parts
(kick the bucket = to die).
2. Structural – fixed word order and structure; not freely constructed (red tape, by and
large).
3. Reproducibility – set-expressions are reproduced in speech as ready-made units.
4. Stability – relatively stable in form and resistant to modification.
41. Classification of set-expressions: thematic principle, semantic principle.

A. Thematic classification (by topic):

Set-expressions are grouped according to their field of reference, e.g.:

 Human body: to cost an arm and a leg, to keep a stiff upper lip.
 Animals: to cry wolf, a dark horse.
 Cooking/Food: out of the frying pan into the fire, to spill the beans.
 Clothing: tighten one’s belt, to wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve.

B. Semantic classification (by meaning):

Groupings based on the meaning or function:

1. Idioms of actions: to pull someone’s leg, to throw in the towel.

2. Idioms of state: to be in hot water, to be on cloud nine.
3. Idioms of quality: as brave as a lion, as busy as a bee.
4. Idioms of evaluation: a blessing in disguise, a pain in the neck.
42. Classification of set-expressions: structural/functional principle, etymological
principle.

A. Structural/functional classification (Vinogradov, Arnold):

1. Phraseological fusions – complete idioms, meaning is non-transparent:

to kick the bucket (= to die), red tape (= bureaucracy).
2. Phraseological unities – figurative meaning, but linked to the literal one:
to break the ice, to play the first fiddle.
3. Phraseological collocations – combinations with limited variability, bound use:
to make friends, to pay attention (the verb is fixed).
4. Phraseological expressions – stable expressions, used in specific situations:
Merry Christmas, How do you do?, The more the merrier.

B. Etymological classification:

1. Native: formed within the English language (to be in the same boat, pull strings).
2. Borrowed:
o Latin/Greek origin: status quo, per se, tabula rasa.
o French: faux pas, savoir-faire.
o Biblical/Shakespearean: by the skin of one’s teeth, to be or not to be.
43. Ways of forming phraseological units

Phraseological units can be formed through various processes:

1. From free word-groups (semantic shift):

o A free word-combination acquires a new idiomatic meaning.
to spill the beans (originally literal → now "to reveal a secret").
2. Through metaphor:
o Based on similarity between actions or features.
to kick the bucket, to break the ice.
3. From proverbs, quotations, sayings:
o Often become idioms or set expressions.
Don’t cry over spilled milk, to be or not to be.
4. From technical/professional jargon:
o Enter general use and become idiomatic.
hands down (from horse racing), throw in the towel (from boxing).
5. By compounding and blending:
o e.g. brunch (breakfast + lunch), smog (smoke + fog).
6. Loan translations (calques):
o Borrowed idioms translated literally:
moment of truth (Spanish el momento de la verdad).
7. Using rhyme or alliteration:
o Enhances memorability: hocus-pocus, willy-nilly, hot to trot.
44. Dialects and variants of the English language. Standard English.

Standard English (SE):

 The official, standardized form of English used in education, media, government, and
formal communication.
 Features:
o Grammatically and lexically uniform.
o Lacks strong regional traits.
o Possesses a standardized spelling and pronunciation (usually RP in Britain,
General American in the USA).
o Considered the most prestigious and widely understood form of English.

Dialect vs. Variant vs. Accent:

 Dialect: Regional or social variety distinguished by grammar, vocabulary, and

pronunciation.
 Variant: A broader category encompassing standard or literary norms specific to a
region or nation (e.g., American English, Indian English).
 Accent: Refers only to pronunciation, not grammar or vocabulary.
45. Variants of English in the United Kingdom: Scottish English.

Scottish English (Scots):

 Not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic.

 Rooted in the Lowlands (Lallans) and the Doric of the North-East.
 Rich literary and lexicographic tradition (e.g. Jamieson's Dictionary, The Scots
Thesaurus).

Features:

 Distinct vocabulary: lassie, wee, bonny, tartan, raid, kilt.

 Semantic shifts: scheme = "housing estate", gate = "road".
 Gaelic and Norse influence: loch, whiskey, glen.
 Idioms: to miss oneself (miss a treat), up to high doh (excited).

Lallans:

 Standard literary variety of Scots, used in the Scottish Renaissance.

 Combination of regional and archaic forms.
46. Variants of English in the United Kingdom: Irish English.

Background:

 English replaced Irish Gaelic as the dominant language.

 Irish English is influenced by Gaelic syntax and vocabulary.

Features:

 Aye as a mild affirmative.

 Does be construction: “He does be reading every day.”
 After + V-ing to indicate recent past: “He was after leaving.”
 Second-person plural forms: ye, yis, yous.
 Vocabulary: bog, whiskey, shamrock, slob.

Grammar:

 Retention of archaic or Celtic-influenced structures.

 Unique tag questions and emphasis strategies.
47. Local dialects in the British Isles. Received standard. Cockney. Estuary
English.

Received Pronunciation (RP):

 Prestige accent associated with SE.

 Historically rooted in the London-Oxford-Cambridge triangle.
 Used in media and education.

Cockney:

 Working-class London dialect.

 Features:
o H-dropping: ’alf for half.
o Glottal stops, th-fronting: [f] for [θ], [v] for [ð].
o Double negatives, ain’t, me for my.
o Rhyming slang: apples and pears = stairs.

Estuary English:

 Hybrid of RP and Cockney.

 Originated in southeast England (Kent, Essex).
 Common in media and middle-class speech.
 Represents a social convergence between working-class upward mobility and middle-
class informality.
48. Variants of English outside the British Isles: American English.

Standard American English (SAE):

 Has its own spelling, grammar, and pronunciation norms (General American accent).

Lexical Influence:

 Native American: moose, squash, Iowa.

 Dutch: cookie; French: levee; German: kindergarten.
 Idioms from American culture: strike it rich, hit pay dirt.
 Political, educational, and industrial terminology: freshman, gas station, elevator.

Differences from BrE:

 Vocabulary (e.g., truck vs lorry, apartment vs flat).

 Spelling (color vs colour).
 Grammar (e.g., past simple use: I already ate vs I have eaten).
 Unique idioms and phrases.
49. Local dialects in the USA

Dialect Regions (per the American Dialect Society):

 Northern, Midland, Southern, Western.

Appalachian English:

 Derived from early British settlers.

 Features:
o Nonstandard verb forms: He ain’t done it.
o Use of yonder for spatial reference.
o Past participle as past tense: I gone to the store.
o Archaic vocabulary: touched for “crazy”.

Urban Dialects:

 New York English:

o Unique lexical choices (on line vs in line).
o Pronunciation distinctiveness.
o Slang from African American, Latino, and immigrant communities.

Slang:

 Rich, expressive vocabulary tied to cultural identity.

 Examples: hit me (another drink), tube (TV), mad (very).

African American English (AAE):

 Includes unique syntactic, phonological, and lexical features.

 Examples: blood (brother), cut me some slack, chump.
50. Variants of English outside the British Isles: Canadian English.

Features:

 Intermediate between BrE and AmE in spelling and vocabulary.

 Mix of British (tap, braces) and American (gas, truck) terms.
 Unique tag question eh? used both as a confirmation and narrative filler.

Cultural and Linguistic Influences:

 Native American borrowings: igloo, kayak, parka.

 Cultural terms: first nations, riding (constituency), premier (provincial PM).

Regional Dialects:

 Newfoundland: heavy Irish influence.

o Grammar: me goes shopping, I bees here.
o Vocabulary: scoff, praties, bake-apples.
 Western/Central: minor lexical differences, e.g., professor = teacher (Quebec).
51. Variants of English outside the British Isles: Australian and New Zealand
English.

Shared Features:

 British foundation, but influenced by indigenous languages.

 Flora/fauna terms: kangaroo, dingo, wattle, kiwi.
 Colloquialisms and idioms: kangaroos in one’s paddock (crazy).

Informal Contractions:

 Common use of diminutives and suffixes:

o arvo (afternoon), reffo (refugee), barbie (barbecue).
 Casual tone in even semi-formal speech.

New Zealand English:

 Similar to Australian English, but with distinct vowel pronunciation and some
vocabulary.
52. The Linguistic Basis of Lexicography.

Lexicography is the theory and practice of compiling dictionaries and a key branch of applied
linguistics.

Core Terms:

 Lexicographer – dictionary author or editor.

 E-lexicography – compilation of digital dictionaries.

Five Postulates of Lexicography:

1. Subject-matter: Description and explanation of words.

2. Lexeme as basic unit: A meaningful vocabulary item.
3. Scope: May describe entire vocabulary or a subset.
4. Metalanguage: Special terms to describe language.
5. User-focused: Dictionaries serve and are judged by users’ lexical needs.

Lexicography vs. Lexicology:

Feature Lexicography Lexicology

Focus Dictionary production Study of vocabulary as a system

Goal Systematization of words Theoretical understanding

Completeness Aims for complete/functional coverage Abstract, systematic study

53. Aims and functions of lexicography.

Two views on status:

1. A branch of applied linguistics.

2. An independent scholarly discipline (dictionary as the object).

Two Branches:

 Practical Lexicography:
o Dictionary compilation, user targeting, selecting entries, definitions,
pronunciation, and usability in print/digital form.
o Functions:
 Educational
 Legislative (standardization)
 Communicative (cross-cultural exchange)
 Theoretical Lexicography:
o Develops principles for dictionary making.
o Subfields:
 Dictionary criticism
 Dictionary history
 Dictionary typology
 Dictionary structure
 Dictionary use
 Dictionary IT

Types of Lexicography:

 General (LGP) vs. Specialized (LSP)

 Unilingual, Bilingual, Educational, Scientific-technological
54. Historical development of British lexicography (VIII-XVIII cc.).

Stage 1 (VII–IX c.): Glossaries

 Latin-English bilingual glossaries: Corpus, Leiden, Epinal, Erfurt.

Stage 2 (XIV–XV c.): Manuscript + Printed Glossaries

 William Caxton – French-English vocab (1480)

 John Stanbridge – Latin-English vocab (1496)
 Promptorius puerorum (1499)

Stage 3 (XV–XVI c.): Expanded Printed Glossaries

 John Palsgrave – English-French (1530)

 William Salesbury – Welsh-English (1547)
 Sir Thomas Elyot – Latin-English (1538) – First to use the word “dictionary”.

Stage 4 (XVI c.): Multilingual glossaries

 Alexander Barclay (1521), Giles du Guez (1527)

 Richard Minshen – Ductor in Linguas (1599): English + 10 languages.

Stage 5 (XVII c.): Hard-word dictionaries

 Robert Cawdrey – A Table Alphabetical (1604) – First unilingual dictionary.

Stage 6 (XVIII c.): Modern foundations

 John Kersey – various editions (1702, 1706)

 Nathaniel Bailey – Universal Etymological English Dictionary (1721)
 Samuel Johnson – A Dictionary of the English Language (1755):
o 43,000 words, 114,000 quotes
o Introduced structured definitions + quotations.

Johnson’s Contributions:

 Numbered meanings
 Extensive illustrative quotations
 Etymological detail and standardized spelling
55. The history of the Oxford English Dictionary and its peculiarities (XIX –
XXcc.).

Historical Background:

 Comparative philology: Jacob Grimm, Franz Bopp, Rasmus Rask

 Franz Passow (1812): Historical principle, chronological quotations
 John Jamieson (1808): Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language
 Charles Richardson (1836–1837): Extensive illustrative quotes, minimal definitions

OED Origins:

 Initiated by Richard Chenevix Trench (Philological Society, 1842)

o Goal: Include all omitted words, historical data, complete lexicon history.

Editors and Compilation:

 First editors: Herbert Coleridge, Frederick James Furnivall

 Main editor: James Murray (from 1879)
o Later joined by three more editors
 Completion: 1928 (over 15,000 pages)

Reprints and Recognition:

 Reprinted in 12 volumes (1933) under the title Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
 Regarded as the definitive historical dictionary of English

Peculiarities:

 Extensive chronological quotations

 Historical development of each word
 Multiple editors, each with independent staff
 Considered a monument of English lexicography
56. Main types of English dictionaries. Criteria for classification.

Definition:
The term dictionary originates from Latin dictio ("the act of speaking") and dictionarius ("a
collection of words"). A dictionary is a reference book that lists words (usually alphabetically)
and provides their meanings, along with pronunciation, grammar, etymology, usage,
synonyms/antonyms, and sometimes illustrative quotations (e.g., Encyclopedia Britannica).

Criteria for Classification of Dictionaries:

1. Density of Entries:
o General-purpose vs. restricted/specialized dictionaries.
o May or may not include regional/social dialects, slang, jargon, or archaisms.
2. Number of Languages Involved:
o Monolingual (e.g., Oxford English Dictionary)
o Bilingual (e.g., English–French Dictionary)
o Multilingual
3. Nature of Entries:
o Lexical dictionaries focus on words and their linguistic features.
o Encyclopedic dictionaries deal with facts, concepts, and world knowledge.
4. Axis of Time:
o Diachronic (historical development of words, e.g., Oxford English Dictionary)
o Synchronic (present-day usage, e.g., Collins English Dictionary)
5. Arrangement of Entries:
o Alphabetical
o Thematic/Semantic
o Causal (less common)
6. Purpose:
o Normative (prescriptive): sets language standards.
o Referential (descriptive): records actual usage.
7. Prospective User:
o For general readers: focus on general vocabulary.
o For specialists: focused on terminology of specific domains (e.g., law, medicine).

Main Types of Dictionaries:

 General Linguistic Dictionaries (e.g., Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

 Specialized/Restricted Dictionaries (e.g., Dictionary of Law Terms)
 Synonym/Antonym Dictionaries
 Pronouncing Dictionaries
 Etymological Dictionaries
 Learner’s Dictionaries (e.g., Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)
 Thesauruses (e.g., Roget’s Thesaurus)
57. Linguistic dictionaries VS Encyclopedic dictionaries.

Main Distinction:

The key difference lies in what is described and how:

Aspect Linguistic Dictionary Encyclopedic Dictionary

Real-world objects, concepts, and
Focus Words and their linguistic properties
phenomena
Also Known
Word-books Thing-books
As
Spelling, pronunciation, grammar, Facts about people, events, places,
Content
meaning, usage sciences, etc.
Often compiled by domain experts and
Compilation Often by linguists and lexicographers
scholars
Oxford English Dictionary, Collins Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia
Examples
COBUILD Americana

Encyclopedic Dictionaries:

 Aim to explain concepts, not just words.

 Describe relationships between phenomena.
 Examples:
o Encyclopedia Britannica (1768–2010 print; now digital-only)
o Encyclopedia Americana (45,000+ articles, many long and detailed)
o World Book Encyclopedia (26 volumes)
o Oxford Companion to English Literature (subject-specific encyclopedia)
o Chambers Encyclopedia, Britannica Junior (for schoolchildren)

Linguistic Dictionaries:

 Deal exclusively with lexical units.

 Focus on linguistic features: pronunciation, grammar, meanings, usage.
 Can be:
o General: cover the core vocabulary of a language (e.g., Oxford English
Dictionary).
o Restricted/Specialized: focus on certain domains, registers, or dialects.
58. Specialized dictionaries.

General Dictionaries

Standard-Descriptive Dictionaries:

 Describe the standard national language as it exists at the time of compilation and as
expected to be used after publication.
 Point to the norms of word usage — what is generally regular and acceptable.
 Focus on common, regular language use; do not include dialectal forms, archaisms,
or word origins.
 Example: Typical dictionaries used for teaching or reference where the focus is on
correct, contemporary language.

Overall-Descriptive Dictionaries:

 Include all available information about words, covering not only standard meanings
but also occasional or rare uses, technical terms, author-specific usages.
 Useful for reading older texts (books from two or three centuries ago) because they
record historic and varied word usages.
 Often, standard-descriptive and overall-descriptive features are combined in one
dictionary.

Restricted (Special) Dictionaries

 Focus on a specific part of the vocabulary, chosen by the compiler according to a

principle or purpose.
 Restrictions can be based on variations of language (dialects, slang), classification of
texts, subject areas, or other criteria.
 Examples include:

Types of Specialized Dictionaries

1. Phraseological Dictionaries
o Collect idiomatic expressions, proverbs, sayings, and other phraseological units
with explanations and usage examples.
o Examples:
 Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English (Cowie & Mackin)
 A Dictionary of American Idioms (Boatner & Gates)
 English Idioms (Dixon)
2. Pronouncing Dictionaries
o Provide detailed information on pronunciation, including variants and forms in
different grammatical contexts.
o Examples:
 English Pronouncing Dictionary (Daniel Jones)
  Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (J.C. Wells)
3. Dictionaries of Collocations
o Help learners use natural word combinations (collocations) effectively.
o Show typical word partners: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions.
o Examples:
 Macmillan Collocations Dictionary
 Longman Collocations Dictionary and Thesaurus
 Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English
4. Dictionaries of Proverbs, Sayings, and Quotations
o Collect famous proverbs, sayings, and quotations with context and authorship
info.
o Examples:
 The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
 Stevenson’s Book of Quotations
 Random House Dictionary of America’s Popular Proverbs and Sayings
5. Dictionaries of Slang
o Cover informal, substandard, vulgar, taboo, or jargon speech.
o Examples:
 Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (E. Partridge)
 Dictionary of American Slang (Wentworth & Flexner)
6. Dictionaries of Dialects
o Describe vocabulary of a specific dialect or group of dialects.
o Examples:
 The English Dialect Dictionary (Joseph Wright)
 Dictionary of American Regional English
7. Ideographic (Thematic) Dictionaries
o Words grouped by concepts or themes rather than alphabetically.
o Example:
 Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases

Diachronic and Synchronic Dictionaries

 Synchronic dictionaries describe language at a specific time, usually the present.

 Diachronic dictionaries deal with the historical development of words (changes in
form and meaning over time).

Types of Diachronic Dictionaries

1. Historical Dictionaries
o Document changes in word form and meaning over time.
o Examples:
 Oxford English Dictionary (OED) — largest and most famous historical
dictionary, covering from Middle English to present.
 Middle English Dictionary (University of Michigan)
 Dictionary of Old English (University of Toronto)
2. Etymological Dictionaries
o Trace words back to their earliest forms, origins, and sources of borrowing.
o Examples:
  Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (C.T. Onions)
 An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language (W.W. Skeat)

Classification According to Number of Languages

 Monolingual dictionaries: One language only.

 Bilingual dictionaries: Two languages, often for translation purposes.
 Multilingual dictionaries: Cover several languages, mostly technical terms or dominant
senses to avoid confusion.
59. Basic problems of dictionary compiling. The structure of a dictionary.

Structure of a Dictionary

A dictionary typically contains:

 Foreword:
Describes the history of the dictionary, its scope, and the principles behind its
compilation. Acknowledgements may also be included here.
 Guide to the Use of the Dictionary:
Instructions on how to read the entries, including structure, grammatical peculiarities,
place of derivatives, etc.
 Key to Pronunciation:
Explanation of phonetic symbols used in entries, often placed at the front or back of the
dictionary.
 List of Abbreviations and Symbols:
Explains abbreviations and symbols used throughout the dictionary, e.g., = means "is the
same", ~ replaces the headword, etc.
 The Dictionary Proper:
The main body where the entries are arranged, usually alphabetically.
 Supplements:
Additional materials that may include word lists (geographical names, foreign
expressions), new meanings since the main compilation, or encyclopedic content. In
translation dictionaries, supplements may include grammar outlines, pronunciation rules,
and abbreviation lists.

Foreword Details

 Explains the dictionary’s scope, such as which lexical units are included and the
chronological limits.
 Describes the main principles used in compiling the dictionary.
 Expresses acknowledgements.

Guide to the Use of the Dictionary

 Clarifies the structure of an entry (e.g., parts of speech, derivatives, grammatical notes).
 May give detailed explanations for specific dictionaries (like the Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary’s extensive guide).
60. The Procedure of Compiling a Dictionary.

1) Collection of Material

 Lexicographers excerpt texts to collect lexical units with context.

 May use oral texts if written texts are insufficient.
 Work with informants—native speakers providing authentic usage examples.
 Use other dictionaries as sources.

2) Selection of Entries

 Choose which lexical units to include based on:

o Dictionary type (explanatory, translation, learners’, etc.)
o Aims of the dictionary
o Target users
o Size limitations
o Linguistic principles adopted

3) Construction of Entries

 Each selected unit becomes an entry.

 Entry has two parts:
o Lemma: the headword with canonical form, grammatical info, pronunciation, etc.
o Main part: meanings, definitions, examples, word-forms, etc.

The Lemma

 Identifies the word.

 Indicates grammatical class (noun, verb, etc.).
 Provides pronunciation when spelling is ambiguous.

The Main Part

 Contains all meanings of the word.

 Meanings arranged either by:
1. Historical order (oldest meaning first)
2. Frequency of use (most common meaning first)
3. Logical order (meanings arranged by conceptual relation)
 Definitions usually take the form of endocentric phrases matching grammatical class.
 Examples illustrate usage and combinations with other words.

4) Arrangement of Entries

 Most dictionaries arrange entries alphabetically.

 Some group entries by word families or roots.

Linguistic Aspects Reflected in Dictionary Entries

A dictionary entry may reflect knowledge from different linguistic fields:

  Orthography (spelling)
 Phonetics (pronunciation)
 Grammar (morphology, syntax)
 Semantics (meanings)
 Sociolinguistics (style, register, usage)
 Historical Linguistics (etymology)
 Anthropology (cultural usage)

Example: The American Heritage Dictionary Entry for gaze

 Orthography:
gaze (gāz) vi. gazed, gazing, gazes. n. A steady, fixed look.
 Phonetics:
Pronunciation indicated as (geiz).
 Morpho-syntax:
Verb and noun forms presented, with inflections for the verb.
 Semantics:
Definitions given for verb (to look intently) and noun (a steady look). Includes
connotations like admiration or fascination.
 Sociolinguistics:
The style and register implied by usage (prolonged, studied looking).
 Lexical Relations:
Cross-references to synonyms and related words: gape, glare, peer, ogle.
 Etymology:
Origin from Middle English, probably Scandinavian.
 Derivational Morphology:
Related forms like gazer (noun).