Change of word meaning. (Semantic changes)

Extension (widening of meaning). The extension of semantic capacity of a word, i.e. the expansion of polysemy in the course of its historical development, e.g. manuscript originally "smth hand-written".

Narrowing of meaning. The restriction of the semantic capacity of a word in the historical development, e.g. meat in OE meant "food and drink".

Elevation (or amelioration). The semantic change in the word which rises it from humble beginning to a position of greater importance, e.g. minister in earlier times meant merely "a servant".

Degradation (or_degeri.eration). The semantic change, by which, for one reason or another, a word falls into disrepute, or acquires some derogatory emotive charge, e.g. silly originally meant "happy".

The change in the denotational component brings about the extension or the restriction of meaning. The change in the connotational component may result in the degradation - pejorative or ameliorative development of meaning.

Metaphor. The transfer of name based on the association of similarity. It is the application of a name or a descriptive term to an object to which it is not literally applicable, e.g. head of an army, eye of a needle.

Metonymy. The transfer of name based on the association of contiguity. It is a universal device in which the name of one thing is changed for that of another, to which it is related by association of ideas, as having close relationship to one another, e.g. the chair may mean "the chairman", the bar -"the lawyers".

Semasiology is a branch of linguistics concerned with the meaning of words and word equivalents. The main objects of semasiological study are as follows: types of lexical meaning, polysemy and semantic structure of words, semantic development of words, the main tendencies of the change of word-meanings, semantic grouping in the vocabulary system, i.e. synonyms, antonyms, semantic fields, thematic groups, etc.

Referential approach to meaning. The common feature of any referential approach is that meaning is in some form or other connected with the referent (object of reality denoted by the word). The meaning is formulated by establishing the interdependence between words and objects of reality they denote. So, meaning is often understood as an object or phenomenon in the outside world that is referred to by a word.

Functional approach to meaning. In most present-day methods of lexicological analysis words are studied in context; a word is defined by its functioning within a phrase or a sentence. This functional approach is attempted in contextual analysis, semantic syntax and some other branches of linguistics. The meaning of linguistic unit is studied only through its relation to other linguistic units. So meaning is viewed as the function of a word in speech.

Meaning and concept (notion). When examining a word one can see that its meaning though closely connected with the underlying concept is not identical with it.

To begin with, concept is a category of human cognition. Concept is the thought of the object that singles out the most typical, the most essential features of the object.

So all concepts are almost the same for the whole of humanity in one and the same period of its historical development. The meanings of words, however, are different in different languages. That is to say, words expressing identical concept may have different semantic structures in different languages. E.g. the concept of "a building for human habitation" is expressed in English by the word "house", in Ukrainian - "дім", but their meanings are not identical as house does not possess the meaning of "fixed residence of family or household" (домівка) which is part of the meaning of the Ukrainian word дiм; it is expressed by another English word home.

The difference between meaning and concept can also be observed by comparing synonymous words and word-groups expressing the same concept but possessing linguistic meaning which is felt as different in each of the units, e.g. big, large; to die to pass away, to join the majority, to kick the bucket; child, baby, babe, infant.

Concepts are always emotionally neutral as they are a category of thought. Language, however, expresses all possible aspects of human consciousness. Therefore the meaning of many words not only conveys some reflection of objective reality but also the speaker's attitude to what he is speaking about, his state of mind. Thus, though the synonyms big, large, tremendous denote the same concept of size, the emotive charge of the word tremendous is much heavier than that of the other word.

 

 

Билет № 17 (Типы значений многозначного слова в современном английском языке.)

Different meanings of a polysemantic word make up the lexical semantic structure of a word. The meanings themselves are called the lexical semantic variants of a word. The majority of words in any language have more than one meaning.

Vinogradov: the meaning of a word can be:

1. Nominative.

2. Nominative- derivative

3.Collegationally and collocationally conditioned.

4. Phraseologically bound.

 

1. Nominative is the basic meaning of a word.

2. Nominative-Derivative meaning comes into being when the word is “stretched out” semantically to cover new facts and extra linguistic phenomena.

When the speaker uses the word metaphorically he extends its content to cover new bits of reality.

The metaphorical use is based on certain similarities observed by the speaker.

Sweet not only taste, but pleasant, attractive - Sweet face, voice, little baby.

Here we speak about different meanings- because the difference in meanings is not great enough to split the word into 2 different units. Metaphoric meanings are registered in dictionaries.

For parts of the body: Hand- рука,стрелка часов face-лицо, циферблат часов (of a clock)

Foot- нога,подножие горы leg- нога, ножка стула

Tongue-язык, языки пламени eye-глаз, ушко иголки (~of a needle)

If nominative meaning is a direct meaning: Nominative-Derivative meaning is a transfered meaning.

3. Collegiationally and collocationally conditioned meanings are not free, but bound.

a. Collegationally conditioned meaning is determined by gramatical combinability of words. Some meanings are realized only without a given gramatical pattern (collegation)

to tell- рассказать, сказать: in passive constructions means to order/to direct: You must do what you’re told.

to carry- нести: in passive construction= to accept: The amendment to the bill was carried.

b. Collocationally conditioned meaning is determined by lexical combinability of words.

There are meaning which depend on the word association with other words (collocation)

A herd of cows, a flock of sheep

Collocation is used here as a typical behavior of a word in speech.

Mccarthy: Collocation is a marriage contract between words, some words are more firmly married to each other than others.

 

4. Phraseologically bound meaning.

Collocations should be distinguished from idioms and phraseological units.

Idioms and phraseological units are devoid of referential meanings.

The meanings of the individual words can’t be summed together to produce the meaning of the idiomatic expression.

to kick the bucket = to die - This idiom is opaque (непрозрачный) протянуть ноги

to pass the buck = to pass the responsibility -This idiom is semiopaque. (buck - фишка, указывающая кому сдавать (в покере)

to see the light = to understand - This idiom is transparent (ясный).

 

Билет № 18. (Понятие контекста. Типы контекста. Полисемия и контекст.)

A full understanding of the semantic structure of any lexical item can be gained only from the study of a variety of contexts in which the word is used, i.e. from the study of the intralingulstic relations of words in the flow of speech. The term context is the minimal stretch of speech determining each individual meaning of the word. This is not to imply that polysemantic words have meanings only in the context. The semantic structure of the word has an objective existence as a dialectical entity which embodies dialectical permanency and variability. The context individualises the meanings, brings them out. The meaning is determined by context.

The meaning or meanings representative of the semantic structure of the word and least dependent on context are usually described as free or denominative meanings. Thus we assume that the meaning 'a piece of furniture' is the denominative meaning of the word table, the meaning 'construct, produce' is the free or denominative meaning of the verb make. Meanings of polysemantic words observed only in certain contexts may be viewed as determined either by linguistic (or verbal) contexts or extra-linguistic (non-verbal) contexts.

The two more or less universally recognized main types of linguistic contexts which serve to determine individual meanings of words are the lexical context and the grammatical context. These types are differenti­ated depending on, whether the lexical or the grammatical aspect is predominant in determining the meaning. In lexical contexts of primary importance are the groups of lexical items combined with the polysemantic word under consideration. The adjective heavy, e.g., in isolation is understood as meaning 'of great weight, weighty' (heavy load, heavy table, etc.). When combined with the lexical group of words denoting natural phenomena such as wind, storm, snow, etc., it means 'striking, falling with force, abundant' as can be seen from the contexts, e.g. heavy rain, wind, snow, storm, etc. In combination with the words industry, arms, artillery -and the like, heavy has the meaning 'the larger kind of something' as in heavy industry, heavy artillery, etc. It can be easily observed that the main factor in bringing out this or that individual meaning of the words is the lexical meaning of the words with which they are combined. This can be also proved by the fact that when we want to describe the individual meaning of a polysemantic word, we find it sufficient to use this word in combination with some members of acertain lexical group. To describe the meanings of the word handsome, for example, it is sufficient to combine it with the follow­ing words—a) man, person, b) size, reward, sum. The meanings determined by lexical contexts are sometimes referred to as lexically (or phraseologically) bound meanings which imply that such meanings are to be found only in certain lexical contexts. Some linguists go so far as to assert that word-meaning in general can be analysed through its collocability with other words. They hold the view that if we know all the possible collocations (or word-groups) into which a polysemantic word can enter, we know all its meanings. Thus, the meanings of the adjective heavy, for instance, may be analysed through its collocability with the words weight, safe, table; snow, wind, rain; industry, artillery, etc.

The meaning at the level of lexical contexts is sometimes described as meaning by collocation.

In grammatical contexts it is the grammatical (mainly the syntactic) structure of the context that serves to determine various individual meanings of a polysemantic word. One of the meanings of the verb make, e.g. 'to force, to enduce', is found only in the grammatical context possessing the structure to make somebody do something or in other terms this particular meaning occurs only if the verb make is followed by a noun and the in­finitive of some other verb (to make smb. laugh, go, work, etc.). Another meaning of this verb 'to become', 'to turn out to be' is observed in the contexts of a different structure, i.e. make followed by an adjective and a noun (to make a good wife, a good teacher, etc.). Such meanings are sometimes described as grammatically (or structurally) bound meanings. Cases of the type she will make a good teacher may be referred to as syntactically bound meanings, because the syntactic function of the verb make in this particular context (a link verb, part of the predicate) is indicative of its meaning 'to become, to turn out to be'. A different syntactic function of the verb, e.g. which of the predicate (to make machines, tables, etc.) excludes the possibility of the meaning 'to become, turn out to be'.

In a number of contexts, however, we find that both the lexical and the grammatical aspects should be taken into consideration. The grammat­ical structure of the context although indicative of the difference between the meaning of the word in this structure and the meaning of the same word in a different grammatical structure may be insufficient to indicate in which of its individual meanings the word in question is used. If we compare the contexts of different grammatical structures, e.g. to take+noun and to take to +noun, we can safely assume that they represent different meanings of the verb to take, but it is only when we specify the lexical context, i.e. the lexical group with which the verb is combined in the structure to take+ noun (to take coffee, tea; books, pencils; the bus, the tram) that we can say that the context determines the meaning.

It is usual in modern linguistic science to use the terms pattern or structure to denote grammatical contexts. Patterns may be represented in conventional symbols, e.g. to take smth. as take+N. to take to smb. as take to +N. So the same pattern to take+N may represent different mean­ings of the verb to take dependent mainly on the lexical group of the nouns with which it is combined.

Dealing with verbal contexts we consider linguistic factors: lexical groups of words, syntactic structure of the context and so on. There are cases, however, when the meaning of the word is ultimately determined not by these linguistic factors, but by the actual speech situation in which this word is used. The meanings of the noun ring, e.g. in to give somebody a ring, or of the verb get in I've got it are determined not only by the grammatical or lexical context, but much more so by the actual speech situation. The noun ring insuch context may possess the meaning 'a circlet of precious metal' or 'a call on the telephone'; the meaning of the verb to get in this linguistic context may be interpreted as 'possess' or 'understand' depending on the actual situation in which these words are used. It should be pointed out however that such cases, though possible, are not actually very numerous. The linguistic context is by far a more potent factor in determining word-meaning.

 

By the term " context " we understand the minimal stretch of speech determining each individual meaning of the word. The context individualises the meanings, brings them out. The two main types of linguistic contexts which serve to determine individual meanings of words are the lexical context and the grammatical context. These types are differentiated depending on whether the lexical or the grammatical aspect is predominant in determining the meaning.

In lexical context of primary importance are lexical groups combined with the polysemantic words under consideration.

The adjective heavy in isolation possesses the meaning "of great weight, weighty". When combined with the lexical group of words denoting natural phenomena as wind, storm, etc. it means "striking, following with force, abundant", e.g. heavy rain, wind, storm, etc. In combination with the words industry, arms, artillery and the like, heavy has the meaning "the larger kind of something as heavy industry, artillery"

In grammatical context it is the grammatical (mainly the syntactic) structure of the context that serves to determine various individual meanings of a polysemantic word. Consider the following examples: 1) I made Peter study He made her laugh

They made him work (sing, dance, write...) 2) My friend made a good teacher He made a good husband

In the pattern "to make + N(Pr)+ V inf' the word make has the meaning "to force", and in the pattern "to make + A + N" it has the meaning "to turn out to be". Here the grammatical context helps to determine the meaning of the word "to make".

So, linguistic (verbal) contexts comprise lexical and grammatical contexts. They are opposed to extra linguistic contexts (non-verbal). In extra- linguistic contexts the meaning of the word is determined not only by linguistic factors but also by the actual situation in which the word is used.

Билет № 19 (Понятие валентности слова. Типы валентности)

The 2 main linguistic factors active in the uniting words into word-groups are the lexical and the grammatical valency of words. It is an indisputable fact that words are used in certain lexical contexts, in combination with other words. The aptness of a word to appear in various combinations is described as its lexical valency or collocability. The range of the lexical valency of words is linguistically restricted by the inner structure of the English word-stock. This can be easily ob­served in the selection of synonyms found in different word-groups. Though the verbs lift and raise, e.g., are usually treated as synonyms, it is only the latter that is collocated with the noun question. There is a certain norm of lexical valency for each word and any departure from this norm is felt as a literary or rather a stylistic device. Words habitually collocated in speech tend to constitute a cliché. We observe, for example, that the verb put forward and the noun ques­tion are habitually collocated and whenever we hear the verb put forward or see it written on paper it is natural that we should anticipate the word question. So we may conclude that put forward a question constitutes a habitual word-group, a kind of cliché.

One more point of importance should be discussed in connection with the problem of lexical valency—the interrelation of lexical valency and polysemy as found in word-groups. Firstly, the restrictions of lexical valency of words may manifest themselves in the lexical meanings of the polysemantic members of word-groups. The adjective heavy, e.g., is combined with the words food, meals, supper, etc. in the meaning 'rich and difficult to digest. But not all the words with more or less the same component of meaning can be combined with this adjective. One cannot say, for instance, heavy cheese or heavy sausage implying that the cheese or the sausage is diffi­cult to digest. Secondly it is observed that different meanings of a word may be described through the possible types of lexical contexts, i.e. through the lexical valency of the word, for example, the different meanings of the adjective heavy may be described through the word-groups heavy weight (book, table, etc.), heavy snow (storm, rain, etc.), heavy drinker (eater, etc.), heavy sleep (disappointment, sorrow, etc.), heavy industry (tanks, etc.), and so on. From this point of view word-groups may be regarded as the characteristic minimal lexical sets that operate as distinguishing clues for each of the multiple meanings of the word.

Words are used also in grammatical contexts. The minimal grammatical context in which words are used when brought together to form word-groups is usually described as the pattern of the word-group. For instance, the adjective heavy can be followed by a noun (e.g. heavy storm or by the infinitive of a verb (e.g. heavy to lift), etc. The aptness of a word to appear in specific grammatical (or rather syntactic) structures is termed grammatical valency. The grammatical valency of words may be different. To begin with, the range of grammatical valency is delimited by the part of speech the word belongs to. It follows that the grammatical valency of each individual word is independent on the grammatical structure of the language. This is not to imply that grammatical valency of words belonging to the same part of speech is necessarily identical. This can be best illustrated by comparing the grammatical valency of any two words belonging to the same part of speech, e.g. of the two synonymous verbs suggest and propose. Both verbs can be followed by a noun (to propose or suggest a plan, a resolution). It is only propose, however, that can be followed by the infinitive of a verb (to propose to do smth.)

Билет № 20. (Синонимия. Классификация синонимов)

Synonyms are usually defined as words belonging to one and the same part of speech, close in meaning, that makes it possible to be interchangeable at least in some contexts.

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