English Lexicology: Lexicon Structure, Word-Formation & Change
1. Lexicology and Lexical Units
Lexicology is the part of linguistics dealing with the vocabulary of a language and the properties of words as the main units. Lexicology is concerned with the meaning, history, and use of words and also with lexicographic descriptions of lexical items in dictionaries. The major task is to reveal how the lexicon is organized, structured, systematized, and how it is used for the purposes of communication.
Lexicology is divided into:
- general (across all languages),
- special
Personal Reflections, Biographies, and Language Practice
Language Practice: Status and Feelings
Daily Status Updates
- The movie has just begun.
- I feel very exhausted today.
- Jill thinks it is embarrassing when she speaks in public.
- Jess has a big exam tomorrow, so she isn’t relaxed.
- Jake hasn’t finished his homework yet.
Part 2: Weekly Feelings Dialogue
Hi Jane.
In class, we’ve been talking about how we feel during the week. How do you feel on Mondays?
What a wonderful topic to talk about. How do I feel on Mondays? Well, I don’t like Mondays because it’s after
Read MoreSemantic Relations: Monosemy, Synonymy, Polysemy, and Antonymy
Semantics: The Study of Word Meaning
Semantics is the science that studies the meaning of words.
Fundamental Semantic Relations
A signifier having only one meaning is called monosemy.
When a signifier corresponds to multiple meanings, we encounter the semantic phenomena of synonymy, polysemy, and homonymy.
1. Synonymy
Synonymy occurs when multiple signifiers share the same meaning.
For example, the words cold and ice are presented as having the same meaning.
Few words are perfect synonyms. Significant variations
Read MoreLinguistic Analysis: Word Structure and Classification
Fundamentals of Word Structure
The basic unit of language communication is the word, which is defined as a linguistic unit consisting of one or more monemes. A moneme (or morpheme) is the smallest part equipped with lexical or grammatical meaning that can divide a word. For example, the word billetero (wallet/billfold) has two monemes: billet (referring to the concept of “paper money”) and -ero (the suffix that provides the meaning of “container where something is stored”).
Monemes: Lexemes and Morphemes
Monemes,
Read MoreEssential English Grammar: Tenses, Articles, and Modals
Verb Classification and Forms
Verbs are categorized as either Lexical Verbs (e.g., drive, cook) or Auxiliary Verbs.
Auxiliary Verbs
- Primary Auxiliary Verbs: Can function as both auxiliary or main verbs (e.g., have, be, do).
- Modal Auxiliary Verbs: (e.g., must, can, will).
Verb Forms
- Base Form: Imperative, Present, Infinitive (e.g., drive).
- S-Form: Present third-person singular (e.g., drives).
- Past Form: (e.g., drove).
- -ing Form: Gerund or Active Participle (e.g., driving).
- Past/Passive Participle: (e.g., driven)
Essential Linguistic Concepts: Morphology & Word Formation
Morphology: Study of Word Structure
Lexeme
An abstract vocabulary item listed in the lexicon with a common core of meaning.
Word Form
The physical realization of a lexeme.
Paradigm
The various grammatical forms of a given lexeme (e.g., play: plays, played, playing).
Suppletive Forms
Words belonging to the same lexeme but not phonetically related (e.g., go/went).
Syncretism
When the same word-form of a lexeme is used to realize two or more distinct grammatical words (e.g., walk: verb/noun).
Morph
The physical
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