Lexicology as a science

Lexicology

Внутренняя форма слова

Это понятие было впервые введено Вильгельмом фон Гумбольдтом. В лингвистике понятие внутренней формы слова закрепилось в том смысле, в котором его использовал русский учебник Потебня. Он отмечал, что внутренняя форма слова показывает как представляется человеку его собственная мысль. То есть внутренняя форма слова – это признак, положенный в основу номинации при образовании нового лексического значения (почему стол называется столом). Flip-flops – шлепки – они так названы, потому что издают такие звуки.

Мотивировка – это отображение в семантике слова признака, который лег в основу образования названия.

Lexicology (2 Greek morphemes “lexis” – meaning and “logos” – learning).

According to the ‘Longman’ dictionary, Lexicology is ‘the study of meaning and uses of words’. You’ll have to remember that distinction is naturally made between Special Lexicology and General Lexicology. So there are two branches of Lexicology – Special and General Lexicology.

General Lexicology is the general study of words and vocabulary, irrespective of special features of any particular language.

Special Lexicology studies the words and vocabulary of a particular language.

Lexicology also studies the evolution of language – that branch of Lexicology is called Historical Lexicology. It deals with origin of words, their change and their development. Besides that, Historical Lexicology investigated different factors that define development of any language and the changes in its structure.

There is one more branch of Lexicology – Descriptive Lexicology. It deals with the vocabulary of language at a given stage of its development.

The history of any language has a close connection to Lexicology, once Lexicology even used to be a part of History of Language subject. Some parts of Lexicology were parts of Grammar, and so forth.

Modern English Lexicology is a part of the General Theoretical Course of Modern English (other parts: History of Language, Phonetics, Grammar, Stylistics). The course of General Theoretical Modern English is inseparable from its components.

The links of Modern English Lexicology and other parts of the General Theoretical Course of Modern English.

Lexicology and Phonetics

Lexicology is closely connected with Phonetics. The word in general, is a unit of speech, and the association of a given group of sounds with a given meaning.

Phonemes do not have meaning of their own, but, on the other hand, they are not lexicologically irrelevant due to their function. The main function of phonemes is to build up morphemes and to distinguish between names. Besides that, discrimination between words may be based upon such phonological feature as stress.

Lexicology and Stylistics

Stylistics studies special features of words from a different angle from lexicology; stylistics also studies meaning, differentiation of vocabulary according to the field of communication.

Lexicology and Grammar

The connection of lexicology and grammar is of even larger importance than that of phonetics and stylistics. Words seldom occur in isolation? Therefore, alongside with their lexical meaning all words possess grammatical meaning. Certain grammatical functions and meaning are possible only for the words which lexical meaning makes them fir for. On the other hand, some lexical meaning in some words occur only in definite grammatical functions and forms, and definite grammatical patterns.

Example: the function of a link-verb with a predicative expressed by an object cannot be fulfilled by every intransitive verb, but can by verbs of motion.

Besides that, the grammatical form and function of the words may be affected by its meaning (lexical meaning may be grammatically conditioned).

Example: He’s going to read. He is going to the cinema (same pattern, different meaning).

One more point of interest is the survival of two grammatically equivalent forms of the same words, when these forms distinguish in meanings.

Ex: Brothers (general meaning – relationship); brethren (meaning – members of the same club, used especially when talking about the clergy).

The process of lexicalization of grammatical forms is the case when the plural of nouns becomes the basis of a new grammatically conditioned lexical meaning.

Example: works = plant; arms = arms (plural and singular).

Grammar and vocabulary make use of the same technique, that is the distinctive features of some derivational oppositions between different words are identical to those oppositions contrasting different grammatical forms of the same word. Not only methods and patterns are the same (lexical: power – willpower), the same models can be used (grammar: strengthen – oxen (‘-en’ in both cases).

Moreover one and the same words, may, in some of it’s meanings function as a notional word, while in other circumstances it may function as a form word (sometimes it has a meaning, sometimes it doesn’t).

The bond between lexicology and grammar are extremely strong in the sphere of words formation. Word formation was a part of Grammar before Lexicology became a separate branch of Linguistics.