A course of Modern English Lexicology

Final examination
Questions

1. Types of meaning.

2. Aspects of lexical meaning.

3. Change of meaning. Causes of semantic change.

4. Change of meaning. Nature of semantic change.

5. Change of meaning. Results of semantic change.

6. Polysemy. Diachronic and synchronic approaches to polysemy.

7. Homonymy. Classification of homonyms.

8. Synonymy. Classification of synonyms.

9. Antonymy. Classification of antonyms.

10.Affixation. Suffixation. Classification of suffixes.

11.Affixation. Prefixation. Classification of prefixes.

12.Conversion. Types of conversion.

13.Compounding. The structural and semantic aspects of compound words.

14.Free word-groups versus Phraseological units.

15. Phraseological Units. Classification of phraseological units

 1.Types of meaning.

The word is unit of speech which considered to be as a means of communication. It is a sound combinationand the
sounds form a word. The word posseses several characteristics.
Words, word-groups, morphemes have their mining, which are very significant for forming a meaning. We
distinguish meaning, as a linguistic notion and denotational and connotational meanings.

Meanining as a Lingustic Notion- Հասկացություն

There are 2 main categories of definitions of meaning:

 referential (անվանական) or analytical (վերլւծական) definitions of meaning;-
 functional or contextual definitions of meaning.

Referential or Analytical Definitions of Meaning

The referential approach distinguishes between the three components (բաղադրիչները) , which are closely
connected with menaing: the sound-form, the concept, and the referent. The referential model of meaning has a
form of a triangle, in the top of which is “concept” than comes the “sounf-form” and “referent”.
1. the sound- form of the linguistic sign,(which is word). The sound-form if the word isnt identical with its
meaning. For example saying [i:gl] and writing eagle there is no connection between the sound-form and the
meaning of the word eagle, and comparing the sound-form of different languages expressing one and the
same meaning, we can see that the words have different sound form, but express the same meaning.
2. the concept’s translation into Armenian is հասկացություն, and in English the definition of the concept will
the thought of an object, that singles out its essential features. The concept underlies this sound-form. The
meaning of the word isn’t identical with its concept and the meaning of the words are different in different
languages. For example house-home, տուն-օջախ(տուն), дом. The example provides that the concept
expressed by the same word in one language can be expressed by different words in other language.
3. the referent (առարկայի անվանում) is the aspect of reality to which the linguistic sign refers. One and the
same object can be denoted by more than one word of different meaning. For example cat, animal, pussy,
tom, pet has the referent, but different meaning.
So we can say that the meaning isn’t identical with any of the three points of the triangle, but it is closely connected
with them.
Functional or Contextual Definitions of Meaning- (Ֆունկցիոնալ gorcarakan կամ համատեքստային)
The functional approach says that the meaning of a linguistic unit can be studied only through its relation to
other linguistic units. According to functional approach, the meaning of the word is different when they function
in speech differently that is to occupy different positions in relation to other words. For example to move can be
followed by a noun (to move a chair) , and preceded by a pronoun (we move). The movement can be followed by a
preposition (movement of a chair) and preceded by an adjective (slow movement). It this case the distribution of the
words, which is the position of a word in relation to other words, are different and their meanings are different.
In the contextual approche we have the same thing. Analyzing the function of a word in linguistic contexts
and comparing the contexts, we conclude that meanings are different. For example the verb to take has the
meaning , to take a seat (‘to sit down’) and we can say to take to smb.(‘to begin to like someone’)

Grammatical and lexical meanings

 The word as a structural and semantic entity (սուբյեկտ) has two main types of meaning: grammatical and
lexical.
Both the lexical and the grammatical meaning make up the word.
Grammatical meaning is a the component of meaning recurrent( կրկնվող) in identical sets of
individual forms of different words. For example the common element of the words “played,wrote,came,arrived “ ,
is that all words are written in past simple, so they have the same grammatical Meaning.
By lexical meaning we designate the meaning proper to the given linguistic unit in all its forms. For
example saying “go, goes, went ,gone,going”,in wach of this forms we find the same semantic component .
The lexical and grammatically units are closely connected to each other and can’t exist without each other.

2.Aspects of lexical meaning.

The lexical meaning or so-caled semantic meaning refers to the meaning of a word as it appears in a dictionary.
Semantic structure of the word is not homogeneous (համասեռ), but includes two components of meaning:
denotational and connotational.
Users of a language cannot have any knowledge or thought of the objects or phenomena of the real world around
them unless this knowledge is included in words which have the same meaning for all speakers of that language.
This is called the denotational meaning. So first of all the word is realized due its denotational meaning (The
denotational aspect is the part of lexical meaning which establishes correlation between the name and the object, or
phenomenon, process or characteristic feature of concrete reality which is denoted by the given word) The denotational
aspect of lexical meaning expresses the notional content of a word and makes communication possible. For example:
booklet - ‘a small thin book that gives information about something’
Connotation meaning gives some additional information about speaker’s attitude to the subject and about his
relation with his listener. Connotation conveys additional information in the process of
communication.Connotation includs emotive charge, evaluation, intensity and stylistic reference of the word.
Emotive charge is the ability of the word to express some feeling and evoke some imotion in the listener. It is
the integral (անբաժանելի) part of the semantic structure. It is best seen in synonyms. For example like-love-
worship.
Evaluation, itself, may be positive or negative. For example to produce – to create - to manufacture-to fabricate;
In Stylistic reference words can be subdivided into literary neutral and colloquial (խոսակցական) layers.
Traditionally literary words are subdivided into standard colloquial and bookish words (parent[bookish ]– mother
[stylistically neutral] – mammy[stands out as colloquial-փաղաքշական] ”.
Bookish can be subdivided into smaller groups:
 terms or scientific words: genocide ; computer
 poetic words and archaisms-hima chenq ogtagorcum-hnacac: morn – morning ; nay – no
 barbarisms and foreign words: bon mot – a clever or witty saying
The colloquial (non – literary) words may be subdivided into [լեզվի բառապաշարի շերտեր]
 Common colloquial words: daddy, mummy
 Slang, which is a violation of the norms of Standard English [ամտություններ, յուղ վառել] : hor-
attractive, mate-a friend, LoL-laughing out loundly
 Professionalism, which are words used in narrow groups; lab – for laboratory
  Jargonisms – words marked by their use within a particular social group; face time - The time spent with a
customer or client in person as opposed to on the phone or online ; a lox- sucker – “a person who is easily
deceived- xabel”
 Vulgarisms – coarse (կոպիտ, հայհոյանք) words that are not generally used in public: hell, damn, shut up
 Dialectical words (բարբառ): lass (girl), kirk (church)
 Colloquial coinages (նորակազմություիններ) : Google, newspaperdom,

3.Change of meaning. Causes of semantic change

Semantic change is the process of development of a new meaning or any other change of meaning. There are
distinguished causes of semantic change, nature and results of the process of change of meaning.
The factors accounting for semantic changes may be subdivided into two groups: extra-linguistic and linguistic.
By extra linguistic causes various changes in the life of the speech community are meant that is changes in
economic etc. For example, the word car borrowed from Latin carrus which means ‘a four-wheeled wagon’.
Now it means ‘a motor-car’ and ‘a railway-carriage’.
The linguistic causes are factors acting within the language system. They deal with changes due to the constant
interdependence of vocabulary units in language and speech, such as differentiation between synonyms, changes
taking place in connection with ellipsis etc.
Semantic changes due to ellipsis may be observed when the meaning of one word is transferred to another
because they habitually occur together in speech. For example, the verb to starve (in OE steorfan) had the
meaning ‘to die’ and was habitually used in collocation with the word hunger (ME sterven of hunger). In the
16th century the verb itself acquired the meaning ‘to die of hunger’.
Discrimination or differentiation of synonyms can be illustrated by the semantic development of a
number of words. For example in OE the word land meant both ‘solid part of earth’s surface’ and ‘ the territory
of a nation’. When in the ME period the word country was borrowed from as its synonym, the meaning of the
word land was altered and ‘the territory of a nation’ came to be denoted mainly by borrowed word country.
Fixed context can be seen in an example. The word token, when brought into competition with the loan
(փոխնորդ) word sign. became restricted in use to a number of set expressions, such as love roken, token of
respect and also became specialized in meaning
4.Change of meaning. Nature of semantic change
Semantic change is the process of development of a new meaning or any other change of meaning.
Nature of Semantic Change is a necessary condition of any semantic change is some connection, some
association between the old meaning and the new one. There are two kinds of association:
a) similarity of meanings-metophor
b) contiguity of meanings-metonomy
1. Similarity of meanings or metaphor is based on the similarity ([ˌsɪmɪ'lærətɪ] сходстве) of meaning.
A new meaning appears as a result of associating two referents, object or phenomena [fɪ'nɔmɪnə] due to their
outward (['autwəd] внешней) similarity,that is one of which is resemble to other. The word hand, for instance,
acquired in the century the meaning of 'a pointer of a clock or a watch' because of the similarity of one of the
functions performed by the hand (to point to smth, ) and the of the clock-pointer. See the expression hands of
the clock (watch). Other examples: example eye of a needle – ушко иголки; tooth of a comb [kəum] – зубчик
расчески; the heart of the country – столица ; coat of a dog – шкура ; neck of a bottle – горлышко бутылки:
2. Contiguity of meanings or metonymy is a semantic process of associating two referents one of which
makes part of the other or is closely connected with it. This can be illustrated by the use of the word
tongue - "the organ of speech" in the meaning of "language" (as in mother tongue). The word the House
acquired the meaning of 'members of the House

5.Change of meaning. Results of semantic change

Results of semantic change can be generally observed in the changes of the denotational meaning of the word
(restriction and extension of meaning) or in the alteration of its connotational component (amelioration and
deterioration of meaning).
Changes in the denotational meaning may result in the restriction of the types or range of referents denoted by
the word. It can be illustrated by the semantic development of the word hound which used to denote 'dog of
any breed' but now denotes only 'a dog used in the chase' . This is also the case with the word fowl (OE. fuzol,
fuzel) which in old English denoted ‘any bird’, but in Modern English denotes ‘a domestic hen or cock’ . This is
generally described as “restriction of meaning” and if the word with the new meaning comes to be used in the
specialised vocabulary of some limited group within the speech community it is usual to speak of specialisation
of meaning.
Changes in the denotational meaning may also result in the extension meaning of the word to a wider variety of
referents. It may be illustrated by the word target which originally meant ‘a small round shield’ , but now
means ‘anything that is fired at’ . If the word with the extended meaning passes from the specialized vocabulary
into common use, the result of the semantic change is described as the generalization of meaning.
All these examples are the denotational components of the lexical meaning. This means that the connotational
component remains unaltered. But the changes in the connotational meaning are also possible. These changes
may be subdivided into two main groups: a) pejorative development and b) ameliorative development.
Amelioration of meaning implies the improvement of the connotational component of meaning. For instance,
the word minister originally denoted 'a servant' but now -- 'a civil servant of higher rank - a person
administering a department of state
Deterioration (or the pejorative development) of meaning implies the acquisition by the word of some
derogatory emotive charge. For example. the word boor was originally used to denote ‘a peasant ' and
then acquired a derogatory connotational meaning and came to denote 'a clumsy or ill-bred fellow' .

6.Polysemy. Diachronic and synchronic approaches to polysemy.

Բազմիմաստություն

The words are not units of a single meaning. Monosemantic (միիմաստ) words which have only one
meaning are few in number and theu are mainly scientific terms or rare words such as ''flamingo’' “computer”,
''genocyde'' etc. The main part of English words are polysemantic, as they have more than one meaningand their
number ranges from five to about a hundred.
Polysemy can be viewed diachronically and synchronically. The polysemy is diachronically, when we
understood the growth and development of the word or a change in the semantic structure of the word. It means that
a word may retain its previous meaning and at the same time acquire new one. Diachronically, we distinguish
between the primary meaning and secondary meanings of a word.
The primary meaning is the oldest and original meaning of the word, which first appeared in the language.
And all the other meanings are secondary meanings. For example the primary meaning of ''table'' is "slabs of stone"
(OE “tabule” from Latin “tabula”). All the other meanings are secondary.
Synchronically we understood the various meanings of the same word at a certain historical period of the
development of the English language.  We distinguish between  the central (=basic, major) meaning and minor
meanings. The basic meaning occurs in various and widely different contexts and it is highest frequency in speech, it
is usually stylistically neutral, and minor meanings are as a rule stylistically coloured

X The stylistic stratification (շերտավորումը) of meanings of a polysemantic word as individual

meanings may differ in their stylistic reference. Joltaya pressa-yellow press- mamul-chi dexnel- yellow-
sensacion----------leaves- yellow- sensacion chka-uxxaki dexin en
There is nothing colloquial or slangy or American about the word “yellow” – denoting colour.
But when ‘’yellow’’ is used in the meaning of “sensational” սենսացիոն it is both slang.

The semantic structure of a word is never static, the status (type) of its meanings may change in the course of
time. The primary meaning may become a minor one and a secondary meaning may become the central meaning of
a word. When the word ''revolution'' first appeared in Middle. England, it denoted “the revolving
motion(պտտվող)of celestial (երկնային) bodies” and also “the return or recurrence(կրկնություն) of a point or a
period of time”. Later on the word acquired other meanings and among them that of “a complete overthrow of the
established government or regime(հեղաշրջում)’’ and also “a complete change, a great reversal of conditions”. In
Modern English the most frequent meaning of the word “revolution” is “a complete overthrow of the established
government or the regime”.
 7.Homonymy. Classification of homonyms.
համանուններ

Homonyms are words which are identical in sound and spelling , but different in their meaning: bank: 1) a
shore, a river bank; 2) a financial institution; Ball: 1) any spherical body; 2) a large dancing party.
Homonyms are accidentally created and they are purposeless. They exist in many languages but in English the
phenomenon is especially frequent.
There are several sources of homonymy:
 One source of homonyms is phonetic changes where two or more words which were pronounced differently
may develop identical sound forms and thus become homonyms. For example knight-night, sea-see, write-
right.
Another sources are :
 Borrowing (փոխառնություն) may duplicate in form a native word or another borrowing:
“Match” (n) – “a game”, a contest of skill, strength” is native and “match”(n) —“a slender short piece of
wood used for producing fire” is a French borrowing. Write (native) – rite(Latin ritus), fair (adj, native) – fair
(noun, French), bank (shore, native)-bank (institution, Italian).
 Word – building, where the most important type in this respect is conversion, for example: water –to water:
comb-to comb; pale (adj) – to pale (v): to make (v) – make (n):
o Shortening is a type of word–building which increases the number of homonyms. e. g. fan (մազի
ֆեն)- fen (n) from fanatic as “an enthusiastic admirer of some kind of sport or of an actor, singer,
etc”
o Another source of homonyms is called split polysemy. Two or more homonyms can originate from
different meanings of the same word when for some reason, the semantic structure of the word breaks
into several parts. (Նախկինում բազմիմաստ և ուներ տարբեր նշանակություններ, իսկ հիմա ամեն մի բառը
հանդես է գալիս իր սեփական իմաաստով)
“spring” (n) – a season of the year Historically all three nouns originate from
“spring” (n) – the act of springing, a leap”(ցատկ) the same verb with the meaning of “to jump,
“spring” (n) – a place where a stream of water comes up out of the earth to leap” (OE springan).

Classification of Homonyms
Russian scholar Professor Smirnitsky classified homonyms into two large classes:
1. Full homonyms are words which represent the same category of parts of speech and have the same
paradigm(Հարացույց) ,nmush –cuyc ta debq tiv……
Match (n) – a game, a contest - Match (n) – a short piece of wood used for producing fire.
2. Partial homonyms are words which belong to the same category of parts of speech but don’t have the same
paradigm (to lay (v) – lay (v) past indef. of to lie), or they belong to different categories of parts of speech
but have one identical form in their paradigms (rose (n) – rose (v) (past indef. of ‘’to rise'')
According to their meaning Homonims are
1. Lexical
2. lexico – grammatical
3. grammatical

1. Lexical homonyms are words which belong to the same part of speech and the grammatical meanings of
all its forms are identical.For example : to read – read; knight –night, to lie – to lie.
 2. Lexico-grammatical homonyms are words which belong to different parts of speech and differ in lexical
meaning.For example: left – left, eye –I, knows – nose, buy-by, maid-made, hour-our, sea-sea.
3. Grammatical homonyms – are words which are different in grammatical meaning only: (Նույն
լեքսիկական իմաստը, բայց քերականորեն տարբեր)
asked – Past Indefinite mother’s (pos. case)
asked – Past Perfect mothers (plural)

The most widely accepted classification of homonyms is that recognizing homonyms proper, homographs and
homophones.
 Proper homonyms (Perfect homonyms) are words identical both in spelling and in sound-form but different in
meaning: band ; fly; palm(ափ); bat (չղջիկ-բիտա); nail (մեխ-եղունգ); back (n.) – part of the body - back
(adv) – away from the front; ball (n)– a round object used in games - ball (n) – a gathering of people for
dancing ;
 Homographs are words identical in spelling but different both in their sound-form and meaning:
bow- (աղեղ) [bou] - a weapon made from piece of wood, used for shooting arrows
bow (խոնարհում) [bau]– a forward movement of the body, especially to show respect
lead [lid] (լիդերություն) – leader the first position at a particular time during a race or competition
lead-(արճիճ), [led] – a soft heavy grey metal
 Homophones are words identical in sound-form but different both in spelling and in meaning: buy-by, I-
eye, know-no, made-maid

8.Synonymy. Classification of synonyms.

Synonyms are words different in sound-form but identical or similar in their denotational meaning or meanings and
interchangeable at least in some context. The number of synonymic sets of a polysemantic word must be equal to
the number of individual meanings the word possesses.
We must take into consideration the connotational meaning of the word. Then the cases of complete synonymy
are very few and are they, as rule, are in technical vocabulary.
Types of Synonyms
Traditionally synonyms are classified into 2 types:
Ideographic (նույնանման) synonyms are synonyms which can be defined as words conveying the same notion
but differing in connotation that is in shades of meaning.
Forest(մեծ)– wood(փոքր), apartment(ճոխ)- flat(սովորական) ; look-appearance
Stylistic synonyms are synonyms which differ in stylistic characteristics
girl – girlie(աղջնակ), birdie – maiden
Many scholars suggest a more effective approach to the classification of synonyms which is based on the
definition describing synonyms as words differing in connotations.
Types of Connotations
1. The connotation of degree or intensity(աստիճան) is seen in such groups of synonyms as to
surprise-to astonish-to amaze-to astound; to like-to admire-to love- to adore- to worship. ( Աստիճանաբար
բարձրացնել )
2. The connotation of duration – for example: to stare-to glare-to gaze-to glance-to peep-to peer. All the
synonyms except to glance describes long duration of looking , bur to glance describes a brief, passing look.
These synonyms may be said to have a connotation of duration in their manner.
 3. The evaluative connotation(արժեքավորել)- conveys the speaker’s attitude towards the referent,
labeling it as good or bad. So in the group well-known – famous – notorious[n@tori@s] – celebrated, the adjective
notorious has a negative evaluative connotation and celebrated a positive one. We say a notorious murderer,
robber, killer, but a celebrated scholar, artist, singer.
All the synonyms or synonymic groups –have a “central” word which possesses the highest frequency of
use compared with its synonyms and it is called the dominant synonym.
*to surprise – to astonish – to amaze- to astound
Here the dominant synonym is “to surprise”
Sources of Synonymy
The synonyms are rich in borrowings that traced to different languages such as Latin, Greek, French,
Scandinavian. Borrowing is the most powerful and significant source of synonymy in English words. The native
synonym is, as a rule, more general in its denotational meaning, stylistically neutral, possessing no specific
connotations and on the whole more commonly and frequently used in speech as compared to its Latin, Greek or
French origin, for example:
to ask (native) – to question (French) – to interrogate (Latin)
to end (native) – to finish (French) – to complete (Latin)
Synonyms are also formed due to different dialects and variants of the English language. (նույն բառի
ձևերը տարբեր լեզուներում)։ The dialects are large in American english.
E.g. underground – subway flat (british)– apartment (American)
money – bucks autumn – fall
Among other sources of synonymy in English are affixation, prefixation, suffixation, conversion,
compounding.

9.Antonymy. Classification of antonyms.

Antonyms are defined as words of the same part of speech which are opposite in meaning, e.g. big – small,
lie – truth, to brake – to mend. They differ only in their denotational meaning but do not differ in their stylistical
coloring, emotive charge and other connotational characteristics.
There are different principles of classification of antonyms.
According to their derivational structure antonyms are divided into 2 groups: absolute(բացարձակ) or
root antonyms (late-early; dark-light; hot-cold) and derivational antonyms (to please-to displease; honest-
dishonest; painful-painless). Derivational antonyms express contradictory notions, one of them excludes the other,
(active-inactive). Absolute antonyms express contrary notions (ugly-beautiful).
According to the traditional classification antonyms can be classified into 3 groups:
1. Contradictories (2 հականիշ միանում են, մեկը դառնումա մյուսին հոմանիշ) exist between pairs such
as “dead – alive”, ‘’single – married’’. (To use one of the terms is to contradict the other and to use “not” before
one of them is to make it semantically equivalent to the other: not dead = alive; not single = married )
2. Contraries admit possibilities between intermediate members. For example “cold – hot” and “cool–
warm” , or man – woman; man – boy.
3. Incompatibles exist among the antonyms with the common component of meaning and may be described
as the relations of exclusion( բացառություն). To say “morning” is to say “not afternoon, not evening, not
night’’. To say rad – is to say not blue.
Definition of antonym is:
 Antonyms are words different in sound–form and characterized by different types of semantic
contrast of denotational meaning and interchangeability at least in some contexts.
Most antonyms are adjectives which is only natural(որակական) (because qualitative characteristics are easily
compared and contrasted):
high – low; wide – narrow; old – young.
Verbal pairs of antonyms are fewer in number.
to lose – to find; to live – to die; to open – to close.
Nouns are not rich in antonyms, but there are some examples: riend – enemy, joy – grief, love – hatred.
Antonymic adverbs can be subdivided into 2 groups:
a) adverbs derived from adjectives: (ածական+ly): warmly – coldly; loudly – softly
b) adverbs proper: (տեղի, ժամանակի մակբայեր): now – then, here – there, up – down; in – out.
10.Affixation. Suffixation. Classification of suffixes.

Affixation is the formation of words by adding derivational affixes to different types of bases.
Words which consist of a root and an affix (or several affixes) are called derived words or derivatives.
Affixation is subdivided into prefixation(նախածանց) and suffixation (Վերջածանց)
Suffixation is the formation of words with the help of suffixes –derivational morphemes which follow the
root.
There are different classifications of suffixes
1. According to the part of speech:
a) noun-forming suffixes: - er; - dom; - ness; -ation, - ment; - ship; - hood; - ee, etc. (teacher, kingdom,
kindness, creation, employee, etc.)
b) adjective- forming suffixes: - able; - less; - ful; - ic; - ous; - al; - ish; - ive; - y; etc.
(unbearable, useless, beautiful, cloudy, Irish, active, etc.)
c) verb - forming suffixes: - en; - fy; - ize; - ish
(shorten, satisfy, realize, establish, etc.)
d)adverb-forming suffixes: -ly (quickly, coldly); -ward/wards (upward, northwards); -wise (likewise)
e) numeral-forming suffixes: -fold (twofold); -teen (fourteen); -th (seventh) –ty (sixty).

2. according to the lexico-grammatical character

a) deverbal suffixes (those added to the verbal base) - er; - ing; - ment; - able, etc (speaker, writing ,
agreement, suitable, etc.)
b) denominal suffixes (those added to the noun base) – less; -ish; -ful; -ist; -some, etc. (mouthful,
violinist, troublesome, handless).
c) de-adjectival suffixes (those added to the adjective base) – en; - ly; - ness, etc (blacken, slowly reddish,
brightness).

3) according to the criterion of sense –meaning expressed by a set of suffixes. For example , noun-suffixes
fall into those denoting.
a) the agent of an action, -er; -ant (baker, dancer, defendant)
b) e; appurtenance(ազգություն) [@p@tin@ns] , – an; -ian, -ese (Arabian, Chinese, Japanese, etc)
c) collectivity (հավաքականություն) ;- age ; - dom ; - ery (kingdom, freightage, peasantry)
d) diminutiveness(փաղաքշական) ; - ie; - let; - ling, etc (girlie, cloudlet, wolfling)
e)
4) Like prefixes suffixes are also characterized by quite a definite stylistic reference falling into two basic
classes.-
a) those characterized by neutral stylistic reference such as –able; -er ; -ing. (agreeable, dancer, meeting)
 b) those having a certain stylistic value such as – oid; - i/ form , - aceous; - tron, etc.
(rhomboid, cruciform, cyclotron)
As for suffixes of the second class they are restricted in use to quite definite lexico-stylistic layers of words,
in particular to terms.
5) Suffixes are also classified as to the degree of their productivity.
Derivational affixes also undergo semantic change. Consequently many commonly used derivational affixes
are polysemantic in Modern English. The following two may well serve as illustrations. The noun-suffix -er is
used to coin words denoting.
1) persons following some special trade or profession: baker, driver, hunter
2) persons doing a certain action at the moment in question: packer, chooser, giver.
3) a device, tool, implement: boiler, transmitter, traler
The adjective suffix -y also has several meanings, such as
1) composed of; full of: bony, stony
2) characterized by: rainy, cloudy
3) having the character of: inky, bushy

11. Affixation. Prefixation. Classification of prefixes.

Affixation is the formation of words by adding derivational affixes to different types of bases.
Words which consist of a root and an affix (or several affixes) are called derived words or derivatives.
Affixation is subdivided into prefixation(նախածանց) and suffixation (Վերջածանց)
Prefixation is the formation of words with the help of prefixes. Prefixes are derivational morphemes which
precede(նախորդել) the root in the structure of the word.
Prefixes may be classified on different principles. Diachronically distinction is made between prefixes of
native and foreign origin (-be; - mis; - un; are of native origin, prefixes like dis, ex, re – are of foreign origin).
Synchronically prefixes may be classified:
1. According to the class of words they preferably form (որ խոսքի մասն է ստեղծում):
a) verb-forming prefixes e.g. en-, em- (embed, enclose); be–(befriend); de- ( dethrone);
b) noun-forming prefixes, e.g. non-(non-smoker); sub- (sub-committee); ex-(ex-husband)
c) adjective-forming prefixes, e.g. un- (unfair); il- (illiterate); ir-(irregular).
d) adverb-forming prefixes, e.g. un- (unfortunately); up- (uphill).

2. As to the type of lexical – grammatical character of the base they are added to into:
a) deverbal – bayic kazmvac rewrite, overdo, outstay;
b) denominal – unbutton, expresident, detrain;
c) deadjectival – uneasy, biannual.
3. According to the denotational meaning prefixes fall into:
a) negative prefixes: - un: - non: - dis: ungrateful, non – scientific, dislike, -in (which has several
allomorphs il -, im, ir – incorrect, illegal, impolite).
b) prefixes of time and order, such as – fore: - pre: - post: - e.g.: foretell, pre – war; ex-president.
c) prefix of repetition – re; - rebuild, rewrite.
d) Locative prefixes; such as – sub; - inter; - trans; subway (cf. way);inter – continental (cf. continental)
4. According to their stylistic reference: neutral and stylistically coloured. Prefixes like un, out, re, under –
unknown, oversee, underestimate – are neutral;
Prefixes like super-; ultra- superstructure, ultraviolet are stylistically coloured.
5.Semanically prefixes fall into:
 a) monosemantic, ex- has only one meaning former – ex-president, ex-boxer.
b) Polysemantic, the prefix dis- has 4 meanings:
1)’not’(disadvantage);
2) ‘reversal or absence of an action or state’(diseconomy, disaffirm);
3) ‘removal of’ (to disbranch);
4)’completeness or intensification of an unpleasant action;(disgranted)
6. Prefixes may be also classified as to the degree of productivity - highly – productive, productive and non –
productive.

12.Conversion. Types of conversion.

փոխակարգում

Conversion consists in making a new word from some existing word by changing the category of a part
of speech: the morphemic shape of the original word remains unchanged. The new word has a meaning which
differs from that of the original one though it can more or less be easily associated with it. It has also a new
paradigm peculiar to its new category as a part of speech.
Conversion is one of the most productive ways of word-building. It is one of the “easy” ways of enriching the
vocabulary with new words and highly productive.
Conversion has been the subject of discussions since 1891 when Henry Sweet first used the term in his
‘’New English Grammar’’. Some scholars consider that conversion is not a word-building process. According to
them in Modern English we no longer distinguish between parts of speech (between noun and verb, noun and
adjective, etc) for one and the same word cannot simultaneously belong to different parts of speech. Conversion as
a morphological way of forming words was suggested by Professor Smirnitsky in his works on the English
language.
So we may define conversion as the formation of a new word through changes in its paradigm. For
example: love - to love, work - to work, house - to house
Conversion especially occurs in 2 parts of speech: by nouns and verbs. Verbs made from nounse occurs in
vocabulary very often: to hand, to face, to eye, to room, to pale, to cool, to yellow. Nouns are frequently made from
verbs: do, make, walk,
The English word-stock contains a great many words formed by means of conversion in different periods of
its history. There are cases of traditional and occasional conversion. Traditional conversion refers to the words in
dictionaries, e. g. to cook, to look, to capture, etc.
There are certain semantic relations within a conversation pair. The following typical semantic relations can
be enumerated:
1. Verbs converted from nouns
a) action characteristic of the object: (The noun is the name of an animal, the verb denotes an action or aspect of
behaviour considered typical of this animal  to dog (преследовать), to wolf (пожирать), to monkey ( дразнить), to rat
(предать) : ape (n) – ape (v) (imitate in a foolish way) ; butcher (n) – butcher (v) (kill animals for food)
b) Instrumental use of the object. ; screw (n)- screw (v) (fasten with a screw) ; whip (n) – whip (v) – strike
with a whip
c) acquisition or addition of the object : fish (n) – fish (v) (catch or try to catch fish)
d) deprivation of the object ; dust (n) – dust (v) – (remove dust from something)
2. Nouns converted from verbs
The converted noun may denote:
a) instance of the action ; . jump (v) – jump (n) (sudden spring from the ground) ; move (v) – move (n) – ( a
change of position)
 b) agent of the action ; help (v) – help (n) (a person who helps)
c) place of the action ; drive (v) –drive (n) ( a path or road along which one drives)
walk(v) – walk (n)- (a place for walking)
d) object or result of the action ; peel (v) – peel (n) (the outer skin of fruit or potatoes taken off)

13.Compounding. The structural and semantic aspects of compound

words.

Compounding is the process of making new words by combining several stems. Compounding or word-
compositions is one of the productive types of word-formation in Modern English.
There are two aspects of composition:
a) The first is the structural aspect. Compounds are not homogeneous in structure. Structurally we can deal
with tree types of compounds: Neutral , Morphological, Syntactic.
 Neutral – there are no linking elements: Neutral compounds are subdivided into three types:
1. Simple: they consist of simple affixless stems: sunflower, bedroom, blackmail, tallboy, blackbird .
2. Derived or derivational compounds: consists of two stems +affix: early-riser, music-lover, honey-
mooner.
3. Contracted: these words have a shortened (contracted) stem in their structure: TV-set, H-bag, V-
day.
 Morphological compounds are few in number. There are non-productive; there is a linking
element: anglosaxon, spokesman, handiwork, craftsmanship.
 In syntactic compounds words are formed from segments of speech, preserving in their structure numerous
traces of syntagmatic relations typical of speech: articles, prepositions, adverbs, as in the nouns: mother-in –
law, sit – at – home, Jack – of - all – trades- know – all , whodunit, good-for-nothing, sit-at-home, Jack-
of-all-trades, breakfast-in-the-bedder, lily-of-the-valley.
b) Another aspect is the semantic aspect of compound words, that is the question of correlations of the separate
meanings of the constituent parts and the actual meaning of the compound. According to this aspect compound
words can be divided into 3 groups.
 The first group seems to represent compounds whose meanings can really be described as the sum of their
constituent meanings. classroom, bedroom, working-man, sleeping- car, reading- room, dancing-hall
 Semi-transparant: one of the components shifts its meaning: chatterbox, lady-killer, pickpocket, good-for-
nothing.
 Enigmas: impossible to deduce meaning of compound from the meaning of components: ladybird,
wallflower, horse marine, tallboy, blue stocking.
The compounds whose meanings do not correspond to the separate meanings of their constituent parts are
called idiomatic compounds.

14. Free word-groups versus Phraseological units.

Դարձվածքաբանություն

Words put together to form lexical units make phrases or word-groups. Word-groups are divided into free
word-groups and phraseological units or idioms (there are also word-groups). [The term “phraseological unit” was
first introduced by Academician V. Vinogradov. The term” idiom” widely used by western scholars has comparatively
recently found its way into Russian phraseology but is applied mostly to only a certain type of phraseological unit as it will
be clear from further explanations.]
The ‘’freedom’’ of free word - groups is relative and arbitrary(պայմանական). Noting is entirely “free” in speech
as its linear relationships are restricted and regulated by requirements of logic and common sense on the one hand
and on the other, by the rules of grammar and combinability. Free word-groups are so called because they are each
time built up anew in the speech process, whereas idioms are used as ready-made units with fixed and constant
structures.
There are two major criteria for distinguishing between phraseological units and free word-groups: semantic
(իմաստային) and structural (կառուցվածքային).
1. Structural Criterion. Both free-words and phraseological units consist of separate structural elements.
a) Structural invariability of phraseological units finds expression in a number of restrictions which is an
essential feature of phraseological units. It invariability suggests no substitutions of components. As a rule,
no word can be substituted for any meaningful component of a phraseological unit without destroying its
sense: For example: “to give somebody the cold shoulder” means “ to treat somebody coldly”, but a
“warm shoulder” or  “a cold elbow”  makes no sense. It means that in free word-groups substitution does
not present any dangers and does not lead to any serious consequences.
b) The second type of restriction is the restriction in introducing any additional components into the structure
of a phraseological unit. In a free word-group such changes can be made without affecting the general
meaning of the utterance: “This big ship is carrying a large cargo of coal to the port of Liverpool’’. In the
phraseological unit “to carry coals to Newcastle’’ no additional components can be inroduced.
c) The third type of structural restrictions in phraseological units is grammatical invariability. The use of the
words big. great in a white elephant meaning ‘an expensive but useless thing’ can change or even destroy
the meaning of the phraseological unit. The same is in the plural form of the word “feet”: In the
phraseological unit  “from head to foot”  is used instead of the singular form. In a free word-group all these
changes are possible.
2. Academician V. Vinogradov spoke of the semantic change in phraseological units as “a meaning resulting
from a peculiar chemical combination of words”. In the traditional approach, phraseological units have been
defined as word-groups conveying a single notion (whereas in free word-groups each meaningful component
stands for a separate notion). Most Russian scholars today accept the semantic criterion of distinguishing
phraseological units from free word-groups as the major one and base their research work in the field of
phraseology on the definition of a phraseological unit offered by Professor A. Koonin, the Russian leading
authority on problems of English phraseology.
“A phraseological unit is a stable word-group characterized by a completely or partially transferred meaning.”
The definition suggests that the degree of semantic change in a phraseological unit may vary (completely or
partially transferred meaning). In actual fact the semantic change may affect either the whole word-group or only
one of its components. For example:
’’They are inviting more American professors to this university. Isn’t it rather carrying coals to Newcastle?
2. ‘’This cargo ship is carrying coal in Liverpool
The first sentence is a ph unit as it has nothing to do either with coal or with transporting it, and the meaning of
the whole word-group is “ wasting time”. In the second sentence the free word-group “to carry coal” is used in the
direct sense.

15.Phraseological Units. Classification of phraseological units

 Words put together to form lexical units make phrases or word-groups. Word-groups are divided into free
word-groups and words-groups which are called phraseological units or idioms, as they are called by most western
scholars.
There are a considerable number of different classification systems brought by different scholars and based
on different principles.
 The traditional and oldest principle for classifying phraseological , which is also called “thematic”, the idioms
are classified according to their sources of origin, where “source” referring to the particular sphere of human
activity, of life of nature, of natural phenomena. The approach is widely used in numerous English and
American guides to idiom, phrase books, etc. On this principle, etc. So, L. Smith gives in his classification
groups of idioms used by sailors, fishermen, soldiers, hunters and associated with the realia, phenomena and
conditions of their occupations.-thematic
“To be all at sea” - to be unable to understand.- sailors
“In deep water”- in trouble or danger.
 The most popular is the synchronic (semantic) classification of phraseological units suggested by V.V. Vinogradov,
was based on the semantic principle. His classification is based upon the relationship between the meaning of the
whole and the meanings of its component parts . According to Vinogradov’s classification, all phraseological units
are divided into phraseological fusions, phraseological unities and phraseological combinations.
a) Phraseological combinations (համակապակցություն) (collocations) are a construction or an expression in
which every word has absolutely clear independent meaning while one of the components has a bound
meaning: To make an attempt – to try; to make haste – to hurry; To offer an apology – to beg pardon.
b) Phraseological unities (մասամբ հիմնավորված) are word groups where the whole meaning of which is
motivated by the meanings of its components ( are word-groups with a completely changed meaning, that is,
the meaning of the unit does not correspond to the meanings of its constituent parts. They are partially
motivated units, that is the meaning of the whole unit can be deduced from the meanings of the constituent
parts; the metaphor, on which the shift of meaning is based, is clear and transparent): For example: To come
to one’s sense –to change one’s mind; To come home – to hit the mark; To fall into a rage – to get angry ;
“to stick to one’s geens”– «не сдавать свои позиции» , «to sit on the fence» – «լինել չեզոք դիրքում» :
“a big bug” – «a person of importance»,
c) Phraseological fusions (լրիվ ձուլված. Իմաստով հիմնավորված ) are word-groups with a completely
changed meaning but, in contrast to the unities, they are non-motivated, that is, their meaning cannot be
deduced from the meanings of the constituent parts. For example; Once in a blue moon – very seldom; To
cry for the moon – to demand unreal; Under the rose – quietly ; “to set one’s cap at smb” – to try and attract
a man (spoken about girls and women), “at sixes and sevens” –to be in confusion or in disagreement.
 Professor Smirnitsky offered a classification system of phraseological units which is a combination of the
structural and the semantic principles. Phraseological units in this classification system are grouped according
to the number and semantic significance of their constituent parts. Accordingly two large groups are
established:
a) one-summit units, which have one meaningful constituent (to give uo; to make out; to be tired)
one-summit units are subdivided into: a) verbal-adverbial units (give up); а) prepositional – substantive (by heart)
and etc.
b) two–summit and multi-summit units which have two or more meaningful constituents (black art - верная
магия, first night–дебют,).
The classification system of phraseological units suggested by professor A. Koonin is based on the
combined structural-semantic principle and it also considers the quotient of stability of phraseological units.
Phraseological units are subdivided into the following four classes according to their function in communication
determined by their structural-semantic characteristics.
1) Nominative phraseological units are represented by word-groups, including the ones with one
meaningful word and coordinative phrases of the type “wear and tear”, “well and good”.
2) Nominative-communicative phraseological units include word-groups of the type ‘’to break the ice–the
ice is broken’’, that is verbal word-groups which are transformed into a sentence when the verb is used in the
Passive Voice.
3) Phraseological units which are neither nominative nor communicative include interjectional word-
groups.
4) Communicative phraseological units are represented by proverbs and sayings.
These four classes are divided into subgroups according to the type of structure of the phraseological unit.
Phraseological units or idioms can probably be described as the most picturesque, colourful and expressive
part of the language’s vocabulary.