1

ASSIGNMENT NO: O1
TOPIC:
LEXICAL FIELD THEORY

SUBJECT:
SEMANTICS

Lexical Field Theory

Introduction
The lexical field studies the morphology of words, or their shape, form, and construction. When
we put together a lexical web, we are relating words that are similar in formation probably
because they are also similar in linguistic origins. Hence, when these kinds of lexemes are put
together they should have the same structure and form. The lexical field theory (1931) argued
that words are grouped similarly by construction due to their cultural and geographical origins.
Therefore, the lexical field is not only a study but also a theory in itself.
 2

What is a lexical concept?

Lexical representations, or rather more technically, lexical concepts, represent the semantic pole
of linguistic units and are the mentally- instantiated abstractions which language users derive
from conceptions and the specific semantic contribution perceived to be associated with
particular forms
What does lexical field mean?
Lexical field is the way of organizing related words and expressions into a system that shows
their relationship to one another. For example, father, mother, uncle, and aunt belong to
one lexical field.
Lexical field theory
In the 1930s, the structuralist notion of paradigmatic sense relations was applied to an approach
called lexical field theory. Based on research in historical semantics, Jost Trier (1931)
introduced the term lexical field (or semantic field) that he defined as a set of semantically
related words whose meanings delimit each other. Thus, the meaning of a word can only be fully
determined in terms of contrasts in which it stands with other words in the field. From a
diachronic perspective, this means that any change in the meaning of one word affects the
meaning of other words to which it is related. According to Trier, the members of a field cover a
whole conceptual or objective domain without any gaps or overlaps, i.e. the boundaries of a
lexical field can be delimited. Criticism of this conception of lexical fields brought about
differentiation and modifications of lexical field theory and led to the development of
componential analysis.
Theoretically, Trier emphasizes that only a mutual demarcation of the words under consideration
can provide a decisive answer regarding their exact value. Words should not be considered in
isolation, but in their relationship to semantically related words: demarcation is always a
demarcation relative to other words. Trier argued that words acquired their meaning through
their relationships to other words within the same word field. An extension of the sense of one
word narrows the meaning of neighboring words, with the words in a field fitting neatly together
like a mosaic. If a single word undergoes a semantic change, then the whole structure of the
lexical field changes.Trier's theory assumes that lexical fields are easily definable closed sets,
with no overlapping meanings or gaps. These assumptions have been questioned and the theory
has been modified since its original formulation.
 3

JOHN LYONS describes it as:

“A field of whose members are lexemes is a lexical field"
The theory of semantic field assumes that lexemes that are semantically related, whether
paradigmatically or syntagmatically within a given language system belongs to some semantic
field. The lexical items of language can be classified into sets, which are related semantically and
divide up the semantic field in various ways. For example, the field of "TRANSFER OF
POSSESSION" includes such lexemes as sell, buy, trade, exchange, give, receive, lend, borrow,
hire and rent.
Basic to this theory is the concept of FERDINAND DE SAUSSURE that each word in a
language is surrounded by a network of associations which cannot with still other terms. It
explains the vocabulary or lexicon of a language as a system of interrelated network or semantic
fields. Interrelated words may belong to the same semantic field, for example, tree, branch, root,
flower, stem, and fruit. Sometimes, we see overlap between fields, for example, the field of
flower, and tree may overlap with plant and grow.
Collocation
This theory provides the situation of collocation. The items for collocation are selected from the
lexicon of the same field. For example, plant collocates with growing, flower with bloom, letters
with writing etc.
These networks and collocations are built on sense relations in a language. The figure green
below shows the network of associations of terms which converge to a certain point.
Plant → Grow, Bloom
Plantation, Irrigation, Cultivation
Planting, Reaping, Binding, Collecting
Fertilizer, Pesticides, Seeds
Farmer, Cultivator, Peasant
Lexical fields and syntagmatic relations
Lexical items so related stand in opposition or contrast to each other and help to define the
meaning of each other. Syntagmatic (horizontal) relations between words are “the relations that
hold among elements that can occur in combination with one another, in well-formed syntagms’’
TRIER’s paradigmatic semantic field
 4

The semantic field theory was brought into its puberty by German scholar J. Trier in the
1930s, whose version is seen as a new phase in the history of semantics. Summarized Trier’s
lexical field theory as follows:
a. The vocabulary in a language system is semantically related and builds up a complete lexical
system. This system is unsteady and changing constantly.
b. Since the vocabulary of a language is semantically related, we are not supposed to study the
semantic change of individual words in isolation, but to study vocabulary as an integrated
system.
c. Since lexemes are interrelated in sense, we can only determine the connotation of a word by
analyzing and comparing its semantic relationship with other words. A word is meaningful only
in its semantic field.
Trier’s lexical/semantic field is generally considered paradigmatic. It deals with paradigmatic
relations between words such as hyponymy, synonymy, and antonyms.
Synonyms: It is the relationship of similarity or sameness of meaning is called synonyms.
Antonyms Refer to opposites of meaning antonyms offer occur in pair such as Big/small
Male/female good /bad.
Hyponymy: It refers to the notion of inclusion.
Conclusion
Lexical fields differ in some way from semantic fields, even if there is overlap. Lexical fields
study how words affect other words in a sentence. For example, the presence of a certain word
can change the whole meaning of another word in a radical sense. The best example that I have
come across is the word, "roller coaster." It might seem that the word "roller coaster" has a very
limited semantic range, namely what you see in an amusement park. However, within the context
of a sentence, that word can have a different meaning altogether, because the lexical range
changes it.
Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexical_semantics
https://www.grin.com/document/69807
http://www.ello.uos.de/field.php/Semantics/SemanticsLexicalfields
http://eadnurt.diit.edu.ua/bitstream/123456789/3875/1/Afanasieva_1%20.pdf
https://www.scribd.com/document/363102061/Field-Theory
5