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ENGLISH LEXICOLOGY Nguyen Thanh Loan

WORD MEANING (SEMANTICS) ED - HANU

REVISION

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INFLECTIONAL OR DERIVATIONAL
MORPHEME?

Root Morpheme
Derivational Inflectional
teacher teach -er
musicians
financially
mispronunciation
largest

IDENTIFY THE TYPE OF WORD FORMATION

PROCESS

The new agreement has just been inked.

To make this Tex-Mex soup, you should use boneless
chicken thighs.
A house-warming party traditionally held soon after
moving into a new residence. It is generally informal.

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WORD MEANING (SEMANTICS)

WHAT IS SEMANTICS?

Semantics = The study of meaning in language.

Meaning = a component of the word through
which a concept is communicated, thus, providing
the word with the ability of denoting real objects,
qualities, actions and abstract notions, etc.
Words don’t have exact meanings; they depend
on context!
E.g. Show me the key!

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Some words have remained remarkably stable in

meaning, e.g.: I, we, they, or words for body parts like
head, hand, leg; words for family members (mother, father,
brother, etc.) and most function words (prepositions,
articles, conjunctions, etc.)
On the contrary, some words have undergone dramatic
change in meaning.

SEMANTIC COMPONENTS
Each separate meaning may be represented as a set of two
semantic components: denotation & connotation.
Bad (adj)
1. It’s difficult to break bad habits

2. He was in a bad accident

3. Pollution is having a bad effect on fish stocks

4. The milk has gone bad

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SEMANTIC COMPONENTS (CONT.)

He was in a bad accident.
Denotation: literal meaning of a word (dictionary meaning).
Bad (a) = not good.
Connotation: associations connected to a certain word, or emotional
suggestions, or implications related to that word
Bad (a) = serious, severe
Positive vs. negative connotations:
Ø Connotations are more difficult to determine à misunderstanding
between speakers might arise.

DENOTATION VS. CONNOTATION

Denotation Connotation

Rose - a sweet-smelling, - love, happiness

colorful flower e.g.: Her life is full of
- a cross between roses.
red and white
Lonely

Snake

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POLYSEMY
“THE COMMONER THE WORD, THE MORE MEANINGS IT HAS.” (LOREDANA, N.D.)

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POLYSEMY

Polysemy: a phenomenon in which there is an existence of

several related/ connected meanings within a word as a
result of the development or changes of the original
meaning.

Polyseme (or polysemous word): a word that has 2 (or

more) different but related/ connected meanings.
Most English words are polysemous.

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VARIETIES OF POLYSEMY
Linear polysemy Non-linear polysemy
Polysemous senses related by Polysemous senses related by
generalization – specialization metaphor (ẩn dụ) and metonymy
relationship. (hoán dụ)
e.g.: e.g.:
drink (any kind of drinks - The White House denied the
generalization) à drink (alcoholic allegation.
drinks - specialization) = the President of the United States
- Here we serve both food and drinks and his staff.
- Let’s have some drinks after work! à Metonymy

man (human in general) à man (male

person)

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EXPLAIN THE MEANINGS OF EACH

POLYSEME
Mary is a really plain girl.
English is a plain subject.
I always eat plain yogurt with fresh fruits.

My printer ran out of paper yesterday.

Have you read the morning paper? A huge fire just destroyed
Hanoi’s light bulb warehouse.

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SEMANTIC CHANGE

Semantic change is possible because human

beings have the capability to form associations
between different concepts.
Word meanings rarely undergo sudden changes.
New meanings of a word often relate to the
previous ones.
Changes in meaning take place continually.

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CAUSES OF SEMANTIC CHANGE

Extra-linguistic causes: change

of meaning are determined by
the close connection between
language and the evolution of
human society.
E.g.: torch, academy
Linguistic causes: change of
meaning due to factors from
within the language/ different
ways of word formation.

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RESULTS OF SEMANTIC CHANGE

Change in denotation:
oBroadening
oNarrowing
Change in connotation:
oDegradation
oElevation

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CHANGE IN DENOTATION:
BROADENING
The denotative meaning of a word becomes more general
than its historical earlier form.
E.g.:
­ aroma: (then) “the smell of spices” à (now) a smell in
general, mostly a pleasant one.
­ butler: (then) a person who takes care of the wine
cellar à (now) a person who takes care of the whole
house.

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CHANGE IN DENOTATION:
NARROWING
The denotative meaning (denotation) of a word gets narrower
in meaning over time.
E.g.:
­ meat : (then) any kind of food à (now) food specifically
taken from animal flesh.
­ wife: (then) women in general à (now) married woman.

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CHANGE IN CONNOTATION:
ELEVATION
The connotative meaning of a word becomes more positive
or more favorable.
E.g.:
­ nice: (then) ignorant, foolish à (now) delightful, pleasant
­ minister: (then) a servant à (now) leader of a
governmental body (ministry)

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CHANGE IN CONNOTATION:
DEGRADATION
The connotative meaning (connotation) of a word becomes
less positive or less favorable.
E.g.:
cunning: (then) knowing, skillful à (now) clever at
deceiving people.
sad: (then) satisfied, content à (now) unhappy, sorrowful
Others: accident, bully, etc.

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ANALYZE THE MEANINGS OF THE

SUGGESTED WORDS AND DEFINE THE
RESULT OF THE SEMANTIC CHANGE
Girl: a small child of either sex - a small child of the
female sex
Notorious: well-known - known for something scandalous/
bad
Mare: horse - female horse
Camp: “the place where troops are lodged in tents” – a
temporary accommodation for troops, travelers, refugees,
etc.
Queen: ill-behaved woman – female ruler of the
kingdom/ the King’s wife

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TRANSFERENCE

Many cases of change in denotation are based

on the transfer of meaning (transference).

Transference includes Metaphor and Metotymy.

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1. METAPHOR

Transference based on the similarity between two

unrelated things (phenomena, qualities, etc.).
E.g.:
My girlfriend is my sunshine.
The world is a stage.

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METAPHOR:
SOME COMMON PATTERNS

ØAppearance: eye of a storm, the mouth of the river

ØPosition: foot of the bridge

ØFunction: key to the exercise, data bank;

ØQuality, characteristic: the exam is a breeze

ØPhysical sensations: cold war, warm congratulations, sweet

dreams,

ØOrientational metaphor: on – off, up - down

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APPLICATIONS OF METAPHOR
Metaphors are used extensively
in:
- everyday writing and
speaking;
- songs and poems;
- advertising;
- etc.

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2. METONYMY

Transference based on understood

association or relatedness → name of one
thing is replaced with another associated
with it.
E.g.: The kettle is boiling.

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METONYMY:
SOME COMMON PATTERNS

ØContainer for contained: glasses/bottles

ØPossessor for possessed/attribute: hand, head
ØGeographical names for products: bordeaux, cognac, champagne,
ØNames of inventors for inventions: volt, watt, ampere, degree
celcius, ohm, newton
ØMaterials for products: glass, silver, iron
ØThe representative and its symbol: the Kremlin, the White house
ØThe place and the people living there: the village, the city, the
school

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DEFINE THE TYPE OF TRANSFERENCE

USED IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES
My boyfriend just bought me a Lexus.
Viet Duc hospital just got a new director.
Mr. Black is a walking encyclopedia.
Wall Street has been in panic these days.
This apartment is located at the heart of Copenhagen.
Jane has married a large bank account.
I like reading Shakespeare and Jane Austen.

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PROVERBS

Two heads are better than one.

Barking dogs seldom bite.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Diamond cut diamond.
Blood is thicker than water.
Still waters run deep.

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Next week’s unit:

Synonymy - Antonymy

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