ITL WORKSHEET - Lexicology, Semantics, Phraseology

Word-formation Pavol Štekauer (ed.): Rudiments of English Linguistics, Prešov: Slovacontact, 2000, pp. 93 – 112.
The place and scope of word-formation are closely related, and heavily depend on the theoretical approach selected. In the
traditional approach, issues of word-formation were mostly discussed within the framework of morphology under the label of
derivational morphology, or within lexicology in combination with lexical semantics (especially in Europe).
WORD-FORMATION PROCESSES
A/ Major WF processes:
 compounding: flowerpot, program coordinator, blue-eyed, __________________________
 affixation (derivation):
in-, de-, sub-, hyper-, mono- ____________________________________________
-able, -ity, -y, -ic, -al ____________________________________________
 conversion (zero-derivation): gossip, water, fast ___________________________________
B/ Minor WF processes:
 blending: smog, brunch, Oxbridge
 clipping: fridge, bike, ad, chair
 acronym: UNESCO, NATO
 reduplication: tap-tap, choo choo train, goody-goody, zig-zag, hocus-pocus, walkie-talkie

Lexical Semantics Jaroslav Peprník, In: Pavol Štekauer (ed.): Rudiments of English Linguistics, Prešov: Slovacontact, 2000, pp.
133 – 158.
Lexicology is the study of words and their meaning. Laymen often confuse it with lexicography, the making of
dictionaries. Lexicology deals with such issues as the size and structure of the vocabulary, the link with extra-linguistic
knowledge, the centre and the periphery of the lexical system and its subsystems, the synchronic vs. the diachronic approach, the
contact areas with morphology and word-formation, the notions of “word” and “language unit”.
The lexicon (ie.) vocabulary is not a mere list of words in a dictionary – complex structural patterns interrelate all the
words of the language. The study of the lexicon is deservedly an independent field of linguistic study. Lexicology is also partly an
interdisciplinary study because the study of meaning involves semasiology, onomasiology, semantics, semiotics, pragmatics.
Semasiology proceeds from word to concept (dictionaries are semasiological works). Onomasiology (Greek onomasia
‘name’) proceeds from concept to word (this approach is found in thesauruses). Semantics is more or less synonymous with
semasiology, and implies the study of meaning (of sentence). Semiotics (Greek semeion ‘sign’) is the study of signs, both verbal
and nonverbal (the latter includes body language, i.e. gestures and facial expressions). Pragmatics is the study of the relation
between the language sign and its user.
To sum up, lexicology studies both individual words and the vocabulary as a whole (i.e. the structure of interdependent
elements). The lexicological description includes both formal and semantic relations and pragmatic aspects. The study of words
must be done in relation to the other levels of language description.
Semasiological approach
- polysemy (a term for words with two or more senses; the distance from one sense to the next may be small): big town – big
tree – big boy – big nation – big boss – big difference
homonymy (a term for two or more words that are identical in form but different in meaning):
real homonyms: bank
homophones: threw – through
homographs: lead
wind
Onomasiological approach
- synonymy:
absolute synonyms: ________________________________________________________
close synonyms: ________________________________________________________
- antonymy:
antonyms: natural – artificial, dead – alive, young – old
negative words: (un)natural
- hyperonymy/hyponymy:
flower: daffodil, rose, tulip
animal: fish, bird, insect
Phraseology
Phraseology deals with all multiword combinations that are relevant to the vocabulary. It is the study of co-occurring lexical units
and covers a wide range of expressions with diverging degrees of fixedness and opacity (opacity – the antonym of ‘clarity’). It
studies such collocations of words (phraseologisms, phraseological units, idioms), where the meaning of the whole collocation is
different from the simple sum of literal meanings of the words comprising a phraseological unit. [e.g. ‘Dutch auction’ – is not an
auction taking place in Netherlands; the meaning of this phraseological unit refers to any auction, where instead of rising, the
prices fall].
- phrasal verbs: to let sb. down, to put sth off, ________________________________________
- idioms: to pull sb’s leg, to kick the bucket, __________________________________________
- collocations: run a risk, tell a story, insist on, strong coffee, ____________________________
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- clichés: It was a close shave; to bury the hatchet, _____________________________________
- similes: as black as night, as white as chalk, sleep like a log, ____________________________
- euphemisms: This work needs a certain amount of revision. Her cooking is very different.
____________________________________________________________________
free word groups
- are so called not because of any absolute freedom in using them but because they are each time built up anew in the
speech process
- the ‘freedom’ is relative and arbitrary – nothing is entirely free in speech – the linear relationships are governed:
a) on one hand by logic and common sense
b) on the other by the rules of grammar combinability
Ex. a black eyed girl vs. *a black eyed table

Lewis M.: The Lexical Approach, LTP 1993

REFERENTIAL MEANING
What most people call ‘the’ meaning is technically referential meaning. The referential meaning of an utterance is ‘the basic
facts’, without interpretation or embellishment.
DIFFERENTIAL MEANING
Language items are defined by contrast with other language items, rather than inherent properties of the object or situation to
which they refer.
TASK 1
Consider the meaning of the following words:
cup basin saucer glass bowl
plate dish mug pot wine glass
Now consider the following features in relation to these words:
Material shape flatness use handles position
Do you find yourself thinking of the individual objects in isolation or are you approaching it by contrasting one object with
another, searching for differences. Each object is defined, to a large extent, by not being the others. Meaning is created by
contrast. Explaining how a bush differs from a tree is easier and more useful than trying to define bush.
CONNOTATIONAL MEANING (affective meaning)
Connotational meaning adds extra meaning. It relates to the association that a word has. Intrinsically words may have positive or
negative connotation depending on the speaker’s attitude or the situation.
TASK 2
Some characteristics can be either positive or negative depending on your point of view. The words in the right-hand column
mean roughly the same as the words in the left-hand column except that they have negative rather than positive connotations.
determined  obstinate, stubborn, pig-headed
thrifty/economical  miserly, mean, tight-fisted
self-assured  self-important, arrogant, full of oneself (colloquial)
assertive  aggressive, bossy (colloquial)
original  peculiar, weird, eccentric, odd
frank/direct/open  blunt, abrupt
broad-minded  unprincipled, permissive
inquiring  inquisitive, nosy (colloquial)
innocent  naïve
ambitious  pushy
Do you think that the speaker likes or dislikes the people s/he is talking about?
Di’s very thrifty. Dick’s quite bossy. Molly’s usually frank.
I find Dave self-important. Liz’s quite broad-minded. Don’t you think Jim’s nosy?
Sam can be aggressive. Jill is very original.
CONTEXTUAL MEANING
What is a context? The ‘context’ of an utterance can mean two different things:
1. it can refer to the situation in which the utterance is produced – this is the situational context
2. it can refer to the linguistic environment – the surrounding language – this is the linguistic context
Both types of context influence the choice of language forms and therefore have an effect on output. To distinguish between the
two, the word context will be used for situational factors, and co-text for the linguistic environment.
TASK 3
Think again of the words listed earlier: cup, basin, saucer, glass, bowl, plate, dish, mug, pot, wine glass. Which word(s) could you
use to complete the following sentences?
You don’t look well – shall I get you a _____________ of water?
Let’s do the _____________. I don’t like leaving them in the sink.
If we are going on a picnic we’d better get some plastic _____________.
I’m not really hungry – a _____________ of soup is enough for me.

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The selection is made partly on the basis of real world knowledge, but also on purely linguistic grounds – we intuitively know
which words frequently co-occur, so we expect their co-occurrence. (Original source: doc. Mgr. Ingrida Vaňková, PhD.)