Questions for self-control: (Lecture 1)
1. What is the origin of the word lexicology) or etymology - deals with the
‘Lexicology’?
The term Lexicology is composed of two
Greek morphemes: lexis meaning 'word,
phrase' and logos which denotes 'learning,
2. What is Lexicology? Give the
definition.
Lexicology is a branch of linguistics that
studies words, their nature and meaning
3. What is the basic task of Lexicology?
its basic task is to be a study and systematic
description of vocabulary in respect to its
origin, development and current use.
4. What does the term “vocabulary”
denote?
The term «vocabulary» is used to denote the
system of words and word-groups that the
language possesses.
5. What does the term “word” denote?
The term «word» denotes the main lexical unit
of a language resulting from the association of
a group of sounds with a meaning.
6. What does the term “word-group”
denote?
The term «word-group» denotes a group of
words which exists in the language as a ready-
made unit
7. What does Modern English Lexicology
investigate?
Modern English Lexicology investigates
problems of word formation and semantic
structure
8. What subjects are included into the Theoretical
Course of Modern English?
Grammar, Phonetics, Stylistics, History of the
English Language
9. What is General Lexicology?
General Lexicology is part of General
Linguistics; it studies vocabulary
10. What is Special Lexicology?
Special Lexicology is the Lexicology of a
particular language
11. What two approaches does Special
Lexicology employ? What are they?
synchronic and diachronic approaches
12. What is Special Descriptive
Lexicology?
special descriptive lexicology (synchronic
lexicology) - deals with the vocabulary and
vocabulary units of a particular language at a
certain time
13. What is Special Historical Lexicology?
special historical lexicology (diachronic
changes and the development of vocabulary
in the course of time.
14. What is Comparative Lexicology?
Comparative lexicology studies closely
relative languages from the point of view of
their identity and differentiation.
15. What is Contrastive Lexicology?
Contrastive lexicology - studies both
relative and unrelative languages and
establishes differences and similarities.
16. What are the applied branches of
Lexicology?
Applied Branches of lexicology are
translation, lexicography (creating
dictionaries), linguistic pedagogic, speech
culture.
17. What is the theoretical value of English
Lexicology?
it forms the study of one of the three main
aspects of language, i.e. its vocabulary, the
other two being its grammar and sound
system
18. What is the practical value of English
Lexicology?
in training a future teacher of languages;
building up the learner's vocabulary by
analysis of new words
19. What are the fundamental issues of
General Linguistics?
1) Language is an objective social
phenomenon connected with thinking and
with the social life of human society.
2) The word is the principle and basic unit
of the language system, the largest on
morphological and the smallest on the
syntactical plane of linguistic analysis.
3) The word is a two-facet unit possessing
both form and content
4) The relationship between language and
speech is that between the general and the
particular.
5) There are two principle approaches to
the study language material: synchronic
and diachronic
20. What are word forms?
When used in actual speech words occur in
different forms generally referred to as word-
forms
21. What does the term “word paradigm”
denote?
 The system showing a word in all its word-
forms is called its "paradigm".
22. What is synchronic approach? Give
examples.
The synchronic approach is concerned with the
vocabulary of a language as it exists at a given
time.
Example: to beg and beggar
23. What is diachronic approach? Give
examples.
The diachronic approach deals with the
changes and the development of vocabulary in
the course of time. Example: country, bacon
and fellow
24. What is lexicology concerned with?
Lexicology is concerned with words, variable
word-groups, phraseological units, and with
morphemes which make up words.
25. Explain how lexicology is closely
connected with Phonetics.
Lexicology is closely connected with
phonetics because they have the same object
of studies, they both studies the word, but
phonetics studies the outer form and
lexicology studies the inner form of the word
26. Explain how lexicology is closely
connected with Grammar.
Lexicology is connected with grammar
because lexicology studies words and
grammar studies the grammatical relations
between words and how words are combined
into phrases and sentences.
27. Explain how lexicology is closely
connected with Stylistics.
Lexicology is connected with stylistics
because stylistics studies the differentiation of
the vocabulary according to the sphere of
communication.
Questions for self-control: (Lecture 2)
1. What is the external structure of a word?
Give examples.
The external structure of a word refers to its
form, including its spelling, pronunciation
2. Which section of Lexicology studies the
external structure of a word?
is studied in the field of Orthography.
3. What is the internal structure of a word?
The internal structure of a word refers to its
morphological composition, including its root,
affixes, and inflections
4. What is semantics?
Semantics is the study of meaning in language,
including how words convey meaning and
how they relate to concepts and ideas.
5. What is the unity of the word? Give
examples.
The unity of a word refers to its ability to
convey a single concept or idea. Examples of
words with unity include "dog," "book," and
"run."
6. What types of words can we distinguish
morphologically?
Morphologically, we can distinguish different
types of words such as nouns, verbs,
adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions,
conjunctions, and interjections
7. What types of words can we distinguish
semantically?
Semantically, we can distinguish words based
on their meaning, such as concrete nouns,
abstract nouns, transitive verbs, intransitive
verbs, etc.
8. What types of words can we distinguish
syntactically?
Syntactically, we can distinguish words based
on their role in sentence structure, such as
subject, object, predicate, modifier, etc.
9. What types of words can we distinguish
etymologically?
Etymologically, we can distinguish words
based on their historical origins and language
roots, such as Latin-derived words, Greek-
derived words, Germanic-derived words, etc.
10. What types of words can we distinguish
stylistically?
Stylistically, we can distinguish words based
on their level of formality or register, such as
colloquial words, slang words, formal words,
technical words, etc.
11. What are root words? Give examples
Root words are the basic form of a word
12. What are simple words? Give examples
Simple words are words that consist of a single
morpheme and cannot be broken down into
smaller meaningful units
13. What are derived words? Give examples
Derived words are words that are formed by
adding affixes (prefixes or suffixes) to a root
word.
"unhappy" (formed by adding the prefix "un-"
14. What are compound words? Give
examples
Compound words are words that are formed
by combining two or more separate words to
create a new word with a new meaning
"blackboard."
15. What are compound-derived words? Give
examples
Compound-derived words are words that are
formed by combining a compound word with
an affix. "blackboarded"
16. What is a morpheme?
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of
language.
17. What are allomorphs? Give examples
Allomorphs are different phonetic realizations
of the same morpheme. as /z/ in words like
"cats" and /s/ in words like "dogs."
18. What are the types and subtypes of
morphemes? Describe them.
2 types LEXICAL AND GRAMMATICAL,
subtypes free and bound
19. What is a word stem? Give examples.
A word stem is the base or core part of a word
to which affixes can be added to create new
words.
"play" in "playful"
20. What are monosemantic words?
Monosemantic words are words that have only
one meaning.
21. What are polysemantic words?
Polysemantic words are words that have
several meanings
22. What are categorematic words?
Categorematic words are words that have
meaning on their own and can function as the
main part of a sentence.
23. What are syncategorematic words?
Syncategorematic words are words that do not
have meaning on their own and cannot
function as the main part of a sentence.
24. What are notional words? Give examples
Notional words are words that have a concrete
or specific meaning,
25. What are lexical/ content words? Give
examples
Lexical/content words are words that carry
specific meaning and contribute to the overall
content or message of a sentence.
26. What are form words? Give examples
are words that primarily serve grammatical or
structural purposes in a sentence
27. What are neutral words? Give examples.
Neutral words are words that are not
associated with any particular style or register.
28. What are elevated (bookish) words? Give
examples.
Elevated (bookish) words are formal words
that are typically used in academic or literary
contexts.
29. What are colloquial words? Give
examples.
Colloquial words are informal and casual
words that are commonly used in everyday
spoken language. "wanna" instead of "want
to,"
30. What are native words?
Native words are words that originate from the
language itself and have been in use for a long
time.
"house," "tree," "love," and "mother."
31. What are borrowed words? Give
examples.
Borrowed words, also known as loanwords,
are words that have been adopted from other
languages and incorporated into the
vocabulary of a particular language. "piano"
(from Italian), "sushi" (from Japanese),
32. What are hybrids? Give examples.
Hybrids are words that combine elements from
different languages or language families.
"brunch" (breakfast + lunch)
33. What are international words? Give
examples.
International words, also known as
internationalisms, are words that are used and
recognized across multiple languages and
cultures. include "television," "telephone,"
"hotel," "music," and "university."
34. What are occasional words? Give
examples.
Occasional words are words that are used only
in specific contexts or situations. Examples
include "wedding," "funeral," "graduation,"
"birthday," and "Christmas."
35. What are potential words? Give examples.
Potential words are words that have the
potential to become international words in the
future. "internet," "smartphone," "selfie,"
"emoji," and "blog."
36. What are register sensitive words? Give
examples.
Register sensitive words are words that are
used in specific registers or social contexts.
like "sir" and "madam" used in polite
interactions
Questions for self-control: (Lecture 3)
1. What is word-formation (word-building)?Word-
formation is the process of forming words by
combining root and affixal morphemes
2. What are the major types of word-formation?
affixation, composition, conversion, abbreviation
3. What are the minor types of word-formation?
sound interchange, stress interchange, sound
imitation, blends, back formation
4. What is affixation? What are the subtypes of
affixation?Affixation is adding an affix to the
stem of a definite part of speech. Affixation is
divided into suffixation and prefixation.
5. What is composition? Composition is the way of
word-building when a word is formed by joining
two or more stems to form one word.
6. What is conversion? conversion is a
morphological way of forming words when one
part of speech is formed from another part of
speech by changing its paradigm
7. What is abbreviation? An abbreviation (from
Latin brevis, meaning short) is a shortened form
of a word or phrase.
8. What is suffixation? Give examples Suffixation
is the formation of words by means of adding a
suffix to the stem.
e.g. «educate» is a verb, «educatee» is a noun.
9. What is the main function of suffixes?The main
function of suffixes is to form one part of speech
from another
10. What is secondary function of suffixes?The
secondary function is to change the lexical
meaning of the same part of speech
11. What is prefixation? Give examples Prefixation
is the formation of words by means of adding a
prefix to the stem.
12. Speak about part-of-speech classification of
suffixes. Give examples. a) noun-forming
suffixes, such as : -er (criticizer), -dom
(officialdom), -ism (ageism),
b) adjective-forming suffixes, such as : -able
(breathable), less (symptomless), -ous
(prestigious),
c) verb-forming suffixes, such as -ize
(computerize) , -ify (micrify),
d) adverb-forming suffixes , such as : -ly (singly),
-ward (tableward),
e) numeral-forming suffixes, such as -teen
(sixteen), -ty (seventy).
13. Speak about semantic classification of suffixes.
Give examples. a) noun-forming suffixes, such as
: -er (criticizer), -dom (officialdom), -ism
(ageism),
b) adjective-forming suffixes, such as : -able
(breathable), less (symptomless), -ous
(prestigious),
c) verb-forming suffixes, such as -ize
(computerize) , -ify (micrify),
d) adverb-forming suffixes , such as : -ly (singly),
-ward (tableward),
e) numeral-forming suffixes, such as -teen
(sixteen), -ty (seventy).
14. Speak about classification of suffixes based on
lexico-grammatical character of the stem. a)
noun-forming suffixes, such as : -er (criticizer), -
dom (officialdom), -ism (ageism),
b) adjective-forming suffixes, such as : -able
(breathable), less (symptomless), -ous
(prestigious),
c) verb-forming suffixes, such as -ize
(computerize) , -ify (micrify),
d) adverb-forming suffixes , such as : -ly (singly),
-ward (tableward),
e) numeral-forming suffixes, such as -teen
(sixteen), -ty (seventy).
15. Speak about classification of suffixes based on
origin of suffixes. Give examples.a) noun-
forming suffixes, such as : -er (criticizer), -dom
(officialdom), -ism (ageism),
b) adjective-forming suffixes, such as : -able
(breathable), less (symptomless), -ous
(prestigious),
c) verb-forming suffixes, such as -ize
(computerize) , -ify (micrify),
d) adverb-forming suffixes , such as : -ly (singly),
-ward (tableward),
e) numeral-forming suffixes, such as -teen
(sixteen), -ty (seventy).
16. Speak about classification of suffixes based on
productivity. Give examples. a) noun-forming
suffixes, such as : -er (criticizer), -dom
(officialdom), -ism (ageism),
b) adjective-forming suffixes, such as : -able
(breathable), less (symptomless), -ous
(prestigious),
c) verb-forming suffixes, such as -ize
(computerize) , -ify (micrify),
d) adverb-forming suffixes , such as : -ly (singly),
-ward (tableward),
e) numeral-forming suffixes, such as -teen
(sixteen), -ty (seventy).
17. What are semi-suffixes?when we have a suffix
or a root morpheme in the structure of a word, we
call such morphemes semi-suffixes
18. Speak about semantic classification of prefixes.
Give examples. a) prefixes of negative meaning,
such as : in- (invaluable), non- (nonformals), un-
(unfree) etc,
b) prefixes denoting repetition or reversal actions,
such as: de- (decolonize), re- (revegetation), dis-
(disconnect),
c) prefixes denoting time, space, degree relations,
such as : inter- (interplanetary) , hyper-
(hypertension), ex- (ex-student), pre- (pre-
election), over- (overdrugging) etc.
19. Speak about classification of prefixes based on
the origin of prefixes. Give examples. a) native
(Germanic), such as: un-, over-, under- etc.
b) Romanic, such as : in-, de-, ex-, re- etc.
c) Greek, such as : sym-, hyper- etc.
20. What are pseudo-morphemes? Give examples.
group of words such as : contain, retain, detain
and conceive, receive, deceive where we can see
that re-, de-, con- act as prefixes and -tain, -ceive
can be understood as roots. But in English these
combinations of sounds have no lexical meaning
and are called pseudo-morphemes.
21. What is idiomatic compound? Give examples.
The semantic unity of a compound word is often
very strong. In such cases we have idiomatic
compounds where the meaning of the whole is not
a sum of meanings of its components
22.Speak about the classification of English
compounds according to the parts of speech
compounds.
a) nouns, such as : baby-moon, globe-trotter,
b) adjectives, such as : free-for-all, power-
happy,
c) verbs, such as : to honey-moon, to baby-sit,
to henpeck,
d) adverbs, such as: downdeep, headfirst,
e) prepositions, such as: into, within,
f) numerals, such as : fifty-five.
23. Classification of English compounds according
to the way components are joined together.
a) nouns, such as : baby-moon, globe-trotter,
b) adjectives, such as : free-for-all, power-happy,
c) verbs, such as : to honey-moon, to baby-sit, to
henpeck,
d) adverbs, such as: downdeep, headfirst,
e) prepositions, such as: into, within,
f) numerals, such as : fifty-five.
24.Speak about the classification of English
compounds according to their structure. Give
examples.
a) nouns, such as : baby-moon, globe-trotter,
b) adjectives, such as : free-for-all, power-happy,
c) verbs, such as : to honey-moon, to baby-sit, to
henpeck,
d) adverbs, such as: downdeep, headfirst,
e) prepositions, such as: into, within,
f) numerals, such as : fifty-five.
25.Classification of English compounds according to
the relations between the components.
a) subordinative compounds where one of the
components is the semantic and the structural
centre and the second component is
subordinate;
e.g. honey-sweet, breast-high, dog-cheap,
gold-rich
b) coordinative compounds where both
components are semantically independent.
e.g. secretary-stenographer, woman-doctor
26. Classification of English compounds according
to the according to the order of the
components.According to the order of the
components compounds are divided into
compounds with direct order, e.g. kill-joy, and
compounds with indirect order, e.g. nuclear-free,
rope-ripe.
27. What is partial conversion? Give examples.
Many nouns converted from verbs can be used
only in the Singular form and denote
momentaneous actions. In such cases we have
partial conversion. e.g. to have a try, to give a
push, to take a swim.
28. What is substantivization of adjectives?
Substantivization is the result of ellipsis
(syntactical shortening ) when a word
combination with a semantically strong attribute
loses its semantically weak noun
29. What are two types of partly substantivized
adjectives? Give examples. Substantivization is
the result of ellipsis (syntactical shortening ) when
a word combination with a semantically strong
attribute loses its semantically weak noun
30. What are “stone wall” combinations? Give
examples. 1. «Stone» denotes some quality of the
noun «wall».
2. «Stone» stands before the word it modifies, as
adjectives in the function of an attribute do in
English.
3. «Stone» is used in the Singular though its
meaning in most cases is plural,and adjectives in
English have no plural form.
4. There are some cases when the first component
is used in the Comparative or the Superlative
degree, e.g. the bottomest end of the scale.
5. The first component can have an adverb which
characterizes it, and adjectives are characterized
by adverbs, e.g. a purely family gathering.
6. The first component can be used in the same
syntactical function with a proper adjective to
characterize the same noun, e.g. lonely bare stone
houses.
7. After the first component the pronoun «one»
can be used instead of a noun, e.g. I shall not put
on a silk dress, I shall put on a cotton one.
31. What are the main types of shortenings?
graphical and lexical
32. What are graphical abbreviations? Give
examples. Graphical abbreviations are the result
of shortening of words and word-groups only in
written speech while orally the corresponding full
forms are used.
e.g. a.m. - in the morning (ante meridiem), No -
number (numero), p.a. - a year (per annum), d -
penny (dinarius), lb - pound (libra), i. e. - that is
(id est) etc.
33. What is the oldest group of graphical
abbreviations in English? Give examples. Latin
origin.
34. What semantic groups of graphical
abbreviations do you know? Give examples.
a) days of the week, e.g. Mon - Monday, Tue -
Tuesday etc
 b) names of months, e.g. Apr - April, Aug - August
etc.
c) names of counties in UK, e.g. Yorks -
Yorkshire, Berks -Berkshire etc
d) names of states in USA, e.g. Ala - Alabama,
Alas - Alaska etc.
e) names of address, e.g. Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr. etc.
f) military ranks, e.g. capt. -captain, col. - colonel,
sgt - sergeant etc.
g) scientific degrees, e.g. B.A. - Bachelor of Arts,
D.M. - Doctor of Medicine .
h) units of time, length, weight, e.g. f. / ft -foot/feet,
sec. - second, in. -inch, mg. - milligram etc.
35. What are initialisms? Give examples.
Initialisms are the bordering case between
graphical and lexical abbreviations.
36. What are the types of lexical abbreviations?
Give examples Lexical abbreviations are
classified according to the part of the word which
is clipped. This type of abbreviation is called
apocope.
Here we can mention a group of words ending in
«o», such as disco (dicotheque), expo
(exposition), intro (introduction) and many others.
Questions for self-control (Lecture 4):
1. What are the minor types of word-
formation?
SOUND INTERCHANGE, STRESS-
INTERCHANGE, BACK-FORMATION,
BLENDING.
2. What is sound interchange? Give
examples
Sound interchange is the way of word-building
when some sounds are changed to form a new
word.
3. Is sound interchange productive or non-
productive in Modern English?
It is non-productive in Modern English
4. Was sound interchange productive or non-
productive in Old English?
it was productive in Old English
5. Are voiceless or voiced consonants typical
for nouns? Give examples.
In nouns we have voiceless consonants
6. Are voiceless or voiced consonants typical
for verbs? Give examples.
in verbs we have corresponding voiced
consonants
7. Name three groups of words formed with
the help of sound-interchange? Give
examples.
Among the words formed with the help of
sound-interchange we can distinguish 3 groups
of words.
1. Words formed by means of vowel
interchange, e.g. food > to feed
2. Words formed by means of both
vowel and consonantal interchange, e.g. bath ›
to bathe, grass › to graze (пастись, щипать
mpa), breath > to breathe,
3. Words formed by means of
consonantal interchange often accompanied by
changes in spelling, e.g. grease [ ] -сало, жир
> to grease[ ] - смазывать (жиром); advice [ ]
> to advise[
8. What is stress interchange? Give examples
Stress interchange is one of the ways of word-
building,based on a shift of stress
Eg;conduct - to con'duct 'present - to pre sent
'frequent - to frequent
9. Do nouns of Romanic origin have stress
on the first syllable or the last syllable?
Nouns have the stress on the first syllable
10. Do verbs of Romanic origin have stress on
the first syllable or the last syllable?
Verbs on the last syllable, e.g. 'accent - to
accent.
11. How can stress interchange be explained?
Verbs had one syllable more than the
corresponding nouns.
12. What is sound imitation? Give examples
It is the way of word-building when a word is
formed by imitating different sounds
13. What is blend? Give examples
Blends are words formed from a word-group
or two synonyms.
14. What is blending of addictive type? Give
examples
they are transformable into a phrase consisting
of two words combined by a conjunction
"and".eg; smog -> smoke & fog
15. What is blending of restrictive type? Give
examples
blending of restrictive type: transformpble into
an attributive phrase, where are first element
serves as modifier of a second.eg; Positron -
positive electron, Medicare - medical care
16. What is back formation? Give examples
it is the way of word-building when a word is
formed by dropping the final morpheme to
form a new word. Eg to collocate (from
collocation).
Questions for self-control: (Lecture 5)
1. What is semasiology?
Semasiology is the branch of lexicology that deals
with the meaning
2. What is the outer aspect of a word?
its sound form
3. What is the inner aspect of a word?
its meaning
4. What is the lexical meaning of a word?
The lexical meaning of a word is the realization of
a notion by means of a definite language system.
5. What is a notion?
A notion is a unit of thinking
6. Can a notion exist without a word expressing it
in the language?
A notion cannot exist
7. Are there words which do not express any
notion, but have a lexical meaning? Give
examples.
Interjections express emotions but not notions, but
they have lexical meanings, Oh, my buttons!,
(surprise) etc.
8. Are there words which express notions and
emotions? Give examples.
e.g. girlie, a pig (when used metaphorically).
9. Does the number of meanings correspond to
the number of words? Give examples?
The number of meanings does not correspond
10. Does the number of notions correspond to the
number of words? Give examples.
e.g. The Russian has two words for the English
«man»: «мужчина» and «человек». In English,
however, «man» cannot be applied to a female
person. We say in Russian: «Она хороший
человек». In English we use the word «person»
(She is a good person»).
11. What does the word “polysemy” mean?
The word «polysemy» means «plurality of
meanings»
12. Which words are usually monosemantic? Give
examples.
monosemantic, such as most terms / molecule,
bronchitis/, some pronouns /this, my, both/,
numerals.
13. What are polysemantic words?
A word which has more than one meaning is called
polysemantic.
14. What is radiation? Give examples.
In cases of radiation the primary meaning stands in
the centre and the secondary meanings proceed out
of it like rays.
15. What is concatenation? Give examples.
In cases of concatenation secondary meanings of a
word develop like a chain.
16. What is split of polysemy?
split of polysemy is when the last meanings have
nothing to do with the primary ones.
Questions for self-control: (Lecture 6)
1. Give the definition of homonyms. Give
examples.
Homonyms are words different in meaning but
identical in sound or spelling, or both in sound and
spelling.e.g. sea - to see, piece - peace
2. What can the sources of homonyms be? Give
examples.
Sources of homonyms:
1) result of the split of polysemy,
2) result of leveling grammar inflexions
e.g. care from caru and care from carian.
3) They can be also formed by means of
conversion
e.g. to slim from slim, to water from water.
4) They can be formed with the help of the same
suffix from the same stem
e.g-reader (a person who reads and a book for
reading).
5) Homonyms can also appear in the language
accidentally, when two words coincide in their
development
3. Speak about Walter Skeat’s classification of
homonyms. Give examples.
Walter Skeat classified homonyms according to
their spelling and sound forms and he pointed out
three groups:
1. perfect homonyms are words identical in sound
and spelling, such as: school - косяк рыбы and
школа;
2. homographs are words with the same spelling
but pronounced differently, e.g. bow -/bau/ -
поклон and /bou/ - лук:
3. homophones are words pronounced identically
but spelled differently, e.g. night - ночь and knight
- рыцарь.
4. Speak about A.I. Smirnitskiy’s classification
of homonyms. Give examples.
He subdivided the group of perfect homonyms in
Skeat's classification into two types of homonyms:
1. perfect which are identical in their spelling,
pronunciation and their grammar form, such as:
spring in the meanings - the season of the year, a
leap, a source,
2. homoforms which coincide in their spelling and
pronunciation but have different grammatical
meaning, e.g. reading - Present Participle, Gerund,
Verbal noun, to lobby - lobby.
5. Speak about I.V.Arnold’s classification of
homonyms. Give examples.
She classified only perfect homonyms and pointed
out the following groups:
1. homonyms identical in their grammatical
meanings, basic forms and paradigms but different
in their lexical meanings, e.g. board in the
meanings a council and a piece of wood sawn thin;
2. homonyms identical in their grammatical
meanings and basic forms, but different in their
lexical meanings and paradigms, e.g. to lie - lied -
lied. and to lie - lay - lain;
3. homonyms different in their lexical meanings,
grammatical meanings, paradigms, but coinciding
in their basic forms, e.g. light /lights/, light /
lighter, lightest/;
4. homonyms different in their lexical meanings,
grammatical meanings, in their basic forms and
paradigms, but coinciding in one of the forms of
their paradigms, e.g. a bit and bit (from to bite).
6. What criteria did A.I. Smirnitskiy add to
Walter Skeat’s classification of homonyms?
grammatical meaning
7. What criteria did I.V.Arnold suggest for
classifying perfect homonyms?
lexical meaning, grammatical meaning, basic
forms and paradigms.
8. What are perfect homonyms? Give examples.
perfect homonyms are words identical in sound
and spelling, such as: school - косяк рыбы and
школа;
9. What are homographs? Give examples.
homographs are words with the same spelling but
pronounced differently. e.g. bow -/bau/ - поклон
and /bou/ - лук:
10. What are homophones? Give examples.
homophones are words pronounced identically but
spelled differently. e.g. night - ночь and knight -
рыцарь
11. What are patterned homonyms? Give
examples?
These homonyms are different in their grammar
meanings, in their paradigms, identical in their
basic forms. e.g. warm - to warm.
12. Give the definition of synonyms. Give
examples.
Synonyms are words different in their outer
aspects, but identical or similar in their inner
aspects.
e.g. homeland, motherland
13. What are absolute synonyms? Give examples.
They have exactly the same meaning and belong to
the same style. e.g. to moan, to groan
14. What are semantic synonyms? Give examples.
In cases of desynonymization one of the absolute
synonyms can specialize in its meaning and we get
semantic synonyms. e.g. city /borrowed/, town
/native/
15. What are stylistic synonyms? Give examples.
Sometimes one of the absolute synonyms is
specialized in its usage and we get stylistic
synonyms
e.g. to begin /native/, to commence /French
borrowing/
16. What are euphemisms? Give examples.
These are words used to substitute some
unpleasant or offensive words. e.g the late instead
of dead
17. What are phraseological synonyms? Give
examples.
These words are identical in their meanings and styles
but different in their combining with other words in the
sentence. e.g. to be late for a lecture but to miss the
train, to visit museums but to attend lectures etc.
18. What are the sources of synonyms? Give
examples.
desynonymization, abbreviation, and formation of
phrasal verbs. e.g. to give up - to abandon
19. What are antonyms?
Antonyms are words belonging to the same part of
speech, identical in style, expressing contrary or
contradictory notions.
20. What are absolute or root antonyms? Give
examples.
Absolute antonyms express contrary notions. (have
different root) e.g. late - early
21. What are derivational antonyms? Give
examples.
Derivational antonyms express contradictory
notions, one of them excludes the other (have same
root)
e.g. active - inactive.
Questions for self-control. (Lecture 7)
1. What is lexico-semantic word-building?
The meaning of a word can change in the course of
time. Transfer of the meaning is called lexico-
semantic word-building.
2. Give an example of extra-linguistic causes of
semantic changes.
e.g. «pen» comes back to the Latin word «penna»
(a feather of a bird). As people wrote with goose
pens the name was transferred to steel pens which
were later on used for writing. Still later any
instrument for writing was called «a pen».
3. Give an example of linguistic causes of
semantic changes.
e.g. the conflict of synonyms when a perfect
synonym of a native word is borrowed from some
other language one of them may specialize in its
meaning, e.g. the noun «tide» in Old English was
polisemantic and denoted «time», «season»,
«hour». When the French words «time», «season»,
«hour» were borrowed into English they ousted the
word «tide» in these meanings.
1. Speak about Herman Paul’s classification of
semantic changes.
MAIN WAYS:
gradual (specialization and generalization)
momentary (metaphor and metonymy)
SECONDARY WAYS:
gradual (elevation and degradation)
momentary (hyperbole and litotes)
2. What is the first way of specialization? Give
examples.
SPECIALIZATION is a gradual process when a
word passes from a general sphere to some special
sphere of communication
3. What is the second way of specialization?
Give examples.
The meaning of a word can specialize when it
remains in the general usage
4. What is the third way of specialization? Give
examples.
the formation of Proper names from common
nouns, it is often used in toponymy,
5. What is the fourth way of specialization? Give
examples.
ellipsis
e.g. «room» originally meant «space», this
meaning is retained in the adjective «roomy».
6. What is generalization? Give examples.
GENERALIZATION is a process contrary to
specialization; in such cases the meaning of a word
becomes more general in the course of time.
7. What is toponymy?
Toponymy is the study of place names
(toponyms), their origins, meanings, use, and
typology.
8. What is a toponym? name of place
9. What is onomastics?
the study of names of all kinds
17. What is metaphor?
METAPHOR is a transfer of the meaning on the
basis of comparison.
18. What is a complex similarity? Give examples.
e.g. the leg of a table has a similarity to a human
leg in its shape, position and function.
19. What is metonymy?
METONYMY is a transfer of the meaning on the
basis of contiguity.
20. What are the types of metonymy? Give
examples.
a) the material of which an object is made. e.g. a
glass, iron
b) the name of the place. e.g. the White House -
the Administration of the USA
c) names of musical instruments. e.g. the violin,
the saxophone;
d) the name of some person . e.g. «boycott» was
originally the name of an Irish family who were so
much disliked by their neighbours that they did not
mix with them
e) names of inventors denoting things they
invented, e.g. «watt» , «rentgen»
f) geographical names. e.g. holland (linen fabrics)
21. What is elevation? Give examples.
ELEVATION is a transfer of the meaning when it
becomes better in the course of time, e.g. «knight»
originally meant «a boy», then «a young servant»,
then «a military servant», then «a noble man».
22. What is degradation? Give examples.
DEGRADATION is a transfer of the meaning
when it becomes worse in the course of time. It is
usually connected with nouns denoting common
people, e.g. «villain» originally meant «working
on a villa» now it means «a scoundrel».
23. What is hyperbole? Give examples.
HYPERBOLE is a transfer of the meaning when
the speaker uses exaggeration
e.g. «to hate»(doing something), (not to see
somebody) «for ages».
24. What is litote? Give examples.
LITOTE is a transfer of the meaning when the
speaker expresses affirmative with the negative or
vice versa
e.g. not bad, no coward etc. (Rus.
Небесполезный)