Lexikologie angličtiny – 1.

seminář
Jak se řeknou větné členy v angličtině? – úkol do dvou týdnů – send it to moodle course!
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Libuše Dušková – cvičení z morfologie, college textbook, collection of texts used at Charles
University.
Test: 5-6 topics
Oral: speaking choose - 1 of the topics + analyzing the text, finding things
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Semiotics = studies various signs

- Design of furniture, your hairstyle, gestures
Lexicology – words; has Greek origin the word, study of lexis (wordstock)
Theory of Charles S. Peirce – he divided signs into icons, indexes and symbols
Icons = Direct reflection/ copy of reality (no need of special knowledge to understand an
icon) eg. Photographs, realistic pictures, maps – onomatopoeic words, primary interjection
Indexes = sometimes called symptoms of something; you need a certain experience, but you
can deduce their meaning; tears on human face – sad or happy person (pronouns and some
adverbs)
Symbols = Can be also called codes, cannot deduce their meaning from the symbol itself; you
have either to learn the meaning of each symbol or you need an interpreter to explain it to
you; e.g. picture of lion – you need to know that it is the animal that is symbol of the Czech
republic
Footprint – is an index
Zavináč – symbol
Sněhulák – icon
Czech flag – symbol

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Vocabulary = lexis = word stock
Lexicography = its products are dictionaries – choose a certain collection of words, their
usage, usually ordered alphabetically – creates lists of vocabulary
Lexicology = form, meaning of words, general patterns -typical forms of word formation,
development, relationship

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Logos – means word; Logy – knowing or science

Basic units of lexicology

Lexem = abstract unit
Word or word form = practical unit

Langue x parole
- By Ferdinand de Sausser
- Langue = system of abstract rules, patterns, knowledge e.g. in grammar – when to use
past tense, present perfect tense
- Parole = practical realization, realizace tedy toho
- Lexeme belongs to langue; word is parole
- Lexeme = set (množina) of all possible realization forms of a word; eg. (like -> likes,
likely) – when you use one of it -> word
- Word = is the smallest independently utilizable segment of an utterance characterized
by a certain meaning – it tells you it is the smallest unit of utterance/language; has its
meaning
- Difference between morpheme and word? – Word is independently utilizable;
morpheme – parts of words, e.g. suffix
- Word – phonic and graphic unit; enters certain relationships – paradigmatic or
syntagmatic relations
- Paradigmatic relations – relationship of contrast, opposition – they belong to langue;
relationships between words in a sentence – how one word influences the other word
(e.g. pronouns -> he -> was! Not were!)
- Syntagmatic relationships – part of parole, chain-like relationships, one word after
another
- Autosemantic words = open class words, full words, content words –
plnovýznamnová slova v češtině; nouns, lexical verbs, adjectives, adverbs – own
semantic meaning; new words added as neologisms
Sinsemantic words = function words, grammatical words – only grammatical meaning, so
called closed class unit; no new words are added to these parts of speech.

Difference between center and periphery in language

- Center – usually used by middle aged people, frequent words; regular plural (plus
specific like men, women)
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 - Periphery – not very frequent, rare – used by older people or younger generation –
some special terminology, slang; mostly irregular phenomena

- The most movement in slang – different generations different slang

- New words usually appear in periphery, ancient words, sometimes they disappear
totally

- Diachronic approach = historical approach

- Synchronic approach = study in their present stage of development

- The main problem of lexicology is the fact of how the extralinguistic elements are
referred by the speaker of language

- Extralinguistic reality = the reality that surrounds us

Seminář 2.3.

Word as a linguistic sign - Ferdinand de Saussure

Lingustic sign

(Concept of “tree”) picture – signified

Accoustic image (tree) - signifying (the word that you use for it)
John Lyone – Triangle of significance (meaning)

Thought
Meaning (concept)

Indirect relationship

Form (symbol) (=word) Referent (object)

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 - When you see an object you don´t know if you want to call it whether in English,
Chinese or Czech (because words are mostly symbols)
- We don´t name objects we just refer to them, because words are symbols andk
therefore you can´t deduce the name
- Concept – the definition of that word – and then you match the symbol with it (we do
it but really fast)
- Přívlastek někdy nazýván modifier (adjective modification) – used more frequently
- Premodification (přívlastek shodný)
- Postmodification (přívlastek neshodný)

Lexeme
- Belongs to langue (abstract unit)
- Set of all the possible realizations of a word
- If you say lexeme – then it is a word

Word
- Belongs to parole
- Practical realization of lexeme
- Word has its meaning

Basic features of lexeme

1) Conventionality
2) Arbitrariness
3) Generality (universality)

1) Conventionality = means that when you use a word in a language you can use only
those words that have been agreed upon by speakers of given language
How symbols are created? – connected to conventionality
Are words connected with objects? Or are words created by people? – Antique times – now
we know the solution! Surprise

Slova příležitostná (nonce words) = journalist and writers, they play with words – many
words have their origin in newspaper, sometimes used just once or twice – Brexit e.g.
Writers of fiction often invent new word – often used in just one novel, poem – hobit
(people can start using them), robot, utopia

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Children vocabulary – can invent new words, but only when they are small, exception
Words need to be adopted by the speakers of the language = child´s speech – needs to stop at
kindergarten

2) Arbitrariness = word as a language sign (symbol mainly), zase ta pyramida nahoře,

nahodilost tedy, so you cannot deduce the word from an object – so there is more
languages than one; exceptions: icons. Valid only for symbols! Exception from
arbitrariness = motivated words – words with primary motivation (primary
interjections – ouch, wow) not secondary interjections (oh god) + onomatopoeic words
Secondary motivation = you can partly deduce the meaning, connected with linguistic
knowledge; e.g. fortunately – “ly” tells us it is going to have function of an adverb;
compounding (sunrise, doorknob = compound words)
Demotivation = motivation of a word is somehow lost
1) Phonemic demotivation - very often pronunciation – Friday /fridy/
2) Morphologic demotivation – washer (you don´t know what it could be – could be
washing machine, washing detergent, person doing washing
3) Metaphorical demotivation = buttercups (some flowers), kingfisher (ledňáček)
4) Semantic demotivation = during the development of the word changes the meaning,
sail (meaning formerly to transport something by ship – but nowadays even for air
transport)
- Through historical development – dseges eage /dejs aje/ à daisy (cause it looks like
day eye of whatever)
First, Christian name – Mr. Smith – person with profession of a Smith, but nowadays it can
be like anybody; Edward – people knew that it meant that someone who guarded some wealth
Limits of arbitrariness:
1) Law of efficiency = we generally try to use as short words as possible; people try to
express as much as possible with as little effort as possible; tendency towards
monosyllabism
2) Set of phonemes, allowed combinations of phonemes

Cvičení: Czech and English words beginning: dl, tl, pl, sl, šl
Dl - Dlaha, dlouhý, dluh - does not exist in English genereally (of foreign origin)
Tl – tlama, tlapa, tlak, tleskat, tlačenka X not frequently used
Pl – plytký, plýtvat, plynout, plot X plot, plague, plan, plane
Sl – slizký, slet, slovo, slezina X slow, slick, slate, slim
Šl - šlapat, šle, šlak, šlépěje X They prefer sl
Sp possible in English, Šp – not possible now

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Univerbisation = you have just one word instead of two words
Přednáška lexikologie 9.3.

3) Generality (universality)
- Each word, lexeme refers to certain set of objects which share the same features and
are described by the same definition
- One word does not refer to one object, but group of objects which share the same
features
- Concretization = lexemes are general but in reality we usually speak about one
particular object, person – so we use “the” = particularization?
- Not every word has the same level of generality, the level of generality differs (You
can say desk, but more general is furniture, more concrete expression will be wooden
desk), breeds of dogs
o Personal pronouns (they – used for neutral gender, male and female)
- Hyponymes = expressions which have some more general term which refers to them
(furniture is hypernym for desk, chair; hyponymes à chair, desk)
- Taxonymy = hyponymy on more levels, usually used in biology, řád, druh atd.
- Meronymy = the relationship between the whole and its parts; human body – heart,
eyes, ears, lungs); car – doors, trunk (meronyms)
- Vague and how concrete are English and Czech – verbs – English is more general if
you focus on verbs (to go – you need to deduce it from the context – jet, přejít,
přeplavat); but also time saving device (je to úsporný prostředek) – Czech is more
general here???
Form of lexeme
1) Simple lexeme = lexemes whose structure cannot be subdivided into morphemes, just
one morpheme (no suffix, prefix, root)
2) Descriptive lexeme = can be dissociated into more parts, more morphemes, unusual;
prefix, suffix etc.

- The linguistic have been quarelling quiet a long time about development; if people can
distinguish into parts; development goes to simple lexeme
- Some descriptive lexemes changed their character and are simple now; because people
cannot tell it now due to changes; e.g. gospel (god spel = good message)
- Popular (Folk) etymology = way people derive meaning of words, but they are
wrong – sparrowgrass – in reality original word was asparagus.
- Individual parts of lexemes – phonemes = change of phoneme can change meaning
of the word (bat, bet); morphemes = the basic unit of morphology, smallest unit of
language which has its meaning; word = smallest unit of language which has its
meaning plus its independent, can change position; morpheme is dependent

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Word formation
- Ways how new words are formed

Conversion
- New word is created without the change of its form
- Must (add a - noun, verb)
- Water (zalévat, voda)

Alternation
- Used in irregular plural, verbs
- Only one or maybe two phonemes alternate and new word is formed
- Singular expression life à plural lives; Man and Men; Run and ran; Affect – Effect

Derivation (odvozování)
- Word base (lexical morpheme = morpheme having its lexical meaning)
- Add prefixes and suffixes (only grammatical function)
- The minimum structure of a direct word is there has to be at least one lexical
morpheme plus at least one grammatical morpheme added (suffix, prefix)
- Polymorphematic words (consisting of many morphemes, suffixes, prefixes)

Compounding - skládání
- Compounds = kompozita
- You connect together two words to form one word (doorhandle, backpack,
notebook)
- Specific feature of English is even though one words you can write them together,
with a hyphen or two individual words)
- Whole sentence can be transformed into one word
- Teachers are sometimes called mistersoandsoandso
- His “I don’t understand look”

Compound classes
1) From which part of speech were these compound words formed
a) Adjective (bitter-sweet)
b) Adverb and verb (well-known)
Etc.

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 2) Relationship between its parts (words)
a) Copulative compounds
b) Qualifying compounds (base can be the first or second word of compound;
compounds of Germanic type (base on the second position blackboard); other
way round Roman compounds (pickpocket, killjoy, breakwater (vlnolam))

3) Meaning can/cannot be deduced from its parts

a) Endocentric compound – doorknob (you can deduce it)
b) Exocentric compounds – redneck (higher agricultural worker of European origin)
(you cannot deduce it, you need to have some additional knowledge, to know some
context)

4) Quational compounds – citátová kompozita

- Mother-in-law, marry-go-round

5) Synthetizing compounds
- Originally an verb, adverb, object – when they are linked their order is changed
- E.g. stage-struck (že má trému), babysit, bestseller

Collocation
- Stable fixed link between words
- New term is created
- Mainly names of organizations, scientific terminology
- United States of America, European Union

Clipping
- Type of shortening words
- App, refrigerator (fridge)
Blending
- Clipping and compounding
- Smoke + fog à smog
- British + exit à Brexit
- Motor + hotel à motel
Backformation
Zpětné křížení
(Fr. Editeur --. Editor à edit); televise, diagnose, sleepwalk

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Acronyms
(TV, BBC)
Borrowing
-E.g. from Czech robot; blitzkrieg, samizdat, tsunami, boomerang

Lingustic calques
Literaral translation from foreign languages
Gospel
(Milky way)
- Borrow a word, but you do not borrow it in its original form but you translate it
- Meisterstück à master piece

Neologism
- Newly formed word can be used to form a neologism
- To google something
- Selfie
- Brexit, Facebook, Zumba
How can be neologisms formed?
Branching
- Different meaning to existing words
- Word becomes polysemous
- Virus (teď nově i počítačový)
- Notebook (nově i notebook – ikdyž takový sporný, lidi to nepoužívají 😊 )

Reduplication
- Repetition of a word (drip-drip, pell – mell)
- Can be same words, or one can be lightly change
- Non-repetitive (chit-chat, tik-tak)

Meaning of lexeme
1. Semantic nucleus
- Consists of denotation (also called cognitive meaning, basic meaning)

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 - Denotation – in dictionary there is entry – and definition; but there can be also
connotations (archaic word, scientific form, different context for different meanings)

2. Semantic environment
a) Connotation (any other meanings you imagine, it can differ from person to
person)
a. Associations (they are based on person´s individual experience, knowledge,
environment, time, gender, age)
b. Emotiveness/expressivity (positive, neutral or negative)
c. Stylistic value (3 basic layers – literally, neutral and colloquial)
b) Collocability (about which word links are the most frequent, e.g. spend holiday; usual
ties one lexeme has with other lexemes.
c) Inner form
d) Integration into the lexical (alpha linguistic) system of a language

Entry = in dictionaries, slovníkové heslo, basic meaning or denotation

In Czech it can differ, the denotation – take, can mean many things; when translating also
some problems with expressive colouring; Sometimes there is no equivalent in different
language (kindergarten is not exactly školka); key – in Czech can be klávesa, klíč, tónina
Different associations to things – people weren´t in a war x people who were there; based on
education too (body parts in latin)
Some translations can be translated to different languages but not enough experience. E.g.
duvet – peřina – Angličané nepochopí, jak fluffy to je a příjemný; závin – pie – again it does
not associate the possible variations of it
As hard as a brick (u nás kámen), association with windows (In our country usually windows
which open outside or inside, Britain – pulling up) – age, place, education
Expressiveness – connected with a way how emotive a verb is
A) Positive emotiveness
- (Diminutives) Zdrobněliny – piglet – selátko,
- euphemisms there – passed away
- Taky trochu mimo – political correctness

B) Neutral emotiveness
- Most words are neutral – even beautiful

C) Negative emotiveness
- Used to express negative emotions, most of emotive words are negative
- Sometimes not included in dictionaries

a) Expressions whose primary function is not taboo words – Virgin Marry, God,
Blessed – but in; but when you swear they should be avoided – like – oh God –
they became taboo words

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 b) Vulgar (4 letter words) – often connected with sex or excretion
o Certain function in belletres style – used for strong emotions, usually in direct
speech, effective way how to characterize a person, a character.
o Not used in “polite” society

- Ways how to substitute taboo words

o It is not said (beeping at TV)
o In novels (usually found dashes or asterix)
o Or a word is substituted - God à gracious; Jesus à Jupiter; bloody
substituted blessing (swear word meaning damned – zatracený)
o Interjections (ouch – negative emotiveness) – not taboo
o Any word beginning bl is suspicious for British speakers
o WC (water closet) à lavatory à cloak room à where can I wash my hands –
nezmiňují ani toaletu
Wearing off of as slang, emotiveness,
- Slang loses its emotivity
- Slang has limited period of existence, it changes with each generation
- Substituted by new expressions e.g. someone is annoyed – It gets on my nerves – 30s
à get under my skin à to hassle
- To lose control = they go ape à freak out
Stylistic value
- Literary, neutral and colloquial
- Most words are neutral from stylistic point of view
- Literary stylistic words – generally used by more educated people, scientific
terminology, archaic ones, poetic ones, foreign words eg. Nonetheless, appropriately,
(mostly words of French origin – so called long words), long words
- Mixing of styles – you should not include some words in scientific style for example
- Colloquial layer – colloquial vocabulary, contracted forms, slang, professionalisms,
they are non standard, dialectal words belong in here, nonce-words (slova
příležitostná) – nonce-words you can find them in all layers, swear words, jargon,
taboo words
- Sometimes literary and colloquial layer mixed up – but for special stylistic reasons
(comic reasons – combining archaic and colloquial words e.g.)
- Neutral – usually words of anglo-saxon origin, usually have synonymous expressions
in other layers

Associations:
Sea – stormy, boat, calm, blue, shell, water, salt, beach, mermaid
Baby – cute, cry, vulnerable, small, maternity and paternity leave
Football – slow, boring, money, grass, ball, sport, injuries
Shopping – spree, long, necessary, Albert and Zdenda, inflation

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Word formation
- Change of position of a word in a sentence > change of function/meaning (N x V x
ADJ)
 X
- Czech, Polish – change of form necessary

- Fuzzy borders between words, phrases, sentences in english

- (lifestyle, life style, life-style)
- Never-to-be- forgotten experience, face-to-face conversation

Word
- From the point of view
- Homophonous – can be both ending and suffix (reader, taller)

Derivation – affixation – prefixes

 Suffixes

Seminar 13.4.

Stylistic value of vocabulary

Lots of synonyms in English
- Development of science (words of latin and Greek origin)
- English is spread all around the world (British, Australian, American)
- Influence of many different language groups (Germanic languages, Romance
languages)

Where we can find synonyms? – In dictionaries, be careful though – because different

synonyms in each dictionary – e.g. Meriam-Webster dictionary, Thesaurus, Collins dictionary

True synonyms
- E.g. liberty and freedom
Partial synonyms
- Jog, run

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From stylistic point of view
- 3 types
e.g. try (colloquial), attempt or endeavour (literary)
- Germanic origin, Anglo-Saxon (synonyms side by side for centuries) – e.g. play or
drama, playhouse or theatre, playwright or dramatist
- Short words are generally more emotive (generally of Anglo-Saxon origin)

3) Collocability
- (collocation – usual links between words)
- Tall man, tall tree x high mountain
- Both tall or high – building, plant, grass
- Heavy work (only about manual) x hard work (usually mental, but more frequently
you need to use your head) – Nevím, sama v tom má zmatek, už je prý unavená. To já

taky ale, když nemáme ten zkrácený semestr 😊

- Handsome x beautiful
- Heavy rain – hustý déšť

4) Inner form
- Structure
- à secondary motivation (wallpaper, suddenly, unstable)
- Whole meaning of the word can be deduced if it is compound word, prefixes, suffixes

5) Integration in the lexical subsystem + system of language

- Centre x periphery of vocabulary (colour blue à various shades such as navy blue,
petrol, midnight blue etc. Sweating x perspiration
- Function in sentence (syntagmatic – links between words – House was not were,
paradigmatic relations – your knowledge of lexical fields – if you want to speak about
someone you know whether to use he, she, it, they – set of possibilities and you
choose from them)
- Lexical fields

Semantics studies meaning

Meaning
A) Seme
- Smallest part of component of meaning
B) Sememe
- Fakt netuším co to je

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Semantic analysis (Componential analysis)
- Analyses meaning of words into small components

Semantics
- Sememe x seme (distinctive feature of a lexeme)
- Componential (semantic) analysis
- Relationship between meaning and form (M X F)

How do you distinguish between boy, girl, mom

Pluska a minuska ke kritériu (adult, female, school attendance)

- Semasiological approach
F (word) > M
(polysemy = one word many meanings, e.g to reflect, homonymy =at lest two words,
which look the same, the same form, same pronunciation and spelling; different origin e.g.
bank – edge of a river (from old Scandinavian banketi; bank – old Italian – banca –
financial institution) – you cannot use dictionary to find out; seal – piece of hot wax used
instead of stamp x animal – from old French; beam – tram in Czech, from old English, to
beam – from Latin; fine – both from French – but a fine and fine; ball – bál (from old
French), míč – (old English); match (striking fire – French) x contest
Homophones =
Homographs = read (rýd, red), wind (wind, wind)
- Onomasiological approach
- M>F
Synonymy__________________________________________________________________
_________
Tady mi dvě hodiny přednášek a dvě hodiny seminářů chybí – feel free to complete the notes!

Tady je seminář 4.5.

-

- Old English was synthetic language, had conjugation and declension; also much more
similar to German, no words of French origin yet
- Old English influenced by Celts, Scandinavian languages, Latin (Romans)

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Middle English Period
- It happened in year – Norman Conquest and the Battle of Hastings 1066 – eleventh
century – french culture – higher classes; lower classes continued to speak English –
then it merged into one language after like 2 or 3 centuries
- Transfer from synthetic language to modern analytic language
- What happened to pronunciation and spelling? – There occurred great vowel shift =
the way words are spelled and pronounced differs a lot – this change lasted over one
hundred years – dividing line between modern English and old English period?

Literary layer
- Literary coinages/literary nonce-words – slova příležitostná – created for one or two
occasions and then they disappear – utopia – as a name for a novel written by Thomas
More, it had to be name for idealized type of society – but became part of the English
vocabulary, or brexit
- Foreign words – the words that perceived as foreign by native speakers nowadays –
can be connected to special cultural background – often used in novels, scientific texts
to describe the local colour – for example armada, corrida in Hemingway´s works
- Archaic words )obsolete) – historic words, it is not longer used – because the
extralinguistic reality has changed x the words could be substituted by more modern
expressions – evenhood à equality
- Poetic words – similes, metaphors – associations, words which are use are
polysemous – behold, slay (dragon), steed (oř),
- Scientific terminology – very often latin origin of words, only denotation of words;
usually more than one word – avoid connotation or associations as it needs to be
precise – Pavlov´s reflex
- “learned” words/ common literary vocabulary -often of French origin

Neutral layer
- Most words belong to neutral layer
- Any type of discourse
- Mostly majority of words in a discourse
- Synonyms – usually differ in stylistic function (long words x shor words)
Colloquial layer
- Usually a secret code, most of anglo-saxon origin
- Informal
- Common colloquial vocabulary = colloquial words – commonly used
- Slang – social point of view (armwaver, tummy time)
- Jargon – occupational (con, dope)

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 - Professionalisms – informal professional speech (brass (v armádě obvěšení metály),
baby-catcher, adware)
- Dialectisms, regionalisms – territorial differences (a-doing, yon,aye and naye, lass)
(also Br x AmE)
- Taboo words (expletives, vulgar, swear words)
- Colloquial coinages/colloquial nonce-words

English vocabulary from historical point of view

E. vocabulary seen diachronically

OE – ends with battle of hastings – started with arrival of Angles, Saxons and Jutes 1066
(whole) – in this period English was only Germanic language – synthetic type of language – it
had declension and conjugation – alliteration in literature à many synonyms; the languages
which influenced OE – latin because of Roman occupation – connected with military camps –
the word for a camp is castra à Winchester (castra); London form Londynium; street – latin
strata; trade also influenced by latin; celtic influence – not strong – not more than fifteen
words right now – old English writers avoided celtic words – regarded them as local dialect –
preserved in the Dunes /dans/ - it meant hill – geographical names of certain areas in Britain;
Scandinavian influence – names of days of the week are of viking orign, Thursday, Tuesday
MidE –Battle of Hastings – William of Normandy defeated Harold, became English king,
French influence important, GVS – great vowel shift when pronunciation of English changed,
but the spelling hasn´t changed – lady /lady/ à /lejdy/; English gradually changed from
synthetic to analythical; it lasted for a few centuries, English nationality came into being, it
was in the 13 th century after one hundred years war? – (To nedává smysl ne? 13. Století) –
sky, window, they, there (Scandinavian origin?); French influence was very strong in all
spheres of life – state administration terms – sovereign, government, military terminology,
soldier, captain, navy; religion terminology – clergy, trinity, saviour; on the other hand some
terms are of old English origin – Lord, King; names of domestic animals are of OE origin –
ox, cow x beef; scientific terminology of latin origin – atom, nucleus

Modern English
Early modern English period and late modern English period
1755 – Dictionary published, codified – late modern English period starts here – vocabulary
published, grammar codified – Samuel Johnson – from this time almost no changes occurred
in English
Which main events changed English
- scientific terminology of latin origin – atom, nucleus
- Nowadays influence of all languages – Czech – dollar, tunneling, robot, polka

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- Dutch terminology – connected with what each country was good at – painting,
landscape
- Italy – bank, traffic, magazine, art, music, concerto, balcony
- German – schnitzel, weltschmerz
- Russian – perestrojka, vodka
- Arabic - cofee
- Native Indian languages – wigwam, teepee

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