LEXICAL SYSTEM

OF THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE
Тищенко Алиса ПЕР-722
Lexical system is a set of elements associated & functioning
together according to certain laws.
The lexical system of every epoch contains:
productive elements typical of this particular
period; obsolete & dropping out of usage;
new phenomena, significant marks of new
trends. The present status of a system is an
abstraction, which can facilitate linguistic
study. The actual system of the language is
in a state of constant change.
Lexicology studies this whole by determining the
properties of its elements, relationships of contrast
& similarity existing between them within a
language, & the ways in which they are influenced
by extra-linguistic reality. The extra-linguistic
relationships are connections of Ws with the
elements of objective reality they denote, & their
dependence on the social, mental & cultural
development of the language community.
The theory of reflection is methodological basis of lexicology. Objective reality is approximately but
correctly reflected in the human mind. The notions rendered in the meanings of the Ws are generalised
reflections of real objects & phenomena. The reflection of objective reality is selective: human thought
& language select, reflect & nominate what is relevant to human activity.
The study of the lexical system includes the study of the Ws’ combinatorial possibilities (valency,
distributional characteristics, colligation & collocation, combining power). Syntagmatic
relationships are studied by means of contextual, valency, distributional, transformational analysis.
Paradigmatic linguistic relationships are based on the
interdependence of Ws within the vocabulary
(synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, etc.).

Diachronically the interdependence of Ws within the

lexical subsystem is seen by observing shifts in the
meaning of existing Ws when a new W is introduced
into their semantic sphere.
The phonetical, morphological &
syntactical language systems condition
the sound form, morphological
structure, motivation & meaning of Ws
(the monosyllabic phonological type of
the English W enhances homonymy).
Sources
◦ https://kpfu.ru/docs/F1797492221/Lectures.on.Le_icology1.pdf