a) Laurie parties every Saturday night.
b) Tom worried that he might have AIDS.
c) Zee described the new toy as fantabulous.
d) Eliza exclaimed: Absobloominlutely!
IX. More than one process was involved in the creation of each of the indicated forms below. Can you identify them?
a) I just got a new car-phone.
b) Shiela wants to be a footballer.
c) The negotiators blueprinted a new peace proposal.
d) Another skyjacking has just been reported.
X. Distribute the following words among the word-formation processes
| acronym | compounding | blending | clipping | derivation | back formation |
RSVP, horseshoe, gas, ATM, smog, sitcom, RAM, FedEx, gangster, earring, memo, ASAP, moped, cheeseburger, dorm, notebook, fridge, anklet, washable, flu, childish, readability, sunglasses, photo, breathalyzer, megabyte, CPU, doc, spam, feminist, blacklist, steno, to enthuse, Fruitopia, kickstand, scraper, pancake, to emote, sidewalk, headache, scanner, math, neighbourhood, sailboat, USA, DOS, racetrack, football, CD, suitcase, resurrect, milkshake, to page, to televise, fairground, exam, UFO, skateboard, demo, radar, preempt
XI. Which process or processes of word formation can you identify in the examples below?
| a) franglais | d) CD player | g) to shop | j) boy-crazy |
| b) espresso | e) euro | h) vicarage | k) pillar-box red |
| c) docudrama | f) radar | i) unselfishness | l) best-sellers |
Recommended Literature:
I.V. Arnold. The English Word. ., 1986, pp. 134-150.
G.B.Antrushina English lexicology. ., 1999, pp. 116-120.
Seminar 5. SEMASIOLOGY
1.Meaning of a word: reference, communication, cognition. Classification of word meaning: grammatical meaning and lexical meaning. Semantic triangle. The lexical meaning versus notion.
2. The denotational and connotational components of the lexical meaning. Functional and non-functional (evaluative, emotive, intensifying, image-bearing/motivation) stylistic meaning.
Exercises to Seminar 5
I. Carry out the componential analysis of these words by using an appropriate combination of the semantic features.
1. man 2. boy 3. woman 4. girl 5. bull 6. cow 7. calf 8. boar 9. sow 10. piglet 11. raw 12.ewe 13.lamb.
a. human b. animal c. male d. female e. adult f. non-adult g. ovine h. bovine i. porcine.
II. Identify the denotational and connotational aspects of lexical meaning of the given words. Analyze the similarity and difference between the components of the connotational aspect of lexical meaning in the given pairs of words.
Model: celebrated notorious
| Words | Denotational/connotational aspects | Components of the connotational aspect of lexical meaning which specify the difference between the words |
| celebrated | widely known, admired and talked about by many people because of good qualities | evaluation (positive) |
| notorious | widely known because of something bad, for example, for being criminal, violent, or immoral | evaluation (negative) |
To deal with to grapple with, sophisticated hardened, adventure ordeal, perfect flawless, to glance to glare, adulation respect, ugly repulsive, to murmur to mutter.
|
|
|
III. What are the connotations of the italicized words in the following sentences?
1. We are away to sunnier climes.
2. I had to fork out a lot for that present.
3. Give mummy the doggie then.
4. If we do that, theyll call down fire and brimstone on us.
5. Lets get rid of this little beastie.
6. I suppose muggings will have to do it.
7. Let me get you the aforementioned.
8. Well meet upon the greensward.
IV. Read the following poem. Then answer the questions.
The Naked and the Nude by Robert Graves
| For me, the naked and the nude (By lexicographers construed As synonyms that should express The same deficiency of dress Or shelter) stand as wide apart As love from lies, or truth from art. | Lovers without reproach will gaze On bodies naked and ablaze; The hippocratic eye will see In nakedness, anatomy; And naked shines the Goddess when She mounts her lion among men. |
| The nude are bold, the nude are sly To hold each treasonable eye. While draping by a showman's trick Their dishabille in rhetoric, They grin a mock-religious grin Of scorn at those of naked skin. | The naked, therefore, who compete Against the nude may know defeat; Yet when they both together tread The briary pastures of the dead, By Gorgons with long whips pursued, How naked go the sometimes nude! |
1. Circle the words: lexicographers, construed, hippocratic, dishabille, Gorgons. What is the effect (connotative) of using this diction [ Diction: The purposeful selection of words for their denotative or connotative value]?
2. What kind of language is used in lines 2-5? For example, why is deficiency used instead of lack?
3. Explain the metaphor in line 15. (rhetoric = clothing). Why the fancy word dishabille? (French = undressed)
4. Explain the effect of Grave's choice of deviant alternatives: brave for bold, clever for sly, clothing for draping, and smile for grin?
5. What is the connotative difference between naked and nude? What is the effect of the last line?
PURPOSE: Grave's distinction between naked and nude does not account for other uses of these words. How appropriate, for example, would be Grave's version of nude for the following: a pamphlet written for nudists, an advertisement for a strip show, an article in ART NEWS on painting the human figure? Writer's purpose becomes a strong thesis for a paper, if you validate his purpose with the study of his word choice.
V. State the difference in the pragmatic aspect of lexical meaning in the following pairs of words. Pay special attention to the register of communication. State the possible participants of the communicative situation and their roles on which tenors of discourse are based.
Model: to interrupt to butt in: Dont interrupt when your mother is speaking. There is an awful man in the front row who butts in whenever you pause.
| Words | Register of communication | Participants of the communicative situation | Roles, which tenors of discourse are based on |
| Interrupt | neutral | Parent child | Family roles |
| Butt in | informal | People who know each other well enough | Social roles |
1. Certainly unquestionably: Im sorry if I upset you, dear. I certainly didnt mean to. Japan has unquestionably one of the most successful economies of the world. 2. Dough money: He only married her for her dough. How much money will you pay me for this work, sir? 3. Picture photograph: Karen showed me a picture of her new boy-friend hes very good-looking. Visitors are not allowed to take photographs inside the museum. 4. Skirt girl: So, Bill, off to chase some skirt? I didnt know you were friends with the girl I had seen you with last night. 5. Quality thing: There are certain qualities in Orwells prose that I greatly admire. One of the things I like about Mary is the way she always keeps smiling, even when there are problems.
|
|
|
Recommended Literature:
I.V. Arnold. The English Word. ., 1986, pp. 3750.
R.S.Ginzburg. A course in Modern English Lexicology. ., 1979, pp. 1825.
G.B.Antrushina. English lexicology. ., 1999, pp. 129142.
