Culegere

Camelia Bejan

Camelia Bejan

Nicoleta Sava

A Workbook in Lexical Semantics

Table of contents

1. Word formation

1.1. Affixation

1.2. Compounding

1.3. Other means of word formation

2. Word meaning: componential analysis

3. Lexical relations

3.1. Synonymy

3.2. Antonymy, Polysemy, Homonymy, Paronymy

1. Word formation

1.1. Affixation

1. State which of the suffixes below are productive. Give examples of words formed with each suffix and use them in short sentences of your own.

A) Noun-forming suffixes:

-age; -ant; -dom; -ee; -ence; -er; -ese; -ess; -hood; -ism;

-ist; -ite; -ive; -ling; -ment; -or; -ry; -ship; -th; -tion.

B) Adjective-forming suffixes:

-ed; -esque; -fold; -ful; -ish; -like; -ly; -y.

C) Verb-forming suffixes:

-ate; -en; -fy; -ize.

D) Adverb-forming suffixes:

-long; -ly; -ward; -wise.2. State the origin and explain the meaning of the suffixes in the following words:

apologize,

atheism, circulation,clockwise,coldness,

craftsmanship, drunkard, fashionable, foolish, forward,

glorious,

happiness, hopeful, kingdom, ladylike,

manifold,

picturesque, powerless, refreshment, sarcasm,

serious,

spheroid, troublesome, waiter,

wooden.

3. Pick out words with noun-forming suffixes. Comment on the origin and productivity of the suffixes.

1. Certain traditional solutions are presented to us all in youth, and the swiftness with which we see their foolishness is an almost unerring test of intelligence.

2. Isabel was often amused at his explicitness and at the small allowance he seemed to make either for her own experience or for her imagination.

3. As for the gentleman himself, his feelings were chiefly expressed, not by embarrassment or dejection, or by trying to avoid her, but by stiffness of manner and resentful silence.

4. I already knew that I wanted to write novels but even so, I could not avoid feeling some sort of excitement, or enhancement of interest, whenever I saw Rutherford walking down Free School Lane.

5. He sat by without speaking, looking at the entrances and exits, the greetings and chatterings of Madames visitors.

6. And he had one of the rare moments of homesickness for the Cornwall left twenty-five years before.

7. I hope, Nasie, he said in her ear, that you will give orders not to admit that youngster, whose eyes light up like live coals when he looks at you.

8. She could not bring her situation into harmony with her feelings, with her convictions;

..

..

4. Write out the words with adjective-forming suffixes. Comment on the origin and productivity of the suffixes:

1. The tone of science was the tone of Rutherford: boastful because the major discoveries were being made that very moment, creatively confident, generous, argumentative, lavish, and full of hope.

2. The marshals opponent is a young captain of the staff, belted and curled and light-gloved, who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals on earth; but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief. He is what is called an officer with a future.

3. The sluggish procession in which they were moving led them eventually to the centre of the town and the soberly illuminated front of the Imperial Hotel.

4. Madame gave Newman the sense of an elaborate education, of her having passed through mysterious ceremonies and processes of culture in her youth, of her having been fashioned and made flexible to certain exalted social needs.

5. His composition was a mixture of good-humoured manly force and a modesty that at times was almost boyish.

.

.

5. Underline the words with suffixes. Comment on the meaning and function of the suffixes.

Model: coldness = cold + -ness;

-ness = state, quality, instance of being; nominalizing suffix

1. She saw Mr. Outrage and Lord Metroland in consultation about the Censorship Bill (a statesmanlike and much needed measure) which empowered a committee of five atheists to destroy all books, pictures and films they considered undesirable, without any nonsense about defence or appeal.

2. They had seen in their own homes the dreadful unhappiness and suffering caused by Victorian ignorance.

3. His fraternal tenderness had touched her, and on his departure she had burst into tears.

4. Really, thought Clarissa, if collecting historical material is going to be as tiresome as this, I wish I had accepted the offer of writing a travel book on Angola.

5. Then he asked himself: Do I really want her? Was it a memory, or a hope, or mere pig-headedness that kept him going with her.

6. Her glasses were blurred with tears and the car swerved left-ward towards the stone-wall.

.

..

..

6. Identify the prefixed words from the following sentences. Indicate the part of speech they belong to.

1. And when Lady Metroland began to expostulate, he shut her up very discourteously.

2. The race was not due to start until noon, but any indecision which they may have felt about the next few hours was settled for them by the local police, who were engaged in directing all traffic, irrespective of its particular inclinations, on the road to the course.

3. It was a spontaneous exhibition that had served its purpose on many different occasions. Sir Edgar, however, disliked it even more than his earlier performance.

4. As long as I kept walking theyd remained mixed and chaotic, like imperfectly recollected books and films; once I stopped theyd become unbearably organized; if I walked quickly I could crane my mind with the speed of my own movement.

5. By the time I entered Cholon I had outstripped the news: life was busy, normal, uninterrupted: nobody knew.

6. On the lips of a person less advanced in life, and less enlightened by experience than Mrs. Touchett, such a declaration would savour of immodesty, even of arrogance.

..

..

..

7. Use negative prefixes to form noun antonyms.

ability,

accuracy,behaviour,combatant,conduct,content,courage,grateful,interpret,legibility,like,

literacy,personal,precision,regular,

rest,

truth.

8. Look out the meaning of the prefix be- in the dictionary. Underline the words with the prefix in the sentences below and comment on the meaning of the prefix in each case.

1. Mary Mouse shed tow little tears and felt for the brown, bejewelled hand of the Maharajah.

2. He stood bewildered, not appalled, on that dark shore which separates the ancient and the modern world. He is power, passion, self-will personified.

3. If you are going into that line,-going to besiege the city of God,-you must not only be strong in engines, but prepared with provisions.

4. Every point of his appearance and address bespoke the gentleman.

5. Do you know you are the first lord I have ever seen? she said, very promptly to her neighbour. I suppose you think I am awfully benighted.

6. There are moments when all anxiety and stated struggle are becalmed in the infinite leisure and repose of nature..

7. Gerald tried to comfort himself by imagining her on rain-swept platforms, their yellow-and-purple decorations bedraggled and sordid.

8. The bewiskered fellow opposite him is General Starke, who led a commando in the War.

9. The explanation of the mystery was greeted with a relieved smile. But the magistrate bethought him.

10. I should have sailed last night instead of the night before, but happening to buy an evening paper, I saw in it an account of the awful tragedy that had befallen on us.

NOTE: the prefix be- may have the following meanings:

A) V + be- V: a) around (e.g. beset), b) completely thoroughly, excessively (used as an intensifier, e.g. besmear), c) away (used as a privative, e.g. betake), d) about (used as a transitive prefix, e.g. bethink);

B) N + be- V: a) make (e.g. bedim), b) furnish with, cover with, affect by, treat as

(e.g. becloud);

C) Past Part. + be- A : covered with, furnished with, furnished with to excess

(e.g. bemedaled)

9. In the sentences below, underline the words with both a prefix and a suffix. State to what part of speech they belong, the origin of the affixes and identify the hybrids.

Model: unchangeable Adj., Ger + Lat, hybrid

1. At other times the reality became an infamy again and the unchangeable an imposture, and he gave himself up to his angry restlessness

2. I talked to her repeatedly in the most serious manner, representing to her the wickedness of what he has done, and all the unhappiness she had brought on her family.

3. In revolving Lady Catherines expressions, however, she could not help feeling some uneasiness as to the possible consequence of her persisting in this interference.

4. Mr. Heng himself came cordially forward and ushered me into a little inner room lined with the black carved uncomfortable chairs you find in every Chinese anteroom, unused, unwelcoming.

5. My aunt and my uncle were unselfish and generous and gentle

6. Her left hand was pressed on her side, as though to still the unconquerable agitation of her heart.

7. In spite of myself I laughed immoderately.

10. Identify the hybrids in the following sentences and trace their etymology:

1. All looked graceful, lovely, charming, as they have not looked to me for many years.

2. The sentence however was more merciful than could have been expected, perhaps partly because the criminal had not tried to justify himself, but had rather shown a desire to exaggerate his guilt.

3. It is singular, however, how long a time often passes before words embody things; and with what security two persons, who choose to avoid a certain subject, may approach its very verge, and retire without disturbing it.

4. I am telling you the truth, and you have no right to disbelieve me; I have kept my word to you.

5. I thought her, then, still more colourless and thin than when I had seen her last.

6. He told his mother countless stories every night about his school-companions.

.

11. Morphemes are organized in patterned ways. Besides their linear order, the morphemes in a

word also have a layered, or hierarchical, structure. The sequence of morpheme layering is built up from a root. Consider the word uncontrollably: its root is control, which functions as a stem for able; controllable functions as a stem for uncontrollable, and uncontrollable functions as a stem for uncontrollably. This sequence may be represented using:

a) derivational rules

Verb + -ABLE

( Adjective

controllable

UN- + Adjective( Adjective

uncontrollable

Adjective + -LY( Adverb

uncontrollable

b) a tree diagram

Adverb

Adjective

Adjective

Verb

un

control

able

ly

c) labeled brackets:

[ [ un [ [ control Verb] + [ able ] Adj] Adj] ly Adv]

Draw tree diagrams and give labeled brackets for these English words: unlikelihood, disenchantment, unreasonableness, unshockability, updated, recapitalization, revaccinations, reassuringly.

12. Consider the two analyses of untruthful given below. Give arguments for preferring one analysis over the other:

[[[ un + [true Adj] Adj] + th N] + ful Adj]

[ un [[[ true Adj] + th N] + ful Adj] Adj]

13. Consider the following words:

a) For each word listed above, identify its lexical category.

b) Each word contains more than one morpheme. List all the morphemes and indicate whether they are free or bound.

c) Indicate for each affix whether it is derivational or inflectional.

heard

tinier

unproductive

toys

bookshops

listened

reassessment

childrens

fixer-upper

fatherly

improbable

improbability

repayment

unamusing

tidiest

realignments

calculating

disarms

unremarkable

forewarned

untidiness

unpretentiousness

14. Cyber- has become a popular prefix during the 1990s. It has been attached principally to nouns to form new nouns, as in cyberspace. List ten words that use the prefix cyber-, identifying any examples of cyber- being prefixed to a lexical category other than a noun.

15. Pre- serves as a prefix to several categories of words. Identify the categories of words to which pre- has been attached:

preplan,

precultural,prewash,preaffirm, preaffirmation, preallot, precollegiate,prenatal,presurgical,preplacement, preantiquity

pre-Copernican.

1.2. Compounding

1. Classify the following compounds according to structural criteria:

a) compounds in juxtaposition: heart-disease, tablecloth,

b) compounds with a linking element: Anglo-Saxon, townsfolk,

c) compounds with form words: point of view, bread and bother, .

d) compound derivatives:

n + n + er: week-ender, .

adj + n + er: left-hander, .................................................................................................

vb + vb + er: go-getter, ...................................................................................................

adv + vb + er: new-comer, ..............................................................................................

n + vb + er: theatre-goer, ................................................................................................

num + n + er: first-nighter, ..............................................................................................

adj + n + ed: broad-shouldered, .....................................................................................

n + n + ed: doll-faced,

num + n + ed: two sided, ................................................................................................

the armed forces, background, class-consciousness, the day before yesterday, deaf-and-dumb, dress circle, Education and Welfare, far-off (country), first-offender, fur-lined, handicraftsman, Highlander, horsemanship, horsepower, late-comer, light-minded, lipstick, matter-of-fact, merry-go-round, mud-built (house), out-of-sight, pearl-fishing, postcard, stay-at-home, snow-white (head), stocking-weavers, tablecloth, ticket-collector, toothpick, three-cornered, treasure-seekers, up-to-date, Vanity Fair, warm-hearted, water-fall, well-known, whirlwind, wig-maker, worn-out.

2. Classify the italicized compound adjectives according to the part of speech to which their components belong:

1. Antonia has great tawny-coloured intelligent searching eyes.

2. In a more effective simile one might compare her to the water-haunted sunlight or an old pavement in Venice.

3. Shes not very mobile but perfectly clean and an easy-going person.

4. David said, But theyve always had such a live-and-let-live attitude.

5. I dreaded their gradual discovery that I was tongue-tied or doltish.

6. A strike against what? Were looked-out boys.

7. Youd feel honour-bound to say its been a great show of working-class strength.

8. But that doesnt mean I take a cut-and-dried attitude to the issues involved.

3. Comment on the structure of the following compounds. Supply other examples of English compounds exhibiting the same structure.

1. He lived in a two-roomed shack.

2. Low down in the sky in front of us there were streaks of black and orange cloud, and above them a pale, watery-green expanse

3. He made diligent and pains-taking inquiries.

4. They stand up, and continue so to do, out of the ocean of the past, like the mist-topped peak of Tenerife.

5. It went literally like clockwork.

6. I was pondering thus when suddenly that death-still body stirred into action.

7. Here Huck is with his runaway slave, Jim.

4. Find out the compounds in the following sentences and classify them according to the type of semantic relations between the Determinatum (D) and the determinant (d) (purpose, partitive, time or place, comparison, material, instrumental, appositional relations)

Model: wholehoggers were like that.

wholehoggers = whole (d) + hog (D) + er, partitive relation

1. You could see them at the races, in the music-halls, at Court, in the tea-rooms and hotel-lobbies.

2. To his acquaintance with a corner of Rome he added a fourteen-year-old vision of a civilization where no one thought about anything but caresses.

3. David looking saw the old man his yellow parchment, cigar-scented old body on this last day of May.

4. He was now in partnership it seemed, with a friend who was opening a combined paint and carpentry shop to assist the do-it-yourself householder.

5. There was a clue, perhaps in her attitude to the gorilla-like man, Leonard.

6. She had, it was true, accepted them, turned them into a kind of punch-drunk bliss.

7. Henderson remarked that there must be many complaints possible about backward methods or imperfect materials, bottlenecks or failures of some sort or another.

.

.

.

NOTE: The Determinatum is the head of a compound, the part that determines the part of speech of the compound, the determinant modifies the Determinatum, further specifying it.

5. Give more examples of compounds in which:

Model:

N flood (d) + N light (D) = flood-light

a. both d and D are nouns:

flood-light

b. d is a participle and D is a noun:

filling station

c. d is and adverb and D a participle:

well built..

d. d is an adjective and D a participle:

pleasant-looking..

e. d is an adverb and D a noun:

background.

6. Classify the italicized compounds according to the syntactic relationship between the constituents (coordinative, and subordinative compounds):

Model: 1.secretary stenographer, actor-manager, bitter-sweet, queen-bee = coordinative compounds made up of two components semantically and structurally independent and equal in importance;

2. stone-death, age-old, wrist-watch = subordinative compounds based on domination of one compound over the other. The second component is the structural centre, the grammatically dominant part of the word.

1. As they were following the hairpin river road, he cried

2. He told a dryly amusing story about a set-to between Mrs. Masters and Annie Pratt

3. The room wasfilled like a junk shop with a jumble of pleasing, valuable antique furniture and hideous worthless bric-a-brac.

4. He turned to see Mrs. Paget herself, pushing open the door with her rubber-ferruled stick.

5. After some desultory gossip and backchat an elderly man with a walrus moustache took the chairmans place

6. She cocked her cigarette up towards her nose in a jaunty errand-boy sort of way

7. He opened the door, thankful and yet sorry that the showdown had been once more postponed

8. Jim Cooper and two others were indeed arrested, but they said nothing of Herb and he began to feel more cock-a-hoop, protesting before his father that hed behave himself in the future

7. Classify the following italicized compounds according to the degree of semantic motivation (clearly motivated, partially motivated, non-motivated):

Model: foot-step, bottle-opener:

clearly motivated (non-idiomatic);

hand bag, hand cuff, flower-bed: partially motivated;

fiddle sticks, dog-eared, slow-coach: non-motivated (idiomatic).

1. Med pulled herself up sharply as she was about to light one cigarette from another, replaced the fresh one in the mother-of-pearl and ebony box, crushed out the used stub.

2. I suppose its because Im a whole hogger.

3. Donald came back with a light grey over-coat, black hat, umbrella and washleather gloves.

4. Then one studied up Swedish and read the diaries and the barrels-full of notes

5. He covering my tables with vellum-bound folios

6. We were cats-paws, thats all.

7. Kit drank. First time Ive seen her. Then its a free-for-all, and may the worst man win?

8. You talk more tomfoolery every day, Jean, he said magnanimously.

9. For a few moments he drove in silence, then he said, Youre a pipe-man, arent you? He pulled a pouch out of a pocket of his dark-brown tweed suit and tossed it into Emerys lap.

8. The following italicized compounds and phrases, when used out of context, admit two possibilities of analysis. Identify the two possibilities and then choose the analysis which fits the context:Model: Ideal Home Exhibition- [[Ideal Home] Exhibition] (Exhibition of ideal houses)

- [Ideal [Home Exhibition]] (Ideal exhibition of houses)

1. He dresses in the American style with belts of braces and so on involving bright silk handkerchiefs instead of ties.

2. Italians have a horror of making long term contracts.

3. She rested the nape of her neck against the cool iron bed rail and fell into a reverie.

4. Sally was in attendance, standing in front of the four yellowish-white China handles with bright brass tips.

5. Ill come along tomorrow evening, he said, and he leaned down for a good-night kiss.

6. When I was six, somebody pushed me into a pool on the Sunday-school-outing.

7. I had black bean soup and a beef stew with boiled potatoes for fifteen cents.

8. the dark green crested plates and the little army of satin clad footmen suddenly appeared from nowhere.

1.3. Other means of word-formation

Back-formation (Back derivation)

1. Compare the words in the two columns below. Comment on their formation pointing out which is the original word and which is the derived one.

to automate

automation

to baby-sit

baby-sitter

to enthuse

enthusiasm

greed

greedy

to housekeep

housekeeper

to sleepwalk

sleep-walking

to televise

television

to typewrite

typewriter

to thought-read

thought-reader

Abbreviation

2. Give the full form of the following abbreviated words. Indicate their pronunciation as well.

A.C., AM, B.A., BC, c.f., E.F.L., e.g., E.N.L., E.S.L., et al., i.e., K.O., N.B., M.A., PM, R.P., U.N.E.S.C.O., viz., yuppie, woopie, ZIP (Code)

3. Below there is a list of commonly used abbreviations of the IT field. Match the abbreviations with the full form:

BASIC

< Basic Input/Output System>

BIOS

< Compact Disc Read-Only Memory>

CD-ROM< Dynamic Link Library>

DLL

< Beginners All-Purpose Symbolic Introduction Code>

DRV

< hyper text transfer protocol>

http

< local area network>IBM

< Initialisation>INI

< International Business Machines>LAN

< Driver>MSN

< Microsoft Disc Operating System>

MS-DOS< The Microsoft Network>

PC

< Random Access Memory>

RAM

< world wide web>

www

< Personal Computer>

Deflection (morphophonemic alternation, vowel interchange, root derivation)

4. Give verbs/adjectives corresponding to the following nouns and adjectives:

life

food

alternate

full

bath

wide

blood

loss

breath

deep

breach

song

broad

speech

Conversion

5. Read the following pairs of words. Give their phonetic transcription.

N

V

N

V

protest

to protest

record

to record

import

to import

rebel

to rebel

insult to insult

subject to subject

object to object

suspect to suspect

present to present

torment to torment

Clipping (shortening)

6. Identify the clipping compounds formed from the following stems (with a complete first stem and a clipped second stem):

air

+telephone

baby

+kidnap

computer+literacy

bold

+audacious

slang

+language

travel

+catalogue

ad hoc

+aristocracy

tank

+bulldozer

7. Identify the stems of the following clipping compounds (with a complete first stem and a clipped second stem):

cablegram

robocop

cheeseburger

snowmobile

headphone

toytoon

motordome

grey market

milkaholic

videolog

8. Identify the clipping compounds formed from the following stems (with a complete second stem and a clipped first stem):

boat

+hotel

escalator+lift

parachute+troops

video

+idiot

video

+kid

hooligan+van

computer+accessories

revue

+musical

9. Identify the stems of the following clipping compounds (with a complete second stem and a clipped first stem):

airbus

Internet

biogas

medicare

cyberspace

telenovel

e-money

ecofriendly

teletourist

triathlete

10. Identify the clipping compounds formed from the following stems (with a clipped second stem and a clipped first stem):

fantastic+fabulous

European+bureaucrat

global

+inflation

multiple+university

smoke

+haze

transmitter+receiver

biographical+picture

11. Identify the stems of the following clipping compounds (with a complete second stem and a clipped first stem):

avionics

ComSat

bit

simulcast

motel

smog

electrocute

telecast

12. Trace back the origin of the shortened words italicized in the sentences below and explain how they are formed (aphaeresis, syncope, apocope):

1. You want to wash the jam of your mouth. Got a hanky?

2. Doing repairs on the outside of a rocket in mid air is a ticklish job.

3. But the pants certainly need it all right.

4. He tore out the ad and let the rest of the paper go with the wind.

5. I have no idea if you will be able to decipher this as the noise in the dorm is absolutely incredible tonight and I can hardly hear myself think.

6. It was a long time, he said, since he had walked about the town alone in the evening, or been into a pub.

7. This is my young assistant maam, said Doc Bingham with a noble gesture.

8. The phone rang. Hello, Eli said.

9. the very shoe-roses for Netherfield were got by proxy.

10. Claire I need a smoke, a sip, and a good surface. Thank you.. Tobias Comfy? Claire Very!

Note:

a) Aphaeresis or fore-clipping is the loss of an (some) initial phoneme(s) (e.g.: airplane > plane);

b) Syncope or medial clipping is the loss of some phonemes in medial position (e.g.: mistress > Miss)

c) Apocope or back clipping is the loss of some phonemes in final position (e.g.: bicycle > bike)

Reduplication13. Comment on and classify the following pseudo-compounds according to the criterion of form (reduplicative compounds proper, ablaut combinations, rhyme combinations).

1. Inges sugary words, her Scandinavian sing-song flowed back through his memories ....

2. He wanted to say, Fiddle-de-dee, had he not known that Gordon, in less ridiculous words, would have shared Elses feelings.

3. Ive got a mortal dislike of crunchings and munchings and all such noise, its my one little fiddle-faddle.

4. You havent heard boogiewoogie till youve heard him.

5. and then they themselves passed a close-packed flock of clip-clopping sheep ...

6. Here we are in the Worst End said Dave, with a lavish gesture bestowing on her the West End and all its luxuries though the latter turned out to be chop-and-chip and ice-cream in a small caf.

7. I can understand your position. Although of course its only real shilly-shallying disguised as intellect, no doubt.

Note:

Ablaut changes represent changes in the root vowel of strong verbs, as a consequence of stress (e.g.: fall > fell; drink drank drunk)

Rhyme combinations represent combinations where with the shifting of a consonant, some special rhyme is obtained (e.g. teeny-weenie)

14. Identify the reason for the use of hyphens:

to avoid doubling or tripling of vowels or consonants

genitive marker

repetition of words (reduplicative compounds)

antonymic terms

numerals

letters of the alphabet

colours

titles, double qualities

units of measurement

present or past participles as a second element

ellipsis

onomatopoeic words

connective vowels

cats cradle, face-to-face, Anglo-Saxon, cause-effect, long- and short-term loans, word-building, second-rate, V-Day, blue-green, hand-made, 2-hour surveillance, minister-designated, 4-year education, e-commerce, 4-year university, president-elect, night-flying, car-and ship-owners, puff-puff-puff, Indo-European

15. The following terms are associated with computer or internet use. For each item, identify its lexical category and comment upon the word-formation process (compounding, shortening, acronym, conversion, etc.) and provide a brief definition, if possible.

Model: chatgroup noun, compound, a group of people talking together via the Internet

cyberenthusiast

a flame

info pike

Internetter

a lurker

newbee or newbie

spamming

a twit filter

cyberizing

cyberspace

to flame out

info superpike

I-way

netiquette

a remailer

a sysop

WYSIWYG

FAQ

domain name

IMHO

to e-mail

to lurk

netter

smileys

a thread

software

source code

programming language

to download

code writer

Mac

browser

mouse

to keyboard

16. The following words or phrases have been selected from an article discussing electronic commerce (Newsweek, July 7, 1997, p 80). Next to each write the word-building process used (compounding, affixation, invention, shortening, conversion, derivation, semantic shift, borrowing, blend)

cluelessness

Information Highway

into hyperdrive

the digital world

the wonky title

a cutting-edge blueprint

a virtual storefront

that will grease commerce

zipless electronic commerce

CDA Communications Decency Act

17. Translate the following excerpt and comment on the types of affixation:

Ca universitar, Petre Andrei a fost profesorul; printre profesori a fost sociologul; printre sociologi a fost promotorul devenirii nencetate; iar printre politicieni a fost susintorul cinstei, corectitudinii i dinamismului social. Cele trei preocupri vitale ale scurtei sale existene pmntene, profesoratul, sociologia i politica au fost fericit mplinite de vocaia sa de so i printe, aa cum o dovedesc att propriile sale rnduri, ct i mrturiile scrise sau orale ale descendenilor si.

(Horia Hulban, Petre Andrei i sociologia educaiei)

2. Word meaning: componential analysis

1. Distribution is a structural basis for the identification of the various semantic features making up the meaning of a word. The occurrence or impossibility of occurrence of a word in a given distributional frame is usually accompanied by a change in its meaning, as illustrated by the examples below:

Accepted distributions:

Big

is/are big

very/how big, bigger

big1 mountain

+

+

+

big2 sister

+

-

-

big3 fool

+

-

+

big4 man in town

+

-

+

Try to find similar distributional frames for the words heavy, soft, flat, empty, sweet, cold and, on that basis, differentiate between their various meanings, as shown in the model above.

2. Given the following contexts, the following subcategorization of nouns can be arrived at:

1) Noun was breathing hard.

(+ Animate)(- Animate)2) Noun often coughs.

(+ Human)(- Human)3) Noun breed quickly.

(+ Animal)(- Animal)4) Noun were squealing.

(+ Dog)

(- Dog)5) Noun yelped painfully.

(+ Pig)

(- Pig)6) Noun were mewing.

(+ Cat)

(- Cat)7) Noun were twittering.

(+ Bird) (- Bird)8) Noun were sprawling in the light.

(+ capable to emit light) (- capable to emit light)9) Noon have been blooming all summer. (+ Plant)(- Plant)Establish the selectional restrictions of the following groups of verbs in terms of their subject:

1) to sleep, to drink, to eat

2) to smile, to laugh, to speak

3) to beat, to roar, to bellow, to bray

4) to barn, to snarl

5) to grunt

6) to purr

7) to chirp, to coo, to croak

8) to shine, to glimmer, to glitter, to glare, to flash, to glow9) to bud, to blossom, to fade, to wither

Comment on the consequences of the non-observance of such restrictions as evinced in the figurative usage of language (be it colloquial, jocular, poetic); pay attention to the italicized verbs.

4. Given the following contexts, the following subcategorization of nouns can be arrived at:

1) They abolished

Noun(+ Abstract)(-Abstract)2) They caught

Noun(+Animate)(-Animate)3) They educated

Noun (+Human)(-Human)4) They milked

Noun(+Animal)(-Animal)5) They suckled

Noun(+ Adult)(-Adult)6) They ploughed

Noun(+ Solid)(-Solid)7) They encircled

Noun(+ Surface) (-Surface)8) They poured

Noon(+ liquid)(-liquid)

On the basis of the above classification find the selectional restrictions characterizing the following group of verbs in terms of their direct object:

1) to elucidate, to generalize, to state, to formulate, to solve, to perpetrate

2) to grasp, to shake, to grip, to seize, to wash

3) to indent, to dig

4) to till, to chop, to carve, to cut

5) to drink, to filter

6) to chirp, to coo, to croak

7) to enclose, to surround, to cultivate

3. Lexical relations

3.1. Synonymy

1. Find the prototype in the following groups of synonyms and give reasons for your choice:

Model:

to depart, to quit, to leave, to clear out, to retire.

Dominant: to leaveReasons:it is the general word, it is neutral both stylistically and emotionally and it can stand for each of its synonyms in most uses.

1. handsome, lovely, beautiful, pretty, comely, good-looking

2. to inquire, to ask, to question, to interrogate

3. odour, scent, smell, bouquet, fragrance, perfume

4. to suspend, to hang, to dangle, to sling

5. fright, fear, consternation, horror, dread, panic, alarm

6. courage, bravery, fortitude, valour, gallantry

7. powerful, forceful, potent, forcible

8. ripe, mature, adult, grown-up

2. State which words in column B correspond to the generic term in column A by means of a hyponymy relation:

Model: bird: robin, sparrow, goldfinch

poultry: hen, cock, goose, duck

A

B

china

tusk, fang, molar, incisor

linen

chair, cupboard, book-case, desk

mathematics

trousers, hat, socks, shirt, frock

animal

cup, saucer, plate, cream-ewer, sugar-bowl, tea-pot

dog

dog, cat, lion, squirrel

horse

spaniel, poodle, setter, fox-terrier

clothes

stallion, steed, mare, colt, foal, filly

furniture

arithmetic, geometry, algebra

tooth

napkin, sheets, table-cloth, pillow-slip

3. State whether the italicised words are prototypes or super-ordinates:

1. to get, to acquire, to obtain, to win, to earn, to gain;

2. cutlery, tea-pot, coffee-pot, sugar-bowl, silver;

3. forks, knives, spoons, cutlery;

4. to prohibit, to forbid, to interdict;

5. flower, snowdrop, carnation, rose, daffodil;

6. to reveal, to disclose, to discover, to show;

7. clear, transparent, lucid, limpid;

8. clothes, dress, attire, apparel, vesture;

4. Find in column B the words which are synonyms only in the contexts given in column A:

Model:

A

B

a wide __ / __ ofselection/range =>a wide selection / range of

A

B

___ talk

to be called, to come, to go

to ___ a glance

belief, knowledge, recollection

to play somebody a ___ trick

hole, corner

not to care a ___

squeak, shave

to ___ somebody a grudge

to steal, to shoot, to throw

to have ___ words with somebody

idle, empty

to laugh in ones ___

to sink, to die

to ___ a deep sigh

nasty, shabby, bad

to be in a ___

pin, straw, button

the best of my ___

to owe, to bear

to ___ to the bar

eyelashes, eyelids, eyebrows

my heart ___

to fill, to answer

to hang on by ones ___

to draw, to fetch, to give, to sigh

to have a narrow ___

sleeve, beard

to ___ the bill

hard, high, sharp, hot

to __ / __ a resemblance

bear/have

5. Use the following synonymous words in sentences of your own, paying attention to their distributional opposition and state the difference in distribution that you notice.

Model: sick, ill

My brother is ill.

She paid a visit to the sick old man.

(Ill is used predicatively; sick is used attributively)

1. to tell, to say

2. house, home

3. to steal, to rob,

4. bare, naked

5. to like, to enjoy

6. lonely, alone

7. island, isle

8. still, yet

6. Arrange the following nouns into synonymic groups. Point out the semantic feature(s) shared by them and indicate which of the listed synonyms may be regarded as the prototype:

Model: lack, ghost, affair, absence, scandal, privation, business, spirit, slander, want, defect,

apparition, back-biting, concern, thing, detraction, phantom, matter, phantasm, calumny

1234

lack

absence

privation

want

defectghost

spirit

apparition

phantom

phantasmaffair

business

concern

thingscandal

slander

back-biting

detraction

calumny

group 1: The prototype is lack. The feature shared in common by the synonymic group is something wanted what is insufficient or absent.

group 2: The prototype is ghost. The feature shared in common by the synonymic group is a supernatural disembodied being, imagined as appearing in visual form or haunting living persons.

pain, compassion, vagabond, anguish, report, concern, mob, strife, recreation, discord, crowd, solicitude, amusement, story, sorrow, hobo, pity, ache, tramp, commiseration, grief, pang, diversion, conflict, care, account, dissention, throng, anxiety, spark, chronicle, entertainment, woe, vagrant, condolence, throe, dole, sympathy, twinge, variance, version, worry.

12345678

7. Arrange the following verbs into synonymic groups. Point out the semantic feature(s) shared by them and indicate which of the listed synonyms may be regarded as the prototype:

maladroit, civil, dusky, far, intoxicated, loyal, suitable, simple, faithful, drunk, dark, remote, clumsy, courteous, meet, true, little, natural, fit, leal, nave, wee, distant, drunken, obscure, polite, awkward, inebriate, faraway, dim, gallant, inept, ingenuous, proper, diminutive, artless, gauche, chivalrous, dusk, tipsy, tiny, fitting, tight, far-off, murky, staunch, teeny, courtly, gloomy, weeny.

123456789

8. Arrange the following verbs into synonymic groups. Point out the semantic feature(s) shared by them and indicate which of the listed synonyms may be regarded as the prototype:

charm, flame, chastise, pine, discharge, rule, decide, beat, ban, stare, inhibit, gloat, overcome, cashier, glow, bewitch, correct, yearn, chasten, thirst for, glare, defeat, settle, fire, interdict, captivate, blaze, hanker, vanquish, punish, peer, forbid, sack, determine, conquer, flare, fascinate, prohibit, long, castigate, subjugate, gaze, bounce, subdue, resolve, dismiss, drop, gape, enjoin, attract, hunger for, allure, discipline, enchant.

123456789

9. Arrange the following adverbs into synonymic groups:

actively, serenely, directly, near, accurately, obviously, gladly, irritably, soon, operatively, close, calmly, peevishly, happily, evidently, correctly, snappishly, dead, dynamically, tranquilly, immediately, at once, exactly, betimes, manifestly, waspishly, cheerfully, straightway, petulantly, lively, light-heartedly, peacefully, distinctly, instantly, nigh, placidly, precisely, right away, joyfully, pettishly, instantaneously, near-by, forward, apparently, joyously, querulously, plainly.

123456789

10. Fill in the blanks with the corresponding synonyms:

a) alien, foreigner, stranger

1. Uncertain, whether the impression that Prosper Profond was dangerous should be traced to the fact that he was a ., or as it was now called.

2. The child of the old kings only daughter by a secret marriage with one much beneath her in station a .. some said.

b) place, seat, spot

1. They say this is a terribly difficult to work in.

2. I know it was the most famous .. in Honolulu and I entered it with lively curiosity.

3. He was a judge at the Old Bailey and it was through him that I was able to get s privileged in court when there was an interesting trial.

11. Fill in the blanks with the corresponding synonyms:

b) big, great, huge, large, tremendous

1. I shouldnt have thought a missionary such a bug that he couldnt afford to put on frills.

2. It is like the weakness in the character of a .. man which may make him less admirable but certainly makes him more interesting.

3. He was born in Honolulu and his father had a .. store which sold hosiery and all such goods.

4. His eyes had a twinkle in them and his .. horn spectacles gave him a demureness which was not a little diverting.

5. He hesitated and looked at me with twinkling eyes through his round spectacles.

c) bare, barren

1. It was strange that she should have chosen to back and test the full effect of this shapeless . ugliness upon herself.

2. She had a white frock, very simple and well made; her arms were , and her hair had a white rose in it.

12. Fill in the blanks with the corresponding synonyms:

b) to chat, to chatter, to discuss, to talk

1. The young man by his side . volubly in an English that had something in it of the intonation of a foreign tongue.

2. My bearers . gaily as they trudged along in the bright morning.

3. A group of businessmen stood together at the bar, affairs, and in a corner two kanakas were drinking.

4. The negroes to each other, and began to quarrel over a string of bright beads.

c) to earn, to gain, to win

1. Oh, Im only doing that for the present, and Im . a great deal of valuable experience.

2. He had to .. money at once and G.B., an old friend of his family, had offered to take him into his own business.

3. We know that it will profit a man little if he .. the whole world and lose his soul. I know I have .. mine.

13. Fill in the blanks with the corresponding synonyms:

a) barely, hardly, scarcely

1. But he had .. appeared when Edward, looking up, caught sight of him, and gave a joyful cry of surprise.

2. He .. knew how the inspiration had come to him, but suddenly he clasped her in his arms.

3. The women made way for them, but .. sufficient, as if grudging to yield ground.

b) actually, really

1. She said we were . the only people on the ship they cared to know.

2. But when he is .. alive the only possible course is silence.

3.2. Sources of synonymy

3.2.1. Loanwords

3.2.1.1. Loanwords from European languages.

For each language match the groups of words to the semantic fields:French

high culturewar / militaryFrench CanadianLouisiana French (Cajun)Others

- bastion, brigade, battalion, cavalry, grenade, infantry, pallisade, rebuff, bayonet, - bigot, chassis, clique, denim, garage, grotesque, jean(s), niche, shock

- ballet, cabernet, cachet, chaise longue, champagne, chic, cognac, corsage, faux

pas, nom de plume, quiche, rouge, roulet, sachet, salon, saloon, sang froid

- chowder

- jambalaya

Spanish

waranimalsother

armada, adobe, alligator, alpaca, barricade, cannibal, canyon, coyote, desperado, embargo, enchilada, guitar, marijuana, mesa, mosquito, mustang, ranch, taco, tornado, tortilla

Italian

architecturemusicliteraturefoodother

alto, arsenal, balcony, broccoli, casino, cupola, duo, fresco, fugue, gazette (via French), ghetto, gondola, macaroni, madrigal, motto, piano, opera, pantaloons, prima donna, regatta, soprano, opera, stanza, studio, tempo, torso, umbrella, viola, violin

from Italian American immigrants - cappuccino, espresso, mafioso, pasta, pizza, ravioli, spaghetti, spumante, zucchini

Dutch, Flemish

shippingcloth industryartwarfood/drinkother

aBCdeF

boom, bow, bowsprit, buoy, commodore, cruise, dock, freight, keel, keelhaul, leak, pump, reef, scoop, scour, skipper, sloop, smuggle, splice, tackle, yawl, yacht

bale, cambric, duck (fabric), fuller's earth, mart, nap (of cloth), selvage, spool, stripe

easel, etching, landscape, sketch

beleaguer, holster, freebooter, furlough, onslaught

booze, brandy(wine), coleslaw, cookie, cranberry, crullers, gin, hops, stockfish, waffle

bugger (orig. French), crap, curl, dollar, scum, split (orig. nautical term), uproar

German

foodclotheswarothers

quartz, lager, knackwurst, liverwurst, loafer, noodle, pretzel, pumpernickel, sauerkraut, schnitzel, lederhosen, dirndl

(20th c. German loanwords) - blitzkrieg, zeppelin, U-boat, delicatessen, hamburger, frankfurter, wiener, hausfrau, kindergarten, Oktoberfest, wunderkind, spritz (cookies), (apple) strudel

2. Explain the meaning of the following words from: Yiddish, Scandinavian and Russian. bagel, Chanukkah (Hanukkah), chutzpah, dreidel, kibbitzer, kosher, pastrami (orig. from Romanian), schlep, spiel, schlimazel, gefilte fish, goy, klutz, matzoh, schmuck.

fjord, maelstrom, ombudsman, ski, slalom, smorgasbord

apparatchik, czar/tsar, glasnost, icon, perestroika, vodka

3.2.1.2. Words from non-European languages

1. A great number of words were borrowed from American Indian languages as a result of the contact between the American Indian communities and the speakers of American English. Match the word to the following meaning groups:

animalsclothesfoodOthers

abcD

avocado, cacao, cannibal, canoe, chipmunk, chocolate, chili, hammock, hurricane, maize, moccasin, moose, pecan, possum, potato, skunk, squash, teepee, terrapin, tobacco, toboggan, tomahawk, tomato, wigwam, woodchuck

2. Few words from languages other than European entered the vocabulary of the English language. Match the word groups to the languages and check whether their meaning is known to you:

SanskritHindiDravidianPersian

(Farsi)ArabicAfrican

LanguagesChineseJapanesePacific IslandsAustralia

AbcdefghiJ

avatar, karma, mahatma, swastika, yoga

bandanna, bangle, bungalow, chintz, cot, dungaree, juggernaut, jungle, loot, maharaja, nabob, pajamas, punch (the drink), shampoo.

curry, mango, teak, pariah

check, checkmate, chess

bedouin, emir, gazelle, giraffe, harem, hashish, lute, minaret, mosque, myrrh, salaam, sirocco, sultan, vizier, bazaar, caravan

banana (via Portuguese), banjo, boogie-woogie, gorilla, gumbo, jazz, jitterbug, jitters, juke(box), voodoo, zebra, zombie

ketchup, tea, ginseng, kowtow.

geisha, hara kiri, judo, jujitsu, kamikaze, karaoke, kimono, samurai, sumo, sushi, tsunami

bamboo, rattan, taboo, tattoo, ukulele.

boomerang, budgerigar, kangaroo.

3.3. Antonymy,

1. State which of the following antonymous words are strict bi-polar oppositions and which are oppositions admitting gradations:

male - female

married - single

clean - dirty

alive - dead

young - old

big - small

cheap - dear

joy - sorrow

correct - incorrect

to buy- to sell

2. State which of the following words in column A are antonyms proper and which are only reversible pairs of those in column B:

Model:

A

B

brother

to refuse

husbandwife

brother

sister

husband - wife: reversible pair (one of the elements implies the existence of the other)

brother - sister : antonyms proper (they may exist independently of each other)

to offer - to accept : reversible pair

to accept - to refuse: antonyms proper

A

B

upstairs

addition

to buy

to take

high

employer

good

daughter

to give

to lend

to reject

to close, to shut

benefactor

to sell

employee

bride

true

day

horrible

long

to borrow

guilty

to win

inhospitable, boorish

subtraction

bad

to open

overclothes

night

to accept, to select

hospitable

downstairs

underclothes

low

son

false

bridegroom

to lose

innocent

fascinating

short

malefactor

Homonymy 3. Identify the homophones of the following words:

air

flower

aisle

floor

buy

for

cent

hair

eye

hour

key

night

maid

peace

4. Identify the different meanings and indicate the pronunciation of the following homographs:

sow

tear

bow

wind

lead

wound

Paronymy 5. Give the meanings of the following paronyms and provide a context for each of them:

affect

effect

alive

live

alone

lonely

centenary

centennial

childish

childlike

classic

classical

comic

comical

comprehensive

comprehensible

content

contents

corporal

corporeal

economic

economical

exterior

external

womanly

womanish

Polysemy,

6. Build up sentences of your own using the different meanings of the polysemantic words given below. Explain how context helps to distinguish their actual meanings:

blind, code, figure, game, ground, line, term, wave.

.

7. Look up the entries of the following polysemous adjectives in several dictionaries and discuss the sense distinctions:

unbalanced

idle

canonical

particular

deep

floating

marginal

remote

8. Choose the correct word from the homophones given in brackets and use them in the following sentences:

a) There is also a kind of birds called birds of (pray, prey).

b) He always does everything on (principal, principle).

c) The woman complained of terrible (panes, pains) in her stomach.

d) He was so upset that he gave (rain, rein, reign) to his anger.

e) The sight of the corpse made her (hare, hair) stand on end.

f) Loose his beard and hoary (hair, hare),

Streamed like a meteor to the troubled (air, heir)

g) A doubtful throne is ice on summer (seas, seize).

h) Hence, in a season of calm (weather, whether, wether)

Through inland far we be,

Our (souls, soles) have (sight, site) of the immortal (sea, see)

Which brought us hither.

9. Find perfect homophones for the words given below and use them is appropriate contexts:

aisle,

allowed,bayed,

bough,

brake,

bridal,

buss,

cent,

corps,

cote,

counsel, are,

farther,

floe,

fur,

hale,

hart,

hire,

illicit,

lade,

lent,

mane,

muscle,

o'er,

plait,

poll,

rite,

rode,

sew,

tied,

tier,

vale,

wave,

whit,

won.

10. Consider the following English words and decide whether they are best thought in terms of homonymy or polysemy, and why. Try translating them into Romanian. Are there several possible translation equivalents or will one word do for the different meanings the English word has?

cap

face

row

club

way

bed

match

plot

References

Baurie, Laurie, 1983, English Word-Formation. Cambridge: CUP.

Chioran Dumitru, 1973, Elements of English Structural Semantics, Bucureti: EDP.

Cruse, A., 2006, A Glossary of Semantics and Pragmatics, Edinburgh University Press.

Cruse, D.A., 1986, Lexical Semantics, Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics. Cambridge: CUP.

Hulban Horia, 2001, Synthesis in English Lexicology and Semantics, Editura Spanda, Iai.Katamba, Francis, 1994, English Words, London: Routledge.

Kempson, Ruth, 1977, Semantic Theory, Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics, Cambridge.

Levitchi, Leon 1970, Limba englez contemporan. Lexicologie, Bucureti: EDP.

Mecken H.L. 2000, The American Language. An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States. Bartleby.

PAGE 26