Lexicology

1. Morphological structure of the English word (types of morphemes: semantic and structural classifications, morphemic analysis and word-formation analysis).

2. Types of word-formation in English.

3. Semantic structure of a polysemantic word as a hierarchy of its lexico-semantic variants.

4. Causes, nature and results of semantic change.

5. Homonymy. Classifications of homonyms. Sources of homonymy.

6. Synonymy. Definition of synonyms and their diagnostic criteria. Classifications of synonyms.

7. Antonymy. Definition of antonyms. Classifications of antonyms.

1. . The morphological structure of the English word (types of morphemes: semantic and structural classifications, morphemic analysis and word-formation analysis.

The morpheme, its definition and general characteristic. Types of morphemes: semantic classification (root, prefix, suffix, inflection) and structural classification (free, bound, semi-free). Morphemic analysis and word-formation analysis: their definitions, aims, IC analysis. Difficulties of morphemic analysis.

2. Types of word-formation in English.

Affixation (prefixation and suffixation), word-composition, shortening (clipping, abbreviation, blending), conversion, postpositivation, reversion. (Definitions; classifications of structural and semantic patterns).

3. Semantic structure of a polysemantic word as a hierarchy of its lexico-semantic variants.

Definition of polysemy, polysemantic word, LSV, general description of polysemy in English. Ways of discriminating between different meanings of a polysemantic word: syntagmatic approach (semantic, grammatical and phrasal contexts) and paradigmatic approach (synonyms, antonyms of different lexico-semantic variants of a polysemantic word). Classifications of meanings of a polysemantic word (synchronic paradigmatic, diachronic, stylistical).

4. Causes, nature and results of semantic change.

1) Causes of semantic change: extralinguistic (historical, social, psychological) and linguistic (ellipsis, differentiation of synonyms, fixed context, linguistic analogy).

2) Nature of semantic change: metaphor and metonymy.

3) Results of semantic change: “narrowing”, “broadening”, “amelioration”, “deterioration”.

5. Homonymy. Classifications of homonyms. Sources of homonymy.

Classifications of homonyms:

1) homophones, homographs, perfect homonyms;

2) full and partial homonyms;

3) lexical, grammatical and lexico-grammatical homonyms.

Sources of homonymy: convergent sound development, split of polysemy, borrowing, word-formation (conversion, shortening, sound imitation).

6. Synonymy. Definition of synonyms and their diagnostic criteria. Classifications of synonyms.

Definition of synonyms. Synonymic sets. Status and features of the synonymic dominant. Classifications of synonyms: 1) V.V. Vinogradov’s classification (ideographic, stylistic, absolute (total)); 2) according to the type of connotation. Sources of synonymy: borrowing, word-formation, euphemisms.

7. Antonymy. Definition of antonyms. Classifications of antonyms.

Definition of antonyms. Contextual approach to antonyms after V.N. Komissarov. Semantic classification of antonyms (contrary, contradictory, conversive, vectorial). Structural classification of antonyms (root and derivational).