Semasiology. Functional approach to meaning

SEMASIOLOGY

The branch of lexicology which deals with the meaning is called semasiology.

WORD - MEANING Every word has two aspects: the outer aspect (its sound form) and the inner aspect (its meaning) . Sound and meaning do not always constitute a constant unit even in the same language. E.g. the word "temple" may denote "a part of a human head" and "a large church" In such cases we have homonyms. One and the same word in different syntactical relations can develop different meanings, e.g. the verb "treat" in sentences: a) He treated my words as a joke. b) The book treats of poetry. c) They treated me to sweets. d) He treats his son cruelly. In all these sentences the verb "treat" has different meanings and we can speak about polysemy. On the other hand, one and the same meaning can be expressed by different sound forms, e.g. "pilot" , and "airman", "horror" and "terror". In such cases we have synonyms. Both the meaning and the sound can develop in the course of time independently. E.g. the Old English /luvian/ is pronounced /l^v / in Modern English. On the other hand, "board" primariliy means " a piece of wood sawn thin" It has developed the meanings: a table, a board of a ship, a stage, a council etc.

There are different approaches to the problem of word meaning in modern Semasiology: the referential, or denotational approach; functional, or contextual approach; and the new cognitive approach.

Analytical or referential definition of meaning:

The best known analytical model of meaning is the so-called «basic triangle»

So, if we hear a sound-form a certain idea arises in our mind and the idea brings out a certain referent that exists in the reality. But the sound-form and the referent are connected indirectly because there are no objects or phenomena in the reality that predict a certain sound- form. The strongest point in this approach is an attempt to link the notion of meaning with the process of naming the objects, processes or phenomena of concrete reality . The analytical definitions of meaning are usually criticized on the grounds that they cannot be applied to sentences.

Functional or contextual approach suggests that the meaning of a word is revealed by substituting different contexts. To get a better insight into the semantics of a word it is necessary to analyze as many contexts in which it is realized as possible. The question may arise - what amount of material is sufficient to make a reliable conclusion about the meaning of a word ? In practice a scholar is guided by intuition, besides, there are contexts which are so infrequent that they can hardly be registered. Nevertheless the functional approach to meaning is important because it emphasizes the fact that words are seldom if ever used in isolation and thus the meaning of a word is revealed only when it is realized in a context. But on the whole the functional approach may be described as a complimentary, additional to the referential one.

Cognitive approach to semantics deals with the theory of prototype, framing (Fillmore) and others.

48) Different approaches to classification of Phraseological units.

A.V. Koonin classified phraseological units according to the way they are formed. He pointed out primary and secondary ways of forming phraseological units. Primary ways of forming phraseological units are those when a unit is formed on the basis of a free word-group : a) Most productive in Modern English is the formation of phraseological units by means of transferring the meaning of terminological word-groups, e.g. in cosmic technique we can point out the following phrases: "launching pad" in its terminological meaning is "стартовая площадка" , in its transferred meaning - "отправной пункт", "to link up" - "cтыковаться, стыковать космические корабли" in its tranformed meaning it means -"знакомиться"; b) a large group of phraseological units was formed from free word groups by transforming their meaning, e.g. "granny farm" - "пансионат для престарелых", "Troyan horse" - "компьюторная программа, преднамеренно составленная для повреждения компьютера"; c) phraseological units can be formed by means of alliteration , e.g. "a sad sack" - "несчастный случай", "culture vulture" - "человек, интересующийся искусством", "fudge and nudge" - "уклончивость". d) they can be formed by means of expressiveness, especially it is characteristic for forming interjections, e.g. "My aunt!", " Hear, hear !" etc e) they can be formed by means of distorting a word group, e.g. "odds and ends" was formed from "odd ends", f) they can be formed by using archaisms, e.g. "in brown study" means "in gloomy meditation" where both components preserve their archaic meanings,