2 General characteristics the English lexicon

2.General characteristics the English lexicon

Of all the language components lexicon is the most sensitive to man's social life, its development is influenced by different extralinguistic factors.

1)One of the specific characteristics of the lexicon in modem English is that it is very extensive. Though it is not possible to give the exact amount of lexical units in any language because there is not a complete unanimity what should be considered a lexical unit, and because lexicon is too complex, dynamic and flexible for any accurate calculations, dictionary makers estimate that in English there are somewhere from 450,000 to 3,000 000 words.

The English language vocabulary development is very dynamic. Many words like toom 'empty' become obsolete and drop out of the system. But still many more words are born. The characteristic feature is steady replenishment of the vocab: a)terminology: new developments in science and technology(laser, computer, software, on-line) b)prefixes like min-, maxi, super, micro mega,hyper- are very active and highly productive(mini-diskette, superchip, micro-surger). c)Minor word-formations like blendings(smust -smoke and dust, movelist for 'a writer for the movies') and analogical word-formations like noodle-roni after the original macaroni or cheeseburger, fishburger after hamburger have become quite numerous in modem English.

2)There exists a great number of variants and dialects of English. The existing varieties are made by lexical differences, differences in phonetic and grammatical systems.

3)English has mixed etymological character. English borrowed up to 70% of its total vocabulary from more than 50 languages of the world. Though not so intensively as during and after the periods of invasion of GB, foreign words still enrich the English lexicon: baguette, bouillon [Fr], babushka, borshch [Russ], a capella, bambino [It], charisma [Gk], bonsai, sushi [Jap]. The majority of them were remodelled and assimilated according to the specific features of En, some of them are still being assimilated. Taking into account the number of words borrowed from Fr and Lat, En is regarded as half-Romance. Not only words but many affixes came from Lat and Gr with the Renaissance, many of them became very productive and are often used with native roots forming such hybrids as womanize, witticism, etc.Loan words radically changed the structure of the OE lexicon. They led to numerous etymological doublets, homonyms, synonyms, literary words coming from French and learned words being borrowed from Latin.However, native, predominantly monosyllabic words of Anglo-Saxon origin are still the most frequently used, polysemantic, communicatively important, and thus remain the core of the lexical system of MnE.

4)Specific characteristics of the English vocabulary are also revealed in all morphological and lexical-semantic aspects of a word.: a)Monomorphism of many words consisting of only roots (love, answer, sail). b)monosyllable words: eye, head, nose. c)These short words possess a tremendous potential for derivation with the help of affixation, composition, conversion, and other word buildingmeans. d)high degree of polysemy of En words.

5)numerous word groups that semantically cannot be reduced to the meanings of their components and are characterized by functional integrity (to break the ice, in the long run, mare's nest, etc.). Such idiomatic word groups along with words as smaller units and proverbs, sayings or quotations as longer ready-made units, are also part and parcel of the English lexicon.

6)Though lexicon is not any more viewed as a list of irregularities that have to be memorized but a certain system and structure having a generative character, the process of vocabulary acquisition for both first and second language learners is still a long and pains taking process because lexical rules are not rigid. Rather than strict laws they are major tendencies and are limited to particular groups of lexicon.

2.General characteristics the English lexicon

Of all the language components lexicon is the most sensitive to man's social life, its development is influenced by different extralinguistic factors.

1)One of the specific characteristics of the lexicon in modem English is that it is very extensive. Though it is not possible to give the exact amount of lexical units in any language because there is not a complete unanimity what should be considered a lexical unit, and because lexicon is too complex, dynamic and flexible for any accurate calculations, dictionary makers estimate that in English there are somewhere from 450,000 to 3,000 000 words.

The English language vocabulary development is very dynamic. Many words like toom 'empty' become obsolete and drop out of the system. But still many more words are born. The characteristic feature is steady replenishment of the vocab: a)terminology: new developments in science and technology(laser, computer, software, on-line) b)prefixes like min-, maxi, super, micro mega,hyper- are very active and highly productive(mini-diskette, superchip, micro-surger). c)Minor word-formations like blendings(smust -smoke and dust, movelist for 'a writer for the movies') and analogical word-formations like noodle-roni after the original macaroni or cheeseburger, fishburger after hamburger have become quite numerous in modem English.

2)There exists a great number of variants and dialects of English. The existing varieties are made by lexical differences, differences in phonetic and grammatical systems.

3)English has mixed etymological character. English borrowed up to 70% of its total vocabulary from more than 50 languages of the world. Though not so intensively as during and after the periods of invasion of GB, foreign words still enrich the English lexicon: baguette, bouillon [Fr], babushka, borshch [Russ], a capella, bambino [It], charisma [Gk], bonsai, sushi [Jap]. The majority of them were remodelled and assimilated according to the specific features of En, some of them are still being assimilated. Taking into account the number of words borrowed from Fr and Lat, En is regarded as half-Romance. Not only words but many affixes came from Lat and Gr with the Renaissance, many of them became very productive and are often used with native roots forming such hybrids as womanize, witticism, etc.Loan words radically changed the structure of the OE lexicon. They led to numerous etymological doublets, homonyms, synonyms, literary words coming from French and learned words being borrowed from Latin.However, native, predominantly monosyllabic words of Anglo-Saxon origin are still the most frequently used, polysemantic, communicatively important, and thus remain the core of the lexical system of MnE.

4)Specific characteristics of the English vocabulary are also revealed in all morphological and lexical-semantic aspects of a word.: a)Monomorphism of many words consisting of only roots (love, answer, sail). b)monosyllable words: eye, head, nose. c)These short words possess a tremendous potential for derivation with the help of affixation, composition, conversion, and other word buildingmeans. d)high degree of polysemy of En words.

5)numerous word groups that semantically cannot be reduced to the meanings of their components and are characterized by functional integrity (to break the ice, in the long run, mare's nest, etc.). Such idiomatic word groups along with words as smaller units and proverbs, sayings or quotations as longer ready-made units, are also part and parcel of the English lexicon.

6)Though lexicon is not any more viewed as a list of irregularities that have to be memorized but a certain system and structure having a generative character, the process of vocabulary acquisition for both first and second language learners is still a long and pains taking process because lexical rules are not rigid. Rather than strict laws they are major tendencies and are limited to particular groups of lexicon.

2.General characteristics the English lexicon

Of all the language components lexicon is the most sensitive to man's social life, its development is influenced by different extralinguistic factors.

1)One of the specific characteristics of the lexicon in modem English is that it is very extensive. Though it is not possible to give the exact amount of lexical units in any language because there is not a complete unanimity what should be considered a lexical unit, and because lexicon is too complex, dynamic and flexible for any accurate calculations, dictionary makers estimate that in English there are somewhere from 450,000 to 3,000 000 words.

The English language vocabulary development is very dynamic. Many words like toom 'empty' become obsolete and drop out of the system. But still many more words are born. The characteristic feature is steady replenishment of the vocab: a)terminology: new developments in science and technology(laser, computer, software, on-line) b)prefixes like min-, maxi, super, micro mega,hyper- are very active and highly productive(mini-diskette, superchip, micro-surger). c)Minor word-formations like blendings(smust -smoke and dust, movelist for 'a writer for the movies') and analogical word-formations like noodle-roni after the original macaroni or cheeseburger, fishburger after hamburger have become quite numerous in modem English.

2)There exists a great number of variants and dialects of English. The existing varieties are made by lexical differences, differences in phonetic and grammatical systems.

3)English has mixed etymological character. English borrowed up to 70% of its total vocabulary from more than 50 languages of the world. Though not so intensively as during and after the periods of invasion of GB, foreign words still enrich the English lexicon: baguette, bouillon [Fr], babushka, borshch [Russ], a capella, bambino [It], charisma [Gk], bonsai, sushi [Jap]. The majority of them were remodelled and assimilated according to the specific features of En, some of them are still being assimilated. Taking into account the number of words borrowed from Fr and Lat, En is regarded as half-Romance. Not only words but many affixes came from Lat and Gr with the Renaissance, many of them became very productive and are often used with native roots forming such hybrids as womanize, witticism, etc.Loan words radically changed the structure of the OE lexicon. They led to numerous etymological doublets, homonyms, synonyms, literary words coming from French and learned words being borrowed from Latin.However, native, predominantly monosyllabic words of Anglo-Saxon origin are still the most frequently used, polysemantic, communicatively important, and thus remain the core of the lexical system of MnE.

4)Specific characteristics of the English vocabulary are also revealed in all morphological and lexical-semantic aspects of a word.: a)Monomorphism of many words consisting of only roots (love, answer, sail). b)monosyllable words: eye, head, nose. c)These short words possess a tremendous potential for derivation with the help of affixation, composition, conversion, and other word buildingmeans. d)high degree of polysemy of En words.

5)numerous word groups that semantically cannot be reduced to the meanings of their components and are characterized by functional integrity (to break the ice, in the long run, mare's nest, etc.). Such idiomatic word groups along with words as smaller units and proverbs, sayings or quotations as longer ready-made units, are also part and parcel of the English lexicon.

6)Though lexicon is not any more viewed as a list of irregularities that have to be memorized but a certain system and structure having a generative character, the process of vocabulary acquisition for both first and second language learners is still a long and pains taking process because lexical rules are not rigid. Rather than strict laws they are major tendencies and are limited to particular groups of lexicon.