8 Semantic & non-semantic classifications of English words

Dictionaries: 1) Thesaurus of English words & phrases; 2) Dictionaries of synonyms & antonyms; 3) reverse (обратный) dictionaries; rhyming dictionaries. The lexicon of E-sh is a system: it’s huge (2 mln), it’s a system. Present day semantic theory focused its attention on the synchronic relations in the l-ge system. It’s concerned both with relations within l-ge & between l-ges. Meaning / sense relations are associated with a word (lexeme), lexical item & with lexical (semantic) structure. When we talk about the semantic structure of the lexicon, we are referring to the network of relationships which bind lexemes together & enable us to perceive the lexicon as a system of the l-ge. The majority of linguists agree on one basic point: vocabulary / lexicon should be studied as a system – a set of interrelated subsystems, it means that no lexeme exists in isolation & there’s no lexeme without relation. Today we know what kinds of lexical-semantical relations exist, but the descriptive task remains (the Cambridge encyclopedia of the E-sh l-ge – the room for research workers). What are the relations between the words & the lexicon? 1) polysemy – the relations between the meanings of the word; 2) relations between the words in the lexicon: the relations of similarity – synonymic relations. There are common semantic components in semantic structures of the words, e. g. father – dad, house – mansion. There are basic relations: synonymic; relations of polarity / antonymic relations. 3) hypero-hyponimic relations; 4) part & whole relations (a jacket – a sleeve, a car – a wheel); 5) cyclical r.; 6) series r; 7) hierarchical relations. Lexical hierarchy presupposes that you have a number of words which are connected in a way. Their relations are relations if hierarchy, religious terms – pope, cardinal, bishop). Synonyms. There may be no lexemes which have exactly the same meaning. It’s possible to find some nuance which separates them or some can not. Br. E-sh: autumn – fall (poetic). There’s no stylistic difference, e. g.: solt – soltium chloride. The same reference but ling. meaning is different. Not complete synonyms: youth – youngster = synonyms, but there’s a difference in emotional attitude. There are no absolute synonyms. If forms are different, their meanings are different, there are numerous dictionaries of synonyms. Antonyms. Subdivisions: 1) group-gradable antonyms / contraries: large – small. It’s possible to say larger, smaller; happy – sad; wet – dry. The degree may be changed. 2) contradictories: e. g.: single – married (we can’t say about degree), alive – dead; 3) converse terms: buy – sell, over – under. Conversion is a different

process: net – to net. Arnold: Lexico-grammatical groups – a class of words which have a common lexico-grammatical meaning, a common paradigm, the same substitutional elements & possible & characteristic sets of suffixes meandering a lexico-grammatical meaning. The E-sh nouns are subdivided into the following lexico-grammatical groups: personal names, animal names, collective names for people, collective names for animals, abstract nouns, material nouns, object nouns, proper names for people, toponymic proper names. The most traditional classification – parts of speech.