Fundamentals of english lexicography

1. Lexicography as a branch of linguistics.

2. History of British and American lexicography.

3. Main types of dictionaries:

1. general vs. restricted (terminological, phraseological, dialectal, new words, foreign words, abbreviations, slang, etc.);

2. monoligual vs. bilingual;

3. explanatory vs. translation;

4. specialized (pronouncing, etymological, ideographic, pictorial, etc.).

4. The art of dictionary making.

Suggested Readings

Арнольд И. В. The English Word. — 3-е изд. — М.: Высш. шк., 1986. — С. 272—285.

Glossary Terms:

lexicography, vocabulary entry; headword; definition; label.

Note: Each student is expected to bring at least one dictionary from home and be ready to characterize it.

Practical Class Assignment

Divide the group into two teams. Assign tasks to each team member. Work with different kinds of dictionaries. Choose a speaker to report the team results to the whole group. The team, which will be the first to fulfill the assignment, will be the winner.

Team 1

1. Which syllable is stressed in electrovalence? hippopotamus?

2. What is the syllable division in expectation?

3. What is the British and American pronunciation of the words dynasty? hurricane? lieutenant?

4. How many numbered definitions does your dictionary have for strike?

5. What city is the capital of Australia?

6. What was O. Henry's real name?

7. What is the pronunciation of Arkansas? Where is this state situated?

8. In what year did Charlie Chaplin die?

9. How many plurals are given for octopus?

10. Explain the origin of the word boycott.

11. Distinguish between the meanings of credible and credulous; ingenuous and ingenious.

Team 2

1. Which syllable is stressed in garage? Himalayas?

2. What is the syllable division in luxurious?

3. What is the British and American pronunciation of the words Renaissance? laboratory? aluminium/aluminum?

4. How many numbered definitions does your dictionary have for bring?

5. What city is the capital of Ghana?

6. What was Jack London's real name?

7. In what year was Charlie Chaplin born?

8. What is the plural of alumnus? alumna?

9. Give the meaning and origin of the word curfew.

10. Distinguish between the meanings: economic and economical; neglect and negligence.

11. Which of these pairs of words do not rhyme?

pint – print, friend – fiend, pear – hair

Independent Study Projects

Choose a topic for independent study from the list (or suggest your own topic). Write a paper 5—7 pages long. Be ready to present it during Seminar 9.

1. Neologisms and occasionalisms.

2. Historisms, archaisms, and obsolete words.

3. Native and borrowed words.

4. Words in the written and oral forms of the language.

5. Stylistically neutral and stylistically marked words.

6. Denotation and connotation.

7. English terminology.

8. Colloquial words and slang.

9. Phraseological units as the reflection of culture.

10. English as an international language.

Seminar 2 semantic structure of the english word. Polysemy

1. Word meaning and its aspects (significational, denotational, connotational).

2. Fundamentals of componental analysis.

3. Semantic structure of polysemantic words. Lexico-semantic variants.

4. Polysemy and its sources.

5. Metaphor and metonymy as the main types of the transference of meaning.

6. Lexical meaning and its types.

7. Historical changeability of semantic structure.