TOPIC 11

TOPIC 11

1. THE WORD AS A LINGUISTIC SIGN

   • -Word (Halliday) smallest unit of grammar
   • -Linguistic sign (Saussure): lge symbolic system
     • *Signifier: linguistic form
     • *Signififed: concept
     • *Traits: -bond is arbitrary -auditory signifier is linear -Each lge a word order structure
   • -Saussure missed out sth -Ogden& RIchards divided it in 3:
     • -Signified: concept -Signifier: sound -Referent: reality

2. HOMONYMY (Yule)

   • -2 words -equally spelt -equally pronounced -unrelated meaning
   • -Polysemy: the same but meanings are related
   • -Difference based on etymology -Distinction: looking the words up in the dict.
   • *Homophones: identical prononciation *Homographes: same spelling but different meanings

3. SYNONYMY

   • -Same meaning in various contexts = interchangeable (not alway, so linguists doubt if absolute synonyms occur)
   • *Types: -dialectal -stylistic -jargon -euphemisms -partial -connotations

4. ANTONYMY

   • -Words with opposite meaning
   • *TYPES: -gradable -complementary -multiple incompatibility

5. LEXICAL RELATIONS

   • -Positive transfer: great help when learning a FL -Negative transfer: become a problem (False friends: similar or identical spelling but meaning different -->cases of misunderstanding

6. CREATIVITY

   • -Ability to extend the lge system
   • -Neologisms: invention of new lexical items -Conversion: change in the syntactic function but not in the morphological -Semantic transfer: morphological and syntactic specifications remain the same, but semantic change --> -metaphor -metonymy