TYPOLOGY OF LEXICAL
SYSTEMS
OUTLINE
1. Language and culture
- Linguistic determinism
- Linguistic relativity
2. Typological classification of words
3. Semasiological and onomosiological
approaches to the contrastive study of
lexical units
Cognitive triangle
concept
denotatum
referent
symbol
Does Our Language Determine
Our Culture?
William von Humboldt
Sapir and Whorf :
Language controls a person’s thinking
processes in some way.
aput
gana
 piqsirpoq
 qimuqsuq
'snow on the ground',
'falling snow',
'drifting snow',
'a snow drift'.
How many colours can you see?
English Italian Rumanian Estonian Japanese Ukrainian
hand
arm
foot
leg
mano
braccio
piede
gamba
finger dito
toe
minǎ
brat,
käsi
käsi(vars)
te
ude
ruka
picior
jalg
ashi
noga
deget
sõrm
varvas
yubi
palec’
Different nations seem not only to see but
also to hear the world differently
U.
E.
Jap.
тук-тук
rat-a-rat
don-don
U.
E.
Jap.
French
ква-ква
croak- croak
kero-kero
coa-coa
The concept that language limits perception
has become known as
the “Whorfian Hypothesis”
or as
“linguistic determinism”.
The ideas of linguistic determinism
in the XX c.
In 1980
George Lakoff and Mark Johnson
published
Metaphors We Live By
Our conceptual system plays a central role in
defining our everyday realities:
how we get around in the world and how we
relate to other people.
Language controls thought .
Metaphors determine the way English
speakers see the world
Time
I spent time on that project.
I invested time on that project.
I saved time on that project
“Time is a valuable Commodity”
The concept of argument in English
Argument
I shot down their arguments.
I blew them out of the water with my
points.
I overcame each of their points.
I won.
I beat them (down)
Argument is War
Howard Rheingold’s 1988 book
They have a Word for it
The words of a language constrain how
people perceive the world.
ho’oponopono means
“practice in which two people who have a
disagreement are put in a room/hut until
they agree”
change the English speaking thought
processes.
Other views
1986 Eugene A. Nida:
For the most part, language follows
society rather than determining it.
Hypothesis of
“linguistic relativity” :
“Language reflects the culture of its
speakers rather than determining it.
Language is an important index of
cultural values, but does not necessarily
constrain a speaker from seeing the world
in another way.”
1997 A. Wierzbicka:
Every language has certain key
words that reflect the core values of
a given culture.
Key terms
shy
American versus Finnish
being socially handicapped versus
being reserved, observant, respectful of
others’ privacy
friend
Are there any universal features in the
lexical systems?
Are there concepts that have word
nominations in all languages of the
world?
Conceptual primitives
Anna Wierzbicka:
Conceptual primitives belong to the
universal "alphabet of human
thoughts"
Universal semantic primitives
 Substantives: I, YOU, SOMEONE (PERSON),
SOMETHING (THING), PEOPLE, BODY
 Determiners: THIS, THE SAME, OTHER
 Quantifiers: ONE, TWO, SOME, ALL, MANY(MUCH)
 Attributes: GOOD, BAD, BIG, SMALL
 Mental predicates: THINK, KNOW, WANT, FEEL, SEE,
HEAR
 Existence and possession: THERE IS, HAVE
 Life and death: LIVE(ALIVE), DIE
 Time: WHEN(TIME), NOW, AFTER, BEFORE, A LONG
TIME, A SHORT
 Space: WHERE(PLACE), HERE, UNDER, ABOVE,
TOUCH (CONTACT)
 Etc.
Typological classification of words
 Universal layer
 water, sky, ocean, day; brow, nose, live, eat, sleep; speak,
mother, brother
 Specific-national (realia) layer
 терем, цимбали, гетьман, козак, писанка, вишиванка,
рушник
 public school, Chapel, Boxing Day, Black Friday
beefeater
 International layer
 genuine internationalisms
 loan internationalisms
computer, blue tooth
article - стаття
Universal layer. Different connotations.
Denotative (nominative) meaning
white – the colour of milk, salt or snow (COD)
black- the dark color of coal or night (Oxford)
Connotative meaning
white lie, white dove
black soul, black market, blackmail
Cf. in Chinese white man, white glance
black man
International layer. Cultural
Differences in International Words
False cognates
‘actual’
come from Latin ‘actualis’
1. real actual costs
2. (rare) important
‘актуальний’
English-Ukrainian False cognates
 data?
 replica ?
 billet?
 accurate?
 intelligence?
 aspirant?
 сlay?
 fabric?
 complexion?
 conservatory?
 дата?
 репліка?
 білет?
 акуратний?
 інтелігентність?
 аспірант?
 клей?
 фабрика?
 комплекція?
 консерваторія?
Semi-False cognates
 director
1. директор
2. режисер
3. диригент
4. духівник
 Mercury
1. Планета Меркурій
2. р
 директор
1. директор
 Меркурій
1.Планета Меркурій
Words may be compared from their
semasiological side and from their
onomasiological side.
Comparing words from the
semasiological side
Types of motivation
Semantic structure of words
Motivation of words
Motivation is relationship between form
and meaning of the word.
friend
friend-ship
Words may be non-motivated and motivated
E - 1/14
U - 1/6
phonetic
morphological
semantic
hiss
wisdom
face (of the stone)
1,4%
0,8%
88%
91%
10%
7,4%
Semantic structure of words
in E and U
coat
піджак, пальто, хутро, оперення, шар,
оболонка, обшивка, покривати шаром
пливти
‘float’
‘swim’
‘sail’
Comparison of language units from the
onomasiological side
Types of nomination are the same in the
contrasted languages:
Simple words
Derivative words
Compound words
Phrases
Clauses
Sentences
Comparing language units from the
onomasiological side in E and U
 Onomasiological structure
 may coincide:
 rewrite
 cal-breaker
 to make a decision
-
переписати
вугледробарка
прийняти рішення
 or may not coincide:
ski
fall in love
merry-go-round
- кататися на лижах
- закохатися
- карусель
Differences in Word Collocations
 heavy traffic
 heavy-handed
 heavy-headed
 to make friends
 to make captain
(to achieve the rank)
 інтенсивний рух
 неспритний
 тупоголовый
 подружитися
 стати капітаном
(дослужитися до
капітана)
Analyse the onomasiological structure
food processor - кухонний комбайн
brown cap
- підберезовик
user-friendly легкий (зручний) в
роботі
energy-efficient - економічний
misuse
sibling
mistrial
-
HOME ASSIGNMENT
I.Korunets. Contrastive typology of the
English and Ukrainian Languages.
Typology of the lexical systems
p. 118 -120, 141 – 146, 165 - 172
p. 175-177 Ex-s. 6, 7, 8, 9