Курс лекций по лексикологии английского языка для студентов факультетов иностранных языков

Lecture I. Working Definitions of Principal Concepts. 
Lexicology is a branch of linguistics, the science of language. The term 
Lexi c o l o g y is composed of two Greek morphemes: lexis meaning ‘word, phrase’
and logos which denotes ‘learning, a department of knowledge’. Thus, the literal 
meaning of the term L e x i с o l о g у is ‘the science of the word’. The literal 
meaning, however, gives only a general notion of the aims and the subject-matter of 
this branch of linguistic science, since all its other branches also take account of 
words in one way or another approaching them from different angles. Phonetics, for 
instance, investigating the phonetic structure of language, i.e. its system of 
phonemes and intonation patterns, is concerned with the study of the outer sound 
form of the word. Grammar, which is inseparably bound up with Lexicology, is the 
study of the grammatical structure of language. It is concerned with the various 
means of expressing grammatical relations between words and with the patterns 
after which words are combined into word-groups and sentences. 
Lexicology as a branch of linguistics has its own aims and methods of 
scientific research, its basic task being a study and systematic description of 
vocabulary in respect to its origin, development and current use. Lexicology is 
concerned with words, variable word-groups, phraseological units, and with 
morphemes which make up words. 
There are two principal approaches in linguistic science to the study of 
language material, namely the synchronic (Gr. syn — ‘together, with’ and chronos 
— ‘time’) and the diachronic (Gr. dia — ‘through’) approach. With regard to 
S p e c i a l Lexicology the synchronic approach is concerned with the vocabulary of 
a language as it exists at a given time, for instance, at the present time. It is special 
D e s с r i p t i v e L e x i c o l o g y that deals with the vocabulary and vocabulary 
units of a particular language at a certain time. A Course in Modern English 
Lexicology is therefore a course in Special Descriptive Lexicology, its object of 
study being the English vocabulary as it exists at the present time. 

The diachronic approach in terms of Special Lexicology deals with the changes 
and the development of vocabulary in the course of time. It is special Historical 
Lexicology that deals with the evolution of the vocabulary units of a language as 
time goes by. An English Historical Lexicology would be concerned, therefore, with 
the origin of English vocabulary units, their change and development, the linguistic 
and extralinguistic factors modifying their structure, meaning and usage within the 
history of the English language. 
Lexicology studies various lexical units: morphemes, words, variable word-
groups and phraseological units. We proceed from the assumption that the word is the 
basic unit of language system, the largest on the morphologic and the smallest on the 
syntactic plane of linguistic analysis. The word is a structural and semantic entity 
within the language system. 
Etymologically the vocabulary of the English language is far from being 
homogeneous. It consists of two layers - the native stock of words and the borrowed 
stock of words. Numerically the borrowed stock of words is considerably larger than 
the native stock of words. In fact native words comprise only 30 % of the total 
number of words in the English vocabulary but the native words form the bulk of the 
most frequent words actually used in speech and writing. Besides the native words 
have a wider range of lexical and grammatical valency, they are highly polysemantic 
and productive in forming word clusters and set expressions. 
Borrowed words (or loan words or borrowings) are words taken over from 
another language and modified according to the patterns of the receiving language. 
In many cases a borrowed word especially one borrowed long ago is practically 
indistinguishable from a native word without a thorough etymological analysis (street, 
school, face). The number of borrowings in the vocabulary of a language and the role 
played by them is determined by the historical development of the nation speaking the 
language. The most effective way of borrowing is direct borrowing from another 
language as the result of contacts with the people of another country or with their 
literature. But a word may also be borrowed indirectly not from the source language 

but through another language. When analysing borrowed words one must distinguish 
between the two terms - "source of borrowing" and "origin of borrowing". The first 
term is applied to the language from which the word was immediately borrowed, the 
second - to the language to which the word may be ultimately traced e.g. table - 
source of borrowing - French, origin of borrowing - Latin elephant - source of 
borrowing - French, origin-Egypt convene - source of borrowing - French, origin-
Latin. The closer the two interacting languages are in structure the easier it is for 
words of one language to penetrate into the other. 
There are different ways of classifying the borrowed stock of words. First of all 
the borrowed stock of words may be classified according to the nature of the 
borrowing itself as borrowings proper, translation loans and semantic loans. 
Translation loans are words or expressions formed from the elements existing 
in the English language according to the patterns of the source language (the moment 
of truth - sp. el momento de la verdad). 
A semantic loan is the borrowing of a meaning for a word already existing in 
the English language e.g. the compound word shock brigade which existed in the 
English language with the meaning "аварийная бригада" acquired a new meaning 
"ударная бригада" which it borrowed from the Russian language. 
Latin Loans are classified into the subgroups. 
1.Early Latin Loans. Those are the words which came into English through the 
language of Anglo-Saxon tribes. The tribes had been in contact with Roman 
civilisation and had adopted several Latin words denoting objects belonging to that 
civilisation long before the invasion of Angles, Saxons and Jutes into Britain (cup, 
kitchen, mill, port, wine). 
2.Later Latin Borrowings. To this group belong the words which penetrated the 
English vocabulary in the sixth and seventh centuries, when the people of England 
were converted to Christianity (priest, bishop, nun, candle). 
3.The third period of Latin includes words which came into English due to two 

historical events: the Norman conquest in 1066 and the Renaissance or the Revival of 
Learning. Some words came into English through French but some were taken 
directly from Latin (major, minor, intelligent, permanent). 
4.The Latest Stratum of Latin Words. The words of this period are mainly abstract 
and scientific words (nylon, molecular, vaccine, phenomenon, vacuum). 
Norman-French Borrowings may be subdivided into subgroups: 
1.Early loans - 12
th
- 15
th
century 
2.Later loans - beginning from the 16
th
century. 
The Early French borrowings are simple short words, naturalised in accordance with 
the English language system (state, power, war, pen, river) Later French borrowings 
can be identified by their peculiarities of form and pronunciation (regime, police, 
ballet, scene, bourgeois). 
The Etymological Structure of the English Vocabulary: 

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