Revision on Lexicology-Semantics

I. Test format
Part 1: Answer the question (6 pts; 4pts: content and 2 pts: examples)
Part 2: Practice (4pts)

II. Questions on Lexicology-Semantics

1. What is morpheme and types of morphemes?
 A morpheme is the smallest meaningful part of a word.
 Types of morphemes:
 Semantic morphemes: root morpheme.
 Structural morphemes:
 free (coincide with the stem)
 bound: affixes, unique roots and pseudo-roots (barbarism, barbarian)
 semi-bound: affixes, but can be separated words (proof, water-proof)
2. What is a word and types of words?
 A word is a separate meaningful unit, which can be used to form sentences.
 Types of words
Definition Example
Derivative/Non-derivative Derivative: produced by competition,
affixation competitive
Non-derivative: consist compete
only of a root
Simple/Compound Simple: consist of one root board, food
Compound: consist of blackboard, seafood
several roots
Full/Contracted Full: maintain full form United States of
America
Contracted: are shortened U.S.A
or abbreviated words
3. What is the difference between a word and a morpheme?
 A morpheme is the smallest meaningful part of a word.
 A word is a separate meaningful unit, which can be used to form sentences.
 The main difference is that while a word can stand alone, a morpheme may or
may not be able to stand alone.
4. What is word formation and ways of word formation?
 Word formation refers to the ways in which new words are made on the basis
of other words or morphemes.
 Ways of word formation:
+ Affixation + Sound/stress interchange
+ Compounding + Sound imitation
+ Shortening + Back-formation/back-derivation
+ Conversion + Coinage/Reduplication
5. What is affixation ? The difference between prefixation and suffixation?
 The process of affixation consists in containing a new word by adding an affix
or several affixes to some root morpheme.
 Difference: a prefix is an affix that is added before a root word or a stem to
modify its meaning while a suffix is an affix that is added after a stem or root
word.
6. What is compounding and how are compound words classified?
 A compound consists of at least two root morphemes, it’s components may be
either simple words, derived words or other compound words, which has
inflections.
 Three kinds of classification:
 Structural:
 Immeditate components: handbag, skyscrapper, H-bomb, X-ray, waste
paper basket, cut-back
 Part of speech: girlfriend, oil-rich, (to) steamline, therefore, hereafter
 Type of composition: headache, spokesman, up-to-date
 Relation between components: mother-earth, spaceship
 Semantic:
 Non-idiomatic: door-handle, rose-bush
  Idiomatic: lip-service, eyewash
 Phonetic: hush-hush, pooh-pooh, murmur
7. What is the difference between a compound and a free-word group?
 In order to distinguish a compound word and a free word group, we need to
rely on the three follow criteria:
 Phonological criterion: compound words usually have stress on the first
component free word groups have double stress.
 Structure integrity criterion: the structure of compound is stable; it is
impossible to element between the components.
 Semantic integrity criterion: the meaning of the compound is often idiomatic
i.e. is only mere sum of the meaning of the components.
8. What is shortening and types of shortening?
 Shortenings are produced in two different ways. The first is to make a new
word from a syllable of the original word; the second is to make a new word
from the initial letters of a word group.
 Types of shortening:
 Abbreviation:
Acronyms Clipping
Definition A word is shortened from A word is shortened and reduced to
the initial letters of a one syllable
word combination
Types Which are read as Initial: car (motor car), plane (air
ordinary English words plane), drome (airdrome)
(eg. UNESCO, UNICEF, Final: exam (examination), lab
OPEC, NATO) (laboratory), prof (professor)
With the alphabet reading Inito-Final: fridge (refrigerator), tec
(eg. BBC, USA, USB, (detective)
UK) Medial: maths (mathematics), specs
(spectacles)
Elliptic-conversational: sit-down
(demonstration), pop (popular
music)
  Blending: is the word formation process in which parts of two or more words
combine to create a new word whose meaning is often a combination of the
original words.
e.g. brunch (breakfast + lunch), chortle (chuckle + snort), prissy (prim + sissy)
9. What is conversion? State the types of conversion?
 Conversion is the process of coining a new word in a different part of speech
without adding any element (zero derivation). Reason is the lack of affixes.
 Types of conversion:
 Substantivation of Adjectives and Verbs:
Adj -> N V -> N
the blind, the rich, a native, a female, a go, a find, take-over, a walk, a
a red, a grown-up, etc. move, the lie, etc.
 Adjectivation of Nouns (N -> Adj): a silver cup, a good ring, an iron knife, etc.
 Verbalization of Nouns or Adjectives:
N -> V Adj -> V
(to) land, water, arm, head, eye, (to) silence, better, black, up, down,
finger, skin, railroad, etc. lower, narrow, etc.
 Adverbalization of Adjectives (Adj -> Adv): fast, long, high, pretty, hard,
wrong, dead, etc.
 Partial conversion: to have a look/talk/smoke/etc.
 Individual coinage (not common)
10. What is the difference between affixation and back-formation?
 Affixation means forming a word by adding an affix (prefixes or suffixes)
e.g. frosty from frost, refusal from refuse, instrumentation from instrument
 Back-formation is essentially ‘affixation’ in reverse: it adapts an existing word
by removing its affix, usually a suffix.
e.g. sulk from sulky, proliferate from proliferation, back-form from back-
formation
11. State types of meaning of words?
 Three types of word meaning:
 Grammatical: dominant in function words (prepositions, modals and auxiliary
verbs, pronouns, articles, conjunctions, and some adverbs).
 Lexical: dominant in content words.
 Lexico-grammatical: belong to a certain lexico-grammatical class or group of
words.
12. What is context? State the kinds of context?
 Context: + environment which helps us to understand the meaning of a word.
+ the minimal stretch of speech determines each meaning of a word.
 Two kinds of context: linguistic and non-linguistic (situational).
13. What is homonym? State the kinds of homonym?
 Homonyms are words identical in pronunciation and/or spelling, but different
in meaning.
 Types of homonyms:
Form Meaning
+ Full/perfect homonyms: words + Lexical homonyms: words of the
identical both in pronunciation and same part of speech, but of different
spelling. meanings and no semantic
e.g. ball: a round object used in relationship.
games e.g. match: que diêm, trận đấu
ball: gathering of people for board: tấm ván, boong tàu, ủy
dancing. ban.
+ Partial homonyms: words identical + Grammatical homonyms: words of
in both pronunciation and/or spelling, different parts of speech.
can be found in different parts of e.g. work (n) – work (adj)
speech.
e.g. to found – (he) found
pail (n) – pale (adj).
14. What is the difference between polysemy and homonymy?
 Polysemy: words that possess two or more meanings.
 Homonymy: words that identical in pronunciation and/or spelling, but different
in meaning.
15. What is synonym? State the types of synonyms?
 Synonyms are words (two or more) of the same part of speech, similar in their
denotational meaning, but different in their phonetic and graphic forms,
connotational meaning and combinability.
 Types of synonyms:
Types Definition Examples
Absolute words having the same team – squad, autumn –
denotational and connotational fall, flat – apartment
meanings
Semantic words differing in shades of beautiful, pretty, good-
meaning looking, nice, lovely,
fair
Stylistic words belonging to different policeman – bobby, cop
stylistic layers, differing in
emotive value, expressiveness
‘Euphemism’ words basing on the desire not to die – to pass away, to
to hurt other people’s feelings depart this life
Semantic- words differing both in shades house – shack, slum,
stylistic of meaning and stylistic aspect pad

Phraseological words differing in their native tongue, make

combinability money, foreign
language

16. What is metaphor? State the types of similarities?

 Metaphor is a figure of speech based on similarity.
 Types of similarity:
+ appearance: mouth of a river + function: head of school
+ shape: bottle neck + colour: an orange coat
+ size: jumbo jetplane + sound: the room rang
+ position: bottom of a page + quality: a film-star
+ movement: foxtrot + behaviour: crocodile’s tear
17. What is metonymy? State the cases of relation?
 Metonymy is a figure of speech based on contiguity or close relation between
two objects or notions.
 Cases of relation:
Relation between Example
Container The thing contained He drank two glasses.
Parts The whole Two heads are better than
one.
The notion Its symbol Grey hair should be respect.
The place Its inhabitants The hall burst into applause.
The material The thing made of it an iron, the silver, the brass
The instrument Its function (to) knife, eye
Proper names Common names (to) read Dickens, champagne

18. What is idiomatic expression and its study ?

 Definition: Phraseology is the study of set expression called phraseological
units.
 Features:
 Structural features are characterised by the stability of their structure and
lexical component.
 Semantic and stylistic features: the meaning of a set expression is not a mere
sum of the meaning of the components. Set expressions are partially or
completely non-motivated. Set expressions exist in the language and are
reproduced as ready made units. Set expressions may contain different figures
of speech such as metaphor, metonymy,….
19. What is the difference between idioms and proverbs/saying?
 Proverbs are set expressions which show a wisdom, a truth, or a moral lesson.
 Idioms are different from proverbs in the way that they are not moral or
instructive in nature. They are merely a concept or an idea equivalent to a
lexical entity.
20. State stylistic classification of the English vocabulary?
 Stylistically English words are divided into two main layers, they are standard
words and non-standard words.
 Standard words:
 Neutral words: man, boy, father, ….
 Colloquial words: fellow, bike, dog, ….
 Bookish words: infant, lexicology, ….
 Non-standard words:
 Slangs: buck, mug, cop, …
 Vulgar words: damn, hell, bloody, …
 Dialectal words: lock= lake, …