МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ И НАУКИ РФ
ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ
УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ
ВЫСШЕГО ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ
«ВОРОНЕЖСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ
УНИВЕРСИТЕТ»
SEMINARS IN ENGLISH LEXICOLOGY
Учебное пособие для вузов
Составитель
О.М. Воевудская
Издательско-полиграфический центр
Воронежского государственного университета
2011
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ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ
В основу предлагаемого пособия положена действующая программа по
теоретическому курсу лексикологии современного английского языка для
филологических факультетов университетов. Пособие предназначено для
самостоятельной аудиторной и внеаудиторной работы студентов 3 курса английского
отделения (специальности: 022600 «Теория и методика преподавания
иностранных языков и культур», 022900 «Перевод и переводоведение»)
всех форм обучения, а также студентов кафедры иностранных языков СОФ
ВГУ.
В пособии предлагаются тренировочные упражнения и практические задания
ко всем основным разделам курса лексикологии современного английского
языка: семасиологии, словообразованию, стилистической дифференциация
лексики, этимологическим основам словарного состава английского
языка, фразеологии и лексикографии. Упражнения построены на материале
художественных произведений английских и американских авторов XIXXXI
вв., газетно-публицистических текстах, извлеченных из базы Интернета.
В пособие также включены тестовые вопросы, целью которых является
контроль усвоения студентами теоретического материала,
Предлагаемые в пособии задания и упражнения призваны помочь студентам
глубже усвоить теоретический материал, ознакомить их с основными
особенностями лексического строя английского языка, обеспечить сознательный
подход к практическому овладению лексикой, предотвратить некоторые
типичные ошибки в речи.
Пособие позволит подготовить студентов к более успешному восприятию
других теоретических курсов – стилистики, истории языка и пр.
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2) White clouds. White hair. A white elephant. The white race. White magic.
White meat. As white as snow. White wine. It's white of you. White lie.
3) Die of hunger. Die a violent death. Die in one's bed. The day is dying.
Die to the world. I'm dying to know. His secret died with him. Die in harness.
Die game. Never say die.
Exercise 2. Group the following words into three columns in accordance with the
sameness of their 1) grammatical; 2) lexical; 3) part-of-speech meaning.
Boy's, nearest, at, beautiful, think, man, drift, wrote, tremendous, ship's, the
most beautiful, table, near, for, went, friend's, handsome, thinking, boy, nearer,
thought, boys, lamp, go, during.
Exercise 3. Study the two tables given below. Compare the classification of the
connotational meanings suggested by prof. I.V. Arnold (Table 1) and that by
G.B. Antrushina (Table 2) and give comments.
Table 1
words
daddy
Denotative component
father
Connotative
component
coll.
love, attachment
сelebrated widely known for special achievements
in art, science,
etc.
notorious
beseech
superb
widely known for criminal acts or bad
traits of character
ask
good
Types of connotation
1) the connotation of degree or intensity
2) the connotation of duration
4) the evaluative connotation
5) the causative connotation
3) emotive connotation
eagerly and also
anxiously
the largest possible degree
of excellence
Type of connotation
1) stylistic connotation
2) emotive connotation
evaluative connotation,
positive
evaluative connotation,
negative
emotive connotation
intensifying (expressive,
emphatic )
Table 2
Synonyms differentiated by the connotation
to
like - to admire - to love - to adore - to
worship
to flash (brief) - to blaze (lasting)
alone - lonely
produce - create (positive evaluation),
manufacture (negative evaluation)
shiver (with cold, from a chill)
shudder (with fear, horror,etc.)
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6) the connotation of manner
7) the connotation of attendant circumstances
8)
the connotation of attendant features
9) stylistic connotation
to stroll - to stride - to trot - to pace - to
swagger - to stumble (length of pace,
tempo, gait, carriage, purposefulness, or
absence of purpose)
peep, peer
pretty, handsome, beautiful
to be off, to clear out (coll.); to take the
air (sl.); to depart, to retire, to withdraw
(formal)
Exercise 4. Identify the denotational and connotational aspects of lexical meaning
of the given words. Analyze the similarity and difference between the components
of the connotational aspect of lexical meaning in the given pairs of words.
Model: celebrated - notorious
Words Denotational and connotational aspects
celebrated
widely known, admired and talked
about by many people because of
good qualities
notorious widely known because of something
bad (for being criminal, violent,
or immoral)
Components of the connotational
aspect of lexical meaning which
specify the difference between the
words
evaluation (positive)
evaluation (negative)
To deal with - to grapple with, sophisticated - hardened, adventure - ordeal,
perfect - flawless, to glance - to glare, adulation - respect, ugly - repulsive, to murmur
- to mutter.
Exercise 5. State the difference in the pragmatic aspect of lexical meaning in the
following pairs of words. Pay special attention to the register of communication.
State the possible participants of the communicative situation and their roles on
which tenors of discourse are based.
Model: to interrupt — to butt in: Don't interrupt when your mother is speaking.
There is an awful man in the front row who butts in whenever you pause.
Words Register of communication
interrupt
butt
in
neutral
informal
Participants of the communicative
situation
parent — child
people who know each
other well enough
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Roles, which tenors of
discourse are based on
family roles
social roles
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1) certainly - unquestionably: I'm sorry if upset you, dear. I certainly didn't mean
to. Japan has unquestionably one of the most successful economies in the world.
2) dough - money: He only married her for her dough. How much money will you
pay me for this work, sir?
3) picture - photograph: Karen showed me a picture of her new boyfriend -he's
very good-looking. Visitors are not allowed to take photographs inside the museum.
4)
skirt - girl: So, Bill, off to chase some skirt? I didn’t know you were friends
with the girl I had seen you with last night.
5) quality - thing: There are certain qualities in Orwell’s prose that I greatly admire.
One of the things I like about Mary is the way she always keeps smiling,
even when there are problems.
Exercise 6. Identify the denotative and connotative elements of the meanings in the
following pairs of words.
To conceal - to disguise, to choose - to select, to draw - to paint, money - cash,
photograph - picture, odd - queer.
Exercise 7. Explain the basis for the following jokes. Use the dictionary when in
doubt.
1) Caller: I wonder if I can see your mother, little boy. Is she engaged?
Willie: Engaged? She's married!
2) Booking Clerk (at a small village station): You'll have to change twice before
you get to York.
Villager (unused to travelling): Goodness me! And I've only brought the clothes
I'm wearing.
3) The weather forecaster hadn't been right in three months, and his resignation
caused little surprise. His alibi, however, pleased the city council.
‘I can't stand this town any longer,’ read his note. ‘The climate doesn't agree
with me.’
4) Professor: You missed my class yesterday, didn't you?
Unsubdued student: Not in the least, sir, not in the least.
5) ‘Papa, what kind of a robber is a page?’
‘A what?’
‘It says here that two pages held up the bride’s train.’
Exercise 8. The verb ‘to take’ is highly polysemantic in Modern English. On which
meanings of the verb are the following jokes based? Give your own examples to illustrate
the other meanings of the word.
1) ‘Where have you been for the last four years?’
‘At college taking medicine.’
‘And did you finally get well?’
2) ‘Doctor, what should a woman take when she is run down?’
‘The license number, madam, the license number.’
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