2. General problems of the theory of the word

1. The definition of the word

2. Motivation

I

The definition of the word was given already. The importance of remembering about definitions is that they should indicate the most essential characteristic features of the notion expressed by the term under discussion, the features by which this notion is distinguished from other similar notions.

E.g. In defining the word one must distinguish it from other linguistic units, such as phonemes, the morphemes, or the word groups.

Another term, a description enumerates all the essential features of a notion.

The definition of every basic notion is a very hard task; the definition of the word is the most difficult in Linguistics because the simplest word has many different aspects. The aspects are:

1) It has a sound form because it is a certain arrangement of phonemes;

2) It has its morphological structure, being also a certain arrangement of morphemes, when used in actual speech, it may occur in different word forms, and signal various meanings.

Being the central element of any language system the word is a sort of focus for problems of Phonology, Lexicology, Syntax, Morphology and also for some other sciences that have to deal with language and speech, such as Philosophy and Psychology etc.

The characteristic features of a word are different depending in the science field where it is studied. That’s why the variants of definitions were so numerous and different in character.

E.g. This example will show that any definition is conditioned by the aims and interests of its authors. Thomas Hobbes, one of the great English philosophers, revealed a materialistic approach to the problem of nomination when he wrote that words are not mere sounds but names of matter. Three centuries later Russian physiologist Pavlov examined the word in connection with signal that can substitute any other signal from the environment in evoking a response in a human organism.

We know such a phenomenon as a machine-translation. It also deals with words (but by words is meant “a sequence of graphemes which can occur between spaces”).

Within the scope of Linguistics the word has been defined syntactically, semantically, phonologically and by combining various approaches.

Words seldom occur in isolation. They are arranged in certain patterns conveying the relations between the thongs for which they stand, therefore alongside with the lexical they possess some grammatical meaning.

There is one more, very important characteristics of the word, it is its indivisibility: Sapir says “It cannot cut into without a disturbance of meaning”.

E.g. Compare a lion- alive (a as an article and a as a prefix).

A purely semantic treatment can be found in Stephen Ullman’s explanation: From the semantic point of view, “will fall into a number of meaningful segments which are ultimately composed of meaningful units. These units are called words”.

The semantic phonological approach may be illustrated by Gardiner’s definition: “A word is an articulate sound symbol in its aspect of denoting something which is spoken about”.

The French linguist Millet combines the semantic, phonological and grammatic criteria and advances a formula which underlines many definitions: “A word is defined by the association of a given meaning with a given group of sounds susceptible of a given grammatical employment”. We can take this formula together with the statement that the word is the smallest significant unit of a given language, capable of functioning alone. This addition is very important to differentiate between a phoneme, morpheme and a word.

II

The term motivation is used to denote the relationship existing between the morphemic or phonemic composition and structural pattern of the word on the one hand, and its meaning on the other. There are three main types of motivation: phonetical motivation, morphological and semantic motivation.

E.g. The word hiss is motivated by a certain similarity between the sounds which make it up, and those referred to by the sense: its motivation is phonetical. Examples are also: bang, buzz, giggle, whistle etc.

The derived word rethink is motivated in as much as its morphological structure suggests the idea of thinking again. Its motivation is morphological.

Semantic motivation is based on the co-existence of direct and figurative meanings, i.e. of the old sense and new within the same synchronous system.

E.g. Mouth continues to denote a part of the human face, and at the same time it can mean metaphorically any opening or outlet: the mouth of a river, for instance. In its direct meaning the word mouth is not motivated, so that semantic motivation is also only relative.

If there is no influence of other words on the word under discussion, the word under discussion is said to be non-motivated (there is no connections between the phonetical structure of the word and its meaning).

The difference between motivated and non-motivated words is that between a symbol and a sign. The sign simply points to a meaning. The meaning of a symbol is not arbitrary but depends upon its structure.

From the historical point of view, motivation changes in the course of time. Words that are non-motivated at present may have lost their motivation due to changes in the vocabulary, their motivation is said to be faded.

E.g. The verb earn doesn’t suggest any necessary connection with agriculture at present. It is purely conventional; historical analysis shows that it is derived from OE earnian “to harvest”. In ME this connection no longer exists, the motivation is lost and earn is now a non-motivated word.

Some linguists consider one more type of motivation – sound symbolism. Some words are supposed to illustrate the meaning more immediately than do ordinary words. Their sound form is very closely connected with the meaning. Examples are: flap, flip, flop, flash, glare, glitter; sleet, slime, slush, where fl is associated with quick movement, gl – with light and fire, sl – mud.

It’s practically enough about fundamentals of Lexicology. Now we come to the methods used to deal with these problems.