Lexicology as a Branch of Linguistics

Lexicology as a Branch of Linguistics
Lexicology: central terms
Parts and areas of lexicology
Two approaches to language study
Lexical units
Varieties of words

I. Lexicology: central terms
Lexicology
Word
Vocabulary

II. Parts and Areas of Lexicology
Parts of Lexicology:
a) General Lexicology;
b) Special Lexicology.
Areas of Lexicology:
a) Historical Lexicology;
b) Descriptive Lexicology;
c) Comparative Lexicology;
d) Contrastive Lexicology;
e) Combinatorial Lexicology;
f) Applied Lexicology.

Modern English Lexicology studies:
Semasiology
Word-Structure
Word-Formation
Etymology of the English Word-Stock
Word-groups and Phraseological Units
Variants of The English Language
Lexicography

III. Two Approaches To Language Study
The synchronic (descriptive) approach is concerned with the vocabulary of a language as it exists at a given time or at the present time.
The diachronic (historical) approach refers to Historical Lexicology that deals with the evolution of the vocabulary units of a language over time.

IV. Lexical Units
Morphemes;
Words;
Word-groups;
Phraseological units.

V. Varieties of Words
The word is a two-facet unit possessing both form and content or soundform and meaning. Neither can exist without the other.
Paradigm - the system showing a word in all its word-forms.
Word-forms – grammatical forms of words.
Lexico-semantic variant – the word in one of its meanings.

Variants of Words
Group 1:
Lexico-semantic variants: to learn by heart, to learn about smth.
Group2:
a) phonetic variants: often [‘O:Sn] and [‘O:Stn];
b) morphological variants: learned [-d] and learnt [-t].

Conclusion
The most essential feature of variants of words of both groups is that a slight change in the morphemic or phonemic composition of a word is not connected with any modification of its meaning.

A change in meaning is not followed by any structural changes, either morphemic or phonetic.
Like word-forms variants of words are identified in the process of communication as making up one and the same word.