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Denotational and Connotational Meanings.

Lexical meaning may be analysed as including denota­

tional and connotational components. As it was mentioned
above, one of the functions of the words is to denote things,
concepts, and so on. The component of the lexical meaning
which makes communication possible is the denotational
meaning.
Hornby characterized the word cat - a small fur-covered
animal often kept as a pet in the house.
Longman characterized greater detail: - a small animal
with soft fur and sharp teeth and claws, often kept as a pet in
buildings to catch mice.
The second component of the lexical meaning is the
connotational component, i.e. the emotive charge and the
stylistic value of the word.
For ex.: the word hospital. What is thought and felt when the
word hospital is used?
The architect who built it; a place where people are treated
for, nursed through illness or injuries; the invalid staying
there after an operation or the man living across the road, etc.
(A. S. Hornby).
The emotive charge varies in different word-classes. In
some of them, in interjection the emotive element prevails,
whereas in conjunctions the emotive charge is as a rule
practically non-existent.
Connotation - is the pragmatic communicative value the
word receives of where, when, how, by whom, for what
purpose. There are four main types of connotations: stylistic,
emotional, evaluable, expressive.
l.The stylistic connotations are understood in a synonymic
group. So horse, steed, nag(sl) and gee-gee are used in
different styles.
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2. Emotional connotation is acquired by the word as a result

of its frequent use corresponding to emotional situation.
E.g. beseech means “to ask eagerly and also anxiously”.
3. Evaluative connotations express approval and disappro­
val. E.g. Shut up! ( When somebody is displeased).
4. Intensifying connotations (expressive, emphatic). E.g.
magnificent, splendid are used colloqually as terms of
exaggeration.
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SEMANTIC TRANSPOSITION OF WORDS

y^inguists distinguish direct or nominative meaning and

W ^figurative meaning in a word. The meaning is
^^^n o m in ative when it nominates the object without the
help of the context (in isolation).
The meaning is figurative when the object is named and at
the same time characterized through its similarity with another
object. Nominative meaning may be concrete and abstract, they
may be of wide usage or narrow usage. Figurative meanings
may be metaphoric and metonymyc. When used literally they
have their natural, usual, direct meaning, when used
figuratively they have a nonliteral, suggestive meaning. They
are pictorial language, they appeal to the imagination, make for
clearness and for beauty.
The most frequent transfers are based on ac'Ociations of
similarities or of contiguity. These types of transfer are
wellknown as figures of speech and called metaphor,
metonymy, hyperbole, euphemism, litotes, irony, synecdoche
and zoosemy.

Metaphor

“All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players,
They have their exits and their entrance”.
W illiam Shakespeare.

A metaphor is an analogy bet,veen two objects or ideas,

conveyed by the use of a word instead of another. The English
metaphor derives from the 16th century Old French metaphore,
from Greek which means “meta - change over” and “pherein-
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to bear, to carry”. In Modern Greek, the word “metaphor” also

means “transport” or “transfer”. So, a metaphor is a transfer of
name based on the association of similarity and it is actually a
hidden comparison^ that show how two things that are not
alike in most ways are similar in one important way.
1. Metaphors may be simple, and , complex. Simple
metaphors are based on the resemblance^ between physical
properties, appearance of objects, such as: colour, form,
movement, position, etc, For ex.:
a bridge — 1) körpü; 2) bənd; 3) xərək; 4) burunun üst his­
səsi (eynəkdə);
a ball = 1) şar; 2) top; 3) yumaq, kələf;
a palm =1) ovuc; 2) palma ağacı və ya onun yarpağı;
a skeleton = 1) skelet; 2) arıq (adam);
a lamp post =1) sütun, dirək, şalban; 2) uzun arıq adam
2. Metaphors Based on the resemblance of movement. For ex.:
foxtrot = 1) tülkü yerişi; 2) fokstrot (müasir rəqslərdən
birinin adı, bu rəqs üçün yazılmış musiqi);
a slow coach = kareta, yavaş tərpənən adam/ ləng gedən
adam;
to plough the waves = əbəs yerə zəhmət çəkmək and so on.
3. Metaphors based on the resemblance of colour:
violet -l)bənövşə; 2) bənövşə rəngi;
lilac = l)yasənıən; 2) yasəmən rəngi and so on.
4. Metaphors based on the resemblance of position:
nose - 1) burun; 2) qayığın, gəminin, təyyarənin və s.-nin
ön hissəsi;
head = 1) baş; 2) qapaq; 3) yuxarı hissə;
behind the scenes = 1)məxfi, gizli, xəlvəti, səhnə arxasında
Many simple metaphors are used so often that they fade
away and lose their metaphorical expressiveness. E.g. the
legs o f a table

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In such cases the comparison is forgotten and we have a new

word. In some cases the use of the new word in word
combinations seems absurd if the word retains its old meaning.

The ship manned with girls (here “to man ” is metaphor in

the meaning o f gəmini heyətlə tamamlamaq);
(He (Bossinney) reminded James, as he said afterwards, of a
hungry calf v
11 have been green, too, Miss Eyre A- grass greeny.not a more
vernal tint freshens you now than once freshened me (Ch.
Brontee).
In the above mentioned sentences to man, a hungry cat
and green, grass green are metaphors, but the word to man
is a new word.
Or in the sentence The walls are white-washed with blue,
the verb to white-wash is a new expression. The primary
meaning is “forgotten”.
Complex metaphors are based on various complicated
images defying classification. E.g. the key to a mystery, the.
light o f knowledge, etc.
When we say the blood boils we are using words in sense
which we well know not to be their original meanings, but
which we feel to be justified by resemblance. In this way we
create a metaphor. E.g.
a rainy day - qara gun; ajeaky vessel =1) su buraxan gəmi,
batan gəmi; 2) çox danışan adam, sirr saxlaya bilməyən;
standing dish = 1) həmişəki adi xörək, həmişəki xörək; 2) adi
söhbətin mövzusu, etc.
There are many set expressions, proverbs that contain the
names of animals, birds, etc. used metaphorically.
(A snake in the grass - gizli düşmən, to make mountains out
o f molehills -qarışqadan fil düzəltmək, şişirtmək; to take a bee
line - kəsə yolla getmək
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Some proper names have become common on the basis of

metaphor. E.g.
Romeo, Don Juan, Don Quixote, Hooligan, etc.
It presents a method of description which likeness of one
thing to another by referring to it, as if it were some other one.
E.g. a cunning person is referred to as a fox; a woman may be
called a peach, a lemon, a cat, a goose, a bitch, a lioness, etc.
Metaphor is the commonest of all figures of speech. It
gives vivacity and expressiveness to speech and is especially
necessary when an accustomed term loses its force through
familiarity. It is an effective semantic way contributing much
to the expressive power of language.
When we say a shade o f doubt, the light o f knowledge, bitter
enemy, the thread o f argument, a golden opportunity, a stony
heart, a stormy discussion; it is murderous heat, one’s blood
boils we identify imaginatively one subject with another.
Metaphor may be described as a semantic process of
associating two referents, one of which resembles the other.
The word hand acquired in the 16 century the meaning of a
pointer o f a clock or a watch because of the similarity of one
of the functions performed by the hand and the function of the
clock-pointer.
In these expressions the objects are characterized by human
qualities. Parts of body have furnished quite a number of well-
established metaphors :[the lip o f a cup, the leg o f the table, the
teeth of a saw, the hand o f a watch, the teeth o f a comb, the
tongue o f a shoe, the eyes o f a potato, etc.
Metaphor not only extend the use of words, but enrich the
vocabulary. E.g.
My dad was boiling mad - ( It implies that my dad was very,
very angry);
His idea was diffucult to swallow - (it implies that his idea
was hard to accept);
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The homework was a breeze - (it implies that the homework

was very easy to do);
Her dog, Jake was the sunshine of her life - (Jake was the
brightest or best part of her life).
Metaphor can be poetic and linguistic.
Poetic metaphor:
The world is a bundle o f hay
Mankind are the asses who pull (Byron).
Linguistic metaphor: foot (of a mountain), leg (of a
table), eye (of a needle), nose (of a kettle, ship) etc.
As a result of long usage, the comparison is completely
forgotten and the thing named often has no other name
(metaphorically proper names; Don Juan, Haci Qara and so
on).
There is a semantic motivation in metaphor. So that it is
based on the co-existence of direct and figurative meanings.
E.g. a mouth is used to denote a part of body, and at the same
time it can metaphorically apply to any opening or outlet: the
mouth o f a river, the mouth o f a cave,' etc.
A jacket is a short coat and also a protective cover for a
book. In their direct meanings neither the mouth nor the
jacket is motivated.

Simile

Metaphor and simile are both terms that describes a

comparison: the only difference between them is that a simile
makes the comparison explicit by using “like” or ”as”. The
Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th edition, explains the difference as:
“a simile states that A is like B, a metaphor states that A is B”1
In this figure of speech two unlike things are compared, the
comparison being made explicit typically by the use of the
introductory “like” or “as” (American Heritage Dictionary).
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 English Lexicology

The metaphor is an implied hidden comparison, but simile

is a direct comparison. E.g. “You are my sunshine” is a
metaphor, whereas “Your eyes are like the sun” is a simile.
Simile is a language device consisting in comparing two
usually quite different objects. It may be recognized easily by
the presence of like or as, occasionally by the comparative
degree with than and less frequently in older poetry by so. Even
though similes and métaphores are both forms of comparison,
similes allow the two ideas to remain distinct in spite of their
similarities, whereas metaphors compare two things without
using “like” or “as”. For example, a simile that compares a
person with a bullet would go as follows: “Katrina was a
record-setting runner and as fast as a speeding bullet”. A
metaphor might read something like: “ Katrina was a record­
setting runner, a speeding bullet that could zip past you”
(Katrina being the speeding bullet
When you are said: “You look like your mother” there is no
simile, because the comparison is between like objects.
I wandered lonely as a cloud —Mən bulud kimi tənha
avaralanırdim;
My love is like a melody - are simile.
A metaphor may usually be extended into simile, and a
simile may be condensed into a metaphor. Metaphor and
simile as devices are so integral part of a language that we are
often,unaware of their use until they are specially pointed out.
Metaphor is the broader term. A simile is a metaphor , but not
all metaphors are similes.
Examples: free as mountain winds; as rapid as a wind; as
white as snow, to swim like a fish, to laugh like a
hyena[haıi:nəj (goreşən), as red as a ripe tomato, etc.
As we have seen what is only implied in the metaphor is
distinctly expressed in the simile. Metaphor is to be preferred
to the simile when the comparison is quite easy to be
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understood, when a likeness is felt so vividly that the writer

can directly call one thing by the name of another. For ex. “The I
snow blanketed the earth” is also a simile and not a metaphor,
because the verb “blanketed” is a shortened form of the phrase
“covered like a blanket”.
Both metaphor and similes illustrate the fact that words
change in meaning through the process of comparison.
Similes are widely used in literature, both modem and
ancient. Aristotel said that good similes give an “effect of
brilliance”, but he preferred the use of metaphore, as it was
shorter, and therefore more attractive in creative usage.
Simile Poem
I am mad as a storm,
I am silly as a monkey,
I am dumb as a donkey,
I am tall as a tree,
I am hungry as a lion,
I am nice as a horse,
I am loud as a thunderstorm,
I am thin as paper,
I am clever as my Mum.
by Aurelie Biehler

Metonymy

Metonymy is the device in which the name of one thing is

changed for that of another, to which it is related by association
of ideas, as having close relationship to one another. The
strength.of metonymy lies in the pictorial appeal of the
concrete and visual and prominent, as opposed to the abstract
and general. It is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a

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thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name
of something intimately associated with that thing or concept.
The term “ metonymy” is also derived from Greek,
which means “meta” - change and, “onyma” - name.
Metonymy is a transference of meaning which is based on
contiguity.
Contiguity of meaning or metonymy may be described as a
semantic process of associating into referents one of which
makes part of the other or is closely connected with it. The
transfer may be conditioned by spatial, temporal, causal,
symbolic, instrumental, functional and other connections.
Spatial relations: present when the name of the place is
used for the people occupying; the chair may mean the
chairman.
A causal relationship : fear < ME fere // feer < OE faer
“danger", unexpected attack; frown - is used in
paralinguistics.
Functional connection: the things substituting one another
in human practice: the early instrument for writing was a
feather. We write with pens that are made of different materials
and have nothing in common with feathers except the function.
Symbolic connection: the crown for monarchy. Instrument
for the product, hand for handwriting.
Common names may be metonymically derived from
proper names as in macadam - a type of pavement named
after its inventer John McAdam (1790) and diesel invented
by a German mechanical engineer Rudolf Diesel (1860).
Sometimes the semantic connection with place names is
concealed by phonetic changes and is revealed by etymological
study. The word jeans can be traced to the name of the Italian
town Genoa, where the fabric of which they are made of, was
first manufactured. Jeans is a case of metonymy, in which the

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name of the material jean is used to denote an object made of

it.
Words denoting the material from which an article is made
are often used to denote the particular article: glass, iron,
copper, nickel and others.
Metonymy may be based on different relations. The
followings are the most common categories:
1. The name of the container is used instead of the thing
contained:
The kettle boils (instead of the water boils); He drank a cup
(instead of he drank a cup o f tea, coffee, water), etc.
The names of various organs are used in the same way. E.g.
Ear, eye, heart, etc.
Such as: He has a weak eye (instead of eye-sight).
2. Sometimes the change of meaning is reserved and the
name of the thing contained is used instead of the container.
E.g.
School = as bulding and as knowledge;
3. The name of the place is used instead of what is going in that
place or instead of a person who is in this place. E.g.
Bush = 1 ) kol-kos, 2) avara
Chair = 1) stul, 2) kafedra (persons)
There are various associations of contiguity.
Association between material and product made of:
Clay = 1) gil, 2) qab
Brass - 1) mis, latun; 2) nəfəsli alət
Copper= coins made of copper
Silver - silver coins
nickel = nickel coins
4. A part stands for the whole.
ABC = the alphabet - 1.əlifba, 2. əlifba kitabı.
to count noses = to tell noses - iclasda iştirak edənləri
(səsverənləri) saymaq.
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—-----J-
_grey beard = an old man (cf. ağsaqqal)
5. The whole stands for a part.
The names of various animals are commonly used to mean
furs. E.g.
fox = 1) tülkü, 2) xəz, tülkü dərisindən hazırlanmış xəz
otter — 1) su samuru, 2) su samuru dərisi
squirrel = 1) dələ, 2) dələ dərisi (xəzi), etc.
6. Association between instrument and agent:
pen = 1) qələm, 2) yazıçı.
E.g. The best pens of the day = The best writers of the day.
7. Association between cause and effect. Here one meaning
represents the cause and the other - the result. E.g. cold =
soyuq (cause); soyuqlama, soyuqdəymə (result).
8. The name of the inventer is used instead of what he has
invented. E.g.
Mackintosh, Volt, Diesel, etc.
Besides metaphor and metonymy, there are other types of
semantic changes. They are: synecdoche, hyperbole, litotes,
irony, euphemism. There is a difference between these terms as
understood in literary criticism and in lexicology. Thus, “The
White House said” would be a metonymy for the president
and his staff, because the White House is not part of the
president or his staff, but is closely associated with them.
He is the hope o f the family; She was the pride o f her
school; I have never read Balzac in - original; My sister is fond
of old china; The coffee-pot is boiling; The pit loudly
applauded; He succeeded to the crown.
The transference of meaning connected with time
expresses the process and the result of that event. E.g.)77ie
process o f his mourning: Onun yas mərasimi.
Sometimes metonymy expresses the material itself and the
things made of it. I planted an apple (Alma əkdim). It doesn’t
mean that I planted an apple (the fruit), but the seed of an apple,
or the tree of an apple.
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The main characteristic feature of metonymy is that, one

of the components existing together, is imagined in mind. For
ex.: He ate three plates— It means that he ate three plates of
soup, or He knows Sabir by heart (his works).

Synecdoche

The simplest case of metonomy is called synecdoche,

literary meaning is “receiving together”. It is also a Greek
word, means syn - together, eRdechomai - I join in receiving.
Synecdoche means giving the part for the whole or vice
versa. The name of a part is applied to the whole may be-
illustrated by such military terms as the royal horse for
cavalry and foot for infantry.
Here we have:
a) the sign for the thing signified. E.g. from the cradle to
the grave - from childhood to death; gray hair - old age or old
men, should be respected.
b) the names of various organs are used in the same way.
E.g.: an ear- for music, a ready tongue- for head, it is often
used for brains, heart - for emotion, coke - for soda, castle - j
for home, bread -for food, E.g.
He that has a tongue in his head may find his way where
he pleases - Şirin dil adamı İsfahana da aparar, Şirin dil
ilanı yuvasından da çıxarar.
c) a part of species substituted for a whole:
He manages to earn his bread ^-(necessities of life).
It is generally held that metaphor plays a more important
role in the change of meaning than metonymy.
Metonymy and synecdoche have contributed to the stock of
words by becoming fossilized.
He commanded a fleet of thirty sail.
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There is a mixture of the tiger and the age in the

character of a Frenchman (Volter).
The authorities put an end to the tumult.
He was bound in irons.
I have a few coppers in my purse.
Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which:
a tenn denoting a part of something is used to refer to the
whole thing;
a term denoting a thing (a ‘whole”) is used to refer to part
of it;
a tenn denoting a specific class of thing (a “species”) is
used to refer to a larger, more general class (a “genus”) is
used to refer to a smaller, more specific class (species);
a term denoting a material is used to refer to an object
composed of that material.
Synecdochy is closely related to metonymy (the figure of
speech in which a tenn denoting one thing is used to refer to
a related thing); indeed, synecdochy is often considered a
subclass of metonymy.
Examples where a part of something is used to refer to
the whole:
Tire hired “hands” (workers) are not doing their jobs; His
parents bought him a new “set o f wheels” (car);
Examples where a species (specific kind) is used to refer to
its genus (more general kind):
The “cutthroats'’ (assassins) there will as soon as show a
man as look at him”.
Examples where the whole of something is used to refer to
a part of it:
Use your “head” (brain) to figure it out.
Examples where a genus is used to refer to a species:
No “creature” (person) would believe that story.

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Examples where the material, an object is made of is used

to refer to the object itself:
Those are some nice “threads ” (clothes).

Zoosemy

The process of people being nicknamed from animals is very

common. Names of animals are often used metaphorically to
denote qualities. This is zoosemy. E.g.
“ A cruel man” may be called a tiger, a cunning (crafty)
person may be called “a fox or a sly dog”; “a lively child” may
be called a chicken; ” a stupid person” may be called “a goose,
an ass”; “a clumsy person ” may be called “a bear”; if a person
is “stubborn”, we may refer to him as mulish, etc.
Most expressions of this type are of popular origin.
Rabbit - hearted —qorxaq, cəsarətsiz; rat-face = cüvəllağı;
Queer fish = qəribə adam; adder = murdar, iyrənc.
Thus, we find quite a number of instances when names of
animals are metaphorically used to denote human qualities.
Most expressions of this type are of popular origin.
There are a great many idiomatic phrases and proverbial
sayings containing names of animals, birds, insects, etc. used
metaphorically, e.g.
a dog in the monger - Nə özü yeyir, nə başqasına verir;
snake in the grass - gizli düşmən; it is raining cats and dogs -
it is pouring heavily (şıdırğı yağış yağmaq); to take a bee line
- qısa// kəsə yolla getmək.
Better examples of names of animals are:
Calf— a young man, a gay dog — a lively person; donkey —
a foolish man; monkey - a mischievous child; a pig — 1) a
greedy person; 2) an ill-mannered person; whale (amer.) — a
clever person.

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Peculiar is the metaphoric use of desubstantive

(denominative) verbs coming from animal names. Such verbs
are generally made by means of conversion. Here are some
examples for illustration:
dog — to dog a person’s foot steps; fish — to fish out, to try
to make smb. tell smth., to fish in troubled waters; fox — to
fox, to beguile, to trick; ape — to ape, to imitate; wolf — to
wolf, to eat greedily as a wolf does.
If a person devoted to books and study, she (or he) may be
called a bookworm ( fiquratively: kitab qurdu - insan haq.).
Zoosemy needs no explanation when people are nicknamed
(lion, parrot, sheep, snake, duck, goose, mole, viper, hen, cock,
etc.).
i He is like a lion - simile as we know.
I He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing - O,qoyun dərisi geymiş
canavardir (metaphor).

Hyperbole

Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration as rhetorical device or

figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to
create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken
i literally.
The tenn is derived from Greek, hyper - beyond, ballein
i - to throw. Hyperbole is another name for an exaggeration, so,
it is an exaggerated statement. By this figure we mean a
statement exaggerated fancifully for the purpose of creating
emphasis or effect. It is frequently used in fiction and poetry,
but not in scientific texts, where precision of expression is
■necessary. Colloquial speech is rich in hyperbolic expressions.
I It serves to convey intensity of feeling. One of the most
I typical features of hyperbole is its emotional saturation. In
I colloquial speech hyperbole makes use of especially striking
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intonation with great rises and falls of voice. On occasion,

newspapers and other media use hypebole when speaking of
an accident, to increase the impact of the story. Familiar
examples of hyperbole are:
a thousand and one care; I haven’t seen you for ages; the
waves were mountain - high; I'd give the world to see her;
Million o f reasons; I beg a thousand pardons ; I ’ve told you
fifty times; A thousand thanks, etc.
The most important difference between a poetic hyperbole
and a linguistic one lies in the fact that the fonner creates an
image, whereas in the latter the denotative meaning quickly
fades out and the corresponding exaggerating words serve only
as general signs of emotion itself. Some of the most frequent
emphatic words are; Absolutely!, Lovely!, Splendid!,
Marvellous!, Amazing! etc.
Hyperbolic expressions are a frequent occurance in our
every day colloquial speech. E.g.
IA fresh egg has a world o f power (Bellow).
A very good example is chosen by I.R.GaTperin from Byron, I
When people say '‘I ’ve told you fifty times ”,
They mean to scold and very often do.
The reader will note that Byron’s intonation is distinctly I
colloquial, the poet is giving us his observations concerning
colloquial expresssions. So, the hyperbole here, though used in ;
verse, is not poetic but linguistic. Hypebole is common in tall
short tales.E.g.
- Mrs. Candour: Oh, Maria! Child, - what is the whole affair
of between you and Charles? His extravagance, I presume - I
the town talks o f nothing else.
- Maria: I am very sorry, ma’am, the town has so little to do. 1
Mrs. Candour: True, true, child, but there is no stopping I
people’s tongue.

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Hyperbole often loses its force and all its hyperbolic

character. Some hyperbolic expressions have become so well
established in popular use, that their stylistic nature is no longer
noticed.
The process of the fading of emotional colouring resulting
from the use of exaggeration constantly goes on in the
language.
Frequent hyperbolic use of highly emotional words leads to
their weakening and to be subsequent creation of more
emphatic terms, which gradually lose their force and are in their
turn replaced by more emphatic terms. Hypebole is often used
in description. It emphasizes some qualities of a person or
thing by exaggerating them. It can also be used to describe a
person’s emotion. Hyperbole is a comparison like similes and
metaphors, but is extravagant and even ridiculous. For ex.
I am so hungry I could eat a horse; I have a million things to
do; I had a ton o f homework; I f I can ’t buy that new game, I
will die; He is as skinny as a toothpick; He is older than the
hills.
Hyperbole is very common in both everyday speech and in
written English. In written English, it tends to be used within
informal settings or tor literary effect. It is not for example,
regarded as good practise to use hypebole within business
English, it could be regarded as unprofessional. Therefore
hypebole is a literary tool or a very informal tool and it should
not be used in formal settings.
We observe it in such words as: to astonish, to amaze, to
surprise.
Astonish originally meant to “thunderstrike” (lat. extonare:
ex - from, out of; tenare - to thunder) and was in its earliest
stages used in the physical sense of “stun”.
The word was also used metaphorically tor the extreme
effect of dismay or wonder that paralyses the faculties tor a
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 Aziza Hajiyeva

moment. The word lost its force, till nowadays it is hardly more
than an emphatic synonym for surprise or excite, wonder.
Amaze has almost the same’ history; originally it meant utter
physical superfaction.
Litotes

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement, but the reverse figure

is called litotes, ( from Gr. Litos - “plain”, “simple”, “meagre”,
“weak”, “not enough”) or understatement. It is a figure of
speech in which understatement is employed for rhetorical
effect. It is most often used to describe the expression of an
idea by a denial of its opposite.
It might be defined as expressing the affirmative by the
negative of its contrary; not bad for “good”; not small for
“great”; no coward for “brave”, etc. Litotes is a fonn of
understatement always deliberate and with the intention of
emphasis. However, the interpretation of litotes icluding
cultural context in speech it may also depend on intonation and
emphasis: for example the phrase “not bad” can be said in such
a way as to mean “excellent”.
Litotes or meiosis may be easily illustrated by reference to
both literary and popular speech. Belittling tenns are
commonly applied by emphasis to what is most highly valued, j
Anything highly praised is far from bad, or not half bad.
Some understatements do not contain negations^E.g.
I could do with a cup o f tea.
Understatement expresses a desire to conceal or suppress I
one’s feelings, according to the code of reserve and to seem I
indifferent and calm. E.g.
Long time since we met.; It is a bit, isn 't it?
Understatement is rich in connotations. It may convey I
irony, disparagment and add expressiveness. E.g. rather unwise I

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(about somebody very silly) or rather pushing (about

somebody quite unscrupulous) - vicdansiz.
Understatement is considered to be a typical British way of
putting things and is more charactenctic of male colloquial
speech. So, when a woman calls a concert absolutely
fabulous? using a hyperbole, a man would say it is not too bad,
or that it was some concert.
Some examples in litotes:

Litotes As a mean of saying

Not bad Good
You are not wrong You are correct
Not unlike Like
She is not so unkind She is kind
He was not unfamiliar with He was well acquainted with
the works of Dickens the works of Dickens
She is not the brightest girl in She is stupid
the class
They are not the happiest They are unhappy
; couple around

Litotes is a mind of understatement, where the speaker or

writer uses a negative of a word ironically, to mean the
opposite. Litotes is to be found in English literature right back
to Anglo-Saxon times. It is a figure of speech, conscious
understatement in which emphasis is achieved by negation. It is
a stylistic feature of old English poetry. The term meiosis
means understatement generally, and litotes is considered a
formof meioses.

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

Irony

The term irony is also taken from rhetoric, it is the

expression of one’s meaning by words of opposite sense,
especially a simulated adoption of the opposite point of view
for the purpose of ridicule or disparagement. One of the
meanings of the adjective nice is “bad”, “unsatisfactory”, it is
marked off as ironical and illustrated by the example: You
have got us into a nice mess!
The same may be said about the adjective pretty: A
pretty mess you've made o f it; as straight as a round-about; as
smooth as sandpaper; as funny as a funeral, etc.
Irony is a literary or rhetorical device, in which there is a gap
between what a speaker or a writer says and what is generally
understood. Irony may also arise from a discordance between
acts and results, especially if it is striking and seen by an
outside audience. Irony is understood as an aesthetic evaluation
by an audience which relies on a sharp discordance between
the real and the ideal and which is variously apllied to texts,
speech, events, acts and even fashion.
The connection between irony and humor is somewhat
revaled when the surprise at what should have expected
startless us into laughter. However not all irony is humourous.

Euphemism and taboos

By this figure we speak in gentle and favourable terms of

some person, object or event, which is ordinarily seen in a less
pleasing light. Euphemism is the substitution of an inoffensive
expression, or one with favourable associations, for an
expression that may offend of its disagreeblc association.

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People try to avoid using words and expressions that are

unpleasant, inappropriate or embarrassing . They are afraid of
hurting another people’s feelings using such kinds of words
and expressions. The consciously-avoided words and
expressions are called “euphemisms”. The word euphemism
comes from the Greek word. Eu — good/ well + pheme -
speech/speaking. Euphemism is the substitution of words or
expressions for words and expressions that seem rough,
unpleasant or inconvenient to be pronounced. The people use
euphemisms to get rid of the negative meaning or connotation
the word or topic in question has. These include sex, death,
killing, crime, disease and different functions of the human
body. ■ • . ' . '■
Etymologically, this term is the opposite of the blaspheme
(evil-speaking). It may be used to hide unpleasent or
disturbing ideas, even when the literal term for them is not
necessarily offensive. This type of euphemism is used in public
relations and politics. Sometimes the use of euphemism is
equated to politeness. There are also superstitious euphemisms,
based (consciously or subconsciously) on the idea that words
have the power to bring bad fortune, and there are religious
euphemisms, based on the idea that some words are holy
(saint), or that some words are spiritually taboo. Taboos were
orginally concerned with sacred matters that could not be
discussed, but nowadays taboos usually concern things that
people are ashamed of.
The origin of euphemism is to be sought in the remotest
past, at early stage of civilization, when religious taboo
dictated the avoidance of certain terms. For ex.: the names o f
dead persons. People refuse to utter the name of a person, who
is no longer living, or to give it to a child, so that name actually
becomes obsolete among the tribe. It was believed that the

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

name of a person or a thing had the force of producing

disasters.
In English many euphemisms appeared in the 17th
century. Instead of God they said “Lord”, By God! = by
George!, Instead of Devil they said “Dickens”, “Old Harry”
(because their thought was “Speak of the Devil and he will
appear”).
Words connected with sacred beings and objects are tabooed.
Taboo is a strong social prohibition meant as a safeguard
against supernatural forces. This is of historical interest.
The term comes from the Tongan language and appears in
many Polinesian cultures. When an activity is taboo, it is
forbidden. Some taboo activities or customs are prohibited
under law may lead severe penalties. Other taboos may result
in embarrasement, shame or redness.
The use of taboo in English dates back to 1777 when an
English explorer Captain James Cook visited Tongans. He
wrote: “When anything is forbidden to be eaten, or made use of
it, they say that is taboo”.
The English language contains numerous euphemisms
related to dying, death, burial, and the people and places which
deal with death.
The practice of using euphemisms for death is likely to
have originated with the magical belief that tg speak the word
“death” was to invite death, to draw death’s attention. It is the
ultimate bad fortune. A common theory holds that death is a
taboo subject in most English speaking cultures. It may be said
that one is not dying, but fading quickly, because the end is
near. People who have died are referred to as having passed
away, or passed or departed. In early English poetry the heroes
did not literally die, but euphemistically lay or fell. The term
“cemetery” for “graveyard” is a borrowing from Greek, where
it was a euphemism, literally meaning “a sleeping place”.
... - ... ----152 ........ .....
 English Lexicology

The same feature of language is familiar in Modem English,

such as:
to decease, to join the majority, yield up the ghost, to gp to
one’s reckoning, to expire, to pass away, to breathe one's last,
to go west, to be no more, to go to one's last resting place, etc.
Instead of to kill - to finish, to be away with, to put away, to
remove, to settle, etc. Sometimes the deseased is said to have
gone to a better place, but this is used primarily among the
religious with a concept of Heaven.
Instead of dead they say: late, departed, deceased. My
better half instead of my wife. Instead of fat or overweight
they say: full figured, heavy - set, thick-boned, fluffy; for drug
addiction they say chemical dependency; correctional facility
for prison; lost their lives for were killed; the big “C" for
cancer; powder room, rest room for toilet room (US) - (the
word “toilet”; was itself originally a euphemism).
The latter is the common areas in certain body parts and
functions. People find it difficult to talk about going to the
toilet. Among good friends and acquaintances it may be
acceptable to directly ask the location of the toilet or mentfbn
the bodily function(s) for which one needs to use it, but in
other situations people might ask: “Where could I wash my
hands?” In a restaurants the women often say that they need to
go and powder their noses or that they need to freshen up
when they need to use the toilet.
From the semasiological point of view euphemism is
important. It is a frequent occurance in most modem languages,
but it will be remembered that it is not the same as religious
taboo with which it is connected historically.
Words having an unpleasant connotations are sometimes
replaced by letters: Ex: T.B . = tuberculosis; to hell = to “h”
with it.

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

Unpleasant words are sometimes replaced by foreign

names, such as: with children, pregnant = enceinte (Fr.).
Euphemisms'are referring to something unpleasant by using
milder words and phrases. E.g. pass away = to die; pregnant =
to be in the family way; naked ~ to be in the birthday suit,
drunk = intoxicated, mad = insane, deaf = hard of hearing,
etc. For ex.:
1. “Your grammar is . .she had intended saying awful, but she
amended it to “notparticulary good" (J.London. Martin Eden);
2. - Where did you get the dough from then?
- Pinched it, if you want to know (Silhtos A. Key to the
Door).
3. I mean did they put you in a good place?
- What d’yo mean? - said Mr. Watkins suspiciously, “One
would think you were trying to make out I’d been put
away... ’’(Walls H.G. The Hummerpond Park Burglary), (to put
away - in colloqual speech means “to put into.prison”),^
Every culture has its own topics that are forbidden and
should not be talked about directly. For ex. In Azerbaycani
there were some words which were forbidden to pronounce
in social place among the eldest and much respected people.
E.g. instead of my wife they used to say my children's mother,
etc. Side by side with euphemisms there exists dysphemisms
(kakophemisms). They are collogual and jargonic words. When
applied to people, animal names are usually^ dysphemisms:
coot, old bat, pig, chicken, bitch, etc.
Speakers resort to dysphemism to talk about people and
things that frustrate and annoy them, that they are disapprove
of and wish to disparage, humilate and degrade. Curses, name­
calling and any sort of derogatory comment directed towards
others in order to insult or to wound them are all examples of
dysphemism. Exclamatory swear words that release frustration
or anger are dysphemism. Like euphemism, dysphemism
t
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interacts with style and has the potential to produce stylistic

discord; if someone at a formal dinner party were publicly an­
nounce “I’m off for a piss”, rather than saying “Excuse me for a
moment”, the effect would be dysphemistic. E.g. old fox -
kaftar, to go to a hell - cəhənnəm olmaq, beast - vəhşi, bull -
qanmaz, to gorge //to guzzle 7 gözünə diirtmək // zəhrimarlan-
maq, a ruthless // a ferocious person - amansız, əzrayıl, etc.
As saidmbove euphemisms and disphemisms are stylistic
connotations in their semantic structure.

Short Glossary of Words and Their Euphemisms

Word Euphemism
accident incident
addict, addiction substance abuse
arrest apprehend
beggar homeless person, panhandler
bombing air support
coffin casket
criminal illegal
crippled physically challenged
dead departed, deceased, lost, gone
death insurance life insurance
death penalty capital punishment
death end, destination, better world
die pass away, expire, go to heaven
drugs illegal substances
drunk intoxicated, tipsy
fail fall short, go out of business
fat overweight, chubby, stout, plump
garbage collector sanitation person
genocide ethnic cleansing
illegal worker undocumented worker

155 '
 Aziza Hajiyeva

imprisoned incarcerated
jail secure facility
kill put down/away/out/to sleep
lazy unmotivated
make love sleep with
money funds
mortuary funeral home/parlor
murder hit, kill, finish off someone
old senior, seasoned
old age golden age, golden years
old person pensioner
old persons’ home retirement home, rest home
perspire sweat
poor low-income, underprivileged
prison correctional facility
prisoner inmate, convict
pregnant to be in the family way
sexual intercourse sleep with, make love
sexual relationship intimate relationship
spy source of information
stupid slow
toilet WC, restroom, washroom, Loo
ugly unattractive
unemployed between jobs, taking time off

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 English Lexicology

RESULTS OF SEMANTIC CHANGE

M ford meaning is liable to change in the course of

m M J the historical development of the language. The
etymological analysis make it possible to see
the development of the meaning of the word and at the result
can be generally observed the changes of the denotational
meaning of the word.
According to the types of change there are four major
tendencies:
1) extention of meaning (generalization);
2) narrowing of meaning (specialization);
3) degradation of meaning (pejoration);
4) elevation of meaning (amelioration).

Extention of meaning (generalization)

If a word begins to be applied to wider group of objects or

phenomena its meaning is extended. Extention of meaning
means widening of the word. Most words begin as specific
names for things. However, this denotation is quickly lost and
the meaning of words is extended and generalized. Extention
of meaning is one of the most common features in the history
of words. For ex. Manuscript is a word that now refers to any
author’s copy, whether written by hand or typed, but originally
it meant only something written by hand. But the word
manufactured now applies generally to all sorts of mechanical
process. Or the word season originally meant only “the period
of sowing”, but now it is used to denote all the four parts of the
year. The word to arrive originally meant “to come by ship or

157
 Aziza Hajiyeva

by boat”. The word journal originally meant “diary”, but now

it means only periodical publication.
The original proper name is usually forgotten. Such as:
calico (pambıq parça növü)- from Calicut, India;
lynch - (daş-qalaq etmək, to punish wildly) - from
Charles Lynch, a planter in Verginia in the 18-th
century;
cravat - (qalstuk, kerchief for men covering their neck) -
from the French word Creation;
a foreigner - was originally one who lived out of doors;
picture - originally smth. painted;
scene - from Greek for tent;
paper - from Greek papyrus of an Egiption plant;
pipe - originally meant a simple musical instrument.
Gradually it was transfered to other things resembling this
shape.
Extention of meaning includes not only the change from
concrete to abstract, but also from specific to general. [
The process of generalization went very far in the history
of the word thing. Its etymological meaning was “an essembly
for deliberation on some judicial or business affair”, hence - “a
matter brought before this assembly” and what was said or
decided upon then “cause”, “object”, “decision”. Now it has
become one of the most general words of the language, it can
substitute almost any noun, especially non-personal noun, and
has received a pronominal force: Cf. something, nothing,
anything, as in Nothing has happened yet.
While generalizing, the words acquire figurative meanings,
but there are some words which can substitute any word of
their class. Such kind of words are called generic terms. For
ex.: person —for personal noun = “man, woman”; furniture -
for the words “table, chair, wardrobe, buffet”; animal - for

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“dog, horse, wolf, fox”; team - for “a group of person, acting

together in work or in a game”, etc..

Narrowing of Meaning (Specialization)

If a word begins to be applied to a narrower (or a less)

number of objects or phenomena its meaning is narrowed, jit is
one of the tendencies - narrowing of meanings or restriction.
Sometimes it is called specialization of meaning. In the process
of historical development the word loses one or many of its
meanings or becomes the international word.
So, a word of wide usage is restricted in the application and
comes to be used only in a special sense.
In early times, a human or animal body, living or dead, was
called corpse. Now this general term has been specialized to
mean a dead body, usually that o f human being. Or the word
meat originally meant any kind o f food, but now it means
only flesh o f some animals. The word wife meant woman, to
starve originally meant to die, but when the Scandinavian
word to die was borrowed the meaning of to starve became
narrowed and now it means to die o f hunger. The word deer
meant any kind o f animal, but when the French word beast was
borrowed, the meaning of the word deer was narrowed. The
following words illustrate the narrowing of words:
Meat - originally meant food and drink,
Bread - originally meant a fragment or a small piece;
Fruit - originally meant a product or something enjoyed;
Wife - originally meant simply woman (wife-woman), now
restricted to a married woman. The word housewife is
retained from that time;
Garage (Fr. borrowing) once meant any safe place. Now it
means specifically a building for housing automobiles;
Worm - once meant any kind o f reptile or insect;
__ — ............................ 159 ........ -...... -........ -.........
 Aziza Hajiyeva

Grocer - was used in the meaning of a wholesale dealer, now

a retail dealer in the tea, coffee, sugar, spices, fruits and other
commodities;
Hospital - originally a place for shelter or entertainment of
travelers, Compare: hostel, hotel are from this word.
Words are often specialized in technical vocabulary. Such as:
Dog - qannaq; pig - qəlib, bülöv daşı; arm - qulp, sap,
tutacaq; eye - qol, ilgək and so on.
Other examples of specialization are room, which alongside
the new meaning keeps the old one of “space”; corn original
meaning “grain”, “the seed of any cereal plant”: logically the
word becomes specialized and is understood to denote the
leading crop of the district; hence in England corn means
“wheat” in Scotland “oats”, whereas in the USA, as an ellipsis
or Indian corn, it came to mean “maize”.
As a special group belonging to the same type one can
mention of proper nouns from common nouns chiefly in
toponymies, i.e. place names. E.g.: the City - the business part
of London; the Highlands - the mountainous part of Scotland;
Oxford - University town in England (from ox+ford, i.e. a
place where oxen could ford the river); the Tower (of London)
- originally a fortress and place, later a state prison, now a
museum.

Elevation of Meaning (Amelioration)

In the course of time some words have completely changed

their meanings. It happened because people’s attitude to some
things or phenomena have changed. The process known as
elevation or amelioration is opposite of degradation. Words
often rise from humble beginnings to positions of greater
importance, such changes are not always easy to account for
in detail, but we can say that social changes make them
........................ ..... — __________________________ 160
 English Lexicology

acquire better meanings. In such cases social and class

relations are revealed.
We observed that some words acquire a worse meaning as
the result of being restricted in meaning.
Some highly complimentary words were originally applied
to things of comparatively slight importance. Many words
have been elevated through association with the ruling class.
E.g. knight once meant a boy. Then it meant servant and
coming through military associations it received new meaning:
a tittle o f rank.
Fame - (Lat.) originally meant only “report, common talk,
rumour”;
Splendid (Lat.) - goes back to the simple meaning “bright”;
The following words are familiar examples of the process of
elevation of meaning:
Minister - now means an important public official, but in
earlier times meant “servant”;
Comrade - from Spanish for “ roommate
Marshal - a Germanic word meaning “horse-servant” was
adopted into French;
Chiffon [‘Jifon] - meant “a rag” in French;
Smart - now is used in the meaning of “chic”, but in earlier
times meant “causing pain”;
Nice - in earlier times meant “foolish” being derived through
French from Latin “ nescius” (This is the regular
sense in Chauser’s writings).
The word was gradually specialized in the sense “foolishly
particular about trifles”. Then the idea of folly was lost and
“particular about small things”, accurate came into existence.
In this sense nice was naturally applied to persons as a nice
observer, a nice distinction. So, the word passed through diffe­
rent stages of radiation and became elevated in meaning.
Gradually it became into accurate and applied to persons as a
---- -----------— — -— — 161 _ _ _ _ _ _ --------- ------
 Aziza Hajiyeva

nice observer. Then it became elevated in meaning, denoting

good quality, excellent.
Lord - Christian word; the lord -God; Lord knows. The lord's
day-bazar günü; to lord - idarə etmək, lord - inzibati
vəzifə tutan şəxs;
Queen - 1) kraliça, şahzadə; 2) ilahə, məlaikə; 3) gözəllik,
bəzək; 4) sevgili, canan;
Duke - hersoq (Qərbi Aropada yüksək zadəgan rütbələrindən
biri);
Tory - İngiltərədə indiki konservativlər (mühafizəkarlar),
(köhnəlik tərəfdarları) partiyasının əsasını təşkil edən
siyasi partiyanın adı; 2) konservativlər partiyası.

Degradation of meaning (Pejoration)

Along with elevation of meaning there exists one more

process of meaning, i.e. degradation. (Degradation is such a
process that a word falls into disrepute for some reasons.
Words once respectable may become less respectable. Some
words reach such a low point that it is considered improper to
use them.
The following words originally have their neutral meaning
but in Modem English they are used, with an unfavourable
implication. Some words reflect class relations in the country
and the attitude of the ruling class to common people. E.g. the
word villain meant “a man working on a farm or country
house”. Such person was thought by his social superiors to
have low sense of morality and that is why the word changed
its meaning into scoundrel.
The word knave in Old English meant a boy, a servant
boy. But as from the point of view of the master most of the
servant boys were rouges, the word knave descended to the
meaning rascal. Rascal originally meant yaramaz, dələduz.
— — — — — — 162 J
 English Lexicology

Sometimes, only the derivatives of words have a degradating

meaning, but the word itself is natural and keeps its original
meaning. E.g.
Mood - moody (of bad temper) = məyus, qəmgin; scheme-
schemer = fitnəkar. The following words are
examples of degradation of meanings:
Churl (qanacaqsiz) - in OE meant a man;
Boor (tərbiyəsiz) - in OE meant a farmer;
Vulgar - in OE meant common, ordinary, in Latin -
vulgaris meant the common people;
Gossip - in OE meant a God parent;
Silly - in OE meant happy;
Insane - in OE meant not well, Latin - insane;
Idiot - in OE meant a private person, in Greek idiotes.
 Aziza Hajiyeva

POLYSEMY

^ ^ J h i l e analysing the word meaning we observe that

words are not units of a single meaning. They are
monosemantic and polysemantic.
Monosemantic words are few in number. They are mainly
scientific terms. The majority of English words are
polysemantic.
Polysemy is a diachronic term. It is a word of Greek
origin which consists of two words: poly means “many” and
sema means “meaning”. Thus the term polysemy is used to
denote the presence of several meanings that usually appear in
one and the same word on the basis of its original meaning. It
must be said that the main source of polysemy is a change in
the semantic structure of the word. So the word polysemy
means “plurality of meanings”, it exists only in the language,
not in speech. LA_word which has more than one meaning is
called polysemantic.;
It implies that a word may retain its previous meaning
and at the same time acquire one or several new ones. For
ex.: The word table has some meanings (yemək, lövhə,
qonaqları əyləndirmək, table manner and so on.), but the
primary meaning is a flat slab o f stone or wood, the other
meanings are secondary meanings, and they derived from the
primary meaning of the word. This word has at least 9
meanings in Modem English: a piece o f furniture, the persons
seated at a table, the food put on the table, meals; a thin flat
piece made o f stone or wood; an orderly arrangement o f facts
or figures; part o f a machine-tool, etc. Or the word “hand ”
has the meanings of 1) parts o f body, 2) the part o f a clock, 3)
handlike things, etc.

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 English Lexicology

Polysemy is characteristic of most words in many

languages. But owing to the monosyllabic character of the
English language, polysemy is more characteristic of the
English vocabulary.
The main source of polysemy is a change in the semantic
structure of the word. This change may be metaphoric or
metonymic of which we spoke.
There are two main reasons that help words to get several
meanings:
1. The fact that words are used in different situations
surrounded by other words. Their neighbourhood may
influence the meaning of words. For ex.: glass — güzgü,
şüşə, stəkan, barometr; head — baş (bədən üzvü), baş
həkim, baş müəllim, baş soğan, hər hansı bir əşyanın
(dağın, ağacın, stolun, etc.) başı, cayın başlanğıcı, etc.
2. Words can be used figuratively. E.g. the word hand
originally meant əl. Later new meanings connected with
the original meaning of this word began to appear
mainly: skill, ability, crew, a worker;
The context shows in which of its several meanings the
word is used. Under the “context” we mean the surrounding
words or even sentences which are combined with the given
polysemantic word. E.g.
There is a table in the middle of the room.
There are some tables on the walls showing the achievements
of the national economy. Another examples:
She worked hard - The lift doesn’t work - I worked on him to
come to the wedding (here in the meaning of “influence”).
1just bought a book (object) - He wrote a book (text) - We
booked in at the hotel (check in) - We booked our tickets this
morning (reserve a seat).
These examples show that polysemy is not only
homogeneous phenomenon.

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

She could hear the piano (sound) - She polished the piano
(piece of furniture). These objects can be viewed from a
number of points of view. For example as a music instrument
or a piece of furniture. The link between these usages is clearly
the object as a whole.
So by the word polysemy, it is understood that several
meanings exist in one word on the basis of its original meaning.
The phenomenon polysemy is met in different parts of speech.
For example:
Noun: witness: \.sübut, şahidin ifadəsi; 2. hadisəni ilk
görən və onu təsvir edə bilən şəxs; 3. məhkəmədə and içib
ifadə venrən şəxs; 4. hər hansı bir sənəddə məsul şəxsin
imzasının yanında imza atan şəxs və s.
Verb: run: 1. insanın qaçması; 2. maşınların şütüməsi; 3.
qanın axması, dövran etməsi; 4. çayın axması, tökülməsi; 5.
burunun axması və s.
Adjective: large: 1. a large room - böyük otaq; 2. large
mouth - iri ağız; 3. large appetite - yaxşı iştaha; 4. large
number - çox say və s.
Polysemy is more characteristic of the English vocabulary as
compared with the other languages. This is due to the
monosyllabic character of English and the predominance of
root words.

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 English Lexicology

HOMONYMY

n linguistics, a homonym is one of a group of words

J that share the same spelling and the same

pronunciation, but have different meanings, usually
as a result of the words having different origins. So, wor
identical in sound form, but different in meanings are
traditionally termed homonyms. The word homonym is of
Greek origin, which consists of two words homos (similar) and
onoma (name). Thus words identical in sound form and
spelling, but different in meanings are called homonyms.
For ex.: yoke (boyunduruq); məc. zülm, əsarət); yolk (yumurta
sarısı); meat - meet, etc. The meaning of the given word is
determined by the context. Ex.:
Meet my sister; I don’t like meat; A penny is one cent,
The soap has a nice scent; She sent me a letter, etc.
Homonymy in English is wide-spread specially among
monosyllables:
I-eye; too-two; right-write; or-ore; steal-steel; tail- tale,
etc.
The term “homonym” can be used to refer to two different
kinds of words:
a) words that share the same spelling (irrespective of their
pronunciation);
b) words that share the same pronunciation (irrespective
of their spelling).
This means that “homonym” can be used to mean a
homograph and homophone. A distinction can be made
between perfect homonym, which is called “true” homonym,
such as skate (glide on ice) and skate (the fish).
Homographs (literally “same writing”) are words identical
in spelling, but different both in their sound form and
_— . 167 .......................................
 Aziza Hajiyeva

meaning. It is precise to call them homographs and they are

sometimes misleadingly called heteronyms.They are usually
defined as words that share the same spelling, regardless of
how they are pronounced. For ex.:
bow [bou] - a piece of wood curved by a string and used
for shooting arrows; bow [baw] - the bending of the head or
body;
lead [li:d] - to go with or in front of a person to show the
way - aparmaq, rəhbərlik etmək; lead [led] - soft, heavy,
easily melted metal - qurğuşun;
tear [tie] - a drop of water that comes from the eyes (göz
yaşı), tear [teə] - to pull apart by force (cırmaq);
wind [wind] - air that is moving across the surface of the
earth; wind [waind] - tighten the spring of a watch or clock;
raise the weights that operate a clock;
row [rau] - noisy or violent argument or quarrel; row [rou]
- number of a person or things in a line;
Homophones (literally “same sound”) are usually defined as
words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how
they are spelled. They are words identical in sound form,
different both in spelling and in meaning.
For ex.: sea-see; hear-here, son-sun,) read-red, knight-
night, know-no, wright-right, pair-pear, etc.
Homonyms appear as a result of the followings:
1) Disintegration of polysemy, that is when one meaning of a
polysemantic word tears itself away from the polysemantic
word and becomes an independent word, because semantically
it cannot be traced back to its primary meaning. E.g. board is a
plank o f wood. Then it became a side o f a ship, then food
because food was served on the table made of wood; later on it
acquired the meaning of council (sovet, şura).

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 English Lexicology

2) As a result of phonetical and morphological changes

sometimes they originated from different roots and having
different meanings became to coincide in fonn.
ear = qulaq -A .S. = eare; ear = sünbül < A.S. = ear
3) As a result of conversion. E.g.
water = to water, love = to love; back (n) = to back (v)
- back (adv); work = to work
4) As a result of shortening. E.g.
exam = examination, lab = laboratory, frig = refrigerator
5) Sometimes borrowed words are homonyms to the native
ones. E.g.
ball (En.) = ball (Fr.) (bal - rəqs gecəsi); match (En.) —
match (Fr.) (kibrit), etc.
There are two types of homonyms:
1) full or perfect homonyms. Full lexical homonyms are
words, which represent the same category of parts of speech
and have the same paradigm. They are such words identical
both in spelling and sound fonn, but different in meaning: case
'^something that has happened, ease - a box, a container;
bark - noise made by a dog, bark —the skin o f a tree; march -
a game, a contest, March- the third month o f the year; match
- a game, a contest, match - a short piece o f wood for
producing fire, etc.
2) partial homonyms are subdivided into three groups. This
classification of homonyms are given by prof. Smimitsky^
They may be classified by the type of meaning into lexical,
lexico-grammatical and grammatical homonyms:
a) lexical homonyms: in which the part of speech meaning
of the words and their paradigms are identical. They
differ only in lexical meanings: seal - (möhür); seal -
(suiti).
b) - lexico-grammatical homonyms differ both in lexical and
in grammatical meanings. They either belong to
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 Aziza Hajiyeva

different parts of speech or present grammatical forms

of different words :
blue (mavi) - blew (past tense o f “blow”); found
(bünövrə) - found (past tense o f “find”,); rose (flower) -
rose (past ind. o f to rise), etc.
Word-building also contributes significantly to the growth
of homonymy, and the most important type undoubtedly
conversion. Such pairs of words as comb (n) - to comb (v);
pale (adj) - to pale (v) are numerous in the vocabulary.
Homonyms in this type, which are the same in sound and
spelling, but refer to different categories of parts of speech
are also called lexico-grammatical homonyms,
c) grammatical homonyms are the homonyms of different
word-forms of one and the same word: asked (Past Ind.) -
asked (Participle 11); brothers (plural) - brother’s (Posess.
Case).
One of the debatable problems in semasiology is the
demarkation line between homonymy and polysemy, i.e.
between different meanings of one word and the meanings of
two homonymous words.
It should be stressed that homonyms are distinct words,
not different meanings within one word. The description of
various types of homonyms in Modem English would be
incomplete if we did not give a brief outline of diachronic
processes that account for their appearance.
It is usually held that if a connection between the various
meanings is apprehended by the speaker, these are to be
considered as making up the semantic structure of a
polysemantic word; otherwise it is a case of homonymy (if not
apprehended), not polysemy.
Polysemy is referential when one object is linked to
several usages of a word; polysemy is lexical when several
resembling objects are linked to several usages of a word; the
_________ = _ = = = = = = = = = = = = = 170 = = = = = = = = = = _ _ _ _
 English Lexicology

phenomenon is called homonymy when several non resembling

objects are linked to several usages of a word.

Sources of Homonyms

There are a lot of different sources of homonyms in

English language. One source of homonyms is phonetic
changes, which undergo in the coarse of their historical
development. As a result of such changes, two or more words,
which were formally pronounced differently, may develop
identical sound forms and thus become homonyms. For
example, night and knight, were not homonyms in Old English
as the initial k in the second word was pronounced and not
dropped as it is in its modem sound form: OE. kniht (cf.OE
niht). In OE the verb to write had the form writan, and the
adjective right had the forms reht, riht.
Diverging meaning development of a polysemantic word
and converging sound development of two or more different
words are also the main sources of homonyms.
The process of diverging meaning development can be
observed when different meanings of the same word move so
far away from each other that they come to be regarded as two
separate units. This happened for example, in the case of
Modem English flower and flour which originally were one
word (ME. flour, cf. OF. flour, flot, flos - florem) meaning “the
flower” and the finest part o f wheat. The difference in spelling
underlines the fact that from the synchronic point of view they
are two distinct words even though historically they have a
common origin.
Convergent sound development is the most potent factor in
the creation of homonyms. The great majority of homonyms
arises as a result of converging sound development which leads
to the coincidence of two or more words which were
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 Aziza Hajiyeva

phonetically distinct at an earlier date. For ex.: OE ic and OE

eaze have become identical in pronunciation. ME I [ai] and
eye [ai].
Borrowing is another source of homonyms. A borrowed
word may duplicate in form either a native word or borowing.
So, in the group of homonyms rite (n) -to write (v) - right
(adj), the second and the third words are of native origin,
whereas rite is a Latin borrowing (-Lat. ritus).
Words borrowed from other languages may become
homonyms through phonetic convergence: OE ras and Fr. race
[reis] are homonyms in Modem English.(cf. race [reis] -
“running” and race [reis] - a distinct ethnical stock.
Homonyms can develop through shortening of different
words, e.g.”cab” from “cabriolet”, “cabbage”, “cabin”.
 English Lexicology

PARONYMS

paronym or paronyme in linguistics may refer to

a two different things:

1. A word that is related to another word and der

from the same root, e.g. a cognate word; 2. Words which are
almost homonyms, but have slight differences in spelling or
pronunciation and have different meanings.
So, words that are kindred in origin, sound form and
meaning and therefore liable to be mixed but in fact
different in meaning and usage are called paronyms. This
is a word of Greek. origin pare - beside, onoma - name. It
enters the lexicological terminology very conveniently
alongside such tenns as synonyms, homonyms and allonyms.
Paronyms are at the same time called false homonyms.
They may be etymologically linked words as well as the
words approaching in form by accident: Bear- beer - bare
(dözmək —pivə - çılpaq), Cause - course (səbəb - kurs) və s.
Poetic paronyms is specific mainly for the poetic diction. It
is called contextual paronyms.
Paronyms are divided under the following types:
1. Words having one and the same root, but different
derivational prefixes, e.g. precede - əvvəl getmək,
qabaq olmaq, qabaqca olmaq, and proceed - davam
etdirmək, davam etmək; prescription - (qanundan
kənar) elan, göstəriş; preposition - sözönü, proposition
- təklif, təklif etmə//edilmə; anterior - qabaq, ön,
qabaqkı, (bundan) əvvəlki, keçən; interior - daxili,
daxili hissə.
2. Words having one and the same root but different
derivational suffixes,e.g. popular - məşhur, hamıya
məlum, geniş yayılmış//tanmmış; xalqın ruhuna,
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 Aziza Hajiyeva

dünyagörüşünə uyğün, populous - əhalisi sıx olan; gur,

izdihamlı
3. Words derived from different roots, e.g. compliment-
əlavə etmə (edilmə), tamamlama, əlavə, compliment -
kompliment (xoş söz, iltifat).
Different authors suggest various definitions. Some
define paronyms as words of the same root, others as words
having the same sound form. For ex.: seize and cease ,
'carrier(hambal) and ca'reer(mənsəb, sənət, peşə), etc.
Allonym is a term offered by Shextman denoting
contextual pairs semantically coordinated like slow and
careful, quick and important.
Allonym is a word that differs in spelling and pronunciation
from all other words. No doubt in ordinary usage, we shall have
little need for this term, although it would simplify lexical
explanation if one could start by making the claim that the
most words in English are allonyms.

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 English Lexicology

SYNONYMS

£>ynonyms are different words with almost

^ identical or similar meanings. Words that are said
synonym are called to be synonymous, and the
state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes
from ancient Greek, syn “with” and onoma “name”.
Synonyms are words only similar but not identical in
meaning. Synonyms are words different in their outer aspects,
but identical or similar in their inner aspects. They are two or
more words of the same part of speech possesing one or
more identical lexical meanings, interchangable in some
contexts. They differ in some shades of meaning, connotative
meanings, style, etc. For example, the synonyms “big, large”
mean “of more than average size” and are often
interchangeable in this meaning: a big house (country, family,
dog), a large house (country, family,dog). One can say “big
success, large success; big problem, large problem”, where
“big” is more colloquial, and large is more formal.
But there are very few synonyms which coincide both in
denotative and connotative meanings and can substitute each
other in any text. They are: word formation - word building;
airman =flyer, flying man; wireless = radio.
Strictly speaking, there are no synonyms that have
completely the same meaning and can be interchangeable in all
cases. Occasionally, the difference between two (or more)
synonyms is slight and they seem to be interchangeable, at least
in some meanings, for example: to begin-to start, big-large,
wrong-incorrect.
A group of synonyms is called a synonimic set/row . E.g.:
famous, celebrated, renowned, illustrious, popular, well-
known, distinguished and so on. These adjectives refer to a
___________________ ___ 175 ..... ...................
 Aziza Hajiyeva

widely known person or object and make up a synonymic set.

In a synonymic set there is usually a word which is broader in
meaning and the most neutral stylistically than the others due
to which it can be used (stand for) for all the other members
of the group, though sometimes because of that the whole
expression may lose its colourfulness and exactness. So, all
synonymic groups have a “central” word whose meaning is
equal to the denotation common to all the synonymic group
and hold a commanding position over other words. It is called
the synonymic dominant or the leading member of the group.
For ex.: In the series to leave, to depart, to quit, to retire, to
clear out the verb to leave is general and can stand for each
of the other four terms which expresses the most general idea.
, Thus to leave is the synonymic dominant of the group, or
piece is the synonymic dominant in the group slice, lump,
morsel, the adjective red is the synonymic. dominant in the
group purple, scarlet, crimson, etc.
In most cases synonymic dominant is of Anglo-Saxon
origin, but it is not always so. There are rather many words of
French origin which have become very popular in English and
that’s why they are the synonymic dominants in some groups of
words. E.g. enemy - foe; rich - wealthy, etc.
The member of a synonymic group may be of Anglo-
Saxon, French or Latin origin. E.g.
to ask (A.S.), to guestion (French), to interrogate (Latin);
to end (A.S.), to finish (Fr.), to complete (Latin):
to gather (A.S.), to assemble (Fr.), to collect (Latin), etc.
The synonymic dominant belongs to the basic word-stock
while the other members of the group may belong to it or not,
that is stylistic synonym never belongs to the basic word-stock.
The dominant synonym expresses the notion common to all
synonyms of the group in the most general way, without any
contrabuting, any additional information as to the manner,
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 English Lexicology

intensity, duration or any attending feature of the referent. So

any dominant synonym is a typical basic vocabulary word. Its
meaning, which is broad and generalized, more or less “covers”
the meaning of the rest of the synonyms, so that it may be
substituted for any of them.
Summing up what has been said, the following
characteristic features of the dominant synonym can be
underlined:
1. High frequency of usage;
2. Broad combinability, i.e. ability to be used in
combinations with various classes of words;
3. Broad general meaning;
4. Lack of connotations.
If a word is polysemantic it naturally has several synonyms
which will not be synonymous to each other. E.g.
to close - to shut - to finish ',
to cry - to shout -to shed tears - to sob - to yell- to roar;
bright - brilliant - radiant - luminous - beaming - lustrous
(about light)',
bright - gifted - capable - intelligent (about the capability
o f a person),
bright — vivid— lively - fresh (about colour);
to tremble - to shiver - to shudder - to shake.
The use of synonyms is of great importance as they help us
to express our thoughts more exactly and vividly and to avoid
monotony created by repetition of one and the same word. So,
there are three functions in speech:
a) the function of substitution (to avoid repetition and
monotony);
b) the function of procession;
c) the expressive stylistic function.
Sometimes synonyms are used for the sake of emphasis. For
ex.:

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

He spoke to me strictly and severely.

She is a clever and intelligent girl.
Some pairs of synonyms have become set expression. E.g.
rough and rude (hurrily), by hook or by crook (by all means),
really and truely (in fact), by fits and starts ( sometimes), etc.
Some of such pairs of synonyms have become set-
expressions on the basis of alliteration, that is the repetition of
one and the same sound for the sake of uniform. E.g.
calm and quiet, safe and sound, thrill and tremble, bag and
baggage.
In such pairs all the shades, semantic or stylistic are lost and
they are used to emphasize the meaning and serve stylistic
purposes.
In teaching it is often convenient to explain the meaning of
a new word with the help of its previously learned synonyms.
Such a method of teaching forms additional associations in
the students’ mind and the new word is better remembered. In
this case the teacher must show that synonyms are not identical
in meaning or use and explain the difference between them.

Types of synonyms

The only existing classification system for synonyms was

established by academician V.V. Vinogradov. In his
classification system there are three types of synonyms:
ideographic (which he defined as words conveying the same
concept, but different in shades of meaning), stylistic (differing
in stylistic characteristics) and absolute (coinciding in all their
shades of meaning and in all their stylistic characteristics).
1) Ideographic synonyms refer to the same general concept,
but they differ slightly in the denotational meaning adding
something to the general notion. They bear the same idea, but
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 English Lexicology

not identical in their referential content, as in: look, glance,

glimpse, eye, stare, etc.
look - conscious and direct endeavour to see;
glance - a look which is quick and sudden;
glimpse - a look implying only momentary sight;
stare - a look with a long duration without taking one’s
eyes, etc.
Beautiful, fine, handsome, pretty, nice, wonderful; strange,
odd, queer; to ascent, to mount, to climb, etc.
Other obvious examples of ideographic opposition are: to
beg, to beseech. To beg denotes a state of want; to beseech
denotes a state of urgent necessity. One begs with importunity,
one beseeches with earnestness.
The idiographic synonyms differ in time and quickness of the
action.
2) Stylistic synonyms are distinguished stylistically. They
are words of the same meaning but used in different
speech styles. Such synonyms express exactly the same
meaning, but are used in different styles. E.g.

neutral poetical bookish official nursery colloquai

house mansion building residence digs
father sire parent daddy dad
horse steed gee-gee
child infant hebe kid
to die to kick
the
bucket

Stylistic synonyms often differ not so much in meaning as

in the emotional colouring. Such kind of synonyms are often

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

used in poetry. Numerous stylistic synonyms have been

creative by shortening:
brolly - umbrella, cute - acute, gent - gentleman, mo -
moment, tween —between, examination-exam, etc.
In most cases the shortened form belongs to the colloquial
style, and the full form to the neutral style.
Among stylistic synonyms we can point out a special group
of words, which are called euphemisms. These are words used
to substitute some unpleasant or offensive words, e.g. late
instead of “dead”, to perspire instead of “to sweat”, etc.
There are also phraseological synonyms, these words are
identical in their meanings and styles, but different in their
combining with other words in the sentence, e.g.
to be late for a lecture but to miss the train; to visit museums,
but to attend lectures, etc.
3) Absolute synonyms are words identical in meaning
without any difference. Such as: pants - trousers, end -
finish. They can be indiscriminately one for the other in any
context without causing the slightest change of meaning.
These synonyms are rare. Absolute or perfect synonyms
may be found in special terminology/
scarlet - fever - scarlatina; word-formation - word­
building, noun - substantive, functional affix - inflection,
etc.
There are some absolute synonyms in the language, which
have exactly the same meaning and belong to the same style,
e.g. to moan - to groan; homeland - motherland, etc.
The absolute synonyms are rare in the vocabulary and on the
diachronic level, the phenomenon of absolute synonymy is
anomalous and consequently temporary: the vocabulary system
invariably tends to abolish it either by rejecting one of the
absolute synonyms or by developing differentiation characteris­
tics in one or both (or all) of them. Absolute synonyms, i.e.
180 = _ = = = = = = = ^ ^
 English Lexicology

words quite alike in all functions, probably not to occur.

Somettimes one of the absolute synonyms is specialized in its
usage and we get stylistic synonyms, e.g. “to begin” (native),
“to commence” (borrowing). Here the French word (to
commence) is specialized.
The difference between synonyms can be phraseological. It
means that they can be used with certain words only. For ex.:
In the sentence He got up early and he rose early the words
got up and rose are synonyms and are interchangeable. But in
the sentence the sun rises early the word get up cannot
substitute the word rise. We can say a high tree- a tall tree,
but we cannot say a high man. The verbs to throw, to cast, to
fling, to toss in some cases may stand for each other, but in set
expressions to cast a glance, to cast lots the verb to cast can
not be substituted by its synonyms {to fling, to throw, to toss).
In set expression I beg your pardon, we cannot say I ask
your pardon.
So the interchangeability of the members of a synonymic
set depends on the context, so it is contextual. There are few
synonyms that are always interchangeable, contextual. They
are called total synonyms.

Sources of synonyms

The following four points are usually considered as sources

of synonyms: borrowings, dialectisms, wordbuildings,
euphemisms.
1. Borrowings from French, Latin and Greek are the most
numerous ones in English. They often express an idea or
name a thing for which there exists already a native
word. Thus synonyms appear in the vocabulary.

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

2. Dialectisms are words from local dialects which have

entered the English vocabulary as regular words. E.g.
lass - girl; bonny - pretty; daft - wild; foolish- crazy.
3. Wordbuilding procession which is at work in the English
language, creates synonyms to words already in the use.
Five cases are to be considered in use:
a) composite or phrasal verbs (verbs with postpositives):
to choose —to pick o u t; to abandon - to give up; to enter
- to go in, precipitation - to fall out etc.
b) compounding:
resistance - fight back', dreamer - star-gazer; the shivers -
pins and needles, etc.
c) conversion:
to work - work; love - to love;
d) set expression:
to laugh - to give a laugh, to walk - to take a walk; to
hesitate - to be in two minds; to exaggerate - to make a
mountain out o f a molehill; to decide - to make up one’s
mind, etc.
e) affixation or loss of affixes:
anxiety - anxiousness, amongst - among, etc.
4. euphemisms:
queer —is a euphemism for mad; intoxicated - for drunk;
naked - in one’s birthday suit, etc.
There is one more term so-called “cocophemism or
dysphemism” which is the opposite of “euphemism”. This term
is used to imply negative attitude to the object (it was already
spoken above).

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ANTONYMS

My only love sprung from my only hate!

Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
(W.Shakespcare, “Romeo and Juliet”)

M # ) ne of the features enhancing the pathetic

m J expressiveness of these lines is contrast, based on
such pairs as love-hate, early-late, unkown-known.
The opposition is obvious: each component of these
pairs means the opposite of the other. The pairs may be termed
antonymic pairs.
Antonyms, from the Greek (anti - “opposite” and onoma -
“name”) are gradable opposites and have traditionally been
defined as words of opposite meaning. Antonym - a word that
expresses a meaning opposed to the meaning of another wordd
Hence we can say that words opposite in meaning are generally
called antonyms. Familiar examples of antonyms are:
dark - li'ght, easy - difficult, black - white, tall - low, sit - stand,
boy - girl, father - mother, early - late, young - old, etc.
Though the word antonym was only coined by philologists in
the 19th century, such relationships are a fundamental part of a
language, in contrast to synonyms, which are a result of history
and drawing of fine distinctions which are mostly
etymological accidents.
Antonyms are often helpful and exceedingly valuable in
defining the exact meaning of the given words and their
synonyms. Thus, for instance, taking such combinations of
words as: green peas, green meadows we see that the word
green is a name of colour. But comparing the antonyms green
and ripe we find out that green may also mean unripe,
immature.
 Aziza Hajiyeva

Antonyms are the negative connotations of a particular word.

So, it is a word or phrase that is opposite in meaning to a
particular word or a phrase in the same language.
Traditionally we can oppose the meaning of any pair of
words. But there are the words in the vocabulary that are
usually, constantly (always, permanently) opposed to each
other: handsome - ugly, hard - soft, hate - like, etc.
The characteristic features of antonyms are the followings:
1. Antonyms belong to the same part of speech;
2. Unlike synonyms, antonyms do not differ either in style,
emotional colouring or in distribution.
3. Antonyms are interchangeable at least in some contexts.
4. Antonyms form binary opposition, the distinctive feature
of which is semantic polarity.
5. Notions expressed by antonyms may be contrary or
contradictory.
When we say hot we mean not cold, enemy - not a friend.
The word possesses its full meaning because we oppose it to its
antonyms. In the semantic structure of the word hot there is a
connotation not cold.
Antonym is not evenly distributed among the categories
of parts of speech. Antonyms are common mainly among
qualitative adjectives. E.g. good - bad, deep - shallow, light -
dark, etc.
Antonyms may be found among other parts of speech, such
as:
Nouns: light - darkness, weakness - strength, etc.
Verbs: to give - to take, to sit - to stand, to open - to shut, etc.
Adverbs: quickly - slowly, early - late, etc.
Prepositions: up - down, in - out, above - below, etc.
As words are polysemantic one and the same word may have
different antonyms:

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 English Lexicology

A dull student - a bright student, dull colours - bright

colours, a dull knife - a sharp knife, etc.
Polysemantic words can have several antonyms.They may
have antonyms in some of their meanings. E.g. old - new,
young; happy - unhappy, miserable.
Antonyms are traditionally classified into antonyms - words
of different roots (absolute antonyms or root antonyms or
antonyms proper). E.g. narrow - wide, thin - thick, love -
hate, etc. and derivational antonyms (words of the same root,
but having negative affixes: E.g. pleasant - unpleasant, regular
- irregular, honest - dishonest, useful - useless.
Derivational antonyms are formed by means of affixes. The
affixes in derivational antonyms serve to deny the quality
which is stated in the stem. E.g. happy -unhappy, kind -
unkind, pleasant - unpleasant, etc.
In derivational antonyms prefixes are more than suffixes.
Generally the following negative prefixes are used to fonn
derivational antonyms:
dis-, il-, im-, in-, ir-, un-, etc. Other negative prefixes
occur in this function only occasionally.
E.g, to please - to displease, legal - illegal, polite - impolite,
direct - indirect, regular - irregular, happy - unhappy, etc.
As to suffixes Modem English gives no examples of words
forming their antonyms by adding a negative suffix, such as: -
less (useless)
The opposition useful - useless is more complicated, as the
suffix -less is not merely added to the contrasting stem, but
substituted for the suffix - ful. The group is not numerous. In
most cases, even when the language possesses words with the
suffix -less, the antonymic pairs found in actual speech are
formed with the prefix un-. Thus, the antonymic opposition is
not selfish-selfless, but selfish-unselfish.

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

' Antonyms are two or rarely more words of the same

language belonging to the same part of speech, identical in
style and nearly identical in distribution, associated and used
together so that their denotative meanings render contrary or
contradictory notions.
There are some subgroups of antonyms called
complimentary (additional) and conversive.
1) It is a binary opposition. It may have only two members;
the denial of one member implies the assertion of the other.
Female - male, prose - poetry.
Having noted the difference between complimentary terms
and antonyms proper, we must also take into consideration that
they have much into common so that in a wider sense both
groups are taken as antonyms. Complimentarities like other
antonyms are regularly contrasted in speech (male-female) and
the elements of a complimentary pair have similar distribution.
The assertion of a sentence containing and antonymous or
complimentary term implies the denial of a corresponding
sentence containing the other antonym or complimentary:
The poem is good - The poem is not bad (good-bad
antonyms proper/
This is prose - This is not poetry (prose and poetry
complimentaries).
2) Another subgroup of antonyms is called conversives. E.g.
buy - sell, give - receive, cause - suffer, ancestor -
discendant, parent -child, etc.
Conversives denote one and the same referent as viewed
from different points of view. For ex.: right - wrong, clear -
vague, clean - dirty.
Most of the derivational antonyms in English are formed
by the help of the prefixes which are added to the beginning of
the antonymous words.

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 English Lexicology

As said above, notions expressed by antonyms may be

contrary (absolute antonyms) or contradictory (derivational
antonyms). Absolute (root) antonyms express contrary notions,
but derivational antonyms express contradictory notions.
Antonyms are devided into gradable and non-gradable
antonyms. Gradable antonyms are opposites along a scale in
that when someone says “1 am not high ” it does not necessarily
mean “I am short”. Non-gradable antonyms do not present
such flexibility; when we say “I am married” the only antonym
available in this sentence would be “I am single”. Gradable
antonyms represent points on a scale that are roughly equal in
distance from the middle of the scale. Non-gradable antonyms
represent opposed states that cannot be measured on a scale.
Dead and alive are good example of non-gradable antonyms.
They are not points on a scale. They are opposed states. It
means that if you are dead, you are not alive. If you are alive,
you are not dead. Gradable antonyms are often modified by
adverbs to express higher and lower points on the scale: e.g.
extremely hot, very hot, too hot, quite hot, etc, There are often
other adjectives expressing extreme and intermediate points
on the scale, but non-gradable antonyms are not usually
modified by adverbs. E.g. almost dead (= about to die), half -
dead (=very tired), stone dead (emphatic/hyperbolic). These
expressions do not represent points on a scale.
J.Lyons calls antonyms like love - hate antonyms proper.
Their main characteristic feature is that they are gradable. If
we compare the meanings of the words kind - cruel we shall
see that they are completely opposed to each other. The
opposition is gradable, it may include several elements
characterized by different degrees of the same property: kind -
unkind - cruel. Kind - cruel are absolute antonyms and they
express contrary notions that are felt as completely opposed to
each other: kind means gentle, friendly, showing love, but

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cruel, on the contrary, means taking pleasure in giving pain to

others, without mercy, hard hearted.
In the antonymic pairs kind - cruel we see polarity of
meanings. Adjectives kind - unkind are derivational antonyms
and they express contradictory notions, because in these
adjectives we do not find polarity of meanings. In these
adjectives semantic opposition shows simple negation. Unkind
means not kind, which does not necessarily mean cruel.
Syntactical negation is weaker than the lexical antonym (not
happy does not necessarily unhappy). To prove this difference
in intensity V.N.Komissarov gives examples where a word with
a negative prefix is added to by “at all”: I am sorry to inform
you that we are not at all satisfied with your sister. We are very
much dissatisfied with her.
In case of antonyms, the words have the same denotational
component of the lexical meaning, but different in style,
emotion, distribution and other features. But antonyms have
only some common elements in the denotational meaning.
Compare: ashamed - proud; feeling unhappy - feeling joy;
troubled - happiness, etc.
Antonyms do not differ in style, emotional colouring or
distribution.
It should be stressed that almost every word can have one or
more synonyms. But not every word has its antonyms. Only
those words whose meaning can be opposed have antonyms.
That’s why in any language synonyms are more than antonyms.
Usually every word has one antonym, even some words
may have two antonyms. E.g. happy - unhappy - miserable;
large —little - small
There are also pairs of antonyms which have become set
expressions. E.g.
Far and near, from first tojast, up and down, neither here
nor there
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 English Lexicology

Not only words, but set expressions as well can be grouped

into antonymic pairs. E.g. by accident - on purpose;
Antonyms are often found in proverbial sayings. E.g. Sweet as
honey, bitter as gall (= honey tongue, heart o f gall); The more
haste, the less speed; What is done cannot be undone.
The English language is rich in synonyms and antonyms. The
diachronic study following their development is of great
interest as it permits us to reveal the systematic character of the
vocabulary.
An elephant
When people call this beast to mind,
They marvel more and more
At such a little tail behind
So large a trunk before.

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PHRASEOLOGY

/ ^ • 'h e vocabulary of a language is enriched not only by

* I words, but also by phraseological units. It is a branch
of linquistics deals with word-groups which consists
of two or more words and word combinations. The same as
words, phraseological units express a single notion and are used
in a sentence as one part of it. It is common known that words
become a means of communication only when they are used in
combinations. There are two kinds of word combinations:
1. free word combination, i.e. constructive sentence of the
process of speech according to grammar rules of the given
language;
2. bound or set expressions. They are also called stop-
phrases or ready made expressions.
In free combinations words are combined according to
phonetical and grammatical rules of the given language. In free
combinations components retain their independent meanings.
The meaning of the whole combination is deduced from the
meanings of its separate components. A free word combination
permits substitution of any of its component or components. In
a free word combination syntactical rules can never be broken.
E.g. to cut bread, to cut cheese, to eat cheese, etc.
^ In bound word combinations such kind of substitution is
impossible. The components here are semantically bound.
Nowadays we call them phraseological units or set
expressions. They exist in a language in ready made. They are
taken as separate words and inserted as separate words.;
Proverbs, sayings, aphorisms are also included into
phraseology. Every language possesses such phraseological
units. They are called winged expressionsj as well, because
being created by people or some famous writers they express
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 English Lexicology

some exact and deep thought and are widely used by all the
people speaking the given language.
The term phraseology was first used by the Swiss linguist Ch.
Bally*. In 1905 he wrote two books on style. One of the
chapters was called phraseology. Ch.Bally was the first who
worked out the theory of phraseology. He treated phraseology
not as expressions like certain linguists. He was the first who
analysed the phraseological units. But he approached the
problem from the stylistical angle. He never thought of it as
independent science.
Attempts have been made to approach the problem of
phraseology in different ways. But no two authors agree
upon the terminology they use. The word phraseology, for
instance, has a very different meaning in our country and
abroad. In our linguistic literature the term has come to be
used for the whole set of expressions where the meaning of
one element is dependent on the other irrespective of the
structure and properties of the word, with other authors it
denotes only such phrases which are distinquished from idioms
not possessing expressiveness or emotional colouring.

Classification of Phraseological Units

This classification is made of by acad. V.V.Vinogradov. He

has worked out a classification of Russian phraseological-units
which is based on the motivation of the units, i.e. on the
relationship existing between the meaning of the whole
phraseological unit and the meaning of its components. This
classification may be called a semantic classification.
According to Academician V.V.Vinogradov there are three
kinds of them: phraseological fusions, phraseological unities
and phraseological combinations.
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 Aziza Hajiyeva

Phraseological Fusions

In phraseological fusions or cast iron-idioms the meaning

can never be derived as a whole from the conjoint meanings
of its elements.1They are indivisible both semantically and
syntactically. In phraseological fusions the degree of
motivation is very low, we cannot guess the meaning of the
whole from the meaning of its components, they are highly
idiomatic and cannot be translated word for word into other
languages. For example: to bark to the moon does not mean to
bark as a dog to the moon, but in the meaning of to speak in
advance, to speak in vain', to show the white feather (to show
cowardness); to cut stick (to leave quickly, to run away
quickly); to kick the bucket (to die), to pull one’s leg (to
deceive), at sixes or sevens (in confusion), to ride the high
horse (to put on airs), etc.
As seen from the above mentioned combinations the
meanings of the given phraseological fusions are not deduced
from their components.
No word can be substituted in a phraseological fusion by its
synonym because it would destroy the meaning of the given
phraseological fusion.
It is impossible to say why a phraseological fusion has this or
that meaning. In order to understand its meaning we must go
into the history of a given language and find out the etymology
of the expression. E.g. to wear one’s heart upon one’s sleeve -
the meaning of this phraseological unit is to be frank beyond
measure (öz hisslərini biruzə verməmək). This expression
comes from the Middle Ages. When knights wore the sign of
their ladies embroidered on their sleeves, every one knew what
lady the knight admired, to ride the high horse means “to put
on airs”. This set expression also comes from the Middle Ages
when the chief knight used to ride the highest horse.
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 English Lexicology

Thus many of phraseological fusions are historically

motivated and can be explained if we know their origin.
Phraseological fusions are the most idiomatic of all kinds of
phraseological units.
J /Tofa pU*-c'
Phraseological Unities , (jjy l

They are also not divisible semantic units. They are

semantically inseparable units, but they differ from
phraseological fusions. In phraseological unities the meaning
can be deduced from the first meaning of their components.
They are figurative.expressions. E.g.
to play the first fiddle = to be in a best position, to be a leader
in something; old salt = experienced sailor; to put a spear into
somebody’s wheel = to interrupt smb., etc.
Phraseological unities of this type are metaphorical
expressions. Due to this they can be homonyms of free word
combinations.
some of the phraseological unities one word can be
substituted by its synonyms. For ex.: to nip in the bud - to
check in the bud - to crush in the bud = bələkdə ikən məhv
etmək/boğmaq, etc.
Phraseological fusions are sometimes called idioms, but
phraseological unities are called metaphorical phrases and they
both belong to the synthetic type of phraseological units,
because they are indivisible. They appear in a language as a
result of people’s thinking in images. They usually live a long
life. That is why we often find archaic words in them. E.g.
Neither kith nor kin.
Both words kith and kin mean relations. But they are not
used separately nowadays. They are kept in such expressions,
as I have neither kith nor kin in this country.
 Aziza Hajiyeva

Hue and crv ( hay-kuy) - hue is an archaic word which means

great noise. But nowadays this word is used only in this
expression.
In some of the phraseological unities one of their
components are not used separately and they have no
independent meanings and they are used only in combinations.

Phraseological Combinations

Unlike phraseological fusions and phraseological unities

traditional combinations are analytical type of set expressions.
Phraseological combinations are called analytical expressions,
because in these expressions the components are independent to
a certain degree. They are habitual word combinations. It is
usually impossible to account logically for the combination of
particular words. It can be explained only on the basis of
tradition. E.g.
to discuss a question, public opinion, to pay a visit, peace-
loving countries, to take into consideration, to pass an
examination, to make a report, etc.
The components of these expressions retain their
independency, full semantic independence, although they are
limited in their combinative power. They are limited in their
power to be combined with other words. E.g.
The English people say to set free or to set at liberty, but
they don’t say to set at freedom. Or to deliver a lecture, but not
to read a lecture.
In some of phraseological combinations the dependent word
can be replaced by its synonyms. E.g. to win victory = to gain
victory, to make inquiries — to inquire, to make haste = to
hurry, etc.
Words of wide meaning, as to make, to take, to do, to give,
etc. fonn many phraseological combinations, such as, to give
194 = _ = = = = = = = = ^ ^
 English Lexicology

help, to make a mistake, to take an examination, to make fun of,

to make inquiries, to make friends, to make haste, etc.
But in phraseological unities the meaning of the whole unit is
not the same of the meanings of its components, but is based
upon them, i.e. may be understood from the components. Such
as: to take place, to go to school, to show one's teeth.
All of these kinds of phraseological units exist in a
language in ready made form and are reproduced in the
process of speech. In order to master new idioms we must
memorize them, because they do not follow any standard rules.
Whenever you hear or read an idiom that strikes you or
interesting in itself, make a note of it.
In phraseological combinations we shall see that the com­
ponents of the phraseological combinations are independent.
Generally one of the components of the combinations is
independent and the other one is dependent. E.g. a cold in the
head (zökəm), to be unable to look smb. in the face (üzünə
baxmağa utanmaq), to laugh in smb’s face (üzünə gülmək), to
hold one’s tongue (dilini saxlamaq), etc.
In these examples the first words of the combination are used
in their independent meanings and the second words of the
combinations are dependent.
In phraseological combinations words are combined
according to the syntactical rules of modem language and they
do not “swallow” each other semantically, j
Nowadays we may find traditional combinations, many of
which belong to political sphere and are used mostly in
newspapers and magazines. E.g.
fraternal countries, national unity, cold war, people o f good
will, the relaxation o f international tension, membership fee,
etc.

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

G r a m m a t ic a l C la s s if ic a t io n o f P h r a s e o lo g y

Phraseology is classified according to the syntactical

functions which they perform in a sentence. This classification
takes into consideration not only the type of components of
phraseology but also the functioning of the whole set ex­
pression in a sentence. As said above, phraseology functions in
sentences as separate words. E.g.
He kicked the bucket is equivalent to the sentence He died.
In this case we say that phraseology is equivalent to simple
words. In the above mentioned sentence the phraseological unit
to kick the bucket functions as the verb to die. According to
their function in a sentence phraseology may be divided into
the following types:

1. S u b s t a n t iv a l p h r a s e o lo g ic a l u n it
A snake in the grass ( a terrible enemy. Cf. = gizli düşmən),
the apple o f one’s eyes (a very dear person); lord and master
(husband, Cf = evin ağası); a stony heart (daş qəlbli);
husband’s tea (joke: very sweet tea, araq); a man o f straw
(etibarsiz adam), etc.
Substantival phraseological units function in a sentence like
nouns, they can be a subject, an object or a predicative of the
given sentence, that’s why they are called equivalents of
nouns.

2. V e r b a l p h r a s e o lo g ic a l u n it s
Verbal phraseological units function in a sentence like
verbs, they are equivalents of verbs. The following
phraseological units belong to this type:
to show the white feather (to be afraid); to make up one’s
mind (to decide); to strike the iron while it is hot (to be in
time); to call smb. names (to swear smb); to get into deep water
( to be in a difficult position); to pay nature’s debt (to die), etc.
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 English Lexicology

5. A d j e c t iv a l p h r a s e o lo g ic a l u n its
Such kind of phraseological units function in a sentence
like adjectives, they are equivalents of adjectives. E.g.
As mad as a March hare fvery mad);
Good for nothing (very useless);
High and mighty (boastful);
More dead than alive ( very tired);
Blind as a bat (completely blind)
As bold as brass ( shameless, barefaced), etc.

6. A d v e r b ia l p h r a s e o lo g ic a l u n its .
Such kind of phraseological units function in a sentence
like adverbs, they are equivalents of adverbs. E.g.
on the alert (on guard); by hook or by crook (by all
means); before one can say Jack Robinson (momentary);
once in a blue moon (seldom); from one’s cradle to one’s
grave (all one’s life); with all one’s heart (sincerely); rain
or shine (by all means), etc.

7. I n t e r j e c t io n a l p h r a s e o lo g ic a l u n its
Interjectional phraseological units function in a sentence like
intejections, that’s why they are called interjectional
phraseological units. E.g. God bless me! (Ay Allah!), Hang
it all! (Cəhənnəm olun!), By God! (Allah haqqi!), Go to hell!
(Go to devil/), etc.
It should be stressed that phraseological units as well as
separate words can be polysemantic. E.g. to feed fishes has
two meanings; 1) to drawn, 2) to be sea-sick.
On the other hand phraseological units may have synonyms.
E.g. to breathe one’s last = to kick the bucket = to go to
one’s long rest.

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

S o u r c e s o f P h r a s e o lo g i c a l U n it s

Phraseological units are arranged into groups according to

their origin and sources, too. The sources from which
phraseological units are derived are various. They may be:
1. H is t o r ic a l f a c t s o r s it u a t io n s . E.g. to burn one’s boats -
means to make a decisive step after which it is impossible to
retreat.
This is an expression said by Julius Caesar who ordered to
bum all the boats after his soldiers had landed on the bank of
the river, so that they could not mn away.
2 . N a t i o n a l c u s t o m s , t r a d it io n s a n d E n g lis h r e a lity . E.g. to
fulfil the slightest wish o f smb.
This phrseological unit appeared in connection with the
English custom that the bride had to fulfil every wish for her
bridegroom.
The expression to carry coal to Newcastle means “to do
useless thing”. Newcastle is the centre of the coal industry of
Great Britain (cf. Zirəni Girmana aparmaq).
To cut off with a shilling means to disinherit - vərəsəlikdən
məhrum etmək.
In ancient times when a person disinherited his son or
daughter or another relative after his death the disinherited
persons used to say that they had been simply forgotten and it
was all a mistake and demanded their share. That was why
spiteful testators used to leave the disinherited person only a
shilling so that the latter might not be able to say that he had
been forgotten.
3. L it e r a r y s o u r c e s .
These are expressions of some well - known authors. E.g.
to be or not to be, that is a question (Shakespeare); murder
will out (J.Chauser) (cidanı çuvalda gizlətmək olmaz); How
goes the enemy? (what is the time) (Ch.Dickens), etc.

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 English Lexicology

4 P r o f e s s io n a l e x p r e s s io n s
They have become metaphorical because of being used
figuratively. E.g. to sugar the pill (şirnikləşdirmək); to put
the finishing touch (it comes from painting) - (işi sona
çatdırmaq); to be on the scent (from hunting) -(düz izinə
düşmək); to kill two birds with one stone (from hunting) -
(bir giillə ilə iki quş vurmaq); to trim the sail to the wind
(from nautical sphere) - (uyğunlaşmaq, ayaqlaşmaq); to
take the wind out o fsm b ’s sails - means : to spoil smb’s
plans (from nautical).
5.S o u r c e s m a y b e f o lk s a y in g s , e s p e c ia lly p r o v e r b s . E.g.
A burnt child dreads the fire — ilan vuran ala çatıdan
qorxar;
There is no rose without a thorn = Qızıl gül tikansız olmaz;
There are other sources of phraseological units. Phrase­
ological units which have been formed on the basis of the
names of the historical personalities. E.g. Nadiri taxtda
görmək; İskəndər kimi sədd açmaq, etc.
Phraseological units which have been formed on the basis of
geographical names. E.g. Çin səddi çəkmək, Kəbədə yağ
içmək.
Phraseological units which have been formed on the basis of
religious legend and traditions. E.g. Nuhu beşikdə görmək,
Nuh əyyamından qalmaq, Həzrət İsa kimi qeyb olmaq, etc.
Professional expressions have become metaphorical, because
of their being used figuratively.

C r it e r ia o f P h r a s e o lo g y f r o m t h e F r e e P h r a s e s

In linguistic literature phraseological units or idioms are

contrasted to free phrases. A free combination is a syntactical
unit, which consists of notional and form words, and in which
notional words have the function of independent parts of the
sentence. A free phrase (or a free word combinations) permits
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 Aziza Hajiyeva

substitution of any of its elements without semantic change

by the other elements. E.g.
We sit at the table; we eat at the table; we write at the
table, etc.
In a phraseological unit words are not independent. They
form set-expressions, in which neither words nor the order of
words can be changed.
Free phrases are contrasted by the speaker according to the
structural rules of the language. Free combinations are created
by the speaker, but phraseological units are used by the
speaker in a ready form, without any changes. The whole
phraseological unit has a meaning which may be quite
different from the meaning of its component, and therefore the
whole unit and not separate words has the function of a part of
the sentence. If substitution is impossible (or restricted to free
synonyms), if the elements of the word-groups are always
constant and make a fixed context, the phrase is a set
expression, a phraseological unit or an idiom. Idioms are
reproduced into speech ready-made like words. They are not
constructed by the speaker.
Free word combinations are made up during the speech,
they are not units of a language. But phraseological units exist
as ready-made units, they are not made up during the speech,
they are units of a language.
Praseological units consist of separate words and therefore
they are different words, even from compounds. Words have
several structural forms, but in phraseological units only one
of the components has all the forms of the paradigm of the part
of speech it belongs to. E.g. fo to bed, goes to bed, went to bed,
gone to bed, going to bed, etc., the rest of the components do
not change their form.
/All the phraseological units are set expressions, but not all
the set expressions are phraseological units, [in phraseological
.................. ...- ----- ------------------ 200 - ---- ------------------ --------------------------------------------- ----- ^ .................
m
 English Lexicology

units all the components or one or two of their components are

used figuratively, that is why they possess a transferred
meaning. That’s why the components of set expressions which
retain their literal meaning are not phraseological units.
In other words in phraseological units either one of the
components has a phraseologically bound meaning or the
meaning of each component is weakened or entirely lost. But
set expressions which do not possess these features are not
phraseological units.
Phraseological units and words are similar in the
following:
a) they both are brought into speech ready - made;
b) they are idiomatic and never constructed in speech and
are inseparable units semantically and functionally.
The differences between them are:
a) the divisibility of the phraseological units into separately
structure units which is contrasted to the structural
integrity of words;
b) a phraseological unit can be resolved into words, whereas
words are resolved into morphemes.

T h e C h a r a c t e r is t ic F e a t u r e s of P h r a s e o lo g ic a l U n its

Phraseological units have their own specific features.

These features have always been treated from the point of
view of style and expressiveness. They are euphonic,
imaginative, connotative qualities. E.g.
I wish, she returned safe and sound.
Here safe and sound is more reassuring than the
synonymous word uninjured, which could have been used.
These euphonic and connotative qualities also prevent
substitution. Any substitution would destroy the euphonic
effect.
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 Aziza Hajiyeva

Rhythmic qualities are characteristic of almost all set

expressions: by fits and starts (irregularity); heart and soul
(with complete devotion to a cause); more and more , one by
one; on and on, etc.
In this case alliteration also occurs: then and there (at
once), head over heels (have head on the shoulders); a bee in
one’s bonnet (be foolish), etc.
Rhyme is also characteristic of set expressions: fair and
square (honest); by hook or by crook (by any method whether
fair or unfair, by all means); right or wrong, etc.
These are lexical stability of phraseological units. It
means that no element of phraseological units is subjected to
any substitution. If any, then it is pronominal. E.g. black frost
Black frost means frost without ice and snow. In a free
combination the adjective would mean “colour”.
Semantic stabihtyjaf phraseological units is based on the
lexical stability. If a component canTbe substituted by any
word, then it is the proof of a semantic stability. E.g. no
substitution is possible in Can the leapard change his
spots'? It is taken from the Bible. The English writers had the
temptation to change the name of the leapard for the name of
some other animals, but failed, because the phrase is
semantically stable.

V a r io u s A p p r o a c h e s to t h e S t u d y o f P r o b le m s o f
P h r a s e o lo g y

There are various approaches to the study of phraseology

and the problem of their classification.
In English and American linguistics there are no
theoretical works on scientific study of phraseology. There is
no special branch studying phraseology. There is no term
phraseological unit.
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 English Lexicology

English and American linguists just collect phraseological

units, explain them, describe some of the peculiarities, their
origin and etymology and arrange them into groups according
to their origin: as phrases from sea life, from agriculture, from
hunting, from sports and so on. In this way they compile
different kinds of dictionaries of phraseological units which
they often call idioms or phrases.
Many ex-soviet linguists have shown a great interest in
the theoretical study of problems of phraseological units.
The most significant theory for Russian phraseology was
worked out by academician V.V.Vinogradov. He worked out
a very interesting classification of Russian phraseological units.
His articles on Russian phraseology produced a great influence
upon many linguists in our country and abroad. In studying
phraseological units of national languages many linguists refer
to the phraseological theory and the classification of
phraseological units worked out by acad. V.V.Vinogradov. His
classification on the material of the English language was
given above.
But V.V.Vinogradov’s phraseological theory has some
shortcomings which were pointed at by N.N.Amosova,
A.V.Koonin and some other linguists. For example,
phraseological combination of the third type of his
classifiction, that is phraseological combinations are not
considered as phraseological units by many linguists. Then
V.V.Vinogradov did not pay attention to the structure of
phraseological units and so on.
Various parts of English phraseology have been
described by many former Soviet linguists and a great number
of dissertations have been defended on this topic. [The most
comprehensive scientific works on English phraseology are the
doctorial theses of N.N.Amosova and A.V.Koonin and their
articles and books on this topic. 1
 Aziza Hajiyeva

In their works they have viewed almost all the important

problems connected with phraseology and they have worked
out very significant classifications of English phraseological
units. Their classification differs from the classification
suggested by academician V.WVinogradov. In studying
phraseology of different languages linguists will come back
to their works on more than one occasion.
It should be stressed that in solving such problems as
problem of definition of phraseological units, problem of
stability of phraseological units, problem of variation and
synonymy in English phraseology, problem of classification of
English phraseological units, etc. N.N. Amosova and
A.V.Koonin differ in opinion. For ex.: fN.N.Amosova
distinguishes two kinds of contexts. They are:
a) fixed context or invariable context;
b) fixed context or variable context.
She defines phraseological units as units of the fixed
context. But free word combinations are regarded by her as
units of the unfixed context. She divides all the phraseological
units into two main groups; phrasemes and idioms. Phrasemes
are subdivided into moveable and immoveable idioms.
According to A.V.Koomn’s classification all the
phraseological units are divided into the following four main
groups:
1. Nominating (or nominative) phraseological units;
2. Nominating communicative phraseological units;
3. Interjectional phraseological units;
4. Communicative phraseological units.
A.V.Koonin’s classification is based on a combination of
functional, semantic and structural features, that is in his
classification he takes into consideration function, meaning and
structure of phraseological units.
Speaking about phraseology we must stress that a
valuable contribution to the study of Azerbaijani phraseology
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 English Lexicology

was made by prof. H.A.Bayramov. He has devoted many

articles and his doctoral thesis to various problems of
Azerbaijani phraseology. A.S.Ragimov, A.H.Hajiyeva also
have devoted a lot of articles on the English and Azerbaijani
phraseology. In their articles and thesises they have investiga­
ted various ptoblems of the English and Azerbaijani phra­
seology and gave a valuable contribution to the study of the
phraseology of these languages. Their works are of great
importance.
On the whole at present there are different phraseological
theories and various approaches to the study of problems of
phraseological units and we are not able to speak about all of
them.
Such terms as phraseological units, set expressions, set
phrases, idioms, word equivalents are used to name word
combinations which are reproduced in speech as ready-made
units. But these terms are treated differently by different
linguists, and it creates some confusions in studying
phraseological units.
\At present, many linguists admit that all the phraseological
units are set expressions but not all the set expressions are
phraseological units. The main task standing before the
linguists is to differ phraseological units from set expressions
which do not possess the basic features of the formers.
The basic features of phraseological units are the followings:
1. S t a b ilit y o f s t r u c t u r e , m e a n in g a n d u s a g e , which
means that phraseological units are not freely made up during
the speech but exist and are reproduced as ready-made units of
the given language. The substitution of components of
phraseological units is very limited and it’s possible only in the
synonymic row without changing the meaning of the whole
phraseological unit. E.g. to cast smth in sm b’s teeth (üzünə
çırpmaq -(sözlə).

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

Its component "to cast” may be replaced only by its

synonym to throw or to fling. But in many phraseological units
their components are not replaced by other words.
2. Idiomaticity of meaning. The components of
phraseolgical units are used figuratively. Phraseological units
are metaphorical and metonymic expressive word
combinations. A phraseological unit denotes a single idea
which is not deduced from the meanings of its components.
That’s why many of phraseological combinations which were
regarded by academician V.V.Vinogradov as phraseological
units cannot be treated as phraseological units. At present, for
example, such set expressions as: to pass an examination, to
pay a visit, etc. are not treated as phraseological units.
There are phraseological units in which all the components
are used figuratively, but there are also phraseological units in
which one of the components is used in its literal meaning and
the other component or components possess figurative
meaning. E.g. to kill a novel - the word novel retains its literal
meaning, but the component to kill is used figuratively. In
the phraseological unit to pull sm b’s leg all the components are
used figuratively (bir kəsi axmaq yerinə qoymaq, bir kəsin
başını dəng eləmək), etc.
3. Separability of components. A phraseological unit
consists of separate words and each of them has its own stress.
Speaking about the differences between phraseological units
and other units of a language and word combinations we must
know that a word consists of morphemes, but a phraseological
unit consists of separate words with its own stress.

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 English Lexicology

PROVERBS, SAYINGS, FAMILIAR

QUOTATIONS AND CLICHÉS

proverb is a familiar saying expressing a true or

a moral lesson in an emotional and imaginative way.

The people’s wisdom is reflected in proverbs. The
place of proverbs, sayings and familiar quotations with resp
to set expressions is a controversial issue. A proverb is a sh
familiar epigrammatic saying expressing truth or a moral lesson
in a concise and imaginative way. Proverbs have much in
common with phraseology because their lexical components
are also constant, their meaning is traditional and mostly
figurative, and they are introduced into speech ready-made.
E.g.
A friend in need is a friend indeed; Live and learn; No
use crying over spilt milk; All is not gold that glitters.
Proverbs are common sayings. However, they usually do
not make sense at first sight and do not offer any advice. For
example, to blow one’s own trumpet, which means “to praise
oneself or boast”, it is an idiom. It may be converted to a
proverbial expression as follows:
It is but a fool who blows his own trumpet or Don’t blow your
own trumpet.
There is no clear dividing line between idiomatic phrases
and proverbial expressions. If and when an idiomatic phrase
becomes widely popular, it may be regarded a proverb. E.g.
Don’t put the cart before the horse.
Quite a number of idiomatic phrases come from proverbs or
proverbial sayings. E.g. Talk o f the devil-( and he will appear);
a black sheep (there is a black sheep in every flock), silver
lining (every cloud has a silver lining), old bird ( old birds
are not to be caught with chaff), etc.

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

Some scientists include them into phraseology

(V.V.Vinogradov, A.V.Koonin, H.Bayramov, Ch.H.Gurbanov.
A.H.Hajiyeva and others). Following V.V.Vinogoradov they
think proverbs must be studied together with phraseological
unities. Others like J.Casares and N.N.Amosova think that
unless they regularly form parts of other sentences it is
erroneous to include them into the system of language because
they are independent units of communication. N.N.Amosova
even thinks that there is no more reason to consider them as
part of phraseology than riddles and children’s counts. This
standpoint is hardly acceptable especially if we do not agree
with the narrow limits of phraseology offered by
N.N.Amosova. Riddles and counts are not as a rule included
into utterances in the process of communication whereas
proverbs are. Whether they are included into an utterance as
independent sentences or as part of sentences it is immaterial. If
we follow that line of reasoning, we shall have to exclude all
interjections such as hang it (all)! (Şeytana lənət, lənət
şeytana!), because they are also syntactically independent. As
to the argument in many proverbs the meaning of component
parts does not show any specific changes when compared to the
meaning of the same word in free combinations. It must be
pointed out that in this respect they do not differ from very
many set expressions, especially those which are emotionally
neutral.
A.V.Koonin includes proverbs in his classification of
phraseological units and labels them communicative
phraseolgical units. From his point of view, one of the main
criteria of a phrasrological unit is its stability. If the quotient of
phraseological stability in a word-group is not below the
minimum, it means that we are dealing with a phraseological
unit. The structural type - that is, whether the unit is a
combination of words or a sentence - is irrelevant.
_ _ = = = = = = _ = = = = = 208 ............................... ...........................................................................................
 English Lexicology

The criterion of nomination and communication cannot

be applied here either, says A.V.Koonin, because there are a
considerable number of verbal phraseological units which are
word-groups (i.e. nominative units) when the verb is used in the
active voice and sentences (i.e. communicative units) when the
verb is used in the Passive Voice. E.g. to cross (pass) the
Rubicon - the Rubicon is crossed (passed) ; to shed crocodile
tears - crocodile tears are shed.
Hence, if one accepts nomination as a criterion of
referring or not referring this or that unit to phraseology, one is
faced with the absurd conclusion that such word-groups, when
with verbs in the Active Voice are phraseological units and
belong to the system of the language, and when with verbs in
the passive voice are non-phraseological word-groups and do
not belong to the system of the language.
It may be added as one more argument in support of this
concept, that it does not seem to exist any rigid or permanent
border-line between proverbs and phraseological units as the
latter rather freguently originate from the fonner.
So, the phraseological unit the last straw originated from
the proverb The last straw breaks the camel’s back (səbr
kasası dolmaq), the phraseological unit birds o f feather from
the proverb Birds o f feather flock together (Su axar, çuxurun
tapar), the phraseological unit to catch at a straw (saman
çöpündən yapışmaq) from A drawning man catches at a straw
( Suda boğulan saman çöpündən yapışar), etc.
What is more, some of the proverbs are easily
transformed into phraseological units. E.g. Don’t put all your
eggs in the basket — to put all one’s eggs in one basket ;
don’t cast pearls before swine — to cast pearls before swine.
Another reason why proverbs must be taken into
consideration together with set expressions is that they often
form the basis of set expressions. For example: the last straw
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 Aziza Hajiyeva

breaks the camel’s back - the last straw; a drawning man will
clutch at a straw - to clutch at a straw; it is useless to lock the
stable door when the steed is stolen - to lock the stable door,
Sometimes both phraseology and proverbs are split and
changed for humorous purposes, as in the following
quatations, where the proverb "All is not gold that glitters ”
combines with an allusion to the phreaseology golden age, e.g.
It will be an age not perhaps o f gold, but at least o f glitter.
.Consider the following examples of proverbs:
l We never know the value o f water till the well is dry
(Yaxşımın qədrini pisi görəndən sonra bilmək olar);
You can take the horse to the water, but you cannot make
him drink (Polad sınar, əyilməz); Those who live in glass
houses shouldn’t throw stones (Yediyin qaba tüpürmək olmaz).
Even these few examples clearly show that proverbs are
different from those phraseological units which have been
discussed above. The first distinctive feature that strikes one is
the obvious structural dissimilarity. Phraseological units, as we
have seen, are a kind of ready-made blocks which fit into the
structure of a sentence performing a certain syntactical
function, more or less as words do. E.g. George liked her for
she never put on airs (predicate). Big bugs like him care
nothing about small like ourselves: a) subject; b) prepositional
object.
Proverbs, if viewed in their structural aspects, are
sentences, and so cannot be used in the way in which
phraseological units are used in the above examples.
If one compares proverbs and phraseological units in the
semantic aspect, the difference seems to become even more
obvious. Proverbs could be best compared with minute fables
for, like the latter, they sum up the collective experience of the
community. They moralize (Hell is paved with good intention),
give advice (Don’t judge a tree by its bark), give warning (If
............. ....................... 210
 English Lexicology

you sing before breakfast, you will cry before night), admonish
(Liars should have good memorise), criticize (Everyone calls
his own geese swans).
No phraseological unit ever does any of these things.
They do not stand for whole statements as proverbs do but for a
single concept. Their function in speech is purely nominative
(i.e. they denote an object, an act, etc.). The function of
proverbs in speech, though, is communicative (i.e. they impart
certain information).
The question of whether or not proverbs should be
regarded as a subtype of phraseological units and studied
together with the phrasology of a language is a controversial
one.
Proverbs are also phraseological unities. They can be
figurative and non-figurative but all have an emotinal
colouring. Their meaning is widened when compared to their
homonymic free combination of words.
The followings belong to the figurative: T percieve’, said
Jolyon, ‘that you are trying to kill two birds with one stone’
(J.Galsworthy); ‘Bastaple - How about Mr. Tregay? Walls have
ears, care killed the cat (J.Galsworthy);
Kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
With many of these it is sufficient to mention only a part
to suggest the whole: ‘It has not been his fault, but he has
played much with... with pitch? (J.London, Martin Eden);
With pitch is a part of the proverb touch pitch and you
will be defiled (- şübhəli işlə məşğul olmaq).
It is interesting to note here that the word pitch is
important in the context. Pitch is the characteristic feature of
the whole phrase, and is its vertex. Similarly with: ‘Charles -
You’re making mountains?’’ Making mountains alludes to the
saying to make mountains out o f molehills. ‘Mr.March - Now
take her away! Cook, go and open the front door for Mr. Bly
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 Aziza Hajiyeva

and his daughter’. ‘Mr. Bly - two many cooks!’ (J.Galsworthy,

‘Windows’).
Too many cooks is an allusion to too many cooks spoil
the broth;
Birds o f a feather flock together may be suggested by
birds o f a feather; a rolling stone gathers no moss - by a
rolling stone; still waters run deep - by still waters; every
cloud has its silver lining —by silver lining, etc.
The proverb a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
means that one has to keep to the realizable" ahd not lose it by
striving after the possible attainable. This has given rise, in
turn, to two other phraseological units: a bird in the hand
meaning ‘something possible of attainment’.
Many of these proverbs are reshaped according to the
extra-linguistic circumstances. For instance, a stitch in time
saves nine is used by J.Galsworthy as: ‘Odiham - Thank you,
ma’ma. A sniff in time saves nine (‘The Show’). A word in time
saves nine (The Man of Property); ‘When there’s a straw
going, you catch at i f . Here allusion is made to the proverb a
drowning man will catch at a straw’’.
Such paraphrasing is based on the assumption that the
corresponding proverbs are well known. From the lexical point
of view such phraseological units seem to lose their unity,
become amorphous, so to speak, and a starting point for new
phraseological units. They are no longer treated as units ready
to be used in the language but as building material for new
phraseological units.
Lexicology does not deal more fully with the
peculiarities of proverbs: created in folklore they are studied by
folklorists, but in treating units introduced into the act of
communication ready - made we cannot avoid touching upon
them too.
As to familiar quotations, they are different from
= = = = = = _ = = = = = = _ 212 = = = = = = = = = = = _ _
 English Lexicology

proverbs in their origin. They come from literature but by and

by they become part and parcel of the language, so that many
people using them do not even know that they are quoting, and
very few could accurately name the play or passage on which
they are drawing even when they are aware of using a quotation
from Shakespeare.
The Shakespearian quotations have become and remain
extremely numerous - they have contributed enormously to the
store of the language. Some of the most often used are: I know
a trick worth two o f that - yaxşı yol (üsul) bilmək, tədbir
bilmək;
Very many come from “Hamlet”. For example, Give
every man thy ear, but few thy voice - Az danış, çox eşit; Some­
thing is rotten in the state o f Denmark - nə isə çatışmır.
Excepting only Shakespeare, no poet has given more of
his lines than Pope to the common vocabulary of the English -
speaking world. The followings are only a few of the best
known quotations: A little learning is a dangerous thing - dad
yarımçıq əlindən; az bilmək bəla gətirər.
Qotations from classical sources were once a recognized
feature of public speech. It is a fragment of human expression
that is being referred to by somebody else. Most often a
quotation is taken from literature, but also sentences from a
speech, scenes from a movie, elements of a painting, etc. may
be quoted. They are about love, friendship and so on:
I don’t want to live, I want to love first, and live
incidentally (Zelda Fitzgerald);
There is a battle that goes on between men and women.
Many people call it love (Edvard Munch);
Do you love me because I am beautiful, or am I beautiful
because you love me? (Oscar Hummerstein);
Pure love and suspicion cannot dwell together: at the
door where the latter enters, the former makes its exit
 Aziza Hajiyeva

(Alexandre Duma’s Son);

Never apologise for your terrible friends. We are all
somebody’s terrible friends (J.Gallagher, Dean of Trinity).
Some quotations are so often used that they come to be
considered clichés. The term comes from the printing trade.
The cliché is a metal block used for printing pictures and
turning them out in great numbers. The term is used to denote
such phrases as have become hackneyed and stale. Being
constantly and mechanically repeated they have lost their
original expressiveness and so are better avoided. H.W.Fowler
in a burst of eloquence in denouncing them even exclaims:
“How many a time has Galileo longed to recant his recantation,
as e pur si muove was once more applied or misapplied”. E pur
si muove (It) ‘Yet it does move’ - the words attributed to
Galileo Galilei. He is believed to have said them after being
forced to recant his doctorine that the Earth moves round the
sun.
The non-idiomatic phraseological unities have the same
origin as the idiomatic, i.e. they come from a free combination
of words. Here too, due to frequent usage they begin to
function as a single unit.
Clichés and hackneyed phrases are phraseological
unities. With these it is not figurative use that is the motivating
force in their becoming phraseological units but it is rather the
other way round. Although such phrases might have been
figurative they lose their emotional connotation, on becoming
clichés. Figurativeness completely fades away and the only
emotion they provoke infinite boredom. In this type of phrases
an interesting kind of desemantization is to be observed, a
desemantization of the whole phrase as a unit.
Fowler in his ‘Modem English Usage” gives a long list of
such phrases which unfortunately can be made very much
longer. We have chosen here only a few as an illustration: the
.... ...................... 214 ____ ,____
 English Lexicology

sleep o f the just (.zarafatla deyilən ifadə) — sakitcə yatmaq;

the feast o f reason (and flow of soul) - ağıllı, intellektual
söhbət; one’s better half - həyat yoldaşı, arvad; one ’s worse
half - (zarafatla) bir kəsin pis yarısı (one’s better half - in
contrast); young hopeful - üınidverici cavan (adətən zarafat və
ironiya ilə deyilir).
Phrases of address and greeting are also in this group.
‘Dear so-and-so’ may be a free combination when dear is
taken in its literal meaning. But in business or official letters
Dear so-and-so” is a phraseological unity and is merely a
phrase of address. The same is true of the ending of a letter.
Yours truely, Yours sincerely, Your obedient servant, etc.
Such phrases are not taken at their own value which
makes them different from the free combinations. They become
phraseological units because they are on the way to desemanti-
zation. The phrase how do you do has gone furthest in this
respect. When two strangers are introduced they pronounce this
formula which does not mean anything at all. Very probably it
is used to mean something, i.e. as a free combination. But times
have changed and people too. Today how do you do is a phrase
pronounced out of civility in order to cover the gap of silence
which naturally may set in between two persons who meet for
the fist time.
In giving his review of English phraseology we have paid
special attention to the fact that the subject is a highly complex
one and that it has been treated by different scholars in very
different ways. Each approach and each classification have
their advantages and their drawbacks. The choice one makes
depends on the particular problem one has in view, and even so
there remains much to be studied in the future. Proverbs are
often elliptical in their structure. E.g. No smoke without fire.
Some of them are formed by alliteration. E.g. No pains, no
gains; so many men, so many minds; Don 7 trouble trouble,
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 Aziza Hajiyeva

until trouble troubles you.

Sayings are less than proverbs. Most of the sayings carry,
colloquial characteristic features. They mean concreet meaning
and hit the target. They can express either negative or „
affirmative colourings. E.g. May your shadow never grow less!
—Allah ömrünü uzun eləsin!; His word is as good as his bond
- O, sözünün ağasıdır; The coast is clear - Yol aciqdiz—

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 English Lexicology

STANDARD AND SUBSTANDARD

ENGLISH

C. 1tandard English is a universal form of English used in

the English speaking countries by educated people.
a y It is an international standard of English. Standard
English is the official language of Great Britain which
is taught at schools and universities, used by the press, the
radio and the television. It is used for public information and
administration, and spoken by educated people, it equally
serves all the people speaking English.
But this world-wide standard English is spoken with a
great number of different regional accents. There exist some
regional varieties of standard English which possess a
standard literary form, but are spoken with regional accents
and are called variants of standard English. .Regional varieties
which have no normalized literary form are called local
dialects. In Great Britain there are two variants: Scotish English
and Irish English, and five main groups of dialects: Northern,
Midland, Eastern, Western and Southern. Every group contains
several dialects. They originate from the dialects of the
Germanic tribes which invaded Britain in the 5lh century.
Local dialects are marked off from the English national
literary language and from each other differ by some
phonetical, grammatical and lexical peculiarities. But local
dialects coexist with the national literary language and serve as
a means of communication to the broad people’s masses. Their
role is different at different historical stages. On the basis of
such dialects many of the national languages were formed. For
ex.: the English national language .

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

( In some cases words from dialects and variants enter the

vocabulary of the national language. For ex.: to rove = to
wander; lass = a girl, etc.
Dialects have no literary form, but many English writers
include dialectal speech in their books. Bernard Show in his
famous play ‘Pygmalion” presents Cockney - the local
Southern dialect of London. Cockney is spoken by the
uneducated Londoners. Cockney differs greatly from standard
mgiisn in phonetics, vocabulary” and grammar. The
characteristic features of Cockney are:
1. Phonetically - the omission of initial “hv E.g. orse
instead of horse ; im instead of “him”;
The omission of fmal“g”. E.g. go/« instead of “going”.
Grammatically - the confusion of the first and third
person singular in Present Indefinite Tense. E.g. Isays,
he say, etc.
Local dialects are now chiefly preserved in rural
communities, in the speech of elderly people. It should be
stressed that dialects undergo rapid changes under the pressure
of standard English, which is taught at schools and the speech
habits which are cultivated by press, radio, television and
cinema. Locaf varieties of the English language peculiar to
some districts in England and having no literary form are called
dialects.
In every nation some social groups try to force on the national
literary language their own terms and expressions.

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 English Lexicology

THE STYLISTIC DIFFERENTIATION

OF THE ENGLISH VOCABULARY

'here are words equally fit to be used in a lecture, a

poem or when speaking to a child. These are said to
be stylistically neutral.
The English nouns horse, steed, gee-gee have the same
denotational meaning in the sense that all refer to the same
animal, but the stylistical colouring is different in each case.
Horse is stylistically neutral and may be used in any situation.
Steed is dignified and belongs to poetic diction, but gee-gee is
a nursery word neutral in a child’s speech.
Stylistically words eqn be roughly subdivided into literary,
neutral and colloquial layers: The grater part of the literary
layer of Modem English vocabulary are words of general use
and known as neutral words. We can distinquish two main
subgroups:
Standard colloquial words and literary or bookish words.
If we compare the words parent - father - dad - sire we
can see identity in their denotational meaning. But father is
stylistically homogeneous. It is a neutral word, parent is a
bookish word, dad, daddy are used in colloquial speech, they
are nursery words, but the word sire is a poetic word, and can
be come across in poetic diction.
We may single out various specific subgroups:
1) terms or scientific words (genocide, teletype, computer,
file, etc.);
2) poetic words and archaisms. For ex.: whilome - formaly;
aught - anything, morn - morning, ere - before, nay -no,
etc.;
3) barbarisms and foreign words: bon mot - a clever and
witty saying;

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

Besides there is slang and argot. E.g. job - a place got by

protection; chit - a short letter, message; tiffin - lunch, weed -
druges, gag -joke, etc.
These words serve to denote a special vocabulary and
idioms used by a particular social or age group.
It is a common knowledge that colloquial English is very
emotional: On earth or God’s name!
These are colloquial and emotional only after interrogative
words :
Why in God’s name...... ; Why on earth....; Where in God's
name;
On the other hand, there exist oaths, swear words and their
euphemistic variations (Damn your eyes!) that function as
emotional colloquialisms independent on the context. For ex.:
By God!, Goodness!, Gracious! (Ay Allah! Aman Allah!),
For Goodness sake! (Allah xatirinə)!, More power to your
elbow! (Allah qoluna qüvvət versin!), God bless his heart!
(Allah onu qorusun!), I wish you dog death! (Görüm səm it
kimi gəbərəsən!)/, Let the earth take you! (Yerə girəsən!), I
wish you speedy recovering! (Allah şəfa versin!); I wish you
covered with your own blood! (Səni qanına bələnəsən!)
etc.
Slang words are identified and distinguished by contrasting
them to standard English literary vocabulary. They are
expressive, mostly ironically for some things. E.g.
slang words for money: beans, brass, dough, chink,
wads;
for the word “head”: attic, brain pan, nut, upper
storey;
for the adj. “drunk”: boozy, cock-eyed, soaked, tight
and many more.

220
 English Lexicology

There are many slang words for food, alchohol drinks,

stealing and other variations of the law, for jail, death,
madness, etc.
If the slang words denote a new and necessary notion, they
may prove an enrichment of the vocbulary and be accepted
into standard Englishman the other hand, they make just another
addition to a cluster of synonyms and have nothing but novelty
to back them, they die out very quickly.
Under the substandard English we understrand jargons.
colloquialisms, slang words. Such class jargons cannot be
considered as languages because they have neither vocabulary
nor grammatical structure of their own, but use those of the
national languages.
In English dictionaries some words of social groups are
marked as “slangs” (si.) (that’s not literary words).
Webster’s Dictionary (3rd international dictionary) gives the
following meanings of the term slang:
1. language peculiar to a particular group:
a) the“ special and secret vocabulary used by a class (as
thieves, beggars, etc.).
b) the jargon used by a particular trade, profession, etc.
2. a nonstandard vocabulary expressing quick popularity and
relatively rapid decline into disuse. They are grouped as
followings:
a) the special vocabulary used by any sets of persons; y
b) the cant or jargon of a certain class or period;
c) language of a highly colloquial type considered as below
the level of standard educated speech, etc.
As it is seen from those quotations slang is represented both
as a special vocabulary and as a special language. Here are
some more examples of words that are considered slang:
bread-basket = the stomach ( a jocular use);

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

to do a flit — to quit one’s flat or lodgings at night without

paying the rent; rot! = nonsense!; the cat’s pyjamas = the
correct thing.
Jargonisms — words marked by their use within a particular
social groupj and bearing a secret and cryptic character, e.g. a
sucker - is a person who is easily deceived. In the non-literary
vocabulary of the English language such kinds of words and
expressions are called jargonisms. Jargon is a recognized term
for a group of words that exist in almost every language and
the aim of which is to preserve secrecy within one or another
social group.! Jargonisms are generally old words with entirely
immaterial, only the new, improvised meaning is of
importance.
Thus, the word grease means money; leaf= head; a lexer =
a student preparing for a law course, a tiger hunter = a
gambler, etc.
Jargonisms are social in character. They are not regional. In
Britain and in the USA almost any social group of people has
its own jargon. They are: the jargon of thieves, the jargon of
jazz people, the jargon of army, known as military slang, the
jargon of sporsmen, and many others. Jargon belongs to all
social groups and is therefore easily understood by everybody.
That’s why it is difficult to draw a hard and fast line between
slang and jargon. Here are some examples of jargon:
Piou-Piou = a French soldier - has passed from military
jargon to ordinary colloquial speech;
Hammen = a false arrest (american);
Malto (n) - a sailor (from the French word “matelot”);
Man and wife - a knife, etc.
When a jargonism becomes common, it has pressed on to a
higher step and becomes slang or colloquialism.
The term colloquial is old enough. The great English
lexicographer wanted to reform the English language clearing
it from colloquial barbarisms (E.Patridge).
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 English Lexicology

Colloquialisms do not mean “slangy” and jargon. This term

is used to denote the vocabulary used by educated people in
the course of ordinary conversation.
There is familiar colloquial which is charactarized by a
great number of jocular or ironical expressions. It is more
emotional and much more free and careless than literary
colloquial. Low colloquial is used for illiterate popular speech.
It is different from familiar colloquial in that it contains more
vulgar words and sometimes also elements of dialects. Here are
some colloquial words:
daily = a woman who is paid to come and do housework
everyday; greens = green vegetables, such as spinach,
cabbage, etc.
Vulgarisms - coarse words that are not generally used in
public, e.g. hell, damn, shut up, etc.
Words among different social groups we find:
1. colloquial vulgarism; 2. special professional words; 3.
jargonic words and set expressions of declassed elements
(thieves, tramps), etc.
The third group is called cant- (jargon). The words and
expressions of the two above mentioned groups have a certain
stylistic colouring and are very expressive. E.g. rubbish -
tommy rot = nonsense; yes - man - toady - lickspittle - (a
person who says to everybody “yes ”); bore = a dull person, a
tiresome person. E.g. He is a bore.
Professional jargonic words are used by people having the
same profession. So, they may be student’s jargon, journalistic
jargon, etc, E.g. The greats = state examination; to be
ploughed = to fail at an examination; prof= proffessor; maths
= mathematics; cabbage — synopsis; trig = trigonometry, etc.
Today all these words belong to the student’s jargon.
A penny dreadful = a cheap adventurous novel;
Sob - sister = a woman writer; ad = advertisement.
These words belong to journalistic jargon.
__________________ 223 ------- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ -----
 Aziza Hajiyeva

Cant is the jargon of declassed elements . E.g. can-opener

- means key used by thieves; fence (its literary meaning is
“hasar”) - a person who buys stolen things;
to nim = to steal; a wipe -(jarg.) - göy, qançır; cop - a
policeman, etc.
: Professionalisms are special words in the non-literary
layer of the English vocabulary, whereas terms are a
specialized group belonging to the literary layer of wordsj
Professionalisms generally remain in circulation within a defi­
nite community, as they are linked to a common occupation
and common social interests. The semantic structure of the term
is usually transparent and is therefore easily understood like
terms. Professionalisms do not allow any polysemy, they are
monosemantic. Here are some professionalisms used in dif­
ferent trades: tim-fish - submarine; block-buster - a bomb
especially designed to destroy blocks o f big buildings; outer - a
knock out blow, etc.
Jargons of some special groups are also called by the French
word argot. As a jargon of the upper classes in England we can
mention the argot of merchants in which the following words
are used: Job - a place got by protection; chit - a short letter,
message; tiffin - lunch, etc.
The last two words (chit and tiffin) are Hindoo. They
were brought by merchants..
Jargonic words should not be allowed to penetrate into the
national literary language, because they spoil it. Linguists and
literary men always struggle against them.
In England these puristic tendencies were too strong before
the World war. But in spite of them many colloquialisms and
jargonic words (among them americanisms) entered the
national language.
Cushy - easy and pleasant; eye-wash - (jarg.) flattering;
window-dresssing - art of arranging goods attractively in shop;
to get (have) cold feet - to be frightened; come again -
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 English Lexicology

repeat, please; to fire - to dismiss (to make free); pep -

vividness, etc.
(Jargons create neologisms very easily but not all of these
new words enter the popular language. Many of them remain
to serve the narrow circle of people in which they were created.
In conclusion it should be noted that Standard English is the
national literary English language spoken by educated people
and taught at schools. Local dialects are varieties of the
English language. Jargonic words and expressions of different
social groups belong to substandard English.

Differences between American English and British English

American., English differs greatly from British English in

pronunciation and in vocabulary. Besides, there are some
minor features of grammar and spelling. Historically American
English is based on the language of the first American settlers,
that is on English of the 17th century.
The dictionary gives a lot of information about words that
are only used in American English or that have different
meanings in British and American English. E.g. US - elevator,
British English -lift', US - gas, British English-petrol.
Lexical peculiarities have been brought about several
historical processes: some absolute words of the 17th century
have survived in America (fall for autumn; guess for think); a
number of words changed their meanings due to the new
conditions of social and economic life: corn-maise; racket -
racketeer, etc.
In American English it is common to use like instead of as if
/as though. This is not correct in BE. For example,
He talks as if he knew everything (BE)',
He talks like / as if he knew everything (AE).

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

The development of american variants shows how

extralinquistic factors influence the language. On the whole the
language spoken in the USA differs greatly from the English
language spoken in England. Elere are some examples:

In American English In British English

airplane aeroplane
apartment flat/apartment
busy engaged(phone)
cab/taxi taxi
can tin
candy sweets
check/bill bill
cookie/cracker biscuit
centre center
crazy mad
engine motor
film movie
handbag purse
holiday vacation
jam Jelly
lift elevator
lorry truck
luggage baggage
main road highway
maths math
band-aid plaster
bathroom Loo/WC/toilet
fries chips

When a word is pronounced differently in American

English, this is given after the British pronunciation: tomato
............ 226
 English Lexicology

[te'mae:tou], US- [ta'meitou]. Here are some of the main

differences:
1. Stressed vowel is usually longer in American English, e.g.
in the word “packet” the sound [ae] is longer; in the word
“shop” the sound [o] is longer.
2. In British English the letter [r] is only pronounced before a
vowel (e.g. in words like “red, bedroom”, etc.) and is silent in
all other words (e.g. in “car, learn, over”, etc.). In American
English the letter “r” is always pronounced.
3. In American English the letter “t” and “d” have a very
similar light [d] sound, when they come between two vowels,
so that words “writer” and “rider” sound almost the same; in
British the “t” is much stronger.
Grammatically americans often use the simple past tense
when British people use present perfect:
British: I have just seen her - American: I just saw her.
British: Have you heard the news?- American: Did you
hear the news?
Americans often use “have ” when British people use “have
g o t”.
British: I haven’t got much time - American: I don’t
have much time.
There are often small differences in the use of prepositions
and adverbs:
British: Stay at home - American: Stay home.
British: Monday to Friday - American: Monday
through Friday.
Grammar and spelling peculiarities are: “wilF for all
persons; were for all persons; -our is changed into -or; colour
= color; labour -labor.
He talks as if he was rich (BE);
He talks as he were rich (AE).

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

Some words end in - tre in British English, -ter in American

English, for example: cenre/theatre, center/theater.
Spelling of some words in BE and AE:

British English American English

colour colo\r
humour humor
favourite favorite
theatre theater
kilometre kilometer
mum,mam, mom mom
cosy cozy
realise realize
dialogue dialog
traveller traveler
cheque check
jewellery jewelry

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 English Lexicology

LEXICOGRAPHY

y je x ic o g ra p hv is the science of dictionary -

m ^compiling. It is closely connected with lexicology, as
^^^✓ th ey both have the same object of study and deal
with the same problem - the form, meaning, usage,
and origin of vocabulary units. Both make use of each
other’s achievements. It is an important branch of applied
linguistics.
But there are some differences between these two sciences.
Lexicography studies recurring patterns of semantic relations,
any formal phonological and grammatical devices by which
they may be rendered. It studies characteristic features of
words and oppositions concerning the vocabulary of a
language. But lexicology cannot claim any completeness as
regards units themselves, because the number of units is very
great. As to lexicology it deals with the semantic, formal and
functional descriptions of all individual words.
It goes without saying that neither lexicology, nor
lexicography can develop successfully without each other,
because they both deal with the same object of reality, that is
with the vocabulary of a language_\
As it is said above lexicography is the theory and practice
of compiling dictionaries. The term dictionary is used to
denote a book listing words of a language with their meanings
and often with the data concerning pronunciation, usage or
origin. A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more
specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage in­
formation, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations
and other information or a book of words in one language with
their equivalents in another.! English lexicography is
considered to be the richest in the world. It has a remarkable

2?°
 Aziza Hajiyeva

history. The history of dictionary - making for the English

language goes as far back as the Old English period. The first
explanatory unilinqual English dictionary appeared in 1604. It
was compiled by Robert Cowdray, a school master. The first
etymological dictionary was made by Nationial Bailey in
1721.
The entries of a dictionary are usually arranged in alpha­
betical order, but derivatives, compounds and word
combinations are given under the same head-word.
One of the debatable problems in the theory and practice of
dictionary is compiling the number of vocabulary units in Mo­
dem English. Different dictionaries register different number of
words. It depends upon basically different approaches to the
vocabulary units. In some cases, e.g. the distinction between
various meanings of one polysemantic word and the mea­
nings of two homonymous words is not sharp and clear.
Thus, in some dictionaries “seal” is regarded as one word,
in others as five different words.
Another debatable problem is phraseological units. This
term itself is rather vague, and allows different interpretations.
From one point of view all kinds of idiomatic expressions must
be regarded in the dictionary as separate vocabulary entries .
Another approach to the problem of phraserology
considers that only phraseological units functioning in the
language as word equivalents should be treated as individual
vocabulary units.
The word stock of Modem English is constantly growing
and changing. The words constantly appear in the language,
but we don’t consider them belonging to the English
vocabulary until they are assimilated. At the same time some
words disappear in the language or gradually lose their
vitality and are not used in present day English, but may be
 English Lexicology

found in poetical works of outstanding English poets of the

19th century.
A great number of vocabulary units are used as terms in
various branches of science (radio, electronics, statistic are
international words).
There is a considerable difference between the vocabulary
units a person uses and those who understand. The passive
vocabulary of a normally educated person comprises about
30.000 words. But only about 20.000 are used in speech. The
number of vocabulary units to be included in the dictionaries
also depends on the aims of dictionary-compilers.

Different Types of Dictionaries

A dictionary is the most widely used reference book in

English homes, schools and business offices. The term
“dictionary” denotes a book listing words of a language with
their meanings, pronunciation, usage and sometimes origin. All
the dictionaries may be divided into two main types: linquistic
and non-linguistic dictionaries. Non-linguistic dictionaries give
information on all branches of knowledge. They deal not with
words, but with facts and concepts. Such dictionaries are called
encyclopaedic dictionaries. E.g. The Encyclopaedia Britannica,
24 volumes, London-Chicago -Toronto. 10th edition, 1961.
Linguistic dictionaries deal with words, their meanings,
pronunciation, etymology or give their equivalents in another
language. Linguistic dictionaries are divided into: general
dictionaries and special dictionaries^
vGeneral dictionaries present a wide-range of data about the
vocabulary items in ordinary us^ l General dictionaries are
subdivided into the following types:

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

1) Explanatory dictionaries (or unilingual dictionaries). In

such dictionaries words and their definitions belong to the
same language. Such as:
a) The New English Dictionary on Historical Principles
(NED) = also the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) - (ed.by
J.A.H.Murray and others, vols, I -XIII, Oxford, 1933);
b) Shorter Oxford Dictionary on Historical Principles (SOD),
vol. I-II, 3rd ed., Oxford, 1956;
c) Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the
English Language (NID) Springfield Mass., USA, 1981 ;
d) The Coincise Oxford Dictionary, ed. by H.W.Fowler,
Oxford, 1944, etc.
2) Translation dictionaries = bilingual dictionaries = parallel
dictionaries.
(Translation dictionaries explain words of a given language
by giving their equivalents in another languageJE.g. English-
Russian dictionary by prof. V.K.Muller; Russian-English
Dictionary under prof. A.I.Smimitsky’s general direction; New
English-Russian Dictionary edited by I.R.Galperin; Azerbaija­
nian - English Dictionary by O.I.Musayev, Baku, 1996;
English Azerbaijani Dictionary by O.I.Musayev, Baku, 2003,
etc.
Azerbaijani - English and English Azerbaijani dictionary by
I.M.Rahimov, Baku, 2003.
3) Leamer’s Dielionaries-
1Learner’s Dictionaries usually contain such words and their
meanings which are likely to be used or met by the learner in
his studies. Usually the selection of head words and their
meanings is based on frequently of current use. Learner’s
dictionaries are compiled for foreign language learners of
different stages of advancement.
a) The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English by
A.S.Hornby, Oxford, 1982, and others;
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 English Lexicology

b) The learner’s English Russian Dictionary by S.Folomkina

and H.Weiser (contains about 3500 words), etc.

Specialized Dictionaries
^Specialized dictionaries restrict themselves to one particular
aspcctj(e.g. synonyms and antonyms, phraseological units,
neologisms, terms, etymology, pronunciation), etc.
Specialized dictionaries may be:
1.Dictionary of svnormns^.
a) A Dictionary of English Synonyms and Synonymous
Expressions by R.Soule , Boston, 1938;
b) Webster’s Dictionary of Synonyms, USA, 1942;
c) English Synonyms Explained and Illustrated by
A.F.Gandelsman,
M., 1963;
A Dictionary of Synonyms, by I.Mammadov, H.Hasanov,
Baku, 1990.
Dictionaries of synonyms explain the differences between
synonyms in semantic structure, use and style.
2. Phraseological Dictionaries. They deal with set-
expressions, proverbs, explain their meanings, origin, etc. E.g.
a) The Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs.
b) V.H.Collins, Book of English Idioms.
c) An Anglo-Russian Phraseological Dictionary by
A.V.Koonin, M., 1967, in two volumes.
d) English - Azerbaijani and Azerbaijani - English
phraseological dictionary, by Kh.Ahmadova, I.M.Rahimov,
Baku, 1968.
e) English-Azerbaijani Phraseological Dictionary by
A.H.FIajiyeva, A.K.Hajiyeva, Baku, 2006.
f) Azerbaijani - English - Russian Phraseological Dictionary
by N.Ch.Valiyeva, Baku, 2006.

233
 Aziza Hajiyeva

g) Azerbaijani - English - Russian Phraseological Dictionary

by N.Ch.Valiyeva, Baku, I-II c., 2010.
h) English - Azerbaycani - Russian Proverbial Dictionary,
Baku, lW l , by T.Abasquliyev, etc.
3. Dictionaries of Collocations
Dictionaries of collocations contain words which freely
combine with the given head-word. E.g.
A Reum’s Dictionary of English Style (about 10.000
English words). This dictionary is compiled for German
students of English in order to help them to carry English
correspondence.
4. /Dictionaries of Word-Frequency. These reference-books
are based on frequency value of words included by numbers
stating the occurrence per million words. (E.g. The Teacher’s
Book of 30 000 words by E.L.Thomike and l.Lorge.

Other Types of Specialized Dictionaries

1. Usage dictionaries make it their business to pass
judgement on what is right or wrong. E.g. N.W.Fowler,
Dictionary of Modern English Usage, Oxford, 1940;
N.W.Nickolson, A Dictionary of American-English Usage.
2. Etymological Dictionaries’! Such dictionaries explain the
sources and origin of words. E.g. W.Skeat, Etymological
Dictionary of the English Language, Oxford, 1931.
3. Pronouncing Dictionaries. ( Record contemporary
pronunciation of words. E.g. Daniel Jones, English
Pronouncing Dictionary (the world-famous dictionary).
4. Idiographic Dictionaries. In idiographic dictionaries words
are not arranged in alphabetical order, they are arranged
according to a logical classification of notions expressed, that is
according to the semantic fields, such as kinship terms, colour
terms, names for parts of human body, abstract relations, space,
etc.. But dictionaries of this type always have an alphabetical
 English Lexicology

index attached, which helps to find the necessary word. E.g.

P.M.Roget. Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases.
;This idiographic dictionary is the oldest one in the world. It
was first published in 1812. Since then it was reprinted about
80 times. Its last edition appeared in 1962.
Besides above mentioned dictionaries there are also such
dictionaries as spelling reference books, hard-words diction-
naries, different technical dictionaries, dialect and slang
dictionaries, multilingual (or poliglot) dictionaries, etc.
Besides above mentioned dictionaries there are different
types of dictionaries in the Azerbaijani language as well.
They are: Foreign Words Dictionary, Baku, 1960; Arabic and
Persian Words Dictionary, Baku, 1981; Orphographic
Dictionary, Baku, 1975, Dialect Dictionary, Baku, 1964;
Russian - Azerbaijani Dictionary in III volumes, Baku, 1971,
1975, 1978.
They were published under the edition by A.A.Orujov;
Azerbaijani -Russian Dictionary, Baku, 1965, edited by
Kh.A.Azizbayov; A Dictionary of Proverbs, Baku, 1985, edited
by Flamid Gasimzadeh, etc.

Structure of Dictionaries
Most dictionaries have much in common in their structure .
They usually have such items as:
1. Introduction or Preface (author’s explanatory remarks
at the beginning of a book) or Foreword.
2. Guide to these dictionaries.
3. Key to the pronunciation.
4. Abbrevitions and symbols used in the dictionary.
5. A dictionary of the English language (list of words).
6. Supplements (geographical names, personal names,
foreign words).

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 Aziza Hajiyeva

English lexicography is probably the richest one in the

world with respect to variety and number of the dictionaries
published. The demand for dictionaries is great.

Some Problems of Dictionary Compiling

The work at a dictionary consists of the following stages:

the collection of material; the selection of entries and their
arrangement; the setting of each entry.
At different stages of his work the lexicographer comes
across with different problems:
1. the selection of lexical units;
2. their arrangement;
3. the setting of entries;
4. the selection and arrangement of word - meaning;
5. the definition of meaning;
6. illustrative material;
7. supplementary material.
The selection is obviously necessary for all dictionaries.
First of all the type of lexical units to be chosen for inclusion
is to be decided upon. Then the number of items to be recorded
must be determined.
Explanatory or translation dictionaries are usually recorded
words and phraseological units, some of them also include
affixes as separate entries. Synonym books, pronouncing,
etymological dictionaries and some others deal only with
words. In most dictionaries various types of entries are given
in a single alphabetical listing .
In some explanatory and translation dictionaries, entries are
grouped in families of words, are arranged in synonimic sets
and its dominant member serves as the head-word of the entry.
The meanings of words may be defined in different ways:

236
 English Lexicology

a) by means of definitions that are characterized as

encyclopaedic;
b) by means of descriptive definitions or paraphrases;
c) with the help of synonymous words and expressions;
d) by means of cross-referents (antonyms).
All types of dictionaries may be monolingual (unilingual) -
giving information in the same language and translation
dictionaries - giving information in another language.
Unilingual dictionaries may be diachronic (Oxford diet.)
and synchronic (or descriptive ). Diachronic dictionaries
reflect the historical development of the form and meaning of
every word. The descriptive dictionaries are concerned with
present day meaning and usage of words.
There are a lot of dictionaries (general, unilingual) compiled
in English speaking countries. Translation and poliglot
(multilingual) dictionaries are those that give equivalents in
another language or several foreign languages. The main
problem in compiling dictionaries of this type is to give
adequate (satisfactory) translation of vocabulary.

237
<
 Aziza Hajiyeva

List of Used Literature

In English:

1. Abdulrahimov E.H. The ABC of the History of the English

Language, Baku, 2005.
2. Anatoly Liberman, Word Origins: Etymology for Everyone.
3. Andrew Sihler, Language History.
4. Antrushina G.B., Afanaseva O.V., Morozova N.N. English
Lexicology, M., 2001.
5. Arnold I.V. The English Word, M., 1986.
6. Charles W. Kreider, Introducing English Semantics, London
and New York, 1998.
7. Cruse D.A. Polysemy and related homonymy from a
cognitive linguistic viewpoint, In Computatianal Lexical
Semantics, Cambridge University Press, 1995
8. Ginsburg R.S., KJhidekel S.S., Knyazeva G.Y., Sankin A.A.
A Course in Modem English Lexicology. M.,1979.
9. Gozalova K.M. Manual Aid on English Semasiology, Baku,
2001
10. Grinberg L.E., Kuznets A.V., Kumacheva A.V., Meltser
G.M. Exercises on Modem English Lexicology, M., 1960.
11. Fred W.Riggs. Homonyms, Heteronyms, and Allonyms.
www.webdata.soc.hawail.edu/ffedr/wwelcome.htm-1999
12. Hajiyeva A.H. Lectures and Exercises on English
Lexicology, Baku, 2000
13. Hajiyeva A.H., Najafli E.B., Cafarov A.M., English
Phraseology, Baku, 2009

238