Contrastive Lexicology

In the field of Modern Languages and Linguistics, words are of great importance. A language’s phonology (study of how sounds are organized and used), morphology (study of the form and structure of words), syntax (study of the rules that govern sentence structure), semantics (study of meaning of words, sentences, and expressions), pragmatics (study of aspects of meaning and language use and context), and phonetics (study of human speech sounds) all play an important part in everyday life. These have a major impact in understanding the intent of what is spoken or heard. Due to the importance of communication, literary elements such as metaphors (which are defined as a figure of speech in which a word or phrase

“The History of the English Language”. http://www.uni-due.de/SHE/. Univ. of Duisburg Essen. April 2013. Web 4 Oct. 2013.

of a word. Also, the Yerkes (2011) text defines Lexicology as a study focusing on the meaning of words. Thus, we see a lexicon as an area in the human brain which stores the meaning, and all aspects, associated with a word. However, to reach the point where a lexicon may be used language must be acquired. To acquire such a skill, one must master the four levels associated with language.

In a Ted Talk discussing the usage of the English language, “What makes a word ‘real’?” by Anne Curzan, she answers the question, ‘Who defines what goes into the dictionary?’ In her Ted Talk she describes how dictionaries work. The way dictionaries have no author, and how they are timeless. As an English professor who specializes in language, who collect words

b) with forms and the structure of words (morphology) and with their customary arrangement in phrases and sentences (syntax )

Fromkin, Victoria & Rodman, Robert. An Introduction to Language, 6th edition. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Brace, 1998

Diction: the denotative and connotative meanings of words! What specific words did the author choose? Consider her word choice compared to another. Why did the author choose that particular word? What are the connotations of that word choice? • different words for the same thing often suggest different attitudes (happy vs. content vs. ecstatic) • denotative vs. connotative (dead vs. passed away) • concrete vs. abstract (able to perceive with 5 senses, tangible, vs. an idea or concept that exists in one’s mind, intangible) • monosyllabic vs. polysyllabic (Cats eat meat; felines are carnivorous animals.) • simple vs. ornate • positive vs. negative (slender vs. skinny, determined vs. stubborn) • colloquial / informal / formal / technical • cacophonous vs. euphonious (e.g., harsh sounding, raucous, croak or pleasant sounding, languid, murmur)

We’ve allowed a natural approach to language instruction to dominate our schools, hoping our English learners 
“will just figure it out.” (SCOE, 2009) This approach suggested by Kevin Clark proposes that teachers explicitly teach ELL by giving them a set of skills. Teacher will have to teach students not just vocabulary, but the sound system of language, the words and their word parts and meanings, and also rules for structuring sentences grammatically. Teaching students from this perspective can support a deeper understanding of the language. When the

On completing the EDRD 600 course, the following are the critical elements that I will apply from the National Reading Panel’s Five Domains of reading and from Dr. Flynn’s 1st Edition of “I teach reading. Why do I need to know linguistics?”. They are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension with an added element, writing. This course also covers the topic of Linguistics. Linguistics is defined as the study of human language and its structure, including phonology, orthography, morphology/semantics, and syntax. Each of these areas of linguistics will be discussed as well. Finally, researched-based strategies that could be integrated in the classroom will also be shared.

The Language Wars have been waged in the realm of English Literature, Language and Linguistics for years. Both sides of the argument are staunch believers in their position, but are more than willing to concede points to the other sides’ favour. In Bryan A. Garner’s essay, “Making Peace in the Language Wars”, he describes himself as a ‘descriptive prescriber’ (Garner, Making Peace in the Language Wars 2008, 270), and offers a truce that fulfils both sides of the argument as the crux of his essay. While the separate sides of the argument are relatively easy to define, it seems that no one sticks to them religiously, and the argument is between individuals fighting over individual points. The two sides are that of the descriptivist and that

Key features of language include its words and their sub structures such as morphemes, graphemes and syllables at the writing level as well as reading or speaking, words, their meanings and contexts in which the words get spoken or read. Language has to be interpreted as a whole, and not just as the specific word. There must be an explicit pattern or structure. In order for language to be understood correctly, the meaning of words must be arranged in a given context. This is what constructs language; even though words are arbitrary themselves, in order to integrate as a language, they must be used in the appropriate context. This pre-established cultural context is what will enable effective communication. (Daniel Willingham, 2007, p. 1).

Among the most important concepts to emerge are those relating to dialects and language standards. Sociolinguists have documented the presence of dialects in every language. These dialects, all of which are legitimate, are associated with educational, economic, social and historical conditions. Hence, even if an individual scrupulously studies all the possible dictionaries of a random language, he would still be somewhat of a stranger to that language since he is unaware of all the dialectal changes.

Specialists in descriptive grammar (linguists) examine the principles and patterns that underlie the use of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. In contrast, prescriptive

He seeks to find underlying similarities across these “distinct” languages, to construct a general theory of a singular language. However, it seems as though he cannot be scientifically vindicated without the groundwork being laid down by many of the authors that he is critical of. Thus, it is particularly interesting that Chomsky seems to be so at odds with the idea of descriptivism. When Chomsky says, “Grammar should not be merely a record of the data of usage, but, rather, should offer an explanation for such data,” (587) he is acknowledging the usefulness, presumably to his own theories, of descriptive linguistics. He in fact recognizes the debt he owes when he says, “To me, it seems that [structural linguistics'] major achievement is to have provided a factual and a methodological basis that makes it possible to return to the problems that occupied the traditional universal grammarians...” (590) But he goes on to say, “On the other hand, it seems to me that the substantive contributions to the theory of language structure are few, and that, to a large extent, the concepts of modern linguistics constitute a retrogression as compared with universal grammar.” (590) Where the descriptivists see an end, Chomsky sees only the means, and is somewhat dismissive of them.

It has been noted that while considering changing word meanings is vital to the diachronic study of language, the notion and practice of studying them has been historically belittled as an intellectual pursuit. Semantic change is often irregular and arbitrary as a concept, as its causes are wide-ranging and multi-faceted. However, critics such as Willem B. Hollmann now give weight and notoriety to studying semantics synchronically . By considering individual cases, one can explain some word changes and apply common rules. These often occur intra-linguistically or through common social or political changes, especially surrounding class conflict. However, although we can catalogue the semantic change of similar or groups of words, word