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The semantic structure of the word ‘man’ in english and ukrainian languages

- function in a context. Meaning, then, we use the whole complex of functions which a linguistic form may have (J.R.Firth);

- a function of the descriptions at all levels (M.A.K.Halliday) and many others.

According to Vinogradov, meaning of a word can be:

1. Nominative.

2. Nominative-derivative.

3. Collegationally and collocationally conditioned.

4. Phraseologically bound.

1. Nominative is the basic meaning of a word, which refers to object of extra linguistic reality in a direct way and reflects their actual relations.

2. Nominative-derivative meaning comes into being when the word is “stretched out” semantically to cover new facts and extra linguistic phenomena.

When the speaker uses the word metaphorically he extends its content. The metaphorical use is based on certain similarities observed by the speaker. Different meaning – the identity of the word remains intact, because the difference in meaning is not great enough to split the word into 2 different units. When the speaker observes similarities between the objects, the semantic content of the word is made elastic to be stretched out and cover new bits of reality. Such metaphorical meanings are poetically present in the semantic structure of the word.

If nominative meaning is a direct meaning, nominative-derivative meaning is a transferred meaning.

3.Collegationally and collocationally conditioned meanings are not free, but bound.

a. Collegationally conditioned meaning is determined by morphosyntactic combinability of words.

Some meanings are realized only without a given morphosyntactic pattern (colligation).

to tell – сказати, розказати

In passive constructions means to order/to direct: You must do what you’re told.

to carry – нести

In passive construction – to accept: The amendment to the bill was carried.

b. Collocationally conditioned meaning is determined by lexical-phraseological combinality of words.

There are meanings which depend on the word associations with other words (collocation): a herd of cows, a flock of sheep.

Collocation is used here as a typical behavior of a word in speech.

4. Phraseologically bound meaning.

Collocations should be distinguished from idioms and phraseological units. Idioms and phraseological units are devoid of referential meanings. The meanings of the individual words can’t be summed together to produce the meaning of the idiomatic expression. The word combination is literal in meaning, because its degree of idiomatic is low, it’s called phraseological unit.

2.2. Typology of meanings

According to different approaches in linguistic and semantic studies, next types of meanings can be distinguished:

- actual m. – actualized in speech, specified by linguistic and situational context;

- associative m. – weak implication, a conceptual entity to which the systemic m. of a given word merely hints, indirectly implies, which is trigged by association;

- bound m. – actualized by a word in a given phrase or context, predetermined by semantic or morphosyntactic combinability (or collocationally or colligationally bound);

- broad m. – resulting from generalization of meaning, when word develops the broadest referential capacity possible; further stage is deemantization and loss of purely lexical meaning, transformation of a lexical unit into a grammatical morpheme;

- categorial m. – part-of-speech meaning;

- cognitive m. – a) same as conceptual or denotative or nominative or main meaning; b) the conceptual core, significative part of m. reflecting essential features of the referent conceptualized by our cognition; distinct from pragmatic m.;

- colligationally and collocationally conditioned m.;

- connotative m. - emotional, suggestive meaning of the word;

- contentional m. – reflects the structure of essential features of a notion, name;

- contextual m. – brought in by the contextual (both verbal and non-verbal) environment of the word; acquired on a definite occasion only;

- derived m.;

- direct m. – the main meaning of the word, which appears in the act of primary semiosis;

- dynamic m. – actually, any m. is characterized by certain dynamism – ability to change either synchronically or diachronically, so that it would be correct to discriminate between dictionary meaning as being static and speech meaning as dynamic, although in a current speech event meaning is necessarily subject to contextual influence hence actual is more dynamic that virtual meaning;

- etymological m. – original m. of a word, which later on underwent semantic changes;

- expressive m.;

- further m. – meaning or meanings within the prospective scope of semantic changes (only vaguely) predetermined by the current semantics of the word, the prospective sphere of its semantic variation;

- figurative m.;

- free m. – nominative meaning can be regarded as ‘free’ as distinct from the collocational and colligational meanings as bound ones;

- functional m. – grammatical meaning of a word (word-like unit) as an element of syntax, predetermined by its categorical, subcategorial meaning and individual lexical m.;

- generic m. – reflection in lexical m. of a generic concept, concept of the higher level of abstraction;

- grammatical m. – meaning of the grammatic form of a word;

- idiomatic m. – meaning, actualized within certain idiomatic expression only, idiomatically bound meaning;

- lexical m. – meaning of a lexical unit, comprises categorical meaning, subcategorical meaning and individual meaning of a lexeme; reflects a certain part of corresponding concept on the level of language;

- lexico-grammatical m. – categorial meaning;

- main m. – nominative m.;

- naive m. – lexical meaning as represented in the mind in common native speaker, not an expert in the field which includes the denotatum of the word;