LEXICAL STRUCTURE

Briguel, Michaela Espedillon, Kim San Juan, Ronalyn

Dacillo, Jessica Musa, Faith Maiden Taduran, Angeline
De Luna, Sheva Paelma, Sandra Vargas, Jessa
Lexical structure refers to the way words are
arranged in a sentence or phrase according to their NOUN
t-v erb
parts of speech and their syntactic relationships with subje c
ith sm ells”
each other. ct ive -n oun “F a
adje
e e t s cent”
“sw
VERB
It is the underlying grammatical structure of a
verb-
language that governs how words can be combined ADJECTIVE “sme
adjec
tive
ll swe
to form meaningful utterances. et”
Lexical structure refers to the way words are organized in a
language. It includes the rules for forming words from basic
units of meaning, known as morphemes, how words can be
combined to form larger units such as phrases and
sentences, and how words can change form to express
different meanings or grammatical functions. It's like the
building blocks of a language.
The study of the lexicon or lexis (specified as the
vocabulary or total stock of words of a language).

“Lexicology [is captured as] the study of the meaning and uses of
words. However, in lexicology, the stock of words or lexical items is
not simply regarded as a list of isolated elements. That is, there is a
relationship that exists among words used in a language and such
words are not just combined arbitrarily.”
Lexicology i
s therefore
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LCDE) 1987 concerned w
ith
structures, n
ot with a
mere agglom
eration
of words.
Refers to the vocabulary of a language.

It includes all the words of a language in addition to

the way those words can be combined in a specific λέξις
language. “word”

Linguists, or people who study language, have

traditionally left the lexis definition and related
matters to lexicographers, or those who compile
dictionaries.
TYPES OF LEXIS:
SYNONYMS EXAMPLE OF SYNONYMS
The lexical relations exiting between words
with very closely related meanings. Walk fragile
Also identifiable on the basis that they can
be easily substituted; one for the other, in Stroll delIcate
sentences. trudge Brittle
Can also be referred to as the word with the sauNter Breakable
sameness of meaning. tramp status niyo
Thus, words which can be substituted for
each other are said to be synonymous. “Maglakad, yun “Easily broken”
na yun hmp--”
 However, synonyms may differ in terms of contextual
suitability, formal and informal usages, dialects, registers,
connotation as well as emotive and evaluative meanings.

For instance, autumn and fall have the same meaning but
differ in terms of dialectal use some 'fall' is used in United
States but 'autumn' is used in Britain.
TYPES OF LEXIS: TYPES OF
ANTONYMS
ANTONYMS
The opposite of synonyms; refers to the
opposite meaning of words.
Describes the relationship between two
words where one word in pair is the
antithesis of the other.
Antonymous pairs are often used to explain
contrastive concepts or opposing ideas.
TYPES OF LEXIS: TYPES OF
GRADABLE ANTONYMS
ANTONYMS
Allows for comparison in their
difference in terms of degree. BIG
EXAMPLES

HOT
COLD
mall
s
 TYPES OF
NON-GRADABLE ANTONYMS
ANTONYMS
CANNOT be used in comparative
constructions.

EXAMPLES

rend ko pa
besp pin
in a
d

m
ka

pa
ya

lit m
“lang

o”

M a r rie d Single PASS F AIL

 TYPES OF
RELATIONAL/CONVERSE ANTONYMS
ANTONYMS
Mutually dependent on each other
for their meaning; they show a
reverse relationship.

EXAMPLES
3.) HYPONYMY EXAMPLES:
Another category of lexis is hyponymy where
the meaning of one word encompasses the
bird= eagle
meaning of another. They are words whose
meanings are part of a more general terms
called "The Hypernym" fruit= orange

4.) HOMONYMY
Homonymy is the relationship that holds Example:
between two lexemes that have the same form
Tail Tale
but unrelated meanings. In other words,
Meanings: Tail is the part of an animal
homonymy is the relations between word with
identical forms but different meanings. They can that extends beyond the rest of the
either be words that same phonetic form or the body. Whereas, Tale is a fictitious story.
same orthographic form but different meanings.
 5.) POLYSEMY
Examples:
This category of lexis has to deal Bear
with words which can be used to
express different meanings. Such Meanings:
difference may be subtle or obvious. A large furry
animal.

6.) DICTION
This is simpler than the writer's style of
effective communication. There are words
appropriate for certain contexts to generate Slang words and colloquial
the right response. It is the writer's job to
masterfully select the kind of words that words also are good
would induce the aim he wishes to see. So, examples.
there are certain words that are information
that can not be deployed in informal
situations and vice-versa.
7.) COLLOCATIONS
Collocations are combinations of words in a
sentence. In other words, a collocation is a
relationship between a pair (or a small group) of
words.

There are several types of

collocations
 1.) Verb + Noun Types of Collocations
In this type, a specific verb is
often used with a specific
noun.
2.) Adjective + Noun
For example:
Some adjectives are
“brush your teeth” commonly used with
“take a shower.” certain nouns. For
Example:
“strong coffee”
“heavy rain.”
 3.) Noun + Noun 5.) Verb + Adverb
Types of
Sometimes, two nouns are Here, a verb is commonly
often used together. Collocations used with a specific adverb.
Example: Example:
“bread and butter” “speak softly”
“salt and pepper.” “run quickly.”
4.) Adverb + Adjective
In this type, an adverb is used
to describe an adjective. For
Example:
“completely true”
“highly effective.”
In linguistics, the lexical structure of a language is a crucial part of its overall system. It's the
framework that organizes the words or vocabulary of a language. This structure is not just
about a list of words, but also about understanding how these words are formed and used,
and how they interact with each other.

1. Morphemes
The most basic unit of lexical structure 2. Words
is the morpheme, which is the smallest Morphemes combine to form
meaningful unit in a language. For words. Some words consist of
example, in the word "unhappiness", a single morpheme (like "cat"
there are three morphemes: "un-"
or "run"), while others can have
(meaning not), "happy" (meaning joy),
and "-ness" (which turns an adjective
two or more (like
into a noun). "unhappiness" or "running").
 3. Word Formation
4. Word Classes
There are rules in every language about Words are categorized into classes, or parts of
how words can be formed. This can speech, based on their function in a sentence.
involve adding prefixes or suffixes, For example, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs,
combining words, or changing the word etc. Each of these classes has its own rules and
in some way. roles in the lexical structure.

5. Word Meaning 6. Word Relationships

The lexical structure also involves Finally, the lexical structure includes
understanding the meanings of words, both in understanding the relationships
isolation and in context. This includes between words. This can involve
understanding connotations, denotations, and understanding synonyms, antonyms,
how meaning can change based on context.
homonyms, and more.
In summary, the lexical structure is like the DNA of a
language, defining how words are formed, how they
function, and how they relate to each other.
Understanding this structure is key to mastering a
language.
 EXAMPLES OF LEXICAL STRUCTURE:

EXAMPLES OF LEXICAL STRUCTURES

3. "The beautiful red rose smelled

sweet." - This sentence has a subject
"The quick brown fox jumps over ("the beautiful red rose"), a verb
the lazy dog." - In this sentence, the ("smelled"), and an adjective ("sweet")
lexical structure follows a subject- describing the noun "rose." The
verb-object pattern: "The quick adjective "red" is also part of the noun
brown fox" is the subject, "jumps" is 2. "She loves to sing and dance." - phrase "beautiful red rose."
the verb, and "over the lazy dog" is Here, the lexical structure is simple,
with two independent clauses
the object.
connected by a coordinating
conjunction ("and"). Each clause has a
subject ("she" and "to sing and
dance"), a verb ("loves" and "loves"),
and an object ("to sing" and "dance").
EXAMPLES OF LEXICAL STRUCTURE:

EXAMPLES OF LEXICAL STRUCTURES

5. "Would you like to go to the

movies tonight?" - This
sentence has an interrogative
4. "He gave her a beautiful diamond sentence structure, with the
ring." - The lexical structure in this verb "like" functioning as a
sentence follows a typical subject- linking verb to connect the
verb-object pattern, with "he" as the subject "you" to the adverbial
subject, "gave" as the verb, and "her" phrase "to go to the movies
as the object. The noun phrase "a tonight."
beautiful diamond ring" functions as
the direct object.
Lexical structure is not only about the formation and organization of words, but it also plays a key
role in how we use and understand.

1. Lexical Categories: Also known as parts of speech, lexical categories classify words based on
their roles in sentences. The most common categories include nouns, verbs, adjectives, and
adverbs, but many languages have additional categories. Each category has its own rules for
formation and usage.

2. Lexical Semantics: This is the study of how we assign meanings to words. Lexical semantics
looks at the relationships between words, their internal structure, and how their meanings can
change in different contexts. This branch of linguistics helps us understand why a word means what
it does and how its meaning can change over time.

3. Lexical Relations: Words in a language don't exist in isolation; they have relationships with other
words. These relationships can be based on similarity (synonyms), oppositeness (antonyms), part-
whole relationships (meronyms), and more. Understanding these relationships is crucial for
understanding the richness and complexity of a language's vocabulary.
4. Lexical Change and Evolution: Languages are constantly evolving, and this is reflected in their
lexical structure. New words are created, old words fall out of use, and existing words can change
their meanings. This process of lexical change is influenced by many factors, including social,
cultural, and technological changes.

5. Lexical Gaps: These are potential words that aren't used in a language. For example, in English,
we have the word "unhappy," but there's no equivalent word for "unsad." These gaps can tell us a
lot about the priorities and perspectives of a language's speakers.
In conclusion, lexical structure is a rich and complex aspect
of language that encompasses not just the rules for forming
words, but also how we use and understand these words.
It's a fascinating area of study that offers insights into the
workings of language and the human mind.
for listening!