QUESTIONS FOR REVISION

Lexicology
1. What are the main features of “a word”?

1. **Semantic Meaning**: Words carry specific meanings that convey concepts, objects, actions, or ideas.

2. **Phonetic Representation**: Words are composed of sounds or phonemes that are pronounced in a particular
way.

3. **Orthographic Representation**: Words are typically represented in written form using letters or characters.

4. **Grammatical Function**: Words serve various grammatical functions in sentences, such as nouns, verbs,
adjectives, adverbs, etc.

5. **Contextual Usage**: The meaning and function of a word can vary depending on the context in which it is
used.

6. **Lexical Category**: Words belong to specific lexical categories, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs,
pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections.

7. **Morphological Structure**: Words can be composed of smaller units called morphemes, which carry
grammatical information or meaning.

8. **Etymology**: Words often have historical roots and can be traced back to their origins in various languages.

9. **Pragmatic Use**: Words are used pragmatically to achieve communicative goals and convey intentions
effectively in social interactions.

10. **Variability**: Words can have multiple forms (inflections) to indicate tense, number, gender, etc., and may
undergo changes in different linguistic contexts.
2. What is a morpheme? What types of morphemes are there?

A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of language. It cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts
without losing its sense. There are two main types of morphemes:
1. **Free Morphemes**: These are morphemes that can stand alone as words and carry meaning on their own. For
example, in the word "book," "book" is a free morpheme because it can stand alone and convey meaning.
2. **Bound Morphemes**: These are morphemes that cannot stand alone as words and must be attached to other
morphemes to convey meaning. Bound morphemes include prefixes, suffixes, and infixes. For example, in the
word "unhappiness," "un-" is a bound morpheme because it cannot stand alone and changes the meaning of the
word when attached to "happiness." Similarly, "-ness" is also a bound morpheme, as it changes the word's meaning
when attached to "happy."
3. How many types of words are there? What are they? Define them and give some examples for each type.

There are several types of words in language. Some of the main types include:

1. **Nouns**: Nouns are words that represent people, places, things, or ideas. Examples include "cat," "Paris,"
"apple," and "love."

2. **Verbs**: Verbs are words that express actions, states, or occurrences. Examples include "run," "eat," "sleep,"
and "think."

3. **Adjectives**: Adjectives are words that modify or describe nouns or pronouns by providing more information
about their qualities or characteristics. Examples include "beautiful," "tall," "happy," and "blue."

4. **Adverbs**: Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs by providing information about
time, place, manner, degree, etc. Examples include "quickly," "carefully," "very," and "often."

5. **Pronouns**: Pronouns are words used in place of nouns to avoid repetition or to refer to someone or
something mentioned earlier. Examples include "he," "she," "it," "they," and "this."

6. **Prepositions**: Prepositions are words that show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words
in a sentence. Examples include "in," "on," "under," "over," and "between."
7. **Conjunctions**: Conjunctions are words used to connect clauses, phrases, or words. Examples include "and,"
"but," "or," "because," and "although."

8. **Interjections**: Interjections are words used to express emotions, feelings, or reactions. Examples include
"wow," "ouch," "oh," and "yay."

These are the main types of words in language, each serving different functions in communication.

4. Can you list the types of word formation you’ve learned and provide some examples of each type?

Certainly! There are several types of word formation processes, including:

1. **Derivation**: Creating new words by adding affixes (prefixes or suffixes) to existing words. Examples
include:

- Happy + ness = Happiness

- Friend + ly = Friendly

- Nation + al = National

2. **Compounding**: Forming new words by combining two or more existing words. Examples include:

- Black + board = Blackboard

- Tooth + brush = Toothbrush

- Fire + man = Fireman

3. **Conversion**: Changing the grammatical category of a word without adding any affixes. Examples include:

- Noun to verb: Email (noun) -> Email (verb)

- Adjective to noun: Green (adjective) -> Green (noun)

- Verb to noun: Run (verb) -> Run (noun)

4. **Blending**: Creating new words by merging parts of two existing words. Examples include:

- Breakfast + lunch = Brunch

- Smoke + fog = Smog

- Motor + hotel = Motel

5. **Back-formation**: Creating a new word by removing a morpheme perceived as a suffix or prefix from an
existing word. Examples include:

- Editor -> Edit

- Donation -> Donate

- Televise -> Televising

6. **Acronyms and Initialisms**: Forming words from the initial letters or parts of other words. Examples include:

- NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

- UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)

- ASAP (As Soon As Possible)

These are some of the main types of word formation processes, each contributing to the richness and diversity of
vocabulary in language.

5. Give the definitions and examples of lexical meaning and grammatical meaning?

Certainly! Here are the definitions and examples of lexical meaning and grammatical meaning:

1. **Lexical Meaning**: Lexical meaning refers to the inherent, dictionary definition or semantic content of a
word. It represents the concept or idea that a word represents. Examples include:

- "Dog": Lexical meaning refers to the concept of a domesticated carnivorous mammal.

 - "Book": Lexical meaning refers to a written or printed work consisting of pages bound together.

2. **Grammatical Meaning**: Grammatical meaning refers to the function or role that a word plays within a
sentence or phrase, including its grammatical category (noun, verb, adjective, etc.) and its syntactic relationships
with other words. Examples include:

- In the sentence "The cat is sleeping," the word "cat" functions as a noun, representing a specific animal.

- In the sentence "She is reading a book," the word "reading" functions as a verb, indicating an action being
performed.

Lexical meaning focuses on the semantic content of words, while grammatical meaning pertains to their structural
and functional roles within language.

6. What are the components of lexical meaning? Give one example for each component.

The components of lexical meaning include:

1. **Denotation**: This refers to the basic, literal meaning of a word, often found in dictionaries. For example, the
denotation of the word "apple" is a round fruit with a stem and seeds inside.

2. **Connotation**: This refers to the emotional, cultural, or social associations and implications that a word
carries, beyond its literal meaning. For example, the word "home" may connote feelings of warmth, comfort, and
security.

3. **Collocation**: This refers to the typical combinations of words that occur together and the associations they
form. For example, the word "strong" often collocates with "coffee" to form the phrase "strong coffee."

4. **Register**: This refers to the level of formality or informality, as well as the specific domain or context in
which a word is typically used. For example, the word "automobile" is more formal than "car" and might be used
in technical or academic contexts.

These components work together to give depth and nuance to the meaning of words in language.
7. How many types of motivation of words are there? Can you provide the definitions and examples of each type?

There are generally two types of motivation for words: lexical motivation and grammatical motivation.

1. **Lexical Motivation**: This occurs when a word's form is influenced by its meaning. There are two subtypes:

- **Iconic Motivation**: The form of the word resembles its meaning. Example: "murmur" imitates the sound it
represents.

- **Phono-semantic Matching**: The sound of a word is related to its meaning. Example: "buzz" sounds like the
noise made by bees.

2. **Grammatical Motivation**: This is related. There are two subtypes:

- **Syntactic Motivation**: The form of a word indicates its syntactic role in a sentence. Example: Verb endings
like "-ed" for past tense in English.

- **Morphological Motivation to the grammatical category or function of a word**: The structure of a word
reflects its grammatical function. Example: Noun-verb pairs like "actor" and "act."

These types of motivation contribute to the rich and varied ways in which language conveys meaning and structure.

8. How many types of linguistic contexts are there? Can you provide the definitions and examples of each type?

There are three main types of linguistic contexts:

1. **Syntactic Context**: This refers to the grammatical structure of a sentence and the arrangement of words
within it. It helps determine the meaning of individual words or phrases based on their relationship to other
elements in the sentence. For example:

- "John hit the ball." (Subject-Verb-Object)

- "The ball was hit by John." (Passive voice)

2. **Semantic Context**: This refers to the meaning of words or phrases within a given text or conversation. It
involves understanding the overall message or theme conveyed by the language used. For example:
 - In the sentence "She found a bear in her backyard," the word "bear" refers to the animal, not a large hairy man.

3. **Pragmatic Context**: This refers to the social and situational factors that influence the interpretation of
language, including the speaker's intentions, the listener's expectations, and the context in which the
communication takes place. For example:

- The meaning of "Can you open the window?" may vary depending on whether it's cold outside or if there's a bad
smell in the room.

These linguistic contexts work together to provide a comprehensive understanding of language and
communication.

9. Give the definition of synonyms? Can you name the types of synonyms?

Synonyms are words that have similar meanings or convey the same idea or concept, although they may differ in
nuances, connotations, or usage. They are words that can be substituted for each other in a given context without
significantly changing the meaning of the sentence.

The types of synonyms include:

1. **Absolute synonyms**: Words that have identical meanings and can be used interchangeably in all contexts
without any change in meaning. Example: "happy" and "joyful."

2. **Relative synonyms**: Words that share similar meanings but may differ in usage, connotation, or register.
Example: "big" and "large."

3. **Gradable synonyms**: Words that are similar in meaning but differ in intensity or degree. Example: "hot" and
"warm."

4. **Near synonyms**: Words that are closely related in meaning but may have subtle differences. Example:
"begin" and "commence."

5. **Exact synonyms**: Words that are identical in meaning in all contexts. Example: "synonym" and
"equivalent."
Understanding synonyms is essential for effective communication and writing, as they provide variety and richness
to language use.

10. What is metaphor? Can you analyse the types of similarity that can be the sources of metaphors?

A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, by stating that one thing is
another. It suggests a resemblance or analogy between the two things without using the words "like" or "as."

The types of similarity that can be sources of metaphors include:

1. **Visual Similarity**: Metaphors based on visual resemblance draw comparisons between objects or concepts
that share visual characteristics. Example: "Her eyes were sparkling diamonds."

2. **Functional Similarity**: Metaphors based on functional similarity compare two things based on their
functions or roles. Example: "He is the backbone of the team."

3. **Conceptual Similarity**: Metaphors based on conceptual similarity link two concepts or ideas that share
underlying characteristics or traits. Example: "Time is a thief."

4. **Emotional Similarity**: Metaphors based on emotional similarity connect two things based on the emotions
they evoke or their emotional significance. Example: "Her smile was a ray of sunshine."

5. **Causal Similarity**: Metaphors based on causal similarity draw comparisons between two things based on
cause-and-effect relationships. Example: "His words were seeds of doubt."

These types of similarity serve as the foundation for creating vivid and imaginative metaphors, enriching language
and enabling writers and speakers to convey complex ideas and emotions in a concise and impactful manner.

11. What is metonymy? What types of metonymy are there?

Metonymy is a figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely
associated. This substitution is based on a conceptual or associative relationship between the two terms, rather than
a direct similarity.

The types of metonymy include:

1. **Entity Metonymy**: This occurs when a part or attribute of something is used to refer to the whole. Example:
"The White House issued a statement." (referring to the President or the government)

2. **Instrument Metonymy**: This involves using an instrument or tool to refer to the action or process it
performs. Example: "The pen is mightier than the sword." (referring to writing and warfare, respectively)

3. **Location Metonymy**: This occurs when a place or location is used to represent an associated concept or
institution. Example: "Wall Street reacted to the news." (referring to the financial markets)

4. **Producer Metonymy**: This involves using the creator or producer of something to refer to the thing itself.
Example: "Hollywood dominated the box office." (referring to the film industry)

5. **Effect Metonymy**: This occurs when the effect or result of an action is used to represent the action itself.
Example: "The crown announced new tax measures." (referring to the government)

These types of metonymy help to convey complex ideas or evoke specific associations in a concise and effective
manner, enhancing the richness and expressiveness of language.

12. What is the definition of homonyms? How are they classified?

Homonyms are words that have the same spelling or pronunciation but different meanings. They are classified into
two main categories:

1. **Homophones**: These are words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings and often different
spellings. Examples include:

- "bare" (without covering) and "bear" (the animal)

- "two," "to," and "too"

2. **Homographs**: These are words that have the same spelling but different meanings, and they may or may not
have the same pronunciation. Examples include:

- "lead" (to guide) and "lead" (a metallic element)

 - "tear" (to rip) and "tear" (a drop of saline fluid from the eye)

Understanding homonyms is crucial for accurate language comprehension and effective communication, as
misinterpretations can occur if the context is not considered.

13. What are proverbs and idioms? How are they different?

Proverbs and idioms are both forms of figurative language, but they serve different purposes and have distinct
characteristics:

1. **Proverbs**: These are short, traditional sayings that offer advice or express a general truth. Proverbs are often
rooted in cultural or societal wisdom and are meant to convey practical insights. Examples include "Don't count
your chickens before they hatch" and "Actions speak louder than words."

2. **Idioms**: Idioms are expressions that have a figurative meaning different from the literal interpretation of the
words. They often involve culturally specific phrases and may not make literal sense when translated. Idioms add
color and nuance to language. Examples include "kick the bucket" (to die) and "break a leg" (good luck).

In summary, proverbs provide general wisdom or advice, while idioms use figurative language to convey meanings
beyond the literal interpretation of words. Both contribute to the richness and expressiveness of a language.

14. What are quotations and cliché’s? Give one example for each.

1. 3-2 5. 12-5 9. 13-4 13. 5-10 17. 6-7

2. 7-3 6. 2-12 10. 5-13 14. 4-5 18. 3-11

3. 3-10 7. 12-7 11. 13-7 15. 10-4 19. 12-13

4. 11-3 8. 6-12 12. 6-13 16. 4-7 20. 6-10

2: 2
3: 5
4: 4
5: 4
6: 4
7: 5
10: 4
11: 2
12: 5
13: 5