Content (Syllabus outline)

Lexical meaning

• Lexeme as a linguistic sign;
• The structural model of lexical meaning;
• Categorical meaning (meaning as a syntactic function; categorical semantic features of sentence elements; categorical meaning of derivatives);
• Denotative meaning (system-based and textual lexical meaning of the denotatum; internal structure of the denotative meaning in structural linguistics);
• Communicative-pragmatic meaning;
• Connotative meaning;
• Lexical meaning in terminology and phraseology.

Intra-lexical semantic relations

• Typology of intra- and interlexical semantic relations;
• Lexicalised metonymy as sintagmatically based possibility of semantic extension;
• Lexicalised metaphor as paradigmatically based possibility of semantic extension;
• Lexicalised metaphor as a means of variety of expression.

Inter-lexical semantic relations

• Synonyms;
• Antonyms;
• Hyperonyms, hyponyms.

Phraseology and lexicography

• Theory of lexicography
• Dictionary: a formalised reflection of linguistic reality;
• Traditional lexicography;
• Corpus-based lexicography;
• The role of semantics in lexicographical theory;
• The Slovene lexicographical school;
• Dictionary typology.

Applied lexicography

• Work stages in dictionary compilation;
• Dictionary concept as the key controller of the relationship between language use and dictionary representation;
• Sources of language material (language corpora and other collections of textual data);
• Language material analysis as the prerequisite for semantic analysis;
• Semantic analysis of individual lexemes (focusing largely on the grammatical characteristics) as the objective foundation of a dictionary entry;
• Dictionary segmentation (in book and/or electronic form) in the function of a formalised multidimensional representation of linguistic reality;
• Contemporary Slovene lexicography.

Seminar classes

Seminar classes encourage the student to measure the theoretical knowledge gained in lectures against indirectly observed contemporary language material. The specific thematic fields (supplied by specific compilations of reference works) are adapted to suit each individual student’s interests. Each student presents his/her own research from the point of view of their individual research interest. The role of other participants is to provide constructive comments on the presentation from the point of view of their own understanding of the presented topic, based on the knowledge acquired in lectures.

Cross-curricular integration

Basic knowledge of research in linguistics is prerequisite for successful participation in lectures. The course is tightly integrated into the programme and connected with a number of other courses offered by the Primerjalni študij idej in kultur (Comparative studies of ideas and cultures), especially those that place particular emphasis on the development of the theoretical apparatus in the approach to the study of the relevant subject.

Readings

The following list contains a selection of relevant linguistic works which will enable the student to focus on the specific problem of the connection between grammar, semantics and lexicology. A general selection of fundamental theoretical works is supplemented by the works of Slovene contributors to the field, which will be relevant for the study of the related problems from the point of view of Slovene in particular and offer an insight into the national opus of the relevant works. Additional readings for individual lectures, seminars and/or seminar papers will be supplied subsequently according to specific and individual needs.

• Apresjan, Jurij Derenikovič, 1974: Regular Polysemy. Linguistics 142, 5-32.
• Apresjan, Jurij Derenikovič, 1952: Leksičeskaja semantika. Moskva: Vostočnaja literatura RAN.
• Atkins, B. T. S., Rundell, M.: 2008: Oxford Guide to Practical Lexicography. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Gantar, Polona, 2008: (Slovenska) leksika med leksikonom in slovnico. Jezik in slovstvo 53/5. 19-35.
• Halliday, Michael Alexander Kirkwood, 1994: An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Arnold.
• Hanks, Patrick, 2004: The Syntagmatics of Metaphor and Idiom. International Journal of Lexicography 17/3, 245-274.
• Kozlevčar, Ivanka, 1968: O pomenskih kategorijah samostalnika v povedkovi rabi. Jezik in slovstvo 23/1. 11-16.
• Kozlevčar, Ivanka, 1970: O pridevniku v povedni rabi. Jezik in slovstvo 15/7-8. 210-215.
• Kozlevčar, Ivanka, 1974: Slovnično število in pomenske kategorije samostalnika. 10. seminar slovenskega jezika, literature in kulture. Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta. 31-39.
• Landau, S., 1984: Dictionaries: the Art and Craft of Lexicography. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
• Novak, France, 1975: Vloga skladnje pri določanju in dokazovanju pomenskih lastnosti besedja. XI. Seminar slovenskega jezika, literature in kulture. Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta. 37-48.
• Orešnik, Janez, 1972: Formalizacija semantičnih definicij najmanjših jezikovnih enot s pomenom. Problemi semantike, sintakse in obravnave tekstov. Ljubljana: Inštitut Jožef Štefan. 27-33.
• Orešnik, Janez, 1992: Udeleženske vloge v slovenščini. Ljubljana: SAZU.
• Snoj, Jerica, 2005: Kategorialne pomenske lastnosti in tipologiziranje slovarske večpomenskosti. Slovenski jezik – Slovene Linguistic Studies 5. 68-84.
• Snoj, Jerica, 2006: Metonimični pomeni: sintagmatski vidik. Slavistična revija 54. Posebna številka. 73-86.
• Snoj, Jerica, 2010: Metafora v leksikalnem sistemu. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC.
• Snoj, Jerica, 2011: Pomenske značilnosti antropomorfnega povedkovnika. Slovenski jezik – Slovene Linguistic Studies 8. 45-64.
• Taylor, John R., 2003 (1989): Linguistic Categorisation. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.
• Toporišič, Jože, 1982: Nova slovenska skladnja. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije.
• Toporišič, Jože, 2004: Slovenska slovnica. Maribor: Založba Obzorja.
• Vidovič Muha, Ada, 1978: Merila pomenske delitve nezaimenske pridevniške besede. Slavistična revija 26/3. 253-276.
• Vidovič Muha, 1986: Slovnične in pomenske lastnosti nekaterih količinskih izrazov. Slavistična revija 34/4. 403-417.
• Vidovič Muha, Ada, 1992: Slovnična obvestilnost Slovarja slovenskega knjižnega jezika. Zbornik Slavističnega društva Slovenije. 35-49.
• Vidovič Muha, Ada. 1996: Določnost kot besedilna prvina v slovničnem opisu slovenskega jezika. Kopitarjev zbornik. Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta. 115-130.
• Vidovič Muha, Ada, 2006: Kategorialnost leksemov med slovarjem in slovnico. Slavistična revija 54. Posebna številka. 23-42.
• Vidovič Muha, Ada, 2011: Slovensko skladenjsko besedotvorje. Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete.
• Vidovič Muha, Ada, 2013: Slovensko leksikalno pomenoslovje. Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete.
• Wierzbicka, Anna, 1988: The Semantics of Grammar. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
• Vodušek, Božo, 1961: O leksikografskem ugotavljanju in urejevanju besednih pomenov. Jezik in slovstvo 1961/62, str. 5-10.
• Žele, Andreja, 2001: Vezljivost v slovenskem jeziku (s poudarkom na glagolu). Ljubljana: Založba ZRC SAZU.

Objectives and competences

Within contemporary linguistic reality lexicology, lexicography and grammaticography, although in themselves autonomous linguistic disciplines, are in fact intertwined and complement each other. The recognition of this interrelationship is especially significant in any kind of description of the contemporary language which transcends the role of static academic description and provides linguistic data to suit the needs of applied linguistics in the broadest sense (corpus linguistics, language technologies etc). Based on the notion of language as a person’s communicative and expressive ability, the idea of the self-evident close association between a language’s grammar (set of structural rules) and its lexicon has always been popular in linguistics. More recent trends in linguistic research generally explicitly recognise this inseparable connection between grammar and lexicon, which is mirrored in the consistent interpretation of formal linguistic features in connection to semantic features and communicative needs. The course transcends the notion of the separation of grammar and lexicon, basing the approach on factual, textually based insight into grammatical and lexical features of the contemporary language. In the centre of attention is the category of lexical meaning. The latter is understood as a structured unit of denotative and categorical meaning and is a strong reminder of how semantic realisations in any given text necessarily involve both grammatical features as well as the denotative meaning. The categorical meaning, described as an accumulation of categorical semantic features, enables conceptual understanding of what capacitates the lexical unit, being essentially a unity of formal and semantic features, to be realised as a component of a given message. Together with the connotative meaning (cultural/emotional association) and pragmatic meaning (communication contexts) such structuring of the lexical meaning enables a methodologically unified analysis of the lexical linguistic unit, which is at the same time applicable to lexicography: the typology of semantic extension algorythms (metaphor, metonymy) and the corresponding intralexical semantic relations, description of interlexical semantic relations (synonymy, antonymy, hyperonymy, hyponymy), description of the individuality of phraseological lexical units and terminological units. The appreciation of the fact that lexical meaning is a unity of grammatical and denotative features should be recognised as fundamental in linguistic research, while it at the same time stands at the very core of lexicography, be it theoretical or applied, and is a useful insight in the research-based approach to studies in humanities.

Intended learning outcomes

• Well-rounded apprehension of language as a system is prerequisite for any sort of linguistic activity, be it research-based or applied (translation, proof-reading, language learning and language teaching etc.);
• Clear conception of the existence of lexical meaning and its textual realisation, applicable to experimental analysis of corpora and to applied lexicography;
• Fundamental capacity for further training in lexicography.

Assessment

Long written assignments (80 %), Final examination (written/oral) (20 %).