THE LEXICAL INVARIANT OF AN ENGLISH WORD ‘TREE’ IN DIACHRONIC ASPECT

THE LEXICAL INVARIANT OF AN ENGLISH WORD ‘TREE’ IN DIACHRONIC ASPECT

Author:  Latushkina, O.L. & Karamyshev, E.A.

Affiliation:  Magnitogorsk state technical university named after G.I. Nosov

Abstract:  The article deals with the problem of a polysemantic word invariant which is a sort of connection among all the lexico-semantic variants. It exists at a language level and doesn’t let the meanings of the word disintegrate into homonyms.
The purpose of this article is to review the analysis of a semantic structure of the polysemantic word ‘tree’ from a diachronic point of view and determine its invariants in Old English and modern periods. This approach allows a deeper understanding of the development of polysemantic words, reveals profound inner coherence between the meanings and explains certain facts that do not fit into the general framework of modern semantic words.
This method is based on a detailed analysis of every single meaning in order to determine its semantic components, which ultimately form an abstract construct, binding meanings in the mental lexicon of a person. In a diachronic aspect a lot depends on how much information the word stores up. The authors have concluded that the original word has wide semantics, which splits into more specific meanings.
The analysis has also a practical significance; it can be carried out in learning a foreign language.

Keywords:  lexical invariant, polysemantic, cognitive analysis, etymon, a prototypical approach, lexico-semantic variant

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Pages:  133-137