Abstract
The research looks into the phenomenon of analogy as a key cognitive-linguistic mechanism that provides the systematic quality of the creative functioning of linguistic units. Specifically, the study examines analogy-based English metaphorical neologisms. Apart from sampling, semantic and conceptual analyses, the research also applies methods and techniques proposed by corpus linguistics and construction grammar. The work proceeds from the assumption that, while creating novel expressions by analogy with a conventional one, the speaker relies on a relative similarity of two concepts, which makes it possible to represent one of them through the other by modifying and adjusting the latter in accordance with the speaker’s intent. At the linguistic level, this kind of modification is reflected in the variation of the lexical components of the linguistic prototype used by the speaker as a model for forming new units. However, a corpus-based study into the functioning of the selected units shows that the construction of the prototype normally remains intact throughout the whole range of lexical change the initial expression undergoes. The constancy of the prototype’s construction and clear algorithm-like patterns involved in creating analogical units account for the fact that new coinages are easily recognized and their meaning adequately deciphered.
Highlights
The work sums up the results of a research into the particulars of coining new lexical units by analogy in Modern English
A massive survey of various lexicographic sources has substantiated the assumption that the predominant number of English lexical innovations result from a secondary nomination, i.e. the new units have been derived from conventional ones – largely by analogy or via metaphorization; some cases display a combination of both mechanisms of derivation
The analysis of massive empirical data provided by various lexicographical sources and corpora reveals an obviously regimented and systematic quality of lexical innovations in modern English
Summary
The work sums up the results of a research into the particulars of coining new lexical units by analogy in Modern English. The research aims to examine the mechanism of analogy involved in creating novel metaphorical expressions that accounts for their systematicity and transparency. The problem discussed seems to belong to a well-elabourated area of linguistic studies, the present research brings into focus some aspects that are fairly little covered in literature
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