Lexical-semantic System Research Articles

A Simple Computational Model of Semantic Priming in 18-Month-Olds.

We propose a simple computational model that describes potential mechanisms underlying the organization and development of the lexical-semantic system in 18-month-old infants. We focus on two independent aspects: (i) on potential mechanisms underlying the development of taxonomic and associative priming, and (ii) on potential mechanisms underlying the effect of Inter Stimulus Interval on these priming effects. Our model explains taxonomic priming between words by semantic feature overlap, whereas associative priming between words is explained by Hebbian links between semantic representations derived from co-occurrence relations between words (or their referents). From a developmental perspective, any delay in the emergence of taxonomic priming compared to associative priming during infancy seems paradoxical since feature overlap per se need not be learned. We address this paradox in the model by showing that feature overlap itself is an emergent process. The model successfully replicates infant data related to Inter Stimulus Interval effects in priming experiments and makes testablepredictions.

“Language of Values” in Domestic Internet Media: Cognitive-and-Discursive Aspect

The article discusses the problem of detecting and interpreting the value components of Russian words in the Internet media discourse, which do not have an explicit language expression. The method of cognitive-and-discursive analysis of corpus data is applied. It is based on the research technique of identifying semantic auras (semantic prosody) of the word studied in its immediate contextual environment in texts. The material under study is comprised of contexts extracted from the newspaper corpus as part of the Russian National Corpus. The relative adjective progressivnyj (progressive, advanced), which does not have any evaluativeness in the lexical-semantic system of the Russian language, in its discursive realization demonstrates an implicit positive or negative evaluation, induced in the context, regularly arises. The author came to the conclusion that positive evaluation associated with the semantic components “promoting progress, advanced” and “imbued with advanced ideas, sentiments” is most often realized. However, in a number of uses, the immediate or further contextual environment contributes to implication and negative evaluation, which is caused by ideas about “excessive” progressiveness, i.e. exceeding the norm, from the speaker’s point of view, and that progress also concerns the negative aspects of social or cultural life.

Comparing child word associations to adult associative norms: Evidence for child-specific associations with a strong priming effect in 3-year-olds

Investigating how infants first establish relationships between words is a necessary step towards understanding how an interconnected network of semantic relationships develops in the adult lexical-semantic system. Stimuli selection for these child studies is critical since words must be both familiar and highly imageable. However, there has been a reliance on adult word association norms to inform stimuli selection in English infant studies to date, as no resource currently exists for child-specific word associations. We present three experiments that explore the strength of word–word relationships in 3-year-olds. Experiment 1 collected children’s word associations (WA) (N = 150; female = 84, L1 = British English) and compared them to adult associative norms (Moss & Older, 1996; Nelson et al., 2004 (Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36(3), 402–407)). Experiment 2 replicated WAs from Experiment 1 in an online adaptation of the task (N = 24: 13 female, L1 = British English). Both experiments indicated a high proportion of child-specific WAs not represented in adult norms (Moss & Older, 1996; Nelson et al., 2004 (Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36(3), 402–407)). Experiment 3 tested noun–noun WAs from these responses in an online semantic priming study (N = 40: 19 female, L1 = British English) and found that association type modulated priming (F(2.57, 100.1) = 13.13, p <. 0001, generalized η2 = .19). This research presents a resource of child-specific imageable noun–noun word pair stimuli suitable for testing young children in word recognition and semantic priming studies.

Intersection of the lexical-semantic fields “Mentality” and “Physiology” in the poetic language of Igor-Severyanin

The intersection of two lexical-semantic fields “mentality” and “physiology” in the poetic texts of Igor-Severyanin is studied. The relevance of the research is determined by the fact that within the framework of modern anthropocentric approach and increased attention to the mental sphere lexical semantics is investigated, lexical-semantic fields, their intersections, semantic shifts are considered, actual problems of linguistic poetics are touched upon. The aim of the work is to explore the intersection of lexical-semantic fields “mentality” and “physiology” in the language of Severyanin's poems. The material includes lexemes of the mental sphere from Igor-Severyanin's poetic texts. While determining the usual meaning of these lexemes, the authors used the materials of “Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language” by S.I. Ozhegov. The methods of description, comparison, contrast, lexical-semantic and contextual analysis, and continuous sampling were applied; the lexical-semantic field - a generally accepted form of representing lexical units by their meaning - was used to structure the vocabulary. The intersections of the lexical-semantic fields “mentality” and “physiology” in Igor-Severyanin's texts, revealed in the research, are primarily due to the inseparable connection between the inner world of man and his bodily organs of sense. The language fixes stable expressions indicating the possibility of comprehending the human consciousness through analyzing the signals of his body. Words used to denote phenomena and processes related to the body, health, gestures, etc., are reinterpreted in poetic language and receive new semantics, which allows to refer these new lexical-semantic units to the lexical-semantic field of mentality. In Igor-Severyanin's poems the inner world of the lyrical subject dominates, which is reflected in the author's word usage. Even words and expressions with the semantics of physiology shift in their meanings, acquiring the semantics of mentality, at the same time thoughts and feelings are endowed with the author's positive evaluation. The prospects of the research are connected primarily with further study of the mental sphere in the Russian linguistic lexical-semantic system, its dynamics, as well as with the analysis of semantic shifts in the poetic language vocabulary.

Theoretical foundations of mutual semasiological research in modern linguistics

The recent growing interest in cognitive linguistics, scientific works, monographs and textbooks written in this field are evidence of this. Language levels and trends in their development, structural approach to languages, language and speech issues, functional approach to language units, etc. the problems have begun to be seriously investigated. One such issue is the study of modern cognitive linguistics and lexical-semantic systems. Language is subject to various influences in the process of development. These effects result in changes in different layers of language, including the lexical layer. This process leads to the obsolescence of word meanings in the lexicon, the emergence of new meanings, the expansion of meaning, the narrowing of meaning, the diversification of meaning, and so on. This leads to the fact that the connection between the lexical and semantic meanings of words is also affected; new lexical-semantic word groups appear. The article is rich in quotes from the works of many scholars.

SYSTEMICITY OF THE LEXICAL LAYER OF THE LANGUAGE

The article contains an overview of approaches to the study of the concept of «field» as a marker of the immanent systemic nature of language, to the typology of field formations. In modern linguistic studies, there is a distinct tendency to study vocabulary as a complete system, which is determined in the works of T. Kosmeda, H. Mezhzherina, L. Lysychenko, O. Selivanova, O. Malenko, V. Tarasova and other famous scientists. The main proof of the systemic nature of vocabulary is the creation of special microstructures, or semantic subsystems, organized on the basis of paradigmatic, syntagmatic and epidigmatic relations. With this in mind, researchers offer various options for combining vocabulary: lexical-semantic groups, semantic fields, thematic groups, thematic classes, etc. The projection of such a position onto the lexical layer of the language actualizes the concept of lexical-semantic fields, which are united by a content commonality and reflect the conceptual, substantive or functional closeness of the indicated phenomena. In the article, we focus our attention precisely on the concept of the lexical-semantic field, since it most vividly reflects the hierarchical structure of fragments of the lexical-semantic system and expresses the relationship of traditional language categories, preserving the natural systematicity of the language phenomenon.

THE SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT “FAMILY” IN KYRGYZ CULTURE

This scientific article is devoted to study and reveal semantic field of the concept family and family value” based on Kyrgyz culture. We have proved that the concept family is one of the most common not only in Kyrgyz literature but also in world classics, among them in English literature. The methods as linguacultural analysis method, semantic analysis method, and continuous sampling method (with dictionaries) were done in the research. The methods examined the origins of the semantics and semantic field, as well as the scientists who were engaged in its promotion, looked at the meanings of the lexical-semantic field presented in various sources, and finally studied its methods. The lexical-semantic system of language originates in antiquity, during the development of philosophical teachings. Linguacultural analyses include the differences and similarities from the ancient time and the modern life.

Muzhnyaa Zhena and Divo Divnoe: From the History of Pleonastic Combinations in Russian Language

The problematics of the article lies in the field of studying the linguistic phenomena of pleonasm and tautology in diachronic aspect. The unified interpretation of these notions is absent in the modern linguistic tradition. The study of linguistic redundancy is effective on the basis of the non-standardized lexical semantic system of the language of the pre-national period. The article deals with stable combinations that reveal semantic duplication in the semantic relations of their components in the Russian language of the 16th-17th centuries. In the texts of this period various types of pleonastic constructions can be distinguished: 1) tautological phraseological units consisting of single-root words; 2) proper pleonastic combinations with a semantically redundant component; 3) dissected-descriptive constructions that have a one-word synonym of the same root, including expressions with broad-valued nouns; 4) conditionally synonymous constructions, including homogeneous components that are close in meaning. The article describes the features of the structure, semantics, functioning of various pleonastic stable combinations, as well as their further fate in Russian language. Some, used with amplifying semantics as etiquette formulas, remained markers of the business language of the 16th-17th centuries, others are known in texts of different epochs, acting as a sign that the context belongs to the folklore or stylization, the third ones are actively used as phraseological units in modern language.

NOMINATIONS OF THE PARTS OF THE DAY IN THE ASPECT OF THE LEXICO-SEMANTIC AND ASSOCIATIVE FIELD «TIME» IN THE I. ROZDOBUDKO’ STORY «ARSEN»

In the paper we analyze the lexical-semantic group «parts of a day» and the structure of a similar associative field of temporality based on the material of I. Rozdobudko's story «Arsen». The importance of studying the language of the works of modern Ukrainian writers is to track the peculiarities of the development of the modern Ukrainian language, its forms and means of expression, especially considering that artistic texts for children and teenagers, like the analyzed novel, are the most vivid representatives of modern perception and reading of the language as a living system. The difference between the concepts of lexical-semantic group (LSG) and thematic group (TG) was clarified, which made it possible to more specifically analyze the semantics of the analyzed examples. The lexical-semantic group «Parts of the day» is conditionally divided into microfields «night», «morning», «day», «evening». Each of the analyzed microfields is expressed within the lexical-semantic and associative fields, which caused the need to distinguish the concepts of «lexical-semantic field» and «associative field». The research was conducted by collecting and analyzing linguistic material, as well as analyzing available scientific sources. The semantics of temporal nominations (time names) to denote parts of the day in the story «Arsen» is unambiguous and does not compare with the semantics of the life cycle, as in folk-poetic texts. That is, we are observing a new way of highlighting time semantics, the figurative expression of which only emphasizes the main meaning, without providing semantic connotations. In the semantic structure of the lexical-semantic field «time», we distinguish thematic groups of the vocabulary, which include words from different parts of the language to denote a common concept, and lexical-semantic groups that combine full-meaning words of the same part of the language. According to the structure of the lexical-semantic group «parts of the day», which is based on the day/day in the meaning of the day, we distinguish the following microfields: «night», «morning», «day», «evening» as its components. Each of the analyzed microfields is characterized by figurative semantics, aesthetics, and sensuality characteristic of artistic language, but devoid of sentimentalism, which is characteristic of modern artistic prose. The associative field is expressed by two signs: color and light, which prevails, and taste (related to the names of meals). The results of the study testify to the clear construction of the lexical-semantic system of the language, its division into groups and microfields according to the semantic principle, which makes it possible to trace intergroup and even interfield connections, since no language unit can exist separately from others. It was found that the intensity of light and color is the main semantic criterion by which the associative field «time» should be classified using the example of parts of the day. We see the prospects for further scientific research in the study of the concepts of the lexical-semantic and associative fields based on the material of the works of modern writers in order to fix and preserve the psycholinguistic aspect of language in the modern historical era.

Lexical-semantic system of the epics “Kitabi-Dade Gorgud”, “beowulf”, “the story of the Igor regiment”; and “song of the nibelungs”

Lexical-semantic system of the epics “Kitabi-Dade Gorgud”, “beowulf”, “the story of the Igor regiment”; and “song of the nibelungs”

The formation and development of the lexical-semantic system in Azerbaijani literary language of the 13th-16th centuries

The formation and development of the lexical-semantic system in Azerbaijani literary language of the 13th-16th centuries

СИСТЕМНО-СТРУКТУРНА ОРГАНІЗАЦІЯ МОВИ

The article examines the main questions about language: essence, nature, formation, structure, mutual connection of language and thinking, relation between language and speech. It is noted that in the process of speech, a person communicates with the help of language, as the most perfect means of communication, through which the world is known, that language is a mirror of national culture, therefore its national and cultural semantics is so important, which reflects the characteristic features of the nation, its folklore, personalities of everyday life, customs and history. It was determined that during the interaction of language and speech, a constant process of appearance and formation of phraseological units is formed, which diversify, enrich speech and are a key means of further knowledge of the language, as well as important in the development of its systematic and structural organization. It is noted that the lexical-semantic system is the most mobile among all language levels. The analysis of a significant amount of scientific material on the research problem made it possible to characterize the views of scientists who are trying to identify the relations between speech categories, language elements, as well as how the systematic and structural organization of the language provides it with reproducibility, stability, the ability for constant development and universalism. The universality of language enables a person to use it as a means of communication in all communication situations, including with other cultures. The universality of language directly enables both internal and intercultural communication. It was determined that language is much more complex than the systems offered by linguists and is the most complex multidimensional entity that is formed in the human mind as a result of acquiring social experience.

THE UNIVERSAL LEXICAL SYSTEM: ALGORITHMS OF FORMATION

The relevance of the article lies in the necessity of studying the Ukrainian language in the modern linguistic and historical space. The article is devoted to the concept of the universal lexical-semantic system (ULS) as a tool for learning languages, including Ukrainian. The object of study is the universal lexical-semantic system as a field of manifestation of linguistic universals. The subject of the research is the algorithm (technology) of formation of the universal lexical-semantic system of the Ukrainian language. The purpose of the article is to acquaint with the algorithm of formation of a universal lexical-semantic system on the example of the Ukrainian language. A universal algorithm of the lexical skills formation based on the relatively simultaneous operation of seven universal laws is presented. The manifestation of these laws in the language is described. The law of the unity and struggle of opposites is manifested through antonyms, based on the fact that our brain is arranged so that we better understand the essence of any concept, if we know its opposite. The law of the negation of the negation is manifested in the etymology of words, and is closely related to the susceptibility of our thinking to rely on the accumulated experience contained in memory. The law of causality is manifested through phraseology, based on the subconscious relationship of native speaker between letters, words and phrases. The law of the passage of quantitative changes into qualitative changes is a continuous alternation of active and passive phases, manifested in the language through the image or translation of a word. The law of freedom of choice in the study of the language is manifested through the determination of synonymous words. The main part of the article is devoted to the theoretical substantiation of ULS in the Ukrainian language. The article presents a model of systemic conditionality of ULS. Specific examples are given. The fundamental difference of the presented method of lexical skills formation from the others existing in didactics is substantiated. The scope and target audience of the presented methodology are determined.

Cross-language Generalization in Bilingual Aphasia: Influence of Manner of Second Language Acquisition

ABSTRACT Background Language treatment for bilinguals with aphasia has been shown to result in gains in both the treated language and the untreated language (i.e., cross-language generalization). However, cross-language generalization is not consistently found. This inconsistency may be due to several factors, such as the age of acquisition of, and proficiency in, each language. One often-overlooked factor that may influence whether cross-language generalization occurs is the manner in which bilinguals learned their second language (L2): in a formal educational context (explicitly) or naturalistically through exposure to the language (implicitly). Prior research suggests that implicit L2 learning results in greater overlap in the representation of the first language (L1) and L2 in the brain, particularly for grammar, compared to explicit learning. In contrast, lexical processing in L1 and L2 is proposed to rely more on shared brain regions regardless of the manner of L2 acquisition. Greater overlap should provide a greater likelihood of cross-language generalization effects from treatment. Aims The goal of this study was to determine how the manner of acquisition of L2 may affect cross-language generalization following treatment in L2 separately targeting the lexicon (object naming) and grammar (sentence construction). Methods & Procedures Two Spanish-English bilinguals with aphasia each completed two treatment phases in English of 2-4 weeks each, in succession, with one week between them: semantic feature analysis (SFA) targeting object naming, and Verb Network Strengthening Treatment (VNeST) targeting verb retrieval and sentence construction. Pre- and post-treatment assessments and weekly probes were completed for each phase. Participant P1 learned English explicitly in an educational setting, while participant P2 learned English implicitly. Outcomes & Results As predicted, P2 showed cross-language generalization after verb/grammar treatment (VNeST) whereas P1 did not. However, contrary to the prediction that both participants should show cross-language generalization after noun treatment (SFA), only P1 showed cross-language generalization of object naming. Conclusions Cross-language generalization was observed for both participants but for different aspects of language. The findings suggest that naturalistic second language learning may lead to stronger links between languages in the grammatical system, whereas formal second language learning may lead to stronger links between languages in the lexical-semantic system. Future research should further explore the effects of manner of acquisition as a predictor of language co-activation and cross-language treatment generalization in bilinguals with aphasia.

Проблемы языковой вариативности (на материале французского языка Швейцарии)

The aim of the study is to determine the features of the lexical variability in the French language, which functions in Switzerland adjacent to the metropolis. The article reveals the features of its lexical-semantic system, gives a description of the lexicographic editions of French Switzerland, which served as reference material for the analysis of vocabulary. Theoretical and methodological aspects of studying the regional forms of the language are considered. The scientific novelty of the study lies in a comprehensive analysis of scientific sources of regional vocabulary and in substantiating the problem of linguistic differentiation in disunited territories. As a result, it is proved that regional languages as components of the French language state are a complex historical category and an intermediate link between the literary language and disappearing dialects.

Developmental changes in phonological and semantic priming effects in Spanish-speaking toddlers.

Research on the early lexical-semantic system has described how toddlers organize word representations based on semantic and phonological features. This study is a longitudinal investigation of the development of this organization during infancy. Middle-high socioeconomic status Mexican toddlers (n = 28, 15 female) were presented with a preferential looking task using an eye-tracker at 18, 21, and 24 months of age, manipulating semantic and phonological lexical links. The experimental task consisted of presenting an auditory label, which was phonologically or semantically related or unrelated, with a displayed target image. Mean proportion of target looking, time-course of fixations, pupillometry, and vocabulary network analysis were used to describe the properties of priming effects. The results showed that phonological priming developed earlier than semantic priming, and that they were produced by behavioral interference. In addition, pupil dilation showed differential use of cognitive effort in critical developmental periods. Finally, the density of vocabulary networks correlated with semantic effects, and vocabulary size and local network features with phonological effects. These findings extend our understanding of the development of the lexical-semantic system during infancy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

On Different Aspects of Stylistic Neologisms

The article deals with the lexical-semantic aspects of stylistic neologisms. The study provides stylistic neologisms’ phonetic, lexical, morphological and syntactic levels. Within the framework of the study, stylistic neologisms are considered a lexical category that has a certain status in the lexical-semantic system of the language. The importance of studying occasional neologisms based on the latest trends in modern linguistics is noted. At the same time, giving an overview of scientific concepts and views of individual linguists on the problem of stylistic neologisms in the article, the author expresses his subjective attitude towards them. The designation of stylistic neologisms by different terms is especially noted. The paper comprehensively analyzes the characteristic features of stylistic neologisms as units of language and speech and determines their formation’s theoretical and methodological aspects.

К проблемам формирования активного лексического фонда современного русского литературного языка на основе диалектных средств национального языка

We consider the problem of development an active lexical fund of the modern Russian literary language, an important source of which is considered to be folk patois. We describe the trends that determine the qualitative and quantitative changes in the vocabulary of the Russian literary language, affecting the nature of the lexical-semantic system of the national language. The synchronous-diachronic approach to the analysis of specific lexical units, for example, the words girl and grandfather, which are high-frequency and relevant for the modern Russian literary language, makes it possible to clarify the direction of semantic and stylistic transformations of lexemes, which contributes to clarifying their genesis and ways of penetration into the standard codified language. Northern Russian patois, including Kostroma patois, are considered as one of the linguistic phenomena that influenced the formation of a standardized literary language. In this context, special attention is paid to the works of writers of the late 18th – mid-19th century (A.O. Ablesimov, A.N. Ostrovsky, N.A. Nekrasov, etc.), associated with the Kostroma Region, and their works are analyzed in as significant sources for studying the regional word, as well as the history of its entry into the literary language. Part of the dialect vocabulary that appears in the author’s texts is currently fully adapted to the literary language, the other part, distinguished by a special colloquial affectation or structural-semantic and functional-textual properties, still occupies a border position between the center of the national language and its periphery. We analyze the commonly used lexemes of the modern Russian literary language in the totality of their structural-semantic and functional-stylistic properties that appeared in it due to the regrouping processes that took place in various areas of the national Russian language in a historical perspective from the 17th century to the 21st century.

Borrowing from the Polish language in Bukovynian dialects (on the material of the dialect of the village of Yuzhynets, Kitsman district, Chernivtsi region)

The article analyzes borrowings from the Polish language in Bukovynian dialects (based on the dialect of Yuzhynets village, Kitsman district, Chernivtsi region), the vocabulary of which preserves the nation’s original worldview, relics of spiritual culture, understanding of ethical norms, relations with other peoples, reproduces socio-political changes in the society. Analysis of the vocabulary of dialects allowed us to draw conclusions about the main trends in the lexical system of language. Based on the Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language, the Dictionary of Bukovinian Dialects and the Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language, the origin of dialectisms- Polonisms is clarified and the way of their semantic and structural development is determined. The urgency of the research is caused by the need to study the spoken language, in particular the vocabulary of Bukovinian dialects which allows to touch the sources of national memory, to comprehend the historical path of Bukovinian people. Yuzhynets village, Kitsman district, Chernivtsi region singled out several groups of Polish dialects in the lexical system of speech: 1) words borrowed from the Polish language with the same meaning, among them names adapted to the lexical-semantic system of dialects (there were semantic shifts in the meanings of dialectisms-Polonisms); 2) borrowed words (from German, Latin, French), for which the Polish language acts as a mediator. It is noted that Polish words become creative for derivatives, the meanings of dialectismsderivatives are formed on the basis of associative connection with the meaning of creative-Polonisms. It is proved that dialectisms-Polonisms adapt to the phonetic-grammatical system of speech. Lexical and semantic adaptation of names in Bukovinian dialects concerns both the donor language and the intermediary language. In addition, among the borrowed vocabulary in Bukovinian dialects, borrowings from European languages, were recorded which, in turn, inherited them from Latin and became a source of replenishment of the dialect vocabulary of the Ukrainian language. It is stated that dialectisms-Polonisms of the dialect Yuzhynets belong to different parts of speech, which form the main lexical and semantic groups.

ДЕНОТАТИВНЫЙ И СИНГНИФИКАТИВНЫЙ КОМПОНЕНТЫ ПАРОНИМИЧЕСКОЙ АТТРАКЦИИ

The article is devoted to paronymic attraction (PA), which some scientists consider as a phenomenon of the lexical-semantic system of the language, others as a stylistic figure, and still others as a mechanism that turns one into the oth-er. The author sees in PA semantic relationship between words that have a phono-morphological similarity, potentially represented in the language and manifested in speech as a result of individual reflection. Since PA can be called a nom-ination of a «non-standard» denotation represented by paronyms included in the attraction, paronymic correlation is considered as an expressive sign that has specific denotative and significative characteristics. After conducting a study on the corpus of Russian poetry of the XX-XXI centuries, the author comes to the following conclusions. In PA, the sound-semantic correlation itself becomes a sign, which is used autonomously, being both a sign and a thing. At the same time, the significatum of the reference name predetermines the scope of denotation of the reinterpreted name. Most often, concrete and abstract nouns, proper names and «attribute» words – adjectives and adverbs – come into attraction; for all classes of words, there is a tendency to increase the nominative value and expand the denotative ability of signs (compared to the general language) and the formation of its single type according to the model of common names (reference to an object, to a class of objects, to class features, to a typical denotative situation). As a result, a mobile structure of meaning of the denotative-significative type is formed; at the same time, the meaning of the sign conveys a set of features of the designated object that allows clarifying its invariant characteristics relevant in each specific situation. The paronymic combination is perceived as an abstract sign characterized by referential polysemy.