Single Lexeme Research Articles

О ФОРМИРОВАНИИ ВОКАБУЛ И ОРГАНИЗАЦИИ СЛОВАРНОЙ СТАТЬИ В СЛОВАРЕ ЯЗЫКА ОЛОНХО

The article presents the result of the procedure for resolving the issue of forming dictionary vocables, as well as organizing a dictionary entry in the dictionary of the language of the Yakut heroic epic Olonkho, proclaimed by UNESCO in 2005 as a masterpiece of the oral and intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The question was one of the rather complex problems in the theoretical development of a dictionary of the Olonkho language. The high degree of formulaicity of the language of the Yakut epic, the originality of the stylistics of the epic narrative and the characteristic features of the language of the Turkic peoples generated a complex of original properties of the Olonkho language, which determined the problematic character of lexicographic works. However, when developing the macro- and microstructure of dictionaries of the language of folklore, an unconventional solution to the problem is allowed, and therefore the work proposes a special structure of a dictionary entry, as well as methods for forming non-standard forms of dictionary vocables. To achieve the goal, we analyzed the functional and semantic features of the lexeme aghys ʻeightʼ in the olonkho text Nurgun Bootur the Swift by K. G. Orosin (1947). As a result of the analysis, the following points were clarified and determined: 1. it was decided to present stable verbal complexes of the Olonkho language (i. e. epic formulas, formulaic constructions, constructions of a formulaic nature), phraseological units, single lexemes and epic periods as vocabulary vocables. The main factors that served as support for making such a decision were the distinctive feature of the Turkic languages – the law of synharmonism, as well as the diffuse nature of the meaning of folk expressions, which requires an integrated approach to the compilation of dictionary definitions, including in the design of the lemma part of the dictionary. The basic principles of the structure of dictionary entries in the Olonkho language dictionary are indicated: the order of presentation of units of lexicographic description, the order of presentation of stable verbal complexes, principles of presentation of material, features of presentation of illustrative material. In developing the described principles, we relied on individual aspects of the theoretical positions expressed in the works of our predecessors, specializing in the field of Russian lingua-folkloristics, Russian folklore lexicography, in Turkic studies, as well as the result of a comprehensive analysis of materials from the K. G. Orosin’s olonkho text of Nurgun Bootur the Swift. In the course of further lexicographical work, it will obviously be possible to make minor adjustments, since the language material of the Yakut epic is extremely diverse. However, the result obtained in this article, in this aspect, will definitely form the basis of lexicography.

Структурно-семантические особенности образных выражений, характеризующих гору Эльбрус в карачаево-балкарском языке

The aim of this work is to identify the structural-semantic and grammatical features of Karachay-Balkar figurative expressions that are folk names for Mount Elbrus. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that, for the first time, a structural-semantic and grammatical analysis of the considered units has been conducted based on the Karachay-Balkar language, determining their distinctive features and component composition. The research revealed the structural-grammatical and semantic features of the examined nominations. It was established that in structural terms, the considered figurative expressions consist of one-word, two-word, and three-word units. One-word names are represented by a single lexeme. The results showed that in the majority of cases, two-component names prevail, represented by schemes such as ‘substantive + substantive’, ‘adjective + substantive’, ‘participle + substantive’. In three-word descriptions, the reference component is the appellative ‘тау’ (mountain), with prepositional components featuring adjectives and nouns of various semantics, as well as past and future participles, less frequently personal verb forms and gerunds.

ЕДИНИЧНЫЕ ЛЕКСЕМЫ В ЯЗЫКЕ ОЛОНХО (к методологии словарной интерпретации)

Compilation of a dictionary of the language of the Yakut heroic epic Olonkho resulted in distinguishing two main groups of units of lexicographic description: stable verbal complexes and single lexemes. The article is devoted to the consideration of the functional-semantic features of single lexemes from the point of view of their lexicographic presentation in the given dictionary. The analysis carried out on the material of the text «Nyurgun Bootur the Swift» (version by K. G. Orosin, 1947) indirectly revealed the problem of semantic relations of units of the Olonkho language, focusing on the need to use textual method when carrying out dictionary work. In addition, conclusions are formulated about the main trends in the semantic typification of single lexemes related to the process of their use in the olonkho text.

Copy raising reconsidered

There is no consensus in the literature regarding the defining characteristics of copy raising (CR), or in other words what determineswhether a CR-like expression is CR or not. As a result, existing analyses target different data sets. In this paper, I propose a different approach to these constructions, which takes a functional perspective. I propose to abandon the term copy raising, which is misleading in a number of ways. Instead, I distinguish between perceptual depiction reports and perceptual inference reports and show that the functions which they fulfill are not particular to CR-like constructions, but are in fact more general. Such an approach, I claim, resolves existing conundrums surrounding CR. The analysis is formalized in the framework of Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG) and is inspired by previous accounts of CR in related frameworks such as LFG and SBCG, as well as HPSG analyses. In the spirit of HPSG, the analysis employs type inheritance hierarchies to distinguish between what is shared by the two constructions and what is construction-specific in order to account for alternative realizations of a single lexeme and to ascribe constructional (or extra-lexical) meaning to linguistic elements.

GAMES WITH THE BIBLICAL SERPENT: HERMENEUTIC TRICKS OF HRYHORII SKOVORODA

The paper gives examples of evident semantic inconsistency between the biblical text and its interpretation by Skovoroda. The aim of looking for mentioned details is not to assess the validity of statements about the biblical ideas (the author’s interpretations are usually provided with branched arguments) but to deeper understand the nature of Skovoroda’s work with the text of the Holy Scriptures. In all these cases, or almost all, the philosopher must have been aware of these discrepancies or at least the possibility of their existence. Sometimes Skovoroda’s conscious games with the text of the Bible are obvious if one compares the very quotes in his works even with the Church Slavonic version of the Bible alone. In other cases, the verification of the correspondence of the author’s interpretation of a quote to its linguistic meaning in the Holy Scriptures necessarily requires the involvement of the Bible versions older than the Church Slavonic one. Constructing his hermeneutic ‘symphonies’ on the basis of the word forms of a single lexeme or cognate words, which he collects in the Bible, Skovoroda often ignores possible polysemy of the word and also risks running into common linguistic errors of the Church Slavonic translation. At the same time, it is difficult to suspect him of lacking proper understanding of a textual nature (since elsewhere he willingly compares multilingual versions), nor of excessive sacralization of the Church Slavonic Bible (again, in some places he easily prefers the text in other languages). Baroque games with words and text, accompanying serious exegetical intention, add uniqueness to Skovoroda’s approach to the Bible. An explanation for this paradoxical combination may be his vision of the role designed for the Holy Scriptures. Not too exacting requirements to the semantic correspondence of a specific biblical text to the thoughts that, according to Skovoroda’s understanding, it should carry or confirm, is caused primarily by the idea of the Bible as a reflection of the spiritual world of its reader. Any role of it other than a mirror (which, however, not only reflects what is known but also helps to see and discover what has been hidden in oneself) is simply irrelevant for our author.

On the criteria for detracting stable models from fixed phrase schemes

The article is devoted to the identification of a system of criteria that allow to distinguish stable models from fixed phrase schemes. The distinction between stable models and fixed phrase schemes as different classes of syntactic phraseological units is one of the most complex and important problems of the modern theory of syntactic phraseology. An additional difficulty lies in the fact that fixed phrase schemes belong to the core of syntactic phraseology, and stable models to its periphery. The solution to this problem is the relevance, purpose and novelty of this study. The language material is borrowed from the specialized dictionary of the author of the study. The total number of syntactic constructions analyzed is 123 fixed phrase schemes. Illustrative material is borrowed from the texts of fiction, the language of which qualifies as the modern Russian language. The study uses the descriptive method, the method of component analysis of the semantic structure of the sentence, syntactic modeling, phraseological analysis, transformational method, as well as methods of etymological, contextual and comparative analysis. Stable models of the Russian Language are investigated in the aspect of the syntactic phraseology theory: a set of characteristics is defined that allow them to be considered in the system of various classes of syntactic phraseological units, as well as allowing them to be distinguished from free syntactic constructions; integral and differential features of stable models and fixed phrase schemes are established, which are qualified as absolute (differentiating) and relative (optional). Absolute criteria include the following: the nature of rethinking the producing syntactic construction (a single lexeme or the entire syntactic construction as a whole is being rethought); the presence/absence of a compulsory component; the presence/absence of deactualization/ grammaticalization/lexicization of the syntactic structure components; the presence/absence of transformation of the syntactic meaning of the producing structure. The relative criteria are the following: relevance/irrelevance of parsing; the presence/absence of transformation of the functional type of the producing syntactic construction.

ФУНКЦІОНУВАННЯ ІНФОГРАФІЧНИХ РЕСУРСІВ У ТЕКСТАХ НОВИН (НА МАТЕРІАЛІ ОНЛАЙН-НОВИН СЛУЖБ BBC І CNN)

The article highlights the use of infographics to effectively present the news material at BBC and CNN web pages. Infographic is a visual representation of information, data and knowledge. The infographic types that are widely used in news texts include maps, different kinds of graphs and charts such as bar/line/pie/column/bubble/gauge/stock/waterfall/flow charts; area/ hierarchy/circuit/tree diagrams; pictographs, timelines. Also, the symbiosis of infographic resources and additional graphic components (images, icons, geometric shapes, colour, numbers, and headers) was taken into account within the scopes of the current research. All of these allow controlling the infographics flow. Both verbal and nonverbal elements are considered to be crucially significant in creating the eye-catching and attention-grabbing infographic picture. Besides, the digital mode and colour play a significant role in presenting the information infographically. Numbers convey large amounts of information briefly and accurately and colour denotes emotionally valuable metaphorical meaning, stylistic and associative properties. The visual and the verbal can be integrated into a single syntagmatic unit. Verbal elements elucidate and decipher the nonverbal symbols, restate the message of the infographic image in a more precise way, distilling just one from the many possible meanings the image might have. Verbal items are represented by means of a single lexeme, a word combination or a simple sentence. Nonverbal components provide the verbal ones with the essential and highly informative visuals by showing the data, presenting many numbers in a small space, making large data sets coherent. They serve a reasonably clear purpose of description, exploration, tabulation and decoration. The visual elements serve as syntax identifying the participants by nonverbal means. Infographic is an effective and powerful tool to explain complex issues in a way that can quickly lead to insight and better understanding by making information easy to digest, educational, and engaging.

INFLUENCE OF GUJARI ON LEARNING OF ENGLISH LEXEMES: THE SEMANTIC AND CONCEPTUAL PERSPECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not Gujari learners tend to make a connection between L2 forms and their L1 equivalents. They accomplish this by transmitting all semantic and conceptual knowledge from L1 to L2. This trend can be observed even when L2 lexemes share a single L1 translation. Consequently, second language learners may demonstrate usages distinct from those of native speakers and/or be less capable of discerning the nuances of word pairs that share the same L1 translation. For example, the word pairs ‘give’ and ‘donation’ are translated into deo (دیو) in Gujari and the Gujari learners are liable to commit an error and use the word pairs interchangeably. The present study investigates the influence of Gujari on learning English lexemes by using group-guided conversation. Five-word pairs are used in the context of education to know the semantic and conceptual influence of an already learned language. The results which were validated by the retrospective process show that Gujari learners have a poor understanding of English word pairs and they were found using them interchangeably and mapping the already learned concepts in their native Gujari equivalent(s). They tend to transfer the already learned concepts in a single lexeme into English word pairs that have distinctive concepts and different nuances of meanings for the native speakers as in the aforementioned example of ‘give’ and ‘donation’ both having one Gujari equivalent which is ‘deo’ (دیو) and this word ‘deo’ was found encompassing two distinctive concepts of English word pairs ‘give’ and 'donation’. Keywords: Gujari, Lexical influence, Conceptual restructuring, Word pairs, Lexemes, Gujari

Russian Sign Language: Main Problems of Vocabulary Study

The article gives a brief description of the world’s sign languages, i.e., of their features, genealogy, and status. It also considers possible approaches to studying the vocabulary of Russian sign language (RSL). Particular attention is paid to signs, which are currently of great interest to researchers, native speakers, and students learning RSL as a second language. Furthermore, they cause serious difficulties in translating them into other languages. In many cases, sign lexemes of RSL can be translated using Russian phraseological units. In different periods, various terms have been introduced to denote such sign lexemes: from idioms to non-equivalent vocabulary, multichannel signs, and language-specific vocabulary. The article analyzes the studies on this issue, starting with the works of G.L. Zaitseva from the 1990s to the present, as well as the classification of the vocabulary of sign languages by Russian and foreign specialists, including those used in cognitive linguistics. T. Johnson and L. Ferrara described the nature of some lexical signs as idiomatic and considered the concept of lexico-grammatical continuum and idiomaticity as the two properties of all sign languages. Here the features of RSL vocabulary are analyzed, examples of non-equivalent vocabulary are given, and it is proposed to consider RSL idioms as indivisible and integral combinations of two or more signs that perform the function of a single lexeme.

Rise and fall of a discourse marker

The Korean discourse marker kisil(un) presents an interesting grammaticalisation scenario. It began its life as a borrowing from Chinese, a syntactic construction to mean ‘that/its fruit’ in Middle Korean, and developed into a single lexeme with more abstract meanings, e.g., ‘essence, reality, fact, truth’ and further grammaticalised into a discourse marker signalling the speaker’s diverse stances in discourse contexts. As it was a borrowing from Chinese, its initial uses carried pedanticism and became officially banned in Modern Korean as part of efforts for ‘language purism’. The journey of kisil(un) exhibits subjectification in meaning and inter-subjectification in function. In particular, speakers use it to invite the interlocutor to some common ground. In discourse it also signals assertiveness and thus rarely co-occurs with hesitance markers. Unlike most discourse markers, kisil(un) does not have much positional freedom but occurs mostly between the subject and the predicate, bridging two contrasting propositions.

Language game in publicistic writing of V. V. Nabokov: transformation of meanings and peculiarities of word usage

In the light of deliberate attention of modern linguistic science and a range of social disciplines to the problem of personality and language, the unresolved question of the nature of language game in the texts of different stylistic orientation remains relevant and polemical. Comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon at hand requires the study of linguistic material that would reflect the specific nature of language game, which represents the organic synthesis of genre-stylistic affiliation and creative uniqueness of linguistic personality. Therefore, the examination of language game in the authorial publicistic writing, namely publications of V. V. Nabokov draws particular interest. The subject of this research is the various manifestations of language play on the lexical-semantic level, which implies occasional alignment of semantic plans, change of the usual meaning of the linguistic unit. It is established that the publicistic heritage of V. V. Nabokov is notable for the artistry that is atypical for such genres; it can be traced in the choice of lexical means, their subsequent interaction and transformation. The usual linguistic units acquire the new plane of content, which largely determines the functional-pragmatic vector of publications and the authorial position that reflects the the tendentious suggestive intentions characteristic to the authorial publicistic writing: accusatory, critical, etc. Change of the usual plan of perception is achieved by various means; most typical is the reference to semantic invariant, which in the authorial context contravenes the known presuppositions. The observations indicate that the language game based on the partial or full change of usual meaning of the word is of syncretic nature: as a rule, the new metaphorical level is not limited by modification of a single lexeme, but extends to the entire structure and compositional volume of the sentence.

Verbs of Light in Russian and French: Lexical-Semantic Classification and Grammatical Characteristics

This article deals with the lexical-semantic group of verbs that denote light in Russian and French. The authors compared their lexical-semantic classifications, characteristics, and grammatical parameters. The research involved the method of continuous sampling, lexical systematization, and component analysis. The paper introduces lexical-semantic subgroups of Russian and French verbs of light with their nucleus and periphery. A comparative analysis revealed some aspectual differences: Russian and French demonstrated different means of expressing some meanings and modes of action. The Russian language is synthetic and expresses these meanings lexematically. In the French language, which is analytical, these grammatical meanings do not always find their expression at the level of a single lexeme. The context and tense forms appeared to play an important role, and the verbs of light proved to be more numerous in Russian than in French. Despite the differences, the proposed classification of verbs of light turned out to be universal for both languages.

Источник и исследования повседневных словосочетаний в русской картине мира

This study examines the origins behind the meaning of everyday phrases forming the linguistic world image of Russian speakers. A large corpus of linguistic literature concerns the lexicon and phraseology and only a few studies look at phrases as the most common forms of thought formation in everyday pragmatics. The aim of this study was to identify origins behind the meaning of everyday phrases, and analyze their role and place in the formation and presentation of the linguistic world image in linguistic pragmatics. Unlike most studies, this work examines the problem of the worldview rooted in the language through the content analysis of phrases, rather than single lexemes, and analyzes them in the context of everyday use. The study monitored 128 individuals, aged 18 to 61 years, for three days to determine what phrases they use every day. The collected linguistic data underwent statistical processing and unique categorizes were distinguished. Of these categorizes, only one is likely to convey the linguistic worldview (it contains words with a broad range of meanings and multi-level semantics). The other two categorizes reflect single characteristics of linguistic consciousness and the pragmatics of social interaction. The results of the study may be useful in establishing links between the cognitive and communicative functions of the language and creating a map of the Russian linguistic worldview for the comparative linguistic research purposes.

ЛИНГВОАКСИОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ АСПЕКТЫ ОТЗЫВА СТУДЕНТА КАК ЖАНРА АКАДЕМИЧЕСКОГО ДИСКУРСА

The paper focuses on the structure and content as well as linguistic and axiological aspects of students’ reflective essays on their studies at university. The research has revealed that those essays can be referred to as hybrid genre as far as they combine the features of acknowledgments, reviews and reflective essays. The addressees could be particular teachers, a particular Department of the University as a whole. The essays are an amalgam of specific evaluative meanings as well as common evaluations manifested by single lexemes, word groups or even whole utterances, with ethical and teleological evaluations being dominant among them. Students characterize positively their teachers’ contribution, their (teachers’) personal and professional characteristics. In 100% of the essays, teacher professionalism is noted to play a considerable role together with an opportunity to engage in research and conclusions concerning students’ own personal growth and professional development.

О тождестве языковых единиц в диахронических исследованиях (на материале английского языка)

The article focuses on the problems of diachronic identification of linguistic units pertaining to different levels of language. The emphasis is on the necessity of this procedure in historic studies of language in regard to heterochronic linguistic forms. The examples of linguistic units on the phonetic and lexical levels are provided from English. With resort to the methods of comparative and historic linguistics, the study proceeds to establish inconsistency between the synchronic and diachronic identity of a phoneme as a component of different words. To this end, a phoneme is diachronically represented as a number of successive forms. An identical source of origin as well as equivalence of historic forms and invariability of their number are recognized to be mandatory conditions to establish diachronic identity of a phoneme. On the lexical level, attention is paid to the factors of dissimilarity between the word-forms of a single lexeme. Notice is taken of more complexity suggested by the diachronic analysis of lexical units as compared with lower language levels. The latter fact is caused by a great number of word-forms typical of the inflexional parent languages, such as Indo-European, Germanic, and English itself at the earlier stages of its history.

Деривация союзных средств, связывающих части сложноподчиненного предложения с придаточным обстоятельственным времени в нахском языке

The article examines conjunctives connecting adverbial clauses of time from the viewpoint of their motivation and position in a complex sentence. It is shown that in the Nakh language, adverbial clauses of time contain connectors historically associated with affixational morphemes or with synthetic means of form-building. Scientific originality of the study lies in the fact that the analysis of connectors expressing temporal relations focuses on identifying their etymological specificity, it throws light on conjunction derivation process in the ergative Nakh-Dagestanian languages in general. For the first time the structure of a conjunctive word is considered from the viewpoint of functional specificity of words-morphemes, as well as synthetic means that historically evolved into a single lexeme capable of transforming into an auxiliary word. The research findings can be used to differentiate motivated and primary conjunctive words. The obtained results indicate that primary conjunctive words can be rightfully classified as the native Nakh words.

Глаголы падения в китайском языке: диахронический взгляд

The paper demonstrates the possibilities of the diachronic approach in the study of lexical systems on the material of verbs of falling. The diachronic analysis of one particular zone (loss of vertical orientation), which in modern Chinese is covered by a single lexeme 倒 dǎo ‘to fall (of a vertically oriented object)’, highlights an additional semantic parameter “direction of falling”: cf. 仆 pū ‘to fall forward’ and 偃 yǎn ‘to fall backward’. The analysis of historical changes in the combinability of the verb 落 luò ‘to fall’ explains the frequency of this component in complex words, and demonstrates that in written language it shows amazing stability: 落 luò in its original meaning (‘to fall (of leaves / flowers)’) has been used in literary monuments for almost three thousand years. At the same time, its peripheral frames undergo significant changes. This makes diachronic research a source of valuable information about the significance and relative proximity of frames, which can be used while building semantic maps, and in the long term, contribute to the identification of new patterns in the historical development of vocabulary. In addition, diachronic studies in vocabulary may also indicate a connection between two diff erent semantic fi elds, when lexemes in the process of historical development move from one fi eld to another (‘turn over’ and ‘fall’ in our case). Thus, diachronic approach in lexical typology proves its eff ectiveness both in tracing back the historical changes in one particular zone, and in the study of compatibilityof one particular lexeme in different historical periods

Глаголы падения в кхмерском языке

The paper proposes a description of modern Cambodian verbs with meanings that involve situations of falling. Lexemes with similar meanings are fairly numerous in Cambodian. The most frequent of these is thleak ‘fall’ which can be used to describe a majority of situations with objects falling down from a height. Situations of vertical objects falling can be described by two basic verbs (probably, quasi-synonyms): duəl and rɔlum. Another verb of falling is srɒk ‘drop’ with a limited scope of reference, as it can only describe falling drops of liquids. Cambodian has an extremely intricate lexical and semantic zone to reflect chaotic falling of a large number of uniform objects (meanings like ‘scatter’, ‘spill’, or ‘fl y away in various directions’). Similar situations can be described by a group of conceivably synonymous lexemes (kɒmpʊɔp, kcat kcaːy, etc.). All ‘falling’ verbs show a strong inter-combinability potential and can co-occur in serial constructions for various situations of falling. The most indicative is the verb thleak ‘fall’ found in serial constructions with all other ‘falling’ verbs. These serial constructions often include direction (coh ‘descend, move down’, ce:ɲ ‘go out’) or orientation (təw ‘go’, maok ‘come’) verbs. Also, serial constructions can be used where Cambodian lacks specifi c single lexemes for corresponding situations. Metaphoric use of ‘falling’ verbs is not characteristic of Cambodian. The only verb demonstrating (rather infrequent and typologically predictable) metaphorization is thleak. Idiomatic phrases with thleak are fairly scarce.

Conversational Code Switching

Abstract The mixing of three or more languages in casual conversations, a hallmark of Chinese Malaysian informal speech, expresses a range of sociological and ideological meanings in the ongoing construction of Chinese Malaysian heteroglossic identities. While code-switching patterns sometimes mark different speaker positions, they also express broader language identities and ideologies that transcend individual conversations. This is especially clear when analysing the relative frequency and semantic domains of single lexeme mixing, where English is mostly used for consumer culture, Malay for place names and personal names, and Chinese topolects for expressing emotion. Detailed analysis of 12 adult conversations recorded in natural settings in diverse regions of Malaysia is corroborated by language attitudes expressed in focus groups, Facebook posts, and informal conversations and interviews, revealing the diverse and sometimes contending language ideologies linked to specific languages in the Chinese Malaysian setting.

SHELL WORDS IN ANATOMY A CONTRASTIVE STUDY OF BULGARIAN AND ENGLISH ANATOMICAL SYSTEMS

Shell words are a particular category of lexemes that make up an open-ended functionally defined class of abstract nouns having the potential to be as conceptual shells for complex, proposition-like pieces of information. Examples include: “fact”, “case”, “idea”, “problem”, “position”, “cause”, “situation”, “something”, etc. The idea of a particular class of words that group semantic features, but are not related to a referent is also found in many authors. Such words have greater reference potential and thus become useful for naming different referents (onomasiological salience). From a theoretical point of view, the need for a context to determine the meaning of a single lexeme is in fact equivalent to deleting the difference between polysemy and vagueness. Shell nouns are indexical words or "hollow words, envelopes" because their meaning is incomplete; they only point to what can fill the envelope, but still give it some structure. Thus, the meaning associated with these shell units is both context-related and in turn generates a linguistic context. At first glance it seems strange that generalized words such as shells are not hyperonimic, but in connection with the nature of the anatomical terms (physically perceived) it is important to note that it is precisely words from the basic level that are conceptualized as sensory and functional gestalts. The eventual clash between the specificity of the object and the abstract nature of terms causes the conflict in terminology. Once again, the choice of a linguistic rather than a terminological approach to the names of the anatomical objects is argued. The current research assumes that shell function may be applicable to specific nouns, i.e. anatomical terms, the so-called termini generales. In both Bulgarian and English anatomical terminologies, there are about 190 such terms that are head words in anatomical expressions and occur in all parts of anatomy, e.g. terms such as: glava (en – head), greben (en – crest), gynka (en –fold), klon (en – branch), list (en – leaf), plocha (en – plate), sloy (en – layer), tyalo (en – body), vryzka (en – “link”, “connection”), etc. What is special about them is that with their help are formed the names of organs in the different systems. Their semantic value is contextually defined. They "mark” large branches in the anatomical terminology system and are expressions of terminological multiplicity. Obtained through specialization of commonly used nouns, general terms are a manifestation of re-terminologization through metaphorical projection. In our view, termini generales have lost their metaphorical status (if they have one) and some of them serve as shell nouns. We also perform a cross-linguistic Bulgarian – English analysis of shells in both anatomical systems.