Филологические науки/4. Синтаксис: структура, семантика, функция.

M.A. Hordyeyeva O.A.

Chernivtsi National University, Ukraine

Verbalizing Finance Nominations in Modern Anglophone Worldview

Contemporary semantic sciences have been in focus of linguists more than a century. Formal semantics is the subfield of linguistics, devoted to the study of meaning, as inherent at the levels of words, phrases, sentences, and larger units of discourse. There exist two major approaches to formal semantics: historical and cognitive. The fundamental difference concerns kinds of entities, that the meanings of words possess [Gärdenfors1947]. Cognitive semantics is part of the cognitive linguistics movement, that has had considerable influence on the development of theories and methods of description in semantics [Lakoff 1975;Langacker 1987\90].

The double nature of semantic paradigm lets us distinguish historical paradigm of semantics and cognitive one [Gärdenfors 1947]. Historical paradigm is the study of the change of meanings that expressions obtain through time, in particular the change of meaning of words; this includes observations about previous meanings of a word or its precursors.

The core idea of cognitivistic approach is that meanings of expressions are mental. Semantics is seen as s mapping from the linguistic expressions to cognitive structures. Within cognitive semantics, the emphasis is on lexical meaning rather than on the meaning of sentences, thus it focuses on individuals’ meanings of words. According to the cognitive view, semantics is a relation between language and a cognitive structure, and appropriate framework for the cognitive structure is a conceptual space.

Most of the semantic analyses of large lexical data, as Financial terminology, are based more or less, on description by means of semantic features or semes. [Stockinger 1989]. But, it is widely known too, that the semantic feature-approach suffers constantly from the lack of principles that could determine the elaboration and systematization of sets or sub-sets of semes as well as definition of those relations that are held between these semes.

The principal objective of the article is the construction of Finance conceptoshere , formation of lexical-semantic field of Finance nominations and differentiation of lexical-semantic domain constituents within it.

Componential analysis will contribute to building lexical-semantic field of Finance nominations. As stated, the meaning of any word can be represented by a structure of semantic components of the words’ meaning, that form a hierarchy. Lexical meaning is a complicated dynamic whole and its constituency is semes [Stern 1931]. A seme is a minimal unit of sense, an atom of lexical and cognitive semantics distinguished on the basis of oppositions by method of componential analysis. A seme is not expressed in a word in any material unit but it’s revealed and singled out through interrelations of the word with other words on paradigmatic and syntagmatic levels. Componential analysis shows heterogeneity, complexity of lexical meaning, creates the so called language of semantic primitives – minimal units of sense. Componential analysis is due to define domain constituent of the concept Finance and distinguish the order of its periphery meanings, thus semes. Definitions are provided by such Lexicographic sources as: Oxford Business English Dictionary, Longman Exams Coach Dictionary, Macmillan English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Collins Cobuild Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary.

Table №1 Componential Analysis of the concept Finance :

№	Component	Oxford	Longman	Macmillan	Merriam- Webster	Collins	Cambridge
1.	Money	+	+	+	+	+	+
2.	Management	+	+	+	−	+	+
3.	Funds	+	+	−	+	+	−
4.	System	+	−	−	+	+	−
5.	Science	+	−	−	+	−	−
6.	Organization	+	−	−	−	−	−

The suggested analysis has defined six key components of concept Finance: money, management, funds, system, science, organization. These crucial semes formulate lexical semantic field of concept Finance. It should be mentioned that lexical semantic field is a set of words, not synonymous, but are all used to talk about the same general phenomenon. According to semantic field theory, a meaning of a word is dependent partly on its relation to other words in the same conceptual area.

Table № 2 Lexical semantic field of concept Finance :

Domain constituent (nucleus)- money;

P1(periphery1)- management;

P2(periphery2)- funds;

P3(periphery3)- system;

P4(periphery4)- science;

P5(periphery5)- organization.

The undertaken investigation has systematized the lexical data of Finance, thus established a set of lexemes which cover a certain conceptual domain, bearing certain specifiable relations to one another, and formulate lexical semantic field of concept Finance.

References:

1. Allwood J.S., Gärdenfors P. Semantics. Psychological aspects.

2. Cognition. – Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins

Publishing Company,1947. – Pp.5-23.

3. Dijk T. Cognitive context models and models //Language structure, discourse and the access to consciousness. – Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1997. – Pp.189-226.

4. Jackendoff R. Conceptual Semantics and Cognitive Languistics // Cognitive Languistics. – 1996. – V.7. – No.1. – Pp. 93-129.

5. Lakoff G., Thompson H. Introduction to cognitive grammar/Proceeding of the 1^st Annual Meeting of the Berkley Linguistics Society/ Berkley CA.: Berkley Linguistics Society, 1975. – Pp.295-313.

6. Langacker R. Concept, image and symbol. – Berlin, N.Y.: Mouton de Gruyter,1991.– Pp. 59-66.

7. Stern G. Meaning and change of meaning. Bloomington: Indiana University Press,1931.

8. Stockinger P. From lexical meaning to conceptual meaning.– Paris, C.N.R.S.,1989.