Words

Introduction to English Language PhrasesProfessor Sabine Mendes Moura

Different senses of the word ‘word’

• Ortographic words: words we are familiar with in written language, where they are separated by spaces.

• Grammatical words: a word falls into one grammatical word class or another. leaves

• Lexemes: this is a set of grammatical words which share the same basic meaning, similar forms, and the same word class. leaves, left: verb lexeme leave

• Each occurrence of a word in a written or spoken text is a separate TOKEN, while word TYPES are the different vocabulary items.

• The birds and the deer and who knows what else.- Closed system and open class

Type-token ration

The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll: let’s identify lexical words

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.

The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.

FEATURES/FAMILIES LEXICAL WORDS FUNCTION WORDS INSERTS

MEMBERS Nouns, lexical nouns, lexical verbs, adjectives and adverbs

Prepositions, coordinators, auxiliary verbs and pronouns

Yeah, Hm hm, Well, Cheers, Bye (and the like)

MORPHOLOGY Complex internal structure – root-based (+ affixes

Tend to be simple and stable.

Simple formsAtypical pronunciation

SEMANTICS Main carriers of information in a text or speech act.

Show how units relate to one another, indicating meaning relationships

Carry emotional and discursive meanings

SYNTAX Generally heads in noun phrasesGenerally remain in compressed sentences

Occur frequently in almost any kind of construction

Are mainly found in oral syntaxDo not form part of the syntactic structure

OPEN CLASS CLOSED CLASS OPEN CLASS (?)

Three major word classes

Morphology

• Inflection• Derivation• Compounding

Inflection

• In grammar, inflection or inflexion is the modification of a word to express different grammatical categories such as tense, grammatical mood (indicative, imperative and subjunctive), grammatical voice (passive, active, reflexive), aspect (perfect, progressive), person, number, gender and case.

• Overt and covert inflection- Lead and led (a lexeme marked for tense) – covert.

Derivation

• Adding an affix (prefix or suffix) to a word, changing the identity of the word (≠ inflection)

Compounding

• Spelled as single words, main stress on the first element and meaning cannot be determined from the parts.

Multi-word units, collocations, and lexical bundles

• A multi-word unit is a sequence of orthographic words which function like a single grammatical unit. e.g. on top of

• An idiom is a multi-word unit with a meaning that cannot be predicted from the meaning of its constituent words. e.g. fall in love

• A collocation is the relationship between two or more independent words which commonly appear together. e.g. wide experience

• A lexical bundle is a sequence of words which co-occur very frequently, especially when the sequence consists of more than two words. e.g. Would you mind... recurs in conversation.

Lexical word classes: nounsMORPHOLOGICAL SYNTACTIC SEMANTIC

Countable nouns: number and genitive caseUncountable nounsOften contain more than one morpheme

Often heads of noun phrasesCan be modified by many kinds of words (except for proper nouns)

Normally refer to concrete, physical entities, but can also refer to qualities and states.

Lexical word classes: lexical verbsMORPHOLOGICAL SYNTACTIC SEMANTIC

Signal tense, aspect and voiceVerb lexemes may have a complex form

Often single-word verb phrases which are the central part of the clauseCan also occur in main verb positions

Denote actions, processes and state of affairs. Define the role of human and non-human participants

Distinct from auxiliary verbsPRIMARY VERBS BE, HAVE AND DO can occur as both classes

Lexical word classes: adjectivesMORPHOLOGICAL SYNTACTIC SEMANTIC

Can be composed by several morphemesTake inflectional suffixes (comparative and superlative)

Head of adjective phrasesMore commonly modifiers in noun phrases

Qualities of people, things and abstractions. Many express gradation.

Lexical word classes: adverbsMORPHOLOGICAL SYNTACTIC SEMANTIC

Many are formed from adjectivesFew adverbs allow comparative and superlative forms (soon, fast)

Head of adverb phrasesModifiers of adjectives and adverbs

Most often express degreeCan express notions of time, place and mannerCan convey attitudinal aspectsCan express connections (though)

Accidentally in love: analysis

• WORD CLASSES: Lexical? Function? Inserts?• So she said what's the problem baby?

What's the problem I don't knowWell, maybe I'm in love

• MORPHOLOGY: Inflection? Derivation? Compounding?• Sunlight shimmering love • LEXICAL WORDS: Nouns? Lexical verbs? Adjectives?

Adverbs?• I surrender to the strawberry ice cream • We're accidentally in love

Lexical word classes

Borderline cases

• Nouns vs. Verbs

The matter needed checkingThe matter needed checking carefullyThe matter needed careful checking

Borderline cases

• Nouns vs. Adjectives

What about “wide-eye wow”?

Borderline cases

• Verbs vs. AdjectivesIt was embarassingIt was embarassing meIt was very embarassing

Function word classes: determiners

• Definite article the• Indefinite article a, an• Demonstrative• Possessive• Quantifiers

Function word classes: pronouns

• Personal pronouns• Demonstrative pronouns (≠ determiners,

indicate space positioning)• Reflexive pronouns• Reciprocal pronouns (each other, one

another)• Possessive pronouns (related to determiners –

mine, yours, hers)

Big Girls Don´t Cry (Fergie)

“I hope you knowI hope you knowThat this has nothing to do with youIt's personal, myself and IWe got some straightening out to do”

Big Girls Don´t Cry (Fergie)

“I hope you knowI hope you knowThat this has nothing to do with youIt's personal, myself and IWe got some straightening out to do”

Function word classes: auxiliary verbs

• Primary and modal• Primary: be, have, do.• Modal: will, can, shall, may, must, would,

could, should, might

Function word classes: prepositions

• Linking words that introduce prepositional phrases, prepositional complement (on the phone), complex preposition (such as, with regard to)

Function word classes: adverbial particles

• used to build phrasal verbs (broke down) and extended prepositional phrases (back to the hotel).

Function word classes: coordinators

• coordinating conjunctions, relationship between two units such as phrases or clauses (and, but, or - nor); correlative coordinator (both... and, either...or, neither...nor, not only...but also).

Function word classes: subordinators

• subordinating conjunctions, linking words that introduce a dependent clause to a main clause, adverbial clause (if), degree clause (as), complement or nominal clause (that); complex subordinator (as if).

Special classes of words• Wh-words (begin with wh, - how; determiners, pronouns, adverbs).

– Introducing an interrogative clause What do they want?– Introducing a relative clause (relativizers) whose father died– Introducing a complement clause (complementizers) ...whatever I have in my

pocket– Adverbial clause links However they vary...

• Single word classes: (unique grammatically, do not fit a class)– Existential there There were four bowls of soup.– The negator not ... but you can’t do that.– The infinitive marker to (complementizer preceding the infinitive) What do

you want to drink?• Numerals: (simple forms and complex forms built from the simple ones)

– Cardinals: (How many?) Four of the yen traders have pleaded guilty.– Ordinals: (Which?) A fourth will be charged with having information...

Multi-class membership