Exercise 4. In the examples given below identify the phraseological units and classify them on the semantic principle (word combinations – phraseological unities – phraseological fusions)

1. The operation started badly and everyone was in a temper throughout. 2. I know a man who would love meeting you. The perfect nut for you to crack your teeth on. 3. I wish I had you for Maths (my favourite subject) But alas, we cannot have our cake and eat it too. 4. He said: “Well, never mind, Nurse. Don’t make such heavy weather about it.” 5. Did you know that 50 per cent of the time I’ve been barking up all the wrong trees” 6. However, while appreciating that the best way to deal with a bully is to bully back, I never had quite the nerve. 7. What is it – First Aid? All you need know is how to treat shock and how to stop haemorrage, which I drummed into you till I am blue in the face. 8. Don’t let them (pupils) lead you by the nose. 9. But I thought he was afraid I might take him at his word. 10. Ruth made no bones about the time she was accustomed to have dinner.

Exercise 5. In the examples given below identify the phraseological units and classify them on the structural principle

1. Ella Friedenberg thinks she’s Freud, but actually she is Peeping Tom.

2. What it symbolized was a fact of banking-corporate life: You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.

3. There was a man I cared about, and this afternoon he told me out of a clear sky that he was poor as a church mouse.

4. Finally, he asked me out of the blue if I could drive a car.

5. But Nelson did not believe in letting the grass grow under his feet and applied for the headmastership of a Mission School that was being started in New Guinea.

6. He took his ideas from “Daily Telegraph” and the books in prep school library, and his guiding rule in life was to play safe.

7. By God! I may be old-fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much those days to suit me. They meet all kinds of crazy fish.

8. Then I got a shock that stiffened me from head to toe.

Exercise 6. Group the following italicized phraseological units, using Professor Koonin’s classification system

1. Margot brightened “ Now you are talking! That would be a step up for women’s lib”.

2. Why was I more interested in the one black sheep than in all the white lambs in my care?

3. To the young, clichés seem freshly minted. Hitch your wagon to the star!

4. Out of sight out of mind. Anyway it’ll do you good to have a rest from me.

5. In a sense it could be said that the ice was broken between us.

6. Rose Waterford smothered a giggle, but the others preserved a stony silence. Mrs Forrester’s smile froze on her lips. Albert had dropped a brick.

7. “The fact is that Albert Forrester has made you all look a lot of damned fools”. “All”, said Clifford Boyleston. “ We’re all in the same boat ”.

8. It’s no good crying over spilt milk.

9. Like many serious patriots, in her inability to know for certain which way the cat would jump she held her political opinions in suspense.

10. “How long do you want to go for? For always?” – “Yes, for always”. “Oh, my God!

11. That also was a gentleman’s paper, but it had bees in its bonnet. Bees in bonnets were respectable things, but personally Soames did not care for them.

SEMINAR No. 9

English Lexicography

A. Points for discussion

1. The object of lexicography. Methods of lexicographical research.

2. British and American lexicographical tradition. Linguistic and encyclopedic dictionaries.

3. General and specialized dictionaries. Methods of compiling monolingual and bilingual dictionaries.

4. Problems of lexicography: selection of lexical units, principles of arranging entries, principles of sense definitions, etc.

5. Types of Learner’s dictionaries and principles of their compiling.

Recommended References:

Минаева Л.В. English Lexicology and Lexicography. М.: АСТ «Астрель», 2007, cc.115-143.

Гвишиани Н.Б. Современный английский язык. Лексикология. Гл.6.1.

Федорова И.В. Учебная лексикография. Теория и практика. М.: Академия. 2006.

Glossary: dictionary, lexicon, glossary, thesaurus, entry word, definition, label, quotation

B. Assignments

Exercise 1. Study the Preface to your dictionary and fill in the Dictionary Quiz.

Dictionary Quiz

1. Examples showing how words are used are given

a) in brackets____

b) in italic type ___

 

2. Phrasal verbs are

a) printed in thick type___

b) shown by a symbol____

 

3. Information about place names is found

a) in Appendix____

b) on special pages____

4. Are there any study pages

a) yes ___

b) no ____

 

5. Where will you find additional information on the usage of words?

a) in notes___

b) on colourful pages____

6. Labels are printed

a) in brackets____

b) in italics____

 

7. Idioms are

a) printed in bold type____

b) shown by a symbol ____

c) shown by a label

 

8. Are compounds within the entry

a) printed in bold type____

b) shown by a symbol___

c) shown by a label___

 

9. Is grammatical information

a) shown by a code within the entry ___

b) in grammatical notes in the extra column___

shown by means of examples and patterns within the entry____

10. Is there any information on related words

a) yes___

b) no ___

Exercise 2. Compare dictionary entries of LANGUAGE and CLIMATE in a general purpose English dictionary, in an encyclopedic dictionary and in a learners’ dictionary. Explain the principles of defining the lexical items in these dictionaries.