The word system denotes a set of elements associated and functioning together according to certain laws. The vocabulary of the language is called an adaptive system, because it constantly adjusts itself to the changes and conditions of human communications and cultural surroundings.
The actual system of the language is in the state of constant change.
Lexicology studies this system by determining the properties of these elements and the different relationships of contrast and similarity existing between the words within the language and also it studies the ways in which the words are influenced by extralinguistic factors.
The elements of a lexical system are characterized by their combining and contrastive properties determining the syntagmatic and paradigmatic relationships. a word enters into syntagmatic relationships with other lexical units which form its context. Lexical units are context dependent. A word enters into contrastive paradigmatic relations with all of the words. for example, words: nice, beautiful, handsome, pretty — may occur at one and the same context but they have their own meanings.
Syntagmatic relationships may be studied by means of contextual, distributional, transformational etc. analyses.
Paradigmatic relations are based on the interdependence of words within the vocabulary.
Such relations are studied by means of componential, semantic etc. analyses. E.g.: the word deer in OE vocabulary meant any wild animal, but then a word animal was actually introduced and the meaning of the word deer shifted and started to mean only a specific kind of animal. In the language there are constant changes which may be divided into: words are either dropped out of the vocabulary; or they come into it.
Obsolescent(устаревающие) words are words that become rarely used so they are in the stage of gradually passing out of general use.
Obsolete words have already gone out of use but they are still recognized by the English speakers. Archaic proper are words which are no longer recognizable in modern English.
Historisms are words used to be replaced by modern synonyms. 2 types of archaisms:
lexical; grammatical old grammatical form of the same word. The number of new words that appear in the language is much greater than obsolete words. The development of the vocabulary is a never-ending process. New notions constantly come into being. As the consequence new words appear to denote these notions. These words are called neologisms. Each new word is considered a neologism as long as the speaking community perceives it as new. Neologisms are coined by the processes:
1 abbreviation: radar = radio detection and ranging;
2 affixation: to deselect = to remove from participation;
3 blending: bionics = bio+electronics;
4 borrowing: perestroika;
5 compounding: auto-happy = obsessed with cars;
6 conversion: service a car when a noun turns into a verb;
7 semantic changechange of meaning.
