The term in the title of this article has two meanings. The definition of vocabulary can only be two-way: it is a linguistic phenomenon, and the science that studies it.
What is vocabulary
First, the vocabulary is a certain collection of words.a certain language, works (they also speak of a thesaurus), a person. In the latter case, you can often find the methodical term "vocabulary".
Secondly, lexicology is a science that studiesthe words. You can explore them from many different angles: this is an observation of how the fund of units of a particular language changes, and how similar or different adverbs are similar, and how each of the lexemes functions. There are also some common questions. They touch the word in general.
Word science
The word can be studied from many different angles.Morphology considers its grammatical meaning, morphemic and word formation - its morphemic composition and model. Vocabulary is the science that studies the word as such: its meaning, history, relationships with other language units.
Words (or lexical units, lexemes) in the languageare an interesting, lively and in their own harmonious system. Some of them are very similar to others in meaning and are often interchangeable (this is a synonymous system), others, on the contrary, are opposite in meaning (they are antonyms and similar, analogous phenomena). Some may coexist in a single text, others are so contradictory that their use in one text looks strange or funny. In some cases it is appropriate to use some units, in others their use is categorically unacceptable (these issues are dealt with in style). Therefore, the vocabulary as a science studies not just each word individually, but the system itself, its rules, laws, norms and potential.
Vocabulary sections
As you can see, vocabulary is a science with an extensivea sphere of interest, therefore, each angle of looking at a word or a dictionary system studies its particular section. First of all, among them is onomasiology (the science of “naming” or “nomination”), semantics and semasiology (they study the meaning, meaning, its structure), phraseology (studies the linguistic phenomenon of the same name), ), etymology (the science of the origin of words), style (it was already mentioned) and lexicography (focuses on the description of vocabulary, compiling dictionaries).
On some of these sections, we will further elaborate on this article.
Phraseology
Vocabulary is a science that studies not only words,but such combinations of them, which are strong associations. These "unity" are so indivisible that they function in speech almost on par with words. Such combinations are called phraseological units.
Всем хорошо знакомы такие выражения, как «два pair of boots ”,“ scratch the bottom of the barrel ”,“ not to drive a nail in the house ”, etc. Each of the words in such combinations has almost lost its own meaning. Without knowing the meaning of a phraseological unit, it is often impossible to “deduce” from the terms of its “components” (since these are not quite lexemes, linguists speak about the “components” of a phraseological unit). Such formations are often confounded by foreigners precisely because their meaning is not the sum of the meanings of words, but rather, either a history rolled into expression or a certain artistic image. The history of the emergence of idioms is one of the most popular and interesting areas of research.
These durable combinations, existing along withlexemes are also in close relationship with each other, and with lexical units. Thus, to be precise, vocabulary is a science that studies words and idioms.
Etymology
Not everyone has their own storyidiom, but also in each lexeme. Vocabulary is a science that studies both the present and the past of words. Etymology considers the origin of linguistic units. For specialists in this field, it is important why this particular combination once became designated (called) by this particular combination of sounds. Maybe this word was once borrowed from some language? From which? Perhaps, over time, the lexeme was so distorted, it began to sound so unlike its original version that modern speakers stopped seeing its connection with single-rooted words, no longer aware that at its core is the well-known root. The etymological meaning (the meaning that was embedded in the lexeme at the time it appeared in the language) is often surprising and can shed light on the true meaning of the lexical unit; it often not only makes you think about the word, but also reconsider its attitude to the phenomenon that it denotes.
Any version of the origin of a wordshould be based on a virtuoso knowledge of the history of the language. Unfortunately, recently, despite the development of linguistics and accumulated historical data, there are often cases of arbitrary interpretation of the appearance of lexemes. Often non-professional etymologization serves as a tool for ideologues who provide a “scientific base” for their social and political concepts.
Semantics and semasiology
In terms of semantics, vocabulary is the science of meaningthe words. "Semes" are some minimal elements of meaning. The meaning of each lexeme is their unique combination. It is especially interesting to compare the structure of the meaning of word analogs from different languages. The discrepancies in the structure and composition of these minimal elements of meaning not only vividly show how different at first glance similar words of different adverbs are, but also clarify how people unlike in mentality could “invent” them.
Of course, despite the "specialization", all thesesections of science are closely related to each other and study, in fact, one phenomenon, placing emphasis on its different sides, and it is the combination of many approaches that makes vocabulary one of the most fascinating and rapidly developing areas of linguistics.
