SYSTEMIC DESCRIPTION OF GERMANIC LEXEMES (EXAMPLIFIED BY THE LEXEME WEOROLD IN OLD ENGLISH)

The article aims at presenting a procedure of systemic description of the linguistic characteristics inherent in lexemes in Germanic languages. The present research is of a complex nature. A complex approach exercised to achieve the goals of the research suggests addressing a number of consecutive descriptive tasks pertaining to particular linguistic aspects, to wit: etymology, morphonology, semantics and word-formation. The analysis focuses on the Old English noun ‘weorold’ intended to examplify the typical formal procedure of description. The scientific methods used in the course of the research are as follows: descriptive method, comparative-historical, etymological analysis, morphemic analysis, distributive analysis, method of oppositions, component analysis. In the aspect of etymology the lexical correlations of the lexeme under study and its morphological components are detected in cognate old and modern Germanic languages. In the aspect of morphonology the analysis focuses on the morphological structure of the noun ‘weorold’ and its evolution in the Old English period as compared with the prewritten period. There also is some study of the phonetic factors and processes which conditioned the phonemic composition of the lexeme ‘weorold’ and the interaction of its phonemes as separate entities. In terms of semantics attention is largely paid to the development of the main meanings. To this end an inventory of all the dictionary meanings with contextual examples is provided. In the aspect of word-formation the productivity of the analyzed lexeme as a word-forming basis is put to scrutiny. The compounds formed on the basis of the noun ‘weorold’ are noted to feature a unity of semantics provided by the word-forming basis that they share. The article may be of interest to linguists who do research in Germanic studies, lexicology and history of English.

description, lexeme, Germanic languages, Old English, etymology, morphonology, semantics, word-formation

1. Mukhin S.V. Verbalizatsiia kontsepta «zemlia» v poeme «Beovul’f» [Verbalization of the Concept Earth in Beowulf] // Magiia INNO: Integrativnye tendentsii v lingvistike i lingvodidaktike: Sbornik nauchnykh trudov [Magic of INNO: Integrative Tendencies in Linguistics and Linguodidactics: Proceedings]. V 2 t. T. 1. M.: MGIMO–Universitet, 2019. 411, [1] p.

2. Smirnitskii A. I. Drevneangliiskii iazyk [Old English]. М.: MGU, 1998. 319 p.

3. Sravnitel’naia grammatika germanskikh iazykov [Comparative Grammar of Germanic Languages]. V 5 t. T. I. M.: Izdatel’stvo Akademii nauk SSSR [The Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences], 1962. 204 p.

4. Feoktistova I.V., Lemberskaia A. A. K voprosu o sistemnosti v leksike (na materiale drevneangliiskikh slov so znacheniem ‘pomoshch’’, ‘zashchita’) [On Systemity in Lexis (as examplified by the Old English words denoting the concepts help, protection)]. V sb.: Sistemnoe opisanie leksiki germanskikh iazykov [Systemic Description of Word-Stock in Germanic Languages]. Vyp. 4. L.: Izd-vo Leningradskogo universiteta, 1981. pp. 78‒85.

5. Beowulf. Diacritically-marked Text and Facing Translation, www.heorot.dk/beowulf-rede-text.html (accessed 14 October 2019).

6. Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, web.archive.org/web/20190717111339/http://bosworthtoller.com/ (accessed 10 October 2019).

7. Christ and Satan, www.sacred-texts.com/neu/ascp/a01_04.htm (accessed: 17 October 2019).

8. Daniel, www.sacred-texts.com/neu/ascp/a01_03.htm (accessed 18 October 2019).

9. Genesis A. B., www.sacred-texts.com/neu/ascp/a01_01.htm (accessed 17 October 2019).

10. Indo-European Lexicon. Old English Reflex Index, lrc.la.utexas.edu/lex/languages/OE (accessed 15 October 2019).

11. King Alfred’s Old English Version of Boethius De Consolatione Philosophiæ. Oxford, 1899. 328 p.

12. King Alfred’s Version of Gregory’s Pastoral Care. London, 1871. 569 p., archive.org/details/kingalfredswest00sweegoog/page/ n8 (accessed 16 October 2019).

13. Kroonen G. Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic. Vol. II. Leiden ‒ Boston, 2013. 833 p.

14. Lindow J. Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford, 2001. 365 p.

15. Middle English Compendium, quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED53430 (accessed 18 October 2019).

16. Neville J. Representations of the Natural World in Old English Poetry. Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England. V. 27. Cambridge, 2004. 224 p.

17. Proto-Indo-European Etymological Dictionary. A Revised Edition of Julius Pokorny’s Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2007. 3441 p., marciorenato.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/pokorny-julius-proto-indo-european-etymologicaldictionary.pdf (accessed 10 October 2019).

18. The Christ of Cynewulf. A Poem in Three Parts: The Advent, The Ascension, and The Last Judgment, archive.org/stream/ christofcynewulf00cyne/christofcynewulf00cyne_djvu.txt (accessed 16 October 2019).

19. The Gospel of Saint Luke in Anglo-Saxon. Oxford, 1893. 193 p., archive.org/details/gospelsaintluke00briggoog/page/n7 (accessed 16 October 2019).

20. The Holy Gospels in Anglo-Saxon, Northumbrian, and Old Mercian Versions, Synoptically Arranged. Cambridge, 1871‒1887, archive.org/details/holygospelsinan01skeagoog/page/n6 (accessed 18 October 2019).

21. The Metres of Boethius: Meter 3, people.ucalgary.ca/~mmcgilli/ASPR/a6.3.html (accessed 19 October 2019).

22. The Paris Psalter. Psalm 51, www.sacred-texts.com/neu/ascp/a05_51.htm (accessed: 17 October 2019).

23. The Wanderer, www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=get&type=text&id=wdr (accessed 19 October 2019).

24. Thorpe B. Codex Exoniensis. A Collection of Anglo-Saxon Poetry, from a Manuscript in the Library of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. London, 1842. 575 p., archive.org/details/codexexoniensis01londgoog/page/n9 (accessed 19 October 2019).

25. Wright J., Wright E.M. Old English Grammar. Oxford, 1914. 361 p.