Языковая картина мира: модус квантитативной лексики

Abstract

Английские числительные, слова меры и веса конституируют базовые секторы лексико-семантического поля количества. Исследование квантитативных единиц в модусах Язык - Речь - Речевая деятельность является весьма валоративным для параметризации категории количества в ее объективной, ментальной и языковой представленности. Комплексный поход к сопоставляемым нумеральным и димензиональным группам включает декодирование их диахронической памяти, осмысление процессов эволюции / инволюции, семантических модификаций исследуемого объекта. Изучение статуса квантитативных слов подтверждает гипотезу о том, что словам с общей семой присущи идентичные типы модификаций.

Topicality of the research is determined by the modern trends in linguistics. The paper considers novelty aspects of quantitative words, their epidigmatic function, approximation, processes of evolution and involution. The different methods are involved herein to consider numerals, denumerals, words of weight and measure – etymological, definitional, componential, distributional, contextual and cognitive. The semantic deviation of numerals is stable: they go back to concrete referents; with times they come to function as absolute terms; determinologized their lose quantitative meaning; they are working components of phraseological units; they are polyfunctional; they are flexible in semantic deviation (substance – quantity – quality – zero charge); they possess the epidigmatic function. The processes of evolution and involution work with denumerals. The etymological background of words denoting measure and weight is contrasted to numerals, which have their history hidden. For example "ell", "span", "foot", "brace" etymologically go back to the parts of body and their position. Another group (pint, bushel, ton, chaldron) go back to the names of containers in which things were kept. Other measure units (yard, rod, pole, par, stone) go back to the instruments of measuring. Some quantitative words are used both for numeric and measuring assessment (dozen, couple, brace, yoke, score). The vistas of this investigation consist in identification of syntactical denumerals. Constructive dialogs and discussions are badly needed to solve the problems lacunar items. Practical value of gains obtained awaits application in the educational process.