Valery V. Mykhaylenko, D.Sc.
Bukovyna State University of
Finance and Economics
Chernivtsi, Ukraine
.
ON ACTUALIZING OVERT AND COVERT COMPOMENTS
IN
DISCOURSE
Abstract: The article presents a short introduction to concept,
definitional, and componentional analyses, an overview of the linguistic
terminology on the subject of 'concept', ‘meaning', ‘denotation’, ‘connotation’.
The investigation terminates with entries traditional dictionary, a natural
language thesaurus, and a lexical database of the BNC which can demonstrate how
all the types of semantic analysis can be employed to discover overt
regularities and covert irregularities in the implementations of meaning
components of the lexeme ‘stabilization’ in various discourse registers.
Key words: lexeme, semantic,
component, definition, semantic field, concept, cognitive, discourse.
We often come across some terms
like ’equilibrium’, ‘consumer basket’, ‘operation’, ‘optimization’ and others
in the political discourse whose denotational meaning politicians first try to
neutralize and then to make some components covert to change the speakers’
perception, the term ‘stability’ is one of them. The objective of our
investigation is a semantic structure of the lexeme ‘stability’ including
denotative and connotative components the shift of which caused by the
speaker’s intention, discourse register, the lexeme collocation.
The most influential linguists
working along the lines of Cognitive Linguistics [see: 3, 9-16; 10] and
focusing mainly on cognitive principles and organization are Wallace Chafe,
Charles Fillmore, George Lakoff, Ronald Langacker, and Leonard Talmy who were
interested in the relation of language and mind began developing their own
approach to language description and linguistic theory, centered on a
particular set of phenomena and concerns. They examine the relation of language
structure to things outside language: cognitive principles and mechanisms not
specific to language, including principles of human categorization; pragmatic
and interactional principles; and functional principles in general [see: 4, 99-123].
It is indeed assumed, that the major function of human language is that of
expressing a conceptual content, of conveying information
[see: 1, 111-116; 8]. In semantics [2, 269-303], it is the literal or core sense of a word, also called ‘denotation’ ‘the relationship between a word and the
non-linguistic, 'outside' world’ or ‘cognitive
meaning’, contrast with connotation ‘additional meaning which
arises due to the associations a word has’, affective meaning, or figurative meaning. Eugene A. Nida observed that
conceptual meaning "consists of that set of necessary and sufficient
conceptual features which make it possible for the speaker to separate the
referential potentiality of any one lexical unit from that of any other
unit which might tend to occupy part of the same semantic domain"[10,
218]. Geoffrey Leech (1980) identified the conceptual meaning as one of the
seven types of meaning. It is the basic propositional meaning which corresponds
to the primary dictionary definition. Such a meaning is stylistically neutral
and objective as opposed to other kinds of associative meanings. The other six
types of meaning discussed by Geoffrey M. Leech are connotative, social, affective, reflected, collocative, and thematic.
Concept analysis is a formal
linguistic exercise to determine certain defining attributes. The basic purpose
of concept analysis is to clarify ambiguous concepts in a theory, and to
propose a precise operational definition which reflects its theoretical base
[5, 56-59].
First, we must clarify the etymology
of the lexeme ‘stability’ to further
understand the development of its meaning in Modern English: stability borrowed
in the meaning of “firmness of resolve, mental equilibrium” (of persons in mid-14c.), from Old French stablete, establete
"firmness, solidity, stability; durability, constancy" (see: Modern
French “stabilité”), which was derived from
Latin “stabilitatem” (nominative stabilitas) "a standing fast, firmness,"
figuratively "security, steadfastness," from stabilis
"steadfast, firm" (see: stable, adj.). In physical sense,
"state of being difficult to overthrow, power of remaining upright,"
it was recorded from early 15c.and used in the meaning "continuance in the
same state" from 1540s (Word Origin & History; Online Etymology
Dictionary, 2010). It can be assumed that the components ‘firmness’
(physical) and ‘equilibrium’ (mental)
of a person can constitute the original nucleus of the Middle English lexical
meaning. Evidently, the Modern English nucleus ‘the state or quality of being stable’ developed from the Early
Modern English component ‘continuance in the same state’ and originally from
Middle English ‘person’s firmness’ (physical, mental)
This semantic shift gives us a
background for considering the results of the ‘stability’ lexeme semantic
structure registered in Modern English dictionaries:
1.The state of
being stable ‘a period of economic growth and stability’ (Collins Cobuild).
2.1. The state or quality of being stable;
2.2.
firmness
in position;
2.3.
continuance
without change; permanence;
2.4.
(chemistry) resistance or the
degree of resistance to chemical change or disintegration;
2.5.(economy)
resistance
to change, especially sudden change or deterioration (Macmillan
Dictionary and Thesaurus).
3.1. (Mathematics)
A condition in which a slight disturbance in a system does not produce a
significant disrupting effect on that system. (Concise
Encyclopedia).
4.1. The quality
of being stable;
4.2. (aviation) the ability
of an aircraft to resume its original flight path after inadvertent displacement;
4.3. (meteorology) the condition of an air
or water mass characterized by no upward movement; the degree of susceptibility of an air mass to disturbance by
convection currents;
4.4. (ecology) the ability of an ecosystem to resist change;
4.5. (electrical engineering) the ability of an electrical circuit to
cope with changes in the operational conditions;
4.6. (religion) a
vow taken by every Benedictine monk attaching him perpetually to the monastery
where he is professed (World English Dictionary).
5.1. A situation in which things happen as they should and there are no harmful changes (political/economic/social stability);
5.2.
a condition in which someone's mind or emotional state is healthy;
5.3. the ability of something to remain balanced and not fall or shake;
5.4. (science) the ability of a substance to stay in the same state (Macmillan English Dictionary Online).
6.1. The quality or attribute of being firm and
steadfast:
6.2. a stable order (especially of
society);
6.3. the quality of being enduring and
free from change or variation;
6.4. a stable order (Webster's Online Dictionary).
7.1. The state or quality of being stable, or
fixed; steadiness;
7.2. firmness of
character, purpose, or resolution;
7.3. resistance to
change; permanence;
7.4. resistance to
chemical decomposition;
7.5. composure;
self-possession;
7.6. mental
soundness; sanity;
7.7. the capacity
of an object to return to equilibrium or to its original position after having
been displaced;
7.7.(R.C.Ch.) a vow ‘binding
Benedictine monks until death to the monastery where they join the order;’
7.8. political
stability (Webster's
New World College Dictionary).
8.1. The state or quality of being stable;
8.2.
resistance to change, deterioration, or displacement;
8.3.
constancy of character or purpose; steadfastness;
8.4.
reliability; dependability;
8.5. the ability of
an object, such as a ship or aircraft, to maintain equilibrium or resume its
original, upright position after displacement, as by the sea or strong winds;
8.6.
(R.C.Ch.) a vow committing a
Benedictine monk to one monastery for life (American
Heritage Dictionary).
Thus, the definitional analysis
of the dictionary entry underlines the denotative component ‘state of quality
of being stable’ in General English. Other components registered are
connotative, though in registers of their usage they are denotative, see;
science, aviation, meteorology, mathematics, chemistry, religion, politics,
economy, finance, medicine, psychology, etc. Accordingly, the lexeme
‘stability’ actualizes the component required by the type of discourse.. When
we speak we automatically locate ourselves on a specific discourse register
(style, genre). This can vary depending on the situation in which we find
ourselves, for instance, when talking to the relative, neighbour, family
member, one would most likely use a
different register than when one is holding a public address, a lecture, a
speech to the parliament, a report to the conference, etc. Besides, every component
can be expressed by a number of synonyms forming a semantic field ‘stability,’
for instance:accord, adherence, aplomb, assurance, backbone, balance, belief, cohesion, connection, constancy, continuousness, continuum, credence, dependability, determination, durability, duration, dignity, dispassion, ease, equanimity, establishment, even temper, evenness, endurance, extension, faith, firmness, fixture, fortitude, foundation, harmony, imperturbability,
immobility, immovability, immutability;
interdependence, inexcitability, interrelationship, levelheadedness, maturity, moderation, , nonchalance, obstinacy, permanence, perpetuity, persistence, perseverance, placidity, poise, presence of mind,
prolongation, protraction, sequence, stamina, succession, survival, quietude, repose, resoluteness, responsibility, security, solidity, solidness,
soundness, stableness, steadfastness, steadiness, strength, substantiality, support, sang-froid, sedateness,
self-assurance, self-control, self-possession, serenity, sobriety, steadiness,
stiffness, toughness, tranquility, trustworthiness,
unchangeableness, vitality, etc. There is no set of definite criteria
for establishing a ‘semantic field’ [cf.:11, 29-36] though a 'common
component' of meaning is the key feature. In terms of cognitive semantics it is
a set of lexemes of one part of speech taken to verbalize a certain conceptual domain [cf. domain:
7, 147-182], .
There are also some components ‘continuance
without change, resistance to change, deterioration, continuance without
change’ revealed in the semantic structure of the lexeme ‘stability’ which
politicians would not like to emphasize for the sake of their own ‘snug place’
metaphorically speaking and try to lullaby the society avoiding the reference
of the component ‘deterioration (of state or quality),’ i.e., the absence of
development within a period of ‘stabilization’ is likely to cause deterioration
in various fields of human endeavour.
As a perspective of a further
research we assume the necessity of a discourse functions of the lexeme
‘stability’ in various registers to reveal the conditions of actualizing the
components singled out by means of the definitional analysis.
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