1. Lexicology as a branch of linguistics. Lexical units

4 Types of word meaning. Word meaning & motivation
Meaning – the reflection of an object, phenomenon, relations in a l-ge. Types of meaning: 1) lexical (the reflection of a concept in a word form – goes, went); 2) grammatical ( the reflection of the relations of obj. in
the forms of the word – asked, walked); 3) functional (classifies words, parts of speech – export (n) & export (v). Lexical meaning: 1) denotational (objective) – the ability of a word to refer to an individual object; 2) significative (notional, identical) – the ability of a word to generalize significant properties of objects & to present them as abstract ideas); 3) connotational (pragmatic) – the ability of a word to evoke & directly express emotions; 4) conceptional – scientific meaning. Motivation – a direct connection between the structure of the word & its meaning. Types: 1) morphological (re-think – think again); 2) sound symbolism (sounds associated with words: buzz – жужжать, cuckoo – куковать); 3) semantic (based on metaphoric transfer – heart-breaking, eye-wash – надувательство).

5. Change of meaning in English.
Word-meaning is liable to change in the course of the historical development of language. Causes of Semantic Change

1. 
   extra-linguistic — various changes in the life of the speech community, changes in economic and social structure, changes in ideas, scientific concepts, way of life and other spheres of human activities as reflected in word meanings
   
2. 
   linguistic —. factors acting within the language system
   
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     ellipsis (In a phrase made up of two words one of these is omitted and its meaning is transferred to its partner. The verb to starve, e.g., in Old English had the meaning ‘to die’ and was habitually used in collocation with the word hunger. Already in the 16th century the verb itself acquired the meaning ‘to die )
     
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     differentiation of synonyms (The word land, e.g., in Old English (OE. land) meant both ’solid part of earth’s surface’ and ‘the territory of a nation’. When in the Middle English period the word country (OFr. contree) was borrowed as its synonym, the meaning of the word land was somewhat altered and ‘the territory of a nation’ came to be denoted mainly by the borrowed word country)
     
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