Ўзбекистон республикаси олий ва ўрта махсус таълим вазирлиги ўзбекистон давлат жаҳон тиллари университети инглиз тили назарий аспектлари №1

A semantic field is a closely-knit sector of vocabulary characterised by a common concept (e.g. in the semantic field of space we find nouns (expanse, extent, surface); verbs (extend, spread, span); adjectives (spacious, roomy, vast, broad)). The members of the semantic fields are not synonymous but all of them are joined together by some common semantic component. This semantic component common to all the members of the field is sometimes described as the common denominator of meaning, like the concept of kinship, concept of colour, parts of the human body and so on. The basis of grouping in this case is not only linguistic but also extra-linguistic: the words are associated, because the things they name occur together and are closely connected in reality.
Words joined together by one common semantic component form semantic fields. For example, the semantic field of time, emotion, flora, fauna, etc.
Yet, beneath all the diversity, there is likely to be an underlying unity which a systematic comparison of these fields would no doubt reveal. Thus “we are told of striking differences between the number and nature of colour distinctions:
there was no single term for 'brown' or 'gray' in Latin; Russian has two words for 'blue'—синий 'dark blue' and голубой 'sky-blue'; These differences are highly significant, but it would be equally interesting to know whether there are any elements common to all classifications of colors, any distinctions which have to be
expressed everywhere and which couid therefore rank as lexical constants”(Stephen Ullmann).
The same point is even more closely noticeable in another closely organized
field which has been extensively studied in various languages: the nomenclature of
kinship terms. Take for instance the words for 'brother' and 'sister'. These two concepts seem so fundamental to us that we find it difficult to imagine any language that could do without them. There was no single term either for younger brother or for younger sister and for elder brother and elder sister in the English language; instead, two pairs of separate words for 'elder' and 'younger brother' and
'elder' and 'younger sister' are present in the Uzbek language (ака-ука, опа-сингил).
A comparison of the same field in a number of languages would reveal whether this relationship is a semantic universal. It would also show how many ways there are of 'structuring' this part of the field and how frequent these various solutions actually are. The same method could then be applied to other sections of the field. Even languages belonging to the same family and culture will sometimes show remarkable discrepancies. Thus there is no single term for 'father-in- law' or 'mother- in- law' in Russian: a distinction is made between тесть-свёкор,тёща- свёкровка.
One of the most fruitful concepts evolved so far in structural semantics is that of the lexical fields, which are highly organized and integrated conceptual spheres whose elements mutually delimit each other and derive their significance from the system as a whole. In each field a sphere of experience, concrete or abstract, is analyzed, divided up and classified in a unique way which embodies a scale of values and a peculiar vision of the world.
The significance of each unit in the semantic field is determined by its neighbours, semantically related words must occur near one another in the text. If the words often occur in the text together they must be semantically related and they form a semantic field. For example. faint, feeble, weary, sick, tedious and healthy form one semantic field. Face, head, arm, hand, foot, etc. make up the semantic field with the notion of body. Examples of lexical fields are: the system of colors, the network of family relations; or, among abstract experiences, the terms for intellectual qualities, ethical and aesthetic values, religious and mystical experiences, etc.