Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-8kt4b Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-03T14:35:20.033Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 2 - From a Unit of Meaning to a Meaning-Shift Unit

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2019

Svetlana Vetchinnikova
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki
Get access

Summary

Chapter 2 provides an in-depth discussion of Sinclair’s conceptualization of lexis and meaning and its major concepts. It starts from the model of a unit of meaning and explains how it is capable of incorporating both syntagmatic and paradigmatic axes of meaning by including optional variable components of collocation, colligation and semantic preference. The chapter continues by offering a theoretical solution of removing the borderline between single- and multi-word units. Further it points out the difference between Firth’s and Sinclair’s conceptions of collocation and defines the relationships between the idiom principle, co-selection, syntagmatic association, core meaning, delexicalization and meaning-shift. A large part of the chapter is devoted to examining the controversy around the concept of semantic prosody. The chapter concludes by discussing Sinclair’s theory of meaning and his idea of the ultimate dictionary. The conceptualization presented in the chapter forms the theoretical backbone of the book.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×