QUALITATIVE-QUANTITATIVE LEXEMES IN THE ENGLISH DISCOURSE

Abstract

The paper in question deals with the nominative units, their status in the English discourse. Attention is being focused upon the paradigm of lexemes a few / little, many / much. Special attention is being paid to proverbs with the above units. The proverbs in question are mostly one-sentence, two-block (theme, rheme), with one topic, devoid of fable and title. The evaluative semes are actualized by both lexemes (good, bad), seemingly chaotic. The basic lexemes are bifunctional; they have both nominative and evaluative functions. The words in question perform the actions of syncretism, polarization, lacunarity to meet emands of topicality, situations. Numeric words and their secondary denumeral formations are polyaspected, polyfunctional and polymodal units. The metasign quantity refers to units which verbalize the results of cognition by the seme quantity. The allonyms of this type objectivize the arrangement of number and measure groups. By quantitative words I understand the language units semantically charged with the general seme quantity and subsemes number and measure. The different methods are involved to consider the nature of investigated units (in our case – numerals, words of weight and measure). Thus, the set of integrated methods are at work here: etymological, componential, contextual, and cognitive. The analysis of the latest research shows that investigated systematic and functional properties of modern English quantitative units, their inherent functional potential, regularities in language and speech systems, creates the bank of quantitative lexical units models. Numerals come to the forefront for they are used with discrete nouns and as mediators with indiscrete ones. The obtained results are aimed at further understanding of English words of weight and measure, which are nominated here as quantitative ones as those charged with general seme Quantity and corresponding subsemes Number and Measure.