The Spanish Lexicon: A Comprehensive Guide

Posted on Oct 8, 2024 in Language

1. The Spanish Lexicon

The set of words that shaped our language is called the Spanish lexicon. Its origin and other aspects of grammar are studied by lexicology (the study of the lexicon).

1.1 The Word as a Linguistic Sign

The verbal code that humans use to communicate consists of a series of units called linguistic signs.

A linguistic sign is made up of:

  • Signifier: This consists of a chain of articulated sounds, represented in writing by a string of graphemes. Example: “table”
  • Meaning: This is the concept or idea. Example: “a piece of furniture consisting of…”

Characteristics of the linguistic sign:

  • Arbitrariness: The string of graphemes “t”, “a”, “b”, “l”, “e” is conventional and could be formed by another string of sounds.
  • Immutability for the speaker: The speaker of a language cannot alter the signifier or meaning.
  • Mutability over time: Linguistic signs evolve over time, and therefore, their meanings can vary.

1.2 The Double Articulation of Language: Phonemes and Monemes

Monemes: Minimal units equipped with meaning. They constitute the first articulation of language. Example: niñ-o-s (niñ -> young person; o -> male gender; s -> plural number)

Phonemes: The smallest units of speech. Example: /n/ /i/ /ɲ/ /o/ /s/

1.3 Monemes and Their Classification

Lexeme: The moneme that contains the lexical meaning of the word.

Morpheme: The moneme that is attached to the lexeme to give grammatical meaning to the word (gender, number, person, etc.). Example: niñ (lexeme -> young person); o-s (morphemes that provide the grammatical meaning of the word -> gender and number)

Classes of morphemes:

  • Free or independent: These morphemes are not attached to lexemes. Example: The day -> The article (the) precedes the lexeme (day), indicating the morpheme of gender (masculine). Chocolate with churros -> The preposition (with) accompanies the lexemes but is not attached to either of them.
  • Bound or dependent: These must join the stem and are individually devoid of meaning.
    • Inflectional: Attached to nouns, adjectives, and verbs without changing their lexical meaning. In the case of nouns and adjectives, they provide gender and number, and in the case of verbs, they provide mode, tense, aspect, number, and person.
    • Derivational: These bind to the lexeme and modify its lexical meaning. They can also be called affixes.
      • Prefixes: Appear in front of the lexeme.
      • Suffixes: Appear behind the lexeme.
        • Derivational suffixes: Alter the meaning; the word signifies a different reality than the original.
        • Appreciative suffixes: Provide a subjective assessment of the speaker regarding the word.
      • Interfixes: Appear in the middle of the lexeme.

2. Word Formation

2.1 Simple Words

  • A single lexeme: Words that have only the lexeme.
  • A lexeme combined with inflections: Word formation by a stem and one or more inflections.
  • A free morpheme: Independent or free morphemes are simple words: the, of, etc.

2.2 Compound Words

  • Lexeme + Lexeme: parachutes, umbrellas, sunflowers, bumper, etc.
  • Free Morpheme + Free Morpheme: although, but, also, the, etc.
  • Free Morpheme + Lexeme: premature, ex-boyfriend, postwar, etc.

2.3 Derived Words

This is the union of a lexeme with one or more affixes.

  • A change in the grammatical category of the word: last (noun) -> duration (noun) / beat (verb) -> im-bat-ible (adjective)
  • A change in the meaning of the derivative word: muñequ-ita (diminutive) / grand-ote (augmentative) / bi-arracada (pejorative)

2.4 Parasynthetic Words

Words formed by adding a prefix and a suffix simultaneously to a root word, where neither the prefix + root nor the root + suffix exists independently. Example: a-sir-ed (does not exist “asir” or “sired“).

2.5 Acronyms and Abbreviations

Acronyms: Initials that form a pronounceable word. Example: NASA.

Abbreviations: Initials of a name that are used to avoid repeating it. Example: UFO -> Unidentified Flying Object.

Types of words:

  • Variable vs. Invariable: Invariable categories: adverb, conjunction, preposition.
  • Simple or compound
  • Primitive or derived

3. Semantic Level

3.1 Meaning of Words

  • Denotation: The literal meaning of the word.
  • Connotation: The implied or associative meaning we give to a word.

3.2 Semantic Phenomena

  • Polysemy: One signifier with different meanings.
  • Synonyms: Different signifiers with the same meaning.
  • Antonyms: Words with opposite meanings.
  • Homonymy:
    • Homographs: Spelled the same but have different meanings.
    • Homophones: Pronounced the same but have different meanings.
  • Paronymy: Words that resemble each other in spelling and sound.

3.3 Semantic Changes

  • Historical factors: New meanings of words due to the passage of time.
  • Social factors: Rejection of words that have unpleasant connotations for speakers. Example: cancer (disease) -> terminal illness (euphemism)
  • Linguistic factors: Semantic change caused by the spread of meaning between two words that always appear together. Example: a postcard -> a card / coffee cut -> a cut (of coffee)
  • Psychological factors: Semantic changes that have their origin in a mental association.
    • Metaphor: An element receives the name of another by similarity. Example: Spider (insect) -> spider (lamp) / lynx (animal) -> lynx (wily person)
    • Metonymy: An element takes the name of another even though there is no similarity. Example: He drank the whole bottle -> Indicates that he consumed its total content.