SEMANTIC PECULIARITIES OF LEXICAL UNITS DENOTING DISAPPOINTMENT IN MODERN ENGLISH
Keywords:
feeling of disappointment, lexical unit, seme, denotation, dictionary definitionAbstract
The article deals with the study of semantics of lexical units denoting disappointment in Modern English. Disappointment is dissatisfaction that occurs when a person fails to meet his/her expectations or desires. In other words, disappointment is the feeling of deceived expectation. Disappointment is a negative emotion. Deep disappointment can lead to depression. The term “disapproval” is used as a classeme to denote the entire range of emotive-evaluative modality of the negative spectrum. One of the ways of exteriorization of the feeling of disappointment in a language is its naming. Nominatives of disappointment are represented by four lexico-grammatical classes: nouns (disappointment, discouragement, disillusionment, dismay, disenchantment, dissatisfaction, discontent, discontentment), adjectives (disappointed, disappointing, discouraged, discouraging, disillusioned, dismayed, inconsolable, disenchanted, disgruntled, crestfallen, bitter, dissatisfied, discontented, deflated), adverbs derived from the given adjectives (disappointedly, disappointingly, inconsolably, discouragingly, bitterly, discontentedly), and verbs (disappoint, discourage, disillusion, dismay, dissatisfy). The lexicographic description of lexical units denoting disappointment contains the following semes relevant to the psychological identification of the feeling under consideration: “the feeling”, “unhappiness”, “inconsolability”, “annoyance”, “anger”, “sadness”, “upset”, “restlessness”, “worry”, “dissatisfaction”, “loss of confidence”, “hurt pride”, “loss of enthusiasm”, “loss of desire and willingness to do something”, “thinking about uselessness of trying to do something”, “thinking about inability to succeed in the future” . The causes for disappointment are indicated by the following semes: “failure of hopes and expectations”, “failing to achieve a desired result”, “thinking about previous unfair treatment”, “inability to forget negative past experiences”, “revealing the unpleasant truth about someone or something”, and “an unpleasant surprise”.
References
Апресян Ю. Д. Избранные труды: в 2 т. / Ю. Д. Апресян. – М. : Школа “Языки русской культуры”, Издательская фирма “Восточная література” РАН, 1995. – Т. I. Лексическая семантика. – 472 с.
Варій М. Й. Психологія: навч посіб. / М. Й. Варій. – К. : Центр учбової літератури, 2007. – 288 с.
Графова Т. А. Смысловая структура эмотивных предикатов / Т. А. Графова // Человеческий фактор в языке : Языковые механизмы экспрессивности / Отв. ред. В. И. Телия. – М. : Наука, 1991. – С. 67–99.
Донгак С. Языковая игра и обманутое ожидание / С. Донгак // Критика и семиотика. – Красноярск : КГУ, 2001. – Вып. 3–4. – С. 78–84.
Зализняк А. А. Русская семантика в типологической перспективе / А. А. Зализняк. – М. : Языки славянской культуры, 2013. – 640 с.
Кириленко Т. С. Психологія: емоційна сфера особистості: навч. посіб. / Т. С. Кириленко. – К. : Либідь, 2007. – 256 с.
Психологічна енциклопедія / [автор-упорядник О. М. Степанов]. – К. : Академвидав, 2006. – 424 с.
Словарь современного английского языка: в 2-х т. – М. : Рус. яз., 1992. – Т. 1. A – L. – 626 с.
Яковлева Е. С. Фрагменты русской языковой картины мира (модели пространства, времени и восприятия) / Е. С. Яковлева. – М. : Гнозис, 1994. – 344 с.
Cambridge International Dictionary of English. – Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1995. – 1773 p.
Longman Language Activator: The Word’s First Production Dictionary. – Harlow : Longman, 1996. – 1599 p.
Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners. – London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2002. – 1692 p.
Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. – N. Y. ; Toronto ; London ; Sidney ; Auckland : Gramercy Books, 1996. – 1693 p.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
