Lexicology

The course acquaints the students with different types of specialized and general dictionaries and the characteristics of each. Students are trained to skillfully use the dictionary (such as selecting the right type), and gaining speed in looking up words. Students are familiarized with the different key symbols used in dictionaries with special emphasis on phonetic transcription, intonation, and stress as a means of using dictionaries to develop correct pronunciation. Students are also trained in the use and formation of derivation and the way it is presented in dictionaries, the relationship between prefixes and suffixes, derivational rules, and root stems, and their role in building up words and their meanings. Students are taught to understand primary, secondary and figurative meanings of words.