The Identification of Semiotic Superclasses of Words

It should be added in conclusion that the noun as a part of speech underwent in the semiotic/global approach the most detailed semantic classification. As to all other notionals, they were allocated by E. Nida to the second large semiotic superclass, which embraces the so-called identifying subclasses of words. The latter class includes all non-substantive words which together constitute five large semiotic subclasses of lexemes, each presenting a separate part of speech. Consequently, the identifying semiotic subclasses split into the following subclasses:

Subclass 1. Verbal words presenting various classes of notional and functional verbs. Notional verbs are presented by different LSGs characterised by their general implicit grammatical meaning as transitivity or intransitivity, perfective or non-perfective (or any other aspect), reflexiveness or non-reflexiveness, etc. Isomorphism is observed, for instance, in English and Ukrainian in the existence of transitivity and non-transitivity of verbs and consequently in their ability to take the direct and indirect object (cf. send her a letter послати їй листа) and consequently to be used in active and passive voice (cf. to build - to be built будувати -бути збудованим). Equally presented are other implicit and explicit categorial meanings and forms of the verb as person, number, mood, tense forms with their isomorphic and allomorphic traits/peculiarities in each language etc.

Subclass 2 of identifying semiotic classification is presented in all languages by the universal modifiers of syntactic objects, in other words by adjectives. These words split in all languages into two subclasses 1) the qualitative and 2) the relative adjectives (a universal typological feature). Qualitative adjectives in all languages have degrees of comparison (also a universal feature). Cf. long - longer - the longest довгий -довший - найдовший. Most of languages (at least the European ones) have one more isomorphic feature which is called suppletivity (cf. good-better - the best, добрий - кращий - найкращий; bad - worse - the worst, поганий - гірший -найгірший; but only in English: little - less -the least). Besides, isomorphic are the syntactic functions of adjectives in most languages, though the nature of adjectival classes may differ. Thus, the Ukrainian language has the class of possessive adjectives (мамин, татів, сестрин, Петрова книжка), which are nouns but not adjectives in English and other languages.

Typological differences are also observed in the formation and expression of the synthetic degrees of comparison of adjectives in English and Ukrainian, the English language using the endings -er, -est and the definite article in the superlative degree while in Ukrainian the suffix - -іш, -вш, -жч and the prefix най- (in the superlative degree) are used. Cf. polite -politer - the politest ввічливий - ввічливіший - найввічливіший. Beside this, Ukrainian makes use of gender, number and case inflexions (eg. довгий - довший - найдовший; довга - довша

- найдовша; довге - довше - найдовше, etc.).

Subclass 3 in the identifying semiotic classification embraces pronouns that have in most languages both isomorphic and allomorphic features with nouns or numerals and functionally with adjectives (cf. Peter

- he, love - she, the four - they, something/nothing - it воно, the first перший, the third третій, etc.). Universal are practically all the main classes of pronouns, though their number may be different in various languages. Thus, in English, Ukrainian and other European languages there exist personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, we, they я, ти/ви, він, вона, ми, вони), demonstrative pronouns (this, that, such, those, etc. цей, той, такий, ті), possessive pronouns (his, her, our, their його, її, наш, їхній). In English, however, there exist possessive absolute pronouns (mine,

hers, ours, yours) and possessive conjoined ones i.e. those of my, his, her, etc. Therefore, semiotic subclasses of pronouns may sometimes be different in some languages, their nomenclature may also not coincide, as it is in case with the English pronoun you which may have two lexical variants in Ukrainian: ви and ти correspondingly. Similarly in Korean which has no pronoun she. The only class of pronouns that has no definite nomenclature in many languages is presented by the so-called class of indefinite pronouns, not all of which are sometimes included into one separate class.

Subclass 4 represents numerical words that substitute corresponding figures. This semiotic subclass is represented by some subclasses of numerals having universal nature. Namely: 1) cardinal numerals (three, twenty-one, one hundred and ten три, двадцять один, сто десять, etc.); 2) ordinal numerals (the first, the tenth, the thirty-first перше, десяте, тридцять перше, etc.). Like adjectives, the ordinal numerals in many languages may have gender, case and number distinctions (cf. Ukrainian перший, перша, перші, першої, першому, першим, перших, першими, etc.). Of universal nature is also the subclass (and notion) of fractionals (common fractions as two-thirds, one-fifths, three-fifths дві третіх, одна п'ята, три п'ятих, etc.) and decimal (десяткові) fractions as 0.5, 2.25 (zero point five, two point twenty five, etc.).

The nomenclature of numerical subclasses, however, may be quite different in some languages. Thus, in Ukrainian there are distinguished indefinite cardinal numerals as кілька, декілька, кільканадцять, мало/небагато (of something), and collective numerals like двійко, трійко, п'ятеро/п'ятірко, обоє, обидва, etc. Some of these numerals are allotted in English to the subclass of indefinite pronouns (many, some, both, etc.). The main constants of this semiotic subclass in all languages, however, remain the cardinal, the ordinal and fractional numerals, which are pertained to every single language on the globe.

Subclass 5 of the identifying semiotic classification presents the adverb which constitutes a universal word modifying an action or state (cf. to read quickly/slowly; very well читати швидко/гарно, дуже добре), etc. Adverbial words in all languages split into several semantic classes which are mainly universal, i.e. pertained to all languages without excep-

tion. The main of these semantic subclasses are as follows: 1) adverbs denoting/expressing temporal relations: now, then, when, today зараз, тоді, коли, сьогодні; 2) adverbs denoting/expressing local relations: here, everywhere, nowhere, there, etc. тут, ніде, повсюди, там; 3) adverbs expressing direction: eastwards, whence, thence східніше, туди, звідти, звідусіль; 4) adverbs expressing manner: how, so, slowly як, так, повільно, etc.; 5) adverbs expressing degree: quite, almost, completely, etc. зовсім, цілком, повністю, майже, etc.

It is necessary to add that adverbial meanings can be also expressed by prepositional nouns, adverbial word-groups and adverbial clauses. Hence, there are to be distinguished in this subclass adverbials expressing:

A. temporal relations: at night, by day, during the day, in Sep tember, last month, at that time, in 1999, etc. Similarly in Ukrainian: протягом/впродовж: дня, тоді, зараз, вдень, за тиждень, серед ночі, у вересні, минулого тижня.

B. Local relations: in Kyiv, somewhere, here, there, far away, not far from there, where the road forks, etc. Similarly in Ukrainian: десь, там/тут, далеко звідси, десь у Сибіру, де шляхи розходяться.

C. Adverbials expressing direction: into the room, to London, from Rome, towards the capital, etc. And in Ukrainian: у поле, на Берлін, із США, (політ) на місяць, звідки сонце сходить.

D. Adverbials expressing manner: slowly/quickly, enthusiasti cally, by plane/by train, with great speed, quickly, without enthusi asm; повільно, гарно, повагом, з увагою, з ентузіазмом, без задоволення, поза сумнівом, з великою швидкістю, etc.

It is easy to notice, therefore, that the identifying classes of words, like the " global" ones, are singled out on the ground of their most general lexico-grammatical meaning. In other words, the semiotic approach to the classification of lexicon is based on the most general grammatical meaning of notionals i.e. on their ability to possess and express substantivity, verbiality, adverbiality or the quality of objects and phenomena and their quantity. The semiotic approach alongside of the most general implicit grammatical meanings also takes into account the semantic variability of words forming separate semantic classes as well as the identifying subclasses of different notionals.