Semantics vs pragmatics of a compound word

Abstract

© 2016 Smirnov, Biktemirova and Davletbaeva.This paper is devoted to the study of correlation between semantic and pragmatic potential of a compound word, which functions in informal speech, and the mechanisms of secondary nomination, which realizes the potential of semantic-pragmatic features of colloquial compounds. The relevance and the choice of the research question is based on the following: firstly, the last decades in the study of the language are devoted to the analysis of ‘language in action’ (speech) rather than its inner form; secondly, the human factor is the leading notion in pragmalinguistics; thirdly, pragmatics is closely connected with productive word building and nomination processes. The following scientific methods were used in the research: analysis and synthesis, definition analysis, method of transformations, the semantic analysis, statistical method, descriptive analysis, and contextual method. The materials and methods chosen in the article help to prove that the meaning of a compound word is built not only on the semantic purpose but mostly on the pragmatic one, that is why the inner structure of a colloquial compound is more complicated. The research also shows that the traditional understanding of pragmatics determines the study of communicative features which appear in certain contexts. The obtained results can be applied in the educational system and are of theoretical and practical value for educational professionals who investigate the questions of pragmatics and semantics.