Chapter: lexicology and its object subject matter of Lexicology

7.Coutrastive analysis
Contrastive analysis is used to reveal the features of sameness and differences in the lexical meaning and the semantic structure of correlated words in both related and non-related languages.
We must know that the objective reality exists outside human beings, every language classifies reality in its own way by means of its vocabulary units. In English the word «foot» is usad to denote the extremity of the leg. But in Uzbek and Russian there is no exact equivalent for «foot». The words «Hora», «oe'K» denote the whole leg including the foot.
Classification of the real world around us is learned with our first language because we are used to the way in which our own language structures experience but in the fact it is highly arbitrary.


For example. In Russian or in Uzbek one word is used for the thing that tells the time coar, nacw; coar but in English we use two words «watch» and «clock».
In English, Uzbek some kinship terms do not reflect the difference between male and female: cousin ( була ).
In English: nephew, niece; in Russian, двоюродный брат , двоюродная сестра in Uzbek: жиян , in Uzbek: «pacco м », in Russian: «xy дожник », in English: «artist», «painter», «drawer».
The word « воспитывать » can have different equivalents in English; «educate, to raise, to bring up».
Anything which can be said in one language can be translated more or less into another. The correlated polysemantic words of different languages are not coextensive.
Polysemantic words may denote very different types of objects but they are correlated in one basic meaning. Englishman uses the word «head» to denote the following:
head of a person, head of a match, head of a bed, head of a table, head of a coin, head of an organization, head of a cane ( камыш )
But in Russian different words have to be used: голова , изголовье , строна , головка , in Uzbek бош , бошлик ;, yc ти , учи
A Russian or Uzbek language learner having learnt first that the word «head» is the English word which denotes a part of the body he will think that it can be used in all the cases where the Russian word «roJioBa» or «6om» in Uzbek is used. He will never think of using the word «head» in connection with a bed or a coin. Here are some other examples of difference: In Russian: свекровь , теща , In English: mother in law, In Uzbek; кайнона .
In a number of cases the English word «new» stands for « новый »: новое платье (a new dress). новый год (New year). But there are some cases where in Russian we can't use the word новый ; new potatoes — молодая картошка , new bread — свежий хлеб . .
One Russian word «tohk ий » may correspond to a number of English words: тонкая книга — a thin book, тонкая ирония — subtle irony, тонкая талия — slim waist.
One word in one language may correspond to two or more words in different languages: карикатура — cartoon, caracature.
One and the same Russian preposition may correspond, to different prepositions in English.
До 5 часов — till 5 o'clock
до войны — before the war
до угла — to the corner
The well-known Russian linguist Sherba said that it would be a mistake if we supposed that the notional systems of any two languages are identical.
Contrastive linguists attempt to find out similarities and differences in both related and non-related languages Contrastive analysis grew as the result of the practical demands of a language-teaching methodology , where it was empirically shown that the errors which are made by foreign language students can be often traced back to the differences in structure between the target language and the language of the learner . This naturally implies the necessity of a detailed comparison of the structure of a native and a target language . This procedure has been named contrastive analysis . People proceed from the assumption that the categories , elements on the semantic as well as on the syntactic and other levels are valid for both languages .
Contrastive analysis can be carried out at three linguistic levels : phonology , grammar ( morphology and syntax ) and lexis . Contrastive analysis is applied to reveal the features of sameness and difference in the lexical meaning and the semantic structure of correlated words in different languages . It is commonly assumed by non-linguists that all languages have vocabulary systems in which the words themselves differ in sound-form , but refer to reality in the same way . From this assumption it follows that for every word in the mother tongue there is an exact equivalent in the foreign language . It is a belief which is reinforced by the small bilingual dictionary where single-word translation is often used .Language learning cannot be just a matter of substitution a new set of labels for the familiar ones of the mother tongue .It should be born in mind that though the objective reality exists outside human beings and irrespective of the language they speak , every language classifies reality in its own way by means of vocabulary units . For example. In English , for example , the word "foot" is used to denote the extremity of the leg. In Russian there is no exact equivalent for "foot": " мовон " is a little bit smaller than foot, the word " оёк , " denotes the whole leg including the foot.
Contrastive analysis brings to light the essence of what is usually described as idiomatic English , idiomatic Russian , i. e. the peculiar way in which every language combines and structures in lexical units various concepts to denote extra-linguistic reality .
For example. A typical Russian word-group .used to describe the way somebody performs an action or to state how a person finds himself has the structure that may be represented by the formula "adjective + a finite form of a verb "( он крепко спит , быстро усваивает ). In English we can also use structurally similar word- groups and say "he learns fast/slowly" . The structure of idiomatic word-group in English is different. The structure is "adjective + adeverbal noun ". It is really in English to say "he is a heavy smoker, poor learner, early riser ".