Word as a lexical unit the main functions of lexical units

5.LINGUISTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORDS: SYNTAGMATIC AND PARADIGMATIC
Linguistic relationships between words are classified into syntagmatic and paradigmatic. Syntagmatic relationships are based on the linear character of speech, i.e. on the influence of context. The context is the minimum stretch of speech which is necessary to bring out the meaning of a word. Ex. take tea (ной ичмок- пить чай), take tram (трамвайда юрмок — ехать в трамвае). Syntagmatic relationships are studied by means of contextual distributional, transformational and some other types of analysis. The paradigmatic relationship is the relations between words within the vocabulary: polysemy, synonymy, antonymy of words etc. These are two approaches to the study of the vocabulary of language - diachronic and synchronic approach deals with the vocabulary as it exists at a given time, at the present time. The diachronic approach studies the changes and the development of vocabulary in the course of time. Ex. synchronically the words “help”, “accept', “work”, “produce" are all of them English words. But diachronically they came from different languages. Such words as “childhood”, “friendship”, “freedom" were at one time compound words, because the suffixes - dom, - hood, - ship were 6 -lulcnt words but synchronically they are derived words because /. in and hood ’ became suffixes. ¹⁹
Paradigmatic relation is concerned with the way words are grouped together into categories, like nouns, verbs, adjectives etc. Words in the same group, or word class, can be exchanged for each other in a sentence: 'The dog/cat/chimpanzee bit me '. Syntagmatic relation refers to the relationship between words in a sentence. Any alterations to the word combination can change the meaning of the sentence:

1. 
   Paul is bathing a dog.
   
2. 
   A dog is bathing Paul.
   

Both sentences have the same components but in a different order. In other words, the syntagmatic relation explains how the word's position in a sentence determines the meaning of the sentence. Paul + is bathing + a dog A dog + is bathing + Paul . Paradigmatic relation describes a substitution relationship between words with the same word class. The substitution occurs on a vertical axis. Syntagmatic relation is about the relationship/position between words in a sentence. The syntagmatic relation occurs on the horizontal axis. Syntagmatic relation defines the relationship between words that co-occur in the same sentence. It focuses on two main parts: how the position and the word order affect the meaning of a sentence. Let's look at an example:Syntagmatic relations 
Paul is roasting a chicken The syntagmatic relation in this sentence explains:
The word position and order: Paul + is roasting + a chicken The relationship between words gives a particular meaning to the sentence:
It is a chicken that Paul is roasting, not something else.
It is Paul who is roasting a chicken, not someone else.
Thus, the syntagmatic relation refers to a word's ability to combine with other words, and the syntagmatic dimension (syntagm) always refers to the horizontal axis or linear aspect of a sentence. The syntagmatic relation can also explain why specific words are often paired together (collocations), such as have + a party in 'We had a party on Saturday'. If you hear someone say, 'We made a party on Saturday', you'll probably cringe because make + a party doesn't sound right. The opposite of syntagmatic relation is paradigmatic relation. Paradigmatic relation refers to the relationship between words that can be substituted within the same word class (on the vertical axis).

Types of syntagmatic relations

Because syntagmatic relations have to do with the relationship between words, the syntagms can result in collocations and idioms.

Collocations

Collocations are word combinations that frequently occur together. 1. There are three interesting facts about collocations:
1.There isn't a specific rule for the way words go together (why A is commonly paired with B). It is based on what the speakers of a language commonly combine, and eventually, what sounds natural. That's why when you read, 'a handsome girl' instead of 'a pretty girl' it feels odd.
2. Word substitution is possible
Sticking with the example of handsome girl, technically, it isn't wrong to say handsome girl because handsome means 'good-looking' (Oxford Learner's Dictionary) which is gender-neutral. Therefore, you can say handsome girl, but it just doesn't sound natural.
3. The collocation's meaning can be traced back to the meaning of each component
For instance, catch a cold means 'getting a cold' and office hours means 'the hour someone dedicates to work'. The definition of each component forms the meaning of a collocation. Here are some examples of collocations:
Verb + noun: do homework, take a risk, catch a cold.
Noun + noun: office hours, interest group, kitchen cabinet.
Adjective + adverb: good enough, close together, crystal clear.
Verb + preposition: protect from, angry at, take advantage of.
Adverb + verb: strongly suggest, deeply sorry, highly successful.
Adjective + noun: handsome man, quick shower, fast food.

Idioms

Idioms are expressions that have a meaning other than their literal one.
Idioms are distinct from collocations:
1. The word combination is not interchangeable (fixed expressions).
You can't substitute the words in idioms, even with their synonyms. For instance, in 'kill two birds with one stone' the stone is substituted with rock and becomes 'kill two birds with one rock’. This version of the idiom simply doesn't exist, even though the overall meaning and construction of the sentence remains unchanged.
2. The meaning of each component is not equal to the meaning of the idiom
It is difficult to find the meaning of an idiom based on the definition of the words alone. For example, red herring. If you define the idiom word by word, it means 'red fish', not 'something that misleads', which is the real meaning.
Because of this, idioms can't be translated to or from another language because the word definition isn't equivalent to the idiom interpretation.
Here are some examples of popular idioms:
Break a leg.
Miss the boat.²⁰


XULOSA
In this research work I learned about the concept of “word” and its function in the oral and written speech. I have observed it`s linguistic features. The term «word» denotes the main lexical unit of a language resulting from the association of a group of sounds with a meaning. This unit is used in grammatical functions characteristic of it. It is the smallest unit of a language which can stand alone as a complete utterance. A word is a speech sound or a combination of sounds, or its representation in writing, that symbolizes and communicates a meaning and may consist of a single morpheme or a combination of morphemes. The totality of all words in a given language is often referred to as its vocabulary. The words that make up the vocabulary of a language can be studied in terms of their meaning, origin, and usage in speech. Compared to other units of the language system, such as phonemes and morphemes, on the one hand, and word combinations and sentences, on the other hand, the word is perceived as the central unit of language. The word is a meaningful, reproducible unit of language. Words denote our notions of phenomena of the surrounding reality. Words refer to various feelings and experiences of people. Words make up sentences for exchanging thoughts between people. Despite the constant use of words, defining a word as a linguistic unit is not easy. The difficulty of a single word characterization is due to the fact that the words that make up the lexical system of language are extremely diverse both in their structure and in the nature of the meaning they express (cf.: the noun vegetation and the union and - both are words, but very different). Words may appear to be similar to morphemes and word combinations, and they must be distinguished from each other (cf. the conjunction a and the ending -a in the word windows; thathour is one word and thathour is a combination of two words with independent meanings, etc.).