Language  Culture  Politics, Vol.

1/2020

ISSN 2450-3576

e-ISSN: 2719-3217

Tomasz Zygmunt
State School of Higher Education, Cheªm

ORCID: 0000-0002-8055-2053

A Review of Selected Chapters in English Lexicology,

Part II: Phraseology and Word-formation
by Klaudia Bednarova-Gibova and Petra Jasenska

Recenzja ksi¡»ki p.t. Wybrane aspekty leksykologii

angielskiej, Cz¦±¢ II: Frazeologia i sªowotwórstwo
autorstwa Klaudii Benarovej-Gibovej i Perty Jasenskiej

Selected Chapters in English Lexicology, Part II: Phraseology

and Word-formation by Klaudia Bednarova-Gibova and Petra Ja-
senska published by The University of Presov (Slovakia) in 2019, is, as the
indicant (Part II) says, a sequal to Selected Chapters in English Lexicolo-
gy, Part I: Lexical Semantics and Lexicography (2018). As a publication of
twofold authorship, the book is also a token of cooperation between the In-
stitute of British and American Studies at the University of Presov and
the Department of British and American Studies at Matej Bel University in
Banska Bystrica (Slovakia).
The main intention of the authors is, as they admit, to prepare
a textbook which would address English phraseological and word-forma-
tion issues in a comprehensible digestible manner.... thus helping En-
glish undergraduates grasp the said areas within English linguistics...
(p. 8).

263
264

With respect to structure, the publication is divided into ve main chap-
ters: Phraseology as a Field of Study, Collocations as Partner-Like
Multi-Word Items, Morpheme as a Gate-Way to Word-Formation
 all written by Klaudia Bednarova-Gibova and English Word-Formation
Process  written by Petra Jasenska. The nal chapter  Productivity as
a Quandary in Word-Formation is again of Klaudia Bednarova-Gibova's
authorship. Each chapter ends with Summary and Questions and Tasks
to Think About, which adds a useful and valuable quality to the presented
and discussed material. Besides, two additional parts of the publication make
it complete; this is Glossary of Terms which greatly facilitates the access
to the ideas and observations embedded in each chapter material, and espe-
cially  Bibliography and References which, in turn, gives guidance to
individual research and further penetration of the eld of studies.
With the undergraduate students of English philology in mind, one must
admit that phraseology, in their case, undoubtedly remains Achilles' heel. The-
refore, the examined here publication appears to be a corner stone of lexico-
logy, and especially phraseology as a eld of language study. Hence, it is not
a coincidence that Phraseology as a Filed of Language Study is just the ti-
tle of the opening chapter of the book. The chapter starts with the discussion
on past achievements and present standing within the eld, so it covers the pe-
riod ranging from the beginning of the 20
th century to the present time. Both

classics, such as, for example, Charles F. Hockett or Uriel Weinreich, are refer-
red to as well as contemporary researchers, such as, for instance, Anthony Co-
wie, Rosamunde Moon or Bogdan Szymanek. The mentioned here researchers,
representing both the past and the present, give evidence as to the extent and
divergence of the discussion which underscores the importance of phraseology,
especially that the authors of the book stress that All non-native speakers ne-
ed to be aware that mastering phraseology is as essential as learning the meaning
and use of individual words if they desire their language production to be close to
native patterns (p. 13). Relying on this conviction, the authors attempt to ma-
ke students sensitive to the fact that English has always been highly phrasal
or formulaic, and is also the language where the linguistic co-text is respon-
sible for meaning. Such remarks, underscored by the authors in the discussion,
become simultaneously indicators not only for students but also for language
instructors, showing them the idiom principle which exists, side by side, with
the open choice principle. And, it is the student's competence which makes him
decide which of the two principles he can follow freely.
Pursuing the discussion on phraseology as a eld of language study,
the authors strengthen the view that phraseology is a separate linguistic
 265

discipline. And, following the point of view of Anthony Cowie, they direct
the reader's attention to the cultural aspect of phraseology, and close their
discussion on the issue by the opinion that phraseology and the related
studies contribute to a better understanding of the link between language
and culture. This opinion is of great signicance in the context of language
and culture interrelationship where, unfortunately, in the majority of schools,
the language material and culture material are treated separately and, hardly
ever can students be aware of that link.
Further along in the discussion the reader's attention is directed at some
problematic issues, among which the authors, in accordance with Kavka's
and Lipka's views, observe that a large number of idioms carry both a lite-
ral and gurative meaning (p. 18). The reader also learns that the ability
of English phrases to be turned into lexical items, ... reveals that there is
a close connection between syntax and phraseology (p. 19). Besides, the au-
thors notice that although free combinations are conventionally thought of
as compositional, collocations as semi-compositional and idioms proper as
non compositional... (p. 19), which creates a certain problem in determi-
ning the border line between a free combination and an idiom.
The very fact of including some problematic issues in the discussion makes
it valuable and useful for language teachers and instructors who are involved in
English language teaching programs of studies at any level. Not only can they
see the true nature of phraseology but also be sensitive to some intricacies as
well as be cautious during their presentation of the teaching material.
The discussion in Chapter 1 is also devoted to idioms as traditional
multi-word units, showing basic features of idioms, functions of idioms and
their classication. Among numerous phraseology related issues, worth pay-
ing attention are those which deal with approaches, such as, for example,
the contrastive approach or the translational approach; also proverbs, simi-
les, phrasal verbs or clishés are thoroughly discussed, and the discussion is
supported by the abundance of examples, which makes the presented mate-
rial well documented.
Collocations as Partner-Like Multi-Word Items is a subsequent
chapter of the examined publication.
The attempt of the opening discussion is to explain the very concept
of collocation and make reference to some denitions in order to facilita-
te the reception of the discussed material. In consequence, the reader le-
arns that collocations can be dened statistically and psychologically. Kno-
wing the dierence between a statistical denition and a psychological one,
and being acquainted with numerous examples introduced to this part of
266

the chapter, the reader is familiarized with the essence of collocations. It

has to be accepted that this is a very well chosen approach to the new ma-
terial presentation, which turns into a preparatory step towards the further
reception of the material and its analysis. Moreover, to make the material
reception yet easier, the authors, following Haiyan Men's categorization, ju-
xtapose in Table 2 (p. 42), the most commonly adopted denitions together
with criteria used for the purpose of their distinction.
Yet, one more step towards further penetration of collocations is devoted
to approaches. Hence, such approaches as the frequency based approach
and the phraseological approach are thoroughly presented with the help of
references to the literature and, contrasted. The discussion carried out in this
part of the book also covers properties of collocations and their functions,
putting a stress on the role collocations play in the development of creative
language. Therefore, again the practical aspect of teaching collocations is
raised, taking into account the student's creativity.
The closing part of Chapter 2 is focused on types of collocations, sho-
wing some basic distinctions between grammatical collocations and lexical
collocations. Also, some other types are mentioned and described, including
marked collocations, bound collocations or immediate and cohesive colloca-
tions. The discussion is profound and supported by numerous examples and
the literature. To complete this part of discussion, a sketchy presentation
of the structural composition in English lexical collocations can be found in
Table 3 (p. 50), which becomes yet an additional but workable expansion of
the presented material.
Not for the rst time in this book, do the authors direct the reader's
attention to some problems  now  related to collocations. Thus, the re-
ader, no matter whether he is a student or a teacher, is made sensitive to
the problem of rst language transfer which may seriously hamper and di-
stort the process of collocation formation in second language. In addition,
a warning is given to translators as most of the collocations cannot be trans-
lated literally because native speakers, as the authors say, would express
themselves in quite a dierent way, which is often caused by the natural
use of collocations (p. 54.). So, both students and teachers have to bear in
mind that English native speakers and non-native speakers use collocations,
as the authors stress, dierently.
The above presented opinion might be perceived as a practical indicator
to all individuals involved in the teaching/learning process of English as
a foreign language. Of signicant importance is one more practical remark
which underscores the fact that collocations should be taught from an early
 267

stage of language exposure. However, the authors also point out that many
problems and queries pertaining to the research studies on collocations and
their use by native and non-native speakers still remain unanswered.
Chapter 3  Morpheme as a Gate-Way to Word Formation is,
nomen omen, entirely devoted to the morpheme concept and types of morphs
in English.
The discussion starts with reminding us of the notion of the term mor-
pheme, quoting the 19
th century classic denition in order to pass on to

the elaborated view by Bloomeld. In this way the notion of morpheme be-
comes easily understood, which helps the authors to go further and show
a distinction between lexical and grammatical morphemes. The discussion is
yet developed and shortly deals with allomorphs and their split into phono-
logically conditioned allomorphs and morphologically conditioned allomor-
phs. Moreover, free and bound morphemes are examined and described with
a sucient number of examples. The richness of the presented material sup-
ported by a plentitude of examples, both in the text and tables, facilitates
the digestion of the material and makes the reader aware of such terms as
derivation, inection, sux, prex or ax. No doubt, this kind of knowled-
ge gained from the study of Chapter 3 makes the students' fundamentals in
lexicology stronger.
Furthermore, the discussion is directed at some other issues in lexicology,
that is base, root, and stem; each term is clearly explained and illustrated
with examples. In addition, some other types of morphs in English are listed
and explicitly dened as well as supported with representative forms.
The closing part of Chapter 3 is devoted to a word analysis and juxta-
poses a morphematic analysis with a word-formation analysis in order to
show the dierence between these two types of investigation and prevent
confusion. The undertaken approach greatly facilitates the penetration and
understanding of a relatively complex material.
To some extent, Chapter 4  English Word-Formation Processes is
a direct continuation of the discussion originated in Chapter 3. As a matter
of fact, the discussion is focused on the phenomenon of word as a unit of
language, as well as a solution and analysis of the very process of word
formation. Hence, such processes as derivation, compounding, conversion,
shortening and coinage are presented and described in a very detailed way.
The multitude of examples enriches and claries the presentation; also tables
are employed as illustrations of the analyzed issues and linguistic problems.
The scientic study of language as found in Chapter 4 is profound and
complete as far as the processes of word-formation are concerned. From
268

the point of view of foreign language education, in general but in the case of
English studies, in particular, this part of the examined book is of paramo-
unt importance both to the teacher and the student. This is so because of
a great decit often encountered in students' competence, concerning word-
formation processes. No doubt that a thorough presentation of the above
listed processes should contribute to a substantial deepening of students'
knowledge and their understanding of word-formation in English. Very im-
portant and instructive is the nal part of the chapter  Multiple processes
 where the reader gets to know that, as the authors say, ...there are so-
me formations which appear to be a mixture of two or more word-formation
processes... (p. 102).
With reference to the present revision of Chapter 4, it has to be un-
derscored that the value of the explicit presentation is not only achieved
by the abundance of examples pertaining to word-formation procedures but
also by numerous references to the literature.
Productivity as a Quandary in Word-Formation is a nal part
of the examined publication. As the authors remark, ...productivity still re-
presents one of the most controversial issues in contemporary English word-
formation both in terms of its scope and denition (p. 104). Hence, the main
focus of the discussion is on the description and explanation of the produc-
tivity phenomenon, showing the course of word-formation and its results.
To make the discussion on productivity clear and comprehensible,
the authors undertake a practical step and employ denitions from the li-
terature. Analyzing various denitions, it appears that their core element,
in the majority of the analyzed cases, is the term frequency. Therefore,
the further part of the discussion is just concentrated on the explanation
of the term, especially that frequency is often misidentied with produc-
tivity; this type of misunderstanding is in the further part described and
explained, revealing other productivity related notions. In consequence, so-
me approaches to word-formation productivity are quite deeply revised. Out
of ve revised approaches (Arono, Baayen, Plag, Bauer, ’tekauer), a spe-
cial attention is paid to the point of view represented by Mark Arono as
an outstanding linguist in the word-formation productivity domain. The pre-
sentation of the approaches gives a clear image of this linguistic area and
demonstrates discrepancies in researchers' points of view.
Although at the very beginning of the discussion on approaches to pro-
ductivity the authors warn the reader that the presented ...overview is far
from being exhaustive... [as it is] inevitably selective (p. 107), the confronted
points of view show how it is dicult to analyze the word-formation process,
 269

and especially its part  productivity, due to its complex nature. However, it
can be assumed that the main aim of the discussion designed for Chapter 5
has been attained.
With regard to the above presented sketchy revisions of each of the -
ve chapters of the publication entitled Selected Chapters in English
Lexicology, Part II: Phraseology and Word-formation by Klaudia
Bednarova-Gibova and Petra Jasenska, it can be armed that the bo-
ok is neatly designed as far as its structure and contents are considered.
Once more, it is worth stressing that the enriching of the chapter material
and the facilitation of its reception is obtained by the inclusion of those parts
mentioned at the beginning of the present revision, that as Questions and
Tasks to Think About, and Glossary of Terms. Nevertheless, the main
value of the book lies in the study material itself and the way of its presen-
tations, especially its language which is plain and digestible. Also, a proper
selection of numerous examples which improve the presentation and faci-
litate the discussion are worth mentioning. Apart from examples, the use
of references becomes a great asset as they serve students and teachers as
indicators, pointing to resources for further studies.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to consider that the reviewed publication by
Klaudia Bednarova-Gibova and Petra Jasenska is designated with the label 
Part II. It means that the publication is a continuum of Part I, which is a bo-
ok by Klaudia Bednarova-Gibove entitled Selected Chapters in English
Lexicology, where Part I is dedicated to Semantics and Lexicography.
Knowing this, we realize to what extent Part II becomes precious and useful
material for the teaching/learning process of English. As a matter of fact,
Part II elevates the discussion on English lexicology originated in Part I,
yet on a higher level and demonstrates its complexity. Moreover, Part II not
only expands the eld of studies but it also makes it complete.
Taking into account all the above mentioned remarks and observations,
it becomes evident that the revised publication should be recommended to
academics as well as philology students as a source material to be used
in the teaching/learning process focused on English lexicology. Additional-
ly, it has to be made clear that the eld of linguistics, especially English
linguistics oered to philology students, yet in a foreign language, is a de-
manding area of studies, and aiding it with the publication like Selected
Chapters in English Lexicology, Part II: Phraseology and Word-
formation, by Klaudia Bednarova-Gibova and Petra Jesenska is of
paramount importance. This importance is even doubled when we realize
that students of English experience, in this case, the shortages of adequate
270

and handy materials (132 pages), directly concentrated on the subject mat-
ter. In this respect, the publication by Klaudia Bednarova-Gibova and
Petra Jesenska deserves recommendation as a resource material which not
only deepens the reader's knowledge in lexicology but also stimulates him
or her to further research in this eld.

Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to Dr. Tomasz

Zygmunt  Associate Professor and Head of the Institute of Modern Philology
at The State School of Higher Education in Cheªm (Poland).
E-mail: tomzyg@pwsz.chelm.pl