IMT 107 Lexicology
ECTS credits: 6
Course instructor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alper Kumcu
Email | Website

Course Description and Content

This course introduces lexicology and the study of words in the context of translation and interpreting. Students examine words as linguistic signs and explore their origins, internal structure, meaning, use in context, mental representation, and documentation in corpora and dictionaries. Topics include etymology, morphology, lexical semantics and pragmatics, psycholinguistics, corpus-based approaches to vocabulary, and lexicography. By the end of the course, students will be able to analyse words in relation to their contexts and make informed lexical choices in translation and interpreting.

Objectives & Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Explain key concepts in lexicology and distinguish among word forms, lexemes, and lexical units.
  • Describe the historical development of the English lexicon and identify borrowing and other forms of lexical innovation.
  • Analyse the morphological structure of words, including inflection, derivation, and word-formation processes.
  • Discuss lexical meaning, semantic relations, and the effects of context and register on word use.
  • Explain basic concepts concerning the mental lexicon and lexical processing.
  • Use corpora, dictionaries, and digital lexical resources to investigate words and support lexical choices in translation and interpreting.

Weekly Schedule

Week Topic
1 Course introduction: aims, scope, teaching approach, student responsibilities and assessment
2 Introduction to lexicology: words as linguistic signs and key concepts in the study of vocabulary
3 What is a word? Word forms, lexemes, lexical units and criteria for identifying words
4 Etymology: the historical sources and development of the English lexicon
5 English in contact with other languages: borrowing, loanwords, calques and lexical innovation
6 Review and practice: etymology, lexical units and language contact
7 Midterm examination
8 Morphology I: morphemes, roots and affixes; inflection and derivation
9 Morphology II: compounding, conversion, clipping, blending and acronyms
10 Lexical semantics I: words, meaning and reference; sense, denotation and connotation
11 Lexical semantics II: lexical relations, polysemy, semantic change and figurative meaning
12 Lexical pragmatics: word meaning in context, register and socially situated usage
13 The mental lexicon: lexical representation, access and processing
14 Corpus lexicology and lexicography: using corpora, dictionaries and digital lexical resources
  • Aitchison, J. (1994). Words in the mind: An introduction to the mental lexicon. Blackwell.
  • Amvela, H. J. (2001). Words, meaning and vocabulary. Continuum.
  • Knowles, E. (2010). How to read a word. Oxford University Press.
  • Leow, R., Campos, P. H., & Lardiere, D. (Eds.). (2009). Little words: Their history, phonology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and acquisition. Georgetown University Press.
  • Levine, H. (1987). Vocabulary for the college-bound student. Amsco School Publications.
  • Metcalf, A. (2004). Predicting new words: The secrets of their success. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  • Miller, G. A. (1996). The science of words. W. H. Freeman & Company.
  • Yallop, C., & Halliday, M. A. K. (2004). Lexicology: A short introduction. Continuum.

Requirements and Evaluation

Assessment Structure

Assessment Structure

  • Midterm examination: 50% (one exam) Provisionally scheduled for Week 8. The date may change.
  • Final examination: 50% (one exam) Scheduled for the regular course day during the first week of the final examination period.

Homework and attendance are included in the instructor’s assessment; no separate percentage is specified for them.

Requirements

  • To be considered successful in the course, a student must receive at least 50 out of 100 on the final exam. Any student who scores below 50 out of 100 will fail the course.
  • Attendance is mandatory. Students exceeding the absence limit will automatically fail (F1).
  • Missing the final exam results in automatic failure (F2).
  • Late submissions will receive a grade deduction that increases with the length of the delay.
  • Unless an assignment is completed in class with pen and paper, you must upload it to HADİ. I will submit uploaded work to Turnitin. Plagiarism will result in a grade of zero for the assignment and may be referred for further action under university procedures.
  • All assignment files must be named in the format “FirstName_LastName_StudentNumber” (e.g., Alper_Kumcu_12345678.docx).
  • Every digitally prepared assignment must include an AI Use Acknowledgment stating whether you used AI tools and, if so, which tools you used and for what purpose. Plagiarism or submitting AI-generated text as your own work will result in an automatic failing grade for the course.