This thesis focuses on the comprehensive study of semantics of the NCSC in the German language (based on explanatory dictionaries of the German language and published media texts 2016-2021). 7500 pages of mass-media texts were analysed, 3366 NSCS.
The relevance of the study stems from the need to identify the modalities of the NCSC in the modern German language and to outline their semantics highlighting worldview attitudes and cultural stereotypes of the German-speaking linguistic community. These lexical units are considered as an important source of expansion and renewal of the current German lexicon.
For the first time, a systematic study of the semantics of German NCSC was carried out and a typology of the semantic types of NCSC which allow to determine a range of semantic interdependencies between their components was established, revealing the scientific novelty of the research.
Comprehensive analysis of the functioning of NCSC in the mass media has determined semantic motivation, pragmatic potential, and productivity of NCSC. The results of the research were verified by means of the sociolinguistic experiment: a questionnaire was conducted at the Ruhr-University Bochum (Germany).
The first chapter outlines the theoretical framework of the study within different linguistic areas, identifies research gaps in the systematic study of semantics of noun compounds. It identifies the main types of somatic component and evaluates their productivity.
This chapter presents basic principles of semantic classification of NCSC and deduces formulas of interpretation of NCSC according to the semantic roles performed by their components. It establishes theoretical and methodological framework for the study of semantic motivation of reinterpreted NCSC, based on metaphor, metonymy, and metaphtonymy, determines semantic and structural features of such NCSC and the peculiarities of realization of their connotative meaning. The principles of thematic classification of NCSC are specified, the main metaphorical, metonymic, and methophthonymic models of transfers on which the semantic structure of the studied NCSC is based are determined. The types of mass media texts, examined according to the form of information transmission. The criteria for selection of empirical material are established, the procedure and stages, methods of the carried-out research are described.
The second chapter, is focused on the main structural features of NCSC, selected from lexicographic sources and mass media texts. It presents the classification of thematic groups of somatisms found within the studied NCSC and defines their semantic features and productivity. In the course of the research, selected NCSC were distributed into thematic groups; the frequency of their use was recorded.
This research looks into factors influencing the semantic motivation of exocentric and endocentric NCSC. It proposes a semantic classification of NCSC, based on the developed semantic formulas of interpretation, and defines semantic types of the endocentric NCSC as well as their quantitative characteristics and semantic relations between components.
The semantics of reinterpreted NCSC, based on metaphorical, metonymic, or metaphtonymic transfer, are outlined, their thematic classification and quantitative characteristics are given, the models of the formation of figurative meaning of the studied NCSC are analysed.
A sociolinguistic survey was conducted among 50 native speakers of German (questionnaire). It was used to find out the attitude of native speakers to the proposed NCSC; to identify associations that NCSC evoke in respondents; to reveal the extent to which German speakers understand the semantic motivation of the proposed NCSC; to determine their frequency.
In the third chapter, the modalities of functioning of NCSC in mass media texts were distributed into six thematic sets. Within each thematic set of texts that contains NCSC, thematic subgroups were revealed, their quantitative content analysis was carried out; structural and semantic features of the found NCSC were defined.
The obtained results were also verified through a sociolinguistic survey conducted among German native speakers, determining the evaluative spectrum of the studied lexical units, the associations evoked by the studied NCSC and the pragmatic effect.
The application of an interdisciplinary approach, which allowed to develop a theoretical and methodological basis for a systematic multi-vector study of the semantical aspects of noun compounds using the example of NCSC, determines the theoretical value of this paper. This study provides extensive opportunities: its results may be used for further research and exploration in lexicology, semantics and in the field of higher education, determining its practical value.
Key words: semantics, semantic motivation, noun compound, somatic component, metaphor, metonymy, metaphtonymy, mass-media text, semantic types, sociolinguistic experiment.
