The Lexicon: a System of Matrices of Lexical Units and their Properties

THEIR PROPERTIES ~ Harry H. Josselson Uriel Weinreich /I/~ in discussing the fact that at one time many American scholars relied on either the discipline of psychology or sociology for the resolution of semantic problems~ comments: In Soviet lexicology, it seems, neither the traditionalists~ who have been content to work with the categories of classical rhetoric and 19thcentury historical semantics~ nor the critical lexicologists in search of better conceptual tools, have ever found reason to doubt that linguistics alone is centrally responsible for the investigation of the vocabulary of languages. /2/ This paper deals with a certain conceptual tool, the matrix, which linguists can use for organizing a lexicon to insure that words will be described (coded) with consistency, that is~ to insure that questions which have been asked about certain words will be asked for all words in the same class, regardless of the fact that they may be more difficult to answer for some than for others. The paper will also discuss certain new categories~ beyond those of classical rhetoric~ which have been introduced into lexicology.