Conceptual (Semantic) Field
Words may be classified according to the concept underlying their meaning. This classification is closely connected with the theory of conceptual or semantic field. By the term 'semantic field' we understand closely-knit units ofvocabulary characterized by a common concept. For example, the words 'blue, red, yellow, black, etc.' may be described as making up the semantic field of colours; the words 'mother, father, brother, covsin, etc' - as members of the semantic field of kinship terms; the words '' jo y, happiness, gaiety, enjoyment, etc.* as belonging to the field of pleasurable emotions. The members of the semantic field are not synonyms but all of thorn are joined together by some common semantic component- die concept of colours or the concept of kinship, etc. This semantic component common to all members of the field is sometimes- described as common denominator of meaning. All members of the field are semantically interdependent as each member helps to delimit and determine the meaning of its neighbours and is semantically delimited and determined by them. It follows that the word meaning is to a great extent determined by the place it occupies in its semantic field. Thus the semantic field may be viewed as a set of lexical items in which the meaning of each is determined by the co-presence of the others. Semantic dependence of the words on the structure of the field may be also demonstrated by comparing members of analogous conceptual fields in different languages. The semantic field of colour demonstrates very clearly the different patterns of lexical use in a language. The colour spectrum, physically, is a continuous band, lacking any clear physical boundaries. English has 11 basic colour lexemes: white, black, red, green, yellow, blue, brown, purple, pink, orange, and grey. In contrast, there were no generic lexemes for 'brown' or 'grey' in Latin; modern Romance forms (such as French brun, gris) have been borrowed from Germanic.
Ukrainian makes a distinction between two kinds of'blue', (синій and блакитний), where English has to use circumlocutions: 'dark blue' vs 'sky blue.' Japanese awo can mean 'green', 'blue', or 'pale', depending on context. The Welsh word glas includes 'blue' and 'grey.' Another semantic field which has been much studied is that, of kinship. Here, too, there are interesting differences between languages. Hungarian had no terms for 'brother' and 'sister' until the 19 century, though it did have separate terms for 'elder' and 'younger' brothers and sisters. Malay has a generic term for 'sibling' and' cousin.' Latin distinguished 'father's brother' (patruus), 'father's sister' (mater(era),'mother's brother' (avunculuc), and 'mother's sister' iamitd), but modem Rpmance languages have reduced them to two: (e.g. French oncle and tante, derived from the maternal terms). These differences happen because the semantic classification depends not only on the structure of corresponding referents in the real world but also on the structure of vocabulary in this or that language-There may be comparatively small lexical groups of words belonging to (he same part of speech and linked by a common concept. The words "bread, cheese, milk, meat, etc.' make up the group with the concept of food as the common denominator of meaning. Lexical groups consisting of words of the same part of speech having common semantic component are usually termed lexico-semantic groups. Words making up semantic fields may belong to different parts of speech. There have been many attempts to classify the words in a language according to concepts. The most influential and popular work is Roget's Thesaurus. Roget divided the vocabulary into six main areas: abstract relations, space, matter, intellect, volition, and affections. Thesauri of this kind have been produced for several languages.
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Navaho also makes no lexical distinction between 'blue' and 'green'. On the other hand, it has two terms for 'black', distinguishing the black of darkness from the black of such objects as coal.
