On the Categorical Meaning of the Noun

Abstract

Any lexical unit has a material form (signifier), content (signified), as well as a certain function, through the study of which it is possible to describe the synchronous state of the language, including static and dynamic aspects. This article presents a static picture of the synchronous state of one of the nuclear parts of speech – the noun. The analysis of various points of view  made it possible to generalize and identify the following integral semantic features of this part of speech: the noun expresses the meaning of grammatical (abstract) objectivity (grammatical substance, "objectivity" in a broad sense); designates the bearer of the feature, the subject of thought, an autonomous, independent entity; reflects the property of phenomena to maintain independence, stability for a long time.

The study showed that the static picture of parts of speech captures not only a certain moment in their synchronous dynamics, but also a certain result of their development in previous periods. The allocation of the core and periphery, which takes into account the type of categoricalmaterial meaning of words, indicates the historical sequence of the appearance of individual subclasses within the studied part of speech.

However, in terms of statics, it is difficult to fully determine the categorical meaning of a noun. The connection of dynamic factors such as functioning and interaction allows us to detect trends hidden in the synchronous state of the further development of the system of parts of speech in general and a separate part of speech (for example, a noun), in particular.