词汇学讲义.doc

Chapter one Introduction1.1 What Is Lexicology?Lexicology is a branch of linguistics dealing with the vocabulary of a language and the properties of words as the main units of language. Lexi- meaning word, phrase, hence lexicons - having to do with words, and -logos which denotes a department of knowledge. Thus, the literal meaning of lexicology is the science of the word.1.2 Its Relation to Other DisciplinesEnglish lexicology itself is a subbranch of linguistics. But it embraces other academic disciplines, such as general linguistics, morphology, semantics, etymology, stylistics, phonetics, lexicography and history of the people. Each of them has been established as a discipline in its own right.1.3 The Theoretical Basis for the Investigation of Modern English LexicologyTo investigate any linguistic problem and to study any particular language without a correct theoretical basis, the result is by no means successful.1.3.1 The Theoretical Basis: Dialectical Materialism and Historical MaterialismThis theoretical basis explains with remarkable clarity and precision the essential nature of language as a social phenomenon, its relation to thought and fundamental laws of its development.1.3.2 Some Fundamental Ideas to Be Clarified at the Outset(1) The vocabulary of any language never remains stable.(2) The word is the principal and basic unit of the language.(3) The word is a two-facet unit possessing both form and content.(4) Structurally words are inseparable lexical units taking shape in a definite system of grammatical forms and syntactic characteristics.(5) Two principal approaches to linguistic investigation: the synchronic approach and the diachronic approach1.4 The Aims and Significance of the Course of Modern English LexicologyModern English Lexicology aims at giving a systematic description of the word-stock of Modern English. It investigates the problem of word-structure and word-formation in Modern English, the semantic structure of English words and their change in meaning, the main principles of the classification of the English vocabulary units into various groupings and the laws governing the replenishment of the English vocabulary. It also studies the relations existing between various layers of vocabulary, and the laws and regulations that govern its functioning at the present time and the changes it has undergone in its history are also dwelt upon.1.5 Size of the English VocabularyIt is difficult to estimate the size of the English vocabulary. The first dictionary of significance was compiled by Dr. Johnson in 1755. The size of this vocabulary will be somewhat nearer to half a million.Shaw, Temple, Thurston, Conrad and others and found that Palmers assertion was true:Gal.Swan Song (one Chapt. 2436 words) 95.5%ShawA Doctors Dilemma (1,000 words)96.1%T. ThurstonSally Bishop96.9%U. SinclairThe Jungle95.1%A. BennetThe Card95.2%T. DreiserThe American Tragedy 96.1%AllardyceUnwillingly to School96.6%S. LewisDosworth94.8%J. Conrad Typhoon (much sailors slang)9.13%1.6 Divisions in the History of EnglishThe history of English is divided into the following three periods:1.6.1 The Old English (Anglo-Saxon) PeriodSome Characteristics of Old English:1) The pronunciation of Old English differs somewhat from that of their modern equivalents 2) The vocabulary of Old English is an almost purely Teutonic.3) Old English is a language of full inflections.1.6.2 The Middle English Period The Middle English period extends from 1150 to 1500. The characteristics of Middle English:1) Middle English resembles Modern English more closely than Old English2) The Middle English vocabulary differs from that of Old English.3) The disintegration of the complicated AS inflectional system.Chapter Two Sources of the English Vocabulary2.1 Elements Making Up the English Vocabulary2.1.1 The Native Element in Modern English1) Characteristics of the native elementThe native element has the following characteristics:a. All-national character: Every English person uses the words of the native element.b. Great stability: the native element lives for centuries providing the English with a basis for the formation of new words.c. Native element: The native element in Modem English is mostly monosyllabic.d. Word-forming ability: The great stability and semantic peculiarities of Anglo-Saxon words account for the great word building power.e. Wide collocability: Many native words enter quite a number of set expressions, idioms, phrases and proverbial sayings.f. Plurality of meanings: Most of the native words have undergonestrikingtransformations in semantic structure, and are nowadays highly polysemantic.g. High frequency value: The native element (words of Anglo-Saxon origin) forms the bulk of the most frequent elements used in any style of speech. h. Stylistically neutral: Most native words are stylistically neutral.2) The relation between the native element and the formation of new words.The English vocabulary is composed of three types of words and word-elements: the native, the borrowed, and the newly-formed.2.1.2 Foreign Elements in Modern English1) Ways of the entry into the English vocabularya. Through oral speech (by immediate contact between the peoples).b. Through written speech (by indirect contact through books).c. Through invaders.2) Classification of the foreign borrowingsa. Aliens (words borrowed from a foreign language without any change of the foreign sound and spelling)b. Denizens (foreign words which have been conformed to native English in accent, form (spelling) and even in adoption of an English affix)c. Translation-Loans (words and expressions formed from the material already existing in the English but according to patterns taken from another language by way of literal morpheme-for-morpheme translation)d. Semantic Loan word of a new meaning due to the influence of a related word in 2.1.3 Various Foreign Elements1) Latin ElementThe Latin element of the first period: English owes geographical names ending in chester, as Manchester, Lancaster, etc. The Latin element of the 2nd period: words of religion, foreign production;The Latin element of the third period: the Norman Conquest upon the English language.The Latin element of the fourth period: loans from Latin embracing abstract and scientific words2) Greek ElementNo direct borrowing from Greek into Old English and Middle English,The majority of Greek borrowings are of a highly learned and specialized character.3) French Elementa. Norman French Element in the English Vocabulary The conquest of Britain by the Normans in 1066 was the great event that affected the history of the English language. Norman-French was the language of court, of the nobility, of the clergy until 1362.b. Central French (or Parisian French) ElementTowards the end of the 13th century, Parisian French began to enter England, and more still in the early and mid-fifteenth.Conclusion: Greek. Latin and French have contributed extensive shares to the English vocabulary.4) The Scandinavian Elementa. The (Scandinavian) loan-words are practical every day words.b. A number of Scandinavian law-terms and words relating to naval warfare entered Old English, but they disappeared after the Norman Conquest.c. There was great similarity between the languages of the English and Scandinavians.d. Most of Scandinavian borrowings belong to the English basic stock of words.5) Italian Element In the 16th century, many Italian words were brought in.6) Spanish Element Spanish borrowingscame through trade and war.7) Portuguese ElementPortuguese borrowings are very small in number.Summary: Scandinavian words have strengthened the original Germanic character of English. 8) German ElementThe German element is considerably rare: Words of mineralogy, geology, biology, philosophy9) Dutch ElementThe Dutch have contributed numerous nautical terms.10) Russian Element in the English LanguageRussian borrowings in the English vocabulary may be subdivided into two principal groups:a. Borrowing before the Great October Revolution:b. Borrowing after the Great October Revolution.11) Hungarian and Polish ElementsFrom the Hungarian have come a few words, such as coach, toky (wine). From the Polish the following were borrowed directly and indirectly: mazurka (Polish dance), polack (a Polish), and polka (a Polish dance).12) Arabic Elementwords of chemistry, mathematics, and medicine13) Persian Element14) Indian ElementMost of the borrowed words refer to features of life.15) Hebrew ElementBiblical words16) Other Minor Sources of Foreign ElementsJapanese Element, Malay Element, American Indian Element, Celtic Element, African Element, Turkish Element, and others:a. Celtic Elemenb. Japanese Elementc. Malay Elemend. Turkish Elemente. American Indian Elementf. African Elementg. Australian Element and Mexican Element17) Chinese Element in the English VocabularyChinese borrowings fall under two periods:a. The early Chinese borrowingsb. Chinese Borrowing since Liberation2.2 Doublets, Hybrids, International Words2.2.1 DoubletsDoublets are pairs of words (or group of three), which have arisen from the same original form but have in the course of linguistic development acquired different forms and meanings.2.2.2 Hybrids1) -ful, troublesome = trouble (French root) + -some (native suffix) with foreign roots and other foreign affixes, e.g. interloper (Latin Prefix inter- + Dutch root, loper);pacifist (Latin root, pacific- + -ist, Greek suffix).2) There is another kind of hybridized compound words2.2.3 International WordsThere are some essential features:1) They comprises scientific, technical, social and political terminology2) They are Latin or Greek by origin.3) They are used in most languages of Indo-European family.4) They have the same meaning in all the European languages.5) They have nearly the same form in different languages.2.3. Interrelation between Native and Foreign Elements in the English Language2.3.1 The role of native and foreign elements in EnglishThe number of borrowings in Old English was meager. In the Middle English period there was an influx of loans. 2.3.2 Influence of foreign elements on the volume of the vocabulary and synonymic groups in EnglishThe English language more than any other modern language, has absorbed foreign elements in its vocabulary. As a result of this extensive borrowing, English has an extremely rich vocabulary. Borrowing of foreign elements bring about semantic and stylistic changes in the words of English and changes in its synonymic groups. 2.3.3 AssimilationThere are three types of assimilation:1) Completely Assimilated Words Completely assimilated words are found in all the layers of older borrowing.2) Partly Assimilated Words3) Non-assimilated Words2.4 ConclusionChapter Three Word-Building3.1 The structure of a wordA word is a minimum free form.a) the formal patterningb) the grammatical level3.1.1 Classification of MorphemesFirstly, morphemes are bound and free.Secondly, morphemes may be divided into roots and affixes.3.1.2 Origins of affixesMost of the roots and affixes are derived from Old English, or from Latin and Greek.As a general rule prefixes modify the meaning of words, while by the addition of the suffix not only the meaning is modified but the word itself is usually changed from one part of speech into another.3.1.3 The difference between a root and a stem.A stem is the change assumed by the root before a suffix is added to it.3.2 AffixationPrefixesPrefixes do not generally change the part of speech of a word. They can be divided in two ways:1) According to meaning This is what R. Quirk et al do in their A Grammar of Contemporary English. They divided them into ten categories:a Negative prefixesb Reversative or privative prefixesc Pejorative prefixesd Prefixes of degree or sizee Prefixes of attitudef Locative prefixesg Prefixes of time and orderh Number prefixesi Other prefixesj Conversion prefixes2) According to originGermanic:a-; be-; for-; mis-; out-; with-; over-; in-; n-; up- under-; to-; un-Romanic:a-, ab-, abs-; bi-, bis-; com-,con-, co-; de-; dis- di-; ex- e- ef-; Greek:an- a-; di- (Gr. dis?twice); ec-;semi-; uni (one); bi (two); tri (three); quad (four); quadri (four); quinque (five); sex (six); sept (seven); oct (eight); nona (nine); dec (ten); poly (many); centi (100); milli (1000); multi (many); hemi (half); mono (mon / one); di (two); tetra (four); penta (five); hexa (six); hecto (hundred)Suffixes1) Noun ? noun suffixes2) Noun / adjective - noun / adjective suffixes3) Verb - noun suffixes4) Adjective - noun suffixes5) Verb suffixes6) Noun - adjective suffixes7) Some adjective suffixes common in borrowed and neo-classical words8) Other adjective suffixes9) Adverb suffixes3.3. Conversion1) Verb - noun conversion. The verbal nouns may be useda to denote state of mind or state of sensationb to denote an event or activityc as object of the verbd as subject of the verbe as instrument of the verbf as manner of the verb (+ing)g place of the verb2) Adjective - noun conversion3) Noun-verb conversiona To put in/to Nb To give N, to provide with Nc To deprive of Nd To. with Ne To be/act as N with respect to.f To make/o Ng To (a) send/(b) go by Na) mail (to send by mail), ship, telegraphb) bicycle (to go by bicycle), boat, canoe, motor4) Adjective?verb conversiona (transitive verb) to make adjective or to make more adjectiveb (intransitive verbs) to become adjective5) Noun ?adjective conversionOnly the noun form which occurs in predicative as well as in attributive positions can be included in this category, excluding those nouns used in the function of attributive adjectives only6) Minor categories of conversiona Conversion from closed-system words to nounsb Conversion from phrases to nounsc Conversion from phrases to adjectivesd Conversion from affixes to nouns7) Change of secondary word-class: nounsa Non-count ? counti A unit of Nii A kind of Niii An instance of N (with abstract nouns) b Count?non-countc Proper?common (initial capital usually retained)i A member of the class typified by Nii A person, place, etc. called Niii A product of N or a sample or collection of Ns workd Stative?dynamic8) Change of secondary word-class: verbsa Intransitive?transitiveb Transitive?intransitivei Can be V-ed (often followed by an adverb such as well or badly)ii To V oneselfiii To V someone/something/etc.iv To be V-edc Intransitive?intensivei Current meaning ii Resulting meaningd Intensive-intransitivee Monotransitive?complex transitivei Current meaning: We catch them young ii Resulting meaning: I wiped it clean.9) Change of secondary word-class: adjectivesNon-gradable?gradable a I have a veiy Legal tum of mindb Stative?dynamic10) Approximate conversion: voicing and stress shifta Voicing of final consonants (noun?verb)b shift of stress3.4 CompoundingA common device joining two or even more word to form a new entity.Criteria for distinguishing free phrase from compound:a Can the adjective be premodified by an adverb?b Can it assume the comparative form?c Can it occupy the predicative position in a sentence?Compounds can be treated orthographically, phonologically and semantically:1) Orthographic criteriaOrthographically compounds are writtena solidb hyphenatedc open2) Phonological criteriaPhonologically, compounds can often be identified as having a main stress on the first element and a secondary stress on the second element.3) Semantic criteriaSemantically, compounds can be seen to be isolated from ordinary syntactic constructions by having a meaning which may be related to but can not simply be inferred from the meaning of its parts. Noun Compounds1) Subect and verb compoundsThe first part of the compound may indicate the subject and the second element is an action- or agent-noun2) Verb and object compoundsThe first part of the compound may indicate the object and the second element is an action- or agent-noun3) Verb and adverbial compoundsThe first part may be a verbal noun in -ing or a verb and the second part the adverbial, or the first part may be an adverbial and the second part an abstract verbal noun or deverbal noun or a noun in -er.4) Verbless compoundsa The compound consists of two elements, one modifying the otherb The compound consists of two elements, one in apposition to the othe5) Bahuvrihi compoundsAdjective compounds1) Verb and object compoundsA compound consists of an object and an -ing participle.2) Verb and adverbial compoundsA compound consists of an adverbial or an adjective and a participle (-ing or -ed).3) Verbless compoundsA compound consists of a noun (or an adjective) and an adjective.Verb Compounds1) A verb followed by an adverb2) A verb proceeded by an adverbReduplicative compounds1) The kernel repeated unchanged2) The kernel repeated with change of vowel3) Repetition with change of initial consonants3.5. Back-formationThis process is a reversal of the normal trend of word-formation by which a n