大学英语词汇学Chapter 1 English Lexicology--Introduction

1、English Lexicology,英语词汇学,Textbook A Reader of English Lexicology,汪榕培 王之江 吴晓维,Introduction,0.1 The nature and domain of English Lexicology Lexicology is the branch of linguistics concerned with the study of the vocabulary of a given language. It deals with words, their origins, development, structure

2、s, meanings, relations, and usages. English Lexicology investigates and studies the morphological structures of English words and word equivalents, their semantic structures, relations, historical development, formation and usages. Nature: English lexicology is a theoretically-oriented course. Howev

3、er, it is a practical course as well.,English lexicology has close relations with other branches of linguistics, such as phonetics, grammar, stylistics, and so on. But it embraces other academic disciplines, such as morphology, semantics, etymology, stylistics and lexicography. Each of them has been

4、 established as a discipline in its own-right.,0.2 Its relation to other disciplines:,Morphology studies the structures or forms of words through the use of morpheme construct Etymology studies the origins and history of the form and meaning of words. Semantics studies the meanings of words and sens

5、e relations: polysemy,homonymy,synonymy,antonomy, hyponmy, and semantic field,Stylistics is concerned with the users choices of linguistic elements in a particular context for special effects. Lexicography shares with lexicology the same problems: the form, meaning, origins and usages of words, but

6、they have a pragmatic difference. .,A lexicographers task is to record the language as it is used so as to present the genuine picture of words to the reader, Providing authoritative reference, whereas the student of lexicology is to acquire the knowledge and information of lexis so as to increase t

7、heir lexical awareness and capacity of language use.,Though English lexicology has a wide coverage of academic areas, our task is definite and consistent . That is to study English words in different aspects and from different angles.,The role of vocabulary in the language system,Vocabulary is the b

8、uilding material of the language system. It is one of the there essential elements of language: speech sounds, grammar and vocabulary. “Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” “there is a sense in which learning a foreign language is basically a matt

9、er of learning the vocabulary of that language. Not being able to find the words to express yourself is the most frustrating experience in speaking another language.”,Four levels of word power Speaking vocabulary (active vocabulary) Writing vocabulary(active vocabulary) Reading vocabulary(passive vo

10、cabulary) Guess vocabulary(passive vocabulary),There are generally two approaches to the study of words, namely synchronic and diachronic.,From a synchronic point of view ,words can be studied at a point in time, disregarding whatever changes might be taking place. (“wife”) However, if we take a dia

11、chronic perspective, we will consider The word historically, looking into its origin and changes in form and meaning. In this light, the word “ wife” evolved from the old English form “wif”, meaning “woman”, but later it became specialized in the course of development to the modern meaning “a marrie

12、d woman”,0.4 Methods of Study,0.4 Aims and Significance of the Course Helps learners develop their personal vocabulary and consciously increase their word power Gives them a deeper understanding of word meaning and enable them to organize, classify and store words more efficiently,Raise their awaren

13、ess of meaning and usages, and enable them to use words more accurately and appropriately Improve learners skills of using reference books and raise their problem-solving ability and efficiency of individual study Ultimately improves learners receptive and productive skills in language processing as

14、 well as language production,unilateral, bilateral, trilateral, multilateral monogamy, polygamy inflexible, imbalance, irrational, illegal download, copyright, mother wit(天生的智力）, green wealth We summered in Qingdao last year.,blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, gray-collar works, pink-collar

15、works, gold-collar workers forbidden fruits The question was like the Sphinxs riddle(复杂、神秘、难以理解的问题) to them Your Adams apple is not apparent as timid as a rabbit ; a green hand,圣经里提到，亚当吃苹果时，正好上帝进来，亚当吓得赶紧把余下的苹果吞下去，但苹果核卡在喉咙里，成了男人的喉结（英文称为“Adams apple”）。,a sheet of paper; a white paper, a term paper; to

16、days paper, examination paper,Watergate, Irangate, Zippergate ecology, ecocide, ecocrisis, eco-friendly -ump: plump, chump, rump, hump, stump, dump, mump, lump, bump, tump,Irangate伊朗门事件或伊朗丑闻。指1985年里根执政时的白宫顾问背着国会与伊朗搞秘密武器交易，以“赎回”在黎巴嫩被绑架的美国人质。以此，他还把卖武器所得的部分款项秘密地转交给反对尼加拉瓜政府的叛乱分子(contras)，所以此事也称Iran-Cont

17、ra scandal。高官后来有两位高官被判刑，而里根却将此事推得一干二净，所以他们被认为是“过失不沾边的总统”(Teflon President)。,Zipgate拉链门，性丑闻。源自美国总统与白宫实习生莫妮卡.莱温斯基(Monica Lewinsky)的桃色事件，并因此而导致国会对克林顿弹劾案的大辩论，使他险遭弹劾。,Picture painting, drawing (including sketch, diagram, graph), illustration, chart A flock of sheep, goats, birds A herb of cows, elephants

18、, zebras, antelopes A school of fish, whales, dolphins A swarm of ants, bees, wasps, locusts (insects) A pride of lions Essential, indispensable, necessary Warm clothing is indispensable in cold wealth. Its necessary for us to study hard. The essential point is we must do what the contract says.,Nat

19、ional psychology Dutch: to go Dutch, to talk Dutch, double Dutch, Dutch courage, Dutch bargain, Dutch comfort, Im a Dutchman if Cognate adjectives historic, historical; economic, economical; considerable, considerable: comprehensible, comprehensive; confident, confidential,When was English brought t

20、o Britain? By whom? What are the countries that speak English? What is new English? What is standard English? How many people use English as their mother language?,How many people use English as foreign language? What is the most widely used language and how many people speak it? Comment on the stat

21、ement that English is less loved but more used but French is more loved but less used.,The development of English What is “multidialectal”? Which English variety will be most influential? US or UK English? How will features of L2 English influence standard English?,What are the sources of English vo

22、cabulary? How many words are there in the English language? Give example to show incidental learning .,What is basic English? how many? What are the features of basic English? How does language change?,A lingua franca (originally Italian for “Frankish language” is a language systematically used to m

23、ake communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues. This can also be referred to as working language or bridge language.,The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European (IE) language

24、family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is Proto-Germanic (also known as Common Germanic), which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe.,The Indo-European languages (formerly also called Indo-Germanic are a family of several hundr

25、ed related languages and dialects,including most major languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia, and historically also predominant in Anatolia and Central Asia. With written attestations appearing since the Bronze Age, in the form of the Anatolian languages and Mycenaean Greek, the I

26、ndo-European family is significant to the field of historical linguistics as possessing the longest recorded history after the Afroasiatic family.,Indo-European languages are spoken by almost three billion native speakersthe largest number for any recognised language family. Of the twenty languages

27、with the largest numbers of native speakers according to SIL Ethnologue, twelve are Indo-European: Spanish, English, Hindi, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, German, Marathi, French, Italian, Punjabi, and Urdu, accounting for over 1.7 billion native speakers,Suggestions of similarities between Indian an

28、d European languages began to be made by European visitors to India in the 16th century.,原始印欧语,原始印欧语是后世语言学家根据现时印欧语系诸语的特色，透过比较语言学的方法而倒推出来的假想语言。这种假想语言被认为是现时印欧语系诸语的共同祖先。虽然原始印欧语没有得到直接证实，但其所有的发音和词汇都通过比较法重构了出来。,The most widely spoken Germanic languages are English and German, with approximately 309400 mil

29、lion and over 100 million native speakers respectively.,Basic Concepts of Words and Vocabulary,Objectives: Introduce a definition of a word; Put forward the three main principles of lexical classification; Elaborate on the features of basic word stock and non-basic vocabulary. Teaching focus: Defini

30、tion of a word Definition of vocabulary Classification of words Basic word stock and non-basic vocabulary Content words and functional words Native words and borrowed words,1.1 What Is a Word,a minimal free form of a language a sound unit a unit of meaning a form that can function alone in a sentenc

31、e “A word is a minimal free form of a language that has a given sound and meaning and syntactic function”. 词是具有一定的声音、意义和语法功能，能独立运用的最小的语言单位。,1.2 Sound and Meaning There is no logical or intrinsic connection between a sound and what it refers to. The relation between sound and meaning is almost always

32、 arbitrary or conventional. The same language can use the same sound to mean different things and the different languages use different sounds to refer to the same thing.,1.3 Sound and Form similar in its earliest stage (i.e. Old English) Differences occur with the development of the language -the E

33、nglish alphabet -the pronunciation -the early scribes -the borrowing In Spite of the differences, 80% of English words fit consistent spelling patterns.,1.4 Vocabulary The total number of the words in a language. All the words used in a particular historical period. all the words in a book, or in a

34、particular historical period of time, or in a dialect, or in a particular discipline, or even to all the words that a person possesses.,1.5 Classification of Words by use frequency: the basic word stock and non-basic vocabulary by notion: content words and function words by origin: native words and

35、borrowed words by morphology: simple words, compounds and derived words.,1.5.1 Basic Word Stock and Non-basic Vocabulary The basic word stock is the foundation of the vocabulary accumulated over centuries and form the common core of the language 1. All national character全民性 -natural phenomena -human

36、 body and relations -names of plants and animals -action, size, domain, state -numerals, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions,2. Stability (relative)稳定性 3. Productivity (root words or monosyllalic words)能产性 4.Polysemy(more than one meaning)多义性 5. Collocability (set expressions, idiomatic usages, pro

37、verbial sayings)搭配能力强,Non-basic vocabulary include: Terminology (technical terms in particular disciplines and academic areas) 专业术语 2. Jargon (the specialized vocabularies used by members of particular arts, sciences, trades and professions) 行话 3. Slang (the sub-standard language, standing between t

38、he standard general words and in-group words like cant, jargon, and argot) 俚语,4. Argot ( the jargon of criminals) 隐语 5. Dialectal words (used by speakers of the dialect in question) 方言词 6. Archaisms (once in common use, but now found in older poems, legal documents and religious writing or speech)古语词 7. Neologisms (newly-created words or expressions, or words tha