Chapter2Basicconceptsof

words2.1Whatisaword?2.2Soundandmeaning2.3Classificationofwords2.4Featuresofwords2.5exercises2/1/20231EnglishLexicology2.1Whatisaword?“afreeformwhichconsistsentirelyoftwoormorelesserfreeforms,asforinstance,poorJohnorJohnranawayoryes,sir,isaphrase.Afreefromwhichisnotaphrase,isaword.Aword,then,isafreefromwhichdoesnotconsistentirelyof(twoormore)lesserfreeforms;inbrief,awordisaminimumfreefrom

(Bloomfield,1933,pp.177-178,ascitedinZhang,2005,p.1).---emphasizessyntaxanddoesnottouchuponmeaning,whichisacrucialaspectofany“word”.2/1/20232EnglishLexicology2.1Whatisaword?Wordisthesmallestofthelinguisticunitswhichcanoccuronitsowninspeechorwriting(Richards,Platt,&Platt,2000,pp.509-510).2/1/20233EnglishLexicology

Fromthelexicologicalpointofview,awordisacombinationofform(phonological)andmeaning(lexicalandgrammatical).Inaddition,awordactsasastructuralunitofasentence.詞是語(yǔ)音、意義和語(yǔ)法特點(diǎn)三者統(tǒng)一的整體。詞又是語(yǔ)句的基本結(jié)構(gòu)單位。Awordisaminimalfreeformofalanguagethathasagivensound,meaningandsyntacticfunction.2/1/20234EnglishLexicologyNatureandpropertiesofwordNature:minimalfreeformofalanguageProperties:(1)sound;(2)meaning;(3)syntacticfunctionE.g.man,fire,“Help!”E.g.

misfortune,managementE.g.blackmail,babysit,doorman2/1/20235EnglishLexicology2.2.

Soundandmeaning（語(yǔ)音與意義）

Twopointsofviewabouttherelationbetweensoundandmeaningofaword:

TheNaturalists(自然派)maintainthatthereisanaturalconnectionbetweensoundandmeaning.

TheConventionalists(習(xí)慣派)holdthattherelationsbetweensoundandmeaningareconventionalandarbitrary2/1/20236EnglishLexicologyWordsthatconveythesamemeaninghavedifferentphonologicalformsindifferentlanguages:我們(Chinese)，we(English),nous(French)Thesamephonologicalformsmayconveydifferentmeanings:sight,site,cite;忙，盲，氓，茫，芒2/1/20237EnglishLexicology2.3.ClassificationofWordsbyusefrequency:

basicwordstock(基本詞匯)andnonbasicvocabulary

bynotion:

contentwords/fullwordsandfunctional

words/formwords/emptywords2/1/20238EnglishLexicologybyorigin:native

wordsandborrowed

words

Bylevelofusage

:CommonwordsLiterarywordsColloquialwordsSlangwordsTechnicalwords2/1/20239EnglishLexicology2.3.1BasicWordStock(1)referstothefoundationofthevocabularyaccumulatedovercenturiesandformsthecommoncoreofthelanguage.ItconstitutesasmallpercentageoftheEnglishvocabulary,butitisthemostimportantpartofit,asitisneutralinstyleandfrequentinuse.2/1/202310EnglishLexicology2.3.1BasicWordStock(2)Auxiliary,modalverbs,numerals,pronouns,prepositionsandconjunctionsNamesofnaturalphenomena.E.g.sun,rain…Wordsdefiningtimeandspace.E.g.night,here…NamesofanimalsandplantsNamesofpartsofthebodyAdjectivesdenotingsizeandcolorVerbsexpressingconcreteactionse.g.live,eat…2/1/202311EnglishLexicology2.3.1CharacteristicsofbasicwordstockAllnationalcharacter（全國(guó)民性）Stability（穩(wěn)定性）Productivity（派生性）Polysemy（多義性）Collocability（可搭配性）

2/1/202312EnglishLexicologyAllnationalcharacterWordsofthebasicstockdenotethemostcommonthingsandphenomenaoftheworldaroundus,whichareindispensibletoallthepeoplewhospeakthelanguage.2/1/202313EnglishLexicologyStabilityAswordsinthebasicwordstockdenotethecommonestthingsnecessarytolife,theyarelikelytoremainunchanged.However,acertainnumberofoldEnglishwordslikearrow,bow,knighthavedroppedoutofthebasicwordstock,whilenewwordslikemachine,bus,radio,etchavejoinedtherank.Therefore,thestabilityofthebasicwordstockisrelative.Ithasbeenundergoingchanges,butthischangeisslow.Therearemorewordsjoininginthandroppingout.2/1/202314EnglishLexicologyProductivityWordsofthebasicwordstockaremostlyrootwordsormonosyllabicwords.Theycaneachbeusedalone,andatthesametimecanformnewwordswithotherrootsandaffixes.e.g.hand---handful,handy,handbag,handball,handwritingfoot---footage,football,footpath,footer,footprint

dog---

doglike,dog-tired,dogfight,dog-ear書(shū)頁(yè)的折角,dogpaddle,dogsleep,doghouse,dog-cheap2/1/202315EnglishLexicologyCollocabilityAbilitytoformcollocationsBasicwordscombinereadilywithotherwordstoformhabitualexpressionsandphrases.achangeof

heart(改變主意,變心);

aheartof

gold(道德高尚的人);atheart(在內(nèi)心里);afterone‘sownheart(完全符合自己的心意);

breakone’sheart;cross

one‘sheart(在胸口劃十字);

cryone’sheartout(痛哭欲絕);

haveone'sheartinone'smouth(Tobeextremelyfrightenedoranxious極其害怕或擔(dān)心);heartandsoul;one‘sheartsinkswithinone(某人消沉泄氣);takesomethingtoheart(Totakeseriouslyandbeaffectedortroubledby認(rèn)真對(duì)待…，受…影響或困擾);wearone’sheartuponone‘ssleeve(infmltoshowone’struefeelingsopenlyinsteadofhidingthem流露真實(shí)的感情);eatone‘sheartout(暗自傷神,憂(yōu)傷).

2/1/202316EnglishLexicologyMini-researchFindasmanycollocationsaspossiblewiththefollowingwords:eye,hand,nose2/1/202317EnglishLexicologyPolysemyWordsbelongingtothebasicwordstockoftenpossessmorethanonemeaningbecausemostofthemhaveundergonesemanticchangesinthecourseofuseandbecomepolysemous.

e.g.do,take,go.2/1/202318EnglishLexicologyButnotallthewordsofthebasicwordstockhavethesecharacteristics.

---nouns&numeralsareusedwidely,buthavelimitedproductivityandcollocability2/1/202319EnglishLexicology2.3.1Non-BasicVocabulary1.Terminology/technicalwords（術(shù)語(yǔ)):inmedicine

photoscanning(光掃描,攝影掃描),hepatitis(肝炎),penicillin;inmathematics:algebra(代數(shù)學(xué)),calculus(微積分學(xué));inmusic:

symphony,sonata(奏鳴曲),concerto(協(xié)奏曲);ineducation:audiovisual(視聽(tīng)的),microteaching(微型教學(xué)2.Jargon（行話(huà)）bottom-line,bargainingchips3.Slang（俚語(yǔ)）dough,bread--money4.Argot(隱語(yǔ)，黑話(huà)）dip---pick-pocket5.Dialectalwords（方言）auld–(ScotE=old)

AustralianEnglish:chook=chicken,station=ranch,beauty=excellent,great6.Archaisms（古語(yǔ)）Thou—you,ye—(plural

you),thee(objective

you),wilt—will,brethren—brothers,quoth—said,hereof—of

this,concerning

this,wherein—in

what7.Neologism（新語(yǔ)）futurology,e-mail

2/1/202320EnglishLexicology2.3.2Contentwords(notionalwords)Contentwordsdenoteclearnotions(notionalwords),includingnouns,

verbs,adjectives,adverbs,pronounsandnumerals.Theydenoteobjects,phenomena,action,quality,state,degree,quantity.TheyconstitutethemainbodyoftheEnglishvocabularyandarenumerous.Contentwordsbelongtoanopenlist.2/1/202321EnglishLexicology2.3.2FunctionalWords(1)Functionalwordsdonothavenotionsoftheirown(emptywordsorformwords).Theirchieffunctionistoexpresstherelationbetweennotions,therelationbetweenwordsandbetweensentences.Theyhaveaspecialkindofmeaning–grammaticalmeaning

e.g.Heaskedhertorest.(infinitivemarker)Hisrejectionoftheoffersurprisedme.(object)Thecarwashitbyatruck.(markerofpassivevoice)Tomdidnotcome.(tenseofverb)2/1/202322EnglishLexicologyFunctionalWords(2)Theyincludeprepositions,conjunctions,auxiliaries,

interjections(oh!)andarticles.

Functionalwordsmakeupaverysmallnumberofthevocabulary(about154),andremainstable.FunctionalwordsdofarmoreworkofexpressioninEnglishonaveragethancontentwords.E.g.and,be,have,it,of,the,to,will,you(1/4)---Itisfuntoplaywithchildren2/1/202323EnglishLexicology2.3.3NativeWordsNativewords(Anglo-Saxon

words):wordsbroughttoBritaininthefifthcenturybytheGermantribes:theAngles,theSaxons,andtheJutes.Theyaresmallinnumber,about50,000to60,000,buttheyformthemainstreamofthebasicwordstockandstandatthecoreofthelanguage.Theyhaveothertwofeatures:neutralinstyleandfrequentinuse.Thepercentageofnativewordsinuserunsusuallyashighas

70to90percent.2/1/202324EnglishLexicologyNeutralinstyleSincenativewordsdenotethecommonestthingsinhumansociety,theyareusedbyallpeople,inallplaces,onalloccasions,andatalltimes.Therefore,theyarenotstylisticallyspecific.

e.g.begin(E)–commence(F)brotherly(E)–fraternal(F)kingly(E)--royal(F)–regal(L)rise(E)–mount(F)–ascend(L)Stylistically,nativewordsareneitherformalnorinformalwhereaswordsborrowedfromFrenchorLatinareliteraryandlearned,thusappropriateinformalstyle

2/1/202325EnglishLexicologyFrequentinuse80%oftheEnglishwordsareborrowed,butifonecountedthewordsactuallyused,theproportionisalmostreversedSeep.112/1/202326EnglishLexicology2.3.3BorrowedWords

(loanwords)Borrowedwords(loanwordsorborrowings)arewordstakenoverfromforeignlanguages.Englishisaheavyborrower.Theyconstitute80%ofthemodernEnglishvocabulary.

DenizensAliensTranslation-loansSemanticloans

2/1/202327EnglishLexicologyDenizens(同化詞)wordsborrowedearlyinthepastandnowwellassimilatedintotheEnglishlanguageinpronunciationandspelling.

e.g.pork–porccup–cuppa

faultless–fault(F)+-less(E)uncertain–un-(E)+certain(F)

get,egg,sky,skill(Scandinavian).

2/1/202328EnglishLexicologyAliens（非同化詞）Borrowedwordswhichhaveretainedtheiroriginalpronunciationandspelling.Theycanberecognizedeasily.

e.g.bazaar(Per)kowtow(CH)blitz(G)judo(Jap)coupd’etat(F)政變charge’d’affairs(F)臨時(shí)代辦elite（F）raja王侯(Hindi),automobile(F)2/1/202329EnglishLexicologyTranslation-loans（譯借詞）

Translationloansarewordsandexpressionsborrowedfromforeignlanguagesbymeansoftranslation.2/1/202330EnglishLexicologye.g.longtimenosee(CH)Mothertongue---linguamaterna(L)typhoon(CH)blackhumour---humournoir(F)papertiger

tea---t'e(CH)

yamen2/1/202331EnglishLexicologySemanticloans（借意詞）Asemanticloanisaprocessofborrowingsemantic

meaning(ratherthanlexicalitems)fromanotherlanguage,verysimilartotheformationofcalques.Inthiscase,however,thecompletewordintheborrowinglanguagealreadyexists;thechangeisthatitsmeaningisextendedtoincludeanothermeaningitsexistingtranslationhasinthelendinglanguage.

2/1/202332EnglishLexicologyTheoldEnglishwordgiftmeant'thepriceofawife',whiletheScandinavianwordgiptmeant"gift,present'.ThewordhasacquiredanewmeaningundertheinfluenceoftheScandinavianlanguage.2/1/202333EnglishLexicologyPioneeroncesignified'explorer'onlyor'persondoingpioneering

work',anditnowhastakenonthenewmeaningof'amemberofthe

Young

Pioneer'fromRussian.2/1/202334EnglishLexicology

Wordsonlywhosemeaningsareborrowed.Inotherwords,Englishhasborrowedanewmeaningforanexistingwordinthelanguage.e.gdream(joyandmusic)–Norsepioneer(explorer)–Russiandumb(notabletospeak)–stupid(G)

2/1/202335EnglishLexicologyPracticeGroupthefollowingwordsinto4classesconfrere,kettle,chopstick,typhoon,propatria,die,Wunderkind,Mikado,silk,wall,skirt,dream,gift,husband,parvenu,bloom,blackhumor,longtimenosee2/1/202336EnglishLexicologyAnswerDenizens:wall,husband,skirt,die,kettleAliens:Mikado,confrere,parvenu,propatria，WunderkindTranslationloan:longtimenosee,blackhumor,chopstick,typhoon,silk,Semanticloan:dream,bloom,gift2/1/202337EnglishLexicology2.3.4Common/popularwordsWordsconnectedwiththeordinarythingsoractivitiesnecessarytoeverydaylife.ThegreatmajorityofEnglishwordsarecommonwords.Thecoreofthecommonwordsisthebasicworkstock.Theyarestylisticallyneutral,andhencetheyareappropriateinbothformalandinformalwritingandspeech.

Eg.Therepeatedtelephonecallsonlyannoyedme,butmademysisterveryangry.

2/1/202338EnglishLexicology2.3.4LiterarywordsChieflyusedinwriting,especiallyinbookswritteninamoreelevatedstyle,inofficialdocuments,orinformalspeeches.Theyarecomparativelyseldomusedinordinaryconversation.

e.g.–Feelingfatigued,Tomretiredearly.--Tomwenttobedearlybecausehefelttired.InEnglishmostoftheliterarywordsareofFrench,LatinorGreekoriginAmongtheliterarywords,twocategoriesarenoteworthy:Archaicwordsandpoeticalwords2/1/202339EnglishLexicologyArchaicwordsWordsnolongerincommonuse,althoughretainedforspecialpurpose.Theyaresometimesusedinpoetry,businessletters,legaldocuments,religiousspeeches,andprose.

e.g.abed–inbedquoth--saybehold–seeperchance–bychance;possiblybelike–probably

natheless--nevertheless2/1/202340EnglishLexicologyPoeticalwordsWordsthataretraditionallyusedonlyinpoetry.

e.g.thou/thee–youye–you(Pl.)thy–yourthine–yoursarray--outfit,dress,thedeep--thesea,stead–horse,morn--morningSomewordsarebotharchaicandpoetical.Markedpoet.(ical)instandarddictionaries.2/1/202341EnglishLexicologyLiterarywordsMoreexamples:adumbrate-outlinealbeit–thoughcast—throwedifice—buildinglocate-findmatrimony–marriagepurchase–buyvisualize–foreseeexpectorate—spitendeavor-try2/1/202342EnglishLexicology2.3.4ColloquialwordsUsedmainlyinspokenEnglish,asinconversationamongfriendsandcolleagues.Theycanalsobeusedininformalwritings,butinappropriateinformalspeechandwritings,orinconversationwithapersonwhomonedoesnotknowwellorwhoisone’ssuperior.

Thefollowingtwosentencesillustratethedifferencebetweentheuseofliteraryandcolloquialwordsandthatbetweencommonandcolloquialwords:1.Feelingfatigued,Tomretiredearly.(literary)2.Tomfeltsodog-tiredhehitthesackearly.(colloquial)3.Johnwasdismissedforpettythieving.(common)2/1/202343EnglishLexicology2.3.4SlangwordsSlangisdefinedas“l(fā)anguage,wordsorphrasesofavigorous,colorful,fa’cetious(funny),ortaboonature”,inventedforspecificoccasions,oruses,orderivedfromtheunconventionaluseofthestandardvocabulary.Itisusedchieflytosecurefreshnessandnovelty.

e.g.“Herecomeselectionyear.Herecomesthehopefuls,theconventions,thecandidates,thespiels,thepostures,thepressrelease,andtheTVperformances.Herecomestheyearofthehoopla”

SecondorforeignLLshouldbecarefulinusingit.

2/1/202344EnglishLexicology2.3.4TechnicalwordsReferringtothosewordsusedinvariousspecialfields.Overlappingwithterminologies.MostofthemareLatinorGreekinorigin.Everybranchofscience,everyprofessionortrade,everyartandeverysortofsporthasitsowntechnicalterms.

e.g.electron,psychoanalysis,moonwalk,radioactivityIncreasedrapidlyinthelast50years.Foreigntooutsiders,eventonativespeakers.2/1/202345EnglishLexicology

Sincelanguageisconstantlychanging,theclassificationofwordsbylevelofusageisnotabsolute.

2/1/202346EnglishLexicology2.5Exercises1.

Awordis

_______

ofalanguagethathasagivensoundandmeaningandsyntacticfunction.A.

aminimalfreeform

B.

asmallestmeaningfulunitC.

anelementwhichcannotbefurtheranalyzedD.

agrammaticallyminimalform2/1/202347EnglishLexicology2.Thesymbolicconnectionofawordtoaparticularthingisalmostalways_______________.A.logical

B.arbitrary

C.inherent

D.automatic

2/1/202348EnglishLexicology3.Indifferentlanguages,thesameconceptscanberepresentedbydifferentsounds,whichshows__________.

A.

therelationshipbetweensoundandmeaningcannotbeestablished.B.

therearedifferentlogicalrelationsbetweensoundandmeaningC.

therelationbetweensoundandmeaningisamatterofconvention

D.

theconceptsarenotreallythesame

2/1/202349EnglishLexicology4.Wordsmayfallinto___________.A.thebasicwordstockandnonbasicvocabularybyusefrequencyB.contentwordsandfunctionalwordsbynotionC.nativewordsandborrowedwordsbyorig