词汇学第一章
2014-08-07 22:08阅读：
Chapter 1
Basic Concepts of Words and Vocabulary
1． The definition of a word：
A word is a minimal free form of
language which has a given sound and meaning and syntactic
function.
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 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.
3． Sound and Form
The written form of English is not an
accurate representation of the spoken form. There are different
causes of the differences between sounds and forms in the English
language.
1)The English alphabet was adopted from the Romans, which does not
employ the system of one
single letter to stand for one sound.
2)The early scribes deliberately changed spelling of words to make
a line even or for easier recognition.
3) Dictionaries help to fix the spelling of words
4) English has borrowed many words from other languages, which may
not have been assimilated .
4． Vocabulary
All the words in a language are termed as
vocabulary. However, vocabulary can also be used to refer to all
the words in a book, or in a particular historical period of time,
or in a dialect, or in a particular discipline, or even to all the
words that a person possesses.
5． Classification of Words
Words can be classified into the basic word stock and nonbasic word
stock by use frequency, into content words and functional words by
notion and into native words and borrowed words by origin.
1)The Characteristics of the Basic
Word Stock
(1) All
national character
(2)stability
(3)productivity
(4)polysemy
(5)collocability
2)The Characteristics of borrowed words
(1)Denizens: the early borrowed words which have been
assimilated and conformed to the English way of pronunciation and
spelling.
(2)Aliens: the borrowed words which have retained the
foreign way of pronunciation or spelling and have not been
assimilated into the English language.
(3)Translation-loans: the words and expressions which are
formed from the existing English materials, but modeled on the
patterns of another language.
(4)Semantic loans: Words which have not been borrowed with
reference to the form, but to the meanings.
3) Roles Played by the native words.
Native words are limited in number, but
form the core of the English language. Native words are often
neutral in style and frequent in use.
练习题：
1. Decide whether the following are true or
false.
( ) a. A word can be defined in different ways from
different points of view.
( ) b. Under no circumstances can sound and meaning
be logically related.
( ) c. The introduction of printing press resulted
in a lot more differences between sound and form.
( ) d. The words a person can use in speaking and
writing form his active vocabulary.
( ) e. The principles by which to classify words
are usage, notion and origin.
( ) f. Native words are more popular than foreign
words.
( ) g. Native words enjoy the same features as the
basic word stock and more.
2. Give a term for each of the following definitions.
a. sub-standard words often used on informal occasions (
)
b. specialized vocabulary common in certain professions (
)
c. words used by sup-cultural groups particularly by underground
society ( )
d. words that have clear notions ( )
e. words of Anglo-Saxon origin( )
f. words borrowed by way of translation (
)
g. old words with new meanings( )
Key:
1. a.(T) b.(F) c.(T) d.(T)
e.(F) f.(F) g.(T)
2. a. slang b. jargon c.
argot d. content words e. native
words f. translation loans g.
neologisms
