Session-02 Development of the English vocabulary.ppt

The Development of the English Vocabulary Lexicology Major Topics Review chapter 1 ; A brief introduction to the Indo-European family; Three phases of the English language development; General characteristics of the English language ; Foreign elements in the English vocabulary ; I. Review Chapter 1 Definition of a word; Characteristics of the basic word stock 1. Definition of a Word-1 Generally speaking, the definition of a word will cover the following points: A minimal free form of a language ; A sound unit; A meaning unit; A grammatical unit ; A word may be defined as one of the fundamental units of speeh or writing and as having a minimum free form. It is a unity of sound and meaning, capable of performing a given syntactical function. 2. Classification by Use Frequency-1 Features of the basic word stock: All national character; pp5-6 Stability;p6 Productivity; p6 Polysemy;p7 Collocability; p7 2. Classification by Use Frequency-2 All national character: They belong to all the people who speak the language, not to a limited group. They are known to all speakers. 2. Classification by Use Frequency-3 Stability: They are likely to remain unchanged. 2. Classification by Use Frequency-4 Productivity: They are active in forming new words. 2. Classification by Use Frequency-5 polysemy: Most are polysemous. 2. Classification by Use Frequency-6 collocability: They are likely to combine with other words to form habitual expressions and phrases. II. The Indo-European family-1 A language family: A number of languages from different geographical areas have a common ancestor, thus forming a language family. All members of a language family share similarity in their basic word stock and grammar. The common ancestor of a family is known as its “protolanguage”，or parent language(原始语). II. The Indo-European family-2 Branches of a language family: Language families can be subdivided into smaller units, conventionally referred to as “branches”, becaus