TheSourcesoftheEnglishVocabulary.docVIP

TheSourcesoftheEnglishVocabulary 　　【Abstract】 Lexicology is a branch of linguistics concerned with the study of the vocabulary of a given language. This paper begins with the question： What are the two approaches to the study of English lexicology？ Then talk about the position and character of the English language in the Indo-European family. After this，the paper would on the way to explain the sources of the English vocabulary and different characters of different periods of English vocabulary. 　　【Keywords】Source； Characteristic； Borrowed words； Hybrids 　　1.The position and character of the English language in the Indo-European family 　　English is classified as a Teutonic language，that is，a Germanic language. To be more exact，English belongs to the Low West Germanic branch of the Indo-European family. The English language is of a mixed character. On the one hand，it shares with West Germanic languages many common words and similar grammatical structures. On the other hand，more than half of the English vocabulary is derived from Latin and French. Besides，English has accepted words from other languages of the world in the course of historical development. 　　2.The sources of the English vocabulary 　　The history of the English language is divided by linguists into three periods. The period from 450 to 1150 is known as the Old English，or Anglo-Saxon period. The period from 1150 to 1500 is known as the Middle English period. The period from 1500 to the present day is called the Modern English period. 　　2.1 The characteristics of Old English. 　　First，the pronunciation of Old English words differs somewhat from that of Modern English words. Especially the long vowels have changed a great deal. Second，the vocabulary of Old English consisted mainly of Anglo-Saxon words. Third，Old English was a highly inflected language. It had a complete system of declensions with four cases and conjugations. Fourth，Old English is a synthetic language. 　　2.2 The characteristics o