A Study of Polysemy in English Vocabulary 英语课程论文.docVIP

A Study of Polysemy in English Vocabulary Abstract: Polysemy is very common in English vocabulary. It is essential to analyze the structure, features and language context of polysemy for language learner. For the four different reasons：shift of application in different fields；mutual transformation between common words and specialized words；ellipsis in language use and the reason explained in cognitive theory, polysemy comes into being. Keywords: English, Polysemy, causes, language context. 一、Causes of polysemy: Polysemy is the common feature in the whole natural language, especially in English. With the development people’s needs of recognizing and explaining the world，the problem of shortage of already-existed words arises。Polysemy is come into being。 There are four different reasons：shift of application in different fields；mutual transformation between common words and specialized words；ellipsis in language use and the reason explained in cognitive theory. （一）shift of application in different fields This is the main cause of polysemy .Words have many meanings in different language context. Some are temporary, while some are permanent。Such as “mouth”，the original meaning is the mouth of animal, Now it not only can refer to human’s mouth but also can means the export of river and the entrance to the cave. （二）Mutual transformation between common words and Specialized words In some sense, this is one of the shifts of application. “Mouse” becomes the mouse locator in computer terminology while the original meaning is “a kind of animal”. Word meanings vary with social environment in different field. For mathematicians, operation means “calculation”, while it is naturally understood as “military action” for soldiers. （三）Ellipsis in language use The use of the word is limited by language context, so it is not random. That is to say, they are always used with collocation of certain words.In the process of the use of collocations ,their meanings are