英语词汇学系列讲座(英文版).doc

英语词汇学系列讲座(英文版) 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 intrisinc 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 acurate 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 recogniton.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． VocabularyAll 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 dialet, 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 frequence, 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)collocability2)The Characteristics of borrowed words(1)Denizens: the early borrowed words which have been assimilated and conformed to the English way of pronounciation and spelli