英语词汇概说.docx

Unit 1 英语词汇概说 1.1 Language, Linguistics and LexicologyWhat is language? Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. It is a specific social action and a carrier of information.What is linguistics? Generally speaking, linguistics can be defined as the scientific study of language. To be more exact, linguistics studies the general principles upon which languages are constructed and operate as systems of human communication What is lexicology? Lexicology is a branch of linguistics concerned with the study of the vocabulary of a given language. It deals with words, their origin, development, structure, formation, meaning and usage. The definition of a word It is quite difficult to state the criteria by which a word can be defined; so far no completely satisfactory definition has been given. In brief, a word may be defined as a fundamental unit of speech and minimum free form; with a unity of sound and meaning (both lexical and grammatical meaning), capable of performing a given syntactic function. Therefore, from the lexicological point of view, a word is a combination of form (phonological) and meaning (lexical and grammatical). In addition, a word acts as a structural unit of a sentence. To sum up, the definition of a word comprises the following points A minimal free form of a language A sound unity A unit of meaning A form that can function alone in a sentence 2.2 MorphemesThe definition of a morpheme The morpheme(词素) is the smallest meaningful linguistic unit of language, not dividable or analyzable into smaller forms. A word is the smallest unit of a language that stands alone to communicate meaning. Structurally, however, a word is not the smallest unit because many words can be separated into smaller meaningful units. Words are composed of morphemes. What is usually considered a single word in English may be composed of one or more morphemes:2.3 Types of MorphemesFree morphemes (自由词素) Morphemes which are independent of other mor