英语词汇学课件 chapter I概要1.ppt

Chapter One: A General Survey  of English Vocabulary 1.The definition of word 2. The development of English vocabulary A. English vocabulary as viewed in the historical perspective B. The rapid growth of present-day English vocabulary 3. Classification of English words according to different criteria 1. THE DEFINITION OF WORD What is a word? A word is a minimum free form. (Bloomfield 1933) A word is defined by the association of a given sense with a given group of sounds capable of a given grammatical use. (Antoine Meillet) (See text book) P2-3 : word=sound + meaning +word class + syntactic function A general definition A word may be defined as one of the fundamental units of speech and as having a minimum free form. It is a unity of sound and meaning, capable of performing a given syntactical function. “词，今指语言组织中的基础单位，能独立运用， 具有声音、意义和语法功能。” （《辞海》1984 （上）375页，上海辞书出版社） 2. THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY 1. All the words in a language together constitute what is known as its vocabulary. 2. English vocabulary as viewed in the historical perspective The period from 450 to 1150 is known as the Old English, or Anglo-Saxon period. It is described as the period of full inflections (曲折变化完全), since during most of this period the case endings of the noun, the adjective, and the conjugation of the verb were not weakened. The period from 1150 to 1500 is known as the Middle English period. During this period, the inflections, which had begun to break down towards the end of the Old English period, became greatly reduced, and it is known as the period of leveled inflections (曲折变化削弱). The period from 1500 to the present day is called the Modern English period. A large part of the original inflectional system has disappeared, and it is known as the period of lost inflections (曲折变化脱落). CHARACTERISTICS OF OLD ENGLISH The pronunciation of Old English words differs somewhat from that of Modern English words. O.E vowels undergone changes