An Introduction to Modern English Lexicology(1)

AnIntroductiontoModernEnglishLexicologyGeneralIntroductionLexicologyisabranchoflinguisticsconcernedwiththevocabularyoftheEnglishlanguageinrespecttowordsandwordequivalents.Thescopeoflexicologyembracesthedevelopment,structure,formation,meaning,andusageofwordsandwordequivalents（等同词）.Accordinglymylectureiscomposedofthefollowingparts:1.AgeneralsurveyofEnglishvocabulary2.MorphologicalstructureofEnglishwordsandwordformation3.Wordmeaningandsenserelation4.Englishidioms,AmericanEnglish,choiceanduseofEnglishdictionariesPartIChapterIAGeneralSurveyofEnglishVocabularyTwooftenquoteddefinitionsfor“word”:1.Awordisafreeformwhichdoesnotconsistentirelyof(twoormore)lesserfreeform;awordisaminimumfreeform（最小自由形式）.(Bloomfield1933:177-178)BoundformsandFreeforms:Boundforms（黏附形式）---genuinelinguisticformswhichconveyameaning,occuronlyinconstruction,aspartofalargerformandareneverusedassentences.e.g.–essincountess,lionessetc.,orthe–ishinboyish,childishetc.,orthe–sinhats,books,cupsetc.Freeforms---linguisticformswhichconsistentirelyoftwoormorelesserfreeformsandoccurassentences.e.g.poorJohnorJohnranawayoryes,sir,isaphrase.Afreeformwhichisnotaphrase,isaword.Bloomfield’sdefinitionemphasizessyntax(句法）anddoesnottouchuponmeaning,whichisacrucialaspectofany“word”.2.Awordisdefinedbytheassociationofagivensensewithagivengroupofsoundscapableofagivengrammaticaluse.(AntoineMeillet)Thisdefinitionshowsacombinationofmeaningandsoundwithspecialemphasisongrammaticaluse.Itisausefuldefinitionbutdoesnotincludetheconceptofwordastheminimalfreeform.Therefore,awordmaybedefinedas:Afundamentalunitofspeechandaminimumfreeform;withaunityofsoundandmeaning(bothlexicalandgrammaticalmeaning),capableofperformingagivensyntacticfunction.1.DevelopmentofEnglishvocabularyAllthewordsinalanguagetogetherconstitutewhatisknownasitsvocabulary.A.EnglishvocabularyasviewedinthehistoricalperspectiveThehistoryofEnglishbeginswiththeconquestandsettlementofwhatisnowEnglandbytheAngles,SaxonsandtheJutesfromabout450AD.ThelanguagetheyspokewasAnglo-Saxon,whichreplacedtheCelticspokenbytheformerinhabitants.Thenextsevenhundredyears(449-1100)areknownastheOldEnglish(OE)orAnglo-Saxon(AS)periodoftheEnglishlanguage.ThevocabularyofOldEnglishcontainssomefiftyorsixtythousandwords,whichwerechieflyAnglo-SaxonwithasmallmixtureofOldNorse(ageneraltermfortheScandinavianlanguageinitsveryearlystage)wordsasaresultoftheScandinavianortheDanishconquestsofEnglandintheninthcentury.DuringtheOldEnglishperiod,EnglishlanguageborrowedaconsiderablenumberofLatinwords,especiallyaftertheintroductionofChristianityintoBritainin597.e.g.bargain,cheap,inch,pound;cup,dish,wall,wine;abbot,altar,candle,disciple,hymn,martyr,nun,priest,pope,shrine,templeandagreatmanyothers.ThetransitionalperiodfromOldEnglishtoModernEnglishisknowasMiddleEnglish(ME1100-1500),whichischaracterizedbythestronginfluenceofFrenchfollowingtheNormanConquestin1066.SincetheFrench-speakingNormansweretherulingclass,Frenchwasusedforallstateaffairsandformostsocialandculturalmatters;butthemassescontinuedtospeakEnglish.TheFrenchloanwords（借词）werefoundineverysectionofthevocabulary:e.g.lawandgovernmentaladministration(judge,jury,justice;government,parliament,state…);militaryaffairs(conquer,sergeant,victory…);religion(baptism,confess,divine,sermon…);clothing(coat,dress,gown,robe…);food(beef,mutton,pork,dinner…);art(beauty,image,design…);literature(chapter,poet,prose…);science(medicine,remedy,surgeon),andsoon.TheEnglishlanguagefrom1500tothepresentiscalledModernEnglish.Intheearlystagesofthisperiod(includingtheyearsbetween1500andabout1700)theRenaissancebroughtgreatchangestovocabulary.Inthisperiod,thestudyofclassicswerestressedandtheresultwasthewholesaleborrowingfromLatin.TheLatinloanwordsweremostlyconnectedwithscienceandabstractideas.e.g.chemist,function,scientific,vacuum;area,irony,theory,education,adapt,exist,appropriate,precise.TherenewedstudyofGreekalsoledtotheintroductionofsomeGreekwordsdirectlyintotheEnglishvocabulary.Greekborrowingsweremostlyliterary,technicalandscientificwords.e.g.drama,comedy,tragedy,lexicon,criterion,botany,physicsandsoon.Fromthe16thcenturyonward,Englishborrowedwordsfromanincreasingnumberoflanguages,Forexample,fromFrench:attach,caféandsoon;Italian(mainlyinthefieldsofmusic,artandarchitecture):concert,duet,piano,soprano,solo,tenor;model,bust,studio;dome,balcony,piassaandsoon;Spanish:armada,cargo,vanilla,cocoaandcigar;Portuguese:casteandpagoda;German:bismuth,cobalt,nickelandzinc;Dutch:dock,freightandkeel;Russian:vodka,troika,rubleandtsar;Australian:boomerang,kangarooanddingo;Arabic:sugar,sultanandalcohol;Indian:coolie,cashmereandkhaki;Hebrew:schmozzoandschmalts;Chinese:tea,typhoonandyamen;Japanese:kimonoandtycoon;African:gorillaandzebra.InfactEnglishhasadoptedwordsfromalmosteveryknownlanguageinthecourseofitshistoricaldevelopment.AssummedupinTheEncyclopediaAmericana:“…TheEnglishlanguagehasvastdebts.Inanydictionarysome80%oftheentriesareborrowed”Englishissupposedtohavethemostcopiousvocabularyofallthelanguageintheworld,estimatedatmorethanamillionwords.B.Therapidgro