Chapter 1 Introduction to English Lexicology

Chapter 1 IntroductionⅠ. Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False:1. Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.2. Linguistics studies particular language, not languages in general.3. A scientific study of language is based on what the linguist thinks.4. In the study of linguistics, hypotheses formed should be based on language facts and checked against the observed facts.5. General linguistics is generally the study of language as a whole.6. General linguistics, which relates itself to the research of other areas, studies the basic concepts, theories, descriptions, models and methods applicable in any linguistic study.7. Phonetics is different from phonology in that the latter studies the combinations of the sounds to convey meaning in communication.8. Morphology studies how words can be formed to produce meaningful sentences.9. The study of the ways in which morphemes can be combined to form words is called morphology.10. Syntax is different from morphology in that the former not only studies the morphemes, but also the combination of morphemes into words and words into sentences.11. The study of meaning in language is known as semantics.12. Both semantics and pragmatics study meanings.13. Pragmatics is different from semantics in that pragmatics studies meaning not in isolation, but in context.14. Social changes can often bring about language changes.15. Sociolinguistics is the study of language in relation to society.16. Modern linguistics is mostly prescriptive, but sometimes descriptive.17. Modern linguistics is different from traditional grammar.18. A diachronic study of language is the description of language at some point in time.19. Modern linguistics regards the written language as primary, not the written language.20. The distinction between competence and performance was proposed by F. de Saussure.Ⅱ. Fill in each of the following blanks with one word which begins with the letter given:21. Chomsky defines “competence” as the ideal user’s k__________ of the rules of his language.22. Langue refers to the a__________ linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community while the parole is the concrete use of the conventions and application of the rules.23. D_________ is one of the design features of human language which refers to the phenomenon that language consists of two levels: a lowerlevel of meaningless individual sounds and a higher level of meaningful units.24. Language is a system of a_________ vocal symbols used for human communication.25. The discipline that studies the rules governing the formation of words into permissible sentences in languages is called s________. 26. Human capacity for language has a g_______ basis, but the details of language have to be taught and learned.27. P _______ refers to the realization of langue in actual use.28. Findings in linguistic studies can often be applied to the settlement of some practical problems. The study of such applications is generally known as a________ linguistics.29. Language is p___________ in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. In other words, they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences which they have never heard before.30. Linguistics is generally defined as the s _______ study of language.Ⅲ. There are four choices following each statement. Mark the choice that can best complete the statement:31. If a linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people actually use, it is said to be _______.A. prescriptiveB. analyticC. descriptiveD. linguistic32. Which of the following is not a design feature of human language?A. ArbitrarinessB. DisplacementC. DualityD. Meaningfulness33. Modern linguistics regards the written language as _______.A. primaryB. correctC. secondaryD. stable34. In modern linguistics, speech is regarded as more basic than writing, because _______.A. in linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writingB. speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyedC. speech is always the way in which every native speaker acquires his mother tongueD. All of the above35. A historical study of language is a _______ study of language.A. synchronicB. diachronicC. prescriptiveD. comparative36. Saussure took a(n) _______ view of language, while Chomsky looks at language from a ________ point of view.A. sociological psychologicalB. psychological sociologicalC. applied pragmaticD.semantic linguistic37. According to F. de Saussure, _______ refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the mem- bers of a speech community.A. paroleB. performanceC. langueD. Language38. Language is said to be arbitrary because there is no logical connection between _______ and meanings.A. senseB. soundsC. objectsD. ideas39. Language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. This feature is called _______,A. displacementB. dualityC. flexibilityD. cultural transmission40. The details of any language system is passed on from one generation to the next through _______, rather than by instinct.A. learningB. teachingC. booksD. both A and BⅣ. Define the following terms:41. Linguistics42. Phonology43. Syntax44. Pragmatics45. Psycholinguistics46. Language47. Phonetics48. Morphology49. Semantics50. Sociolinguistics51. Applied Linguistics52. Arbitrariness53. Productivity54. Displacement55. Duality56. Design Features57. Competence58. Performance59. Langue60. ParoleⅤ. Answer the following questions as comprehensively as possible. Give examples for illustration if necessary:62. What are the design features of human language? Illustrate them with examples.63. How is modern linguistics different from traditional grammar?。

Lecture 1 Introduction to lexicologyObjectivesAfter learning the lecture, you are expected to be able to answer the following questions:? How to interpret and distinguish the terms with ‘lexi-’?？What is lexicology?? How can lexicology be classified?? What does lexicology study?? What is English lexicology?? What are the two approaches to the study of English lexicology?? What is the character of the English language?? What are the characteristics of English words/vocabulary?? How is lexicology connected with other branches of linguistics?Interpretation of some terms in lexicology1.Lexicon & lexis: the total bank of words and phrases of a particular language, the artifact ofwhich is known as a lexicon.2.Lexeme: A lexeme is an abstract unit of morphological analysis in linguistics, that roughlycorresponds to a set of forms taken by a single word. For example, in the English language, run, runs, ran and running are forms of the same lexeme, conventionally written as RUN.[1]In order to reduce the ambiguity of the term ‘word’, the term ‘lexeme’is postulated as an abstract unit which refers to the smallest unit that can be distinguished from other smaller units. A lexeme can occur in many different forms in actual spoken and written texts. For example, ‘write’ is the lexeme of the following words: write, writes, wrote, written, writing. 3.Lexical units: Lexical items composed of more than one word are also sometimes calledlexical chunks, gambits, lexical phrases, lexical units, lexicalized stems or speech formulae.4.Word is the smallest free form (an item that may be uttered in isolation with semantic orpragmatic content) in a language, in contrast to a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning. A word may consist of only one morpheme (e.g. wolf), but a single morpheme may not be able to exist as a free form (e.g. the English plural morpheme -s).Typically, a word will consist of a root or stem, and zero or more affixes. Words can be combined to create other units of language, such as phrases, clauses, and/or sentences.5.lexicology:●Lexicology (from lexiko-, in the Late Greek lexikon) is that part of linguistics which studieswords, their nature and meaning, words' elements, relations between words (semantical relations), words groups and the whole lexicon.●Lexicology is a branch of linguistics concerned with the study of the vocabulary of a givenlanguage. It deals with words, their origin, development, history, structure, meaning and application. In short, it is the study of the signification and application of words.6.Lexicology has developed such branches asa)semantics——study of meaning of words (and sentences)b)etymology——study of origins of wordsc)historical lexicology——study of the development of vocabulary as a whole on the basisof etymology and other sciencesd)phraseology——study of individual words and set expressions, stock phrases, cast-ironidioms, i.e. the study of formation and usage, classification and characteristics of idiomse)lexicography——study of the form, meaning, usage, origin of vocabulary and themaking of dictionaries7.lexicographyA good example of lexicology at work, that everyone is familiar with, is that of dictionariesand thesaurus. Dictionaries are books or computer programs (or databases) that actually represent lexicographical work, they are opened and purposed for the use of public.A thesaurus is a work that lists words grouped together according to similarity ofmeaning (containing synonyms and sometimes antonyms), in contrast to adictionary, which contains definitions and pronunciations. The largest thesaurus in the world is the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, which contains more than 920,000 words and meanings.A dictionary is a collection of words in a specific language, often listed alphabetically, withusage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information;or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon. Exercise 1Exercise 2accept (accepted, accepted, accepting)__________ lexemes__________ word forms__________ lexical units__________ wordsExercise 3Use examples to tell the different branches of lexicology. For example, in English, many roots and affixes are from Latin or Greek. This is the branch etymology.How can lexicology be classified?General lexicology & Special lexicologyDistinction is made between GENERAL LEXICOLOGY & SPECIAL LEXICOLOGY. General lexicology is a part of General linguistics. It is concerned with the study of vocabulary irrespective of the specific features of any particular language. Special lexicology is the lexicology of a particular language (Russian, German, French, etc.).Research methods of English lexicologyThere are two main approaches to the study of English lexicology, that is, synchronic and diachronic.The term ‘synchronic’means describing a language as it exists at one point in time. The term diachronic means, concerned with historical development of a language.A synchronic approach is an approach to the study of a language at one period of time, whereas a diachronic approach is an approach to the study of the change in a language that took place over a period of time.Character of the English languageThe English language is of a mixed character. On the one hand, it shares with West Germanic languages many common words and similar grammatical structures. On the other hand, more than half of the English vocabulary is derived from Latin and French. Besides, English has accepted words from other languages of the world in the course of historical development.Characteristics of English vocabulary or words1.Native words are the foundation and the core of the English vocabulary. In structure they aremostly monosyllabic words. In meaning they express the fundamental concepts dealing with everyday objects and things. In grammar they include most parts of speech. Native words have the following three characteristics: 1) the polysemous character; 2) the collocability; and3) word-formation ability.2.There is large amount of English vocabulary. There are3.There are various Englishes all over the world.4.and it is increasing at a surprising speed.5.…How is lexicology connected with other branches of linguistics?1)with phoneticsPhonetics is closely related wit lexicology. Without sound there is word because every word is a unity of sound and meaning.2)with grammarV ocabulary and grammar are originally related to one another. In learning language, attention to grammar is as important as attention to vocabulary. The vocabulary of a language assumes tremendous importance when it comes under the control of grammar, which is concerned with the modification in form of words and the combination of words into sentences.3)with stylisticsLexicology studies stylistic variants on the basis of meanings of words and their changes, synonyms, antonyms, figures of speech etc.Exercise 41.The words such as ‘export’, ‘increase’, ‘process’ and ‘progress’ with different pronunciationserve different parts of speech, which indicates that lexicology is connected with __________.2.In the sentence ‘O ther school managers are also eyeing the program’, we study the word ‘eye’,which shows that lexicology is connected with _______.3.Bill Gates and his friend Paul Allen laid the first brick in the foundation of Microsoft.4.The word advisable in ‘It is advisable that we take immediate measures to enhance teaching’can’t be replaced by advise or advice, which demonstrates that lexicology is related to _______.Exercise 5Fill in the blanks to consolidate your understanding of the terms in the unit.1.The artifact of the total bank of words and phrases of a particular language is called_________.2. A _________is an abstract unit of morphological analysis in linguistics, that roughlycorresponds to a set of forms taken by a single word.3._________is the smallest free form (an item that may be uttered in isolation withsemantic or pragmatic content) in a language.4._________is a branch of linguistics concerned with the study of the vocabulary of agiven language. It deals with words, their origin, development, history, structure, meaning and application.5._________ is a study of origins of words6._________ is a study of the form, meaning, usage, origin of vocabulary and the makingof dictionaries.7. A _________ is a work that lists words grouped together according to similarity ofmeaning (containing synonyms and sometimes antonyms), in contrast to a dictionary, which contains definitions and pronunciations.8._________lexicology is a part of General linguistics. It is concerned with the study ofvocabulary irrespective of the specific features of any particular language.9._________lexicology is the lexicology of a particular language (Russian, German,French, etc.).10.There are two main approaches to the study of English lexicology, that is, _________and diachronic.11.The term ‘_________’ means describing a language as it exists at one point in time. Theterm _________ means, concerned with historical development of a language.12.A _________ approach is an approach to the study of a language at one period of time,whereas a diachronic approach is an approach to the study of the change in a language that took place over a period of time.13.Lexicology studies stylistic variants on the basis of meanings of words and their changes,synonyms, antonyms, figures of speech etc. in this case, we say that lexicology is connected with _________.。

思考与言说作家杂志Writer Magazine2010No.4一引言随着中国改革开放的不断深入和市场经济的不断发展，广告也逐渐深入日常生活的方方面面。

市场经济下，竞争日益激烈，广告作为争夺市场的策略，越来越显现出其重要性。

在一种既定语言下，什么样的广告才称得上是一条成功的广告呢？通常一条成功的广告可以履行以下职能：首先，广告要易理解，以便顾客推断出其暗含信息；其次，广告须能激起顾客的兴趣，把消费者的注意力吸引到商品上去，再次，广告应该能够使消费者意识到这正是他们梦寐以求的，这样才能唤起顾客的购买欲；最后，广告使顾客最终落实购买行动。

本文将就英文广告语言特色在广告实现其功能过程中所起的作用展开分析。

二词汇特征作为信息传播的手段，广告英语一定要具有影响力和感召力。

因此广告英语的措辞与一般语言迥异。

一般说来，广告英语中常使用杜撰新词或应用普通词的方法，从而使广告英语行文简单、生动、形象和富有感染力。

1杜撰新词杜撰新词即词汇的变异。

为了使广告吸引消费群体，广告撰写人在不断进行词汇创新。

他们通过这种手段彰显产品的与众不同，以期受到消费者的青睐。

根据构词法分析，可以得知广告英语中有以下杜撰新词：混合词，复合词，错拼词等。

这些词都依据日常用词杜撰而成，以利于人们在最短的时间里抓住有效信息，可以说，既新颖又有实效。

杜撰混合词，即通过将两个单词的部分或全部组合在一起，并结合二者词义构造新词。

广告英语中通常采用的杜撰混合词有以下几种：一单词的前半部分+另一单词的完整形式；一单词的前半部分+另一单词的后半部分；一单词的完整形式+另一单词的后半部分等。

以下简要举例为证：（1）“Come to our Fruice.”此广告为某品牌果汁广告。

Fruice由“fruit”的前半部分和“juice”的后半部分结合杜撰而成。

这种构词法在词汇学中又称“融合”。

由于二词均为日常用词，如此结合，使信息接受者几乎毫不费力就得知这是一则果汁广告，其新颖形式也使消费者对它记忆深刻。

Chapter1Introduction练习题Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION考研真题与典型题详解1.1 What is linguistics?I.Fill in the blanks.1.Linguistics is usually defined as the _______ study of language. (北二外2003研)2.The branch of linguistics which studies the sound patterns of a language is called _______.3.The branch of grammar which studies the internal structure of words is called________.4.The branch of grammar which studies the internal structure of sentence is called________.(北二外2003、2004、2008研)5.In linguistics, ______ refers to the study of rules governing the way words are combined toform sentences in a language, or simply , the study of the formation as sentence.(中山2008)6.Semantics and ________ investigate different aspects of linguistic meaning. (北二外2007研)7.________ can be defined as the study of language in use. Sociolinguistics, on the other hand,attempts to show the relationship between language and society.8.Modern linguistics is _________ in the sense that the linguist tries to discover what languageis rather than lay down some rules for people to observe.9.The description of a language as it changes through time is a ________ study.10.One general principle of linguistic analysis is the primacy of ________ over writing.11.One of the important distinctions in linguistics is ______ and parole. The former is the Frenchword for “language”, which is the abstract knowledge necessary for speaking, listening, reading and writing. The latter is concerned about the actual use of language by people in speech and writing. Parole is more variable and may change according to contextual factors.12.Saussure distinguished the linguistic competence of the speaker and the actual phenomena ordata of linguistics (utterances) as _______ and ________.The former refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community, and the latter is the concrete manifestation of language either through speech or through writing.(人大2006研) 13.Chomsky initiated the distinction between ________ and performances. (北二外2007研) II.Multiple choices.1.Which of the following is a main branch of linguistics?_________.(大连外2008研)A. MacrolinguisticsB. PsycholinguisticsC. Sociolinguistics2.The study of language at one point in time is a ________ study. (北二外2010研)A. historicalB. synchronicC. descriptiveD. diachronicIII.True or false.1.Applied linguistics is the application of the linguistic principles and theories to languageteaching and learning.2.Prescriptive linguistics is more popular than descriptive linguistics, because it can tell us howto speak correct language.3.Historical linguistics equals to the study of synchronic study.4.By diachronic study we mean to study the changes and development of language./doc/479964943.html,ngue is relatively stable and systematic while parole is subject to personal and situationalconstraints./doc/479964943.html,petence and performance refer respectively to a language us er’s underlying knowledgeabout the system of rules and the actual use of language in concrete situations.IV.Explain the following terms.1.Descriptive linguistics2. Diachronic linguistics3. CompetenceV.Short answer questions.1.Point out three major differences between modern linguistics and traditional grammar.VI.Essay questions1.Saussure puts forward the concept of langue and parole, and Chomsky puts forward theconcept of competence and performance. Please dwell upon he differences and similarities, if any, of two pairs: langue andparole vs. competence and performance. (北京交大2007研)1.2 What is language?I.Fill in the blanks.1.The features that define our human languages can be called ________features.(北二外2006) II.Multiple choices.1.Which of the following is NOT a frequently discussed design features?(大连外2008研)A. ArbitrarinessB. ConventionC. Duality2.Which of the following words is entirely arbitrary?(西安交大2008研)A. treeB. crashC. typewriterD. bang3.Which of the following property of language enables language users to overcome the barrierscaused by time and space, due to this feature of language, speakers are free to talk about anything in any situation?A. TransferabilityB. DualityC. DisplacementD. Arbitrariness4.“A person can refer to Confucius even though he was dead 2,000 years ago.” This shows thatlanguage has the design feature of _______.A. arbitrarinessB. creativityC. dualityD. displacement5.The function of the sentence “Water boils at 100 degree Centigrade” is ________.A. interrogativeB. directiveC. informativeD. performativeIII.True or false./doc/479964943.html,nguage is a means of verbal communication. Therefore, the communication way used bythe deaf-mute is not language.2.The features that define our human languages can be called DESIGN FEATRES. (大外2008)3.Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, and conventionality of languagemakes a language be passed from generation to generation. As a foreign learner, the latter is more important for us.4.Onomatopoeic words can show the arbitrary nature of language.(清华2000研)5.Duality is one of the characteristics of human language. It refers to the fact that language hastwo levels of structures: the system of sounds and the systems of meanings.IV.Explain the following terms.1. Arbitrariness(川大2006研)2.Duality(北二外、南开2010研)3. Displacement(清华、南开2010) V.Short answer questions.1.What makes language unique to human beings? (北航2010研)VI.Essay questions1.Displacement, arbitrariness, productivity, cultural transmission and duality are sometimeslisted as the 5 core features of human language. Choose 3 out of 5 and explain with examples what they mean. (北外2002研)。