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Chapter 1 Introduction1

1.1 What Is Lexicology?2

1.2 English Lexicology and Its Relation to Other Disciplines2

1.3 Methods of Word Study 3

1.4 Aims and Significance of the Course4

Exercises.4

Chapter 2 Basic Concepts of Words and Vocabulary7

2.1 Definition of a Word8

2.2 Sound and Meaning 9

2.3 Sound and Form 9

2.4 Vocabulary 10

2.5 Classification of Words11

2.5.1 Basic Word Stock and Non-Basic Vocabulary 11

2.5.2 Content Words and Functional Words 14

2.5.3 Native Words and Borrowed Words14

Exercises 15

Chapter 3 The Developing English Vocabulary17

3.1 The Indo-European Language Family 18

3.2 A Historical Overview of the English Vocabulary 18

3.2.1 The Period of Old English (450 CE¨C1100 CE)19

3.2.2 The Period of Middle English (1100 CE¨C1500 CE)20

3.2.3 The Period of Modern English (After 1500 CE)21

3.3 Growth of Present-Day English Vocabulary 23

3.3.1 The Rapid Development of Science and Technology 23

3.3.2 Political, Economic, and Cultural Changes in Society24

3.3.3 The Formation of New Vocabulary28

3.4 Modes of Vocabulary Development 29

Exercises 30

Chapter 4 Morphological Structure of Words33

4.1 The Concept of Morpheme 34

4.1.1 Types of Morphemes 34

4.1.2 Roots, Stems, and Bases36

4.2 Major Processes of Word Formation37

4.2.1 Derivation38

4.2.2 Conversion44

4.2.3 Compounding48

4.3 Minor Processes of Word Formation 54

4.3.1 Clipping54

4.3.2 Blending55

4.3.3 Acronymy: Initialisms and Acronyms57

4.3.4 Back-Formation59

4.3.5 Words from Proper Names60

4.3.6 Miscellaneous63

Exercises 64

Chapter 5 Word Meaning, Polysemy, and Homonymy.67

5.1 Motivation 68

5.1.1 Phonetic Motivation68

5.1.2 Morphological Motivation69

5.1.3 Semantic Motivation.69

5.2 Main Types of Word Meaning 70

5.2.1 Grammatical Meaning.70

5.2.2 Lexical Meaning71

5.2.3 Social or Stylistic Meaning.73

5.2.4 Affective Meaning77

5.2.5 Reflected Meaning79

5.2.6 Collocative Meaning80

5.2.7 Contextual Meaning80

5.3 Componential Analysis and Semantic Features 81

5.3.1 Componential Analysis on the Basis of Semantic Contrast.82

5.3.2 The Role of Componential Analysis in English Lexical Teaching.83

Exercises 84

Chapter 6 Sense Relations Between Words87

6.1 Synonymy . 88

6.1.1 Complete Synonyms88

6.1.2 Relative Synonyms89

6.1.3 Other Types of Synonymy94

6.2 Antonymy 95

6.2.1 Types of Antonyms95

6.2.2 Different Antonyms of One Word97

6.2.3 Marked and Unmarked Members98

6.2.4 Asymmetry in the Pragmatic Uses 99

6.2.5 The Rhetorical Use of Antonyms100

6.3 Hyponymy101

6.4 Polysemy103

6.4.1 Definition103

6.4.2 Two Processes Leading to Polysemy.103

6.5 Homonymy104

6.5.1 Types of Homonyms105

6.5.2 Sources of Homonyms106

6.5.3 The Rhetorical Features of Polysemy and Homonymy.107

6.6 Meronymy/Holonymy108

6.6.1 Definition108

6.6.2 Distinction Between Meronymy/Holonymy and Hyponymy .108

6.6.3 Types of Meronymy109

6.7 Semantic Field109

Exercises 111

Chapter 7 Changes in Word Meaning115

7.1 Causes of Changes in Word Meaning.116

7.1.1 Historical and Social Causes. 117

7.1.2 Psychological Cause 119

7.1.3 Linguistic Cause 121

7.1.4 Foreign Influences 122

7.2 Four Tendencies in Semantic Change .122

7.2.1 Extension of Meaning.123

7.2.2 Restriction of Meaning125

7.2.3 Elevation of Meaning 127

7.2.4 Degeneration of Meaning 128

7.3 Semantic Changes Resulting from the Figurative Use of Words130

7.3.1 Metaphor131

7.3.2 Synaesthesia 132

7.3.3 Metonymy 133

7.3.4 Synecdoche 133

Exercises135

Chapter 8 Meaning and Context137

8.1 Types of Context138

8.1.1 Linguistic Context138

8.1.2 Extra-Linguistic Context.141

8.2 Role of Context in Deciding Word Meaning.143

8.2.1 Eliminating Ambiguities.143

8.2.2 Specifying Referents and the Range of the Meaning 145

8.2.3 Conveying Emotional Overtones 147

8.3 How to Guess Word Meaning from Context149

8.3.1 Lexical Clues.149

8.3.2 Syntactical Restrictions .152

8.3.3 Semantic or Logical Connections .153

8.3.4 The Role of Topic Sentence .154

8.3.5 The Role of Background Knowledge 155

Exercises.156

Chapter 9 Multi-Word Expressions159

9.1 Characteristics of Multi-Word Expressions.160

9.2 Importance of Multi-Word Expressions163

9.3 Common Types of Multi-Word Expressions.164

9.4 Challenges of Learning Multi-Word Expressions for L2 Learners165

Exercises168

Chapter 10 Idioms.173

10.1 Definition of Idioms174

10.2 Sources of English Idioms.175

10.2.1 From Daily Life.175

10.2.2 From Food and Cooking.176

10.2.3 From Body Parts.177

10.2.4 From Names of Animals178

10.2.5 From Military or Sailor¡¯s Life.179

10.2.6 From Literary Works.180

10.2.7 From Other Languages180

10.2.8 From Other Sources181

10.3 Classification of English Idioms.181

10.3.1 Nominal Phrases182

10.3.2 Verbal Phrases184

10.3.3 Adjectival Idiomatic Expressions188

10.3.4 Adverbial and Prepositional Idiomatic Expressions.190

10.3.5 Proverbs192

10.4 Syntactic, Structural, and Stylistic Features194

10.4.1 Syntactic Function194

10.4.2 Structural Features196

10.4.3 Stylistic Features199

10.5 Beware of Translation Traps201

Exercises 205

Chapter 11 Differences Between American English and British English209

11.1 Growth of American English.210

11.1.1 Before Independence (1607 CE¨C1789 CE)211

11.1.2 From Independence to the Early 19th Century (1789 CE¨C1860 CE).212

11.1.3 From the Early 19th Century to the Present Time (1860 CE¨CPresent)213

11.2 Characteristics of American English214

11.2.1 Conservatism and Innovation214

11.2.2 Heterogeneity.217

11.2.3 Uniformity in Speech 219

11.2.4 Verbose and Plain Style in Writing220

11.2.5 Popularity of Slang221

11.3 Differences Between American English and British English 222

11.3.1 Differences in Pronunciation222

11.3.2 Differences in Spelling225

11.3.3 Differences in Grammar and Usage227

11.3.4 Differences in Vocabulary.231

11.4 A Brief Summary. 235

Exercises 236

Chapter 12 Vocabulary Learning237

12.1 Vocabulary Knowledge. 238

12.1.1 Components of Vocabulary Knowledge238

12.1.2 Receptive and Productive Vocabulary Knowledge.240

12.2 Approaches to Vocabulary Learning 241

12.2.1 Incidental Vocabulary Learning.241

12.2.2 Intentional Vocabulary Learning244

12.3 Resources for Learning Vocabulary. 246

12.3.1 Dictionaries246

12.3.2 Online Resources for Vocabulary Learning250

References.255

Appendix: Difference Between American English and British English265