Transcript English Lexicology A General Survey of English Vocabulary

English Lexicology
Classification of English Words
Week 2
Instructor: LIU Hongyong
Words have magic powers!

Innumerable instances can be found
where people act as though the name of a
thing has power equivalent to that thing.
_梅_ 渴
_饼_ _
It may not be utter
superstition. There is also
wisdom in the idioms. Then
how should we treat our
culture and tradition?
The photograph, taken in
July 1888 in Brewster, Cape
Cod, Massachusetts, shows
eight-year-old Helen Keller
seated next to her teacher,
Anne Sullivan, as they hold
hands.
Helen Keller is an inspiration
for all generations.
The spilling of water and Anne’s
spelling of the word w-a-t-e-r
into Helen’s palm made Helen
understand the magic power of
words.
Classification of English Words:
Use: common, literary, colloquial, slang, technical

Common words are connected with the
ordinary things or activities in everyday
life. The core of the common words
constitutes the basic word stock.
Classification of English Words:
Use: common, literary, colloquial, slang, technical

Literary words are chiefly used in writing. In
English most of the literary words are of
French, Latin or Greek origin.
endeavour (try)
edifice (building)
visualize (foresee) matrimony (marriage)
purchase (buy)
locate (find)
Among literary words, two categories are
noteworthy: archaic words & poetical
words.
 Archaic words are words no longer in
common use, although they existed for
special purposes, such as in poetry, legal
documents, religious speeches, etc.
behold (see)
belike (probably)
perchance (by chance, possibly)

Archaic words are marked arch. (aic) in
dictionaries.
 Archaic words （古语）should not be
confused with obsolete words（废词）,
which are completely out of current use.
chaise, landau, victoria, gig
(horse wagon in the 19th century: )

Among literary words, two categories are
noteworthy: archaic words & poetical words.
 Poetic words are words that are traditionally
used only in poetry.
array (dress) the deep (the sea)
stead (horse) morn (morning)
She put on her finest array.
她穿上了最漂亮的衣服。

Colloquial Words

Colloquial words are used mainly in
conversation. They can also be used in
informal writing, but definitely inappropriate
in formal speech or writing.
Feeling fatigued, Tom retired early. (literary)
Tom felt so dog-tired. He hit the sack early. (colloquial)
John was dismissed for petty thieving. (common)
John was fired for petty thieving. (colloquial)
Slang Words

Slang words are words of vigorous,
colorful, or taboo nature, invented for
specific uses, or derived from the
unconventional use of the standard
vocabulary.
Slang Words

Slang words include those daring and
new expressions that have not been
accepted by the majority of people as
standard English. (buzz ‘telephone call’,
nuthouse ‘mental hospital’, spiel
‘persuasive speech’)
Slang Words

Slang words may die if their novelty has
worn off. Some slang words may become
colloquial words, and some may even
become standard words (mob, fun, bet,
coax, job)
Technical Words
Technical words refer to those words used
in various special fields. They are also
called jargons.
 Many technical neologisms (new words)
created yesterday by specialists are today
heard in ordinary conversation, e.g.space
walk, moonwalk, radioactivity. When this
happens, the technical words become
popular words.

Classification of English Words:
Notion: function words and content words
Words
Function words
(closed class)
Content words
(open class)
auxiliaries
Verbs
prepositions
Nouns
Adjectives
Adverbs
conjunctions
determiners
…
Helping a language have
lexical meanings
flesh & blood
Helping a language
build structures
(grammatical meaning)
bones & tendons
open class vs. closed Class

The closed classes contain the so-called
‘grammatical’ or ‘function’ words. They
are small classes, with a restricted and
largely unchanging membership.

The open classes are large classes, and they
are constantly added to. The members of
the open classes are the ‘content’ words.
Discussion
The first stanza of the ‘Jabberwocky’ song in Lewis
Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865).
’Twas brilling, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the boro-goves,
And the mome raths out-grabe.
1) identify the grammatical category that each word must or most
probably belong to;
2) single out words whose category seems difficult to determine;
3) rewrite this stanza with English words, using your own
imagination, and upload it to our course blog.
Answer
’Twas raining, and the aging trees
Did weep and wail in the ode:
All sweaty were the chimpanzees,
And the busy rats burrowed .
Classification of English Words:
Origin: native words and loan words
Native words are words brought to
Britain in the fifth century by the German
tribes: the Angles, the Saxons, and the
Jutes. Words of Anglo-Saxon origin are
small in number, but they form the basic
word stock of the English language.
 Words borrowed from other languages
are loan (borrowed) words.

Loan words


According to the degree of assimilation, loan
words can be divided into denizen and alien.
Denizens are words well assimilated into English,
in conformity with the English way of
pronunciation and spelling; sometimes they can
take an English affix.
fault (French by origin)+ the English suffix –less
The English prefix un- +certain (French by origin)
Loan words

Aliens are borrowed words which have retained
their original pronunciation and spelling.
coup d’etat (政变）
genre （题材；流派）
kowtow (磕头)
bazaar (集市)
The Basic Word Stock
It includes the most frequently used words that are
essential to life, and words denoting the most
fundamental things of life.
 National character: they are known to everybody.
 Stability: they are likely to remain unchanged.
 Productivity: they are active in forming new words.
 Ability to form collocation: basic words combine
readily with other words to form habitual phrases.
Native words vs. loan words

Despite large-scale borrowings over the
centuries, the major part of words spoken
and written by English-speaking people,
however, are native words, the nine most
frequently used being and, be, have, it, of,
the, to, will, and you. Borrowed words are
nevertheless extremely useful in enriching
the vocabulary and making the language
flexible and resourceful.”