大学英语词汇学Chapter 1 English Lexicology--Introduction

EnglishLexicology英语词汇学TextbookAReaderofEnglishLexicology汪榕培王之江吴晓维Introduction0.1ThenatureanddomainofEnglishLexicology•Lexicologyisthebranchoflinguisticsconcernedwiththestudyofthevocabularyofagivenlanguage.•Itdealswithwords,theirorigins,development,structures,meanings,relations,andusages.EnglishLexicologyinvestigatesandstudiesthemorphologicalstructuresofEnglishwordsandwordequivalents,theirsemanticstructures,relations,historicaldevelopment,formationandusages.Nature:Englishlexicologyisatheoretically-orientedcourse.However,itisapracticalcourseaswell.Englishlexicologyhascloserelationswithotherbranchesoflinguistics,suchasphonetics,grammar,stylistics,andsoon.Butitembracesotheracademicdisciplines,suchasmorphology,semantics,etymology,stylisticsandlexicography.Eachofthemhasbeenestablishedasadisciplineinitsown-right.0.2Itsrelationtootherdisciplines:MorphologystudiesthestructuresorformsofwordsthroughtheuseofmorphemeconstructEtymologystudiestheoriginsandhistoryoftheformandmeaningofwords.Semanticsstudiesthemeaningsofwordsandsenserelations:polysemy,homonymy,synonymy,antonomy,hyponmy,andsemanticfield•Stylisticsisconcernedwiththeuser’schoicesoflinguisticelementsinaparticularcontextforspecialeffects.•Lexicographyshareswithlexicologythesameproblems:theform,meaning,originsandusagesofwords,buttheyhaveapragmaticdifference..Alexicographer’staskistorecordthelanguageasitisusedsoastopresentthegenuinepictureofwordstothereader,Providingauthoritativereference,whereasthestudentoflexicologyistoacquiretheknowledgeandinformationoflexissoastoincreasetheirlexicalawarenessandcapacityoflanguageuse.ThoughEnglishlexicologyhasawidecoverageofacademicareas,ourtaskisdefiniteandconsistent.ThatistostudyEnglishwordsindifferentaspectsandfromdifferentangles.Theroleofvocabularyinthelanguagesystem–Vocabularyisthebuildingmaterialofthelanguagesystem.Itisoneofthethereessentialelementsoflanguage:speechsounds,grammarandvocabulary.–“Withoutgrammarverylittlecanbeconveyed,withoutvocabularynothingcanbeconveyed.”–“…thereisasenseinwhichlearningaforeignlanguageisbasicallyamatteroflearningthevocabularyofthatlanguage.Notbeingabletofindthewordstoexpressyourselfisthemostfrustratingexperienceinspeakinganotherlanguage.”•Fourlevelsofwordpower–Speakingvocabulary(activevocabulary)–Writingvocabulary(activevocabulary)–Readingvocabulary(passivevocabulary)–Guessvocabulary(passivevocabulary)Therearegenerallytwoapproachestothestudyofwords,namelysynchronicanddiachronic.Fromasynchronicpointofview,wordscanbestudiedatapointintime,disregardingwhateverchangesmightbetakingplace.(“wife”)However,ifwetakeadiachronicperspective,wewillconsiderThewordhistorically,lookingintoitsoriginandchangesinformandmeaning.Inthislight,theword“wife”evolvedfromtheoldEnglishform“wif”,meaning“woman”,butlateritbecamespecializedinthecourseofdevelopmenttothemodernmeaning“amarriedwoman”0.4MethodsofStudy•0.4AimsandSignificanceoftheCourse•Helpslearnersdeveloptheirpersonalvocabularyandconsciouslyincreasetheirwordpower•Givesthemadeeperunderstandingofwordmeaningandenablethemtoorganize,classifyandstorewordsmoreefficiently•Raisetheirawarenessofmeaningandusages,andenablethemtousewordsmoreaccuratelyandappropriately•Improvelearners’skillsofusingreferencebooksandraisetheirproblem-solvingabilityandefficiencyofindividualstudy•Ultimatelyimproveslearners’receptiveandproductiveskillsinlanguageprocessingaswellaslanguageproduction•unilateral,bilateral,trilateral,multilateral•monogamy,polygamy•inflexible,imbalance,irrational,illegal•download,copyright,motherwit(天生的智力）,greenwealth•WesummeredinQingdaolastyear.•blue-collarworkers,white-collarworkers,gray-collarworks,pink-collarworks,gold-collarworkers•forbiddenfruits•ThequestionwasliketheSphinx’sriddle(复杂、神秘、难以理解的问题)tothem•YourAdam’sappleisnotapparent•astimidasarabbit;agreenhand•《圣经》里提到，亚当吃苹果时，正好上帝进来，亚当吓得赶紧把余下的苹果吞下去，但苹果核卡在喉咙里，成了男人的喉结（英文称为“Adam'sapple”）。•asheetofpaper;awhitepaper,atermpaper;today’spaper,examinationpaper•Watergate,Irangate,Zippergate•ecology,ecocide,ecocrisis,eco-friendly•-ump:plump,chump,rump,hump,stump,dump,mump,lump,bump,tump•Irangate伊朗门事件或伊朗丑闻。指1985年里根执政时的白宫顾问背着国会与伊朗搞秘密武器交易，以“赎回”在黎巴嫩被绑架的美国人质。以此，他还把卖武器所得的部分款项秘密地转交给反对尼加拉瓜政府的叛乱分子(contras)，所以此事也称Iran-Contrascandal。高官后来有两位高官被判刑，而里根却将此事推得一干二净，所以他们被认为是“过失不沾边的总统”(TeflonPresident)。•Zipgate拉链门，性丑闻。源自美国总统与白宫实习生莫妮卡.莱温斯基(MonicaLewinsky)的桃色事件，并因此而导致国会对克林顿弹劾案的大辩论，使他险遭弹劾。•Picture–painting,drawing(includingsketch,diagram,graph),illustration,chart•Aflockofsheep,goats,birds–Aherbofcows,elephants,zebras,antelopes–Aschooloffish,whales,dolphins–Aswarmofants,bees,wasps,locusts(insects)–Aprideoflions•Essential,indispensable,necessary–Warmclothingisindispensableincoldwealth.–It’snecessaryforustostudyhard.–Theessentialpointiswemustdowhatthecontractsays.•Nationalpsychology–Dutch:togoDutch,totalkDutch,doubleDutch,Dutchcourage,Dutchbargain,Dutchcomfort,I’maDutchmanif…•Cognateadjectives–historic,historical;–economic,economical;–considerable,considerable:–comprehensible,comprehensive;–confident,confidential•WhenwasEnglishbroughttoBritain?Bywhom?•What