Chapter  1      Basic Concepts of Words and Vocabulary  

 1．  The definition of a word：

      A word is a minimal free form of language which has a given sound and meaning and syntactic function.

 2． Sound and Meaning

      There is no logical or intrinsic connection between a sound and what it refers to. The relation between sound and meaning is almost always arbitrary or conventional. The same language can use the same sound to mean different things and the different languages use different sounds to refer to the same thing.

3．  Sound and Form

    The written form of English is not an accurate representation of the spoken form. There are different causes of the differences between sounds and forms in the English language.

1)The English alphabet was adopted from the Romans, which does not employ the system of one single letter to stand for one sound.

2)The early scribes deliberately changed spelling of words to make a line even or for easier recognition.

3) Dictionaries help to fix the spelling of words  

4) English has borrowed many words from other languages, which may not have been assimilated .

 4．  Vocabulary

  All the words in a language are termed as vocabulary. However, vocabulary can also be used to refer to all the words in a book, or in a particular historical period of time, or in a dialect, or in a particular discipline, or even to all the words that a person possesses.

 5．  Classification of Words

Words can be classified into the basic word stock and nonbasic word stock by use frequency, into content words and functional words by notion and into native words and borrowed words by origin.  

     1)The Characteristics of the Basic Word Stock

                (1) All national character

                (2)stability

                (3)productivity

                (4)polysemy

                (5)collocability

   2)The Characteristics of borrowed words

        (1)Denizens: the early borrowed words which have been assimilated and conformed to the English way of pronunciation and spelling.

        (2)Aliens: the borrowed words which have retained the foreign way of pronunciation or spelling and have not been assimilated into the English language.

        (3)Translation-loans: the words and expressions which are formed from the existing English materials, but modeled on the patterns of another language.

        (4)Semantic loans: Words which have not been borrowed with reference to the form, but to the meanings.

   3) Roles Played by the native words.

    Native words are limited in number, but form the core of the English language. Native words are often neutral in style and frequent in use.

练习题：

1. Decide whether the following are true or false.

(   ) a. A word can be defined in different ways from different points of view.

(   ) b. Under no circumstances can sound and meaning be logically related.

(   ) c. The introduction of printing press resulted in a lot more differences between sound and form.

(   ) d. The words a person can use in speaking and writing form his active vocabulary.

(   ) e. The principles by which to classify words are usage, notion and origin.

(   ) f. Native words are more popular than foreign words.

(   ) g. Native words enjoy the same features as the basic word stock and more.

2. Give a term for each of the following definitions.

a. sub-standard words often used on informal occasions (   )

b. specialized vocabulary common in certain professions (   )

c. words used by sup-cultural groups particularly by underground society (   )

d. words that have clear notions (    )

e. words of Anglo-Saxon origin(    )

f. words borrowed by way of translation (    )

g. old words with new meanings(   )  

Key:

1. a.(T)  b.(F)   c.(T)  d.(T)  e.(F)  f.(F)   g.(T)

2. a. slang   b. jargon    c. argot   d. content words   e. native words   f. translation loans   g. neologisms