Chapter 1 English as a global language 1
1.1 The English language today 1
1.1.1 English is a global language 1
1.1.2 Political and economical reasons 2
1.2 The demand for English 2
1.2.1 The use of English 2
1.2.2 The teaching of English 3
1.3 The future of English 3
Exercises 4
Chapter 2 Lexicology and basic concepts of words and vocabulary 9
2.1 The definition of English lexicology 9
2.1.1 The domains of English lexicology 9
2.1.2 Methods of studying of lexicology 10
2.2 The definition of word 11
2.3 The definition of vocabulary 11
2.4 Classification of words 11
2.4.1 Full word and form word 11
2.4.2 Popular word and learned word 12
2.4.3 Abstract word and concrete word 12
2.4.4 Transparent word and opaque word 12
2.4.5 Polysemic word and monosemic word 12
2.4.6 Native word and loan word 12
Exercises 13
Chapter 3 The development of the English vocabulary 16
3.1 The world languages 16
3.2 Language classifications 16
3.2.1 Morphological classification 17
3.2.2 Structural classification 17
3.3 Indo-European language family 18
3.4 The historical overview of English vocabulary 19
3.4.1 Old English(450-1150) 19
3.4.2 Middle English(1150-1500) 21
3.4.3 Modern English(1500 up to the present) 22
3.5 Three main sources of new words of the present-day English vocabulary 23
3.5.1 The rapid development of modern science and technology 23
3.5.2 Social,economic,and political changes 23
3.5.3 The influence of other cultures and languages 24
3.6 Modes of the development of the English vocabulary 24
3.6.1 Creation 24
3.6.2 Semantic change 24
3.6.3 Borrowing 24
Exercises 25
Chapter 4 The structure of English words 30
4.1 The morphological structures of words 30
4.1.1 Morphemes 30
4.1.2 Morphs and allomorphs 31
4.2 Types of morphemes 32
4.2.1 Free morphemes 33
4.2.2 Bound morphemes 33
4.3 Root,stem and base 35
4.3.1 Root 35
4.3.2 Stem 35
4.3.3 Base 35
Exercises 35
Chapter 5 Word-formation in English 43
5.1 Affixation 43
5.1.1 Prefixation 43
5.1.2 Suffixation 46
5.2 Compounding 48
5.2.1 Noun compounds 48
5.2.2 Adjective compounds 49
5.2.3 Verb compounds 49
5.3 Conversion 50
5.3.1 Conversion to nouns 50
5.3.2 Conversion to verbs 51
5.3.3 Conversion to adjectives 52
5.4 Blending 53
5.4.1 head+tail 53
5.4.2 head+head 53
5.4.3 head+word 53
5.4.4 word+tail 53
5.5 Clipping 53
5.5.1 Front clipping 53
5.5.2 Back clipping 54
5.5.3 Front and back clipping 54
5.5.4 Phrase clipping 54
5.6 Acronymy 54
5.6.1 Initialisms 54
5.6.2 Acronyms 54
5.7 Back-formation 55
5.7.1 Abstract nouns 55
5.7.2 Human nouns 55
5.7.3 Compound nouns and others 55
5.7.4 Adjectives 55
Exercises 56
Chapter 6 Word meaning 60
6.1 Meaning 60
6.1.1 Analytical(referential)definitions of meaning 60
6.1.2 Operational(contextual)definitions of meaning 61
6.2 Meanings of meaning 61
6.2.1 Reference 61
6.2.2 Concept 62
6.2.3 Sense 63
6.3 Types of motivation 63
6.3.1 Onomatopoeic motivation 63
6.3.2 Morphological motivation 64
6.3.3 Semantic motivation 64
6.3.4 Etymological motivation 67
6.4 Types of meaning 67
6.4.1 Grammatical meaning 67
6.4.2 Lexical meaning 67
6.4.3 Conceptual meaning 67
6.4.4 Associative meaning 68
Exercises 71
Chapter 7 Sense relations 76
7.1 Polysemy 76
7.1.1 Two approaches to polysemy 76
7.1.2 Two Processes of development 78
7.2 Homonymy 80
7.2.1 Types of homonyms 80
7.2.2 Origins of homonyms 81
7.3 Synonymy 81
7.3.1 Sources of synonyms 83
7.3.2 Discrimination of synonyms 84
7.3.3 Association and collocation 87
7.4 Antonymy 88
7.4.1 Types of antonyms 89
7.4.2 Characteristics of antonyms and the use of antonyms 90
7.5 Metonyms 91
7.6 Retronyms 91
7.7 Hyponymy 91
7.7.1 Superordinate and subordinate terms 91
7.7.2 Effect of them in use 92
7.8 Semantic features 92
7.8.1 Semantic property 92
7.8.2 Semantic feature 95
Exercises 95
Chapter 8 Changes in word meaning 108
8.1 Can meaning change? 108
8.2 Types of changes 108
8.2.1 Extension 108
8.2.2 Narrowing 109
8.2.3 Elevation 110
8.2.4 Degradation 111
8.2.5 Euphemism 111
8.3 Causes of changes 112
8.3.1 Linguistic factors 112
8.3.2 Extra-linguistic factors 112
Exercises 113
Chapter 9 Meaning and context 116
9.1 Types of context 116
9.1.1 Linguistic context 116
9.1.2 Extra-linguistic context 118
9.2 Clues for inferring word meaning in context 119
9.2.1 Definition 119
9.2.2 Explanation 119
9.2.3 Example 119
9.2.4 Synonymy 119
9.2.5 Antonymy 120
9.2.6 Hyponymy 120
9.2.7 Relevant details 120
9.2.8 Word structure(Word-formation) 121
Exercises 121
Chapter 10 English dictionaries 129
10.1 The development of dictionaries 129
10.1.1 The origins of the English dictionary 129
10.1.2 The first English dictionaries 129
10.1.3 Modern English dictionaries 130
10.2 Types of dictionaries 139
10.2.1 Monolingual and bilingual dictionaries 139
10.2.2 General-purpose and specific-purpose dictionaries 139
10.3 Using a dictionary 140
10.3.1 The dictionary entry 140
10.3.2 Spelling 140
10.3.3 Pronunciation 141
10.3.4 Parts of speech and inflected forms of words 141
10.3.5 Labels 141
10.3.6 The definition 142
10.3.7 Etymology 143
10.3.8 Synonyms 143
Exercises 144
Keys to Exercises 147
附录一 英语词汇学术语表 181
附录二 词汇表 184
附录三 希腊、拉丁词根和词缀 196
（一）希腊、拉丁词根 196
（二）希腊、拉丁词缀 215
References 228