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ChapteroneThedefinitionofWord:(thetwooftenquoteddefinitionsfromBloomfieldandanoutstandingFrenchlinguist,AntoineMeillet.)Bloomfield:“somelinguisticforms,whichwecallboundformsareneverusedassentences.Awordthen,isafreeformwhichdoesnotconsistentirelyof(twoormore)lesserfreeforms.Inbelief,awordisaminimumfreeform.”AntoineMeillet:“Awordisdefinedbytheassociationofagivensensewithagivengroupofsoundscapableofagivengrammaticaluse.”Inbrief,awordmaybedefinedasafundamentalunitofspeechandaminimumfreeform;withaunityofsoundandmeaning(bothlexicalandgrammaticalmeaning)capableofperformingagivensyntacticfunction..[sinˈtæktik]句法的Allthewordsinalanguagetogetherconstitutewhatisknownasitsvocabulary.TheDevelopmentofEnglishVocabulary1.OldEnglish(449-1100)OEThehistoryoftheEnglishlanguagebeginswiththeconquestandsettlementofwhatisnowEnglandbytheAngloSaxon,whichreplacedtheCelticspokenbytheformerinhabitants.Thenextsevenhundredyears(449-1100)areknownastheOldEnglish(OE)orAnglo-Saxon(AS)periodoftheEnglishlanguage.Thevocabulary:FiftyorSixtythousandwords,whichwerechieflyAnglo-SaxonwithasmallmixtureofOldNorsewords.LongbeforetheinvasionofEngland,Anglos-SaxonborrowedaconsiderablenumberofLatiinwordsandthencontinuedtoadoptwordsduringtheOldEnglishperiod,especiallyaftertheintroductionofChristianityintoBritainin579.2.MiddleEnglish(1100-1500)METhetransitionalperiodfromOldEnglishtoModernEnglishisknownasMiddleEnglish,whichischaracterizedbythestronginfluenceofFrenchfollowingtheNormanConquestin1066.SincetheFrench-speakingNormansweretherulingclass,Frenchwasusedforallstateaffairsandformostsocialandculturalmatters;butthemassescontinuedtospeakEnglish.Onlytowardthe15thcenturydidEnglishbecomeoncemorethelanguageofthewholecountry.3.ModernEnglish(1500-thepresent)TheEnglishlanguagefrom1500tothepresentiscalledModernEnglish.IntheearlystageofModernEnglish(1500-1700)theRenaissance[riˈnæsns]broughtgreatchangestothevocabulary.TherenewedstudyofGreekintheRenaissancenotonlyledtotheborrowingofGreekwordsindirectlythroughthemediumofLatin,butalsoledtotheintroductionofsomeGreekwordsdirectlyintotheEnglishvocabulary.Fromthe16thcenturyonward,Englishborrowedwordsfromanincreasingnumberoflanguages,themajoronesbeingthethreeRomancelanguages,French,SpanishandItalian.French:attaché,charged’affairs,café.Italian:(music,artandarchitecture)concert,duet,piano,solo,tenor;model,studio;dome,piazza.Spanish:armada,cargo,cocoa,cigar.EnglishalsoadoptedwordsfromotherEuropeanlanguages.Portuguese(caste,pagoda),German(bismuth,cobalt,nickelandzinc);Dutch(dock,freight,keel);Russian(Vodka,troika,rubleandtsar)Attheturnofthe19thand20thcenturies,asaresultofexploration,colonizationandtrade,manywordscameinfromnon-Europeanlanguages.Example:boomerang,kangaroo,dingo(Australian)Sugar,sultan,alcohol(Arabic)Coolie,cashmerekhaki(Indian)Schmozzo,schmaltz(herbrew)AssummedupinTheEncyclopediaAmericana:“theEnglishlanguagehasvastdebits.Inanydictionarysome80%oftheentriesareborrowed.ThemajorityarelikelytocomefromLatin,andofthosemorethanhalfwillcomethroughFrench.AconsiderablenumberwillderivedirectlyorindirectlyfromGreek.AsubstantialcontributionwillcomefromScandinavianlanguages,andasmallpercentagefromPortuguese,Italian,SpanishandDutch.Scatteredwordswillbefromvarioussourcesaroundtheglobe.”TheRapidgrowthofpresent-dayEnglishvocabulary(EspeciallyafterWWII)anditscausesAfterWWII,neologismssweptinataratemuchfasterthanthatoftheprewarperiod.Themainreasonsforthefrequentappearanceofneologismsarethree:1.Markedprogressofscienceandtechnology.(nuclearbomb,explorationofspace,computerscience)2.Socio-economic,politicalandculturalchanges.3.Theinfluenceofotherculturesandlanguages.ClassificationofEnglishwordsAccordingtoDifferentCriteria.(byorigin,bylevelofusage,andbynotion)A.Byorigin:nativewordsandloadwords.Nativewords:WordsofAnglo-SaxonoriginorofOldEnglisharenativeEnglish.LoanWords:thoseborrowedfromotherlanguagesareloanwordsorborrowedwords.MostnativewordsinModernEnglisharemonosyllabic..[ˈmɔnəusiˈlæbik]单音节的theyarefromthegreatmajorityofthebasicwordstockoftheEnglishlanguage.Thebasicwordstockisthefoundationofthevocabularyaccumulatedoveranumberofepochs.Thefundamentalfeaturesofthebasicwordstockare:1.Nationalcharacter:wordsofthebasicwordstockbelongtothepeopleasawhole,nottoalimitedgroupnomatterwhatdialecttheyspeak;whichsocialclasstheybelong..2.Stability:Aswordsinthebasicwordstockdenotethecommonestthingsnecessarytolife,theyarelikelytoremainunchanged.(Howeversomeoldwordhaddroppedoutandsomenewwordshadin)3.Word-formingability:Basicwordsareveryactiveinformingnewwords.4.Abilitytoformcollocation:Basicwordscombinereadilywithotherwordstoformhabitualexpressionandphrases..[həˈbitjuəl]习惯性的B.Bythelevelofusage1.Commentwords:Commonorpopularwordsarewordsconnectedwiththeordinarythingsoractivitiesnecessarytoeverydaylife.ThegreatmajorityofEnglishwordsarecommonwords.Thecoreofthecommonwordsisthebasicwordstock.2.Literarywords:Literarywordsarechieflyusedinwriting,especiallyinbookswritteninamoreelevatedstyle,inofficialdocumentsorinformalspeeches.Theyarecomparativelyseldomusedinordinar