英语词汇学 Introduction 文本

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Introduction
0.1 The Nature and Domain of English
Lexicology
    Lexicology is a branch of linguistics, inquiring into the origins and meanings of words {WNWD ). English lexicology aims at investigating and studying the morphological structures of English words and word equivalents, their semantic structures, relations, historical development, formation and usages.

    English lexicology is a theoretically-oriented course. It is chiefly concerned with the basic theories of words in general and of English words in particular. However, it is a practical course as well, for in the discussion, we shall inevitably deal with copious stocks of words and idioms, and study a great many usage examples.Naturally, there will be a large quantity of practice involved.
0.2 Its Relation to Other Disciplines
    English lexicology itself is a subbranch of linguistics. But it embraces other academic disciplines, such as morphology, semantics, etymology, stylistics, lexicography. Each of them has been established as a discipline in its own right.

    Morphology is the branch of grammar which studies the structure or forms of words, primarily through the use of morpheme construct. This is one of the major concerns of lexicology, for we discuss the inflections of words and word-formation and exam-inc how morphemes are combined to form words and words to form sentences.

    Etymology is traditionally used for the study of the origins and history of the form and meaning of words. Modem English is derived from the languages of early Germanic tribes with a fairly small vocabulary. We shall study how this small vocabulary has grown into a huge modem English vocabulary and explain the changes that have taken place in the forms and meanings of words.

    Semantics is the study of meanings of different linguistic levels: lexis, syntax, utterance, discourse, etc. But lexicology will focus on the lexical level. The types of meaning and sense relations such as polysemy, homonymy, synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy and semantic field all belong to the scope of semantic study and constitute an important part of lexicology.

    Stylistics is the study of style. It is concerned with the user’s choices of linguistic elements in a particular context for special effects. Among the areas of study: lexis, phonology, syntax,graphology, we shall concentrate on lexis, exploring the stylistic values of words.

    Lexicography shares with lexicology the same problems:the form, meaning, origins and usages of words, but they have a pragmatic difference. A lexicographer’s task is to record the language as it is used so as to present the genuine picture of words to the reader, providing authoritative reference, whereas the student of lexicology is to acquire the knowledge and information of lexis so as to increase their lexical awareness and capacity of language use.

    Though English lexicology has a wide coverage of academic areas, our task is definite and consistent. That is to study English words in different aspects and from different angles.

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0.3 Methods of Study
    There are generally two approaches to the study of words,namely synchronic and diachronic. From a synchronic point of view, words can be studied at a point in time，disregarding whatever changes might be taking place. For example, the word wife now‘a married woman, esp. in relation to her husband’. This is the current meaning. It has an obsolete meaning‘woman’，which is only preserved in midwife，housewife, etc. However, if we take a diachronic perspective, we will consider the word historically,looking into its origin and changes in form and meaning. In this light, the word wife evolved from the Old English form wif,meaning ‘woman’，but later it became specialized in the course of development to the modern meaning 4a married woman’. In linguistic inquiry into the English vocabulary， though our focus is on the synchronic description of words, we need the diachronic approach as a supplement, for a knowledge of historical development of the vocabulary will definitely be of great help to us in our language study.

0.4 Aims and Significance of the Course
    Language study involves the study of speech sounds, grammar and vocabulary. Vocabulary has proved particularly important and certainly the most difficult. In the discussion of the relationship between words and structure, Wilkins (1972) asserts, ‘Without grammar very little be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing be conveyed.’The lexicologist McCarthy (1990) echoed the same message that no matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter how successfully he masters the sounds of a L2, without words to express a wide range of meanings, communication in that language cannot happen in any meaningful way. The role of vocabulary in communication calls for continuing vocabulary learning.Since English Lexicology deals with English vocabulary, this course will definitely be beneficial.
    A good knowledge of morphological structure of English words and rules of word-formation will help learners develop their personal vocabulary and consciously increase their word power. The information of the historical development and the principles of classification will give them a deeper understanding of word-meaning and enable them to organize, classify and store words more effectively. The understanding of the semantic structures of words, the types of meaning and their sense relations will gradually raise their awareness of meaning and usages, and enable them to use words more accurately and appropriately. A working knowledge of dictionaries will improve learners’skills of using reference books and raise their problem-solving ability and efficiency of individual study. In a word, the study of lexicology will ultimately improve learners’receptive and productive skills in language processing as well as language production.
Language teachers will find lexicology even more helpful. With some knowledge of lexicology, they will be able to handle the teaching materials, particularly those concerning words more professionally. They will be able to select and organize materials to teach in a more effective way. For example, they can teach the rules of word formation bit by bit and raise the students’ awareness of structures of words so as to help them learn new words more quickly and remember better. They will be able to make use of the different sense relations to group vocabulary, interpret words and explain meanings to the students. Their knowledge of dictionaries will prove invaluable in their study and teaching as well. One or two good dictionaries plus skills of use will give a teacher ease, confidence and efficiency.
Questions and Tasks
1. What is lexicology?
2. What is the nature and scope of English Lexicology?
3. What subjects is English Lexicology correlated with? And to
what extent?
4. Why should a student of English study English Lexicology?