词汇学知识点总结

Language

Language is a system of symbol based on physiology, psychology, and physics. It’s a special social action and a carrier of information used for human communication in a society.

The relationship between Language, Society, and Thought: 1. any language reflects the culture of the society in a particular period. Therefore language is the mirror reflecting the culture of a society. 2. Language is a product of society. Language is inseparable from human society. 3. Language is used as a means of communication in a society. Outside society there is no language. 4. Society depends upon language for its existence. For example, there are many words connected with carriage. Buggy, a light one-horse carriage with two wheels. Coach, a large closed four-wheel horse-drawn carriage. 5. moreover, man’s thought is indispensable to language just as language is indispensable from society. We know that language is used to express man’s thought. The process of thinking is closely connected with language. That is to say, without thinking, there would be no human language. 6. language serves society as a means of intercourse between people.

Linguistics is the scientific study of language.

The scope of linguistics include phonology, syntax, semantics, phonetics, philology, lexicology, stylistics, general linguistics, descriptive linguistics……

Lexicology is a branch of linguistics concerned with the study of the vocabulary of a given language. It deals with words, their origin, development, history, structure, meaning, and application.

Aim of English Lexicology is to give a systematic description of the English vocabulary. It offers students an insight into the origin and development of the English vocabulary.

The significance of English Lexicology: help the learners to enlarge their vocabulary and improve their ability to analyze and use the words.

Two approaches to the study of English Lexicology: synchronic and diachronic. Synchronic means describing a language as it exists at one period of time. Diachronic means concerned with the historical development of a language. For example: January, February, march, synchronically, they are the words of the months of one year. Diachronically, they are all borrowed words. Synchronically, we consider words like eventful, talkative as derivatives. Diachronically, they are hybrids, that is, words that are made of two parts, each from a different language.

Etymology is the study of the origin and history of words and their meanings.

Significance: 1.to provides background information and knowledge about the history, origin and development of the English language. 2. To increase the learner’s enjoyment and real understanding of English words from their changes of forms including their spelling and pronunciation to that of meanings. English is classified as a Teutonic language, that is, a Germanic language. English belongs to the Low West Germanic branch of the Indo-European family.

Division of the history of the English language: 1. the period from 450 to 1150 is known as the Old English or Anglo-Saxon period. It’s described as the period of full inflection. 2. The period from 1150 to 1500 is known as the Middle English period, also as the period of leveled inflections. 3. The period from 1500 to the present day is called the Modern English period, also as the period of lost inflection.

There are two classes of language in the world: synthetic and analytic. A synthetic language is one which shows the relation of word in a sentence largely by means of inflection. An analytic language is one which indicates the relation of words in a sentence by means of word order, preposition or auxiliary verbs, rather than by inflection. Old English the a synthetic language, while Modern English is an analytic language. Modern English can be divided into two parts: the early Modern English period and the Late Modern English period. Dean Swift was a conservative and he opposed the tendency to shorten words, such as ad