词汇学-莆田学院

Introduction

1.T he Nature and Domain of English Lexicology

Definition : What is lexicology?

Lexicology is a branch of linguistics, inquiring into the origins and meanings of words(WNWD: Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language 1980) 2.W hat is the nature and scope of English Lexicology?

The nature of English Lexicology :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 . In the meantime it is a practical course, for it has sth to do with words.

The scope of English Lexicology: English lexicology aims at investigating and studying the morphological structures of English and word equivalents, their semantic structures , relations, historical development,

formation and usages.

3.I ts Relation to other Disciplines（学科）What subjects is English Lexicology correlated with ? And to what extent? English lexicology is correlated with morphology, semantics, etymology(词源学), stylistics and lexicography（词典学）. In the discussion of the inflections of words and word-formation and how morphemes(词素) are combined to form words and words to form sentences, it has sth to do with morphology(形态学). Chinese is pictograph ,but English is not. We still can find some traces of pictograph in some English words such as the word “eye”, “bed”(Maybe the interpretations sound a bit forced(牵强附会). Words like agonize/agony, ache, atingle…these words begin with letter A which is considered to the tip of a pin.In the discussion of how a small vocabulary of the languages of early Germanic tribes has developed into a huge vocabulary of Modern

English and how words change their forms and meaning, it has sth to with etymology. In the discussion of polysemy(多义关系), homonymy(同形同音异义关系)，synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy(上下文关系) and semantic field of words, it is related with semantics. And in the discussion of the stylistic values of words , it is related with stylistics. And in the discussion of acquiring the knowledge and information of lexis in the aspect of language use, English lexicology is relevant to lexicography.

4. Methods of study(How does a student of English study English lexicology?)

Two approaches: We have two approaches to the study of English words, namely synchronic(共时) and diachronic（历时）. From a synchronic point of view , words can be studied at a point in time, regardless of whatever changes. From a diachronic point of view, we can consider words historically , looking into their origins and changes in forms