浅谈英语新词的来源、构成及发展趋势

浅谈英语新词的来源、构成及发展趋势On the Sources, Formation and Development Tendency of English Neologism

摘要

本文从新词的来源、构成及发展趋势对英语新词进行讨论。首先，本文分别从科学信息技术行业，经济、政治和文化领域及借词方面论述了新词汇的来源；其次，本文指出了新词的构成规律，如合成法，词缀法，转换法，首字母缩写法，截取法，拼缀法，逆构法及演变自专有名词的方法；最后，本文提出了新词的发展趋势——数量扩大化，来源多样化，系列化和简洁化。

关键词：新词；来源；构词；发展趋势

Abstract

This thesis discusses English neologism in terms of the sources, formation and development tendency of English new words. First of all, with regard to the sources, the new words in the fields of science and technology, economy, politics, culture and loan words are displayed. Secondly, the word-formation rules of English new words are also analyzed, such as compounding, derivation, conversion, acronym, clipping, blending, back-formation and words from proper names. Finally, based on these discussions, we suggest the possible tendency of the development of English new words--increase in quantity, diversity in sources, systematization and simplicity.

Keywords: neologism; sources; word-formation; development tendency

Contents

1.Introduction (1)

2.The Sources of English Neologism (1)

2.1 Science and technology (2)

2.2 Economy (2)

2.3 Politics (2)

2.4 Culture (3)

2.5 Loan words (4)

3. The Formation of English Neologism (4)

3.1 Compounding (4)

3.2 Derivation (5)

3.3 Conversion (5)

3.4 Acronym (6)

3.5 Clipping (6)

3.6 Blending (7)

3.7 Back-formation (8)

3.8 Words from proper names (8)

4. The Development Tendency of English Neologism (9)

4.1 Increase in quantity (9)

4.2 Diversity in sources (9)

4.3 Systematization (10)

4.4 Simplicity (11)

5. Conclusion (11)

References (12)

1. Introduction

Language never stops changing. The changing of language can be seen directly from its words. But what is the definition of new words or neologisms? To answer this question, two aspects should be considered. The first aspect is what new words are, and the second is when they appear and enter into the dictionary. From the above-mentioned aspects, the definition of new words may be described as follows:“Neologisms are newly coined words or words that are given new meanings to fit new situations and new needs because of the social, economic, political, cultural, especially scientific and technical changes in the given period in human society”. (林承璋，刘世平，2009：105）

With the development of society, an ever increasing number of new words have come into being. Never before in history has the world seen such an overwhelming number of new words to learn. Therefore, it safely leads us to the conclusion that enlarging your vocabulary with new words is the first and most important step in learning English well. However, to keep up with the latest English vocabulary is especially difficult for Chinese students.

This thesis is written in the hope that it can help learners of English as foreign language develop an interest in and appreciation for new words from the aspects of the sources, formation and development tendency of English neologism. This thesis consists of five chapters, which are introduction, the sources of English neologism, the formation of English neologism, the development tendency of English neologism and conclusion.

2.The Sources of English Neologism